Thieves stole more than a mile and a half of copper wire worth $33,600 from a stretch of H-1 Freeway in Kunia during the past week — the second major copper theft from an O'ahu roadway in less than a month.

State Department of Transportation workers discovered the theft of 8,400 feet of No. 2 gauge copper wire when they tried to reactivate a set of nine freeway lights that had gone out because of an overloaded transformer.

After making repairs, DOT workers tried to turn on the lights. They discovered the theft when the lights failed to operate.

DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa confirmed that copper wire was also found cut — but not taken — from several lights along H-2 Freeway near Ka Uka Boulevard. Workers repaired that damage, he said.

"If there are lights out at the interchange we will make the necessary repairs," said Ishikawa. "We're looking at our options. They are cutting the wire and taking it later, in some cases."

DOT officials recently said they are considering alternatives to copper wire, including aluminum wire, which has a much lower resale value.

Police have opened a first-degree theft case. Four officers yesterday and took pictures and dusted the poles for fingerprints yesterday. The poles are on the westbound side of H-1 just after the military road overpass.

"It's very frustrating and we really need the community's help," said police Capt. Frank Fujii. "We're asking the community if they see anything to report it to us. We all need to work together to address this problem. These criminal acts are endangering the welfare of the community."

The theft is the second major copper theft in less than a month and the fourth major copper heist reported in the past five months.

On March 16, thieves ripped out more than 4 miles of copper wire worth $96,000 from 15 street lamps on H-2 Freeway. Twenty spans of copper wire measuring 24,000 feet were stolen from the light posts. A span is the distance between two light poles.

A state Department of Transportation road crew doing routine maintenance discovered the damage.

The darkened stretch covers H-2 southbound lanes from the Ka Uka Boulevard on-ramp halfway to the Waiawa interchange.

The area has been hit repeatedly in the last two years following the replacement of some of the wires, police said.

On Dec. 21, a repair crew inspecting freeway lights found that thieves had made off with almost 6 miles of wire from lights between Kunia and Makakilo.

The 30,240 feet of copper wire is valued at $120,960 and was taken from lights that were already extinguished after thieves stole portions of the wire earlier last year. The wiring connected 14 light fixtures in both directions of H-1 Freeway between Kunia and Makakilo.

On Nov. 29, a DOT repair crew discovered that someone had stolen 1,350 feet of copper wire worth $5,450 from lights along H-1 Freeway in Waikele.

The wiring supplied power to more than 24 lights along the westbound lanes from Waikele to the Kunia exit. The lights have not been fixed yet.

Losses in copper-theft cases reported to Honolulu police in 2006 and 2007 surpassed $920,000, police have said.

Estimates of the cost to repair damage by copper thieves to state roads exceed $1 million.

It is a felony to steal a pound or more of copper. Scrap recyclers are required to check the identity of anyone trying to sell the metal. They also must get a signed statement from the seller — usually on the receipt — saying the seller has the right to sell the copper.

Recyclers who violate the statutes face a misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.