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John Hollenhorst Reporting
The Joint Terrorism Task Force is looking into a series of mysterious incidents at electrical power facilities in the Salt Lake Valley. Two more incidents cropped up overnight in which someone tried to deliberately cripple the power grid.
Someone took a huge risk there just after midnight. One or more people got inside the substation fence, a highly hazardous place, and tried to shut down electrical service over a wide area. This time, they failed.
The first intruder alert Sunday night was just after 10:00. Utah Power security called in deputies to the Valley Center substation.
Lt. Chris Bertram, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "And they advised us they had some people that were in one of their substations manipulating the controls of the substation."
Whatever the intruders did, it knocked out power to nearly 4,000 homes and businesses.
Lt. Chris Bertram: "Somebody had actually entered into this secure area. They actually shut down the power grids and left the area."
Just after midnight, someone struck again a few blocks West at the Carlisle Substation. A backup system prevented a power outage.
Lt. Chris Bertram: "This one, although power was not interrupted, this is serious. This was a lot bigger substation. Definitely would have had a more devastating effect."
Two earlier incidents seem to fit the pattern, at a Taylorsville substation Saturday and a Holladay substation January 27th. Both knocked out electricity for thousands of customers. Utility officials say there are definite risks inside substation fences.
Margaret Oler, Utah Power, Sunday: "It's dangerous for anyone who is not well trained and not experienced."
Three incidents on opening weekend of the Olympics are a reminder of four years ago. On closing day of the Salt Lake Olympics, a small explosive device damaged a Utah Power substation. That triggered outages and a refinery fire. Former Utah Power employee, Vince Rogers, plead guilty and served three years in prison. He was released last November.
Power outages are not harmless. Investigators say the intruders caused a car crash Saturday, with injuries, because the vandalism shut down traffic lights.
Lt. Chris Bertram: "If this is, in fact, just a prank, it's one that can have dire consequences."
Utah Power beefed up security around the time of 9-11 and the Olympics. But a spokesman admitted that security is a challenge because the facilities are widespread, obvious and often in remote areas.
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