Thousands of people are still without power Monday after weekend attacks on substations in Moore County, North Carolina, plunged communities into darkness.
The outages are believed to have been caused by “intentional” and “targeted” attacks, officials say. No suspects or motives have been announced. The FBI has joined the investigation.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and several other officials gave an update on the status of repairing equipment Monday, with the governor calling the cause of the outages a "criminal attack." Here's what to know.
Power outages
- More than 38,000 people are still without power as of Monday night, according to Duke Energy. That's down from about 45,000 customers who were impacted over the weekend.
- Jeff Brooks, a spokesperson at Duke Energy, said outages could continue until Wednesday or Thursday.
- He said getting power back on is "not as simple as changing a light bulb," adding that some equipment is being repaired while other pieces are so damaged, they have to be removed and completely replaced.
The investigation
- The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said utility crews found signs of potential vandalism of equipment at different power sites — including two substations that had been damaged by gunfire. Sheriff Ronnie Fields said multiple rounds were fired at the two substations, adding, “It was targeted, it wasn’t random."
- The sheriff would not say whether the criminal activity was domestic terrorism but noted “no group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept they’re the ones who (did) it.” No suspects or motive has been announced.
- The FBI joined an investigation into the power outages on Sunday, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that she has been in touch with Duke Energy and that the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response was working with other federal agencies.
- The Biden administration is offering federal support to the investigation, the White House said.
- A Department of Homeland Security Bulletin just days before the attack indicated there was a heightened threat posed by domestic violent extremists against targets that included critical infrastructure.
In the community:
- Cooper said that the state was "deeply concerned" about the impact the widespread outages will have on small businesses and students, as well as vulnerable populations. The county has opened some shelters and Moore County Schools announced it will be closed again Tuesday.
- The owner of one pharmacy said he is storing medicines in his home, which is powered by a generator, so that people can continue to get their prescriptions.
- The loss of electricity has also impacted the water supply to some families in rural parts of Moore County, even those with generators.
- In the town of Southern Pines, one business owner is using his generator to provide food for free. “Nobody here has power, so we got cold homes and cold people with no hot food to eat," said Gerald Bateman, the owner of Southern Pines Growler.