Four substations attacked in Washington state - NBC News

Four energy substations successful the Tacoma, Washington, country were attacked Sunday, affecting thousands of customers, authorities said.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department described the aboriginal greeting attacks connected 2 Tacoma Public Utilities substations and a Puget Sound Energy installation arsenic acts of vandalism, with those liable unidentified.

"It is chartless if determination are immoderate motives oregon if this was a coordinated onslaught connected the powerfulness systems," the sheriff’s section said successful a statement.

Crews enactment to reconstruct powerfulness to a energy substation successful Pierce County, Washington, connected Monday.KING

The bureau estimated that the fig of affected homes and businesses was 14,000 astatine 1 constituent Sunday erstwhile determination were 3 substations affected.

The sheriff's section described a 4th incidental Sunday astir 7:21 p.m. astatine different Puget Sound Energy substation.

"The suspect(s) gained entree to the fenced country and vandalized the instrumentality which caused the fire," the sheriff’s bureau said successful a statement. "There are nary suspects successful custody astatine this time."

The 4th incidental astatine a inferior substation successful South Pierce County connected Christmas Day prompted stepped-up security.

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

Power was restored to astir of the affected homes, the sheriff's section said.

Puget Sound Energy confirmed successful a connection Monday that 2 of its substations were attacked.

"We are coordinating with authorities connected suspected acts of vandalism astatine 2 of our substations. Both incidents are nether probe and nary further details are available. PSE has extended measures to monitor, support and minimize the hazard to our instrumentality and infrastructure," the connection said.

Puget Sound Energy said connected its website Sunday that much than 1,200 customers were without powerfulness — with the immense bulk having been reconnected — but it wasn't wide whether that was connected to the attack.

Tacoma Public Utilities said that much than 7,000 of its customers successful the communities of Graham and Elk Plain were without powerfulness Sunday and that it continued to enactment connected restoration.

It appears that energy for galore of those TPU customers has been restored — the nationalist blackout tracker PowerOutage.us reported precocious Sunday day that less than 5,000 customers remained successful the acheronian crossed the state.

In a statement, TPU said, "Two of our substations were deliberately targeted by carnal attacks."

The sheriff's section said a idiosyncratic oregon radical broke into facilities and vandalized instrumentality successful each of those attacks, the archetypal of which was reported astatine 2:39 a.m.

TPU said national instrumentality enforcement alerted it this period to the anticipation of attacks and recommended a information assessment. It wouldn't accidental what measures, if any, it took.

At the aforesaid time, Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW nationalist vigor of Seattle reported that abstracted attacks connected six substations operated by Portland General Electric, the Bonneville Power Administration, the Cowlitz County Public Utility District and Puget Sound Energy successful Washington and Oregon had taken spot mid-November. The incidents are alleged to person included breaches of inferior properties, the outlets said.

On Dec. 3, vandals attacked 2 Duke Energy substations successful Moore County, North Carolina, leaving 45,000 customers successful the acheronian for much than 3 days, officials said. People with guns opened occurrence and, successful 1 case, breached a facility, they said, and they remained outstanding astir a period later.

As energy was restored to the past of the North Carolina customers Dec. 7, idiosyncratic opened occurrence adjacent a Duke Energy hydro installation successful Ridgeway, South Carolina, astir 130 miles southbound of Moore County. Federal investigators were comparing ballistics evidence successful some attacks to find whether they were connected.

Investigators probing the North Carolina attacks were looking astatine online conspiracy theories to find whether immoderate played a role, 2 elder instrumentality enforcement officials briefed connected the substance said this month.

A prevailing theory was that the outages were intended to unopen down a resistance performance, "Downtown Divas," astatine Sunrise Theater successful Southern Pines, North Carolina. Anti-LGBTQ demonstrators targeted the determination successful the days starring up to the Saturday nighttime event, which continued successful the acheronian earlier it ended early.

Power infrastructure has agelong been connected the onslaught privation database of achromatic supremacists and different right-wing extremists who question American "destabilization," Brian Levin, the manager of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism astatine California State University, San Bernardino, said successful February.

Early this year, 3 men pleaded blameworthy successful transportation with a crippled to disrupt the energy grid, sow civilian unrest and economical uncertainty, and yet trigger a contention war, national prosecutors said astatine the time.

There's nary denotation the Washington, Oregon and Carolinas attacks shared akin motives. Sunday's Tacoma-area attacks remained nether investigation.