Power restored at vandalized Washington state substations - USA TODAY

Power is backmost connected in thousands of homes that were near successful the acheronian aft 4 electrical substations successful occidental Washington were vandalized connected Christmas Day, local authorities said Monday, adding that it was chartless whether the incidents were connected. 

The attacks connected Sunday chopped powerfulness to much than 14,000 inferior customers successful southbound Pierce County, near Tacoma, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said. 

The burglaries were reported astatine 2 substations belonging to Tacoma Public Utilities and 2 belonging to Puget Sound Energy. 

Deputies saw forced introduction into the fenced-in country astatine each 4 substations. Equipment was vandalized, but "nothing had been taken" from the substations, the section said. 

"At this clip deputies are conducting the archetypal investigation. We bash not person immoderate suspects successful custody. It is chartless if determination are immoderate motives oregon if this was a coordinated onslaught connected the powerfulness systems," the sheriff's bureau said successful a statement. 

Power was restored to each affected Tacoma Public Utilities customers by Monday day aft the utility deployed a mobile substation successful the last hours of the restoration, it said connected Twitter. Puget Sound Energy also restored powerfulness to each customers impacted by damaged substations, spokesperson Gerald Tracy told USA TODAY Tuesday morning.

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Authorities person not said what benignant of vandalism was involved, but a occurrence was reported astatine 1 of the substations belonging to Puget Sound Energy and Tacoma Public Utilities called the harm "intentional" connected Twitter. 

Tacoma Public Utilities was warned by national authorities earlier this period of a "security alert" connected their electrical grid, the inferior said successful a statement.

The 4 attacks travel other warnings and advisories from national officials of possible domestic coercion attacks connected the U.S. power grid. Similar attacks person been reported successful Washington, Oregon and North Carolina since November. 

A large outage successful North Carolina that began connected Dec. 3 chopped powerfulness to tens of thousands of radical and took days to repair. Officials had called the outage a "targeted" attack. 

Days earlier the incident, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin through its National Terrorism Advisory System warning that “lone offenders and tiny groups” whitethorn onslaught assorted targets, including captious infrastructure. 

In January, DHS warned that home extremists person been processing “credible, circumstantial plans” to onslaught energy infrastructure since astatine slightest 2020. 

Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW-FM successful Seattle reported earlier this period that galore powerfulness companies had reported six abstracted attacks connected electrical substations successful Washington and Oregon successful the erstwhile weeks. 

Contributing: The Associated Press