As ash, burned wood, and melted plastic floated on the crashing waves of the Pacific Palisades Sunset Point Beach area of Los Angeles, one surfer paddled into a good-sized wave of the coast.
“I think that guy is a volunteer out here, so I’m sure he knows how bad the water is,” one Los Angeles Department of Water and Power worker told The Epoch Times while on his lunch break.
“There are also warning signs along the beaches from here to Malibu, but hey, hopefully, he does not get sick.”
On the beach in front of a local seafood restaurant, burned pieces of rubble made the sandy beach unrecognizable, with scattered signs that warned beachgoers of high bacteria levels in the water.
Debris leftover from the Palisades fire and heavy rains caused beach closures near Los Angeles, on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Men clean up debris leftover from the Palisades fire near Los Angeles on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
A man walks among debris leftover from the Palisades fire and heavy rains near Los Angeles, on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Powerful rains recently hit Southern California, sending much of the fire debris to the beach and triggering landslides that resulted in the closures of some of Los Angeles’s busiest roads.
Just to the south of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, Santa Monica’s beaches are also strewn with leftover fire debris, as beachgoers walking at the water’s edge zig-zag around large piles of charred wood.
Twelve miles south of Santa Monica at Manhattan Beach’s El Porto Beach, fire debris is so far at a minimum with occasional patches of ash. The stretch of coast had dozens of surfers bobbing up and down on their boards on Feb. 27.
“To be honest I have not really seen or noticed too much fire [debris] out here just yet,” surfer Jeff Erikson, 51, of Lawndale told The Epoch Times. “I heard it is pretty bad in Northern [Los Angeles] County, though.”
Debris leftover from the Palisades fire and heavy rains caused beach closures near Los Angeles, on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Debris leftover from the Palisades fire and heavy rains caused beach closures near Los Angeles, on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Destruction caused by the Palisades fire near Los Angeles, on Jan. 9, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Last month’s Los Angeles-area wildfires, including the Palisades and Eaton fires, killed 29 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. The fires caused between $28 billion and $53.8 billion in property damage, according to a study published by the Southern California Leadership Council and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
On Feb. 26, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that workers had completed Phase 1 of the debris removal process of hazardous household materials from properties destroyed or heavily damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
In Phase 2, which already started, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and private contractors hired by individual property owners remove all other visible materials from fire-damaged properties, including ash, wood, and other debris.
On Feb. 27, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautioned residents planning to visit certain Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in the ocean water.
Men clean up debris leftover from the Palisades fire near Los Angeles, on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
A man surfs amongst debris leftover from the Palisades fire and heavy rains near Los Angeles, on Feb. 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
John Fredricks
Author
John Fredricks is a California-based journalist for The Epoch Times. His reportage and photojournalism features have been published in a variety of award-winning publications around the world.
