LA City Council Votes to Stop ‘Disaster Tourism’ through Pacific Palisades Area
Facing a $1 billion deficit, LA should expand the tours to include homeless camps, drug dens, and ICE riots … and charge a fee.
The devastating January 2025 wildfire in Pacific Palisades devastated the area. It was perhaps the hardest hit of the areas incinerated by the wildfire outbreaks in Los Angeles that killed 30 people and destroyed nearly 18,000 structures.
Shortly after the flames were extinguished and the roads reopened, residents and officials noticed a troubling new trend: commercial tour operators running “disaster tours” through the fire-ravaged neighborhoods.
On Jan. 7, the Palisades fire tore through Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas, destroying more than 6,000 structures, many of them homes, and leaving 12 people dead. Although officials vowed to have a speedy recovery, the rebuilding process for the worst disaster in the city’s history has been challenging — and slow.
[Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci] Park said the tour buses were not only unsettling but also potentially distracting and hazardous for crews continuing to work in the area.
“It’s also … dangerous because we’re still actively clearing fire debris,” she said.
LA To Halt Tour Buses Showing Aftermath Of Disastrous Pacific Palisades Fires https://t.co/F660pchWen
— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) July 6, 2025
It appears that the tours are so popular, the council is looking for long-term strategies to address the problem.
The measure, introduced by Councilmember Traci Park, directs the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to impose limits on commercial tour operations in wildfire-impacted zones for the remainder of the city’s emergency declaration. The vote also calls for the Los Angeles Police Department to work with city attorneys and transportation officials to develop enforcement strategies and report back on potential long-term solutions.
…The temporary directive gives city departments the authority to take immediate action while laying the groundwork for a permanent policy to protect the community. Park described the move as a necessary first step to preserve the dignity and recovery of a “very sensitive area.”
Additionally, there may be other restrictions put in place of the roads once the newly reconstructed areas are mapped.
Park, citing Los Angeles Municipal Code 80.36.11, which allows the Department of Transportation (LADOT) to restrict tour bus operations in unsafe areas, has introduced a motion to prohibit such operations in the fire-affected zone for the duration of the ongoing emergency declaration. The motion, presented to the City Council, calls for LADOT to submit a map within seven days identifying restricted areas impacted by the January fire.
Park’s proposal also addresses the area’s pre-existing challenges, noting that its narrow, winding streets and steep hills were already unsuitable for large vehicles before the fire. She has instructed LADOT to survey streets within the boundaries of Pacific Coast Highway, Surfview Drive, Amalfi Drive, and the Santa Monica Mountains ridgeline, reporting back in 120 days with recommendations for permanent tour bus restrictions.
One has to wonder how popular these tours are to pose a distraction requiring legislation…. https://t.co/NOn3bv9uOG
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) July 8, 2025
As of May, approximately 30 permits have been issued to rebuild in Pacific Palisades.
To date, 31 permits for 23 addresses related to rebuilding efforts have been issued for projects in the Palisades. Hundreds of permit applications are in the process of being reviewed. The first permit was issued 57 days after the start of the Palisades Fire, more than twice as fast as they were issued after the devastating Camp and Woolsey fires.
Given these numbers, perhaps keeping the disaster tours going but charging a city fee would be the fiscally sensible way to go. Perhaps the L.A. City Council could even expand the scope of the tours, to include the homeless camps and drug dens … and a stop to watch the Los Angeles mayor confront ICE.
A stop at MacArthur Park could accomplish all three and reduce the city’s $1 billion deficit.
What Karen Bass WON’T tell you is that this particular park ICE was sweeping in Los Angeles, MacArthur park, is NOT your typical neighborhood park…
If she were honest, she’d tell you that it’s is absolutely LEGENDARY for being a crime hub. It’s known to be a very dangerous… pic.twitter.com/FX4JmEibpf
— Stella X (@stellaaaaaax) July 8, 2025
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Comments
Can’t have people seeing that its been 6 months and still is a ‘disaster area’ worthy of paying to gawk at.
6 freaking months.
This state is such a freaking joke.
Of course they don’t want ordinary people gawking at the government-fueled fire damaged areas; it’s not in the long term interests of the folks who plan to profit from this disaster.
