PORT ANGELES — Power was restored by 1:40 p.m. today to some 2,000 Clallam County Public Utility District customers after someone trying to steal copper wiring from the Lairds Corner substation blew out three voltage regulators at 1 a.m. this morning (Saturday).
Damage was extensive, said Ken Haman, operations supervisor, although there was no evidence that the suspect was injured.
There was no immediate estimate of how much copper wiring the thief took, or the vandalism’s cost.
The outage affected those west of Port Angeles, including Lake Sutherland.
Power was restored incrementally, with about 450 customers back on the grid at about 8 a.m. and another 100 by 10 a.m.
Sgt. Eric Munger of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said the thief may have escaped injury by using an insulated device to try to cut the wires.
Munger requested anyone knowing about the incident to call the sheriff’s office at 417-2262.
