Verizon donates $250,000 to support communities impacted by California wildfires
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Media assets highlighting our Northern California wildfire response and recovery efforts are available here.
November 19, 2018 – 4:30 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
The majority of service has been restored in the impacted areas. As work to repair damaged fiber continues, our engineers are adding capacity to restored sites. We’re closely monitoring the situation and our teams are engaged with fire command to ensure we’re responding to their ongoing needs.
Temporary network assets remain in place in the following locations:
Mobile Communications Trailer (MCT) at CalOES Base Camp, Chico Municipal Airport
Added capacity to cell site covering the Fire Command Center at Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico
Added capacity to cell site covering the Fire Spike Camp at Loafer Creek Recreation Area
MCT at Butte Fire Center in Magalia
MCT at Fire Station 33, Magalia
MCT at Paradise Police Department, also covers Fire Station 81 in Paradise
Cell on Light Truck (COLT) providing coverage in South Paradise
Wildfire network update
Woolsey Fire: Los Angeles and Ventura County
Our engineers are working 24×7 to restore service to the impacted areas. 75% of coverage along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) has been restored, thanks to the temporary assets we’ve deployed and the fiber repair work underway. As the work continues, customers may experience spotty coverage along major commuter routes from Hwy 101 to PCH including Kanan Dume Rd, Mulholland Hwy, Malibu Canyon Rd, Las Virgenes Rd, and S Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Portions of Malibu Canyons, including residential neighborhoods west of Malibu Creek State Park remain under mandatory evacuation orders, and essential utilities are not available.
Residential neighborhoods of Westlake Village, Agoura, Calabasas, and Saratoga Hills are also experiencing spotty coverage as we work to restore microcell zones in these areas.
Temporary network assets remain in place in the following locations:
MCT at Fire Station 71, Malibu
MCT at Fire Station 72, Malibu
MCT at Fire Station 99, Malibu
MCT at Point Mugu State Park Operations Center, Malibu
MCT at Camp 13, Santa Monica Mountains
Cell on Light Truck (COLT), Oak Park
COLT at Malibu Bluffs Park, Malibu
COLT at Point Dume, Zuma Beach, Malibu
12 portable generators have been deployed to cell sites in areas where commercial power has not been restored.
Community
Verizon donates $250,000 to support communities impacted by California wildfires
Verizon announced it will donate an additional $150,000 in cash grants for the communities impacted by California’s devastating fires, adding to its $100,000 grant commitment previously pledged.
The funds will support relief efforts in Northern and Southern California as Camp Fire, Woolsey Fire and Hill Fire as these communities recover from disaster.
$100,000 pledged to North Valley Community Foundation
$75,000 pledged to Boys and Girls Club of the North Valley
$75,000 pledged to United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Talk, Text, Data relief extended to November 30
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 30.
Ongoing support
We continue to provide communications support for shelter clients while they are away from their homes. We have stations equipped with Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging at the following evacuation centers:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We have staff working side by side with local emergency operating centers (EOCs) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In addition, we continue to loan wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following emergency response and relief organizations:
Butte County Local Assistance Center/FEMA Disaster Recovery Center, Chico
CalFire Incident Command Center, Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
CalOES Base Camp, Chico Municipal Airport
Spike Camp, Loafer Creek
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
Butte Fire Center, Magalia
Fire Station 33, Magalia
Fire Station 35, Paradise
Fire Station 81, Paradise
Fire Station 82, Paradise
Paradise Police Department, Paradise
Search and Rescue Camp, Paradise
Town of Paradise EOC, Paradise
Del Oro Water Company, Magalia
CalFire Incident Command Center, Camarillo
CalFire Incident Command Center, Conejo Creek
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Media assets highlighting our Northern California wildfire response and recovery efforts are available here.
November 17, 2018 – 4:30 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
Deployed a Mobile Communications Trailer (MCT) to Chico Municipal Airport to improve service for CAL OES command center
Woolsey Fire: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Service has been restored in northern Calabasas, Oak Park and Hidden Hills.
Service to several microcell zones along Pacific Coast Highway has been restored.
Deployed a Mobile Communications Trailer (MCT) to Fire Station 72 in Malibu.
