Between 6,000 to 8,000 feet of wire has been stolen from St. Paul light poles recently, which a city official said Friday will cost an estimated $40,000 to replace.

A St. Paul Public Works employee notified police on Thursday about thefts that have happened over the past month.

He reported a man wearing a safety vest cut off electrical wires from the bases of light poles during the day. Under the cover of darkness, the man returned and pulled the wires out, according to a police spokesman.

“This is not necessarily a new problem for us, but an ongoing problem that is occurring on a nationwide level,” said Ellen Biales, Public Works administrative programs manager. “Thieves are interested in pulling out the copper wire to sell for scrap metal.”

Removing the wires renders the lights inoperable and it’s expensive for the city to replace them, but the thieves don’t make that much on the sale of the raw material, Biales said.

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Places around the city have been targeted over the last month and have included the areas around Wheelock Parkway and Edgerton Street, Sam Morgan Regional Trail, Mississippi Street and Phalen Boulevard, Fairview and Thomas avenues, Crosby Farm Regional Park, Grace and Colborne streets, and Hyacinth Avenue and Mendota Street, according to police.

A detailed description of the suspect was not available.

Lighting staff have been evaluating what repairs will be needed and fitting them in with their busy summer workload, Biales said.

Public Works is working with the police department to try to resolve the problem, but Biales said it’s “difficult since it is random and often a crime of opportunity.”