Cut fiberoptic cable in Greenfield leaves Big Sur without phone, internet.

Since sometime Monday night, residents and businesses in Big Sur have been without internet, phone service (both landline and cell) and Fernwood Resort General Manager Diana Ballantyne says that even ATM machines haven't been working. 

"You can’t even call 911," she says. 

The county's Office of Emergency Services was notified yesterday, and sent a communications vehicle to the area to restore connection to the county's radio systems, as well bring back cell service locally. But OES Manager Sherrie Collins says residents still can't call out of the area until a cut fiberoptic cable is repaired. 

Collins says the underground cable is somewhere in Greenfield—she doesn't yet know the exact location—and that it could've been cut by a backhoe or an animal. 

AT&T was supposed to fix the cable last night, and later revised the estimate to noon today. 

Collins says a similar incident happened in Gilroy a few years ago, leaving the entire city in a communications blackout. 

"It’s a very vulnerable critical infrastructure," she says, and adds that Big Sur Fire Chief Martha Karstens keeps a satellite phone—which do not rely on the cables—as do several sheriff's deputies.