Month: December 2022

Officials confirmed that a fourth electrical substation in Washington state was found vandalized on Christmas Day, this coming after three others were attacked earlier in the day which left thousands without power. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the vandals broke into a fenced area and destroyed equipment at the substation which caused a fire. First responders put out the fire and power was later restored, but as of press time officials say that no suspects have been taken into custody.

Earlier on Christmas Day, thousands of residents woke up with no power after three other substations were vandalized in the early morning hours.  The first substation was vandalized at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday followed by a second substation, according to Tacoma Public Utilities. Meanwhile, Puget Sound Energy reported vandalism that had happened at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday caused a power outage at one of its substations. Roughly 7,700 customers lost power, but had it restored by 5 a.m.

After the latest act of vandalism, it was reported that more than 10,500 Puget Sound Energy customers were without electricity across the region as of Monday morning. In all four cases, the sheriff’s office says someone forced their way into the fenced area surrounding the substations and damaged equipment to cause a power outage. However, it remains unclear at this time if all four instances are connected.

Several power stations have been attacked in Washington and Oregon in the last month. The attacks come as federal officials are warning that the U.S. power grid needs better security to prevent domestic terrorism, particularly after two substations were taken out by gunfire in North Carolina earlier this month leaving 40,000 people without electricity.

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The widespread winter storm across the nation has now caused thousands of flight cancellations for Southwest Airlines, leaving customers stranded, perhaps for days.  According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, approximately two-thirds of Southwest’s flights were canceled as of Monday afternoon, the most of any other airline. FlightAware said that 2,700 Southwest flights were canceled, and another 700 were delayed.  The Federal Department of Transportation said it would investigate the mass cancellations by Southwest, stating they were “concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay … As more information becomes available the Department will closely examine whether cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan as well as all other pertinent DOT rules.”

In a statement Monday, Southwest offered their “heartfelt apologies,” and said that its geography made it “uniquely vulnerable to the storm,” with half of the airports in which it flies affected by winter weather. The statement read: “We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S. This forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity. We anticipate additional changes with an already reduced level of flights as we approach the coming New Year holiday travel period.”

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said in an internal message on Sunday that was reported by several media outlets:  “Part of what we’re suffering is a lack of tools. We’ve talked an awful lot about modernizing the operation, and the need to do that.”  In addition, Southwest spokesperson Chris Perry said the airline’s online booking and check-in systems are still operating, but were also jammed because of “abnormally high” volumes of traffic on their site and that they were “re-accommodating as many Customers as possible based on available space.”

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Two adults were found dead at Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Thornton, Colo., after an alleged murder-suicide incident on Christmas morning. Police shared that an unidentified adult male is believed to have shot his wife before killing himself at about 9 a.m.on Sunday, Christmas Day. Police say the two adults were former members of the congregation, which is located in the suburb of Denver.

Thornton Police Department said in its press release posted on Twitter:  “On a day that is historically associated with joy, family and fun, we’re saddened to inform you of the following. The investigation is still active, witnesses being interviewed, scene being examined. Still no known threats to the Thornton community.”

The Thornton Police Department said the Adams County Sheriff’s Office Hazardous Material Unit is investigating a suspicious device found at the scene. Witnesses say that a gun was fired in the parking lot of the hall Sunday morning. The suspect also threw a molotov cocktail, starting a fire inside the building.

Kingdom Hall holds three services on Sundays. An internal message to the congregation said: “Dear friends, today’s meeting will be held on Zoom due to a tragic incident that occurred at the Kingdom Hall this morning. Various reports are in the news however we don’t have all the information at this time. Please be assured that the local Bodies of Elders will be caring for the needs of the affected Congregations.”

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The death toll from the winter storm sweeping across large parts of the continental United States has risen to at least 37.   Many of those deaths were due to weather-related traffic accidents or from the cold, while some were the result of first responders not being able to treat medical conditions quickly enough because of the hazardous weather conditions. The storm also caused hundreds of thousands to lose power in more than a dozen states and delayed and canceled thousands of flights

Buffalo, N.Y., has been one of the hardest-hit location in the United States, with at least 12 people confirmed dead amid the storm. The National Weather Service said that 43 inches of snow had fallen at Buffalo’s airport as of 7 a.m. Sunday. The storm brought hurricane-force winds and created whiteout conditions as it battered the area. A bomb cyclone, which happens when atmospheric pressure drops sharply in a strong storm, developed over the Great Lakes and sent temperatures well below freezing throughout much of the country.

CNN also reported that eight people died from weather-related car crashes in Ohio, including four who were killed in a 46-car pileup on the Ohio Turnpike on Saturday. Police in Colorado Springs, Colo., reported that two people have died from the cold since Thursday, and three people died in weather-related traffic accidents in Kansas, three died in Kentucky and Missouri, and Tennessee and Wisconsin have each reported one traffic-related death.

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