"It's Mind-Boggling": Los Angeles Hit With Surge Of Fire Hydrant Thefts

Just when you think the Democrats' socialist utopia state of California can't possibly sink any higher (sic), it does just that: first it was catalytic converters, now it's fire hydrants.

According to CBS News, a California state water company has responded to a growing frenzy of fire hydrant thefts in Los Angeles by installing locked shields to cover the bolts on hydrants to stop thieves.

Golden State Water Company, which owns and operates the fire hydrants, says thefts now happen daily, especially in South Los Angeles, which is one of the impoverished communities where thefts are extremely high, with two of the most recent believed to have happened last Thursday without neighbors even realizing it.

"It's mind-boggling that someone would just come into a neighborhood and just steal a fire hydrant," neighbor Krystail Cousins said. "You're now putting a whole neighborhood in danger."

And yet that is precisely what Krystail's predominantly minority neighbors have been engaged in.

The water company's Southwest District general manager, Kate Nutting, said as the hydrants are made of iron and brass, she believes they are being sold on the black market for scrap metal.

"Since the beginning of 2023, we've had over 300 hydrants stolen, and it's been ramping up in 2024 which is why we’ve been taking even more aggressive measures to try to stop it", Nutting said. "We’re really alarmed about this happening. It is a big public safety issue."

The measures the company has taken include welding hydrants to block access to the bolts, Nutting said. But thieves have continued, with methods including ramming hydrants with vehicles or using specialized tools to remove metal parts.

“In some cases, they are very persistent in getting those parts out,” Nutting said.

Many of the thefts have occurred in the communities of Florence-Graham, Willowbrook and West Rancho Dominguez, as well as eastern Gardena near the 110 Freeway.

Sometimes, thieves have unscrewed bolts to remove hydrants. Other times, they’ve used a vehicle to knock the hydrant loose. Those targeting the hydrants have often used a shutoff valve before dislodging them. But on several occasions, they’ve left water gushing.

The company has been sending out replacements typically the same day they are reported stolen, each one costing about $3,500. It's not clear what their value is on the black market. The total cost of all the stolen hydrants has amounted to over a $1.2 million loss, the company said.

Missing hydrants are also a safety risk, as it impedes fire-fighting capabilities and the water company said it can potentially compromise the water system's ability to deliver safe and reliable drinking water. The L.A. County Fire Department said the thefts pose a threat to public safety.

“Fire hydrants are crucial in providing a reliable water source for firefighting operations, and their absence can hamper rescue efforts and lead to delays extinguishing fires,” the department said in an email.

Experts agree that small delays in fighting fires can be pivotal. Venkatesh Kodur, a professor and director of Michigan State University’s Center on Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics, said the best opportunity to knock down a blaze, particularly a house fire, is within the first five to 10 minutes, when damage is still minimal.

Typically after 15 minutes, he said, “the damage and the fire grows almost exponentially ... and every second is important.”

Kodur said if the work of fighting a fire is hindered by a missing hydrant, the flames can spread more easily. And although the thieves may be lured by the payday, Kodur said, the fact is that brass, copper and steel don’t fetch very much money.

“These are people selling these metals to scrap dealers for peanuts,” Kodur said.

Yet "peanuts" is precisely what the desperate locals will do anything for at a time when the scourge that is "Bidenomics" has left them beyond broke.

Golden State Water wants to remind thieves that tampering with fire hydrants is a federal crime; then again gun sales in Chicago are "illegal" which has shockingly failed to stop local minorities from mass exterminating each other at a record pace in recent years.