Topanga Canyon Blvd. Reopens, Though Fire Danger Remains

Traffic & Transit

Topanga Canyon Blvd. Reopens, Though Fire Danger Remains The winds have died down and Topanga Canyon Boulevard has reopened, but authorities are warning residents to remain cautious of fire danger.

TOPANGA, CA — Topanga Canyon Boulevard fully reopened to traffic Thursday after the wind died down, though authorities warned that the danger of wildfires remains high.

The road was shut down to non-residents between Mulholland Drive and Pacific Coast Highway on Wednesday morning. Authorities planned to reopen the road at 6 a.m. Friday, but reopened it earlier after a Red Flag warning for the area was removed by the National Weather Service, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP warned that fire risk in the mountains remains high and urged motorists not to throw lit objects, such as cigarette butts, from their vehicles.

Winds battered much of the region Wednesday, with the National Weather Service reporting peak gusts in the mountains reaching 75 to 85 mph, and 45 to 65 mph at lower elevations. The wind speeds tapered off as evening fell Wednesday, although gusts still reached up to 60 mph in the mountains.

The winds picked up speed again Thursday morning, although falling slightly short of Wednesday's levels. Humidity was expected to drop to 10 percent Thursday.

Southern California Edison is implementing so-called Public Safety Power Shutoffs, where the utility cuts power to certain areas during fire-weather conditions to prevent its equipment from sparking flames.

That includes the Malibu area and parts of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Malibu continues to recover from the Broad Fire, which burned 50 acres and destroyed three buildings Wednesday , as firefighters continue to battle the Mountain Fire in the Camarillo area.

The fire forced 10,000 to evacuate and had grown to 14,500 acres Thursday morning.