Copper wire thieves hit Federal Way park hard
Aug 9, 2012, 5:26 AM | Updated: 6:44 am
A big soccer tournament is in jeopardy after copper thieves hit Federal Way’s Celebration Park.
Police say the thieves stole up to $30,000 worth of wiring, cutting power to the park. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Eighty teams are scheduled to play 300 games in an upcoming tournament. Many are scheduled at night. Without power, organizers will be be forced to move or cancel games.
“This is about the third incident that’s happened since June,” Cathy Schrock of the Federal Way Police Department tells KOMO News. “They will hit an area and then they’ll move to another area. It’s a sophisticated system of thieves.”
Officials say the theft also cut power to the irrigation system at the park, threatening the grass on the fields.
Perry Woodford with the Federal Way Soccer Association says he’s frustrated because it keeps happening.
“We’ve put measures in trying to prevent it, but then they come in and damage things trying to get to the wires, and then you have to repair those,” he said.
Woodford says he’s hoping the power can be restored to the park by the weekend.
