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Phone service was restored to almost 2,500 residents in Layhill by Sunday evening after a Friday morning electrical fire on a utility pole at the corner of Bel Pre Road and Rippling Brook Drive knocked out Verizon Wireless phone service.

Sandra Arnette, a regional spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, said there were scattered outages in the area over the weekend after the fire burned several Verizon phone cables. Maintenance crews working to repair the damage fixed three fiber cables by Friday evening, restoring some service to the area, and three copper cables were fixed by 6 p.m. Sunday, Arnette said.

"There was a lot of damage to our cables," she said. The phone service outage affected only residential areas and no major businesses, she said.

Officials are still not sure what caused the fire. Pete Piringer, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue service said it took about 45 minutes to extinguish. Piringer indicated cables may have been involved.

According to Pepco officials, a 100-amp fuse for the regional electric service provider blew out about 7:50 a.m. Friday at 2106 Bel Pre Road, near the intersection of Rippling Brook Drive. However, Pepco spokesman Clay Anderson said maintenance crews saw Verizon cables and lines down, but the cables were not touching the fuse. Anderson said Friday the fuse has been replaced and officials are investigating why it blew.

Residents who needed emergency service over the weekend were urged to visit their local fire station.