Thousands of residents of Aspen, Colorado, found themselves without heat during near-zero-degree weather after vandals – possibly green activists from an environmental group – attacked the city’s gas system, authorities said Monday.
The vandals apparently attacked three separate Black Hills Energy gas lines, one in Aspen and two in Pitkin County, leaving about 3,500 residents shivering in their homes on Saturday night, The Aspen Times reported.
Aspen police said the words “Earth First!” were written on a pipe at Aspen. It is unclear whether the environmental group “Earth First!” was behind the vandalism.
Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn believes the vandals must be familiar with the gas system to carry out the plan.
“They messed with power lines,” Linn said. “They turned off the gas pipes.”
Police rushed to distribute thousands of space heaters to residents, while Black Hill Energy continued to work on Tuesday to restore the gas.
According to the National Weather Service, Aspen will hit a low of -4 degrees on Tuesday evening.
The FBI has stepped in to help investigate the case.