Thursday Afternoon Update

Dear friend,

With conditions improving, we are now able to report some much-needed relief to residents in our Valley community. As of now, residents will be permitted to return to their homes in much of the Encino area. 

Residents can now return to homes within all of the following zones:

LOS-Q0765, LOS-Q1118, LOS-Q0798, LOS-Q0782-B, LOS-Q0778-A, LOS-Q0781-A, LOS-Q0782-A, LOS-Q0780

Please note that this area will now be open to *residents only* and there will still be limited access to the non-residential areas west of Mulholland Dr at Encino Hills Dr. When returning to the neighborhood, residents must provide proof of residency. Acceptable forms of identification are a photo ID that displays the resident’s name, photo, and physical address. Please have these documents ready to ensure a smooth verification process. A curfew will remain in place from 6PM to 6AM to help keep the area protected. 

If you are without gas: 

Customers in the Encino area who are without natural gas service should call SoCal Gas at 1-800-427-2200 for restoration of your services. 

If you are without power: 

LADWP crews have performed safety inspections of all the power lines in the fire-restricted areas at this time and are ready and on standby to restore power when fire officials give the green light to do so. Please expect restoration to take an approximate time of two to three hours from the time of notification. As customers are returning to their homes, if they see that a neighbor has their power restored but they do not, try resetting the circuit breaker first. If power is still out, call LADWP’s customer service at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397) for assistance.  

As of 8AM this morning, red flag warnings have been lifted across Los Angeles. While there is no longer a severe wind advisory in effect, our office has requested additional RAP monitors, LADOT deployment, and LAPD patrols to manage visitor traffic and ensure safe activity across Griffith Park, including Lake Hollywood, through the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Wattles Park, Runyon Canyon, and all MRCA parks and outlooks remain closed at this time. 

Additionally, the South Coast AQMD has extended a windblown dust and ash advisory through Thursday night. Residents are reminded that exposure to ash from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires remains a potential health concern and to take proper precautions to protect themselves. It is particularly important to know that windblown ash particles may be too large to be detected by air quality instrumentation and not reflected in the Air Quality Index (AQI) map – although the AQI may show green, hazardous ash may be present in the air. 

A good guideline for knowing when to take precautions is if any one of these three conditions is met: 

• AQI Levels are elevated
• You smell smoke
• You see ash

If you checked any of the above boxes, please take the following precautions:

• Limit your exposure by remaining indoors with windows and doors closed or seeking alternate shelter.
• Avoid vigorous physical activity.
• Run your air conditioning and/or an air purifier. If possible, do not use swamp coolers or whole house fans that bring in outside air. 
• Always wear proper personal protective equipment (long sleeve shirts, pants, gloves and safety glasses) when working around ash. A well-fitting respirator such as an N-95 may provide some protection. If you do get ash on your skin, wash it off as soon as possible.
• Do not use leaf blowers or take other actions (e.g., dry sweeping) that will put ash into the air. To clean up ash, use vacuums equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters or mist lightly with water before gently sweeping.

A reminder that updated information about evacuations, closures, power outages, safety tips, FEMA assistance, emergency loans, insurance, and available resources are available on our website HERE and are updated regularly. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our office for additional assistance at contactcd4@lacity.org, or by calling us at 213-473-7004.

Stay Safe,