Copper wire thieves causing Phone, internet outages in LA-area neighborhood

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. (CNS) – Copper wire thieves have left people who live in the Los Angeles County community of Hacienda Heights without landline phone service and internet access for months, and they are demanding answers from the service provider and police Wednesday.
During a Hacienda Heights Improvement Association meeting with the community Monday night to address the issue, residents complained about being without service since April and want to know how they are supposed to contact family and loved ones in the event of an emergency.
The community is also in an area that has poor cell phone service. There is a concern that if there is a fire, earthquake or flood, there is no way to contact emergency responders or family members.
Thieves steal copper wire that is used by Frontier Communications for internet cables and phone lines. A representative from Frontier Communications attended the meeting and told the residents the cable theft is tough to stop.
The residents complained about the lack of responses from Frontier Communications and the continued outages.
Douglas McAllister, Frontier’s vice president of external affairs in California, said preventing the copper wire thefts is like playing Whack-a-Mole.
“We’ll get them dealt with here, and they pop up over there,” he said at the meeting.
One of the ways to stop the copper wire thefts is to replace the cables with fiber optics, which are made of glass.
McAllister said Frontier is not able to make that replacement because of safety rules in place by the city of Hacienda Heights.
But McAllister gave credit to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for addressing the copper wire thefts. There is a $5,000 reward offered to help catch copper wire thieves.