Cut off from the world

Yesterday we received a reminder of how isolated we are from the world. There are two fiber optics cables leaving Fairbanks; one heads towards Valdez, the other towards Anchorage. The cable to Valdez was damaged last week when a major storm system (a "chinook") blew into the state and caused major flooding. The second cable was accidentally cut during construction. Whoops! The result is that we had no internet access and no long distance phone service. They managed to repair the cable yesterday evening, but still, it makes you wonder what would happen if there was a major disaster. Apparently our line of communication with the rest of the world is quite fragile, and at the same time there are only a few roads leaving from Fairbanks. One heads south to Anchorage, another to the Yukon Territory or to Valdez, and the third goes straight to the Arctic Ocean.