Update by the edhat staff
July 23, 2025
Phone lines to local 9-1-1 dispatch centers were fully restored at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday in Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are working to resume flight operations. SBA passengers are being directed to check directly with their airline for the latest flight status.
“We extend our gratitude to all affected agencies for their prompt response and collaboration in maintaining emergency reporting channels. Public safety and the continuity of critical services remain our highest priorities,” the Santa Barbara Police Department stated.
On July 22, 2025, between approximately 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., a fiber optic line was cut, causing a temporary disruption to countywide emergency services and communications at Santa Barbara Airport.
“We are actively investigating the cause and taking steps to ensure similar incidents do not occur in the future. Immediate repairs were initiated to restore emergency communication capabilities as quickly as possible,” the Police Department stated. “The City recognizes the seriousness of the service interruption, and we apologize for the inconvenience and concern this incident may have caused.”
In San Luis Obispo County, the 911 service outage was restored at approximately 8:09 AM, and 911 calls should now be fully operational.
The outage had impacted both landline and cellular calls for Frontier, Verizon, and AT&T customers. SLO Sheriff’s Office reports it has completed multiple successful test calls confirming that 911 service is functioning as expected.
If anyone in the county continues to experience issues reaching 911, they are advised to call the Sheriff’s Office directly at our non-emergency dispatch line: (805) 781-4550, option 3.
County-Wide Phone Outages Impact 911 Services in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties
By the edhat staff
July 22, 2025
A widespread phone outage disrupted 911 and ten-digit emergency lines in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties on Tuesday, leaving residents to use alternative methods to seek help during emergencies. Local officials are urging the public to remain calm and keep non-emergency calls to a minimum to ensure assistance is available for those in urgent need.
Emergency Numbers for Santa Barbara County
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office advised residents experiencing emergencies to contact the following numbers:
- 805-896-5181
- 805-451-5639
Additionally, individuals can text 911 or email info@sbsheriff.org for assistance. Residents are strongly urged not to test these temporary numbers to keep them open for critical use.
For emergencies in Santa Maria, use 805-928-3781 ext. 2277, and for those within the Santa Barbara Police Department’s jurisdiction, call 805-882-8900.
The police department has also advised citizens to seek assistance from public safety personnel currently deployed under an internal tactical alert to ensure maximum responsiveness.
More information can be found at the Santa Barbara County website.
Emergency Numbers for San Luis Obispo County
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that both landlines and cellular devices are affected by the outage. Residents in need of assistance can contact the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch line at:
- 805-781-4550 (Select option 3).
No Estimated Restoration Time
The outage, believed to be part of a broader regional issue, has impacted multiple systems across the Central Coast. Local, state, and service provider partners are actively working to identify the cause and resolve the disruption, though no timeline for restoration has been provided.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating efforts to restore emergency communications as quickly as possible,” said the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office in a statement.
Impact on Air Traffic
The outage has also disrupted air travel in the region. Power and communication issues at air traffic control towers serving Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo have grounded or delayed many flights. The Santa Barbara Airport issued a Traveler Notice, citing FAA technical issues that may cause delays and diversions. Travelers are advised to check directly with their airlines for real-time flight updates.
Staying Prepared
Local officials stress the importance of using the temporary emergency numbers responsibly and being patient as crews work to restore normal communications.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated with new information as soon as it’s available.
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Some contractor cut the main Fiber line with his backhoe on De La Vina yesterday, not only impacting hundreds of thousands of people but also showcasing our vulnerability in ways that our enemies could dream.
This one incident will cost millions of dollars. What’s more scary is how easy it will be to take the US offline and put people into a panic. After all in America 2025 people call 911 when they cant get Facebook or DoorDash… who do they call when they cant call 911? What will people do when they cant use their CC’s to order their dinner.
Society is hanging on by a thread and Congress took two months off to protect the Pedophile POTUS while putting your great, great, great grandkids in debt to pay for their private jets.
What the heck.
Crumbling CA infrastructure… No new powerplants / No New Nuclear/ complete collapse of our energy grid coming soon when A.I. power is needed.
Demonstrating you lack of knowledge about the power grid again.
A black cloud hovers just over your head. Enjoy yourself!
This system is brand new….
It’s been a little while since we’ve seen your ridiculous lies.
Just testing our vulnerability – nothing to see here – just move on.
Some of the first 911 dispatchers to use California’s new Next Generation 911 network say the state deployed a problematic, unfinished system and it put people’s lives in danger. More than a year of digging by our NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovers years-worth of warnings about the project and 911 emergencies where help was delayed because of connectivity issues.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/california-next-generation-911-network/3707165/
Wow, thanks for that link, Sun. Pretty comprehensive report. Looks like we are among the guinea pig counties…..
I saw later in the day yesterday the problem was determined to be faulty fiberoptic cable, but the location wasn’t determined. Haven’t seen an update to that yet.
Yes, quite interesting
But inapplicable to our current outage.
Anonymous….your concern should be the need for layer upon layer of redundancy landline, fiber, satellite, macro and micro systems etc. and more for such a vital system…it is failure when a fiber cut can take down the whole system…. That’s not a system we should be using
California’s troubled rollout of the Next Generation 911 (NG911) system is contributing to recent 911 outages—especially in areas like Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, which experienced widespread disruptions on July 22, 20252.
Here’s what’s going on:hh
📞 Phone Line Failures: Both landlines and cell networks (Verizon and AT&T) were affected, leaving residents unable to reach 911 through traditional methods.
📡 NG911 Compatibility Issues: Some outages stem from technical failures in NG911 infrastructure, including misrouted calls and busy signals reported in pilot regions.
🧪 Paused Rollout: The state halted deployment in late 2024 due to safety concerns, vendor problems, and testing failures—leaving many areas stuck between old and new systems.
🆘 Emergency Workarounds: During the outage, residents were urged to use text-to-911, alternate phone numbers, or email dispatch centers5.
So while NG911 promises better emergency response in the long run, its rocky implementation is currently making things worse in some regions.
Still not much in the way of news or updates.
I saw a report that the issue may have occurred at the bridge rebuild in the 2700 block of De La Vina.
One wrong move with a tool and our civilized protection and infrastructure goes down.
We need to remember how fragile our lives and their setting are, and be prepared.
CA is becoming like a 3rd world country, infrastructure falling apart, homeless everywhere and crime running rampant.
Exactly–and the current admin is putting us further in debt and creating more homelessness and continued infrastructure deferred maintenance by transferring vast sums of our money to the ultra wealthy and to fix an immigration problem that is nothing like what they describe.
Oh just stop. Have you ever been to CA? Ever been to an actual “3rd world country?”
Sometimes, things break. Stop the hysterics. We’re still one of the most desirable places to live on the planet with the 5th largest economy.
PS: I haven’t seen any homeless people yet today and I’ve been all over Goleta.
Also PS: Crime is down, not up. Facts are important.
https://www.ppic.org/blog/crime-in-california-is-trending-downward-new-data-suggests/
Sac – 4th largest economy in the world.
My bad, thought I saw somewhere recently we were 5th. Looks like we just passed up Japan!
California rocks!
That’s only because the new federal government has taken over the job of committing crimes, disrupting lives, and alienating the rest of the world.