Countywide

A telephone cable damaged by Orange County workers cut off San Diego’s access Monday to Pacific Bell operators and offices for much of the day.

The fiber-optic cable, near the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, was damaged by a Pacific Bell crew as they were removing other lines from a manhole, a company spokesman said. Fiber cables are made of strands of glass and have a greater carrying capacity and transmission quality than older, copper cables.

San Diego customers were unable to reach local telephone operators, directory assistance, the business office and the repair office. Some long distance calls also were affected, spokesman Tom McNaghten said.

Partial service was restored to directory assistance offices shortly before 1 p.m. and to operators about 2:45 p.m. Full service was restored by 3 p.m.

McNaghten said business offices were kept open until 7 p.m. Monday and will reopen at 7 a.m. today to serve customers who may have been unable to reach them.

The company is investigating the accident to determine whether proper work procedures were followed, McNaghten said.