TANANA, Alaska, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Some residents of an Alaskan village have been without Internet and cable TV service since a New Year's Eve reveler accidentally shot a fiber-optic cable.

Ralph Eller, owner of Yukon Telephone and Supervisions Cable TV, said New Year's Eve revelers in the town of Tanana traditionally shoot guns into the air to celebrate the new year.


One of the revelers apparently was not paying attention to the trajectory of their projectiles and shot through the fiber-optic cable that brings Internet service to the town of about 300, the Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner reported Friday.

"You can't fix stupid," Eller said of the incident.

Eller said the town has been without Internet and about 20 residents have been without cable TV service since the incident. He said the damage can't be fixed until the proper parts arrive and the repair work will take about three days. The total cost to repair the damage was estimated at $10,000.

Eller said he turned over about a half dozen empty .410-gauge shotgun shells found near the damaged cable to Alaska State Troopers.