4 WA Power Grid Attacks on Christmas Leave 14,000 Without Power

There have been 4 confirmed attacks on the Washington State power grid on Christmas this year leaving thousands without power. Details are just starting to emerge.

Christmas Attack on Four Different Washington Power Substations

Details first emerged after reports of power outages all over Pierce County on Christmas Day. Crews on site discovered multiple power sites had been broken into and vandalized. At first, only three sites were reported to be attacked. The first was reported by Tacoma Public Utilities around 5:30 am on Sunday and then a second right after. Those two attacks alone accounted for over 7,000 people losing power.

Puget Sound Utility Reports the Third Attack

After the first 2 attacks were reported, Puget Sound Energy reported a 3rd attack that happened around 2:30 am. The attack was not reported until around noon on Sunday. It was reported to also affect around 7,000 customers. Most of the customers from the third attack had power by 5 am. All but 2,700 customers from the first two attacks also had power returned but not until around noon according to the AP News.

A Fourth Site Was Reported Hours Later

About 11 hours after initially reporting the first 3 attacks, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office reported the 4th attack. At this location, the vandals caused a fire that knocked out power to the Graham and Kanowsin areas. Power has been restored to most of those areas. So far authorities have not linked the attacks but they are obviously suspicious to be linked.

Are There Any Suspects in the Washington State Power Grid Attacks?

So far there are no suspects or persons of interest in any of the attacks carried out on Christmas Day in Washington State. Recently the FBI warned northwest power companies about current threats and attacks and there are no suspects for those attacks either. The Pierce County Sherrif reported that all the sites were broken into the fenced area and then the equipment was damaged to knock out power. None of the damage details have been described by authorities except for the fire at one site.

12 Recent Northwest Power Grid Attacks and Counting

In early December the FBI put out warnings of 8 different power grid attacks in Oregon and Washington. That makes a total of 12 recent attacks with the 4 that were added on Christmas Day. Those attacks were carried out by shooting the power equipment with guns or throwing objects over the fence onto equipment to disrupt power. None of those previous attacks had the area surrounded by a fence broken into like the attacks in Washington on Christmas Day. This is a new and still developing story and details will be reported as soon as we get them.