photo courtesy of Pixabay user maxmann
(SEATTLE) An attack on a North Carolina substation over the weekend has left thousands of people without power for days.
Now we’re learning there have been five similar attacks here in our region.
None have caused the widespread outages like the one back east, but they’re all very concerning, says Doug Johnson with the Bonneville Power Administration.
“This compromises public safety in a lot of ways, and its a very serious offense,” Johnson said via video conference.
Puget Sound Energy confirms it has reported attacks on two of its substations to the FBI. Two substations have also been damaged in Woodland, near Vancouver. And one BPA station has been hit in Oregon, just outside Portland.
“We’re seeing more chatter in the wake of the midterm elections,” Sociologist Randy Blazak said during a media briefing. Blazak specializes in studying extremist groups, and says he’s aware of several social media postings about attacking the nation’s infrastructure.
“Surveillance is minimal, and its relatively easy to take a pot shot at a reservoir or a substation and get away with it,” Blazak adds.
The FBI is currently investigating the Northwest substation attacks, and has offered no further information.
