Over the last three months, three rail bridges have been damaged or destroyed by fires in the Oregon and Washington area. Each of these fires was set intentionally. No arrests have been made, and to our knowledge, none of these actions have been accompanied by any claim or explanation.
But the world around us is the only explanation we need.
As we barrel forward towards a future of untold climate disasters and total ecological mutilation, the processes of extraction show no sign of stopping… They have only accelerated, with companies racing to exploit new corners of the earth for rare-earth minerals, essential components in chips and semi-conductors, the building blocks of our new digital prisons. Power has proposed false “green solutions” that only serve to further our dependence on technology and extraction and polish the face of industrial capitalism.
The fires
In May, a fire completely destroyed a 100 year old wooden rail bridge along a remote stretch of the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in Washington. By the time firefighters could reach the blaze, the rail bridge was reduced to a smoldering, maimed clump of metal. The fire struck just hours after a sale was completed of the railway, transferring ownership to the Western Forest Industries Museum. Rail Operations were limited at the time of the fire, but the new company had planned to fully resume rail traffic on the line, both tourist and freight. Even after months of investigation, no arrests have been made.
In June, a significant stretch of rail in Salem, Oregon owned by Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) had to be shut down because of a fire that caused damage to a bridge, telephone pole and some PGE power lines. Prior to the fire, the line had an average of three large freight trains traveling along it daily. The bridge was made of concrete and creosote treated wood, which made it difficult to extinguish, requiring the use of firefighting foam. PNWR estimated that the line would be out of service for at least three days for repairs. Fire investigators determined that the blaze was intentional and PNWR placed the damages at just under two hundred thousand dollars.
Later in June, yet another fire engulfed a massive wooden rail trestle bridge in Newberg, Oregon. It sustained significant structural damage. PNWR, who owned the line, claimed that it was “largely inactive” at the time of the fire. It took hours for firefighting crews to get the fire under control and stop it from spreading to nearby structures. The FBI, ATF, and OSP are currently investigating the fire as an arson, but little other information has been released in the media. Unfortunate update: Two youth suspects were arrested in connection with the fire.
None of these fires have been claimed by anarchists or others and we don’t wish to project motivations on these actions, nor do we seek to speculate on the identity of the arsonists (we are sure that the state is already busy doing this). All that is known about the fires we are told by the media and police. We can look at these events as material facts (three intentionally set fires that damaged rail infrastructure) and draw conclusions and questions for our own struggle against domination and industrial destruction.
Rail in Oregon
Even as wind farms overtake coal power plants and data centers replace aging factories, the old rail lines built centuries ago remain vital to the industrial present and future. The rail network on the West Coast is still the backbone of many extractive industries, primarily the timber industry. The spoils of the Earth travel by train from factory to factory, leaving a trail of poison and destruction behind. Trains move over ten million tons of freight each year in Oregon, exporting mainly logs and finished wood products to other states and ports for international sale. Oregon imports many chemicals by rail, including a large quantity of caustic soda which is used for paper and pulp production. Oregon imports 100% of the refined liquid fuel products it uses, mainly by pipeline but also by rail and by ship1. The rail network also facilitates the transfer of waste from major cities to the massive landfills in Eastern Oregon and Washington along the Columbia river2.
The rail system in Oregon consists of nearly 2500 miles of total active trackage. About half of it is owned and operated by class 1 railroads: BNSF and Union Pacific, which transport freight across the country and to major shipping ports for international trade. Most of the remaining rail lines belong to class 2 railroad companies, which manage transport across much shorter distances. These railroads are operated by smaller companies and they change ownership more frequently. These railways provide “first and last mile” transport services for companies, often loading and unloading directly at factories and warehouses. The productive economy relies on a predictable and uninterrupted flow of materials by rail. Any disruptions to it can cause major ramifications to the industrial supply chain.
Although some rail-reliant industries in Oregon have declined over the past few decades, recent changes to federal regulation and the global economy suggest that the tide is shifting. These changes have provided a boon to extractive industry in Oregon, with major new projects set to get underway in the next few years. The timber industry has been in decline since the 1990s, but the federal government is moving towards rescinding longstanding forest protections that would open up millions of acres of land for logging in Oregon3. Mining projects near the Oregon-Nevada border have also been fast-tracked by the federal government and plan to eventually incorporate direct rail lines for the transport of lithium extracted from sacred indigenous sites. In June, the Oregon legislature invested 100 million dollars in the construction of a new “green” direct ship-to-rail terminal near Coos Bay, Oregon. Freight would travel along the Coos Bay rail line directly to Union Pacific lines in Eugene. At the same time, a new company has revived the previously aborted Jordan Cove LNG project near Coos Bay. It would involve the construction of a new liquefied natural gas ship terminal and pipeline which would tie in to existing rail lines in the area.
