Knoxville News-Sentinel Staff

Knoxville, Tenn. — A lightning strike was suspected of knocking out Knox County 911’s primary communications system for approximately 45 minutes during a thunderstorm Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Thanks to a backup system, though, communications were not compromised among emergency dispatchers, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the Knoxville police and fire departments during the outage, said Alan Bull, technical services manager for the Knox County Emergency Communications District.

The power failure was reported about 5 p.m. at the district’s main transmitting and receiving point on Sharp’s Ridge in North Knoxville. Once operable again, communications continued to be spotty into the evening.

“To be honest, I can’t remember it ever being completely out, other than during testing,” Bull said. “This is likely a first. But that’s what (backup systems) are for. It makes my life easier.”

Nearly 1.2 inches of rain fell across Knoxville on Wednesday, which was the area’s first significant rainfall of the month, according to the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tenn.

A 30 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms is forecast for this morning, with partly sunny skies and an expected high near 89 degrees.

A 20 percent chance of rain continues Friday through Sunday, with mostly sunny skies this weekend, overnight lows around 70 degrees and daytime highs climbing near 90.

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