911 services down in N.W.T., as communication services disrupted across North

The Northwest Territories emergency services sent out an alert Wednesday evening to warn people that 911 services are down for the moment.

Instead, in the event of an emergency, people should call 867-765-8337. If the line is busy, call back immediately, the alert says.

Communication services were disruptedthroughoutthe NorthWednesday evening.

Across all three territories and in northern British Columbia, long distance landline calls are down, saidNorthwestel spokesperson Andrew Anderson.It's suspected the service interruptions are causedby damage to afibreline north of Fort Nelson, B.C.

Anderson says people should still be able to make local calls.

In Nunavut, RCMP said those in acommunity outside of Iqaluit should go to the local detachment in case of an
emergency.

In Iqaluit, calls made from a land line to the emergency line9791111 are working, however calls made from a cell phone to the emergency line do not work. People can also go to the detachment.

In Yukon andin northern British Columbia,there's a disruption in internet, long-distancecalling and television services.

Anderson said there is limited cellular traffic available over an alternate route, but "customers may experience congestion on their cell phone."

"Technicians are working to restore service as soon as possible, but impacted communities should expect repairs to take up to several hours," he said.

Anderson added local phone service should still be working and people should be able to phone into emergencies services locally.

Northwest Territories RCMPalso said in a news release Wednesday evening that there are disruptions to cell phone, long-distance calling, and landline services, "with services down or operating intermittently."

It has affected most N.W.T.communities and the Yellowknife area, police said.

"Emergency phone service may experience some technical difficulties, and call service in some communities may be intermittent," the release says."This would include the local RCMP #1111 and may affect 911 service calls."

Both N.W.T. RCMPand Nunavut RCMP said updates will be provided"as required."