911 outage affects most of state of Washington

SEATTLE – CenturyLink technicians are scrambling to get 911 emergency phone service restored in Washington state after the service went out early Thursday morning.

Spokeswoman Kerry Zimmer says the problem began about 1:30 a.m. Thursday at Sheridan, Ore., and Oregon was affected for a time. It has since been restored in Oregon, but service remains out in Washington.

Another spokeswoman, Jan Kampbell, says technicians are working to solve the problem. CenturyLink provides the service statewide because the dispatch centers are all tied together.

Until service is restored, Zimmer recommends that people with an emergency try a 911 call from a cell phone, which sometimes works better than a land line. Alternatively, people could go to their nearest fire station for help.