Theft of Electrical Wires Causes Blackout in Ontario Mill Mall

Two retail merchants and an eatery in the Ontario Mills mall were left without power and closed Thursday after electrical wiring was stolen, police said.

Electrical boards were meddled with at Kohl's department store, Fazoli's restaurant and another store near East Fourth Street and North Milliken Avenue, police Sgt. Bret Larson said.

"Metal theft has been increasing at an awful rate," Larson said.

"We've been having a lot of thefts of wire, copper and electronics equipment."

A Kohl's supervisor reported the theft Thursday morning, Larson said.

Fazoli's manager Mercedes Avalos said that he spent Thursday replacing the missing wiring.

"This is the first time anything like this has ever occurred," she said.

"I don't see what they get from that."

Kohl's officials were inaccessible for comment Friday afternoon.

Larson said he knows precisely why Ontario and other cities are experiencing a rise in scrap metal theft: Thieves will resell and recycle the stolen metal scraps.

"People will reprocess the wire and get money for the copper," he said.

Everything from the cabling in lampposts to air-conditioning units in deserted and foreclosed homes are vulnerable to theft.