Cell phone service to the South Coast was disrupted Sunday night and Monday morning after someone cut a fiber optic cable to steal copper.

“That was likely the motivation,” said Dwes Hutson of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “We don’t know how much they got away with.”

Vandals damaged an estimated 600 feet of cable along Highway 42 about two miles west of Winston. The outage occurred at 7 p.m. Sunday and service was restored shortly before noon the next day.

The cities of Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford, Bandon, Coos Bay and Reedsport were affected. That included cell phone customers served by AT&T, Frontier, Verizon and Virgin Mobile.

However, 911 lines in Curry County were unaffected, said Undersheriff Bob Rector. Likewise, the Brookings Police Department’s dispatch center remained in operation because it is a land line, said Lt. Donny Dotson.

Hutson said a pole was broken at ground level due to the weight of the cable after it was cut. He added that about 300 feet of cable was found on the ground by Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies.

The line vandals cut is owned by Century Link, Hutson said, and runs parallel to Highway 42 about 100 feet north of the road.

Frontier spokeswoman Brittney Avellar said it isn’t the first time communications lines have been hit by those wanting to steal copper.

“It happens a lot,” she said. “We’re trying to crack down on it by prosecuting whenever we can.”

There are no suspects in this week’s case.