Copper thieves shut off lights along Los Angeles' Miracle Mile

It's a dark walk down Wilshire Boulevard between Highland Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, where telltale signs indicate that thieves have been busy prying open telephone pole boxes and stealing copper wire.

"Entire blocks are not even lit, and it doesn't seem like there's any hope to get them rewired in the near future," said Jay, who lives nearby.

Jay said he's been reporting the ongoing outages in the Miracle Mile area to Los Angeles city staff since last spring, but none of the lights have been repaired after nine months. Another block between Cloverdale Avenue and Detroit Street remains pitch black. 

"How are we supposed to host the Olympics when we can't even keep the lights on?" Jay said. "It's insane. I'm looking forward to the Olympics, but I also want some street lights."

Neighbors said the dark streets raise concerns about pedestrian safety and crime.

"As it gets later and darker, it definetely cause you concern as to whether or not I want to be driving down here," said Dr. Shindale Seale, who was driving around the area. 

A CBS LA investigation from October 2025 found that streetlight repair requests doubled in LA, largely due to copper wire thieves. It cost the city an estimated $2.5 million to fix the lights, including the ones on the Sixth Street Bridge.The city said repair times for street lights range from nine to 12 months. 

"This needs to be a priority and the city's not making it a priority and that hurts," Jay said.