Burglaries at 3 substations lead to thousands without power in Washington

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Burglaries at two Tacoma Public Utilities and another at a Puget Sound Energy substation have left thousands without power in Washington.

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In a news release, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said that just before 5:30 a.m. on Christmas, deputies received a call about a burglary to a Tacoma Public Utilities Substation. When deputies arrived, they found forced entry into the fenced area. Nothing was taken from the substation but the equipment was vandalized, which led to a power outage in the area.

Deputies learned of a second burglary at a Tacoma Public Utilities substation where nothing was taken but the equipment was also damaged, according to KIRO.

A third burglary and vandalization of a Puget Sound Energy substation was reported by the company to deputies, according to KIRO.

PCSO said the third burglary also had nothing taken and equipment was vandalized. There was a power outage but it has since been restored.

According to PCSO, a total of three sites were vandalized and about 14,000 customers have been affected.

Deputies are continuing to investigate. PCSO said that they do not have any suspects in custody. They also said it is unknown if there were any motives or if the attacks were coordinated.

No further information has been released.

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