Pacific Palisades residents, contractors and truckers hauling debris are being stopped by the California Highway Patrol and ticketed on a regular basis. Tickets are given for speeding or failing to come to a complete stop at flashing red lights, stop signs or checkpoints.
All traffic lights are flashing red. The speed limit in town is 25 m.p.h. The CHP has been asked to enforce for safety reasons.
In the first few days after the January Fires, burglaries spiked in both the Palisades and Eaton fire evacuation zones. From January 1 to April 15, the number of residential burglaries in Altadena was up 450 percent compared with the same period as last year. More than 140 residential burglaries have been reported to the Altadena sheriff’s station.
By contrast, there were 20 incidents reported from January 1 to March 31 in 2024, in Pacific Palisades, and in 2025 in the same time period there were 23 incidents reported.
The difference? The California National Guard staffs around-the-clock entry and exit checkpoints in the Palisades with assistance from the California Highway Patrol. The LAPD regularly patrols the community.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass initially said she would open up the Palisades at the end of January to everyone, including looky-loos and people who weren’t residents. There was an outcry from Palisadians about looters and criminals, who could easily access the standing homes, since everyone had been required to evacuate the area.
Bass said that police resources were too thin and that LAPD had to be assigned to other areas of town, too. California Governor Gavin Newsom stepped in and offered help with the National Guard and California Highway Patrol, which remain in place four months later.
Circling the News reached out to Commander Jonathon Tom, who said that CalTrans had recently installed “rumble-strips” to help slow driving speeds through check point areas. It appears that the people who are trying to get through without stopping are not residents/workers. Or maybe there are those Palisades residents who don’t realize the value of the checkpoints and try to drive through.
CalTrans is now going to install additional K-Rail protection at checkpoints for soldiers, who had expressed concern for personal safety. There are now additional LAPD units positioned in proximity to the checkpoints with the goal of stopping drivers, who were failing to stop.
Speed enforcement is needed because, since the Palisades Fire on January 7, there have been an increased number of traffic collisions: 42. Of those, 16 have resulted in reports filed.
Commander Tom said, “Please encourage drivers to obey posted speed limits and to stop for all check points. It is critical for the safety of the soldiers and construction workers in the Palisades recovery area.”