Berlin, on Edge, Tries to Restore Power After Arson

An arson attack on an overhead cable link in Berlin has left tens of thousands of residents facing days without electricity, heat, and reliable cellphone service as temperatures remain below freezing. Firefighters were called Saturday to a blaze on a cable bridge spanning a canal that connects a major power plant to neighborhoods in the city's southeast. Authorities say incendiary devices were placed under five main power lines. A far-left environmental organization, the Vulkan Group, posted a statement claiming responsibility, the New York Times reports. The outage has residents questioning the security of their infrastructure. "A country like Russia will be carefully watching this to see where the critical points are," said one. "I'd prefer it wasn't quite so obvious."

Officials said they take the group's claim seriously and have asked federal prosecutors to assume control of the investigation. The group said the attack was aimed at the fossil fuel industry in light of the climate crisis and the growing artificial intelligence infrastructure, per CNBC. "The contemptuous attack on our power grid was not left-wing extremism. That was left-wing terrorism," said Iris Spranger, Berlin's interior affairs minister, at a press conference on Monday. She said the group accepted "collateral damage to the life and limb of people in Berlin." The outage initially hit about 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses. By Monday night, power had been restored to some areas, but roughly 27,800 homes and 1,450 businesses were still offline, per the Times. Schools kept holiday closures in place.

Authorities estimate full restoration could take until Thursday. In the meantime, Berlin has opened heated shelters and public spaces where residents can get hot meals, warm up, and charge devices; the Red Cross and other organizations are assisting. Because mobile networks were disrupted, the fire department set up eight physical emergency call points so people can reach police and ambulances. A similar but less disruptive cable attack last September cut power to 45,000 people for about 60 hours. The episodes have heightened worry about the resilience of the nation's infrastructure; the German government has warned that the country has become a target for sabotage connected to Russia's war on Ukraine.