The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office is investigating vandalism that left thousands of residents in the Redding area without internet service on Tuesday morning. Deputies were called to the area of Highway 273 and Canyon Road at 4:35 a.m. following reports of vandalism to communication lines. The investigation determined that someone had cut the lines that supply Charter Spectrum Internet and Verizon 4G Internet for all communities in the Redding area basin, including Redding, Anderson, Shasta Lake, and Palo Cedro.
Spectrum officials stated that some services have already been restored, but crews will work to repair and replace the fiber lines until all services are back online. Our fiber lines were cut this morning as a result of vandalism in the South Redding area, affecting Redding, Shasta Lake, and other surrounding communities,” Spectrum said in a statement. “Due to the vandalism, we need to repair more than 650 fiber strands to restore our service.”
The company reported the outage at 3:30 a.m., affecting Spectrum’s internet, video, and voice services.
Technicians responded immediately and are currently making the necessary repairs to restore services as soon as possible. Full resolution is expected by mid-morning.
Vandalism disrupts Spectrum service in Shasta
Local television viewers are also experiencing disruptions due to a digital transmission failure between Redding and Chico.
Some viewers may be unable to access FOX20, MyTV, Univision, and Unimas. Spectrum advises that rescanning your TV may help pick up some channels while engineers work to fix the issue. The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office noted that they have located evidence that may identify the person(s) responsible for the vandalism.
The investigation is ongoing, and further updates will be provided as the situation develops. If your service is affected, your provider will relay estimates on a timeframe for service restoration. Spectrum appreciates its customers’ patience as it makes the necessary repairs.
