By Shepard Ambellas
After a 50,000 gallon fuel tank failed to ignite following a bomb explosion at a Nogalas power plant this week, some fear more attack on way
NOGALES, Ariz. (INTELLIHUB) — The ATF and FBI are currently investigating the recent pipe bomb attack at a local 63-megawatt power plant owned by UniSource Energy Services.
According to reports, the attack, which took place after 4 pm Thursday and before 8 am Wednesday, was ruled out to have not been conducted by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a known domestic terror group according to the FBI.
However, the botched attack, which failed to ignite a massive 50,000 gallon diesel fuel tank, would have wreaked havoc on the local population, leaving 30,000 men, women and children in the dark and without air conditioning during some of the hottest days of the year.
Moreover, authorities are not too sure if this incident was connected to another one which involved snipers taking out at least 17 transformers at a facility in San Jose, California back in April of 2013.
Shane Harris writing for Foreign Policy detailed last years attack, reporting:
Around 1:00 AM on April 16, at least one individual (possibly two) entered two different manholes at the PG&E Metcalf power substation, southeast of San Jose, and cut fiber cables in the area around the substation. That knocked out some local 911 services, landline service to the substation, and cell phone service in the area, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Foreign Policy. The intruder(s) then fired more than 100 rounds from what two officials described as a high-powered rifle at several transformers in the facility. Ten transformers were damaged in one area of the facility, and three transformer banks — or groups of transformers — were hit in another, according to a PG&E spokesman.
Cooling oil then leaked from a transformer bank, causing the transformers to overheat and shut down. State regulators urged customers in the area to conserve energy over the following days, but there was no long-term damage reported at the facility and there were no major power outages. There were no injuries reported. That was the good news. The bad news is that officials don’t know who the shooter(s) were, and most importantly, whether further attacks are planned.
Now some question if more attacks are headed our way.
Other Sources:
Sabotage at Nogales station puts focus on threats to grid — AZ Central
About the author:
Shepard Ambellas is the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News and the maker of SHADE the Motion Picture. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook. Shepard also appears on the Travel Channel series America Declassified.
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