Fire Sale

Somebody is stealing L.A.'s fire hydrants:

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."

Watch for hydrant thieves...