Passenger rail has also seen rapid growth and investment up and down the West Coast and in Oregon. Amtrak saw record ridership in 2024. The 2026 World Cup has several match locations on the West Coast, including in Seattle, Vancouver, LA, and San Francisco. Amtrak is preparing for a spike in passengers during the World Cup and has asked for additional funding to upgrade service ahead of the grand spectacle.
New projects of extractivism, capitalism, and earth destruction need a reliable railway system to link in with other sectors of the megamachine. As the engine plows forward, full steam ahead, there will be plenty of opportunities for us to knock it off the tracks.
Rail Sabotage
The rail bridge fires of the past few months are not the first time that railway infrastructure has been sabotaged in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, a PNWR rail trestle on the outskirts of Portland was torched in a massive blaze, pausing train traffic for five days. A communique was published online after the fire linking the action to the “Switch Off” campaign. The communique mentioned PNWR’s role in transporting lumber and oil products and claimed the action in solidarity with other ongoing struggles around the world.
Dozens of smaller scale sabotages took place in Oregon and Washington in 2020, amid a broader wave of attacks against railways and in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en struggle. Most involved the placement of “shunts” or similar methods that trigger the automatic braking system in trains by creating a short circuit. The track has to be cleared before train traffic can resume, disrupting rail schedules, but not causing lasting damage. Dozens of shunting incidents occurred in Oregon and Washington and some were claimed online by anarchists.
There have certainly been other attacks on railroad infrastructure that have not been highlighted by the media and police. It is not in the interest of Power to amplify attacks against it, but they are always there, just below the surface.
Infrastructure
The rate of technological expansion and the artificialization of our lives is making the machine more vulnerable. There is a race to upgrade the power infrastructure to keep up with the energy needs of the digital world. Every new invention puts stress on the grid, each new gadget needs to be brought online. As Gunther Anders theorized many years ago: “the bigger the machine, the more seriously endangered are its parts, which had operated individually before their merger into the larger machine.”
Attacks that target the key infrastructures of Power are able to cause tangible and immediate disruptions to the Existent. Burned down rail bridges can bring supply chains to a halt. Well-placed attacks on the power grid can shut down entire industrial zones. Blackouts can create openings for other subversives to strike while the surveillance state sleeps. But physical destruction is not enough on its own; the state is not just a network of material things, it is a set of social relationships and routines. When we choose to attack the state, we are doing so materially, but also socially, breaking out of our defined role and embracing autonomy and freedom. Acts that reach further and disrupt daily life can allow others to experience another way of existing, suspending routine and creating holes where freedom can shine through.
Media
There has been a concerted effort by police and the media to isolate attacks that directly target the “critical” infrastructures of Power. In 2023, as attacks on electricity infrastructure began to spike in the US (and especially the Northwest), the FBI released a memo suggesting that neo-Nazis and white supremacists were responsible. This was widely spread through the media, and the ensuing frenzy drove multiple states to propose new laws to “protect” critical infrastructure. In Oregon, a new law was quietly passed with bipartisan support that broadly classified any attempt to damage critical infrastructure as domestic terrorism4, providing police and prosecutors a powerful new tool to use against anarchists and other subversives. The language of the law is intentionally vague and is similar to the domestic terrorism statutes used to target opponents of Cop City in Atlanta.
Despite the FBI’s claims, by far the vast majority of attacks that target the electric grid have no clear motive5. The vast majority remain “unsolved,” too. Aware that they could not be ignored due to their impact (and simplicity), it seems the State instead tried to isolate the actions by trying to associate them solely to neo-Nazis. Yes, some were carried out by neo-Nazis and other enemies of freedom, but that is the reality of social conflict, but we don’t have to look back far to show that others were not.
“By distancing [ourselves] from any act that is not claimed as “anarchist”, by seeing only the hand of Nazis, of conspiracy theorists… would then end up rejecting any vision or will that wishes and works for an uncontrolled multiplication of the sabotage of telecommunication, energy and logistic infrastructures, in order to only accept and value their multiplication under ideological control. Does this mean defending freedom, or rather fearing it?”
By Fumbling, 2021.
Just one year before, a successful attack on a transformer knocked out power to a pump station along the Keystone pipeline, bringing the flow of oil to a pause and causing millions of dollars of losses for the oil company. In response to well-aimed acts of sabotage, it seems as if the State’s two main strategies are to keep things quiet (for fear that the sabotage is supported by others, or worse, is taken up by others) or sequester the actions by attaching them to a fixed group, unsavory ideology, or single suspect6. The goal is to discourage others from joining in, using whatever means necessary. Why, then, do we make this easier for the state by following our actions with claims and communiques?
