Copper catastrophe: Copper wire thefts continue to cost victims thousands of dollars

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Copper wire thefts continue to plague the Fresno area, and one of the most recent could disrupt the first day of school for local elementary school students and families.

Newly installed traffic signals near Tilley Elementary School in west central Fresno never got the chance to light up before copper wires were stolen.

The signals were supposed to go live just in time for the start of the first day of school, but they could stay dark for months.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the thieves got away with a couple $100 worth of copper, and it's going to cost us a couple $100,000 to repair it," said Miguel Arias, Fresno City Council. "But the big challenge for us is not just the cost of repair, as well as the time it takes to get the material in for the repair. So that's going to create a huge delay."

It's not just traffic lights that are targeted. Valley Air Conditioning and Repair said thieves can maybe get$50 worth of wires out of AC units, but the destruction can force victims to pay tens of thousands for replacements.

That's why the company offers customers protective measures.

"On a ground-mounted condensing unit, there are cages that are basically bolted to the cement to protect the thieves from getting into them," said Steve Mendrin, Manager of Valley Air Conditioning & Repair.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said they have an entire unit dedicated to the crimes.

Deputies work in partnership with recycling yards to identify and arrest people who turn up with questionably sourced copper wire.

"They know that if something comes in that looks suspicious, you know, this is some brand new looking stuff," said Tony Botti, Fresno County Sheriff's Office. "Why would this be coming through the door? A lot of times, they'll give us a call, 'Hey, you might want to check this out.' So we'll go down there, we'll contact the person. We've made arrests that way."

Wire thieves hit Fresno City College earlier this year. Campus police were able to arrest the suspect after repeated thefts on the new West Fresno Campus.

"He damaged and destroyed several of the lighting fixtures out there," said Chief Jose Flores, SCCCD Police Department. "The sad thing was that we had to replace the wire, and also that whole campus was without lighting for at least three weeks."

Each person told Action News the most frustrating part of the crimes is how much damage is done for how little the thieves make off the wire.

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