For six months, Hacienda Heights resident Michael Weiner couldn’t get a dial tone on his landline.
He tried to get a solution from his telephone firm, Frontier Communications, however was informed that it was a technical challenge. He continued to get billed regardless that he couldn’t make a name.
Weiner, 79, ultimately discovered that his service, just like the telephone strains of a lot of his neighbors, was interrupted by copper wire thieves who tampered with utility poles. The issue has even briefly compelled college students out of faculty.
Weiner and his neighbors are the newest victims of a surge in copper wire theft all through Los Angeles County.
However Weiner and different Hacienda Heights residents are particularly steamed that Frontier hasn’t stored them knowledgeable in regards to the service cuts and the progress to get the strains working once more.
“Nobody contacted us to tell us. I had wasted so many hours attempting to contact them,” he mentioned about Frontier. “We dwell in a sort of a fireplace zone, so we’re all the time involved about emergencies. We’re senior residents. If there’s a well being emergency between my spouse and myself, it may very well be an issue if we are able to’t make a telephone name.”
Weiner shares a cellphone along with his spouse, however the two depend on their landline to remain in contact with household and pals. For months, he mentioned, Frontier missed scheduled service appointments, and his requires assist had been routed to Frontier staff who couldn’t do something for him.
An aerial view of Hacienda Heights.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Occasions)
Hacienda Heights sprawls from dense suburban housing close to the 60 Freeway to the single-family properties up the circuitous slim roads within the hills of Turnbull Canyon. Residents say cell service is spotty at finest, making landlines and telephone service by way of a Wi-Fi connection essential.
However with spotty web entry and no landlines, residents can discover themselves in a deadly scenario within the occasion of wildfire, earthquake or different catastrophe.
Granted, telephone strains are only one technique to hear about emergencies. Los Angeles County sends alerts by way of AM and FM radio, and emergency responders can broadcast them to cellphones without having for particular apps. As a final resort, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters can go door to door alerting individuals to flee, as they did in Ventura County for the Mountain fireplace earlier this month .
The wire thefts in Hacienda Heights have gone past telephone strains, although.
College students at Glen A. Wilson Excessive Faculty in Hacienda Heights had been compelled to attend courses remotely after thieves lower energy to the varsity Nov. 17 .
“The copper wire theft shut down Wilson Excessive Faculty’s electrical, computer systems, and telephone programs. Copper wire thieves are preying on faculties and stealing 1000’s of {dollars} of beneficial materials,” Asst. Supt. John Lovato of the Hacienda La Puente Unified Faculty District mentioned in an announcement. “This theft is severely impacting pupil studying and packages.”
Two different faculties within the district had been focused within the final month, Lovato mentioned, including that college students at Wilson returned to in-person courses after the interruption .
Thieves have grown bolder in recent times, step by step stripping miles of copper wiring from lights on the sixth Road Viaduct in downtown Los Angeles and stealing copper from telephone and web strains.
Copper wire thieves even have stripped wire from the Metro rail strains, inflicting delays within the service.
One of many issues that causes delays on the Metro Rail system is the theft of copper wiring from sign and traction energy gear adjoining to coach tracks, in accordance with the metro.internet web site.
(Metro)
The motivation: The rust-colored metallic can internet round $4 per pound, in accordance with the newest scrap metallic charges in Los Angeles County.
Town created a heavy metallic activity power this yr to fight the thefts. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division is dealing with the investigation into the Hacienda Heights thefts, however didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Final week, Frontier Communications restored telephone companies to some residents in Hacienda Heights, a number of months after the disruptions had been first reported in April.
Doug McAllister, Frontier’s vice chairman of exterior affairs, met with pissed off residents to elucidate that copper wire is briefly provide and is being shipped from out of state.
“We’ve had a lot cable theft we’re working out of copper,” McAllister mentioned on the Hacienda Heights Enchancment Assn. assembly Nov. 18. “What occurs is after we get it shipped to us, we put it up, we flip our backs and it’s gone once more.”
Based on video from the assembly, McAllister assured residents that he would work to deal with the billing scenario for these charged for companies throughout the outage. A consultant for Frontier couldn’t be reached for remark.
Frontier is providing a $5,000 reward and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis is providing a $20,000 reward to anybody who supplies info resulting in the arrest of these liable for the thefts.
“I’m dedicated to proceed supporting our Sheriff’s Division of its effort to resolve these crimes,” Solis mentioned in an announcement.
The telephone firm has billed Weiner greater than $500 whereas his service was out. Ali Weiner, his daughter, mentioned at one level her mum or dad’s quantity was disconnected.
“My mother and father hardly take a look at their cellphone, so this has turn into a really massive safety challenge,” she mentioned.
Now, Michael Weiner is apprehensive that the entire scenario goes to harm his credit score rating. He refuses to pay for a service he by no means acquired. As of Tuesday , he nonetheless hasn’t had his telephone line turned again on, however an organization consultant informed his household that his case is being given particular consideration.
Resident Andrea Gordon, 73, wonders why it took Frontier so lengthy to deal with the problem or notify prospects.
“It’s a horrible scenario to be in,” Gordon mentioned.
McAllister advised that Hacienda Heights improve its telephone strains to fiber-optic cables. Frontier presents fiber-optic service however didn’t disclose the charges prospects would face.
Gordon mentioned she is suspicious about high-tech strains and doesn’t respect the gross sales pitch amid the disruption in companies.
“Why would I offer you my phone as a fiber optic when you possibly can’t even maintain my landline going,” she mentioned.
Hacienda Heights resident Larry Arnold inspects the telephone line at Turnbull Canyon Highway and Skyline Drive.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Occasions)
Resident Diana Arnold, 65, has lived within the Turnbull Canyon space for many years. In 1989, a hearth moved via the neighborhood. She mentioned that after she evacuated her residence, she continued to name her landline to see whether or not her answering machine picked up, signaling that her residence was nonetheless standing.
“Then I noticed a information report from the scene speaking in regards to the fireplace, and once they pulled again the shot I noticed a smoking home,” Arnold mentioned. “I known as the telephone and it didn’t decide up.”
During the last six months, she mentioned she noticed downed telephone strains days after contractors labored to restore the community. Fed up with not having a landline, Arnold and her household switched to a telephone service with an Web supplier that competes with Frontier.
“It’s not only a landline, it’s a lifeline,” Arnold mentioned.