Portions of Malibu continue to experience spotty coverage, as the work to repair damaged fiber continues. Fiber is important because it carries data traffic from our cell sites to communication centers in our network that provide connectivity to other parts of the state and beyond.
Residential neighborhoods of Westlake Village, Agoura, Saratoga Hills and parts of Calabasas are also experiencing spotty coverage until the microcell zones in these areas are restored
12 portable generators have been deployed to the microcell zones around Malibu, as commercial power is still unavailable.
Community
Talk, Text, Data relief extended to November 30
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 30.
Ongoing support
We’re continuing to provide communications support for shelter clients while they are away from their homes. We’ve provided stations equipped with Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging at the following evacuation centers:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Pacific Palisades High School, Pacific Palisades
Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We have staff working side by side with local emergency operating centers (EOCs) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In addition, we continue to loan wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following emergency response and relief organizations:
CalFire Incident Command Center, Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
CalFire Incident Command Center, Camarillo
CalFire Incident Command Center, Conejo Creek
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Media assets highlighting our Northern California wildfire response and recovery efforts are available here.
November 16, 2018 – 3:30 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
Basic service has been restored to all heavily affected areas and we’re continuing to enhance service and capacity in areas where access is still restricted. We are actively engaged with fire command and search operations to be sure we’re deploying assets where needed.
Woolsey Fire: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Replaced mobile communications trailer (MCT) with a cell on light truck (COLT) at Freedom Park Command Post in Camarillo
Community
Talk, Text, Data relief extended to November 30
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 30.
Ongoing support
We’re continuing to provide communications support for shelter clients while they are away from their homes. We’ve provided stations equipped with Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging at the following evacuation centers:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Walmart parking lot, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Pacific Palisades High School, Pacific Palisades
Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We have staff working side by side with local emergency operating centers (EOCs) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In addition, we continue to loan wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following emergency response and relief organizations:
CalFire Incident Command Center, Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
CalFire Incident Command Center, Camarillo
CalFire Incident Command Center, Conejo Creek
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Media assets highlighting our Northern California wildfire response and recovery efforts are available here.
November 15, 2018 – 5:00 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
Service has been fully restored in Oroville.
Service has vastly improved in Paradise, though we are still making repairs in the North part of town and in Magalia.
Woolsey Fire: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Satellite cell on light truck (SAT COLT) deployed at Zuma Beach, Pt. Dume
Mobile communications trailer (MCT) is deployed at Fire Camp 13 in Malibu
Community
Talk, Text, Data relief extended to November 30
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 30.
Ongoing support
We’re continuing to provide communications support for shelter clients while they are away from their homes. We’ve provided stations equipped with Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging at the following evacuation centers:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Walmart parking lot, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Pacific Palisades High School, Pacific Palisades
Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Taft High School, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We have staff working side by side with local emergency operating centers (EOCs) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In addition, we continue to loan wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following emergency response and relief organizations:
CalFire Incident Command Center, Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
CalFire Incident Command Center, Camarillo
American Red Cross, Canoga Park High School evacuation shelter, Canoga Park
CalFire Incident Command Center, Conejo Creek
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Check here for updates on Verizon network performance, crisis response and community support during November wildfires
California Wildfire Update
Verizon satellite cell on light truck (SAT COLT), Pt. Dume, CA
Verizon supports North Valley Community Foundation through a $100,000 grant for CA wildfire relief
November 14, 2018 – 8:00 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
Mobile communications trailer (MCT) deployed at Fire Station 33 in Magalia
Woolsey Fire: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Service in Las Virgenes has been restored
Cell on light truck (COLT) deployed to improve service in Oak Park
MCT deployed at Pt. Mugu State Park Operations Center
MCT deployed at Camarillo Command Post, Freedom Park
Community
Verizon announced a $100,000 grant to the North Valley Community Foundation and we’re evaluating opportunities to support additional community relief efforts for both Northern and Southern California. Click here for more information.
