No Trespassing Signs Posted in Pacific Palisades to Prevent Transient Fires

The police,, members of Rec and Parks, the Task Force on Homelessness and CD 11 met below the Via de las Olas bluffs to examine locations to place signs.

Sharon Kilbride marks a spot where there was a sign before the fire, as a police officer looks on.

Prior to the January 7 Palisades Fire, there were numerous transient fires in the bluffs below Via De las Olas, Friends Street and the Huntington Palisades.

One fire required the evacuation of people living along the bluffs, but luckily there was an immediate and significant Los Angeles Fire Department response, with air support, and the fire was contained on the hillsides.

The area where fires started was largely Recreation and Parks land—and although camping was never approved for that area, police were told there was nothing legally they could do because there were no posted signs.

With the help from Veronica De La Cruz, the Neighborhood Prosecutor, language was approved for signs in Very High Fire Severity Zones. Then, LAFD Fire Inspector John Novela, with highway sign specialist William Shue, helped Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness (PPTFH) members Sharon Kilbride, Maryam Zar, Bruce Schwartz and Patrick Hart and Beach detail officer Rusty Redican place signs.

Under LAMC 57.4908.1, those who trespass or loiter in high fire zones can be cited by LAPD. The PPTFH initially paid for the first 20 signs that went up below the Via de las Olas bluffs, along Palisades Drive and in Temescal Canyon Park in 2017.

These signs, many of which burned in the Palisades Fire are being replaced by Rec and Parks.

The signs have been largely successful to ensure those illegally trespassing can be cited. In conjunction with the social workers hired by PPTFH (and paid for by contributions from residents), all those found are also offered services.

Now that the bike path was reopened on April 17, there has been an increased flow of transients into the area. People walking into the Palisades are not stopped by the National Guard or police, who have been instructed to focus on vehicles.

The Palisades Fire destroyed many of the signs, which means they need to be replaced. Today with support from Councilmember Traci Park’s office, Rec and Parks, LADP and members of the PPTFH, missing signs were marked and will be replaced.

With the spring rain, and the phosphorus from the ash, the plants growing along the bluffs are abundant, and ladybugs and flowers are everywhere. That also means that the vegetation will be ripe to burn, and the slopes have to be monitored as people work to rebuild homes.

Plants are already overgrowing the bluffs above Pacific Coast Highway.