Whenever there is a disaster in our area, the heroics of the emergency personnel are offset by the heavy-handed authority of officials controlling local vehicular traffic. A recent case-in-point: My neighbor had the misfortune of returning from a three time zone flight on the evening of the Malibu Road fire. She called me from Las Flores, where she was being turned away. I was following the story on live news Internet streams, and I had heard that residents returning home on Las Virgenes were being allowed to turn into Pepperdine and exit onto PCH westbound from John Tyler.
So I suggested she backtrack to Topanga Canyon, go down Old Topanga Canyon to Mullholland, then to Las Virgenes. When she got to Las Virgenes, however, she was turned away there, too, and told that Kaanan was closed as well. Tired from her travels, she checked into a hotel on Agoura Road and was finally able to get home at 5 the next morning.
I had my own experience in the fire of 1993, being turned away from rescuing animals and belongings when there was no reasonable danger at the time. I understand the nature of emergencies and the need for extraordinary precautions (so please spare me the lectures), but it appears as though there is no reason applied in these situations, only immediate and absolute martial law.
In the case of my neighbor, it seemed very clear that the Malibu Road fire was contained to a small area and posed no threat to anyone passing through Pepperdine. What if the wind shifted later and left her unable to evacuate her household from their nearby canyon home?
I truly believe that a policy needs to be put in place that results in the application of intelligence regarding local vehicular access during emergencies, so that residents and their families and pets are not left stranded or without personal choices.
Scott Palamar