LOS ANGELES — With red-flag fire weather warnings in place, several agencies overseeing portions of the Santa Monica Mountains announced Wednesday they were temporarily closing many parks.

In March, California State Parks, the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority announced they would start coordinating park closures across the area whenever the National Weather Service issued red-flag warnings, indicating the risk of a wildfire is high.

The goal, the agencies said at the time, was to reduce the "potential for fire ignitions" and limit the number of people in the area who would need to be evacuated if an emergency were to happen.

The protocols will be tested this week with the first Santa Ana winds of the season expected on Thursday and Friday, boosting the risk that any new fires could spread rapidly.

Under the new protocols, hikers should expect to see more park and trail closures during red-flag events than before, Dash Stolarz, a spokesperson for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, confirmed to The Times.

The changes were borne from discussions that arose following the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, Stolarz said.

Given the unpredictable nature of Santa Ana winds and other weather events, "you just try and control all the variables you can control," Stolarz said. "One of the things ... we have done is we talk more, we've upped our communication with each other in so many ways."

California State Parks in a statement on Wednesday encouraged visitors to check current conditions with the agency managing their destination before traveling to the Santa Monica Mountains during a red flag warning, because "not every closed area will be signed or gated."

The following parks managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) will be closed Thursday through Saturday:

•Cameron Nature Preserve at Puerco Canyon

•Corral Canyon Park

•Escondido Canyon Park

•Tuna Canyon Park

•Top of Topanga Overlook

•Summit Valley Ed D. Edelman Park

•Red Rock Canyon Park

•Mill Creek Ranch

•Temescal Canyon Park

•Franklin Canyon Park

•Wilacre Park

•Mulholland Corridor Overlooks

•Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park

•Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park

•King Gillette Ranch

•Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

•Sage Ranch Park

•Mentryville

•Whitney Canyon Park

•East and Rice Canyons

•Ed Davis Park in Towsley Canyon

•Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park

The following parks will likely be closed during the red-flag event, though Stolarz recommends checking the corresponding agency's website for the most updated information.

California State Parks:

•Topanga State Park

•Malibu Creek State Park

•Leo Carrillo State Park

•Point Mugu State Park

•Will Rogers State Historic Park

•Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park

National Park Service Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area:

•Rancho Sierra Vista

•Solstice Canyon

•Peter Strauss Ranch

•Rocky Oaks

•Paramount Ranch

•Cheeseboro / Palo Comado

•Circle X Ranch

•Arroyo Sequit

•Franklin Canyon

•Fryman Canyon

•Deer Creek

•Zuma / Trancas Canyons (Bonsall and Busch parking lots)

•Backbone Trail (including parking lot on Kanan Road)

•Sandstone Peak / Mishe Mokwa parking lots and trails

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