Four power substations vandalized in Washington, knocking out power for at least 14,000 - CBS News

Engineer connected safeguarding U.S. powerfulness grids

Electrical technologist connected however to safeguard U.S. powerfulness grids 04:50

Four powerfulness substations successful the Tacoma, Washington, country were vandalized Sunday, knocking retired powerfulness to much than 14,000 customers, constabulary said. 

The archetypal substation, located successful Spanaway, Washington, and belonging to Tacoma Public Utilities, was attacked astir 5:30 a.m. section time, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. Nothing was stolen, but instrumentality was vandalized, starring to outages successful the area, constabulary said.

A 2nd adjacent TPU substation was besides vandalized, constabulary said.

A substation belonging to Puget Sound Energy was besides vandalized sometime successful the aboriginal morning, constabulary said. Power went astir 2:30 a.m. section time. Police were notified astir 11:30 a.m., and erstwhile they arrived connected the scene, they recovered "the fenced country was breached into and the instrumentality vandalized," akin to the different 2 substations.

Later, conscionable earlier 7:30 p.m. connected Sunday evening, different occurrence was reported astatine a 4th substation operated by Puget Sound Energy, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. Emergency effect crews that included firefighters and Puget Sound Energy employees were dispatched to the scene, wherever the occurrence was extinguished and the substation was deemed secured, the sheriff's section said successful a statement.

Like the 3 section vandalism incidents that preceded it, authorities said a blaze broke retired astatine the 4th substation aft "suspect(s) gained entree to the fenced country and vandalized the instrumentality which caused the fire." Power was chopped to homes successful 2 surrounding neighborhoods, Kapowsin and Graham — the second of which has a colonisation of astir 32,000 — though constabulary did not specify precisely however galore outages occurred and said powerfulness had been restored to astir affected homes by midnight.

"All instrumentality enforcement agencies successful the region person been notified of the incidents and volition beryllium monitoring powerfulness substations successful their area," the constabulary connection read.

No suspects are successful custody and it was not instantly wide if each 3 substations were vandalized by the aforesaid idiosyncratic oregon radical oregon if the attacks are related.

As of 5:30 p.m. section time, Tacoma Public Utilities said that lone astir 900 of the 7,300 customers who mislaid powerfulness were inactive successful the dark.

The 3 incidents travel little than a period aft idiosyncratic opened occurrence connected a substation successful North Carolina, knocking retired powerfulness to immoderate 45,000 people. The "deliberate" onslaught raised concerns astir the vulnerability of the U.S. powerfulness grid to sabotage, arsenic galore substations are protected by small much than chainlink fences.