Residents of the community of McGrath on the upper Kuskokwim River say mobile and landline communications have been spotty or nonexistent since at least last weekend.
According to City Manager Greg Knight, landlines were still down Thursday afternoon, while cell service remained “very spotty.” Knight said he first noticed the landline problem on Aug. 10, when he noticed his office phone had no dial tone. That same day, he said, the phone problems evolved from a nuisance to a public safety hazard.
“There was a situation where we had to call 911 over the weekend and they couldn’t be reached,” Knight said. “It was an ATV accident that ended in death on the outskirts of town.”
A report from Alaska State Troopers confirms that 33-year-old Katie Tall was pronounced dead at the scene on August 10 after an all-terrain vehicle she was driving went off the road at high speed.
According to Paul Walker, program director of local radio station KSKO, a couple who discovered the woman’s body had to personally drive to the local family doctor’s house to get help because it was not possible to call 911.
“If she had survived an accident like this, the five or six minute delay in getting the medics to the scene could have made a difference,” Walker said.
Walker has kept the community updated on the radio and through social media throughout the power outages, while the local airline, health center and community council have all recommended using email as a solution on an online forum.
Walker said a technician from communications provider GCI has been in the community since August 12 and that two more technicians would be dispatched on Thursday.
GCI is the sole wireless provider in McGrath, while its subsidiary United Utilities, Inc. provides local landline services.
In an emailed statement on August 15, GCI wrote: “Technicians have replaced equipment and successfully restored some of the affected services.” However, the company did not provide a specific timeline for when mobile and landline services would be fully restored.
