Accident Cuts Long-Distance Phone Service

Thousands of households in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties were left without long-distance telephone service Wednesday morning after a contractor accidentally put a kink in a telephone cable while doing excavation work near Sherman Oaks, telephone officials said.

The lapse in service affected General Telephone customers who subscribe to long-distance service through AT&T; in communities from Sherman Oaks to Santa Maria, said AT&T; spokeswoman Kelly Williams.

Repair crews were estimating that it would take four hours to repair the cable that was damaged about 9:20 a.m., said General Telephone spokesman Larry Cox.

The number of households affected was not immediately known. Local telephone service was not directly impeded by the accident. However, inquiries about the service lapse occasionally tied up local lines, causing some callers to receive busy signals before they dialed a number, Cox said.