“In the silence the actions speak for themselves and would they be left in their silence, all you hear is the fire crackling, no more explaining would be needed. But the silence is dangerous and brooding for the ruling order. The best remedy against silence is of course to make noise, talk and distract, to take over the power of definition.”
Let the Fire Spread, 2016.
Claims
The question of action claims and anonymity has been a point of discussion in anarchist spaces for decades, even centuries. It is not a new debate, but the growth and prominence of internet-based anarchist projects like counter-info websites add new dimensions to it. The conversation was taking place in Italy in the 1970s and 1980s, amid an explosive wave of sabotage that saw more than a thousand high-voltage pylons toppled across the country. This action was spreading anonymously, and at a time when spectacular actions (bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations) were being carried out and claimed by formal left-militant groups. The pylon saboteurs, who struck with simple tools and used simple methods, showed the strength of nameless action.
“These direct actions that anyone can accomplish at any time and in any place, perhaps frighten [the State] more than the very formation of a closed armed group. This is because the specific armed group is controllable due to the programme and logic it adheres to, while the spreading of acts of sabotage puts the power structure in difficulty because anyone can carry out such acts.”
Palmero Anarchist Group, 1987.
Decades later, Alfredo Bonnano offered his own thoughts on the wave of pylon sabotage, claims, and method:
“Anarchist comrades do not recite litanies together, at least not yet, but some of them draw up lists, which are devoutly sought, read, solicited, identified, discussed; they are applauded and used as tools to promote the anarchists’ self-satisfaction. So, not litanies but lists. But lists of what? Lists of attacks that have already been carried out or could be carried out in the future….In Italy, between the end of 1977 and 1989 1200 high voltage pylons were cut down. A few of these actions ended up in these blessed lists. But do you really think that was what triggered the proliferation of such actions, which I not only agree with but believe are good for one’s health, being a question of night walks in the countryside? At the time the above-mentioned journal published an article in which one method (among the many) was examined, explaining how you can cut down a pylon without making any noise and without any specialist technical equipment, cheerfully sawing away…”
Litanies, 2017.
So, if these questions have been asked, answered, and answered again, why come back to them? We don’t see the question of claims as a question that can be answered for once and for all, then shelved to catch dust- instead, like all questions that deal with method, a means of getting to a goal, they should be asked over and over again. Our context and goals are always shifting, we have to fight the urge to fall into practices based in habit and not constant reflection and analysis.
Today, it seems as though the prevailing practice among anarchists (specifically in the US context) is to accompany an attack with a claim, often one explaining the target and the motive. Sometimes claims are used to justify an action, though it is rarely clear who this justification is written for (the State, other anarchists, the authors themselves). These claims get posted on counter-info websites and occasionally picked up by more mainstream news outlets. Sometimes these actions are compiled into lists, where they sit, removed from the context in which they occurred.
“Doesn’t this international endless stream of news distract us from what is happening around us, in our immediate environment and its social conflicts, and is not made visible or mediated? Or is it even important to know what pinpricks on the other side of the world are injuring the veins of domination if one has no idea of the circumstances of the local situation and anarchist struggles?”
If we consider one of our goals to be to spread attack far and wide, beyond just anarchists, so to actually constitute a threat to domination, do claims help us get there? Let’s first consider the reach of the claims: counter-info websites reach other anarchists (though certainly not every anarchist), and we can be certain that they police are reading them too. Sure, we could print and distribute claims as posters7, zines, or leaflets so that they reach a bigger audience (answering the question of access). However, a bigger audience is still an audience: they passively observe, and at the end of the show, can choose to boo or cheer- but the spotlight still belongs to the actors on stage. The action belongs to the person who claimed it. It contains their ideas, their motivations, their ideology, and whatever slogans are tacked on at the end (the anarchy hashtags). Now everyone has an idea of who did it, the cops included, and the action is muddled by the content of the claim.
When an action goes unclaimed, there is no ownership: it truly belongs to everyone. Anyone could have done it and anyone could be the next to do it. We do not know who burned the three rail bridges. It could have been an anarchist, some kid playing around with matches, some wingnut with a score to settle, a disgruntled employee, it could have even been you. We do not know why they did either, but at the same time we all have our own devilish ideas and reasons within us.
