Pacific Coast Highway reopens nearly a month after devastating Southern California wildfires
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $1.44 a week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/02/2025 (621 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pacific Coast Highway reopened Monday, nearly a month after it was closed when flames from the deadly Palisades Fire ripped through hillside Los Angeles neighborhoods, destroying properties all the way down to the beach.
Traffic along the scenic shoreline route began moving again at 8 a.m. with just one lane in each direction and limited speed from Santa Monica northwest to the Ventura County line.
“Essential traffic only is strongly encouraged,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement. Cleanup and utility repairs continue, and Horvath warned that “this will not be the same PCH as before the fires.”
Proof-of-residence or entry passes are still required to enter the Palisades burn zone.
The PCH partially reopened Sunday morning on the northernmost section in Malibu. Reopening of the remaining section in the Pacific Palisades area was delayed as Los Angeles city officials made a last-minute decision to keep the checkpoints in place over concerns of public safety and looting.
The LA Police Department will transfer responsibility for Palisades access to the California Highway Patrol and the National Guard, which will enable the LAPD to increase service citywide, Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.
“We continue to adapt in real time to this dynamic situation. This plan secures the Palisades and eases the strain on LAPD, whose ability to respond across LA has been impacted for nearly one month,” Bass said.
Rain is in the forecast starting Tuesday, and the highway will be monitored for hazards including mud and debris flows, Horvath said.
The Palisades Fire began during heavy winds Jan. 7, destroying or damaging nearly 8,000 homes, businesses and other structures and killing at least 12 people. Another wind-whipped fire started the same day in Altadena, a community to the east, killing at least 17 people and destroying or damaging more than 10,000 homes and other buildings.
Both fires were finally fully contained last week.
