WIRE-THEFT TRY IN A.V. SPARKS FIRE CRIMINALS AIM AT POWER-LINE COPPER.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN

Staff Writer

LANCASTER _ Firefighters extinguished a small blaze Tuesday morning in west Lancaster that county Fire Department officials believe was caused by thieves attempting to steal copper wire.

The fire was discovered about 6:50 a.m. at a Southern California Edison power line near 100th Street West and Avenue G, fire Inspector Jason Hurd said.

The fire burned along a patch of grass, 100 feet by 6 feet, in an open desert field. Edison employees responding to the scene were able to shut down the power lines so that firefighters could fully extinguish the blaze by 7:20 a.m., Hurd said.

"It really didn't have anywhere else to go," Hurd said.

Hurd said firefighters found gloves and rope cutters near the site of the blaze, suggesting an attempt to steal copper wire.

Copper-wire theft has become one of the Antelope Valley's fastest-growing crimes, according to law enforcement officials, who say thieves find it relatively easy to go unnoticed in the vast open desert, then have little difficulty selling the stolen wire to recycling centers.

Hurd said a botched attempt to short-circuit a section of the power line ignited the blaze. Copper wire can't be removed until it is disconnected from the power grid.

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