LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Locals across Las Vegas, from Sunrise Manor to Summerlin, have been asking "Darcy, what's the deal with my neighborhood being left in the dark?"
Streetlights that have been out for months have entire communities worried about crime, safety, and whether they can trust local leaders to provide a timely fix.
Matt Mauceri's daughters, 9-year-old Meadow and 6-year-old Journey, were his motivation for trying to get streetlights fixed in his family's Summerlin neighborhood.
"We ride our bikes around, we come from school, we go across the street to the Gardens Park and we play until dark and we come back in the dark, and we noticed that there were a lot of lights out and traffic going quite quickly. Maybe they're not going to be able to see us and it's not as safe."
Using the FixIt Clark County app, he reported eight street lights that had gone dark near Navajo Willow Lane and Desert Inn Road, but months passed with no progress.
"To have them not repaired over time and then see them get reported by other neighbors and them still not being repaired, it was just frustrating," Mauceri said.
Especially with all the resources he saw being devoted to big events.
"You couldn't help but see on social media or the news, or even if you just drove around town, that there was a lot of construction happening around F1 and the Super Bowl, and it maybe felt like the local residents weren't taking such a priority."
He kept pushing for action and says he got different answers for the delay from County Commissioner Justin Jones' office and from the FixIt Clark County app.
"So, I felt like I was kind of getting the runaround, and hence, 'Darcy, what's the deal?'" Mauceri said. "I thought maybe you could get to the end of it and see where the shortfall was."
13 Investigates learned the outage near the Mauceri family's neighborhood was part of a larger impacted area bounded by the 215 beltway on the west and south, Hualapai Way on the east, and Desert Inn Road on the north.
It's one of about 300 locations across the valley that Clark County Public Works says have been hit by thieves.
Thieves who steal from streetlights are looking for copper wire they can sell to recyclers for cash. According to the FBI, copper thieves are typically individuals or organized groups of drug addicts, gang members or metal thieves looking to make a quick buck.
And because copper theft is treated as a misdemeanor, those who get convicted pay a relatively low fine and serve a short time in prison.
Since 2022, Public Works estimates more than 500,000 feet of wiring has been stolen with an estimated replacement cost of $1.8 million tax dollars.
Some of that is finally being spent in Mauceri's neighborhood. After we asked the county, "what's the deal?" Mauceri got a call from Commissioner Jones' office.
"They were going to be working on it that week, gave me a timeline. I got an answer from my FixIt Clark County app that the streetlights were going to be fixed the next day, and sure enough, the next day I was going out on a bike ride and on Desert Inn, all those eight lights that I had been reporting out were being fixed."
The fix was finished on February 16. The county had to repair damage, replace wire and replace lamps and faulty fixtures.
In a statement, the county said the following:
"Our goal is to respond to requests in as timely a manner as possible... Supply chain issues that occurred during the pandemic contributed to the backlog we are experiencing in addition to staffing shortages and the high volume of theft."
"This property crime probably doesn't get their focus as much. It would be great to see the local police force get fully staffed, and then even be able to stop the re-selling — be able to require proof of where people obtained copper wiring before the scrap yards take it in," Mauceri said.
Clark County says it's not uncommon for crews to make repairs only to have the wire stolen again a few days later. They're looking at options to combat the problem, including partnering with law enforcement, but they don't have any specifics on that yet.
We also asked the county about another streetlight outage after viewer Fae Simmons wrote to "Darcy, what's the deal?"
Simmons lives in the Cabana Mobile Home Park on Twain Avenue near Nellis Boulevard and says her block has been dark for nearly eight months.
"No functioning streetlights creates a dangerous environment for not only us but the apartments next to us... It's terrifying to walk our street in total darkness and invites criminal activity," Simmons wrote.
After our inquiry, county crews showed up and began repairs, which are expected to be complete this week.