Thousands miss 49ers-Rams game in California after gunfire knocks out cable

As many as 20,000 customers in California lost television access for the San Francisco 49ers-Los Angeles Rams playoff game after gunfire damaged cable equipment, Comcast reported.

Shots hit an Xfinity fiber optic cable near Eastmont Mall in East Oakland at 5 a.m. Pacific time Sunday, Jan. 30, The Mercury News reported. The outage also affected internet access.

Comcast initially hoped to restore service by 2 p.m. but at least some outages persisted after the NFC Championship Game began at 3:40 p.m., KPIX reported.

The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17 to advance to the Super Bowl, where they will face the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Somebody shot the internet,” read one Twitter post on the outage.

“And this is why we can’t have things in general,” read another Twitter post. “Not just nice things but basic everyday things.”

“We could not be more apologetic and sincerely upset this is happening on a day like today,” Comcast spokeswoman Joan Hammel told The San Francisco Chronicle.

“The damage was extensive and restoring fiber optic cable is a dangerous, time intensive and complex process,” Hammel told The Mercury News. “I know folks are impatient and we are, too, but we are working around the clock to fix it and get everyone back online.”

All services were restored by 10 p.m., Hammel told the publication.

Oakland police confirmed reports of gunfire in the area but could not confirm the damage to Comcast equipment, SFGate reported. Security video showed someone shooting out of a vehicle window at 3:30 a.m.

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 7:11 AM with the headline "Thousands miss 49ers-Rams game in California after gunfire knocks out cable."