TELECOM Digest Wed, 3 Nov 93 13:52:15 CST Volume 13 : Issue 735 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Fire Update, 11-2-93 3:04 PM PST (Steve Lichter) Fire Update, 11-2-93 5:34 PM and 6:34 PM PST (Steve Lichter) Fire Update, 11-3-93 1:32 AM (Faxes received by TELECOM Moderator) Re: Fires at Will (Rich Greenberg) Long Distance Provider Access Codes (Alan M. Foonberg) Non-Bell Local Loop (Carl Oppedahl) Great Lakes Long Distance (Bill Leeke) Remote Call Forwarding (Jon Zeeff) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 2 Nov 93 19:49:37-0500 From: /G=COE.PERS/S=J.MOSS/O=GTE/PRMD=GTEMAIL/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@sprint.com Subject: Fire Update 11-2-93 3:04 PM PST Posted: Tue, Nov 2, 1993 3:04 PM PST Msg: LGJD-5644-4852 From: M.AMADOR To: GTCA, GTEL, CRISIS.COMM, R.J.PALMER, T.EDWARDS, P.MINER, L.NIGG, M.FOSTER, D.FIASCO, T.WHITE, M.ESSTMAN, T.ZIEGLER Subj: FIRE UPDATE - GTE CALIFORNIA This is another in the series of updates on the status of the catastrophic Southland Fires. STATUS AS OF 9:00 AM PST - November 2, 1993 I. CUSTOMER FACILITY IMPACTS: A. NETWORK SERVICES There are no outages or network problems remaining in the impacted areas. B. NETWORK PROVISIONING INLAND VALLEYS DIVISION There are no reports for this Division. They will be excluded from future updates unless the status changes. CENTRAL VALLEYS DIVISION Only 6 known customers remain out of service as of this report. They are in a remote area. Cable providing service was underground but melted. Temporary service will be restored by 10:00 AM PST today. They have been using cellular phones provided by GTE in the interim. Canyon fiber optic and copper cable that was damaged will be replaced by next Saturday. Customers have been advised we are working on the cable. The microwave facility installed on Wednesday has been removed. The coin trailer in front of the Laguna CO will be removed today. The other site will be contacted to establish how long it will remain. Most recent statistics are 393 homes destroyed, 191 with heavy damage and 17 with moderate damage. Laguna is experiencing high winds as the Santa Ana conditions return to the area. Fire Departments are very visible and there appears to be no cause for concern. OCEAN VALLEYS Carlisle Canyon is 70% restored. Total restoration will be completed by late Wednesday or early Thursday. Yerba Buena - Contractors have begun placing cable. 9500' of 100 pair cable required placing. Only 1000' feet remain to be done. Tomorrow splicing and setting of terminals will begin. 11,000' of 600 pair cable is being laid up into the remote areas. They will begin splicing the initial footage tomorrow. The time delay is due to the fact the cable runs for approximately 1 1/2 miles before it encounters any customers in a sub community called Yellow Hill. This area, like Laguna, has several sub communities. Yellow Hill is the first sub community along the 600 pair cable span. Restorations will begin on Thursday. The Deer Creek area requires 18,000' of assorted cable. The pole work here has been completed and inspected. Lashing the poles will begin today and cable will be placed within 2 - 3 days. It is estimated terminals will be cut in and restoration will begin on Thursday in this area. As a reminder, this is a very remote area with steep terrain. Workers are placing poles in hard rock and on or near cliff type edges. Some of the terrain is inaccessible by vehicle and cable and poles must be manually transported to the work site. The most recent statistics for this area are a loss of 66 structures. Customer impact remains 200 - 250 II. EMPLOYEE ISSUES The high winds have returned and are blowing ashes and embers. Visibility is down. Work was delayed this morning as crews were provided with goggles and masks to ensure their safety while working. The fire department is aware we are working in the area and is in communication with the Newbury Park Field Command Site. III. COMMUNITY RESPONSES Arrangements have been made for the First Presbyterian Church to utilize the former service office in Laguna as a storage site. The facility is empty. The utilities have been turned back on and the necessary legal documents signed. No status was provided for the grant from the GTE Foundation. Today the Santa Ana conditions have returned to Southern California. Fire Departments are