Vandals hit 4 Seattle-area substations in Christmas Day attacks

SEATTLE — Homes in Kapowsin and Graham in Pierce County briefly lost power late Christmas Day after an electrical substation was vandalized and set afire.

It was the fourth Christmas Day incident involving substations in Pierce County, and law enforcement officials were investigating whether the incidents were coordinated.

Firefighters received a report of a fire at 7:21 p.m. at the Puget Sound Energy substation on Kapowsin Highway East, about 12 miles northeast of La Grande, according to a statement posted Sunday by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. PSE workers were also involved in the response.

Firefighters extinguished the fire and secured the substation, and power had been restored to most affected customers Sunday evening, the sheriff’s department said.

“The suspect(s) gained access to the fenced area and vandalized the equipment which caused the fire,” according to the sheriff’s department.

No suspects were in custody as of Sunday night, the sheriff’s department said. Law enforcement agencies were monitoring other power substations in Pierce County and residents were being asked to call 911 to report any suspicious activity near a power facility.

Earlier Sunday, law enforcement and utility officials responded to vandalism at Tacoma Power substations in Spanaway and Graham and a PSE substation in Puyallup. The incidents, which Tacoma Power described as “attacks,” disrupted power to more than 14,000 customers in Eastern Pierce County.

As of Sunday, law enforcement officials didn’t know the motives for the incidents or whether “this was a coordinated attack on the power systems,” said Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Darren Moss Jr. He said he wasn’t sure how many suspects were involved.

The four incidents were the latest in a string of similar incidents at power facilities across the country.