Ongoing support
We’re continuing to provide communications support for shelter clients while they are away from their homes. We’ve provided stations equipped with Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging at the following evacuation centers:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Walmart parking lot, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Taft High School, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We have staff working side by side with local emergency operating centers (EOCs) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In addition, we continue to loan wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following emergency response and relief organizations:
CalFire Incident Command Center, Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
CalFire Incident Command Center, Camarillo
American Red Cross, Canoga Park High School evacuation shelter, Canoga Park
CalFire Incident Command Center, Conejo Creek
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Talk, Text, Data Relief
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 15. Postpaid customers can click here for more information. Prepaid customers can click here for more information.
November 13, 2018 – 5:00 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
In addition to the progress noted in yesterday’s update, Verizon engineers restored service to one more cell site in Paradise today. 100% restoration is the goal and our teams are working 24×7 to make that happen as quickly as possible.
Woolsey Fire: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Verizon’s service in areas impacted by Southern California wildfires is nearly fully restored. However, we’re still challenged by fiber damage, which is affecting Verizon service in parts of Malibu including the following areas: along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), between Highway 23/Mulholland Highway to the west and Highway 27/S Topanga Canyon Boulevard to the east. Commuter routes from Highway 101 to PCH such as: Kanan Dume Road, Mulholland Highway, Malibu Canyon Road, Las Virgenes Road, and S Topanga Canyon Boulevard are impacted.
While we work toward complete service restoration, we expect that performance issues will continue for some days in the residential neighborhoods of Westlake Village, Agoura, Calabasas, and Saratoga Hills due to the fiber damage. We are working closely with the fiber provider to make repairs as quickly as possible, and we will continue to explore temporary solutions in the meantime.
Community
We’re continuing to provide communications support for shelter clients while they are away from their homes. We’ve provided stations equipped with Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging at the following evacuation centers:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Walmart parking lot, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Taft High School, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We have staff working side by side with local emergency operating centers (EOCs) and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). In addition, we continue to loan wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following emergency response and relief organizations:
CalFire Incident Command Center, Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
CalFire Incident Command Center, Camarillo
American Red Cross, Canoga Park High School evacuation shelter, Canoga Park
CalFire Incident Command Center, Conejo Creek
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Talk, Text, Data Relief
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 15. Postpaid customers can click here for more information. Prepaid customers can click here for more information.
November 12, 2018 – 5:00 p.m. PST
Network
Camp Fire: Butte County
We are making great progress with our network restoration in the county, as we’ve implemented temporary backhaul solutions in much of the impacted area. We continue to focus on fully restoring service in Paradise and Magalia. We’re using the following temporary network assets to improve performance:
Added capacity to cell site covering the Fire Command Center at Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico
Added capacity to cell site covering the Fire Spike Camp at Loafer Creek Recreation Area
Mobile Communications Trailer (MCT) placed at Fire Station 33 in Magalia
MCT deployed at Butte Fire Center in Magalia
MCT deployed at Paradise Police Department, also covers Fire Station 81 in Paradise
MCT deployed at Fire Station 35 in Paradise
Cell on Light Truck (COLT) providing coverage in South Paradise
Network extender (e-femto) and a satellite solution set up at Fire Station 82 in Paradise
Woolsey and Hill Fires: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
Our network is almost fully restored in the fire impacted areas. We continue to work with the local fiber provider as they assess damage and begin repair work. We’re also using the following temporary network assets to improve performance:
MCT deployed at Fire Station 71 in Malibu
MCT deployed at Fire Station 99 in Malibu
Installed microwave backhaul solution to two cell sites serving the town of La Puente
Community
We know how important it is for people to connect while they are displaced from their homes. We’ve set up communications stations with equipment such as Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging for shelter clients at the following evacuation shelters:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Camarillo Community Center, Camarillo
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We’ve loaned wireless equipment including phones, routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following organizations:
CalFire Incident Command Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Chico
Emergency Operations Center, Oroville
Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Oroville
American Red Cross, Canoga Park High School evacuation shelter, Canoga Park
CalFire Incident Command Center, Ventura
Talk, Text, Data Relief
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic Talk, Text and Data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes through November 15. Postpaid customers can click here for more information. Prepaid customers can click here for more information.
November 11, 2018 – 5:00 p.m. PST
Fire crews have been making some progress on containing the California fires, though high winds are contributing to the ongoing spread. Still, authorities have allowed increased access to the impacted areas and our engineers have made progress on restoring lost service and adding network capacity where needed.
