The City of Los Angeles received more than 11,000 calls about street lights going dark during the first three months of 2024, according to data compiled by the non-profit news outlet Crosstown L.A.
The vast majority of those issues are assumed to be linked to thieves stripping copper wire from critical equipment, a problem that has been plaguing the region for the last several years.
Thieves have been targeting copper wire wherever they can find it, often damaging street lights, traffic signs and even railroad tracks . The copper can be sold illegally to recyclers for an easy profit…