Narrow Hillside Roads Complicate Escape From Palisades Fire

In Pacific Palisades, homes are nestled into the hillside with breathtaking views, accessible via narrow roads that lead to just a handful of streets connecting to the Pacific Coast Highway. On Tuesday, these limited escape routes complicated the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the rapidly growing Palisades fire.

“Getting in and out of Palisades under any circumstance is a challenge,” said Mike Bonin, a former Los Angeles city councilman whose district included the area.

Add an active blaze, smoke and firefighting efforts to the mix, and the result is clogged streets and long waits to leave the community. As the flames pushed closer to the gridlocked streets, some people frantically decided that their best option was to flee on foot in a city where walking is rarely one’s first choice.

That forced the Los Angeles Fire Department to bulldoze 30 vehicles that were abandoned on Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive to clear a pathway to and from the area for evacuees and fire trucks.

Maryam Zar, a two-time chair of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, said that fire had been a constant concern for the neighborhood. Meeting minutes showed that the council had hosted representatives of the Los Angeles Fire Department to discuss emergency plans and experts on making homes more fire resistant.

“We have talked for years about being ready for fire, because evacuation would be difficult, communication would be difficult, putting fires out in these crazy hillside streets would be difficult,” Ms. Zar said. “It has happened, on a crazy windy day.”

The agenda for the council’s upcoming meeting scheduled for Jan. 9 included plans for a proposed event.

The title? “Fire Safety Fair in the Palisades.”