Tuesday Evening Update

Dear friend,

We have now hit the one week mark since wildfires broke out across Los Angeles County, leaving unimaginable loss and devastation in their wake. While our firefighters have made progress to contain the active fires, we are facing another windstorm tonight through Wednesday and conditions could shift quickly. We urge everyone to remain alert and prepared. 

To our Encino community – 

As of Tuesday afternoon, a mandatory evacuation order *REMAINS IN PLACE* for the Palisades Fire from Mandeville Canyon to the 405 and from the neighborhoods near the Encino Reservoir south to Sunset Blvd. This includes areas of Encino and Brentwood. Evacuation warnings also remain in place for some of the surrounding neighborhoods, including neighborhoods in Tarzana, Encino, and Sherman Oaks. LAPD, supported by the National Guard, is continuing active patrols in these areas to enforce curfews. 

I know that many of you have already spent many nights away from home, and are eager to return. However, these evacuation orders are not issued lightly. These orders are in place for the safety of residents and to ensure that we do not have any further loss of life. Please protect yourselves and your community, support your first responders and heed the evacuation orders. Stay informed about any changes to the evacuation orders by downloading the Watch Duty app and monitoring notifications, or by visiting lafd.org/alerts. 

Ongoing park closures – 

As we continue to monitor the ongoing fire response and increased risk of severe wind, I want to reiterate to residents that ALL of our hillside parks remain closed at this time. This includes Griffith Park, Lake Hollywood, Runyon Canyon, the Hollywood Sign, and all MRCA parks and outlooks. 

We ask for your continued cooperation in keeping the roads clear in our High Fire Severity Zones: unless you are a resident, please stay out of these hillside parks and hiking trails until this emergency subsides. This is essential to keep roads clear for our first responders or for residents in case of an emergency evacuation.

LAPD and LADOT will continue to maintain a presence at Lake Hollywood and across the hillsides, and our office will continue to advocate for the resources necessary to keep our district safe. 

To everyone in CD4 – 

Red flag warnings are in effect through Wednesday night. Residents should remain on high alert, as dynamic wind conditions can quickly shift existing fires, and fire risks will remain high across our city. The Santa Ana winds are expected to be strong through Wednesday in Southern California’s mountain and foothill communities, with winds potentially gusting up to more than 75 mph in certain areas. While current fire management efforts have been effective, new winds can quickly shift the direction of the fire.

In response to the winds, the South Coast AQMD has also issued a windblown dust and ash advisory through Wednesday night. If you are in an area impacted by windblown dust and ash, 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.
• Help minimize dust pollution by stabilizing loose soils and slowing down if driving on dirt roads.
• 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.

A reminder that updated information about 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. 

I want to reassure you that our office is actively working to secure every available resource to protect our district. We are in constant communication with City partners through our Emergency Operations Center, which brings together departments and agencies like LAHSA to ensure that we are caring for our neighborhoods and that we are prepared for rapid response, should we need it.  

Stay Safe,