The 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles is wired to glow with colorful lights celebrating the spirit of the City. But the bridge, known as the “Ribbon of Light,” is now turned off at night.
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In St. Paul, Minnesota, a man was recently hit by a car and killed while crossing a street where the street lights were off.
And in Las Vegas, around 300 kilometres of street lighting cables have disappeared in the last two years.
Thieves have been taking copper wire from thousands of flying buttresses in American cities and selling it along with scrap metal for cash. The wiring typically fetches a few hundred dollars, but the unlit lights pose safety risks and are costing cities millions of dollars to repair.
Some thefts involve essential city infrastructure and even public artwork that once seemed immovable. In Los Angeles County, more than 290 fire hydrants have disappeared this year.
The thefts come amid feverish demand for copper and other metals. Copper, in particular, is a key component of battery-powered cars, modern power grids and giant new data centers that power artificial intelligence and other technologies.
“The world is short on copper,” said Karthik Valluru, global sector leader for materials and process industries at the Boston Consulting Group.
There is an estimated global shortage of up to 10 million tons of copper in the next two years, Valluru said. But developing new copper mines can take a decade or more.
In St. Paul, the flying buttresses have been popular with cable thieves. They cut the poles or open a small panel at the base to extract the cable.
“As soon as we fix them, people come back and snatch them up again,” said Mayor Melvin Carter.
Last month, Minnesota’s Governor signed a law that will require people selling scrap copper in Minnesota to obtain a license from the state and prove that the material was obtained legally.
Los Angeles City Council member Kevin de León said a metal theft task force that includes Los Angeles Police Department officers has been investigating scrap metal companies, not just street thieves.
Last month, thieves stole markers from mausoleums at Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Carson, California.
“They used to say there was honor among thieves,” De Leon said. “But when you’re stealing grave markers, you’ve already sunk pretty low.”
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