"Intentional" blackouts in North Carolina leave thousands of residents in the dark: they fear it will last for days

By Dennis Romero and Mirna Alsharif -

Authorities warned residents of Moore County, North Carolina, on Sunday to prepare for days without power after a targeted attack on substations left an estimated 45,000 residents in the dark.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said one or more suspects walked into two Duke Energy electrical substations Saturday night — in one case by forcing a door — and opened fire, knocking out machines and causing a blackout for 45,000 customers of the electric company that can last until Thursday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and state investigators have joined the probe to determine who was behind the attack, authorities said, as a state of emergency was declared with a 9 p.m. curfew. in the county.

Schools were also ordered to close for Monday and shelters were set up for those who needed electricity for medical devices or heating.

Power grids near Hillsborough, North Carolina, on August 14, 2018.Gerry Broome / AP file

According to the National Weather Service, the minimum overnight temperature in the region is expected to reach 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Asked at a news conference Sunday if the attacks on the substations constituted domestic terrorism, Fields said such a determination would be up to federal law enforcement.

In a statement, the FBI field office in Charlotte, North Carolina, confirmed its involvement in the investigation, calling the attacks on the substations

. "

Investigate relationship with LGBTQ+ event

The sheriff said the motive for the case was still unknown.

Asked if there was any connection to an LGBTQ+

show at 7:00 p.m. in the city of Southern Pines on Saturday, Fields said: "It's possible, yes."

"Everything is possible," he insisted.

"But we haven't been able to tie anything to the

show ."

Show leader and host of the event at the Sunrise Theater, Naomi Dix, said in an interview that the show continued by candlelight on Saturday after the power went out around 8:15 pm.

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He added that he was not aware that the blackout might have had anything to do with the event until he heard the news on Saturday night mentioning unconfirmed reports that the blackouts might have been the result of an attempt to disrupt the meeting.

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“The show got a lot of flak from right-wing conservatives, who didn't want us to be there,” Dix reported.

The local newspaper Fayetteville Observer reported Friday that the event, titled

, was the target of threats, criticism and unsubstantiated accusations about the LGBTQ+ community and certain types of crime.

“This is nothing new for our community,” Dix added.

Organizers and the venue went ahead with the planning, but changed the age limit for all audiences to 18+ to keep children away from potential protests, according to the publication.

On Saturday, organizers of a children's Drag Queen Story Hour event in Columbus, Ohio, called off the event over what they described as an intimidating presence of far-right protesters, some of whom carried long weapons.

This type of act, in which the

tells children stories with different characters, has been the subject of demonstrations by far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys.

Target of white supremacists

The country's power grid has also captured the imagination of right-wing extremists, some of whom believe it could be the lynchpin of sweeping political change.

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino, said in February that power lines and other infrastructure have long been on the attack wish list of white supremacists who want to the "destabilization" of the United States.

Earlier this year, three men pleaded guilty to conspiring to attack electrical substations.

The trio hoped to disrupt the power grid, sow civil unrest and economic uncertainty and ultimately spark a race war, federal prosecutors said at the time.

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The defendants made a pact to take fentanyl from "suicide necklaces" if they were ever arrested, but when that day came only one of them took his share of the drug, and survived, prosecutors said.

Although Moore County Sheriff Fields did not link the power outage to the drag show, he did say the substations were "targeted."

The sustained impact of the blackout can be attributed to an unprecedented breakdown of major components of the facility, according to authorities.

Routine blackouts at Duke Energy, the region's main power company, are usually resolved in about an hour, the company said.

But the blackout on Saturday night was different.

"It's certainly a complex repair,"

Jeff Brooks, a spokesman for Duke Energy, said late Saturday.

According to Brooks, power may be out until Thursday while the substation equipment is replaced.

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“Unlike in a storm, where you can go and redirect power somewhere else, in this case it wasn't an option,” Brooks added at Sunday's news conference.

“This is a fairly sophisticated repair with fairly large teams, so we want the citizens of the city to be prepared for a restoration that will last several days for most customers and could last until Thursday,” it reported on Sunday.

Pump stations that help move sewage to treatment plants 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.

Authorities urged travelers not to visit Moore County, in south-central North Carolina, and urged residents to stay off the roads, especially at night when street lights and signs of traffic provide little guidance.

The countywide curfew began at 9 p.m. Sunday and will most likely continue for the next several days until power is restored, authorities said.

Local authorities flocked to communities affected by the outages.

It was not clear if it was to deter looting or as part of the investigation.

"Officers have been called to assist," Pinehurst authorities said in a statement.

"Please stay off the roads if you can."