Top

Heal the Bay Blog

Tag: palisades fire

Discover how Heal the Bay and partners are rescuing endangered tidewater gobies and restoring habitats devastated by the Palisades fire.

Humans aren’t the only ones who lost their homes in the horrific Palisades fire. The blazes destroyed acres of habitat for local wildlife. They also created polluted runoff that is now fouling the creeks and ponds where many species live. 

That’s why the Heal the Bay Aquarium has taken in around 160 tidewater gobies, a local endangered species of fish living in Topanga’s brackish waters. Now that they have been collected from impacted waterways, these small creatures will receive special care from our highly experienced animal care staff for the next several months.  

Heal the Bay is supporting the rescue in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, Aquarium of the Pacific, and Dr. Brenton Spies, a researcher from the University of the Channel Islands and former aquarist at Heal the Bay. Spies has a long history with these unique little fish. This collaborative effort is not just about saving a species — it’s a hopeful step in preserving the entire ecosystem after the devastating fires.  

Gobies are endangered but amazing 

The tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi, is a federally endangered species. It is a tiny bottom-dwelling fish that lives in the marshes, lagoons, creeks, and estuaries of California.  It feeds mainly on super tiny animals, like mysid shrimp, amphipods, and aquatic insect larvae. Gobies serve as an important food source for many shore birds, the southern steelhead trout and the all-important California halibut.  

These endangered fish are definitely cute (only about two inches long), but they’re also pretty tough. Tidewater gobies can endure extreme water salinities ranging from 0-42 ppt. They can also survive massive temperature changes, sometimes enduring jumps from 46 to 87 degrees. They even thrive in natural pools with super-low oxygen levels. 

As resilient as these tiny fish are, they’ve been severely impacted by coastal development, the degradation of habitat, and the alteration of naturally occurring water flows. Few other fish species can survive the variable conditions of lagoons, so tidewater gobies have few native predators or competitors but have suffered significant losses from invasive species introduced to their regions.   

Caring for gobies at Heal the Bay  

The endangered gobies are currently housed in two isolated systems at the Aquarium. We have separated them by size and supplied them each with PVC pipe so they can create their own dwellings and live comfortably during their time with us. They consume live plankton, known as brine shrimp. They’ve been eating readily, which indicates they are adjusting well to a new environment.   

The gobies aren’t on public display yet, but we’re working on a dedicated exhibit to showcase them. In the meantime, we’re giving them the space to settle in and adjust to our presence. We can’t wait to share them with visitors once they’re ready.

As part of our partnership with Santa Monica College, we aim to introduce students in the Sustainable Aquaculture Certification Program to the gobies. The goal of this initiative is to show how conservation aquaculture can help support endangered species. Stay tuned for the public unveiling!

Or become a member of Heal the Bay Aquarium and be the first to know about new exhibits and all the happenings down by the Bay.



The latest news about the Palisades fire and its impact on ocean-water quality and beach access in L.A. County.

During natural disasters, residents seek three things: community support, goodwill, and up-to-date information. To that end, Los Angeles County leaders invited Heal the Bay science and outreach staff to attend an emergency meeting Thursday morning at the Palisades Fire incident command center at Zuma Beach.

Department officials from L.A. County Fire and Beaches & Harbors asked Heal the Bay to help disseminate accurate updates to the public about how the catastrophic fires affect beach access and ocean water quality.

Here’s what we learned:

Stay away from burn zones and evacuated areas in the Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu areas.

Residents and those who love these areas are naturally curious about the status of homes, commercial structures, and favorite natural places. Command officials understand that people want to return to the areas as soon as possible. However, public safety dictates that fire and evacuation zones remain off-limits until emergency crews clear neighborhoods of downed power lines, roadway debris, lingering hot spots, and other hazards. Officials were unable to give a timetable for when residents may return or when PCH will reopen, but a brief tour by Heal the Bay staff indicates it will be weeks until residents can go back.

There is no public access to any L.A. County beaches in the fire or evacuation zones, roughly north of the Santa Monica Pier to County Line.

If you are a surfer looking to score empty waves, don’t even think about it. Multiple National Guard checkpoints are in place, ensuring that only emergency responders, utility workers, media, and essential workers are allowed on PCH. If you think you might be able to talk your way past checkpoints to tour impacted areas, you are mistaken. All beach parking lots from Will Rogers to Zuma are unavailable to the public, as they are being used as staging areas for emergency crews. All other beaches in L.A. County remain open to the public. But caution is urged, given compromised air quality along County shorelines.

