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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Three power substations in Pierce County, Washington, were vandalized on Christmas Day leaving 14,000 people cut off from electricity.
According to the Pierce County sheriff's office, two of the incidents were reported at Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) substations, while another break-in took place at a Puget Sound Energy station.
The first was reported at the TPU Substation at 22312 46th Ave E. at 5:26 a.m. on December 25, according to the sheriff's office.
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"Deputies arrived on scene and saw there was forced entry into the fenced area. Nothing had been taken from the substation, but the suspect vandalized the equipment causing a power outage in the area," a press release by the sheriff's office said.
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A second incident was reported later at the TPU substation at 8820 224th St E, where deputies found signs of forced entry and damage to equipment, but again reported that nothing had been taken from the site.
At 11:25 a.m., Puget Sound Energy reported having been out of power since the early hours of the day. Deputies called to the site found signs of forced entry and damage to the facility.
Police have not yet arrested a suspect, and they do not currently know if there's a relation between the three break-ins. "It is unknown if there are any motives or if this was a coordinated attack on the power systems," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
While investigations are ongoing, thousands are still being impacted by the attacks.
On Christmas Day, Tacoma Public Utilities reported that 7,300 were without power as a result of the attacks on the three substations. Later in the day, the company wrote that the impact to their system were "more severe in some places than initial testing indicated."
According to the company, some customers will have to wait until 8 a.m. local time on Monday to have their power restored.
"We know this incident has impacted many people's holiday celebrations, and our crews are working hard to get power safely restored to all customers as quickly as we can," the company wrote on Twitter.
Newsweek has contacted the Pierce County Sheriff's Office for comment.
The incidents are the latest in a long line of attacks that have targeted power substations in the Pacific Northwest.
The U.S. electrical grid has reportedly been attacked at least six times in Oregon and Western Washington since mid-November.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning against possible attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, saying that "lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances" continued to pose "a persistent and lethal threat" to the country.
"Targets of potential violence include public gatherings, faith-based institutions, the LGBTQI+ community, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents," the bulletin said.
Three days later, two power substations in North Carolina were vandalized, leaving up to 45,000 people cut off from electricity and prompting local officials to declare a state of emergency.
The incidents are still unattributed, but the move has pleased the far-right communities that have long conducted a campaign threatening to attack the nation's power grid.
Federal law enforcement is now investigating the attacks, together with shots fired near a power facility in South Carolina days later.
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