14,000 homes powerless in Tacoma after power stations vandalized
Nothing was stolen, but the power stations were rather damaged.
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A Tacoma Power crew operates on the damaged station on early Christmas morning on December 25, 2022. (AP)
Police have opened investigations into three burglaries at three substations in Tacoma, Washington, which left 14,000 customers without any power on Christmas morning.
It is unclear whether all three substations in Tacoma were vandalized by the same person or group, or if the burglaries are related - no suspects have been detained yet.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, the first burglary occurred at a substation on 46th Avenue belonging to Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU), occurring at approximately 5:30 am local time on Christmas morning. Although nothing was stolen, the equipment was vandalized, leading to power outages.
Later that morning, police attended to a call about a burglary at a power station on 224th Street, which also saw forced entry and damage to the equipment. Like the previous incident, nothing was stolen from the premises.
Similar to the previous two burglaries, equipment at the Puget Sound Energy substation was vandalized in the early morning on Sunday. Police arriving at the scene said they found "the fenced area was broken into and the equipment vandalized."
Earlier this month, 45,000 people were hit by a blackout after someone shot at a substation in North Carolina. Police noted that it was a "deliberate" attack and they are still investigating it.
