In an unfortunate twist of events, a routine summer power outage in Oakland escalated into a failure of the city's 911 call center. As reported by KTVU, the 911 center's backup power proved inadequate, resulting in slowed dispatching throughout Thursday. Although the system is functioning, it remains under strain. The cause of the failure can be attributed to malfunctioning equipment and an aging battery backup system that lasted barely an hour.

The City of Oakland has apologized for the inconvenience and has rerouted the 911 calls to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office for the time being. However, there's still no solid timeline for when things will return to normal. As with any compelling story, the tale of the power outage serves as a harsh reminder of how critical yet under-highlighted pieces of infrastructure can throw a lifeline off course. To read the complete article visit SFist