Communications blackout strikes Los Alamos again

History repeats as Lumen line damaged

By Stephanie Nakhleh

Photographs by Minesh Bacrania

Trenchwork on the ongoing NM 4 waterline replacement project on March 12, 2025, the day after workers damaged an existing buried fiber optic line which led to a nearly 15-hour communications blackout for most of Los Alamos County.

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.