Kevin Walker, director of Fayette County Office of Emergency Management, said the tower took a direct lightning hit around 5:30 or 6 p.m. Monday and all communications, radio and phone, were lost.
The center immediately initiated mutual aid agreements with other counties, allowing neighboring centers to accept, dispatch and monitor all 911 calls, he said.
Operators and technicians worked through the night to restore service, and as of 3 a.m. Tuesday all phone lines and radios are back up and running, said Walker.
Fayette County is receiving and dispatching all their own calls.
"We are operating at a bare minimum right now. We do expect to have some equipment loss, but we won't know exactly what the problems are until technicians come back in and assess the damage, he said.
This the second time the communications tower has been struck in a year and a half.
The center is slated to have new phone lines and emergency software installed in May, but the current system is outdated and it is possible some parts may be unable to be replaced.
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