Copper Theft Disrupts Eugene Area 911 Service for Nine Hours

A copper wire theft disabled essential 911 communications in the Eugene area for nine hours on November 8, prompting police warnings about safety risks. The incident occurred at West Second Avenue near Chambers Street and affected service for approximately 250,000 residents of Lane County through Central Lane Communications Center. During the outage beginning at 6:35 a.m., authorities instructed emergency callers to text 911 instead of using voice lines. While two phone lines were partially restored later in the morning with significant delays caused by rerouting calls, full service was not recovered until 3:30 p.m. The theft involved Dean Daniel Bryan, who admitted stripping wires for resale and cutting a bundle estimated at over $5,000 to repair costs despite low material value. Security footage captured his actions as he squeezed through a locked gate while attempting to conceal himself.