UPDATE, 5:30 pm: There has been much speculation about the status of AT&T's fiber optic cable -- our spindly underground information link to the outside world, which lies buried along the Hwy. 101 corridor. Moments ago the Journal received an email from an AT&T spokesman. Brace yourself for some Grade A intel:

Our cable is intact and we have not lost any service. We are working closely with Cal Trans to protect our cable as Cal Trans determines what needs to be done.

We'll keep digging, so to speak.

ORIGINAL POST: If you'd planned on taking a bus out of town in the next few days, not to worry: The City of Arcata has you covered. Here's a press release:

The City of Arcata Transportation Division has arranged temporary bus service to redirect passengers whose travel plans are affected by the road closure on Highway 101 north of Garberville.

Temporary bus service has been arranged to take Greyhound and Amtrak passengers from the Arcata Transit Center to Redding if traveling south and to Crescent City if they are traveling north. Passengers can then transfer to buses continuing on to their destinations.

The first special service buses to Crescent City are scheduled to leave Arcata Transit Center on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 at 7 a.m. The buses to Redding leave the Arcata Transit Center at 8:25 a.m. on Friday, April 1 and Monday, April 4. ...

For temporary bus service transit schedules and pricing, please call the Arcata Transit Center at (707) 822-3775.

Redheaded Blackbelt extraordinaire Kym Kemp has photos, taken by Kim Sallaway, showing Caltrans busy at work today with three excavators furiously scooping up the sodden soil. Kemp earlier reported that Caltrans and building company JF Shea managed to "punch through" a road for emergency vehicles only, a category that evidently includes diesel trucks (to fuel SoHum's economic engine, Kemp says -- nudge, wink).

For the latest information on the Highway 101 closure, please call the Caltrans Information Line at 1-800-427-7623 or go to the Caltrans website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/.