Pacific Palisades neighborhoods were closed to the public for months after a January firestorm devastated the community, but since its recent reopening, there have been sightings of a new, disturbing visitor in the neighborhood: disaster tourists. Busloads of them.
“My office and others have received numerous reports about commercial tour operators conducting disaster tours in the Pacific Palisades,” Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park said at a council meeting this week. “They’re looking to profit off of destruction and other people’s losses. It’s really gross and it needs to be stopped.”
In a bid to stop the trend from becoming routine whenever disaster strikes the area, the City Council unanimously approved restricting “disaster tourism” buses from the Palisades fire zone and any disaster zone.
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.
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.
As a result of the vote on Park’s motion, the city’s Department of Transportation will restrict tour buses from any area declared part of a natural disaster emergency, and the ban will last through the duration of the emergency response.
The motion also called on the department to consider permanent tour bus restrictions in certain areas of the Palisades once the emergency expires, given the Palisades’ narrow, winding and steep streets — potentially unsuitable for large buses even before the fire.
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