in a proactive mode. They are patrolling potential hazardous areas and are confident they can handle the situation. As of this morning all of the fires are contained. While Altadena and Thousand Oaks continue to have burn areas, they are included in the contained sites. During the conference call this morning, attendees in the Divisions reviewed how they tracked time and materials during the initial response prior to the establishment of the open ended work orders. The determination was made to discontinue the conference meetings. Divisions will report status daily via telemail to ensure the response effort is completed. The Emergency Operating Center remains closed; but is on stand by until the Santa Ana conditions cease. Any questions regarding the information in this telemail are to be directed to M. Amador at 805/372-7512. M. AMADOR Administrator - Emergency Preparedness Posted: Tue, Nov 2, 1993 3:29 PM PST Msg: AGJD-5644-5527 From: B.J.BARBER To: gtca, gtel CC: l.higson Subj: FIRE BULLETIN 11/02/93 The following is an all-employee bulletin November 2, 1993 Fires continue to burn in Southern California GTE's Emergency Operations Center was reactivated in Thousand Oaks at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday after two more fires hit the Southern California area this afternoon, charring parts of the Calabasas and Banning/Beaumont areas. In Calabasas, the fire is moving south west toward Malibu. So far, no GTE facilities have been affected, however, the Malibu yard has been evacuated as a precautionary measure. The fire skipped over Saddle Peak, a major microwave site for the Los Angeles area. The fire is moving 12 miles an hour. Several homes have been lost and two injuries have been reported. Evacuation centers have been set up at Calabasas High School, Pacific Palisades High School, Agoura High School and the Malibu Community Center. Schools in the Calabasas, Agoura and surrounding areas have been evacuated. Three arson suspects are being sought for starting the fire. Fire also is raging through the Banning/Beaumont area, heading south west. So far, 3,000 areas have been burned and parts of Highland Springs, Cherry Valley and Beaumont have been evacuated. No GTE facilities have been affected. The concern is with the winds which are due to peak this afternoon. As of this morning, all GTE Laguna Beach customers were back in service. About 200 customers in the Carlisle Canyon and Yerba Buena areas, near Thousand Oaks, are still out of service due to extensive fire-related cable damage which is still being repaired. ------------------ Well, as I took this off our main system the news is showing a Coast Guard Cutter is off the beach at Malibu which has the fire right down to the highway, they don't know if it is to help with evacuation or fighting fire by pumping ocean water on to the fire. We have three offices right in the fire area and I believe I saw one on the news, no reports of any damage but if it keeps coming we may have some major damage. The fire is coming down to the center of Malibu where the civic center and shopping area are. Steven H. Lichter GTECalif COEI ------------------------------ Date: 2 Nov 93 23:46:24-0500 From: /G=COE.PERS/S=J.MOSS/O=GTE/PRMD=GTEMAIL/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@sprint.com Subject: Fire Update 11-2-93 5:44 PM and 6:34 PM PST Posted: Tue, Nov 2, 1993 5:44 PM PST Msg: NGJD-5644-8102 From: M.AMADOR To: GTCA, GTEL, CRISIS.COMM, R.J.PALMER, T.EDWARDS, P.MINER, L.NIGG, M.FOSTER, D.FIASCO, T.WHITE, M.ESSTMAN, T.ZIEGLER Subj: FIRE UPDATE - GTE CALIFORNIA This is another in the series of updates on the catastrophic fire situation in Southern California. The Conference Status Calls have been reinstated and will occur every four hours or as required. The Emergency Operating Center in Thousand Oaks has been re- activated and will remain operational 24 hours a day until further notice. The telephone number there is 805/372-8400. These updates will be distributed after the conference calls conclude. Mid - morning on Tuesday November 2, 1993 PST, fires erupted in the Calabasas/Topanga area and in the Banning/Beaumont area. Because of the high winds, the fires quickly spread and remain out of control. STATUS AS OF 4:00 PM PST: NETWORK SERVICES OCEAN VALLEYS The Malibu CO is processing calls and is on generator power. The CO has been evacuated except for one technician who is installing the 25 lines requested by LA County EOC. 50% Dynamic Service Control is in effect. A DMS Urban unit serving 384 lines is off line and the status is unknown. We are unable to access the damage. Saddle Peak survived the fire. The fire passed over the peak. The fire, smoke and Halon discharge alarms went of and the unit is on generator power but processing traffic. CENTRAL VALLEYS Incoming calls to Beaumont CO are choked. 