Sabha, Tamer
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William M. Paparian
Friday, September 25, 2026 8:46 AM
PublicComment-AutoResponse
Leclair, Phillip; Jomsky, Mark; Madison, Steve
Legislative Policy Committee Meeting - 9/28/26 - Agenda item #8 [A] CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachmpntc iinlpcs ynii frnowthe content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button (PAB). For more information about the PAB view article "KB0011474" on the DolT portal.
Chair Madison and Members of the Legislative Policy Committee:
Thank you for placing copper landline service on the September 28 agenda as Item 8. I am William Paparian, former Mayor of Pasadena. I was evacuated during the Baton Fire on January 7, 2025.1 ask the Committee not to receive and file this item, but to recommend that the City Council take a formal position and direct staff to return with a draft resolution.
On January 7, power failed and cell service became unreliable in foothill and canyon neighborhoods. Systems that depend on home electricity and strained wireless networks are not a complete emergency communications system. Copper landlines often continue to function because they carry power from the central office. They also support home alarms, smoke detectors, and medical-alert devices that many residents, especially seniors, still use. In parts of Pasadena, cell coverage was already uneven before the fire.
AT&T is moving to retire copper service. Fiber and wireless may serve everyday needs. They have not been shown to replace landlines when the grid is down, winds are high, and thousands are evacuating at once. Pasadena should not give up a working backup until that test is met here.
I request that the Committee recommend that the City Council:
1. Oppose withdrawal of copper landline service in Pasadena's high wildfire-risk and poor-coverage areas until a replacement is independently shown to work through multi-hour power outages and massevacuation conditions.
2. Urge the FCC and the California Public Utilities Commission to require that testing before copper service is discontinued.
3. Direct staff, working with Police, Fire, emergency management, and Pasadena Water and Power, to identify residents who still rely on landlines for voice service, alarms, and medical devices. 4. Direct staff to return within 45 days with a draft Council resolution and proposed letters to the FCC, CPUC, and our state and federal representatives.
This is not a request to stop fiber or wireless investment. It is a request to keep a disaster-resilient layer of communications until a substitute is proven under the conditions Pasadena has already experienced.
I am available to meet with the Committee and staff.Respectfully, William Paparian
Former Mayor of Pasadena
1 Sabha, Tamer
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Martinez, Ruben
Friday, September 25, 2026 10:49 AMSabha, Tamer
FW: Place Preservation of Copper Landlines on August Legislative Policy Committee Agenda - Post-Eaton Fire Public Safety
On Jul10, 2026, at 4:24 AM, William M. Paparian •wrote:
[EXTERNAL EMAIL from
Dear Councilmember Madison,
Having been evacuated during the Eaton Fire on January 7, 2025, I saw how quickly power outages and strained cellular networks can endanger residents in our foothill and canyon neighborhoods. I respectfully and urgently request that the Legislative Policy Committee place the preservation of reliable copper landline service on its agenda for the next meeting in August (or the earliest available date). Below is the full text of a draft op-ed I prepared on this critical public safety issue. I can alsomeet with you and staff if helpful.
I Was Evacuated in the Eaton Fire. Pasadena Must Fight to Keep Our Landlines.By William Paparian Former Mayor of Pasadena On the evening of January 7, 2025, as fierce Santa Ana winds whipped through the San Gabriel foothills, I was among the thousands ordered to evacuate as the Eaton Fire exploded outofEaton Canyon. Power flickered and failed across neighborhoods. Cell service became unreliable. In the darkness and chaos, clear information and the ability to make a call were anything but guaranteed.
The Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes, claimed lives, and tested our emergency systems to the breaking point. Widespread power outages—tens to hundreds of thousands of customers affected—hampered cell towers and Wireless Emergency Alerts. After-action reviews documented delays and inconsistencies in evacuation warnings, especially in vulnerable foothill areas. Some residents received little or no notice before flames arrived. 911 calls captured raw panic. In those moments, every reliable communication channel was a potential lifeline.
Traditional copper landlines remain uniquely valuable in such disasters. Unlike wireless or internet-based phones, they carry their own low-voltage power from the central office and 1 often continue to function even when local electricity is out. They support home alarm systems, smoke detectors, and medical alert devices that many residents—particularly seniors and those with health conditions—depend upon. In Pasadena's canyon and hillside neighborhoods, where cell coverage has long been spotty, landlines have served as aproven backup.Yet AT&T is moving aggressively to retire copper landline service for roughly 184,000California households and businesses. The company cites declining usage and highmaintenance costs. With FCC approval providing a pathway forward, the utility arguesmodern wireless alternatives are superior. But the Eaton Fire demonstrated the fragility ofsystems dependent on both home power and cell infrastructure. When the grid fails and networks strain, those "modern" solutions can fail at the exact moment we need them most.Pasadena lived through this reality. Our city was directly in the fire's path. We cannot afford to dismantle a resilient layer of our emergency communications infrastructure before truly equivalent replacements are proven under disaster conditions.I urge the Pasadena City Council to act decisively. The Council's Legislative PolicyCommittee should immediately place this matter on its agenda and recommend that the fullCouncil adopt a resolution:
Opposing the premature retirement of copper landlines in high wildfire-risk zones.Calling on the FCC and California Public Utilities Commission to require rigorous,independent testing of any replacements in real-world emergency scenarios. • Directing city staff to coordinate with state and federal officials to protect service for alarm systems, medical devices, and basic voice access in Pasadena.
This is not resistance to progress—it is responsible governance. Pasadena has always prided itself on preparedness and protecting our most vulnerable residents. Preserving reliable landlines as a disaster-resilient backup honors the lessons of the Eaton Fire and strengthens our city for whatever challenges lie ahead.
William Paparian is a former Mayor of Pasadena and longtime resident of the city.
Thank you for your leadership on public safety.
I look forward to your response and am available to discuss further.Best regards, William Paparian
Former Mayor of Pasadena
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