Botched Theft Of Copper Wire Knocks Out Internet Service For Swaths Of SoCal

LOS ANGELES, CA — An attempted theft of copper wire in the San Fernando Valley left an unknown number of Spectrum customers without internet in swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to reports. The outage is continuing Monday morning, according to the company.

"The Spectrum outage affecting the Los Angeles area was caused by a criminal act of vandalism," the company said in a statement Sunday afternoon. As of 6 a.m. Monday, the company said its crews "are making progress in restoring services in the Los Angeles area."

A thief or thieves who were looking for copper wire cut into multiple Charter fiber lines in Van Nuys. They climbed trees to gain access to the lines, which were on poles. They were cut sometime around midnight Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

While copper's vale has attracted thieves to public infrastructure, like streetlights, the problem with the Charter wire theft is that the cables in question weren't copper at all — they were fiber optic, the Times reported.

• Read more: Copper Wire Theft Leaves LA In The Dark — But Officials Think They Can Stop It

Spectrum is offering a reward of up to $25,000 who provides information that leads directly to the arrest of anyone responsible for vandalizing or stealing network infrastructure. “Anyone with information on this act of vandalism can contact Spectrum at (833) 404-TIPS or 8477 or reach out to local law enforcement," the company said.