Efforts are well underway to clean up debris flows caused by storms that rolled through SoCal as well as mitigate damage that could potentially be caused by future rainfall.
Back-to-back days of precipitation triggered mud and debris flows along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and the Pacific Palisades as Thursday turned to Friday, with video taken early Friday morning on PCH at Big Rock Road showing one mudslide blocking the northbound side of the roadway.
More footage showed a house which had survived the fire that was destroyed by a mudslide.
Officials had shut down a long stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in the wake of the Palisades Fire before initially announcing it would be reopened to the general public on Feb. 2; however, the reopening was delayed to the following day due to crime concerns from local residents.
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Malibu, CA – January 15: The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) -
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: An aerial view of a beachside homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire along Pacific Coast Highway as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 16, 2025 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) -
Buildings and cars destroyed by the Palisades fire lay along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by Zoë Meyers / AFP) (Photo by ZOE MEYERS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Feb. 3 opening went as planned but lasted merely a day, as it was announced that the same part of PCH would again be closed due to the storms that ended up dumping some significant rainfall on the area.
The end of the second PCH closure was not immediately disclosed by officials, who previously stated they needed to wait until at least Friday afternoon to make assessments on the landscape.
That said, as of Saturday at 8 a.m., the road remained closed between Chautauqua Boulevard and Carbon Beach Terrace in Malibu.
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Heavy rain led to a mudslide along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Feb. 7, 2025. (ANG News) -
A checkpoint is seen on the PCH, requiring residents to show ID to return to their homes in the Pacific Palisades area. February 2025. (KTLA) -
Motorists drive along PCH near Entrada Drive in Pacific Palisades on Feb. 3, 2025. PCH reopened fully for the first time since the Palisades Fire on Monday. (KTLA) -
Traffic seen moving very slowly on PCH at Entrada Drive in Santa Monica on Feb. 4, 2025. (KTLA)
According to the National Weather Service, the next chance of rain comes from a “strong frontal system” that could bring moderate to heavy rain to Southern California by the middle of the week.
“This system could bring flooding and debris flow impacts, especially near recent burn scars,” NWS said.
