Communications through the 911 centers has been restored, a Carbon County official reported.

Gary Williams, director of the Carbon County 911 Communication Center, said that calls have resumed coming into the center as of 1 p.m. Friday.

The 911 service was down for several counties since approximately 6 p.m. last night when a tree was struck by lightning in Enola and burned out a Verizon fiber pipeline, effectively severing connectivity for approximately 16 counties, including Carbon and Schuylkill.

Monroe County was also down for a time Thursday but was able to resume service, then helping Carbon by taking emergency calls.

Schuylkill County volunteer firefighters were stationed at their departments until just before 1 p.m. Friday in the event an emergency happened and a caller could not get through to 911.