PCH reopening after months-long closure after Palisades fire

After more than four months of closure, Pacific Coast Highway is officially reopening on Friday, May 23, at 8 a.m. — worrying for some Palisades residents, but relieving to those who felt the closure contributed to traffic, and hopeful for business owners who survived the fire but have been left inaccessible to customers.

The stretch of the highway from Santa Monica to Malibu has been closed off to the public since the mammoth Palisades fire decimated much of the coastal enclave in January.

Leaders touted the opening as symbol of what they say has been a swift and effective recovery.

“In California, we get stuff done, period,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “We’re opening the PCH back up early, with more lanes before Angelenos hit the road this Memorial Day.

Driving along the highway since the January fire, a steady stream of vehicles drove in one lane going either direction. That stream included residents accessing their burned or smoke-damaged homes, construction and remediation companies’ vehicles and large trucks hauling away debris.

The Palisades fire footprint has been insulated from public access, punctuated with a law enforcement presence. A typical scene ranged from California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Police vehicles driving the area to police and California National Guard officers blocking the mouth of each entrance to PCH and the Palisades.

While PCH will now be open with two lanes in either direction, the Pacific Palisades itself will still be restricted to only residents and workers, with checkpoints into the neighborhoods continuing to be staffed by LAPD 24 hours a day, according to Mayor Karen Bass’ office.

On Thursday, she said public safety will remain a priority in the area.

“As Pacific Coast Highway reopens, we will continue to protect the safety and security of Palisades neighborhoods through a strict security plan established in coordination with the State,” Bass said in a statement. “All of us have a shared goal – to ensure residents can safely and quickly rebuild and return to their community. We will continue working together toward that goal and recommit to clearing any barrier that stands in the way of recovery.”

No stopping or parking will be permitted in the work zone.

Officials have repeatedly touted the speed of the recovery, with Bass emphasizing in a statement the role reopening PCH has in post-fire recovery, “which is on track to be the fastest in state history.”

Army Corps of Engineers crews have been prioritizing efforts to clear fire-damaged properties along PCH to hasten the reopening of the route, according to the governor’s office.

“I’m extremely proud of our teams and partners whose relentless dedication has led to the successful completion of more than 5,500 properties — representing over half of all currently eligible properties in both areas impacted by these devastating wildfires,” Brig. Gen. William Hannan, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Phoenix, said in a statement. “Clearing critical areas along the Pacific Coast Highway has been particularly vital, given its sensitive ecological importance and its role as a lifeline for local communities. This effort exemplifies our unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and community resilience.”

Two lanes of the highway will be open in each direction with a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit in place. Traffic fines can be doubled for infractions in a construction zone, according to the CHP and Caltrans.

For Palisades residents such as Madyson Barnett, 21, the opening of the highway is cause for concern.

Recording a TikTok from her car as she waited in line to get her pass checked and enter the burn zone, she expressed frustration that the highway is reopening.

“On behalf of the Palisadians and the people that still live in the area and need to get through, let’s not be lookie-loos when they open up the streets and drive super slow just to look at the pure devastation, because it’s bad and we’re having to live it every day,” Barnett said in a TikTok video.

She took to the internet because as a lifelong Palisades resident, raised by another lifelong Palisades resident, she feels that reopening PCH will create even more chaos in the area.

With the speed limit and pass check restrictions in place, the drive she and her family make from where they are currently staying in Malibu to their home, which has a destroyed pool house and heavily smoke damaged main house, is already much lengthier than prior to the fire and she anticipates increased traffic making it worse.

“I relate it to almost being in a zoo and everyone is coming to look at the zoo animals,” Barnett said. “These are people’s entire lives that are lying in rubble. This is everything we know that’s been destroyed.”

Barnett says she knows many people who didn’t live in the area still love it and want to return, but the Palisades that visitors love is gone and the devastation is still raw for residents.

A previous decision to reopen the highway in February was quickly reversed after the decision drew outcry from residents.

But, Barnett also understands the needs of the Malibu community, where many business owners have called for the highway’s reopening in hopes of revitalizing businesses that survived the fire.

“I completely understand that opening PCH is important, there’s a whole community in Malibu that will need that,” Barnett said.

She and many residents she knows want drivers on PCH to treat the area with respect and to be nice to the residents who deal with the fire’s effects daily.

Opening the highway ahead of summertime was a priority for the city and state, which “worked urgently to support local businesses who rely on summer visitors and tourism for critical revenue,” according to Newsom.

“Opening PCH will be like the sun finally rising after a long, dark night for Malibu’s remaining businesses, which have struggled valiantly to survive. Truly this is a moment of truth,” Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber CEO Barbara Bruderlin said in a statement. “Here’s hoping visitors will drive out, ready to enjoy the gorgeous beaches and take time to shop and dine. Malibu’s iconic town is counting on it.”

The reopening of PCH provides an alternative route to reach Malibu from the south, which may alleviate traffic congestion on the 101 Freeway and in the canyons that currently provide the only access to Malibu.

“We know the 101 is often backed up,” Lauren Wonder, chief public information officer at Caltrans said.

The city of Malibu is utilizing a private security company to patrol “impacted properties” in Malibu. The armed security patrol will begin on Memorial Day weekend, as PCH reopens and the California National Guard leaves Malibu.

While Memorial Day weekend typically sees droves of beachgoers flocking to Los Angeles shores, the safety status of beaches in and near the burn zone has been a question since the fire. A previously issued advisory to stay out of the water from Las Flores State Beach to Santa Monica State Beach was lifted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in April.

The coastline of Will Rogers State Beach, which sits at the bottom of the Pacific Palisades, is open to the public and will be accessible with the reopening of PCH. Lot 1, at Chautauqua Boulevard is open, while the other lots are closed or awaiting a decision regarding closure. All lots at Topanga State Beach, located on PCH near Topanga Canyon, remain closed.

Environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay reported that data suggests there was a low health risk at the time of their sampling, but that specific data on important toxins such as inorganic arsenic is not yet available.

Given this, the organization says one precaution to take is to “avoid beaches within the burn area and within 100-yards of Rustic Canyon Outfall at Will Rogers Beach (near Chautauqua Blvd.) in Santa Monica.”