Topanga Elementary Charter School Reopens Amid Palisades Fire

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Topanga Elementary Charter School reopened Wednesday, after a two day closure due to the Palisades Fire. Both in-person instruction and child supervision have resumed.

"Child supervision will also resume tomorrow as previously scheduled," Los Angeles Unified School District said. "The air quality has improved. In an abundance of caution, additional air filtration systems have been installed. Los Angeles Unified will continue to work closely with our public safety partners to ensure the safety and well-being of all students, families, and employees."

The school had previously reopened for in-person learning in April, when LAUSD opted to bring back classroom instruction as coronavirus cases continued to drop across Los Angeles.

A smoke advisory remains in place, although the air quality had improved significantly as of Wednesday morning. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said the air quality was in the good range as of 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters continue to make progress on the Palisades Fire, which grew to 57% containment as of Wednesday morning. All evacuation warnings were lifted at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard was reopened to the public.

The official size of the fire is 1,158 acres as of 9:40 a.m. Wednesday.

"Firefighters made significant overnight progress on this fire," Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a statement Tuesday. "Containment lines were improved and firefighters were able to make access to remote areas of the fire to mop up."

Police initially suspected arson after multiple "hot spots" broke out in a similar location LAFD said their helicopter pilots saw a man moving in the brush along a steep hillside near the fires on Saturday, and dispatched an LAPD helicopter to monitor.

"During an aerial observation, the Tactical Flight Officer witnessed the individual ignite multiple additional fires," the LAFD said. "Deputies were lowered into the brush to begin their search. Because the fires were growing rapidly, deputies were forced to retreat."

Around 11 a.m. Sunday, however, the man emerged from the brush in the 1200 block of Palisades Drive, and a private security officer notified LAPD and LAFD. Soon after, police arrived and arrested the man, who was identified as Ramon Santo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was charged Tuesday with one felony count each of arson of a structure or forest and arson during a state of emergency, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 1.

"Regarding the cause, it is labeled suspicious," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said Monday. "The LAFD Arson Counterterrorism Section, along with LAPD, have aggressively pursued all tips and all leads. I want to have a special thank you to the community that provided us those tips and leads. We have to work together as a community. This problem is so significant in terms of major brush fires."

City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who is running for mayor in 2022, said the arrest shows the danger of the city's ongoing homelessness crisis.

"Our homelessness crisis is destroying neighborhoods and endangering the lives of the housed and unhoused," Buscaino said. "Over sixty percent of the fires that the LAFD has responded to this year have been related to homelessness. Allowing unregulated sprawling encampments is not compassionate, it's reckless. That's why we must act now on passing regulations that will return the rights of every Angeleno to enjoy our public spaces, and prohibit encampments whenever people are offered shelter. We must support safe and clean sidewalks, parks, and beaches. We must support a livable city where we can raise our children without being subjected rampant crime on our streets."

READ MORE: Palisades Fire Latest: Containment Grows, Man Pleads Not Guilty