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Dozens of residents across Portola Valley say they’ve lost their internet, landlines or cell service for days at a time. The reason: a string of copper wire thefts.
Since February, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office received five reports of copper wire and cable thefts on Portola Road and Alpine Road and a total of 11 across the county.
The Sheriff’s Office recently made an arrest in connection to at least one copper wire theft in Portola Valley after the Sheriff’s Office “allocated significant resources to investigate the recent thefts,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gretchen Spiker.
Loss of service from downed trees and storms has been a longstanding issue within the town, but the jump in cable thefts is a recent problem, residents said.
“For months, all of us have been suffering with the utilities, the internet, cellular service and home service,” said resident Rita Comes during a Town Council meeting on March 25. “We as individuals are spending hours on the phone trying to solve these issues with Comcast and AT&T.”
She told The Almanac that the time she’s spent trying to contact these companies about her service is “time that I’m not getting back in my life.” Back in December, AT&T Internet was out for nearly 20 days, Comes said.
In order to have consistent service, Comes had been subscribed to both AT&T and Comcast for the past seven years. It wasn’t until two weeks ago that she finally canceled her AT&T service due to the constant outages.
“The problem is that the executives at AT&T are unreachable and nobody has any information,” said Janet Davis, a local resident. During an outage last month, she spent 11 days without landline and internet service, before it was was restored on March 31, she added.
Davis said she wants to see San Mateo County officials be more responsive about the issue.
Portola Valley is not alone in experiencing rising cable thefts. Cases of telecommunication outages and infrastructure vandalism are a growing problem throughout the state.
Last year, California Attorney General Rob Bonta addressed the surge in copper thefts and issued a law enforcement bulletin that summarizes the state’s laws related to copper wire theft and recyclers’ obligations to report information on copper transactions.
“While the value of copper remains high, we can expect it will continue to be a target of theft and vandalism, unless we step in now and do something about it,” Bonta said in a 2025 press release. The state’s Department of Justice stands ready to support local law enforcement and work together to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, he added.
Last month, San Mateo County deputies responded to a theft on Feb. 2 involving about 500 feet of cables stolen near the intersection of Santa Maria Avenue and Portola Road in Portola Valley. On Feb. 3 another incident of 200 feet of stolen wires was reported on the 4200 block of Alpine Road. On Feb. 9, about 200 feet of cables were reported taken from the 600 and 700 blocks of Portola Road.
In an announcement, town staff said the Sheriff’s Office is using Portola Valley’s Flock automated license plate readers in its investigation. Cameras are set up along Alpine, Portola and Page Mill roads.
The town also requested that the Sheriff’s Office deploy overtime patrol units during the early morning hours, when the incidents typically occur, “in an effort to deter activity and catch those responsible,” Portola Valley staff said in a town update on March 25.
When cables are disconnected, residents who rely on landlines aren’t able to contact emergency services. Comes said there are many areas of Portola Valley that have little to no cell service available. Some of the older homes in the area don’t have the infrastructure to support internet service or update their electrical systems, she added.
“For a cell phone, it involves a lot more pinging towers, and we don’t have towers in our beautiful town, so I’ve always had a landline because I feel it’s important for emergency services,” said Comes.
Portola Valley has a Cable and Utilities Undergrounding Committee that was established in 1991 but has been inactive since 2021. The group was created to address cable service issues and oversee the town’s efforts to underground utility wires and improve high speed internet access.
Comes called for the town to reinstate an active utilities committee and suggested that it serve as the point of contact between the town and companies such as AT&T, PG&E, Verizon and Comcast.
“I think we need to be more proactive when there is a breach to let the town know, so that there can be one point of contact at a higher level to call these companies, instead of having 40 residents trying to reach somebody on the phone,” she said.
AT&T has acknowledged that it is experiencing an “alarming increase in copper theft” in California, north Texas and Missouri. In 2025, AT&T alone experienced 3,380 copper thefts in California — a drastic increase compared to the 71 reported in 2021.
In California, the company is offering a $20,000 reward for details that lead to the arrest of cable thieves or anyone attempting to sell or purchase stolen wires.
In 2025, AT&T developed a strategy to crackdown on copper crime and deter thefts by increasing network hardening efforts through manhole security enhancements, traceable marking and paint on copper wiring, and surveillance and sensor technology.
The Sheriff’s Office said it is actively in contact with AT&T and Comcast to address these issues. Portola Valley town staff confirmed in its update that it has been in touch with AT&T, too.
Town staff asks residents to report suspicious activities around utility lines or vehicles stopped along roadways overnight to the Sheriff’s Office nonemergency line at 650-363-4911. Law enforcement officials ask residents to review their surveillance camera footage and report any relevant information to the Sheriff’s Office. Anonymous tips can be made by calling 800-547-2700.
