Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author's opinion.
Early reports Monday indicated that damage inflicted upon four electrical substations on Christmas Day south of the Seattle-Tacoma area was vandalism. However, subsequent reporting points to sabotage, with arson suspected in at least one case and all four attacks causing 14,000 Americans to lose power in below-freezing temperatures.
Tacoma Public Utilities owned two targeted installations while the other two were part of the Puget Sound Energy Station ABC News reported, citing the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office in which Tacoma is located. All four substations are located within miles of U.S. Naval Base Kitsap which houses half of the Navy’s Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine force at the Bangor Trident Base.
No arrests have been announced as of this report. Mikael Thalen of the DailyDot reported via Twitter that most of the affected areas had power restored by Sunday evening.
According to The Associated Press, Tacoma Public Utilities reported the first attack at approximately 5:30 a.m. Sunday followed by a second station the sheriff’s office told reporters. The initial outages impacted approximately 7,300 homes southeast of Tacoma. These homes saw their power restored to all but 2,700 of them by noon, and the remainder were brought back online by 6:30 p.m.
Puget Sound Energy shortly before noon reported that their facilities had also been struck at approximately 2:30 a.m. the same morning darkening some 7,700 homes in below-freezing temperatures. They were able to restore service much more rapidly though bringing the power back online by 5 a.m. the AP reported citing Puget Sound spokesman Andrew Padula. He told the press that the utility and authorities are investigating and declined to comment further.
Reports from Oregon Public Broadcasting revealed that earlier in December, Portland General Electric, the Bonneville Power Administration, Cowlitz County Public Utility District, and Puget Sound Energy had reported six further attacks on electrical substations within previous weeks.
The assaults were committed by at least two armed assailants, with the attacks bearing similarities to the well-reported substation attacks in North Carolina that also left thousands without power for several days.
The FBI is investigating according to OPB. “The FBI routinely shares information with our law enforcement partners in order to assist in protecting the communities they serve,” Joy Jiras, a spokeswoman for the FBI Portland Field Office told the public broadcaster on December 7th.
“We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
Early reports Monday indicated that damage inflicted upon four electrical substations on Christmas Day south of the Seattle-Tacoma area was vandalism. However, subsequent reporting points to sabotage, with arson suspected in at least one case and all four attacks causing 14,000 Americans to lose power in below-freezing temperatures.
Tacoma Public Utilities owned two targeted installations while the other two were part of the Puget Sound Energy Station ABC News reported, citing the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office in which Tacoma is located. All four substations are located within miles of U.S. Naval Base Kitsap which houses half of the Navy’s Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine force at the Bangor Trident Base.
No arrests have been announced as of this report. Mikael Thalen of the DailyDot reported via Twitter that most of the affected areas had power restored by Sunday evening.
According to The Associated Press, Tacoma Public Utilities reported the first attack at approximately 5:30 a.m. Sunday followed by a second station the sheriff’s office told reporters. The initial outages impacted approximately 7,300 homes southeast of Tacoma. These homes saw their power restored to all but 2,700 of them by noon, and the remainder were brought back online by 6:30 p.m.
Puget Sound Energy shortly before noon reported that their facilities had also been struck at approximately 2:30 a.m. the same morning darkening some 7,700 homes in below-freezing temperatures. They were able to restore service much more rapidly though bringing the power back online by 5 a.m. the AP reported citing Puget Sound spokesman Andrew Padula. He told the press that the utility and authorities are investigating and declined to comment further.
Reports from Oregon Public Broadcasting revealed that earlier in December, Portland General Electric, the Bonneville Power Administration, Cowlitz County Public Utility District, and Puget Sound Energy had reported six further attacks on electrical substations within previous weeks.
The assaults were committed by at least two armed assailants, with the attacks bearing similarities to the well-reported substation attacks in North Carolina that also left thousands without power for several days.
The FBI is investigating according to OPB. “The FBI routinely shares information with our law enforcement partners in order to assist in protecting the communities they serve,” Joy Jiras, a spokeswoman for the FBI Portland Field Office told the public broadcaster on December 7th.
“We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”