2 MUX's out of Banning are on standby power. NETWORK PROVISIONING OCEAN VALLEYS Malibu yard has been evacuated to the Zuma CO. Fire officials have been alerted to the 12,000 gallon underground tank. A command center is being established at Pepperdine University. A coin trailer is in transit from Carlisle Canyon to the college incident command. Employees from Yerba Buena left that area early as the road at PCH and Yerba Buena was closed. They were evacuated as a precautionary measure only. Conference calls attendees agreed a Customer Disaster Center should be established as soon as possible at the yard to assist GTE customers. INLAND VALLEYS All MUX's and RSU's are ok. There is sure to be damage to plant but we are unable to survey the situation this early. II. EMPLOYEE ISSUES: The Central Valleys Division is not impacted by the recent fires but is confronting labor issues associated to using Contract labor to assist in restoration of services in Laguna. Safety is the first consideration of employees working in the impacted areas. III. CUSTOMER ISSUES: Call volumes to service centers remain at normal. GOPAK units and cellular phones have been offered to LA, Ventura and San Bernardino County response agencies. Command centers have been established at Pepperdine Univ. in Malibu, Cabazon in the desert area, and Beaumont Police Department. Coin trailers have been readied and one is in route to the command center at Pepperdine. A Customer Disaster Center will be established at the Malibu Yard as soon as possible. Controls are in place to assist in routing of calls. The network remains very congested. MISCELLANEOUS: The work order process for tracking time and materials associated to the disaster response was reviewed and guideline for establishing new work orders for the new areas provided. Jeff Chodos from supply assured attendees he has made arrangements with out of state contacts and feels sure he can get any supplies required quickly. Susan Clay asked him to research getting a DMS Urban Unit in the event the one in Malibu has been burned. The next Status Conference Call is scheduled for 8:00 PM PDT. An update will be prepared and distributed after the conference conclusion. Any questions regarding the material in this telemail are to be directed to M. Amador in the Emergency Operating Center at 805/372-8400. M. AMADOR Administrator - Emergency Preparedness Posted: Tue, Nov 2, 1993 6:34 PM PST Msg: NGJD-5644-8452 From: M.AMADOR To: GTCA, GTEL, CRISIS.COMM, R.J.PALMER, J.CHODOS Subj: FIRE UPDATE - GTE CALIFORNIA In response to the recent outbreak of fires in Calabases and Banning areas, the EOC has again activated. Updates will be provided as information becomes available. CALABASAS Roads: PCH at Las Posas to Sunset closed. PCH North at McClure Tunnel to 1 mi north of county line closed. Mullholand closed to Decker Canyon. Mullholand at Topanga closed Topanga Canyon Hwy 1 - Local residents only. Kanan Rd is only way out Residents leaving Malibu area can travel PCH southbound only. Malibu Canyon Rd. closed. Sweetwater Mesa Rd. closed Statistics: 6,000 + acres 30-50 homes damaged 1 fatality Evacuation Centers: Calabasas 22855 Mullholand Dr. Pacific Palisades High School Agoura High School Malibu Community Center Notes: Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Zuma switches are running OK. Network Management requested, at 1630 hrs, ATT withhold 25% of incoming traffic. BANNING Roads: Wilson Rd closed Oak Glen Rd. and Wildwood Rd. Cherry Ave offramp closed at I-10 Cherry Valley closed Statistics: Evacuation Centers: New Beaumont High School 100 Westward St. National Guard Armory Nicolette Notes: Beaumont and Banning switches are both running OK. RANCHO BERNARDO (SAN DIEGO COUNTY) No info at this time. Please watch TELEMAIL for updates. Any questions, call the EOC at 805 372-8400 Notes: Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Zuma