LA Faces Massive Backlog of 33,000 Streetlight Repairs

Residents outraged by 270-day wait times as copper wire theft drives crisis

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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Los Angeles is facing a major crisis with a backlog of over 33,000 pending streetlight repairs, leaving some neighborhoods in total darkness for nearly a year. The city's 311 system is reporting a staggering 270-day wait time for repairs, with copper wire theft accounting for nearly 40% of all outages. The issue has become a central focus in the 2026 mayoral election, with challenger Nithya Raman criticizing the city's inability to maintain its infrastructure as a public safety emergency.

Why it matters

Reliable streetlighting is a critical public safety issue, and the prolonged outages across Los Angeles are putting residents at risk. The scale of the repair backlog highlights systemic infrastructure challenges the city is facing, which have become a major political flashpoint ahead of the upcoming mayoral election.

The details

The city's Bureau of Street Lighting is severely understaffed, with only 185 field workers tasked with maintaining over 220,000 streetlights citywide. Copper wire theft has become a major driver of the crisis, accounting for nearly 40% of all outages as thieves strip miles of cable faster than crews can replace it. In response, the City Council has proposed a $65 million plan to convert over 60,000 fixtures to solar power, which would eliminate the need for copper wiring.

  • The city is currently facing a backlog of roughly 33,000 pending streetlight repairs.
  • The 311 system is reporting a 270-day wait time for streetlight repairs.

The players

Nithya Raman

A Los Angeles City Councilmember who has filed to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 mayoral election. Raman has built her campaign on "fixing the basics" and has seized on the streetlight outages as proof of systemic mismanagement.

Karen Bass

The incumbent Mayor of Los Angeles who is seeking re-election in 2026.

Bureau of Street Lighting

The city department responsible for maintaining Los Angeles' streetlights, which is severely understaffed with only 185 field workers tasked with maintaining over 220,000 lights.

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What’s next

The City Council has proposed a $65 million plan to convert over 60,000 streetlights to solar power in order to bypass the need for copper wiring and reduce the impact of theft on the repair backlog.

The takeaway

The streetlight repair crisis in Los Angeles highlights the broader challenges the city faces in maintaining its aging infrastructure, which have become a major political issue ahead of the 2026 mayoral election. Addressing the backlog and preventing future outages will require significant investment and a comprehensive strategy to combat the growing problem of copper wire theft.