Best to let it all fade from public consciousness.
6 months later there should be very little debris left and a ton of homes should be in the process of construction. This is just an attempt to stop people from seeing how incompetent the government of California is. Bass should as interested rebuilding homes as she is in stopping illegal aliens from being arrested and obstructing ICE. If she has time to storm to a park why doesn’t she have time to push reconstruction of the burned areas
Los Angeles — the GUM Store of America. “No tourists!”
In fairness to the Corps of Engineers (which was responsible for most of the cleanup as most homeowners elected to use them rather than use private contractors), the debris is almost, if not entirely, gone. The reality is they were with incredible precision and at a mind-boggling pace. This video has several good aerial shots of the ‘the flats’ part of Pali and you can see that 90%+ of the lots are cleared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS_JIRYWoLw
Which only makes the government refusal to issue permits all the more insane. All those lots are ready for construction, and there should be tons of them FINISHED at this point, but no construction has even STARTED because California is a lunatic leftist asylum afraid construction might harm the fish or some nonsense.
Adam Carolla 6 months after the fire:
https://youtu.be/ToKV0Q0FeXc?si=91LbiN_AQNHe2Sl7
I’ve watched all his fire blog videos. They’ve been enlightening and Carolla is particularly good because of his background in home construction in that area. The absolute failure of the city and state is underlined by the incredible job the Army Corps of Engineers did in cleanup. Had local and state authorities been just remotely competent, new construction could have begun as far back as February, that is how quickly the Corps worked. Also, the several videos/studio interview he had with that female local developer were also quite good, providing valuable insight into the complicated economics of rebuilding…if that were possible. As of July 7th (the day he filmed that video), he didn’t see a single sign of new construction.
“It appears that the tours are so popular, the council is looking for long-term strategies to address the problem.”
There’s Democrats for ya. “We’re suddenly popular, and it’s a problem!”
Careful, Karen — heed the wisdom of Albert King:
“If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.”
Oh, Doom! Despair! And agony on me!
Most of the TN bridges wiped out by Helene are now open. Building permits have been going as fast as the printer can spit ink on them.
Desantis had Florida cleaned up in under 90 days.
But per the thread yesterday about the pediatrician dancing on the graves of the kids…. my emphathy for LA is zero.
thats so when they still look this way years later…………
“LA should expand the tours to include homeless camps, drug dens, and ICE riots … and charge a fee.”
Maps To The Scars!
It’s like Steve Buscemi on Escape from LA
I do have to wonder about these tours. Are they regular Americans gawking at the damage? Or are they Chinese tours? Or some other foreign tourists being ghouls?
(I have heard of Chinese [and other Asian] tour buses going through disaster areas before. It seems to be a cultural thing.)
if so
b/c the asian community will buy it all up and rebuild it
Nothing new…a popular pastime in the rural south is riding to a town hit by a tornado to gawk at the damage. It happened in 1984 when Bennetsville, SC got flattened by a series of tornadoes.
After a minute, it’s not horrible to go check it out. My acreage is on the border of the Helene flooding. Since I didn’t have any buildings to worry about being looted, I waited, but it is worth knowing what nature can do. Also if you drive the 107 near Greeneville- they’ve got it very mopped up. Just the opposite of the 3rd world country of California
Understanding how those bridges failed and all the trash dumped down stream is not a dumb thing to see. Just don’t go while the cadavre dogs are still sniffing.
Speaking as a former resident of the Hollywood Hills I will say that those who like to go on tours through disaster areas like fires are just ghouls. Taking entertainment or enjoyment in seeing the ruins of homes and businesses.
This especially applies to those who love seeing expensive homes and cars reduced to ashes. “Rich bastards deserved it!” Those “rich bastards” lost family heirlooms, memories, and keepsakes just as much as other folks.
We regularly had brush fires in our area and the occasional loss of homes. Then came the Lookie-Lous. We hated them.
Do they sell maps to the disaster as they sell maps to the stars. This way people can self tour. Hard to shut down although I’m sure they;d find a way.
I think the state and city should run yours. Capitalism at its finest.