SEATTLE — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Wire thieves have struck again, and this time in Montlake.
Montlake Project facilities were targeted, with thieves stealing hundreds of feet of essential wiring, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reported Wednesday via a news release.
The theft disrupted WSDOT’s signing and lighting in the area, including on the bike and pedestrian bridge.
Crews have already replaced some of the wire and are working with Seattle City Light to restore the rest.
Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area is urged to call 911 and report it to WSDOT by email or through the agency’s 24-hour hotline at 206-319-4520.
Montlake Project latest target of wire theft
Copper wire thieves have been disrupting transit and critical infrastructure across the region, prompting tougher prosecutions.
Rising metal prices have fueled the surge in copper theft.
“Thieves are opportunistic, and as conditions change, as the economy changes, they look for different opportunities,” Gary Ernsdorff, a senior deputy with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, told KIRO Newsradio. “One of the things we’ve seen recently is a rise in copper prices, so the thieves are looking for an opportunity to cash in on this.”
Offenders often cut large spans of communication wire from utility poles, sometimes as much as a half mile at a time, to strip out the copper inside. The result can leave entire neighborhoods without critical services.
Although thieves may net only a few thousand dollars from stolen metal, utilities can face hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair costs and weeks-long outages.
Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest and Luke Duecy, KIRO Newsradio
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