Filenews 27 December 2025
Often hung from utility poles or buried beneath our feet, copper wire has played a crucial role in powering America's power grid for over a century. According to a report by the CNN agency, brazen thefts threaten the network, with thieves climbing onto the roofs of cars to cut telephone lines or opening manholes in daylight to strip copper cables. The effects, it is noted, have been felt nationwide: roads and bridges are shutting down, 911 calls are not connecting, and higher utility bills as replacement costs are passed on to consumers.
This year, copper prices have reached all-time highs due to an increase in the construction of new data centers and speculation of new tariffs by the Trump administration, according to JPMorgan. In the United States, copper prices have risen more than 30% this year. Los Angeles has become one of the most popular copper wire theft spots in the country. As the city recovers from its most devastating wildfires in a generation and prepares to host the World Cup this summer and the 2028 Olympics, in many places it is simply struggling to keep the lights on. The city and utility companies spend millions each year to repair damage.
There were more than 15,000 catastrophic attacks nationwide on domestic communications networks between June 2024 and June 2025, with copper theft being a major factor, according to the TV and internet industry trade group, NCTA. More than 9.5 million customers were affected, with California and Texas alone accounting for over half of the incidents. "This doesn't just happen once a week or once a month," the LASD copper theft detective said. "These things happen every day." When Los Angeles inaugurated the newly built Sixth Avenue Bridge in 2022, it was hailed as a new city landmark. At night, the 3,500-foot-long bridge, with wide walkways, was illuminated with changing LED colours.
Three years later
Thieves have stolen more than 38,000 feet, or seven miles, of copper wire from the bridge, causing $2.5 million in damage, according to Marc Gonzalez, the local assembly member representing the area. The Sixth Avenue Bridge, which connects the Arts District and Boyle Heights, is illuminated against the backdrop of the downtown Los Angeles skyline in May 2023. The Sixth Avenue Bridge, which connects the Arts District and Boyle Heights, is illuminated against the backdrop of the downtown Los Angeles skyline in May 2023. A vandalized high-voltage electrical box, stripped by copper wire thieves, is located along the Sixth Avenue Bridge as pedestrians pass through Los Angeles in August 2024.
"Every day we have many incidents only in our areas. They add up," said the Los Angeles undercover detective, adding that construction sites in Los Angeles, where homes are being rebuilt after the January fires in Palisades and Eaton that cost more than 16.000 homes and structures, are frequent targets for thieves. It is very difficult to locate stolen bare copper, the detective told CNN. While some telecommunications companies use a coating of coloured paper to help identify their cables, city cabling is less easily identifiable. Any repair would be costly for the city.
"For now, it's something like the Wild West"
The Sixth Street Bridge is not an isolated case. As copper prices rise, street lighting shutdowns have become a persistent problem throughout Los Angeles. Outages related to theft and vandalism increased tenfold between 2017 and 2022, according to the city's Office of Street Lighting. Exposed cut wires hang from a historic street light at Broadway and 23rd Street in downtown Los Angeles, a victim of theft, vandalism, and neglect, on Monday, October 6, 2025. Exposed cut wires hang from a historic street light at Broadway and 23rd Street in downtown Los Angeles, a victim of theft, vandalism, and neglect, on Monday, October 6, 2025. Jason Armaud/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the theft of copper wires "not just a nuisance, but also a threat to public safety." "When Los Angeles residents are left with dark streets, fallen telecommunications cables, or malfunctioning traffic lights, because of this dangerous criminal activity, people are left vulnerable and communities are at greater risk of other crimes," the spokesman said, adding that the city is pushing for the installation of more solar street lights that are not wired with copper, to limit the problem.
The detective said that although thieves can sometimes get a few hundred dollars for their stolen copper, repairing the damage caused by thieves can cost the city thousands of dollars.
