This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.
[Update: Wed., July 23, 2025, 1pm] The ground stop at Santa Barbara Airport has been lifted, the airport announced shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday. “The regional outage has been restored, and communications to Air Traffic Control are back up and running,” SBA said in an update on its website.
The FAA has cleared flight activity to resume operations but stated there may still be some residual delays. Airlines will begin working to restore service.
Travelers are encouraged to continue checking directly with their airline for the latest flight status.
[Update: Wed., July 23, 2025, 11:55am] Santa Barbara County has announced all emergency phone lines are back online.
[Original Story] Santa Barbara County announced that emergency phone lines are starting to be restored across the county, after about 24 hours without service. While the county Sheriff’s Office’s emergency phone lines are back up now, other jurisdictions with emergency phone lines are still coming back online and may not all be active yet, the county warned. Below are alternate ways to contact emergency dispatch centers that may still be affected by the outage:
- Alternate City 9-1-1 phone numbers:
- City of Santa Barbara: (805) 882-8900
- Santa Maria/Guadalupe: (805) 928-3781 x2277
- UC Santa Barbara PD: (805) 893-3447
- Vandenberg SFB Dispatch Alternate 9-1-1 contact info:
- (805) 606-1590 OR
- (805) 606-5380 OR
- Via Email: allces-fire-dispatchers@us.af.mil (may result in a delayed response)
The outage also affected Santa Barbara Airport, with the Federal Aviation Administration grounding flights yesterday afternoon through this morning.
“Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are working to resume flight operations. SBA passengers should check directly with their airline for the latest flight status,” said a press release from the county.
The county said that around 10 a.m. yesterday, a fiber optic cable line was cut, which caused the outage. The county said it worked to do immediate repairs.
The county has not yet released more information on who cut the line, how or where in the county it was cut, or why.
Editor’s Note: After this story was published, the county clarified that the county sheriff’s emergency phone lines are restored but other jurisdictions with emergency phone lines are currently coming back online and may not all be active yet.
