KLOG 1490 AM, which serves the Longview-Kelso area, was off the air for 12 hours after the copper thieves made their way down a remote hill off I-5 to the KLOG Radio tower cutting through a fence before chopping out the copper wires.
Joel Hanson with KLOG/KUKN The Wave said the thieves left behind wire cutters, which he said were “worth more than anything they could have stolen. If they got 50 cents worth of copper they were lucky.”
They did far more damage than what they got away with, and they risked their lives doing it. Police said there was evidence of a jolt when they cut into the high voltage wires surrounding the radio towers.
“They probably got shocked pretty good, I’m guessing,” said Kelso PD. “We could see there’s some electrical scorches inside the boxes. It’s a hot tower. I’m sure that’s probably why they dropped the clippers.”
Police said copper wire theft is an ongoing issue because it’s hard to track. But now sellers have to show their ID, which has reduced the thefts that skyrocketed a few years ago.
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