Fiber optic and copper cables that carry information to the Defense Department as well as to the Alpine and Pine Valley sheriff's substations were stolen in the East County early today, authorities said.
The theft occurred sometime between midnight and 1 a.m., according to San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Joseph Passalacqua. The thieves cut the cables on Alpine Boulevard, in the vicinity of Peutz Valley, he said in a statement.
"It appears that 75 feet of fiber optic cable was taken along with six feet of 600 strand copper cable,'' he said.
Crews were working to repair the damage, Passalacqua said, asserting the problem was expected to take about 17 hours to fix.
In addition to the Defense Department and the sheriff's substations, the Verizon network was affected, according to the sergeant, who said a total of 10 million broadband lines were down.
No other details were immediately released.
