Temescal Canyon Road Reopens

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Following a seven-month closure since the Palisades fire, Temescal Canyon Road has reopened for public access beginning Wednesday, August 13, Councilmember Traci Park and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced.

The route has been used as a staging area for USACE during its fire debris removal operation, Park detailed, to “recycle steel and concrete.” The total concrete debris processed at the site was 147,000 tons (12,600 truckloads) and total metal debris processed was 11,800 tons (6,500 truckloads), according to USACE.

“Trucks delivered cleaned concrete and metal from properties within Los Angeles County to the site, where it was temporarily stored before being processed onsite,” according to USACE. “Onsite equipment crushed the concrete and bailed the metal, so it could be recycled and re-entered into the supply chain for future use.”

The debris removal operation began during the second week of February, USACE reported, in coordination with the state of California and Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Temescal Canyon Road site began operating on February 23, receiving its final truckload on May 27.

“With its closure for the last seven months, obviously that has impacted the flow of traffic in and around the Palisades area,” Park said. “Now, with schools just on the brink of reopening in the Palisades, we could not be any more excited to finally have Temescal Canyon back open.”

Temescal Canyon Road serves as one of the main arteries into the Palisades from Pacific Coast Highway, alongside Sunset and Chautauqua boulevards.

USACE worked with its contractors, ECC and Security Paving, as well as officials from the city of Los Angeles, to conduct a final walk-through inspection of Temescal Canyon Road on August 4.

“We know how important Temescal Canyon Road is to the Pacific Palisades community as a main artery in this neighborhood, not only for regular traffic but also having it ready for students returning for the 2025 school year,” said Col. Jeff Palazzini, commander of the Palisades Emergency Field Office. “We thank our partners at FEMA, the state of California, Los Angeles County, the city of Los Angeles and our contractors for helping us return this road to pre-fire conditions for the Palisades community.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Tuesday, August 19, to include additional information reported by USACE.