Communications blackout strikes Los Alamos again
History repeats as Lumen line damaged
By Stephanie Nakhleh
Photographs by Minesh Bacrania
Los Alamos residents suddenly found themselves disconnected from the outside world on Tuesday when a third-party contractor severed a Lumen fiber optic line on NM 4 between Los Alamos and White Rock during water transmission line replacement work. The March 11 communications blackout, which lasted until early Wednesday morning, knocked out cell service and internet for most residents and businesses.
The outage affected many services, including Xfinity, Verizon, T-Mobile, CenturyLink, and LANET, across Los Alamos County. Service was restored early in the morning on March 12, according to Lumen, who estimated the total outage duration at 14 hours and 31 minutes.
The County issued a CodeRed alert at 10:33 a.m., posting information on the County website and Facebook page and setting up electronic message boards at strategic locations. Despite these efforts, many residents experienced delays in receiving information due to the very communications failure the alerts were meant to address.
A recurring problem for an isolated community
Tuesday’s blackout marked the second major communications outage for Los Alamos in recent years, following a December 2022 incident that lasted over 26 hours. The pattern has exposed the vulnerability of the county’s communications infrastructure.
“I feel like I’m back in PR [Puerto Rico], where unreliable infrastructure is simply the way things are,” said resident Ed Santiago. “Honestly, yesterday I just shrugged and went on with my day, feeling discouraged but resigned.”
Other residents expressed more alarm. “In this ‘high tech’ community, it is incomprehensible to me how our communications – all forms – are subject to a ‘single point’ random failure,” said resident Lisa Hampton. “This vulnerability is unacceptable and terrifying at the same time.”
According to Chris McRae, IT infrastructure coordinator for Los Alamos County, there have been additional smaller incidents in the past year that primarily affected County facilities, though not to the extent of the two major outages.
The technical problem: Why Los Alamos is vulnerable
Los Alamos’ geographic isolation – perched on a mesa with limited access roads – creates unique infrastructure challenges. The community relies heavily on a single fiber optic backbone owned by Lumen Technologies, and when this backbone is compromised, the cascading effect is immediate and widespread.
The January 2024 Los Alamos County Emergency Operations Plan acknowledges that “Near-total disruption of energy sources and prolonged outages may occur” and recognizes this vulnerability as a planning assumption.
The repair process for damaged fiber optic lines is complex and time-intensive. McRae described it as being similar to surgery: the fiber optic splicing requires a clean environment, usually a specialized trailer or truck, where technicians can work with the fragile glass fibers.
“It’s a very delicate process, especially when you have a very old cable,” McRae said. Technicians must strip back the outer layers of cable to access the glass fibers and ensure no dust or contaminants interfere with the splice, all while working in field conditions.
While REDI Net, a government-run network created to improve broadband connectivity in Northern New Mexico, remained technically operational during the outage, it was quickly overwhelmed by demand as residents flocked downtown seeking connectivity.
“It’s hard to get on when it’s overloaded,” said Leslie Bucklin, assistant public information officer for Los Alamos County. The county’s existing redundancies all currently connect through Lumen infrastructure, rendering them ineffective during a Lumen outage.
Emergency response with limited communications
The very nature of the emergency challenged the County’s response protocol – how do you effectively communicate about a communications failure?
Soon after the outage, emergency management issued a CodeRed alert informing subscribers of the outage and that 9-1-1 was operational for emergencies only. However, many residents experienced delays in receiving these notifications due to sporadic cell service.
By noon, three digital message boards, including one in White Rock, were deployed across Los Alamos County, alerting travelers to the outage. The County also used the 1610 AM emergency radio station to broadcast updates.
The scheduled County Council’s regular session proceeded in-person as planned but without Zoom capability. The meeting was recorded, though with limited video functionality.
Perhaps most concerning was the uncertainty surrounding emergency services access. While 9-1-1 remained operational through landlines, officials acknowledged inconsistent cell phone access to emergency services.
Disconnection and uncertainty
For many residents, the sudden disconnection from the outside world created uncertainty and anxiety.
“I honestly thought it was quite possible that it was statewide or countrywide or worldwide,” said one local resident. “It was strange having no idea, and with everything so unsettled, I would have believed anything... like, what is the point of CodeRed when it relies on communication systems? I was at work and my thought was, are these going to be the last people I ever see?”
