The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority said the parks it manages, including those owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, will be closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15 to 17, after the National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard office issued a red flag warning for those days. The closures are the first under a new protocol that California State Parks, the National Park Service, the conservancy and the authority will use during red flag warnings in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The authority’s closure list includes Corral Canyon Park, Escondido Canyon Park, Tuna Canyon Park, Temescal Canyon Park, Franklin Canyon Park, Wilacre Park, Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park, Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park, King Gillette Ranch, Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, Sage Ranch Park and Ed Davis Park in Towsley Canyon, among other sites.
Partner parklands will likely also be closed, the authority said: Topanga, Malibu Creek, Leo Carrillo and Point Mugu state parks; Will Rogers and Santa Susana Pass state historic parks; and National Park Service sites including Rancho Sierra Vista, Solstice Canyon, Paramount Ranch, Cheeseboro/Palo Comado, Circle X Ranch, the Backbone Trail and the Sandstone Peak/Mishe Mokwa parking lots and trails. Visitors should check each agency’s website for current closure information.
State Parks described the warning as running Thursday morning through Friday night, with the potential for an extension on Saturday.
Under the protocol, closure decisions will be based on official forecasts from the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard office. Superintendents and directors will decide daily which parklands close based on the geographic extent and severity of each forecast, and will announce closures the day before whenever possible. If a red flag warning covers only part of a day, affected parklands may remain closed for the entire day, State Parks said.
Closures may include trails, undeveloped and backcountry areas, visitor centers, parking areas, programs, school field trips, volunteer activities and permitted events. Public roads, certain developed parking areas, roadside overlooks, campgrounds and beach areas may remain accessible depending on conditions and the agency managing the property. Not every closed area will be signed or gated, State Parks said.
“The Santa Monica Mountains are one landscape, even though they are managed by several different agencies,” said Jody Lyle, superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. “A coordinated approach is important because it reduces confusion for visitors and it protects people and resources during high fire danger.”
The closures come as the state stages extra firefighters across Southern California. At Gov. ’s direction, CAL FIRE is increasing staffing and positioning engine strike teams across Southern California, and Cal OES is deploying additional firefighters, aircraft and equipment in Orange, Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties from Thursday morning through Sunday, Oct. 18, the governor’s office said.
Utilities may also initiate Public Safety Power Shutoffs in parts of coastal and inland Southern California, the Sierra Nevada and Northern California. Residents who rely on electricity-powered medical equipment at home may qualify for their utility’s Medical Baseline Program, which can provide advance notice before a shutoff, the governor’s office said.
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Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named once in this story.
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Sources & methodology
This report was written from the primary materials below. Links open at the original publisher.
Office of the Governor of California California State Parks, coordinated closure protocol for red flag warnings (Oct. 14, 2026) Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, parklands closed Oct. 15-17, 2026See something we should correct? Read our corrections policy.