Four substations were vandalized Sunday in Pierce County, which left thousands of Washington residents without electricity on Christmas and into Monday. The incidents in the Tacoma area come after power grid outages elsewhere apparently caused by trespassing individuals.
Here are some answers to questions you may have about what happened over the weekend, from how residents lost power and what public officials are doing to address the situation:
What happened and where?
Two of the vandalized substations are operated by Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU), according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. The department received a call of a forced entry at 5:26 a.m. at the substation at 22312 46th Ave. E in Spanaway. A second incident took place at the substation at 8820 224th St. E in Graham. The suspects damaged the equipment at both stations, which caused the power outages. Property was not stolen from either location.
The sheriff's department then received word at 11:25 a.m. of another substation assault. The third facility at 10915 144th St. E. in South Hill, operated by Puget Sound Energy (PSE), experienced an outage at 2:39 a.m. after equipment was damaged. The sheriff's department reported that the suspect broke through a fenced area outside the facility to gain access.
Authorities received reports of a fourth substation power outage later in the day Sunday. Those reports, about 7:21 p.m., were of a fire at 14320 Kapowsin Highway E. in Kapowsin at a facility also operated by PSE. The property was not set on fire, but it caught fire due to equipment damage, according to Sgt. Darren Moss Jr., a spokesperson with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
In a statement Sunday, TPU said it was alerted by federal law enforcement earlier in the month about a potential security threat for the electrical grid.
Moss said the county sheriff's department is working with law enforcement agencies nationwide to investigate if the burglaries are related to similar incidents at electric power facilities. The department isn't sharing further information because its investigation is currently open, Moss said. He added that the actions committed at the four facilities appear connected, but no evidence currently indicates they're linked.
No suspects have been identified, according to Moss.
On Tuesday afternoon, the county sheriff's department requested help from the public in identifying "suspicious activity" near any of the four power stations via surveillance footage.
How many people lost power?
More than 14,000 people lost power in Graham and Elk Plain because of the incidents.
Tacoma Public Utilities stated Sunday morning that its two affected substations left more than 7,000 people in Graham and Elk Plain without power. By 11:30 a.m. Sunday, work had been done to return power to many of these residents.
PSE did not specify how many customers were affected by outages from its substation power outages.
Is power restored to residents?
By Monday afternoon, all customers receiving power from the TPU stations had power back. PSE told The News Tribune via email that it restored power to all customers impacted by the outages.
How is PSE protecting substations?
PSE responded to The News Tribune's request for comment that both instances of vandalism at its facilities are under investigation and that no further details are available. The energy company said it is coordinating with law enforcement on the crime investigation.
Regarding security, PSE stated via email that it "has extensive measures to monitor, protect and minimize the risk to our equipment and infrastructure."
How do authorities define "attack" and "vandalism"?
Moss describes burglary similar to a combination of crimes. He says it can only occur after a suspect trespasses or breaks and enters into a property. After this, the suspect then has to have the intent to commit another for this action to be considered burglary. Vandalism, also known as "malicious mischief" in Washington, is the act of damage to property.
Referring to the events as an "attack" is a more aggressive term that implies terrorism, Moss said. He added that the department was initially investigating reports of burglary and vandalism, which is why they are referring to the crimes as such.
Where else have similar incidents happened?
Other crimes committed at electrical substations have occurred across the nation this year.
In early December, two substations were broken into and damaged using firearms in North Carolina, causing thousands of residents to lose power. The incident was similar to one that occurred at a substation in 2013 in San Jose, California. In the latter event, at least two people used rifles to disable 17 transformers.
In November, at least six substations across the Pacific Northwest were vandalized, including two handled by PSE.
