Northern Vancouver Island phone, internet and 911 landline service knocked out by vandalism

Phone and internet services — including 911 landline access — are down across parts of northern Vancouver Island after what Telus says was deliberate damage to its infrastructure.

The outage has affected Port McNeill, Port Hardy and several surrounding communities, including Alert Bay, Campbell River and Port Alice. According to the company’s service status map, home phone, mobile, and internet services are all disrupted.

Emergency Info B.C. warned that residents should continue to try calling 911 if they face an emergency. However, if service is unavailable, they are asked to seek help from neighbours or others nearby who may have working connections.

Telus has not said when services will be restored, but confirmed the disruption was caused by vandalism to network infrastructure.