Someone made off with a portable radio and removed the battery from South Yreka Fire Department's only pumper after breaking in to the fire station.
South Yreka firefighters responded to the station for a motor vehicle crash Wednesday when they noticed that the battery was missing from the apparatus. They were unable to respond.
"We saw the cables and tools laying on the ground and it hit us that somebody had broken into it," Fire chief Bernie Paul told television station KTVL.
"It won't fit in a pickup truck or a car, you know, it's for a large piece of equipment," Paul said. "So I'm not really sure. Other than that, maybe to sell it? I don't know."
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office was summoned to the scene to investigate and that's when they noticed a portable radio was also stolen.
Paul is concerned that whoever stole the radio could tie up radio traffic.
During the investigation, officials found the stolen battery outside the fire station.
"It is a very secluded area and with it being dark out there, and a lot of the buildings around that area are vacant," Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office Lt. Darrell Frost told the television. "It's a possibility that it's a crime of opportunity."
