By Dennis Romero -
NBC News
Widespread power outages overnight in the south-central state are being investigated by North Carolina authorities as intentional criminal acts, the Moore County sheriff explained in a statement late Saturday.
An estimated 45,000 customers were without power as of late Saturday, with no time to estimate because multiple facilities are involved and the job will be complicated, said Jeff Brooks, a spokesman for utility Duke Energy. .
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Utility company Duke Energy reported that nearly 38,000 customers were without power in Moore County, while the Randolph Electric Membership Corporation reported that the outages affected nearly 3,000 customers in the southern part of the county, WRAL-TV reported.
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Both Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields and Brooks said the possible cause of the outages could be vandalism.
Brooks said he was unable to further describe the nature of the possible crime.
Sewage pumping stations were also out of service and authorities advised residents to stay off the roads.
“Multiple accidents have occurred,” Southern Pines management said in a statement on Facebook.
While typical power outages in North Carolina tend to resolve themselves in such an hour, the overnight power outage for much of Moore County seemed like new territory for Duke and law enforcement.
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“Blackouts involve multiple substations that are affected.
We cannot estimate when power will be restored until we know the extent of the damage," Brooks said.
And he added: “It is a complex repair.”
The outages began around 7 p.m. in Moore County, the sheriff said.
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“As utility companies began responding to the various substations, evidence was uncovered indicating that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites,” Fields said.
The US Department of Homeland Security and an FBI field office did not immediately respond to questions about whether they were also investigating the blackouts.
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Local authorities were present in the communities affected by the blackouts.
It was not clear if this was to deter looting or as part of the investigation.
The Town of Pinehurst said additional police were on the streets overnight and urged residents to stay home.
"Officers have been called to assist," the town said in a statement.
"Please stay off the roads if you can and treat all intersections as four-way stops," they added.
