Frontier Communications Marks One-Year Anniversary of Cable-Cutting Western Washington Mudslide

Frontier Communications said it continues to update its emergency preparedness plans in western Washington as the region neared the one-year anniversary Sunday of the March 22, 2014, mudslide in Darrington, Lake Cavanaugh, Oso and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe’s land. The mudslide killed 43 people and destroyed dozens of homes. Darrington and the Sauk-Suiattle tribe continued to have 911 and local phone service following the mudslide, but Lake Cavanaugh and Oso were completely cut off from telecom service, Frontier said Thursday. The company said it deployed 14,000 feet of temporary fiber to restore services in the affected areas, fully restoring full service in Darrington within two days of the mudslide. Frontier installed a permanent replacement fiber cable linking Darrington and nearby Arlington March 10. The company said it installed public high-speed broadband and Wi-Fi access at Darrington, Oso and Sauk-Suiattle public buildings and established fiber, HDTV and Wi-Fi access at Federal Emergency Management Agency locations in Darrington and Everett. “Frontier’s response to the Landslide was critical and immediate,” Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin said in a Frontier news release. “Not only did they work to restore communication services for emergency personnel and the people who needed to reach and reassure loved ones, but they dug in with the first responders and did whatever was needed to assist.” Frontier said it believes it’s important for the communities it serves to know that the company continues to update its emergency response plans based on lessons it learns from incidents like the March 22 mudslide and “is prepared for potential natural disasters and other emergencies that may be ahead.”