A severed cable on San Juan is to blame for a widespread telephone outage throughout the San Juan Islands, according to CenturyLink.

The cable was cut by an “outside contractor,” according to a CenturyLink press release, and outage is affecting 911 emergency calls and telephone service as well.

CenturyLink’s first priority will be to restore 911 service. In the event of an emergency, residents of San Juan Island should go the fire station on Mullis Street, residents of Lopez should go to the fire station at 2228 Fisherman Bay Road, and Orcas residents should go to the fire station on Lavender Lane.

Repair crews are at the site of the severed cable and will work “around the clock” to restore phone service, CenturyLink said.

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The extent of Wednesday afternoon’s phone outage has yet to be determined. Check our website for updates.

Calling within island appears to be okay, but island-to-island and 911  service is not functioning for most.