Eugene and Springfield regained full 911 service by mid-afternoon Sunday, Nov. 8, after an outage of more than two hours early Sunday possibly caused by copper wire theft, Eugene police said in a news release.

Central Lane 911 announced the outage at about 6:45 a.m., asking residents to text 911 rather than call because of phone line problems.

By about 9 a.m., limited 911 service returned but authorities asked area residents to text if possible to report emergencies.

“During the outage, there was a backup system in place, however it was not local, so the preferred method of contact was text message,” Eugene police said in the news release.

Central Lane 911, the emergency dispatch center for several agencies, is considered a division of the Eugene Police Department.

Copper wire theft is “being investigated” as the cause of the outage, Eugene police said.

Eugene Police Department’s non-emergency line also was not functioning during the outage.

Springfield residents could access the non-emergency police line throughout the outage, and residents reporting emergencies to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office could also use a non-emergency line.

In addition to 911 calls for Eugene Police Department, Springfield Police Department and Eugene Springfield Fire, the dispatch center serves more than a dozen other agencies, according to its web page.

McKenzie Fire & Rescue, Mohawk Valley Rural Fire District and Lowell Rural Fire Protection District reported being affected by the outage early Sunday.

Other agencies relying on Central Lane Communications include Coburg police and fire departments, Junction City police and fire departments, and South Lane Fire and Rescue, among several others.