The outage had practical effects as well. Businesses could only process cash transactions, while ATMs were inoperable. Families worried about being unable to contact children or parents in case of emergencies.
Some residents gathered at local businesses with any hint of connectivity. “I went to Wolf and Mermaid, thinking it was just my internet that was out,” said one resident. “There was a very friendly, collegial ‘we’re all in this together, let’s share the experience’ vibe there.”
Residents expressed worries about an outage coinciding with another emergency. “What will happen when the fiber lines are damaged during a wildfire?” asked resident Fran Gelfand, adding that her CodeRed alert “didn’t come through until I drove out of the area and had 5G service.” Her concerns echoed those raised by a number of residents on social media.
One solution: The community broadband project
Los Alamos County is actively working to address these vulnerabilities through its Community Broadband Network project, which aims to provide fiber connectivity to all Los Alamos County homes and businesses.
In November 2024, County Council approved a contract with vendor Bonfire to design and build a fiber network. The timeline includes design work throughout 2025, with construction beginning later this year and continuing through 2030.
“The first customers [will have] access by Dec. 31, 2025,” according to project documents, with all residents expected to have fiber access by 2030.
Jerry Smith, Los Alamos County’s broadband manager, said the project is designed with redundancy as a central feature. “To avoid internet outages like were experienced in December 2022, and now I need to add on March 11, the community broadband network is being designed with several points of redundancy, including automatic failover between two internet feeds,” he said.
A central component of this plan is the “middle mile” development in partnership with San Ildefonso Pueblo. Construction is currently in progress on a new fiber line from White Rock to Pojoaque where connection will be made to existing fiber, creating a physically separate path for data to flow in and out of the county.
“Cuts are going to happen. The solution is not to never cut [the lines],” Smith said. “The solution is to have redundancy.”
Not by coincidence, the current NM 4 water line project that caused Tuesday’s outage also supports future resilience – workers are installing fiber optic conduit alongside the new water line. The bright orange conduit visible at the construction site will eventually house fiber optic cable as part of the redundancy plan, said Smith.
Emergency preparedness: County and personal
While the county works toward infrastructure improvements, officials are also revising the Emergency Operations Plan’s communication appendix to better address outage scenarios.
If a communications blackout were to coincide with an emergency like a wildfire, County emergency personnel would resort to in-person notifications. “They would go house to house,” Bucklin said, adding that in-person notifications were used during the 2000 Cerro Grande fire evacuation before current alert systems existed.
County officials recommend residents take several steps to prepare for future outages:
Sign up for CodeRed with multiple contact methods (text, email, landline, cell phone)
Tune into 1610 AM radio station during outages for updates
Create 72-hour emergency kits using guidance from Ready.gov
Check the Los Alamos County Emergency Management page for more preparedness resources
Living with infrastructure vulnerability
Until robust redundancy is established, Los Alamos residents face the risk of sudden disconnection from the outside world. “This project has several more miles to go,” said Smith of the NM 4 water project. “[A blackout] could happen again. That's the reality.”
Full implementation of the County’s broadband network remains years away. In the meantime, residents have to rely on personal preparedness and awareness of alternative communication channels during outages.
The question for many is whether the County can accelerate its redundancy plans before the next inevitable outage occurs – or worse, before an outage coincides with another emergency like a wildfire. “Honestly, in the Army in the late 70s in Europe, communications were better than this because we not only had landlines but Armed Forces Network Television and radio,” said Hampton. “I am furious for our community.”
Seems reckless the County/Contractor did not know the line was there or did not take care when they were digging. When a private citizen digs and cuts any utility, they can be held accountable legally and financially.
What if it would have been a major gas line? Ka BOOM TOWN!
I would like some hard questions asked to the County. What steps are you taking to prevent this from happening again? Why are there not systems in place to prevent this? We think we are the smartest town around, but I question that when preventable incidents like this occur.
and again today? It seems very bad for businesses. Metzger's could only take cash. Pig + Fig could only take tap cards. The Post Office could take debit cards. Last week when this happened Señor Tortas had plenty of customers willing to pay cash, but the bank was not willing to give him more than $500 in change.