Four substations in Washington State were attacked and damaged on the 25th. At one point, as many as 14,000 homes and businesses were without power. The police had not found the saboteur until the 26th.

The Pierce County Police Department said two Tacoma Public Utilities substations and a Puget Sound Energy power distribution facility were attacked in the early hours of the 25th. “The motive is unknown at this time, nor is it clear whether it was a coordinated attack on the power system,” police said.

The police department estimated that as many as 14,000 homes and businesses were affected when the three substations were damaged. At 7:21 p.m. that day, a Puget Sound Energy substation in South Pierce County was also damaged.

The police said, “The suspects damaged the fence around the substation, went in and destroyed the equipment, causing a fire. No suspects have been arrested yet.”

After the fourth sabotage incident, the police immediately stepped up security vigilance. “Law enforcement officers will monitor the substation in this area.”

Power was restored to most homes and businesses without power, the sheriff’s office said.

Tacoma Utilities said earlier that more than 7,000 customers in the towns of Graham and Elk Plain were without power at one point, and restoration crews continued to work to restore power.

The PowerOutage.us website, which monitors power outages across the country, said on the evening of the 25th that most of the Tacoma substation users’ residences had restored power, and there were less than 5,000 users in the state who were still without power.

The Tacoma Utilities Department said equipment at two substations had been “deliberately” sabotaged, adding that it was warned by federal law enforcement earlier this month of a possible attack on power facilities. It is better to strengthen security measures.

The police department said it received the first report at 2:38 a.m. that one or more people broke into the substation and damaged equipment there.

In mid-November , a total of six substations in Washington and Oregon were attacked by the Portland

In February of this year, three people were suspected of conspiring to sabotage the power grid, attempting to spread social unrest, create economic instability, and spark a racial war. The three have since pleaded guilty after being charged by prosecutors.

Worldjournal

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