Pacific Palisades is reopening to the public this weekend, a move hailed by proponents as an important development in the recovery process, but condemned by some local residents and officials who fear it’s still too soon to allow wide access into the fire-ravaged area.
The California National Guard will be withdrawing from all checkpoints in Pacific Palisades over the next three days, meaning the previously closed portions of the neighborhood will be open for general access Sunday morning, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced during a webinar with residents Friday afternoon.
The entirety of Pacific Coast Highway through the area will reopen to the public at 8 a.m. Sunday, with traffic limited to one lane in each direction to allow repair work to continue. The California Highway Patrol will be on hand to assist with public safety and traffic flow.
While there will no longer be any ID requirements for access on the highway, officials are asking only those with essential business in the area to use PCH.
While residents who participated in Friday’s webinar did not voice opposition to reopening PCH for commuting, they took issue with the general public returning to areas devastated by the Palisades fire — voicing concerns about toxic pollution, public safety, looting and lookie-loos.
L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades and several Westside neighborhoods; and Steve Soboroff, whom Bass appointed as the city’s chief recovery officer two weeks ago, both called the decision to reopen the area “premature.”
“I don’t agree that the Pacific Palisades should be reopened to the general public,” Park said during the webinar. “I just personally don’t think that we’re anywhere near ready for that.”
Bass, however, called the move an important step forward in the rebuilding process, and assured residents that the Los Angeles Police Department would be “visibly and robustly deployed” in the area to prevent crime.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said reopening the area is necessary because the city had been on tactical alert since the start of the L.A. County firestorm on Jan. 7. The department, he said, needs to be able to evenly spread resources to other parts of the city.
He emphasized that a heavy police presence will remain in the Palisades after it reopens, with six supervisors and 66 officers present in the area for every 12-hour shift.
“There will be police pretty much everywhere driving around the Palisades streets,” McDonnell said, framing the decision to reopen the area to the public as a “question of balance.”
McDonnell also said that reopening to the general public would be beneficial for the recovery process, since right now only residents are allowed in, and not “people who work in assisted-living facilities, house cleaners, support workers [or] relatives.”
But those promises did little to assuage the concerns of residents or their City Council member, who openly clashed with the mayor during the webinar.
Park also nodded her head in agreement during the meeting when a commenter said it’s difficult to call 911 from some areas of the Palisades because cellphone service is out.
Soboroff, who did not participate in the webinar, said he wasn’t aware of Bass’ decision until he was asked about it by a Times reporter afterward. He said he thought the presence of police and private security could help lessen the risk of criminal activity, but he had deep concerns about reopening the area while hazardous waste material was still being removed.
“I don’t see the benefit of opening everything up to everybody,“ Soboroff said later Friday afternoon.
After Bass spoke, anger and discontent convulsed through the webinar chat box, where residents could ask questions. Dozens of people voiced their agreement with Park and fears about reopening the neighborhood.
“I have a house that is partially burned with broken front and back doors. It is not secure, though we are trying to secure it and remove our belongings as soon as possible. How am I to feel assured that our home and its contents are safe when the general public can access it?” one woman asked.
“Why would we want people wandering through the remains of our lives, posting Instagram stories for their own personal gain, dining out on our misery? Please don’t open the Palisades to the public; there is nothing there for the public — no stores, restaurants, etc.,” another implored.
Bass and law enforcement officials pointed out that other fire-damaged areas have reopened without incident.
“The rest of the county is already open — Topanga, Malibu, Altadena — those areas are open and have been open for a while,” Bass said.
Sue Kohl, president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, said she found out about the reopening only through the webinar and agrees that it’s too soon.
Many Palisades residents haven’t even been able to return to their neighborhoods to go through the debris on their property, she said, and are telling her, “We don’t want it opened up until we have a chance to go back.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom said CHP officers would be stationed every half-mile along PCH to protect motorists, traffic flow and public safety.
“As the Pacific Coast Highway reopens, our top priority is ensuring the safety of everyone returning to this community,” he said in a statement, adding that he had ordered the National Guard to remain on standby, should any issues arise.
L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who also represents the area, said the county has worked “diligently and with all deliberate speed” to safely reopen PCH.
“This reopening is a step forward in our recovery for communities that endured both the Palisades and Franklin fires,” she said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Horvath said the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and California Department of Transportation would also monitor the area for roadway hazards during next week’s rains.
“Thank you to our Sheriff’s Department and Caltrans for their work to put appropriate safety and traffic control measures in place to make this reopening possible,” Horvath said.
Moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast in Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday, and much of the region will see up to 1½ inches of precipitation, forecasters say.
The wet weather carries a risk of triggering mudslides and flooding in recent burn areas.
When rain falls at a rate of half an inch or more an hour, water can start flowing on the surface downhill instead of soaking into the ground and can pick up rocks and debris. Burn scars are at particular risk because intense heat can make soil water-repellent, while the loss of vegetation can mean there aren’t enough roots to hold the soil in place.
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