Charred Cars Are Still Clogging California’s Pacific Coast Highway

Most Americans sadly have all but forgotten the Pacific Palisades Fire, which devastated entire neighborhoods. But for crews that are working to get the famous Pacific Coast Highway clear, like tow truck drivers removing charred cars that have clogged the area, it’s an all-consuming thing.

Learn how a McDonald’s helped save a pricey car collection in the Pacific Palisades.

Thanks to restricted access on the PCH and for the Pacific Palisades area, even most of the media is barred from entering. But Santa Monica Closeup recently gained access, sharing interesting footage of tow trucks moving burned-out vehicles.

It’s a key part of opening the road to regular traffic. For now, those who can get past National Guard Military Police checkpoints are restricted to going only 25 mph as one lane in each direction is open.

As we covered before, in some areas of the Pacific Palisades, the wind-driven fire was moving so quickly and residents were trying to all get out at the same time, that traffic jams ensued.

In the panic, many drivers just left their cars parked on the road, if not on the shoulder, running for their lives as flames licked over nearby hills. As a result, firefighters had trouble getting to some areas.

That prompted officials to bring in heavy machinery, moving the parked cars, in the process wrecking them. It was a chaotic time as people did what they thought was best in the moment, creating complications for first responders.

Now, the burned-out husks of cars left everywhere is yet another problem towing companies are working with local officials to solve.

A really fun game to play while watching this footage is trying to determine the make and model of each car. Some are easy, like the Tacoma with its model name stamped into the charred tailgate. But others aren’t quite so easy to identify after even some metal parts were badly melted.

Image via Santa Monica Closeup/YouTube