Camp Fire: Butte County
Our network is performing well and we continue to make progress on restoring service in the areas hardest hit by the Camp Fire. We’ve deployed temporary solutions, such as microwave backhaul, to make up much of the lost coverage in parts of Chico, Oroville and Paradise. We’re now focused on improving network performance around Paradise and Magalia.
Woolsey and Hill Fires: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
In Southern California, we’ve made some progress. However, backhaul transport remains the primary issue impacting our network performance in parts of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. We’ve placed a mobile communications trailers (MCTs) at Fire Station 71 and Fire Station 99 in Malibu to provide coverage and add capacity in the area. We’re bringing a portable generator to our cell site on Rattlesnake Mountain, which supports microcells in Western Malibu. A cell on light truck (COLT) will be placed in Oak Park to make up for lost coverage there, and we’re working to restore service in South San Jose Hills with a microwave solution.
Community
We know how important it is for people to connect while they are displaced from their homes. We’ve set up communications stations with equipment such as Internet-connected laptops, phones and cell phone charging for shelter clients at the following evacuation shelters:
Butte County Fairgrounds, Gridley
Neighborhood Church, Chico
Church of Nazarene, Oroville
Camarillo Community Center, Camarillo
Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Supporting first responders and relief agencies is also a priority. We’ve loaned wireless equipment such as routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and charging cables to the following organizations:
Red Cross Shelter Canoga Park High School
CalFire – Ventura Incident Command Center
CalFire/Agge Gateway
In the areas hard hit by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill Fires, we will relieve domestic talk, text and data charges for customers in qualified affected zip codes. For Southern California, the offer extends through November 13. For Northern California, the offer extends through November 15. Postpaid customers can click here for more information. Prepaid customers can click here for more information.
November 10, 2018 – 10:00 p.m. PST
Our network restoration efforts in California continue today. As power outages continue in areas affected by the Camp, Woolsey and Hill fires, some of our cell sites are running on backup generators or battery power, as they were designed to do. With 24×7 monitoring, we have a refueling plan in place in the event of long term commercial power loss. Our focus is maintaining service for our customers and first responders.
Camp Fire: Butte County
Access is still limited in active fire zones around Paradise and Oroville, but we have engineers in the field deploying temporary equipment to replace coverage lost due to fiber damage or other causes. Today we restored service in parts of Forest Ranch, Chico and Paradise.
Woolsey and Hill Fires: Los Angeles and Ventura Counties
In Southern California, the fires are gaining ground due to extremely high winds. Due to the dangerous conditions, access to some of our cell sites is still restricted. Fiber damage has impacted our network performance in some areas and crews are standing by to inspect and make repairs as soon as it’s safe. As with the Camp Fire in Northern California, our engineers are working diligently to deploy temporary network equipment to restore service where they can as quickly as possible.
Community
Yesterday we announced that we are waiving overage fees through November 11 for customers in the areas hardest hit by the Camp Fire. We’re also giving customers in areas impacted by the Woolsey and Hill Fires in Southern California free calling, texting and data through November 13.
November 9, 2018
The Camp Fire started early yesterday morning and has already burned more than 70,000 acres in Butte County. In Ventura County, the Woolsey Fire has burned more than 14,000 acres and the Hill Fire has burned more than 6,000 acres.
In some of the hardest hit areas we are experiencing service interruptions. Current conditions are extremely dangerous and in many areas public safety authorities are restricting access to service providers until conditions improve. We are hopeful that our crews have access tomorrow so they can begin inspections, assess the damage and restore service.
While wildfires pose a serious threat to wireless infrastructure, we plan ahead for power outages caused by extreme weather and other natural disasters. Backup generators are running where necessary and we have a refueling plan to keep our network facilities operating. We also have temporary equipment staged and ready to deploy as needed. Our network team is working 24×7 to keep everyone connected.
We are working closely with CalFire, California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and American Red Cross to provide support for Fire Command Centers, first responders and evacuation shelters to provide communications equipment and service where it’s needed.
Check here for updates on Verizon network performance, crisis response and community support during November wildfires
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