Phone service to areas around Nesquehoning, including the Carbon County Communications Center, was interrupted this morning because of an incident in the borough.

Unconfirmed reports indicated a tree had fallen on electrical lines along SR209, south of the Lantern Restaurant toward Jim Thorpe. Those lines then fell on the telephone lines which caused them to burn.Some of the lines also fell onto the road, which reportedly caused a three-vehicle, rear-end crash.Nesquehoning police were called to the area about 6:15 a.m. for the reported crash. On scene it was learned that wires across the road caused the first driver to slow down and stop. In turn, that vehicle was struck in the rear by a second vehicle, and that by a third. One minor injury was reported in the crash.There was also a report of heavy fog in the area.All 9-1-1 calls to the communications center were being diverted to the Monroe County Communications Center. Some county residents were receiving notice on their phones that emergency calls are going through the Monroe facility.PPL indicated on its outage website that six customers in the Nesquehoning area are without electrical service.Also affected with interrupted phone service was the county prison and animal shelter.County Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said two dispatchers from the county center were sent to Monroe to assist in handling calls from Carbon.Busy SR209 was shut down by police for several hours forcing morning commuters to find alternate routes between Jim Thorpe and Nesquehoning.Nesquehoning police were busy at the scene and not available at presstime to give a report on the situation.As of presstime it was indicated that phone and electrical service would be restored around 11 a.m. The tree that had fallen was not yet removed as of 9 a.m.Once the tree was removed PPL crews were able to move in and make needed repairs.