FANNIN CO., TEXAS -- Erosion control is an issue for just about every county, but in parts of Fannin County, it caused things to get quiet for a while.

"You can hear the dial tone, or not the dial tone, but the buttons being pressed, but no dial tone, nothing," Savoy resident Mark Teel said.

Some people in Savoy were confused when their phone service cut out for a few days.

"Our phone wasn't working for two days when we noticed this. It just quit working," Tonya Crow, another Savoy resident, said.

Then, they noticed branches on top of their low-hanging phone lines.

"I looked off in the creek and I saw all the branches and I thought, that's not right," Crow said.

Fannin County crews regularly cut branches in the creek off County Road 1215 and haul them away. County Commissioner Gary Whitlock said that this time, they left the branches there.

"We put them in different places, such as ditches that are eroding. We do it for erosion control," Whitlock said.

Whitlock said the branches were put in after the water line in the creek burst, causing a wash out, making the road cave in.

"We had a cave in, so we're trying to fill that in so it doesn't happen anymore," Whitlock said.

Some residents in the area are concerned that the erosion control will continue to hamper their access to utilities.

"I just don't think it's right that they did that. They could have found a different way to get rid of it," Crow said.

Whitlock said that controlling erosion is a big problem and that they're doing the best they can to solve it.

"We're constantly watching it. That is a big problem. It takes time to take care of all of that," Whitlock said.

Whitlock also said that if anyone has trouble with utilities due to erosion control in the future, let him know. He said that the next step that they'll take to control the erosion in the creek is to put in some big rocks, but they'll be especially mindful of any cables.

Allison Harris, First News.