Copper wire thieves shut off the lights on an iconic stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of the Miracle Mile — a major museum and business corridor in central Los Angeles, according to a report.

The bandits ripped electrical lines from streetlight poles, leaving entire blocks without lighting Monday night, residents told CBS News.

Multiple streetlights were out along Wilshire Boulevard between Highland Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, with open utility boxes showing signs of tampering.

Another stretch between Cloverdale Avenue and Detroit Street was also completely dark, neighbors told CBS.

“Entire blocks are not even lit, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any hope to get them rewired in the near future,” a nearby resident named Jay told CBS.

The resident said he’s been reporting outages along Miracle Mile since last spring, yet no lights have been restored nine months later.

“How are we supposed to host the Olympics when we can’t even keep the lights on?” Jay said, referring to the 2028 Games. “It’s insane. I’m looking forward to the Olympics, but I also want some street lights.”

Requests for streetlight repairs have doubled across Los Angeles, largely because of copper theft, and the city has spent an estimated $2.5 million fixing stolen wiring, including damage on the Sixth Street Bridge, a CBS Los Angeles investigation in October 2025 found.

Copper theft has ballooned into a seven-figure problem for Los Angeles, with thousands of streetlight poles now damaged or in need of repair, city officials have said.

Fixing a single pole can cost up to $2,000, an official said, driving total losses into the millions. The thieves typically resell the stripped wiring for quick cash, with scrap buyers often turning a blind eye to its origins, the official added.

The dangers tied to copper theft were underscored earlier this month.

On January 7, an apparently homeless man was fatally electrocuted while trying to steal copper wiring from a vacant strip mall under demolition in California, police told CBS News.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion around 2 p.m. before power was knocked out to roughly 2,500 homes for several hours, The Post reported.

The scale of copper theft across Los Angeles is so significant that some officials have labeled it an “epidemic,” hitting neighborhoods from Mar Vista to Miracle Mile and beyond. “These are brazen criminals and it happens very quickly,” Councilwoman Traci Park, whose district includes Mar Vista, told The Post. Park said thieves often operate in broad daylight, stripping wiring from poles in a matter of minutes.

The problem has real-world consequences, especially when it comes to safety. Park said outages have affected emergency responses, including fire evacuations, and leave pedestrians and drivers at risk. Residents have resorted to flashlights or car headlights to navigate streets after dark.

“Mayor Bass believes that copper wire theft is not just a nuisance, but a threat to public safety. When Angelenos are left with unlit streets, downed telecommunications wires or malfunctioning traffic signals, due to this dangerous criminal activity, people are left vulnerable and communities are at greater risk of other crimes. Copper wire theft is a national problem that demands strong law enforcement response and innovative solutions from elected officials,” a spokesperson for Bass told The Post.

“Her administration has installed hundreds of solar streetlights in neighborhoods like Watts, Historic Filipinotown and Van Nuys to keep the lights on and this work will continue. She will continue to crack down on this reckless, brazen theft and the organized criminals behind it.”

Downtown Los Angeles’ Sixth Street Bridge, once dubbed the “Ribbon of Light” for its color-changing LED illumination, has also fallen victim to copper theft. Seven miles of wiring were stolen, costing an estimated $2.5 million to repair, city officials said. Vandals have also covered the bridge with graffiti, further complicating restoration efforts.

The city has deployed a “Heavy Metal Task Force” to combat metal theft, including extra officers dedicated to investigating copper wire theft.

More than 100 arrests were made in relation to the thefts in 2024, and thousands of pounds of copper were recovered, city officials said, but the program has since spent its initial funding, leaving the scope of enforcement uncertain. Councilwoman Park encourages residents to share Ring camera footage and says scrap metal buyers should be held accountable to deter future thefts.