St. George Police warns of intermittent 911 service for cellphone customers due to storm

Stock image, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The St. George Police Department issued an advisory over Facebook Saturday afternoon warning of a cellphone power outage that is negatively impacting the ability to use 911.

“Wireless carriers throughout Utah, including Washington County, are experiencing issues with 911 services,” the Facebook post stated. “What does that mean to you? It means that you may not be able to reach our dispatch center by dialing 911 until the issue is resolved.”

When calling 911, it either will either not connect or give the caller a busy signal, according to the police.

Anyone in need of emergency services can still reach St. George Police through its dispatch center at the non-emergency number: 435-627-4300.

The number can he used for any emergency, be it police, fire or medically-related.

St. George Police Office Tiffany Aktin said the 911 system seems to be working one minute than dropping the next. Because of this, the Police Department plans to leave the advisory up until they receive news the issue has been fixed.

Initially, it was reported that only Verizon customers having trouble calling 911. According to the police and various news outlets, the issue has since spread to additional cellphone carrier services.

According to KSL, the 911 issue appears to be impacting law enforcement agencies statewide.

Ed. note: This article has been updated to include new information from the St. George Police Department. 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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