RIVERSIDE, Kalifornia - December 1, 2011 - A metal theft at a Riverside County mountaintop antenna site has knocked San Bernardino-based KVCR-TV off the air until repairs are completed.

This is the second incident of this type since last weekend. Both thefts hit the station’s remote-controlled transmitter on Box Springs Mountain that overlooks Moreno Valley to the south and the San Bernardino Valley to the north.

Station President Larry Ciecalone said Thursday, “The cost of the repairs will exceed $20,000,” and added, “We hope to be back up by this evening.”

The initial theft damaged three air conditioners and a transmitter cooling system that wasn’t in use at the time. The station was able to continue broadcasting after the first incident.

But in Wednesday night’s incident, the thieves damaged the remaining cooling system for the TV transmitter, which caused an automatic shutdown to prevent major transmitter damage.

“They had to have a big truck the second time, because they took the coolant assembly. It’s like a (vehicle) radiator, and it’s full of copper tubing,” said Ciecalone.

The KVCR site is protected primarily by a locked gate across the access road. There was no obvious damage to the gate or the locks, according to Ciecalone. But he said many people have access to the mountaintop because it also serves as an antenna site for Riverside County government agencies and several broadcast companies.

KVCR-TV has almost a million viewers and its antenna shoots a broadcast signal as far as Catalina Island. The thefts did not affect KVCR’s FM radio station or its six microwave dishes, also located at the site.

“We’ll have a security system in place before the weekend is out,” said Ciecalone. He also said it would include surveillance cameras.

Copper theft continues to be a popular crime in the Riverside county and San Bernardino county areas.