Evacuated residents can now freely enter the northern part of the Topanga area from Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Cezanne Avenue, after officials late Friday morning removed the security checkpoint that had been set up there.
The day before, when evacuation orders in the neighborhood were lifted after more than a week, a line of cars stretched half a mile long north to Mulholland Drive, a California Highway Patrol officer said.
He estimated 2,000 cars had entered the checkpoint during his shift, with CHP and the National Guard carefully verifying proof of residency before allowing people to drive in.
That meant that although Carl Rheuban, 75, was able to return home on Thursday, his son’s partner, who doesn’t live with them, was denied access.
“Even as a passenger, they won’t let her up,” Rheuban said Friday morning before the checkpoint was removed. “I have another son who lives in Woodland Hills — they won’t let him in. He can’t come up to help me; we’ve got three freezers full of food that spoiled that I have to throw out.”
Farther south on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, a checkpoint at Viewridge Road was still in place as of 1 p.m. Friday, with only residents who live south of the intersection permitted to enter.