Thousands of residents in Aspen, Colorado, were left without heat during near-zero 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, causing about 3,500 residents to shiver in their homes Saturday night, The Aspen Times reported.
The Aspen Police Department has the words ‘Earth first!’ Said was written on one pipe near 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 end the plan.
“They were tinkering with flow lines,” Linn said. “They turned off gas lines.”
Police struggled to distribute thousands of space heaters to residents, while Black Hill Energy continued to repair the gas on Tuesday.
According to the National Weather Service, Aspen will reach a low of negative four degrees on Tuesday night.
The FBI intervened to investigate.