Parts of the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area reopened after closing due to the lapse in funding during the government shutdown, the National Park Service said Monday.
The Sandstone Peak Trail , Paramount Ranch, Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons and the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center are all open to visitors.
Parts that were destroyed by the Woolsey Fire will remain closed until further notice, a news release said.
The 35-day government shutdown resulted in the closure of about a third of the country’s national parks. The parks that remained open, like Joshua Tree National Park, saw significant damage.
The shutdown started less than two months after the Woolsey Fire ripped through the Santa Monica Mountains and other parts of L.A. and Ventura County, swallowing almost 97,000 acres of land, destroying 1,500 structures and killing 3 people, according to Cal Fire.
In the Santa Monica Mountains, which stretch from Hollywood Hills to Point Mugu in Ventura County, about 88 percent of the National Park Service’s acres were burned, according to the agency’s website.
The Woolsey Fire burned more acres within Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area than any other fire, the agency said.
During the lapse in funding, a concert fundraiser at King Gillette Ranch raised funds that will go toward replacing wildlife tracking cameras, rebuilding Paramount Ranch’s Western Town and park restoration, the National Park Service said.
“Our employees and myself included, are looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and continuing the work needed to restore our public lands and all of our trails after the devastating Woolsey Fire,” superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, David Szymanski said.