PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Pierce County Sheriff's detectives are asking residents and business owners to review their security camera footage for suspicious activity in connection to multiple Christmas Day substation attacks.
At least 17,000 residents were left without power on Christmas due to four separate attacks in Pierce County. There were signs of forced entry at each substation.
The first substation was attacked at 5 a.m. at 22312 46th Avenue East in Spanaway. Someone vandalized and damaged equipment inside, which caused a power outage in the area.
Deputies were then notified of a second burglary call at a substation at 8820 224th Street East in Graham, also with nothing stolen and damage to equipment.
A third incident was reported later in the morning by Puget Sound Energy. A substation at 10915 144th St. East in South Hill was burglarized at 2:39 a.m., which caused power outages to around 7,300 customers.
At around 7:20 p.m. on Sunday, deputies responded to a fire at a Puget Sound Energy substation at 14320 Kapowsin Highway. Deputies say the fire was started intentionally.
Detectives with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department (PCSD), are asking anyone in those areas to review their surveillance footage and contact them if they find anything suspicious. Residents can also leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or on their website.
PCSD Sgt. Darren Moss said they need more information before they can determine whether or not the attacks are connected.
"We need actual details. No one's leaving any notes, nobody's claiming that they did this on behalf of a specific group or organization. Without that information, there's a number of different things that it could be," Moss said.
Officials are now patrolling Pierce County's substations. Tacoma Power Distribution Manager Joseph Wilson said they are considering putting an extra focus on national holidays while increasing security.
"It is possible," Wilson said. "There are means to harden some of these facilities, but it's a very expensive endeavor."
Wilson also said he doesn't believe the break-ins were random.
"It is something that we believe was very intentional, and was done by someone who had done research and tried to understand how to impact our infrastructure," Wilson said.