Topanga Beach took a beating in the aftermath of the 2025 Palisades Fire, but the beach is open again, plans for an ambitious restoration project at the Topanga Lagoon are back on track, and surf conditions are good. Warmer than usual water temperatures and a string of early and powerful storms in the Eastern Pacific that continues to bring big surf to the local coast, are gladdening the hearts of the surf community (although, no matter how inviting that water looks, it’s always a good idea to check Heal the Bay’s beachreportcard.org before hitting the waves). Repaving and post-Palisades Fire roadwork continue on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, but the beach is still in reach—it may just take a little longer to get there! Cover design by Urs Baur
A year and a half after the devastating Palisades Fire, recovery continues. It’s a slow process for both the families who lost their homes in the disaster and the wild inhabitants of the Santa Monica Mountains, but there are encouraging signs.
The RCDSMM—Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains—recently announced that their Stream Team has identified a population of critically endangered Southern steelhead trout that, against all the odds, survived the fire and the deluge of post-fire storm debris in Topanga Creek. Not only have these fish survived, but they have successfully bred, The team counted 21 babies among the adults.
“Words cannot describe how grateful we are that these fish found a way,” the team stated on social media. “The journey from January 2025 hasn’t been an easy one for any of us—community members or wildlife. “But we’re stunned at just how resilient our mountains have proven to be.”
A number of steelhead were rescued after the fire and relocated, together with another endangered fish, the tidewater goby, which lives in the Topanga Lagoon. The biologists overseeing the rescue and relocation program have hoped all along that these fish will be able to return to Topanga. Finding additional survivors in the wild has fueled that hope.
Species like these are dependent on highly specific water environmental conditions, but they can also be surprisingly resilient.
An unusually early and heavy rainy season over the past winter—more than 30 inches in some parts of Topanga—has encouraged the growth of massive quantities of non-native invasive plant species throughout the Santa Monica Mountains this year and left property owners struggling to meet brush clearance deadlines. The deadline for clearance in Topanga was June first, but brush clearance and creating a “defensible space” around one’s home continue to be important for all of us in the wildland interface.
Decreasing fire risk was the goal of a prescribed burn on Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority land near Santa Maria Canyon on June 26. The smell of smoke alarmed some residents in Topanga and Woodland Hills, but the event was carefully monitored to limit the burn to its pre-selected perimeters. Los Angeles County Fire Department and MRCA fire crews were joined by TCEP—Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness—President James Grasso and Disaster Radio Team (DRT) member Chris Whalley, who were “on the line supporting the prescribed burn in Topanga alongside their fellow Call Firefighters from Fire Station 69,” James reported on TCEP’s social media. “Together, we’re stronger, helping protect the perilous paradise we call home,” he wrote.
Topanga residents have been blessed with an unusually cool start to summer, which is one of the reasons the controlled burn was able to proceed, but things are starting to heat up. Fire awareness is critically important, but so is heat awareness. Cases of heat-related illness and even death have increased in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in recent years, as more people head for trails without taking sensible precautions.
It’s always a good idea to bring enough water, and to wear sunscreen and a hat, but it’s even more important to know when not to go hiking or undertake any kind of strenuous outdoor activity, and also to remember that dogs can also experience heat illness, burned paws, and even death from heat stroke. Stay safe out there.
For those headed to the beach on hot summer days, getting there may take a little longer. Repaving and post-Palisades-Fire reconstruction continue to slow traffic on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. One-lane traffic control remains in effect between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays in the lower canyon for road restoration work. The “pavement rehabilitation project” continues to move south down the canyon toward PCH. Expect to encounter one-lane traffic control south of Cafe on 27 this month. It’s important to build in a little extra time, patience, and caution on any trip this summer, but especially on our canyon roads.
Summer brings the sound of canyon crickets at night, the scent of sun-baked chaparral in the afternoon, and blessed coolness in the morning before the day heats up—just a few of the things that are essential and delightful elements of the season in Topanga.
Stay safe, be well.
