Law enforcement officials and volunteers met early to divide in teams and check the hillsides.
A Pacific Palisades Hillside Taskforce took place at Will Rogers State Beach near Lifeguard Headquarters on October 22, 2025.
The event was organized by past president of the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness Sharon Kilbride, who is currently the police liaison for the PPTFH Beach detail unit and Palisades Senior Lead Officer Brian Espin.
Those participating today include members of the Los Angeles Police Department, the LAPD beach detail, L.A. City Recreation and Parks rangers, MRCA/Temescal Gateway Park Rangers, the LAPD Valley Motor Off-Road Officers, Councilmember Traci Park, L.A. Mayor’s Representative Marian Ensley, and Palisades volunteers.
About 25 people gathered at 7 a.m. for instructions and assignments to look for and offer aid to any who might be found in the hills.
Deputy Chief Gerald Woodyard, the commanding officer of Operations West Bureau, stressed the importance of the Task Force.
The commanding officer of Operations West Bureau addressed volunteers and thanked the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness.
Before volunteers and officers went to assigned areas, PPTFH co-president Cindi Young was presented a replacement certificate that named her as 2024 Palisades Citizen of the Year by Councilmember Traci Park. Her home, belongings and awards burned in the January 7 fire.
Young was teary, accepting the surprise certificate.
Park noted, that the task force, which has assembled as often as four times a year after the May 2021 Highlands Fire, is starting to bring normalcy back to the Palisades. People are building and returning and want to ensure there is public safety.
Then it was all business, as different groups went to different areas of the Palisades. People were told that if they found someone that needed help, the social workers from People Concern, paid for by donations to the PPTFH would be at the bottom of Temescal to offer help.
The Palisades was divided into seven areas and law enforcement personnel were paired with volunteers to scour areas where people might be illegally camping in the Very High Five Severity Zone.
The areas explored were behind the wall along PCH below the Huntington Palisades, Potrero, the Via de las Olas bluffs, Temescal Canyon Park, Temescal Canyon Gateway Park, Asilomar, Castellammare area, Sunset at PCH, Palisades Drive and Los Leones.
In past years, encampments were found in the brush, but Kilbride predicted that none would be found because of the Palisades Fire. She was wrong. There were seven.
Area one had an abandoned camp that was cleaned up. Area 2, Temescal Road, there were five, including abandoned camps and one had a tent and belongings.
Remnants of a prior encampment, including a burned bike were also found, possibly it was there before the fire. Volunteers cleaned the area and L.A. City Rec and Parks maintenance picked up the trash.
That discovery stressed the importance of making sure no one was sleeping in the canyons – for their own safety and to be able to evacuate if a fire came through at night.
One abandoned encampment was also found in the Highlands area and cleaned up.
Two large buckets of oil were found along Temescal canyon, most likely illegally disposed of by workers.
Other volunteers discovered debris left behind by DWP near Los Liones State Park and went to the utilities information center at Topanga to request a cleanup.
By contrast in December 2023, it was reported by CTN that “After the three-hour operation concluded, six abandoned campsites had been found. Four were found in Temescal Canyon Park, one was found behind the Caltrans wall below the Huntington Palisades and the last was found in the Los Liones Park area.”
The first task force took place after several fires were set by an arsonist in the hills above the Highlands in May 2021. After the fire was put out and a person arrested, LAPD Captain Jonathan Tom, who was then the commanding officer of the West Los Angeles Area, realized how valuable it would be for officials to work together.
Tom, who was much valued by Palisades residents, was promoted and is Assistant Commanding Officer – Professional Standards Bureau. He made a trip to the Palisades to offer his support for an essential operation and to say hi to the volunteers he had worked with in the past.
The problems in the Highlands seem to be perennial…it is time for a fix either by the city or the residents themselves.