TOPANGA LAGOON RESTORATION

Topanga Lagoon Update - Post Fire

On January 8th, 2025 the Palisades Fire swept through the project area. All facilities on CA State Parks property within lower Topanga State Park were destroyed, while damage was more limited in the Los Angeles County's Topanga Beach area managed by the Department of Beaches and Harbors. Read more about impacts on the State Parks website here. 

Resource Protection Actions

Fish rescues of endangered tidewater goby and steelhead trout occurred in late January 2025, just before fire-induced mudflows further damaged the Topanga Creek watershed. Tidewater gobies have been successfully released into Topanga Lagoon post fire, and relocated steelhead trout are now thriving and reproducing successfully in a Santa Barbara County creek. We hope that once Topanga Creek has healed and fire-induced mud has naturally flushed out, steelhead can return home. Read more about these fish rescues in this article from the RCDSMM. 

Current Project Site Access

Lower Topanga State Park day use area and trails are currently closed to the public per a superintendent's closure order. At this time, the area is being utilized by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as a unified utility rebuild operations center to service the Pacific Palisades community. Please contact State Parks if you have any questions at angelesinfo@parks.ca.gov.

Topanga Beach is open to the public including the parking lot. 

Post-Fire Cleanup and Water Quality Updates

FEMA had approved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris clearance at Topanga Beach but as of August 28, USACE reviewed the site and agreed to remove 4 trees designated as unsafe to the public. US Army Corps of Engineers' contractors have completed all authorized work at Topanga Beach.  

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DBH’s beach maintenance crews have removed more than 196 tons of debris from Topanga Beach as of August 2025. Crews visit the site on a daily basis to empty trash, fill handwashing stations, and gather debris, with more focused efforts on debris pile removal occurring periodically as staffing and equipment is available. Please contact the Department of Beaches and Harbors for more information.

The interactive map on LA County's Department of Public Health's website will indicate whether ocean water bacteria levels at Topanga Beach meet State Standards. Refer to this map if you have concerns. As of writing this (date above), the levels meet State Standards. 

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Government agencies, environmental nonprofits, state organizations and academic partners are working collaboratively to assess potential impacts on air, water, soil and human health in response to the fires of early 2025. To access these various testing results and to track environmental changes documented by these organizations and agencies over time, visit LA County’s Post-Fire Assessment Hub here. The following are a few entities involved in testing water, soil and air: 

• RCD of the Santa Monica Mts: pH, DO, salinity, conductivity, nutrients and turbidity are collected monthly in the main area of Topanga Lagoon, at the upstream end of the PCH bridge and approximately 80 m upstream associated with monitoring habitat suitability of Topanga Lagoon for endangered fishes. Data is reported to the LA County Post-Fire hub.

• Surfrider LA: Blue Water Task Force tracks enterococcus bacteria twice monthly in the swash zone at Topanga Beach and results are available online

• LA Regional Water Quality Control Board: metals, PAHs & PCBs were collected via water samples monthly through May 2025, and two soil samples have also occurred. Results are available online

• Heal the Bay: Tests for a variety of metals and other PAHs and PCBs were collected monthly with data through May 2025 available online

• City of Los Angeles LA Sanitation provided a comprehensive update to the Los Angeles City Council on 26 June 2025 summarizing current conditions

• County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health: collating the results of testing by a variety of partners with updates

• Post-Fire Aquatic Habitats Working Group led by Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRO) is coordinating data contributed by 26 different agencies, universities and NGO’s from over 110 sites post fire. Reports and results are also posted here.

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Design Update

Design efforts for the Topanga Lagoon Restoration Project are officially moving forward! Design Workshop Inc. was selected as the designer for visitor services facilities at the end of 2024 after a competitive bid process. Moffatt & Nichol Engineers is continuing to lead the bridge widening and lagoon design efforts for the project. Due to the Palisades Fire, design efforts were put on hold pending landowner discussions of next steps. While design efforts were temporarily put on hold due to the Palisades Fire, the design process officially restarted in March 2025. We anticipate holding a public meeting this winter to get your feedback.