Washington’s power substations were vandalized on December 25 which led to a power cut for more than 14000 customers.

On December 25, 2022, in Pierce County, Washington, three power substations were vandalized followed by the fourth substation being damaged and catching fire in a deliberate cause on Monday, December 26, 2022. It led to setting fire to one or more facilities. The damaged equipment also led to a power cut to over 14000 utility customers.

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The Seattle Division of the FBI was already aware of the reports of vandalism, they said, “We do take threats against our infrastructure seriously and urge anyone with information to contact law enforcement.”

In a bulletin of November 22, threats to the electrical infrastructure were reported. The alert stated that it may take place “to create civil disorder and inspire further violence.”

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The police are in search of the burglars and there is no announcement of any suspects being arrested.

According to the Sheriff’s office, “The suspect(s) gained access to the fenced area and vandalized the equipment which caused the fire.”

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Two break-ins took place at Tacoma Public Utilities substations and the other two at Puget Sound Energy station. According to the authorities, these attacks at the substation occurred between the time 2:39 a.m. and 7:21 p.m.

The Puget Sound Energy company said, “Unfortunately, the impacts to our system from today’s deliberate damage are more severe in some places than initial testing indicated. “They further added, “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.”

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Before these incidents in Washington, two electrical substations in North Carolina were attacked. Although no one was arrested for the incidents, it led to a complete power cut for thousands of customers prompting an emergency to be declared in the state.