With the widespread Verizon outage preventing its customers from placing calls, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office is providing instructions for how to reach 911 in case of an emergency.

CNET reports of the outage are coming from up and down the West Coast and in some areas toward the east, including Denver, Washington, D.C., New York City and Atlanta.


In the meantime, the HCSO offered the following instructions for those needing emergency assistance, if they are still able to text:

We’ve just been made aware of a phone outage affecting Verizon customers. At this time, it appears that Verizon customers are unable to place or receive phone calls, however, texting functions may still work.

If you are in need of emergency services within the unincorporated area of Humboldt County and have Verizon service, please utilize our Text to 9-1-1 program if able.

How do you text to 9-1-1?:
 o Enter the numbers “911” in the “To” or “Recipient” field; o The first text to 9-1-1 should be short, include the address and the location of the emergency, and ask for police, fire or ambulance;

o Push the “Send” button;

o A dispatcher will respond to the text

o Answer questions and follow instructions from the 9-1-1 dispatcher;

o Text in simple words – no abbreviations, slang or emojis;

o Keep text messages short.

To report a non-emergency crime, please use our online crime reporting tool at: https://humboldtgov.org/1380/Online-Reporting

We have not been given a timeframe for which this issue will be fixed.