FBI investigating SLC power outage

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The FBI is investigating the possibility that a power outage on the last day of the Winter Olympics was caused by a bomb, The Associated Press has learned.

Electricity was cut to 33,000 customers -- including the airport and the main media center downtown -- for up to two hours Sunday morning when a circuit breaker exploded at a substation. Investigators later found that a security fence had been cut.

A law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity said railroad spikes found at the scene had caused clear indentations in metal near the site of the explosion. The source said those marks were one of the factors that led investigators to consider the possibility of a bomb.

Other possible causes of the explosion include an accident from a failed part or some type of vandalism, the source said Wednesday.

The Utah Power substation, located about 1 1/2 miles southwest of Salt Lake International Airport, converts electricity from a high voltage to a lower voltage and sends it to other substations.

Before the Olympics, Utah Power worked with the FBI to make sure all the stations critical to the success of the games were properly protected. This substation, which is surrounded by open fields, had 24-hour security on site and was surrounded by a 6-foot fence, topped by three strands of barbed wire, Utah Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.

Investigators were considering whether one or more people entered the property through the hole in the fence.

A security guard heard the explosion, the source said.

Material taken from the scene was being analyzed by the FBI. The agency would not comment on the matter except to say they are investigating.

The outage occurred at about 10 a.m., eight hours before the start of the Closing Ceremonies. The airport ran on generators for a brief time, but no flights were affected. Most customers had power restored within 50 minutes, Eskelsen said.

Organizers and federal and state government agencies spent $310 million to safeguard the 17-day Winter Olympics.

 

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