Fires take toll on cellphone service

FIRES TAKE TOLL ON CELLPHONE SERVICE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Menn]
The Southern California fires wreaked havoc on cellphone service, destroying dozens of antenna towers, causing power outages in other areas and leaving many residents with no other means of communication. Even where coverage was available, the surging call volume as tens of thousands of evacuees went wireless overwhelmed circuits and blocked calls from getting through. Meanwhile, USA Today reports that technology is proving crucial as Southern California residents fight raging wildfires. They're using text messages, video, blogs, Google maps and databases to describe the chaos, find missing people and share strategies. Despite fears of an overload, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon said their cellphone networks were working fairly well. Some cell towers were affected by fire or power outages. But cell companies have learned to reroute network resources during such a crisis, Sprint spokeswoman Kathleen Dunleavy said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-cell24oct24,1,68147.s...
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* Technology's pipeline is lifeline
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071024/a_tech_wildfires24.ar...