Bushfire knocks out phone network in Cape York

Bushfire knocks out telecommuncations networks in remote parts of Cape York Sun 9 Aug 2026 at 5:37pm A bushfire in Cape York in Far North Queensland has knocked out telecommunications for residents in the remote part of the state. Many have been unable to make calls, including to Triple Zero (000), since Saturday evening. Telstra confirmed a team of technicians was sent from Cairns to Weipa in Cape York on Sunday morning and is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. The telco said services are due to be restored on Sunday evening. A spokesperson for Optus confirmed the telco was aware its customers in the area were also impacted. The towns of Mapoon, Weipa, Napranum and Aurukun were among those impacted. Telstra said its Mission River, Nanum and Rocky Point sites were also impacted. Fixed line, ADSL and mobile services have all been affected, Telstra said, A federal government spokesperson confirmed the Triple Zero custodian had been made aware of the outage. "We expect telcos to work with affected communities to rectify issues as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said. Queensland police had not been made aware of any issues contacting Triple Zero. 'This isn't good enough' The chief executive of the Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council, Chad King, said the outage had impacted several towns in the area. He said Mapoon, which is home to about 500 people, was particularly vulnerable because there was no fixed phone system, leaving people completely reliant on mobile coverage. The council had set up additional free wi-fi on Sunday to try lessen some of the impacts. But he was very concerned by the inability of residents to make Triple Zero calls, in what was already a remote part of the state and a long way from police and emergency services. Mr King said it was "a genuine issue" and something he wanted the government to pay attention to. "We're keeping a close eye on the health of our community," Mr King said. "But for our community, this just isn't good enough." Mr King said a single phone tower meant a "single point of failure", saying better services in the bush were needed. He called on Telstra and the federal government to do more to increase services in remote and regional areas. "Closing the gap target 17 is all about making sure that digital access for First Nations communities is as good as it is for other communities in our country," he said. "For this community, we're going backwards in terms of connectivity."