Widespread internet outage impacts Flathead Valley

A widespread internet outage affected much of the Flathead Valley Sunday night into Monday morning after a strong windstorm hit the area.

According to Bigfork Fire Chief Mark Thiry, a fiber optics line was cut in the Woods Bay area when a tree fell on a line. He said the storm hit at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

In an update to its customers Monday morning, local internet service provider Montana Sky said a live power line had been taken down by the tree and three power pole spans needed to be rerouted.

The company said fiber repair crews arrived on site around midnight, but were unable to work on the fiber optics cable due to danger from the downed power line.

Crews began repairs at 6 a.m. and service was restored by 11 a.m. Monday.

According to Montana Sky, the outage impacted Charter Spectrum customers, a few Montana Sky fiber optic-only customers south of Woods Bay, along with a few cellphone companies.

The Flathead 911 Center noted Sunday night that it remained up and operational throughout the outage.

“We are still receiving both 911 and 10-digit administrative calls,” the Center posted to its Facebook page. “Some radio channels have had to go to back up, but communications have continued.”

According to the website downdector.com, the outage affected Spectrum customers across Northwest Montana. Many customers were without internet, TV and phone service.