We know about the rail bridge arsons because they were reported on in mainstream media. But what if the police and media had kept it out of the news? How would we know that the attack even happened? This is one of the reasons some anarchists use to argue for claiming an attack: precisely so we know it happened and why, so that it is not just lost by time. Claims can certainly serve this purpose, especially when the state adopts a strategy of silence to maintain the illusion of social peace. However, if the only way we know about an attack happening is through a communique posted online, perhaps it is worth asking if the attack itself was very successful. And if an action does not make sense without the communique, then perhaps it is a poor choice of target and faulty reading of the context. Like others have said before, an action that needs a communique is like a bad joke with a punchline that needs an explanation.
“As shadows under shadows, we are all equal. No one is in front to lead, no one is behind to follow. What we do in the darkness, we alone know. And that is enough. The darkness protects us against our enemies, but also and above all protects us from ourselves. No leaders, no herd instincts, no vanity, no passive admiration, no competition, nothing to prove or whatever. The facts, only the naked and raw facts, without mediation. A bank has burned down, a barracks has exploded, a pillar has been torn down. Who did it? That doesn’t matter. Whether it was Anna or Arthur, what’s the difference? It happened, it’s possible, let’s do it!”
Anonymous, 2014.
Each of the burned rail bridges had an immediate material effect, disrupting train traffic until the bridges could be fully repaired. Even if nobody heard about these actions, the material effects would still be there, as they are impossible to ignore. Like with any action, there is a symbolic dimension too- a burned down rail bridge communicates something unique to each individual.
People can have many different goals when they choose to attack, and thus there are many different criteria for “success.” We can not simply reduce the act of attacking down to one metric, which would essentially amount to turning destruction into a job, a quota to be met. But if one of our objectives concerns the multiplication of attacks, beyond just anarchists, we have to start with an analysis of our context; the present social conditions and physical landscape in which we find ourselves. Outside of the material results of an attack, we can’t be sure what the full impact will be, and even after we probably won’t be. However, if we look for the cracks that are already there, where it could be interesting to intervene with attack, we have a chance to deepen them and spread revolt.
These cracks are always present, even when Power tries its hardest to paint the picture of social peace. Acts of refusal and physical attacks on domination are always occurring, both big and small, wether we hear about them or not. This is comforting and inspiring, to know that we are not taking on this beast alone, but it also raises a crucial question: If there are other people, with the own motivations, striking back against domination, how can we find each other in action? How do we prevent attacks from being isolated, one-off strikes, and embed them into the social war? If there are sparks all over, how do we fan the flames and make the situation explode?
Attack
“The wonders of the night will only open up to those who know how to walk under the moon in solitude, with clear ideas, some knowledge, some tools and a lot of fury”
Finimondo, 2022.
It begins with acting, which begins with giving up the safety of waiting, for once and for all. There will never be the perfect moment, the perfect struggle or social tension to intervene in- anything could spark the next riot or insurrection. Throughout history, insurrections have started for relatively mundane reasons- a 10 peso fare hike in Chile, an increase in gas prices in France, plans to cut down trees in Turkey. Of course, the social tensions in each of the examples had been building for years, all it took was a single spark to set the whole thing ablaze. It would be foolish to wait for the ideal social struggle, driven by ideas that look exactly like yours or mine, because it will never arrive. We cannot control the desires and ideas that motivate others to take action, we can only hone our own perspectives and put them out into the world, and find ways to act according them, with continuity.
Choosing how and where to act starts with looking at our social context and local terrain and identifying areas of contention where it could be interesting to intervene with attack. Developing an idea of where we want to go and how we might get there; a projectuality, is an essential first step. There is no recipe for us to follow, and the path ahead will certainly be full of contradictions and shortcomings. The struggle for freedom does not come with promises, but our desires still lead us into the unknown.
There is also a pressing need for communication within our already existing networks of accomplices: a need for proposals, analysis of our surroundings, and most of all experimentation. If we have an idea of where we want to see action go, it is up to us to share it with other people we trust. Our projectualities are shaped through constant discussion and debate, but that can only occur if we are intentional in opening up spaces of contact where we can argue, plot, and dream together.
Propaganda
“It’s up to the anarchists to stir up their own perspectives by feeding the communicating vessels of idea and action, it’s not up to others. During quiet moments as well as during storms. And so, maybe, our dreams and anger find an echo in other rebellious heart”
Saisir l’occasion, 2018.
Beyond attack, we can be more active in spreading anarchist ideas in the streets, outside of our subcultural prisons and digital enclosures. We have become too comfortable with only speaking about anarchy with other anarchists. If we want subversive ideas and action to spread, we have to break out of the comfortability of our social circles.
