NE Side of Topanga Being Evacuated Towards The Beach, All 3 Roads Into Topanga Closed
Written by 991KBU on May 15, 2021
7:24 UPDATE
HARD CLOSURE no traffic at all allowed into Topanga from PCH or Mulholland (includes Old Topanga Cyn Rd).
Mandatory evacuations in TOPANGA CANYON only – not Malibu. Deputies and the CHP are heading people down the canyon, south to PCH.
Areas affected: Zone 4 is everyone east of Topanga Canyon between the Community House and View Ridge.
And Zone 6 is everyone north of Entrada, south of Oakwood and east of Henry Ridge.
Zone 7 rresidents should prepare for evacuation.
6:55PM UPDATE
Topanga Canyon Zone 4 – the Cheney Ranch and Entrada areas – are being evacuated towards Pacific Coast Highway, sheriff’s deputies said at 6:47.
6:35PM UPDATE
All air tanker operations have been suspended for the remainder of the night due to pending low visibility. Multiple helicopters remain assigned from LA City and LA County are scheduled to drop through the night.
6:20PM UPDATE
Areas along Entrada Drive and Santa Maria Road were being prepared for evacuations, and Topanga Canyon Blvd. was closed to non-residents, as a small fire bloomed into a big one today north of Palisades Highlands and east of Topanga Canyon has sent a huge plume of smoke aloft, but firefighters say it is not a threat to Malibu.
The fire was started along a trail in at least two places, and it burned 15 acres Friday night. But this evening, it had blossomed by more than 200 acres, and had the potential to cover 500 acres.
Witnesses said the fire had crossed a ridge above Trippet Ranch, in the Hub Junction area. Scanners indicated that it might reach as far north as “Dirt Mulholland.”
One structure may have nearly been burned near Santa Maria Road, east of state Route 27 (Topanga Canyon Blvd). No full closures of the boulevard were reported.
At 4:15 p.m. Saturday, LA city firefighters lost control of the perimeter … a flare-up with an estimated size is 100 acres crossed a control line on the western flank – east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
The fire is now burning in Topanga State Park, which has put LA City into a “unified command” with LA County and CAL-FIRE
Choppers fought the blaze all night, and fixed wing tanker planes are now approved for use as needed, determined by the Incident Command. Ventura County Fire is also provided a water dropping helicopter.
There are no evacuation orders in place, firefighters said. There are no injuries reported.
The terrain is very steep and extremely difficult to navigate which hinders ground based firefighting operations. The bulk of the firefighting is air based.
The blaze was reported at 10:30 p.m. Friday along the Santa Ynez Trail, north of Palisades Highlands.
LA City firefighters said they tried to ascend the hillsides at night to lay in trunk lines, which are hand lines which serve as a water supply line to the firefighting lines. But the extremely steep terrain in the remote canyon, and the darkness, left them with no safe escape routes.
They also said they had no way to see any shift in the fire behavior, that might put them in danger.
The fire is within L A city limits, and its glow was visible from part of eastern Malibu early this morning.
MAGE 1: From 69 Bravo, above Moonshadows, looking east past Topanga.
IMAGE 2: From Temescal trailhead, top of Palisades Highlands, city of LA.
