Thieves are diving into San Francisco sewers to steal copper wiring, in a new crime trend that is leaving residents and businesses in the dark.
According to CBS 5, police are investigating 12 separate incidents of copper wiring theft from sewers in the past three weeks. The thefts have caused power outages all over the city.
Police said the crimes lack any geographic pattern. The removed copper was part of an underground power network, serving as a neutral leg in high-voltage systems that help connect transformers and bring power across the city.
The crimes have been occurring between the hours of 2 and 6 a.m., according to police. The thieves remove a manhole cover to go underground and then use bolt cutters to remove the copper wire. The use of a hacksaw in some thefts was also evident.
Thieves can sell the copper wire to scrap metal dealers for close to $3 per pound.
SF Weekly reported that copper theft caused a power outage at UCSF Medical Center and forced the hospital to use backup generators on Wednesday.
The Examiner put together a comprehensive list of the areas of the city targeted by the copper bandits.