switches are running OK. Network Management requested, at 1630 hrs, ATT withhold 25% of incoming traffic Evacuation Centers: New Beaumont High School 100 Westward St. National Guard Armory Nicolette Notes: Beaumont and Banning switches are both running OK. RANCHO BERNARDO (SAN DIEGO COUNTY) No info at this time. Please watch TELEMAIL for updates. Any questions, call the EOC at 805 372-8400 --------------------- This will be it for a bit as I have to go out to Banning. Use what you want. Also the death reported in Malibu we are told was false. Steven H. Lichter GTECalif COEI ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Moderator Subject: Fire Update 11-3-93 1:32 AM Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 12:30:00 CST My fax machine has been bringing fire updates from GTE throughout the night whenever new developments occur. Steve has been providing much the same information as I am getting on the fax, but here are some additional details since he was last in contact: Malibu CO is operating on emergency generator. The office is staffed by two persons there to handle emergencies. AT&T has been asked to withhold 25 percent of the traffic. Pacific Palisades is operating normally, but again, inbound LD traffic is being choked off at about 75 percent of what is offered. Topanga CO has been left unattended because of the impossibility of getting employees out of the area should the fire approach it. Saddle Peak remains on backup power and unattended. It is believed there is no damage. The fuel supply is adequate to operate the site for several days unattended if necessary. Contel has contacted GTE and offered personnel and other assistance as needed in the restoration efforts. ---- above notes excerpted from several faxes ---- This series of fires in California has attracted world-wide attention. Tuesday was also an election day in many areas of the USA, and our television coverage here Tuesday was split between election news and the fire. All the stations here had continuous coverage of it all day and well into the night. Some of the fire scenes were just incredible. GTE is responding in a magnificent way to the disaster, and is to be commended for the coordination of their efforts. I am sure when Steve gets someplace where he can connect with the network again, he will have more details for us. The shocker to me was how it was thought the worst was over, only to have Malibu flare up as well. More fire update news as it arrives. :( (unfortunatly ...). PAT ------------------------------ From: richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) Subject: Re: Fires at Will Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 16:04:29 GMT In article by sichermn@csulb.edu (Jeff Sicherman), our Esteemed Moderator noted: > the fires or not. What is going on in southern California? I mean, > *everyone* knows California has fires every year; it is in the > nature of things there. But this past week ... jeeze ... it seems > much more extreme than in my past memory. PAT] Its the worst fires in several years. The last ones of this magnitude were about ten or eleven years ago. And in spite of a voice to the contrary, the factors described by Mr. McMillan are major contributing factors. People don't seem to be able to learn from history ... The latest flareup of the Calabassas/Malibu fire yesterday morning was visible from my office window. (Near LAX). Rich Greenberg Work: ETi Solutions, Oceanside & L.A. CA 310-348-7677 N6LRT TinselTown, USA Play: richgr@netcom.com 310-649-0238 I speak for myself only. Canines: Chinook & Husky [Moderator's Note: This is not a good time to take sides and discuss the 'conservatives versus the liberals', or Orange County in general versus the citizens of Laguna Beach in particular. My personal belief is that frequently 'liberals' live in the way they wish the world *could be* while 'conservatives' tend to have a more realistic view of the way things *actually are*. I classify myself as the latter on most issues. Messages from a few people this morning were the first knowledge I had that Laguna Beach is mostly a gay community. I guess it isn't the kind of thing which would have occurred to me to ask. We're told the fires thus far have probably been the work of arsonists, and if that is the case, then one's political or sexual orientation could hardly have made any