Nome police send callers to a backup number for the second time in a week

Nome's 911 line and the police department's main number had problems early Thursday, the second time in a week the department has had to send callers to a backup number.

At 1:34 am, the department said on Facebook that 911 and its main line were "experiencing difficulties" and told anyone needing police, EMS or fire help to call 907-304-1192.

The department later updated the post to say the lines were back up. It didn't say what went wrong or how long the problem lasted.

Six days earlier, on Oct. 23, the department pointed callers to the same number after storm activity and citywide power outages left its main landlines inoperable, it said in another post. Nome lost power citywide during that storm after one generator shut itself down while a second was offline for maintenance.