Latest phone outage caused by theft

[Wrightwood]

I spoke to someone from Verizon today and got some details about Saturday's phone outage.

Thieves connected something to a 50 pair (19ga) copper trunk line in Scrub Oak Canyon (near Desert Front Rd) and ripped down 1,500 feet of cable. While the thieves were ripping down the overhead copper trunk line from the poles they damaged a 30 foot section of fiber optic cable feeding Wrightwood.

[Bob C]

I think they started this "ripping" exercise around 4pm-ish on that day. I remember walking around downtown Wrightwood at the time, when my cell phone had "no signal" several times. It came back on after a while, but when I got home at 6ish, I remember seeing everything was out.

There are some real low-lifes in this world, isn't there? I wish they would get electrocuted.

[ForestGal]

Bob, I totally agree with you.  My sister called me from Portland, from her cell phone to my house phone (land line) at 4:29 p.m.  We talked for quite a while when all of a sudden we got cut off, so I'm guessing the cable got cut about 5 p.m.  I couldn't get her back, obviously, and when I was able to get messages from her the following day, she suggested that maybe squirrels had caused the problem, not knowing the whole town was knocked out of service.  I told her that yeah, it was squirrels, but not the cute, furry, bushy-tailed ones........  

[Stitches]

More like RATS got into the wiring!!  This type of stuff makes me mad and if an emergency happens and because of the lack of communication, they should be held accountable for their actions.    No different than making an arsonist pay for fire fighting.  I also say - fry 'em.

[Wrightwood]

With 911 not functioning for 6-8 hours there was a lot of potential for health and safety issues to go bad.

[wwpt]

[Wrightwood]

Several Wrightwood homes were without phone service

Oh this news article is so accurate 


12,000 feet ?
That's over 2 miles of 50 pair wire.

How big was the truck that ripped down 2 miles of 50 pair wire, then loaded it and drove off. 

[ForestGal]

"Several Wrightwood homes were without phone service."
Yeah, like the whole dang village!   

I don't know what 50 pair wire is, but 2 miles of it sounds like an awful lot.   

Question - aren't the recycle places, or wherever the heck these thieves take this stuff to, alerted to this thievery?  And do they still really accept this stuff?  Well, I guess there are illegal recycling places too, but then what do they do with it?   

[wwpt]

 
   Ya think someone who lives along Scrub Oak would notice a truck or large pickup hauling wire sticking out the back and report this?

[Wrightwood]

[Wrightwood]

I found some listings for 50 pair 24 gage copper and it weighs 300 lbs for 1,000 feet.

So by doing a few quick calculations based on the news article and information posted above, the 12,000 feet of cable would have weighed in the neighborhood of 8,000 to 10,000 lbs.

And let's not forget this was in broad daylight.
I say the news article above is BUSTED!

[Stitches]

Are they taking it and selling it on the black market?   Perhaps their own personal project or a friend's?   I'd like to get hold of a dirty contractor who would buy this stuff cheap especially if they know it was stolen.

Yeah, did you all hear the loud guffaw that came from my house when I first read "several Wrightwood homes were without service"?  I think they need to check their stats again.   Let's all give them a call from every phone that was disabled and a message from the cell phones that didn't work all evening long.   Also, we should all send them an email from everyone who didn't have internet assess at the time.  I know that from my house, they would get one landline call and five cell phone calls and messages and a internet email.

[RennMan]

I was talking with our Scoutmaster, who works for Verizon.  He said he had heard they stole about 1/2 mile of wire.

He also said that whatever they used to pull down the wire had some pretty good power behind it, because they found grommets that had been pulled through the poles (the wire hangers, or the poles itself, I'm not certain).

I wonder if there is a way to coat the wires with the same type of dye they use in bank robberys.  That way, at least the thieves would be marked...

[Surfer_Dude]

Yeah, I believed it after I heard about the crane operator whose lift was stolen off his truck in Phelan in the middle of a busy parking lot. Improbable but not impossible, these thieves are darn resourceful, imagine if they used this energy for good...

[SkierBob]

Yeah, I believed it after I heard about the crane operator whose lift was stolen off his truck in Phelan in the middle of a busy parking lot. Improbable but not impossible, these thieves are darn resourceful, imagine if they used this energy for good...

There was a loader stolen off of Lancaster Blvd in the middle of the day..

Then there was the guy that went to L.A. stole a street sweeper, drove it to Cal City and started a business.  It was a year before they caught  up with him.

I'd bet the phone wire was stolen for scrap, not to be resold or reused.

I had a 100ft roll of 3 conductor, #6 stranded stolen from me the other day.. I paid $400 for the roll, I doubt they got a $100 for it.  To turn it into scrap is a complete waste of some really nice wire.  It really chaps my hide. 

[wwpt]

 
   Here's the take from the San Bernardino Sun....not much better ... But they upgraded from "Several" homes to "Dozens" were without Phones. Hahh!
 
   PINON HILLS

Deputies search for vandals who cut wire

Sheriff's deputies are searching for whomever cut 12,000 feet of copper wire and 100 feet of fiber optics cable from Verizon phone lines in Pinon Hills over the weekend, leaving dozens of Wrightwood residents without phone service for hours.

Verizon officials reported the theft Monday morning but deputies said someone cut the cable around 4:30 p.m. Saturday on Scrub Oak Drive, the second time people have stolen phone cables from this neighborhood in recent months.

Repairs to the phone lines are estimated at $25,000.

Anyone with information is asked to call Deputy Danny Ritchea at the Phelan sheriff's station: (760) 868-1006. Verizon may be offering a reward for information on whomever cut the lines. Anonymous tipsters can call (800) 78-CRIME.

[Leftfield]

 $25,000    So Verizon between two incidences lost $50,000....thats a full time security guard right there.   How many more times will this happen before Verizon gets the picture?

[SkierBob]

$25,000    So Verizon between two incidences lost $50,000....thats a full time security guard right there.   How many more times will this happen before Verizon gets the picture?

What picture is that? Are you suggesting should hire a security guard?

[SkierBob]

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-scrapyard27-2008dec27,0,1722512.story

But the bottom fell out in October, when foreign markets suddenly dried up and the price of scrap iron fell dramatically to about $40 a ton. Even copper, which has been a hot commodity for thieves, has sunk from $3.49 per pound in July to $1.33 per pound. Stainless steel has dropped from $1.18 per pound to 35 cents.

[pinetrees]

Thank you all for the information - do you think it would it be possible for Verizon to install some tiny security cameras at the crime scene?  Maybe that would give law enforcement better information to capture the perpetrators?