Army May Need PCH Closures Into July

June.  Or maybe July.  That’s when the Army expects to “ramp down” its heavy truck operations … blocking normal traffic on PCH.

Last night … the Army Corps of Engineers boss … Col. Brian Sawser gave that indication during Wednesday night’s town hall on 

Last night he said 12 hundred trucks a day will be taking over PCH until they begin to run out of wreckage to demolish … and start to ramp down. 

RAMP DOWN 71123

“And that ramp down in going to happen in the summer.

“Is it gonna happen in June? Maybe.  It depends on how quickly we move in April and May. 

“Is that ramp-down gonna occur more in July? It’s gonna be one of those two months when we start ramping down the activities.

“because what we are going to have is we’re going to have too many crews and we’re not gonna have enough work.  

“And that’s a good problem to have, because then we are going to have less trucks.”

But allowing general traffic on the PCH during the weekends … as some people in Malibu are suggesting???
That will limit the number of trucks he can run this spring … and that will push demolition work into the summer.

“And then when you talk about easing constraints … certainly that needs to be part of that conversation.

“Hopefully our partners – the County, Edison – in their work are culminating their work at the same time.

“I really feel, April and May are the two most critical months (for us to have the highway). 

“That allow us to start that ramp down period.”

The June or July target date … that’s the first time that we’ve heard the Army give out a date. 

Last night … Sawser told about 100 people at an Internet town hall … that on Wednesday the Army set a new record … they cleared 47 properties in one day.  

The ash and waste is being hauled out to 17 different landfills … via PCH through Malibu … up Sunset Boulevard to the 405 … or down PCH through Santa Monica. 

Malibu city council member Bruce Silverstein has asked the city to have the Army have its trucks avoid Civic Center Way … and possibly use other routes to the dump. 

And the Malibu Chamber of Commerce has been pressing to allow the highway to be reopened weekends for tourists to reach Malibu businesses.

Colonel Sawser infers that will delay the removal of fire debris… do the math,

HAUL ROUTES 71120 

“We have trucks that leave approximately 430 or 5 o’clock in the morning. 

“We will head about 100 of those trucks south and onto the 10.

“Some of those trucks do – yes it’s true – go up and north from the Palisades to the canyon roads. 

“That’s essentially part of the optimization problem … we’re gonna take the most efficient legal route that we can safely to more quickly get done with this problem. 

“Any additional constraints will reduce production rates and prolong the removal of debris. 

“It’s a simple fact.”

Topanga Closures May Last Into Summer As Well

More details last night on the washout of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

Caltrans spokeswoman Lauren Wonder says the lower two miles of Topanga Canyon are bad .. but above that … things are even worse.

TOPANGA CYN DAMAGE  71117

“We have about nine different places where there are slides and three different different places that need a retaining wall. 

“So we are trying in the next 2 1/2 to 3 months get the slides pushed back cleared out so we can have some two-way traffic control up to the point where the road is actually slipped out. “

Wonder says two miles north of PCH is where the real damage begins. 

“The guard rail is exposed, water is exposed, we need to build those retaining walls to support the road. But we want to do one-way traffic control through there, so we are trying to work in the next 2 1/2 three months to get limited traffic through there and use one-way traffic control signals.”

Caltrans does have a rough one lane road through the washout area… and school buses are being escorted through to allow Topanga Canyon students to reach Paul Revere middle school and the temporary Palisades High School campus every day.

Safety improvements that were just installed had to get ripped out for the fire aftermath

Caltrans got hit with the fire just as it was starting emergency safety repairs to PCH in Malibu … and some of their brand new changes have just been ripped out.

Lee Haber is in charge of the Caltrans effort. 

HABER ONE 71125 

“We are impacted in the fire zone.

“There was some additional work to be done down in that area around Las Flores just given the impact in that zone.

“The army’s are weongoing work with K-rails restrioiing the highway and stuff.

“many of our items are being destroyed that we put in, they will be placed back after the Army Corps clears the area.

“We have to return the roadway to its prior striping configuration so we’ll be doing things that way that way.”

Meanwhile … Caltrans is moving ahead with plans to repave PCH in two segments … from the Santa Monica Pier to Malibu Creek ,,, and from Malibu Creek to the Ventura County Line. 

Haber says safety changes to the road will be included.

HABER TWO 71126 

“The two capital preventative maintenance projects … we are continuing to make sure we get safety improvements built into both of those.

“The first one that’ll be going to construction is the northern one … from the Malibu Lagoon north.

“That will be moving ahead. 

“We’re in the design phase right now.

“We’re working hard to get additional safety features in.”

The southern phase of that… From the Malibu Lagoon to the Santa Monica tunnel…  is a bit more controversial.

It includes a westbound bike lane for 2 miles in the Malibu business district.

But no eastbound bike lane… there’s no room for that unless the center turn lane or one of the parking lanes is eliminated.

There’s a meeting tonight in Santa Monica … where Caltrans will show off plans for a one way bike lane in downtown Malibu.

There is no Internet feed from tonight’s meeting … it’s in-person only … at the Santa Monica Main Library … at 6 tonight.

FEMA Will Not Clear Burned-Out Mobile Homes In 2 Palisades Neighborhoods

The owners of 328 mobile homes on PCH east of Malibu are getting some more very bad news from the federal government.

FEMA is not going to pay for the Army Corps of Engineers … or anyone else … to remove the fire-destroyed affordable housing along PCH in Pacific Palisades. 

The Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates and Tahitian Terrace together housed hundreds of retirees and other long-time residents.  Some residents moved in decades ago … owned their own mobile homes … and paid just $600 a month for rent-controlled lots.  

It was some of the last affordable housing near Malibu …

Colby Biggs is a co-owner of the 150-unit Palisades Bowl park.

