10.17.17 Northern California wildfires: Update from Pacific Market President Jonathan LeCompte

The wildfires burning in Northern California's wine country for more than a week are reported to be the most severe in California history, with 6,000 homes destroyed and 41 confirmed deaths. On a positive note, weather conditions are improving and, most importantly, firefighting crews have made great progress on containment.

I'm proud to report that our network team has been working around the clock and our network is now running at 100% of normal performance. Through a combination of permanent repairs and temporary solutions, such as COWs, COLTs, RATs, we've fully restored service to the areas hardest hit by this disaster.

As the situation improves, tens of thousands of people are beginning to return to their neighborhoods, as temporary shelters consolidate and continue to serve those in need. The Verizon Response Team (VRT) will remain in the field, partnering with relief organizations at evacuation shelters and assistance centers. Our VRT is there to support the community with cell phone charging stations and internet-connected laptops to help residents stay connected during this difficult time.

With so many residents impacted by the fires, we hope that our data relief offer will provide a little peace of mind.

Running to a crisis is in the Verizon DNA and we are committed to keeping our communities connected when it matters most - before, during and after disaster strikes. We've got your back.

You can support the community by using your mobile phone to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross. Simply text CAWILDFIRES to 90999. You can donate up to ten times per month, so you can make that $10 donation ten times, for a total of $100. Click here for more information.