It has been four months since a late-season windstorm between Feb. 24-25 toppled a cell tower at the Holy Cross tower site, which sits atop a hillside outside Raymond on State Route 105. The tower broke nearly in half, taking down cell phone coverage for a significant portion of North Pacific County.

Spotty service is apparent to anyone passing through north county on SR105, U.S. Highway 101 and State Route 6.

Carriers and the tower owner hoped to have cell phone coverage completely restored at the site within 6 months. Delays and a slow process have pushed back the timeline.

Currently, carriers are installing temporary service on a temporary tower at the site. Verizon has already installed its equipment, and T-Mobile and AT&T are anticipated to have their equipment installed within the next week or so.

Engineers are eyeing having a permanent tower installed at the Holy Cross site within the coming months, and permitting has already been approved.

Following the windstorm, carriers deployed mobile units known as Cellular on Light Trucks (COLTs) and Cellular on Wheels (COWs) to temporarily restore services in the area. Even with the equipment, there have still been many challenges, including cellular dead spots and dropped calls.