Northwestel outages affecting internet in Yukon, phones in N.W.T. to persist into evening

The internet outage in the Yukon was caused by land erosion, says Northwestel spokesperson Andrew Anderson.

Earlier Wednesday, Northwestel said it was working to resolve internet connectivity issues impacting parts of the Yukon.

The communications company wrote in a Facebook post around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday that customers can expect the internet to be out of service for several hours.

Later Wednesday Anderson said repair work was expected to continue into the evening.

On CBC Yukon's Midday Caf, Anderson told host Leonard Linklater that the outage is a result of a fibre line issue along the Alaska Highway, and that technicians are on their way to the site to diagnose the problem and begin repairs.

Anderson couldn't say how long exactly it would take to fix the issue, but told Linklater, "we are looking at at least several hours before we expect the internet to be restored, if not the rest of the day."

Anderson pointed to a washout on the Alaska Highway last week. While the washout did not impact internet connection, he said that "events like that landslides, washouts, fire, construction there are several things that can create an impact."

Anderson added he doesn't have information on the "event" that caused the Wednesday outage.

He said that long-distance calling, cell and home phone services remain functional.

He said that's because Northwestel is still seeing "some internet traffic along the Dempster," but its not able to handle all of the Yukon internet traffic.

Anderson confirmed that the outage is affecting Yukon throughout, as well as parts of northern British Columbia, and that there are reports from customers in the Northwest Territories.

Northwestel issues affecting some N.W.T. landlines

Inuvik, N.W.T.,'s fire department reported Wednesday afternoon that it was having landline telephone issues due to Northwestel disruptions.

The fire department said that in the event of a fire emergency, people should call the duty officer at 867-678-5379.

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation said on Facebook that Northwestel's phone issues were affecting its customer service lines as well.

Yukon EMO to contact residents directly for wildfire threats

Yukon EMO (Emergency Measures Organization) advised that if a wildfire threatens human life or property, officials "will make their best effort" to contact affected residents directly either in person or by phone.

To report wildfires quickly, residents are asked to call the fire line: 1-888-798-3473

For non-emergency wildfire questions or information, call: 1-867-393-7415

Anyone experiencing an emergency, should call 911 or visit their nearest hospital, community health centre or RCMP detachment.

The territorial government said it was monitoring critical infrastructure across the territory and will provide updates as they become available.

The outage is causing Interac and credit card disruption, causing many Yukon businesses to pivot to cash-only.