MACHIAS (AP) – Two men have been arrested for breaking into houses in Washington County to steal copper, whose soaring prices have turned the metal into a hot commodity this summer for thieves in Maine and across the country.

James Bailey Jr., 20, of Columbia, and Charles Burke, 26, of Milbridge, are charged with burglary and two others who were picked up on probation violations are expected to be charged with burglary in connection with the incidents.

The Down East county’s sheriff’s department says the thefts of copper and brass fittings took place in Harrington and Addison this spring and involved four houses. Police say copper and other metals were ripped out of ceilings and floors and resold.

Total damages are estimated at more than $30,000, and one house alone had more than $11,000 in damage. Police say that with copper prices ranging up to $2.15 a pound, twice as high as a year ago, thieves are stealing copper pipes from homes, junkyards, utility and industrial sites.

Four people were arrested earlier this month in connection with the attempted theft of copper wire from a junkyard in Meddybemps. Maine’s two largest electric utilities in May were hit by thieves who broke into substations to steal copper grounding wire, causing several thousand customers to lose electrical service while damage was repaired.

Cianbro Corp. lost more than $1,100 worth of copper and more than 300 feet of copper wire to thieves who broke into the construction company’s equipment yard in Pittsfield. Thefts have also been reported at power company sites in New Brunswick and Vermont.

Many scrap dealers are working closely with police to catch thieves who try to sell stolen copper.

Other metals, such as aluminum, have also become an attractive target for thieves in other parts of the country this spring and summer.

In Ohio, thieves trying to cash in to aluminum prices at an 18-year high made off with $4,000 worth of aluminum bleachers, enough seating for 100 people, in April. Thieves have snatched copper water spouts from churches and ripped off power cables for trolleys.

San Joaquin County, Calif., has reported nearly $300,000 in metals thefts this year alone. At least five deaths in the country are attributed to thieves being electrocuted.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-07-16-06 1133EDT