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BY K. C. NEEL
It's just one disaster after another for cable operators. Snowstorms in the Rockies, hurricanes in the Carolinas and flooding along the Eastern seaboard have destroyed miles of cable plant this year. And here's the rub: Much of the infrastructure and plant that has been damaged had already been upgraded or rebuilt.
The wildfires in California are the latest calamity. Charter Communications, the most seriously affected operator, has lost buildings, trucks, equipment and plant to the fires, which have killed 20 people, consumed over 750,000 acres of land and destroyed 2,800 homes as of Oct. 31. Time Warner Cable, Comcast Cable, Cox Communications and Adelphia Communications also serve areas that have been affected.
?Our crews have worked tirelessly to restore telecommunications services in areas where we have safe access,? says Charter spokesman Dave Andersen.
Trouble is, there aren't many safe areas to work in yet, making it difficult to assess the damage, let alone begin the arduous process of rebuilding plant. MSOs say they can't get to the places that are burning or have burned.
Charter's Rim Forest/Lake Arrowhead facility was destroyed last week, while other facilities have experienced power outages, Andersen says. As of Oct. 30, the fire was still out of control in Lake Arrowhead, which has suffered the worst immediate losses. The entire area has been evacuated and Andersen says it will be days before personnel will be allowed back in. Residents in nearby Big Bear Lake and Hesperia have also been evacuated and work orders have been stopped until the fires are under control.
Charter has experienced some node damage in San Bernardino and has already begun rebuilding, Andersen says. A command center has been set up where employees can rest and eat. Computers and TVs are also being made available to local residents until power and service are restored.
Time Warner's Los Angeles property experienced little disruption other than closing the office due to smoke early last week, according to spokesman Keith Cocozza. It's another story in San Diego, where TWC serves 340,000 customers; about 1,500 homes have been lost in the area where TWC offers service, he says.
Residents in Comcast's Claremont operation were also affected by fires, and Comcast had to repair some nodes in the area. Cox's San Diego system, which serves about 538,000 customers, sustained some damage, but a company spokesman says the plant was 98% operational as of Oct. 29. The company's call center in the area had to be evacuated twice last week; calls were routed to other centers. At least two Cox employees have lost their homes in the fires.
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