Copper wire thieves are targeting street lights in neighborhoods all over Fresno, so city leaders are considering options to fix those that are out and to prevent further thefts.
They say approximately $75,000 every month is lost due to copper wire theft. There are about 41,000 streetlights in the city and 4,000 are currently out, and the wait tine to fix a reported outage is 8 to 12 months.
Not only do the thefts cost the city money, it also creates dangerous situations for increased crime like car thefts, rape, home break-ins etc.
The situation prompted city leaders to get more vigilant on the issue. They held a community forum on Wednesday to let residents know the city is working to fix the problem.
Part of the plan the city is working on is to prevent recycling yards from buying stolen copper. If thieves can’t sell it, they won’t steal it.
Another step is to repair the damaged poles and make them theft proof.
Fresno City Manager Mark Scott said, “The fix is to poor concrete into the poles so that people don't have access to the copper wire to take it. It’s not a perfect fix, it’s the least expensive and in the long run, it’s proven to work."
The cost to fill the bottom of the light poles is about $20 per pole. The cost to repair a light pole already hit by thieves is $400, so in a cost/benefit analysis, it’s worth it.
The city believes it will cost about one million dollars to implement the plan, which could take another year to find in the budget.
