OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM THE SPOKANE VALLEY POLICE DEPT: On Friday morning, January 18, 2013, at about 3:45 a.m.,
Spokane Valley Sheriff's Deputies responded to a transformer fire at an Avista
substation at Barker and Euclid.
Spokane Valley Fire had responded to a
transformer fire at the substation and saw the fence surrounding the station had
been cut open. Deputies found a large opening in the fence and were able to see
footprints leading into the substation.
An Avista employee responded to the scene and told deputies a
ground wire had been cut and removed from the transformer on fire. The employee
said that removing the ground charged the transformer with over 7,500 volts of
electricity causing it to ignite.
The employee said the suspect(s) more than
likely were burned from cutting the ground. Several other ground lines were
removed inside the station. Avista reports that 2,165 customers were without service in the Barker/Euclid area for a short period of time as a result of this incident.
>>>Anyone with information regarding this incident is
asked to call Crime Check at 509-456-2233.