Thousands of people in Moore County, NC are without power after electrical substations were vandalized. Here’s the latest coverage from The News & Observer.
Widespread power outages caused by vandalized power substations in Moore County continued Sunday, with power out to nearly all homes and businesses and estimates for power restoration likely stretching into Thursday, officials say . The outage is the result of intentional gun damage at two substations in the county, according to Moore County and Duke Energy officials. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields, who called the attackers “cowards” at a news conference Sunday afternoon, announced a curfew Sunday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. “No group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept that they are the ones who have done it, so I call them cowards,” Fields said. Fields said all available local law enforcement officers are working the case, assisted by the State Bureau of Investigation and FBI agents. In addition to the curfew, Moore County schools will remain closed Monday, and decisions on the next closure will be made daily, a Moore County school spokesman said. Brothers Tom and Derek Markey carry a portable generator outside Betsy’s Crepes restaurant Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Southern Pines, N.C. Tom Markey, an employee at the business, said the generator was purchased a few years ago for power outages due to severe weather conditions, but this is its first use. Kaitlin McKeown [email protected]
What happened in Moore County
Fields said at Sunday’s press conference that the power outages began shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday and then spread throughout central and southern Moore County.
Jeff Brooks, a spokesman for Duke Energy, explained that the first substation went offline between 7 and 8 p.m. on Saturday night, while a second substation followed. About 45,000 customers were affected.
When crews responded, Brooks said they found “an intentional impact on the substation, destroying several pieces of equipment in the substation.”
Fields confirmed the damage was caused by a firearm. State and local law enforcement were called in to provide security at the substations overnight, he said.
These photos show the gate of the Duke Energy West End substation in Moore County, NC on Sunday, December 4, 2022. Tens of thousands were without power in the county after what authorities say was an act of criminal vandalism at several substations. The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines reported that infrastructure at the West End substation was damaged. (John Nagy/The Pilot via AP) John Nagy AP
Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter Sunday that he had spoken with Duke and state law enforcement officials about the holiday.
“They are investigating and working to restore power to those affected. State provides support as needed,” he tweeted.
Duke said about 38,000 homes and businesses remained without power Sunday. It supplies electricity to almost the entire prefecture.
Emergencies, accidents and alarms
The outage affected Moore Regional Hospital, which switched generator power. A hospital spokeswoman said in a message to staff that the outage did not affect patients. “The Moore campus is operating safely with generator backup power and we have not experienced any issues or concerns,” said Gretchen Kelly. Kelly told the N&O on Sunday that the hospital has enough fuel on hand for several days to power the generator and plans to procure more fuel as needed. Mike Cameron, assistant city manager and Southern Pines fire chief, said the power outage caused several accidents, including a four-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Morganton Road and US 15-501 in Southern Pines that sent four people to the hospital with minor injuries. “The car wreck was completely because the stop lights were out,” he said, adding that NCDOT has since installed temporary stop signs to help navigate traffic. Firefighters were also busy responding to residents concerned about how the outage would affect vital medical equipment, while police responded to activated alarms and reports of burglaries, Cameron said. Fire, police, water and sewer services are running on generators, he said. Estimates of extended outages could make for a rough night for Moore County residents, as The Weather Channel predicts temperatures will drop to just below freezing by Monday morning. A sign on the door of Betsy’s Crepes notifies customers of its closure due to a power outage on Monday, December 5, 2022, in Southern Pines, NC Kaitlin McKeown [email protected]m
The charges will be “extensive,” the sheriff says
Fields stressed that Saturday’s attack was “targeted” and that “the people who did it knew exactly what they were doing.” Fields said that given the state and federal involvement and the “millions of dollars” of damage caused to Duke Energy’s property, the charges will have “more teeth, more bite” and be “extensive.” But damage has also been done to the citizens of Moore County and its businesses, which are just beginning to recover from the losses of COVID, Fields said. “This is going to hurt.” In response to a question about whether the attack rises to the level of domestic terrorism, Fields deferred to the judgment of federal officials assisting in the investigation.
Repairs will take a while
In many cases, Duke Energy equipment will need to be replaced, Brooks said Sunday, but the company is “pursuing multiple recovery paths” to restore as many customers as possible. “We’re looking at a fairly sophisticated repair with quite a bit of equipment, so we want the public to be prepared that this will be a multi-day restoration for most customers, possibly extending into Thursday,” he said. Brooks said there may be ways to partially restore some customers through temporary technologies, but damaged equipment will have to be replaced and that’s what will take the longest. “Hopefully we can come up with some solutions that might help us find some partial restorations, but we can’t promise that,” he said.
Drag show protest
Fields said Sunday that state and federal investigators are looking into protesters at a drag queen performance Saturday at the Sunrise Theater in downtown Southern Pines, but that so far they have been unable to make that connection.
Earlier Saturday, protesters had gathered outside the theater, upset about a drag show scheduled for the small venue later that evening.
On her Facebook page, Emily Grace Rainey, an outspoken opponent of the drag show, posted an invitation to the protest at the theater. After the lights went out, Rainey, who rose to prominence in Moore County during the pandemic for her opposition to mask mandates, posted on Facebook that, “The power is out in Moore County and I know why.”
She later posted that the Moore County Sheriff’s Office had come to her home to inquire about the break-in.
“I welcomed them into my home,” wrote Rainey, who organized a group of Moore County residents to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. “Sorry for wasting their time. I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the interruption. I used the opportunity to talk to them about the immoral drag show and the blasphemy its supporters were screaming.”
Rainey said, “I told them God is punishing Moore County, thanked them for coming and said good night. Thanks for your service LEOs, as always.”
Without naming her, Fields said at Sunday’s news conference that the information Rainey posted online was “false.” He said the officers “were supposed to go and interview this young lady and have a word of prayer with her, but it turned out to be nothing.”
The drag show started at 7pm and was in progress when the power went out. Headliner Naomi Dix of Durham kept the show going until almost 9pm
“I asked everyone to turn on their phone flashlights to light up the room,” Dix said. “I then led the crowd in singing ‘Halo’ by Beyoncé.”
Adrienne Wood and Phoenix Rashash, two friends who were in the drag show, attended the sheriff’s press conference. They said law enforcement should look closely at the timing of the outage, which happened just as the show was starting.
“You don’t go shoot up power plants just for fun,” said Rashash, who works for the theater.
This story was originally published on December 4, 2022 at 1:44 am.
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Martha Quillin is a feature reporter at The News & Observer who writes about North Carolina culture, religion and social issues. Since 1987 he has held jobs throughout the newsroom.
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