Residents of Moore County, North Carolina spent the third day without light and heat.
About 37,000 homes and businesses were without power Tuesday morning poweroutage.us.
That’s down from 45,000 people who were left in the dark and under a curfew on Sunday night after two power substations were damaged in a shootout.
Local authorities have released little information about a suspect or a motive.
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said Sunday that no one had come forward to claim responsibility for the attack.
“The person who did this was targeted, not random,” Fields added, dispelling rumors that the incident was related to the Southern Pines drag show that sparked the protests.
Power crews restored power to about 7,000 customers in Moore County Sunday night. Officials at Duke Energy Corp., which owns the two substations, said it could take until Thursday to restore power to thousands of people without power.
In some areas, the damage is “irreparable,” Duke Energy CEO Jason Hollifield said.
“We are restoring customers as much as possible, but in some areas the damage is beyond repair. This leaves us with no choice but to replace large pieces of equipment, which is not an easy or quick task,” Hollifield said.
Duke Energy workers inspect one of the bullet holes that hit a power substation.
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said vandalism was the cause of the massive power outage.
Duke Energy workers were seen trying to restore power at an electrical substation.
Authorities have imposed a countywide curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. to protect residents and businesses.
“The FBI is investigating the intentional damage to electrical facilities in Charlotte Moore County. We are in constant contact with local law enforcement agencies and private sector partners,” the agency said.
On Monday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the attack “appears to be deliberate.”
“We are working with the power companies in the local communities to address the situation affecting the electricity reaching homes in the targeted neighborhoods,” Mayorkas said. “The question is, is it a violation or something else?” Preliminary evidence suggests this was deliberate. And the investigation continues.”
About 37,000 homes and businesses are still without electricity.
Duke Energy Corp. officials said it could take several days to restore power to thousands of people.
Power crews restored power to nearly 7,000 customers in Moore County Sunday night.
Along with a countywide curfew, residents were asked to conserve fuel as officials also opened shelters with bathrooms and showers.
The mass outage caused sewage pumps to fail and schools in the district to close.
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