Power outages in North Carolina were caused by gunfire at substations, according to officials

Around 45,000 people in Moore County, North Carolina lost power Saturday evening into Sunday afternoon after two electric substations were damaged by gunfire. Officials have called it an "intentional attack."

The Moore County Sheriff's department said that power could be out through as late as Thursday, the New York Times reports.

The Moore County sheriff, Ronnie Fields, said during a press conference that the attack appeared to be intentional and targeted, but did not go into any further detail. The FBI and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are currently investigating the situation. 

A state of emergency was declared for Moore County on Sunday afternoon with a curfew of 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Monday. It is not clear if the curfew will be extended.

"It is going to be very, very, very dark, and it's going to be chilly tonight,” State Senator Tom McInnis said at the news conference. "And we don't need to have anyone out on the streets — that is the reason for our curfew this evening."

A spokesman for Duke Energy Corporation, Jeff Brooks, says that it will take a lot of time to repair the damage that was done, hinting it could be as long as Thursday.

"Unlike, perhaps, a storm where you can you can go in and reroute power somewhere else, that was not an option in this case," Mr. Brooks said, according to the Times. "We do want citizens of the town to be prepared."

Schools in Moore County will be closed on Monday and officials have opened a shelter at the Moore County Sports Complex.