SAN DIEGO -- Los Coaches Road is a major thoroughfare through Lakeside.

At night, however, there isn't a street light on this stretch of road to be had.

"Well, in this location the thieves got about 4,000 feet of wiring," said county traffic engineer Carl Hickman.

Copper wiring was yanked right out of a junction box. The wire was worth more than $800, and it will take over $5,000 to fix the damage.

"We've had seven incidents in the last 18 months and most of our budget is for our electricity costs, so this is maintenance costs and it's starting to impact our budget," said Michelle Stress of the San Diego County's Department of Public Works.

The thefts have impacted the county budget to the tune of some $60,000 that wasn't budgeted for, and rural areas of San Diego County are not the only targets.

Caltrans reported $70,000 in losses from light poles and junction boxes along the freeway, especially in the South Bay.

"Everything from the light standards, signal head controller boxes, even our real-time traffic with our sensors in the ground that need that power to relay the information," said Ed Cartagena of Caltrans.

It seems to be a problem everywhere in the county.

Last year, in Santee, thieves hit a building scheduled for demolition for the 52 freeway extension. The target was copper.

Lance Masi, owner of Main Street Recycling, told 10News there was no way to tell where the stuff is from.

"So as far as combating the theft of newer materials, we can handle that perfectly. As far as stuff that's used, I don't know how anybody could," said Masi.

As a precaution, Masi notes the license plate of everyone who comes through.

Still, the bottom line for all the thievery is it is money out of everyone's pockets, as Masi said.