LOS ANGELES — Neighborhood fire hydrants weren't something South Los Angeles resident Krystail Cousins thought about until she noticed some were missing on her block.

"Out of all the things to be stolen, the copper wire, catalytic converters, they steal a fire hydrant and we're like, 'What are you going to do with a fire hydrant? It's big. It's bulky. It's yellow,'" Cousins said.

What You Need To Know

  • South LA residents have begun noticing thieves stealing fire hydrants

  • Golden State Water Company general manager Kate Nutting says there have been over 300 fire hydrant thefts this year so far

  • To replace a fire hydrant, it costs $4,000 to $5,000

  • About $1.5 million worth of property has been stolen this year

That's when Cousins checked her home surveillance video and saw someone using power tools near her block's fire hydrant early in the morning before driving off. Cousins says she reported the theft to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Golden State Water Company out of concern. 

"It put everybody's life in danger because all the houses are very, very close," she said.

Golden State Water Company general manager Kate Nutting says there have been over 300 fire hydrant thefts this year so far. She says replacing the hydrants with new locking collars is slowing things down, but it's costly. 

"To replace one of these hydrants, it's from $4,000 to $5,000," Nutting said. "We have lost over about $1.5 million worth of property."

But why are these fire hydrants going missing? The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says thieves are hoping to cash in on the approximately 100 pounds of brass some of these hydrants have. The department has made some arrests, leading them to investigate some local scrap yards, says Sgt. Rebecca Vaughn.

"The ones that do have tracking devices, we know where they are going," Sgt. Vaughn said. "From a station level, you know, we're handling all types of different crimes, so this is just one of the crimes that we handle here, and when time allows, we'll probably visit some more recycling yards just to see that they are in compliance."

As far as public safety goes, Jonathan Torres, public information officer with the LA County Fire department, says they're prepared to tap into alternate water sources, if needed.

"In the instance that a fire hydrant is missing, the first in and second in the engine can make a water source that's well over maybe 2,000 feet in distance, specifically in residential areas. Where we're going to find the distance of about 600 ft between our water sources," Torres said.

The Golden State Water Company and LASD say fire hydrant thefts are slowing down, but they need the public to report when one goes missing — something Cousins says she hopes she won't need to do again.

"We appreciate them trying to upgrade our infrastructure in South LA. But there's better ways of doing it. Don't steal our fire hydrants," she said.