More Conservancy Parkland Reopened. Burn Areas Remain Closed.

Parks remain closed in the Burn Areas

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 25, 2025) - The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) announced today that the MRCA would reopen most Conservancy-owned and MRCA-managed parks outside of the burn areas and evacuation zones of the recent Palisades Fire. All MRCA-managed parks and trails and beach accessways in the burn zones, including those in the city of Malibu and Topanga Canyon areas will remain closed.

"Now that the extreme weather is over, we feel park users can return safely to our parks, that are not in the burn areas," said MRCA Chief Ranger Fernando Gomez. "We appreciate the public's help in our efforts to keep the community safe."

MRCA Park Closures Include:

• Temescal Gateway Park
• All Topanga Canyon Parks including Top of Topanga Overlook, Tuna Canyon Park, Mill Creek, Redrock Canyon Park, Ed Edelman Park
• All MRCA Parks, Parking lots and Beach Accessways in and directly adjacent to the City of Malibu including Escondido Canyon Park, Sara Wan Trailhead, Cameron Nature Preserve at Puerco Canyon
• Dirt Mulholland Drive
• San Vicente Mountain Park

Popular MRCA Parks Now Open:

• Franklin Canyon Park
• Wilacre Park
• King Gillette Ranch Park

The MRCA maintains its own fire division to protect resources on Conservancy-owned and MRCA-managed properties, and works together with local fire departments, State and federal agencies, and the public to prevent wildfires, and-if necessary-to defend against them. In the current Palisades Fire incident, MRCA Fire Division defended Temescal Gateway Park in the Palisades Fire area. MRCA also successfully defended structures in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in the Kenneth Fire. The MRCA will resume 24-hour patrol should there be another red flag incident.

The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) is a local government public entity exercising joint powers of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Conejo Recreation and Park District and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. The MRCA is dedicated to the preservation and management of local open space and parkland, wildlife habitat, coastal access, watershed lands, and trails in both wilderness and urban settings, and to ensuring access to public parkland and coastal resources. The MRCA works in cooperation with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and other local government partners to acquire parkland, participate in vital planning processes, work towards wildfire resilience, and connect wildlife habitat. The MRCA manages more than 80,000 acres of parkland that it owns and that are owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. It is one of the lead agencies revitalizing the Los Angeles River.