difference. If the fire in LB got as bad as it did due to some (non-sexual) facet in the lifestyle of the citizens there, i.e. how they collect/dispose of leaves, deal with wild brush growing in the mountains, or otherwise attempt to semi-manage nature, then my sympathies go out to them. No one deserves what they have gone through. The notion of 'Gods punishment for gays', as Shapiro accused McMillin of implying is a foolish one, and McMillin did not have that in mind, nor did I when running his article. But this is far from the beaten path; let us talk telecom some more today. PAT] ------------------------------ From: foonberg@aero.org (Alan M. Foonberg) Subject: Long Distance Provider Access Codes Date: 3 Nov 1993 12:25:54 GMT Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA Can someone tell me where I might find a list of the 10-xxx long distance provider access codes? Thanks, Alan Foonberg foonberg@aero.org [Moderator's Note: Sure ... in the Telecom Archives, in the sub-directory dealing with carriers. We have a complete list of 10xxx codes there. If you can do anonymous ftp, do it to lcs.mit.edu, and 'cd telecom-archives'. If not, then use the Telecom Archives Email Information Service. You send a note to tel-archives@lcs.mit.edu with lines in the text saying: REPLY yourname@site HELP INDEX END That will get you a help file and index to start you using the service. Review the help file and index, then order the files you want. PAT] ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@panix.com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Non-Bell Local Loop Date: 3 Nov 1993 10:27:10 -0500 Organization: Oppedahl & Larson The October 11, 1993 issue of {Network World} (page 27) talks of MFS Communications, Inc. which has supposedly launched a local and long-distance package for small and midsize businesses in New York City. Supposedly the service offers no-toll local calling and flat-rate long distance at 14 cents per minute. The article does not give contact information for MFS. I wonder if it is a subsidiary of Metropolitan Fiber, the company that is running fiber in competition with New York Telephone? Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (patent lawyer) 1992 Commerce Street #309 Yorktown Heights, NY 10598-4412 voice 212-777-1330 [Moderator's Note: Yes it is; same company, same difference. But 14 cents a minute is not necessarily a bargain for calls. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bailey@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Bill Leeke) Subject: Great Lakes Long Distance Date: 2 Nov 1993 21:31:41 GMT Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston IL USA I just received a mailing from Great Lakes Long Distance. They promise calls 10% to 21% cheaper than the standard direct dial rate. The funny thing is you don't have to change your long distance carrier. Just use an access code simular to the ATT operator code. (10923) + number. Bill [Note to Pat: Is there any chance we could have lunch next time I'm in Chicago. You sound like an interesting person. I found so few in my time at Northwestern.] "Beaten paths are for beaten men." bailey@casbah.acns.nwu.edu [Moderator's Note: Anyone who wants to buy me lunch is a friend of mine and will certainly receive my respectful attention for a couple hours! ... call my social secretary to set up the time. Thanks for your note about Great Lakes. I never heard of them. If anyone wants to try it out and report back, please do. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jon@montego.umcc.umich.edu (Jon Zeeff) Subject: Remote Call Forwarding Date: 3 Nov 1993 10:23:08 -0500 Organization: UMCC, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Other than the devices made by: Technel Palmdale, California Phone: 805-722-4679 And LOGOS, 800-442-4887 Are there any other solutions for remote call forwarding where I need to remotely change, on a rapid and frequent basis, where a phone forwards to? The phone company won't do it rapidly and I'm off-site. I'd really like something where I would call, enter a password and phone number, and it would connect me to the entered number. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #735 ****************************** ****************************************************************************** Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253