Topanga residents desperate for visitors to return, businesses hurting because of road closure

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's sadly a familiar sight in Topanga -- a road closure. This time, the cause is the Palisades Fire followed by February storms that led to mudslides in numerous spots and badly damaged one section of the road.

It's closed indefinitely leading out to Malibu and the westside, but remains open on the valley side. The problem is that many outside of Topanga don't realize there's access.

"What are we going to do if we can't get to St. John's. One of my children has an autoimmune situation and there's other people who have more serious situations. Not being able to get to their doctors is a huge deal. We had a big emergency meeting at our school about our evacuation routes and if you're talking about having one major end of your highway closed. That means you're at a threat level always until that opens back up," said Aaron Hendry, a Topanga resident.

"It's been very difficult. People are coming back slowly. If we don't get them, our businesses are, these are small businesses. These are individual family-owned businesses up here and they won't be able to maintain at their rent and keep their doors open," said Maggie Dumais, a Topanga resident.

Maggie Dumais manages nine Airbnb's in Topanga, including the 14-acre Will Geer Estate. When you're here, it's hard to tell there was a fire or that the road is closed. This four-bedroom home that includes a sundeck, access to a nearby yoga studio in a yurt, and the peace and quiet of Topanga is currently renting for $300 a night. But Topanga needs visitors.

"Our businesses are open. We're thriving. We all support our businesses here. You can come for a hike. You can come support us and come see some open houses," said Tanya Starcevich, a Topanga Resident who is also a realtor.

Realtor Tanya Starcevich says listings are reaching record highs, but only a few homes are in escrow and fire insurance is incredibly expensive if you can get it. She says buyers are hesitant to make the trip to see homes because of how long it takes to get here. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath has worked with LAUSD to open one lane of the closed road for a school bus with a Caltrans escort to take Topanga kids to Paul Revere Middle School. There will also be a fund established to help businesses that are hurting.

"It is a mess. And you have to keep people away from that for safety reasons and that's why we have to take these best practices into account. Not only to clear the debris, but to make sure we're putting in preventions so it doesn't continue to happen," said Horvath.

What residents of Topanga really want is clarity about how long repairs will take so they can plan.

"I think we have to shoot for is first, a one-way opening with the target at the nod of this school year, that farthest target out that we have to see a one-lane opening and then a plan for how we're going to rebuild that road," said Hendry.

Right now, Caltrans is sticking with the term indefinitely and not setting a date for reopening. Work is being done to protect the road from future mud and debris flows, including adding retaining walls and installing barriers.