Avoid water contact at any beaches from Malibu’s Surfrider Beach to Dockweiler State Beach near LAX.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued an ocean advisory that warns residents to avoid any water contact at these beaches. The firestorms and efforts to beat them down have created massive amounts of runoff, which may contain toxic chemicals and dangerous debris. All that polluted water eventually sloughs off to the Bay. The advisory will remain in effect until three days after fire-fighting operations end.

As of Thursday morning, the Palisades Fire was only 22% contained. Heal the Bay has not determined yet if the County’s Public Health unit will be posting warning signs at impacted beaches. To view a map of impacted locations and get more information, click here. We advise the public to visit Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card to get updated information on beaches, as well as the Department of Public Health to learn about the latest water-quality details.

Water quality testing of local beaches will continue at sites that are still accessible to sampling agencies.

Water quality samples for fecal indicator bacteria are collected and tested by three government agencies every week at 85 sites in Los Angeles County. Once the results have been processed (after 24 hours), the public is notified when a beach exceeds pollution standards by warnings, advisories, or closures of the affected beaches. These weekly samples form the basis of Heal the Bay’s weekly A-to-F Beach Report Card.

Due to the fires, access to some beaches has been restricted, and some water-quality sampling has been interrupted until further notice. However, local departments will continue their testing to the best of their ability, including many of the 41 beaches where the Department of Public Health has advised beach users to avoid water contact—assuming these sites remain accessible in the weeks to come.

Water quality testing needs to expand beyond monitoring fecal bacteria to include testing for heavy metals, PCBs, nitrates, and other harmful compounds.

Water quality degradation following a fire varies greatly depending on the intensity and duration of the fire and the characteristics of the affected ecosystem. One of the primary effects is the alteration of vegetation coverage, which reduces the natural barriers that slow water runoff after a storm event. This leads to increased soil erosion and sediment transportation into nearby water bodies.

Rainfall can exacerbate these effects by compacting the soil and increasing overland flow, amplifying erosion and pollutant transport. With many homes, businesses, cars, and other manufactured items burning so close to the coast, we are particularly concerned about sediment, trash, and debris washing into the ocean.

During our tour, Heal the Bay staff saw hundreds of burned-out structures on the ocean side of PCH, with high tide waves surging within feet of the twisted, charred wreckage. Sediment can contain high levels of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen that, in excess, are harmful to marine ecosystems and can create algal blooms. They may also contain chemicals, heavy metals, and other harmful substances that burned in the fires. Recent reports indicate that the presence of so much plastic in modern homes has significantly contributed to more toxic infernos.

Heal the Bay does not have the capacity to conduct any water quality testing aside from compiling bacterial data and informing the public when it is safe to enter the water. UPDATE 1/30/2025

On January 24, 2025, the Heal the Bay Science and Policy Team began testing water in and out of the burn zones along Santa Monica Bay impacted by the Palisades Fire. 

Not only did we test for bacteria and turbidity (which we can process in-house), but we also collected samples to test for Heavy metals, Mercury, PAHs/PCBsBenzene, and PFOS/PFOA (two types of PFAS). We collected samples before and after the rain event on January 26, 2025, which will provide a comparative analysis of initial pollutant levels and stormwater runoff effects. 

The Palisade Fire has increased sedimentation and introduced harmful pollutants into our coastal waters, and Heal the Bay is dedicated to understanding the impacts, which is why we are testing for key pollutants that may be transported into Santa Monica Bay due to runoff from the Palisade Fire.  

We strongly urge the County of L.A. and any other municipalities to test for the presence of additional contaminants, such as heavy metals, PCBs, nitrates, and other unhealthy compounds. These pollutants can be harmful to humans and aquatic species, and given the extensive firefighting that has occurred directly adjacent to the coastline, these pollutants will be present for months to come.

In the interview below with USA Today, Annelisa Moe, Associate Director of Science, Policy, and Water Quality, discusses some of the long-term risks to coastal ecosystems and water quality.

We will continue to provide water quality information each week on the BRC website, so beach users and freshwater recreational users can make informed decisions.

Note: We will continue to consult with County officials on a daily basis to update this post. We will send alerts on our social media platforms when we receive new information about water quality, public health and beach access.