UPDATE, 9:40 a.m.: From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On 4-17-2013, approximately 4:15 a.m. the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified of another vandalism to Suddenlinks Fiber Optic Cable that had occurred in the area of Lorenz Lane and Old Arcata Road, Bayside. The damaged cable was cut. The unknown suspect(s) used a culvert pipe to stand on to allow them access to the elevated cable. The suspect(s) are believed to have used a cutting instrument to cut the line. Suddenlink is estimating the damage to the line costing at least $25,000.00 and the line will not be repaired for a minimum of eight to ten hours. Areas affected are Arcata, McKinleyville, Trinidad and Big Lagoon. Suddenlink estimates over 10,000 customers do not have internet, cable television or telephone service including 911.

To date there have been five vandalisms to Suddenlinks Fiber Optic Cables. Total estimated damage by Suddenlink to repair the lines is now estimated to be at least $75,000.00. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Suddenlink are encouraging the public to call in any suspicious activity they may observe near telephone/ cable lines, especially during the late night/ early morning hours.

This is an on-going investigation and the Sheriff’s Office is actively working to identify a suspect or suspects in these crimes and to stop further vandalisms and interruptions to Suddenlink’s services. Detectives have interviewed several people regarding this crime.

Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding this case is encouraged to call Detective Kirkpatrick of the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division at 707-268-3640 or the Sheriff’s Tip Line at 707-268-2539.

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UPDATE, 8:45 a.m.: The Arcata Eye reports that the outage is, in fact, due to vandalism. The company is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the vandal.

PREVIOUSLY:

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A Suddenlink tech support representative confirms what a bunch of people mailed us about overnight: Service is down in the Arcata area. Other LoCO readers report being down in McKinleyville as well. And you?

The tech support person we got on the line says that it’s too early to know whether the company’s fiber optic line has been severed again.

More information as it comes. How about you — up or down?