Moore County Sheriff's office has activated a state of emergency due to a mass power outage across the county which is being investigated as a criminal act.Authorities said the outage was caused by a group of people responsible for vandalizing and shooting at the county's power equipment. Deputies said people across the community called to report power outages they were experiencing just after 7 p.m. on Saturday.The North Carolina Public Safety has reported more than 40,000 power outages. "We are looking at a pretty sophisticated repairs," said Jeff Brooks, a Duke Energy representative. "We want citizens of the town to be prepared."Brooks said restoration will go as long as Thursday as the damages have caused fire to the equipment. After investigating, utility companies found evidence of intentional vandalism that had occurred at multiple sites, according to Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields.Deputies and other law enforcement agencies within the county have responded to the issue and are working on providing extra security across the county.Duke Energy crews are working 24-hour shifts to make repairs and restore service to all impacted customers.The county superintendent said schools will be closed on Monday as a result.County officials are asking the public to stay away from Moore County until damage has been fully repaired.This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.