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Lake County declares emergency after Elk Fire severs fiber line, disrupting hospital and services
Summary
The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved Resolution 2025-04 on July 10 after the Elk Fire burned a fiber optic line that supplies internet to the county, disrupting emergency services, Lake District Hospital, banking and local businesses; repairs were estimated to be complete the following day.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners declared a county emergency on July 10 after a fiber optic line serving the county was damaged in the Elk Fire, disrupting 911-related services, Lake District Hospital, banking and retail payment systems.
Sheriff Daniel Tague, who joined the Emergency Session electronically, said the Elk Fire burning on Bly Mountain "had burned the fiber optic line that supplies internet to Lake County," and that it was unknown when the line would be repaired. County minutes record the fiber provider estimated repairs would be completed by the following day.
The outage affected emergency services, the county hospital, banking operations and point-of-sale terminals for local businesses, officials said. Vice-Chair Barry Shullanberger asked whether a formal emergency declaration would keep already-deployed emergency resources in place; Sheriff Tague said it would and "could potentially bring more backup resources to Lake County," adding the incident highlighted the need for communications redundancy across the county.
Chair Mark Albertson asked how residents should contact emergency services during the outage. "Individuals could still call or text 911," Sheriff Tague said.
Vice-Chair Shullanberger moved to approve Resolution 2025-04, "Declaring the Existence of a County Emergency for the Fiber Optic Outage in Lake County, Oregon." Commissioner James Williams seconded the motion; the board voted 3-0 in favor. The Emergency Session was called to order at 8:34 a.m. and adjourned at 10:47 a.m.
The emergency declaration is intended to preserve and potentially expand emergency resources already deployed to the county while the fiber provider works on repairs. The minutes list Sheriff Daniel Tague, Treasurer Melanie Lasley, Facilities and Properties Manager David Berman, District Attorney Paul Charas and Planning Director Darwin Johnson, Jr. as present; three members of the public attended. The minutes were submitted by Commissioners Assistant Tina Burneikis.
No additional resolutions or specific funding actions were recorded in the minutes; the repair timeline was described by the provider as "by the following day." The county did not specify a further public notice or a timeline for lifting the declaration in the minutes.
The board approved Resolution 2025-04 by voice vote (three ayes) and adjourned the Emergency Session at 10:47 a.m.