Our messaging and propaganda can help give meaning to attacks that are already happening around us and create the context for other attacks. If a ballot box gets burned in our city, it could be an opportunity to spread anarchist propaganda against elections and democracy. Conversely, if a cell tower is set aflame in a city already ripe with graffiti and wheatpastes against digital control and technological domination, it is more likely to carry that meaning than to be written off as the act of a 5g conspiracist.
In France and other European countries, during the years of lockdown, unclaimed acts of sabotage against telecom infrastructure became a near daily occurrence. While the media (and leftists) tried to lump together all of the acts of sabotage as the works of conspiracists and fascists, anarchists printed and distributed pamphlets on the streets that amplified and supported the acts of sabotage and called for more. Posters were pasted up with recipes for destroying cell towers. And the sabotage continued to spread.
Newspapers and journals are also instruments for sharing anarchist ideas and promoting action. Of course, there is no shortage of anarchist publications, but most are written for an audience that already has an understanding of anarchist ideas and knows the lingo (of which there is plenty). These projects tend to have a broad geographical focus and stick to a publishing schedule (often loose, we are anarchists after all). But newspapers can also be made to respond to a specific social tension or struggle, with the aim of reaching people who are involved or simply aware of it.
In Germany, a pamphlet called “Hetzblatt – Gegen den Windpark” (Incendiary Paper Against the Wind Farm) appeared in mailboxes in the area of a proposed wind farm (which would be used to power the chemical industry). It contained accessible critiques of green energy and news about acts of sabotage. The paper caused such a stir that the German authorities launched an investigation into its production, ultimately arresting several people thought to be behind the project8.
LET THE FIRE SPREAD!
Three rail bridges burned in three months might not seem like much compared to the thousands left standing. But each fire showed, ever briefly, that the megamachine is not all-invincible. We don’t know why they were burned, or who did it, and we hope it stays that way. What we do know is that domination is vulnerable and we can strike anywhere, anytime. Where will you begin?
submitted anonymously
- There are no refineries within the state of Oregon. Around 90% of all petroleum products consumed in Oregon (everything from gasoline and diesel to jet fuel and industrial lubricants) travel by pipeline (The exception being Ethanol and Biodiesel, which are moved by rail and ship). This includes the Olympic Pipeline, which is operated by Kinder Morgan beginning at the Port of Portland and carries products South to Eugene. The Marathon pipeline has a single terminal in Eastern Oregon. Oregon, and the West Coast region more generally, could see a major petroleum shortage if either pipeline is damaged or disrupted. This has been the focus of many state and federal preparedness programs and security planning. In one report, pipeline owners and operators identified loss of electricity, accidental or intentional, as the most pressing threat to pipeline operations. ↩︎
- All of the waste from Portland travels by semi-truck, while waste from Seattle and surrounding cities travels by train. Some of the biggest landfills in the country sit along the Columbia River, far out of sight and out of mind, releasing tens of thousands of tons of Methane into the atmosphere each year. ↩︎
- The “Roadless Rule” is a Forest Service regulation that bans logging in National Forest land that doesn’t have existing road access. The Trump administration has said that they plan on getting rid of the rule, which protects 60 million acres of undeveloped forest across the country. ↩︎
- The Oregon law makes it a crime of domestic terrorism to disrupt critical infrastructure, which includes roads, pipelines, dams, data centers, and electrical and telecom infrastructure. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. ↩︎
- There is no official public database of attacks on the electrical grid, but one of the available datasets logged just under 1000 attacks between 2000-2023. Only two dozen had known perpetrators, the rest in the list are still unsolved. ↩︎
- In 2020, as popular revolt swept across the US, police started a rumor that white supremacists were “infiltrating” peaceful protests and turning them violent. In Minneapolis, police claimed that they had identified a person, coined “Umbrella man,” who allegedly broke the first windows on the evening that the precinct was burned down. They said that they received a tip that he was a member of a white supremacist biker gang who wanted to “incite violence.” This was spread all across the mainstream media and social media and fueled conspiracy theories about outside agitators in other cities. Five years later, no proof was ever released and no arrests have been made and Umbrella Man is still free. ↩︎
- Anarchists in Montreal experimented with this, turning anonymous communiques into posters that could be easily printed and distributed on the streets. Link here: https://mtlcounterinfo.org/for-the-streets/posters-2/communique-poster-series/ ↩︎
- Anarchists in Germany are facing heavy repression for their alleged involvement in newspaper projects. For more information about the situation, check out the zine Hetzlumpen: https://actforfree.noblogs.org/2025/07/24/hetzlumpen/. ↩︎