1,500 CenturyLink customers lose service

MATTAWA - About 500 phone customers in southwest Grant County were left without service after 100 mph wind gusts knocked a satellite dish out of place.

The phone company, CenturyLink reported outages for its Mattawa, Beverly and Desert Aire customers on Monday.

The satellite dish is located on top of Rattlesnake Ridge, between Sunnyside and Mattawa, according to Tony Timmons, manager of market development for CenturyLink, a phone, internet and TV services company headquartered in Monroe, La.

Wind gusts re-positioned the satellite dish, he said.

About 1,500 customers are left with only local services, said Timmons.

The company is working with software and equipment vendors to restore phone services in the area, he said.

CenturyLink has offices in Mattawa and Sunnyside.

As of Monday afternoon, the company was not able to restore phone access to its customers.

- Staff report