Repeated copper thefts at a post office in the Sacramento area have knocked out the building's air conditioning, leaving employees and customers to deal with dangerous summer heat.
The California Post said the Centre Branch Post Office in Arden has had exterior parts of its AC system stolen three times in a little more than a month.
What happened?
The first theft was over Memorial Day weekend, when the outdoor air-conditioning units were taken from the post office at 3545 El Camino Ave. in Arden.
USPS installed replacement units, but those were stolen as well. Altogether, the branch has been hit three times since Memorial Day.
The three-employee post office has been left without central air during a stretch of triple-digit California heat, the paper noted. Portable cooling units are helping workers at their stations, but customers have still had to wait in a hot lobby.
One told The Sacramento Bee that the temperature inside reached 90 degrees this week.
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USPS spokesperson Meiko Patton said each theft was reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, per The California Post.
At the same time, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said it had not received theft reports for that address in the past six months, though it noted there has been "transient theft" in the nearby area.
Bryan Embry, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 66, told The Bee that the branch is overseen remotely by supervisors at another post office about a mile and a half away.
Why does it matter?
Embry said the lack of central air during extreme heat raises a safety issue for workers, pointing The Bee to department policy stating that employees must be told about "reported safety hazards" and the steps being taken to address them.
That has also meant customers have had to wait in an overheated lobby. Since many locals rely on the post office, the constant theft is inconveniencing customers and putting employees in an unsafe position.
Copper theft remains a recurring problem in California, as rising metal prices help drive stolen material from AC units and EV charging stations into scrap markets, per The California Post.
What's being done?
USPS is waiting to install another replacement until it can use equipment that is more difficult to steal.
Patton told The California Post that USPS is now reviewing contractor bids for a longer-term solution. For now, portable AC units are providing some relief for employees at their desks, though they have done little to improve the lobby for customers.
"Once approved, installation will proceed as quickly as possible," Patton stated to The California Post. "We do not have a completion date yet, but this is a priority."
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