Biggs told Cal Matters last month that being unable to recover costs could mean … the land will sit vacant. 

BIGGS PALISADES BOWL 71124

 “If we have to go invest $100 million to rebuild the park and we’re not able to recoup that in some fashion, then it’s not likely we will rebuild the park. … 

“We’re not evicting anybody. But if the park’s not rebuilt, then obviously the residents wouldn’t have the right to reoccupy the park.”

Colby Biggs … owner of Palisades Bowl .. gave her interview to Cal Matters a month ago.  It was voiced by a KBUU reporter. 

There are 170 burned houses lost in the Palisades Bowl mobile home park.  Next door … 158 affordable houses were lost in Tahitian Terrace on Jan. 7.

And last night … more bad news for those victims. 

The federal government is -not- paying for debris removal. Army Corps of Engineers Col Brian Sawser:

SAWSER TAHITIIAN 71122

“As it stands right now – in terms of eligibility determination from FEMA – we are not gonna do work there now.

“But it is an evolving response.”

County supervisors Lindsey Horvath says FEMA is paying only to remove burned debris from RESIDENTIAL structures.  

The mobile home parks are considered businesses. 

TRAILER PARKS 71121

“We have gotten a definitive response from FEMA, that apartments are considered a business, because of the transaction that happens between the tenants and the property owners in the mobile home parks which this question directs.”

FEMA is telling the owners of mobile home parks that burned in the fire to go to the SBA and get low interest loans to pay for the cleanup. FEMA is telling the U-S Army Corps of Engineers don’t do the cleanup on the federal dime.

Again county supervisor Lindsay Horvath:

71120 

“We are still working with FEMA to substantiate which of those residential spaces will be included in this mission.”

Even if the federal government were to be talked into paying to clear the debris from 328 burned mobile homes … there is a significant question after that.

The Malibu coastal fault crosses the trailer park site. The owners of the two parcels are not required to rebuild the mobile home parks … under current law.

Commercial Eviction Moratorium, And Failure To Clear Penalties, Still Up In Air At County

Last night’s town hall was billed as a discussion on Caltrans issues … but it turned into a wide-ranging public discussion on fire-related issues.

For example … question to county supervisor Lindsey Horvath about Malibu;s dying private business sector … choked by there PCH road closures. 

COMMERCIAL RENTS 71118

“QUESTIONER: “Will the county consider a commercial lease eviction in support of businesses?

HORVATH: “Right now that hasn’t been that hasn’t been a conversation at the county actively but we do know that it is a question that has been raised. The concerns are coming from a lot of city businesses.”

What about landowners who fail to take any action towards clearing their fire debris?
The county supervisor says … a legal response and possible penalties are still being drawn up. 

FAIL TO CLEAR 71119

HORVATH: “we have we have already begun those conversations at the county to explore what we have, what authority the city has, what authority the state has, and how we work together with all levels of government to make sure that we are taking appropriate actions. But we are exploring all authorities that we have.”

RIGGINS: “yeah I just want an echo with the supervisor says, that the city of Malibu is highly aware of how important it is to clean up every property, but especially those that affect a sensitive area such as the ocean.”

That was Malibu council woman Marianne Riggins … at there end.

Malibu’s Homeless Population Is 1/8th Of What It Used To Be

Malibu’s homeless population has dropped to just one eighth of what it was five years ago … according to the city’s 2025 Homeless Count.

Just 33 people were counted living on the streets or beaches this time … compared to 69 last year … and the highest count ever … 239 people … in 2020.

The small census is a reflection of a signifiant city investment in temporary housing and roving counselors … as well as efforts by the sheriff’s office that patrols Malibu.

The city calls it a “proactive and sustained approach to addressing homelessness through outreach, enforcement, and housing placement efforts.”

The final count … 33 … marks the lowest count recorded since the City began tracking in 2016, Malibu’s fourth consecutive year of record-low homeless numbers.

Like in years past … outreach teams surveyed designated areas within City limits, identifying individuals, families, vehicles, tents, and makeshift shelters.

Malibu’s Homeless Outreach Team, operated by The People Concern, continues to help individuals transition out of homelessness through permanent housing, interim placements, and family reunification. In 2024 alone, the City’s Homeless Outreach Team placed 72 individuals into housing, the highest number since services began in 2017.

Working alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Malibu cleared 44 encampments in 2024, up from 29 in 2023.

Stolen Van DrivenAt 70 MPH Down SM Blvd Yesterday 

A stolen van from Santa Clarita was driven down Santa Monica Boulevard at 70 miles an hour yesterday.

The driver sped through crosswalks full of people … narrowly missing some people including a woman walking her dog … and a kid on skateboard.

He even sped down the Santa Monica Promenade … before rear ending a car one block east of the Santa Monica Pier. 

Sheriff’s deputies identified the car thief suspect as 21 year old … named Alex Villegas.

He was arrested on the Pier access bridge. 

Woman Who Died On Westlake Blvd Identified As Malibu Actor

The woman who was found dying at her home near Westlake Village Monday night was identified as a Malibu resident. 

Cindyana Santangelo was 58.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department was called to a medical emergency at a home on Westlake Boulevard, north of Mulholland Highway and south of the county line, at about 7:15 p.m. Monday.

The woman, later identified as Santangelo, was taken by paramedics to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Santangelo started out as a dancer in various music videos in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Young MC’s “Bust a Move” video.

As Cindyana Lair, she appeared on “Married … With Children” .

The Times reports she married Frank Santangelo in 2001 and was the mother of two boys. 

Her LinkedIn page lists her as the director and chief executive of Mermaids Cove Malibu, described as an all-women’s luxury sober living facility.

The cause of death is unknown; an autopsy is pending. It appears that her 58th birthday was last Sunday.