Shots damage BPA fiber optic line and disrupt service

Selah, Wash. -  Monday morning, someone shot a Bonneville Power Administration fiber optic line in Yakama County, five miles north of Selah, Washington.  The vandalism affected internet service providers and telephone companies who rent the line from BPA. Information leading to the arrest and conviction of someone who purposefully shot the BPA equipment could lead to a reward. 

"We're hoping someone who may know about this or may have seen someone shooting at transmission towers in the area will come forward," says Jeffrey L. Millennor, BPA's lead physical security specialist.  "Sometimes even small details can help law enforcement officials make significant progress in their investigation."

The fiber optics line is connected to a transmission tower that also carries high-voltage power lines.  This poses additional risks to safety because damage to insulators and power lines can create extreme and immediate danger.

"Sabotage to power lines is a federal offense," adds Millennor. "Consequently, we will work with law enforcement to prosecute this type of vandalism to the full extent of the law."

BPA estimates damage of the vandalism to be $25,000, and says service will most likely be restored today.

Under its Crime Witness program, BPA provides rewards up to $25,000.  If you have information about this incident, please call the Crime Witness hotline at (800) 437-2744.  Calls to the hotline are confidential.

BPA is a not-for-profit federal electric utility that markets more than a third of the electricity consumed in the Pacific Northwest. The power is produced at 31 federal dams and one nuclear plant in the Northwest and is sold to more than 140 Northwest utilities. BPA operates a high-voltage transmission grid comprising more than 15,000 miles of lines and associated substations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

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