Hollywood sign tourism surge sparks fears of fire evacuation delays

Tourist traffic around the Hollywood sign has become a public-safety fight in the Hollywood Hills, where residents say cars clog narrow streets, spill into yards and, at times, force visitors to relieve themselves in bushes. Traffic-camera data showed 14,300 vehicles in the area over 14 days in February 2024, then 25,000 in the same stretch in 2025 and 32,300 in 2026, a 124% jump in two years.

For longtime resident Rhoda Coleman, the issue is not just nuisance. She said she lives in constant fear of a fire, and neighbors say the crush of visitors could slow evacuation and make it harder for first responders to reach the steep canyon roads above Western Griffith Park. Gavin Martin put the concern bluntly: “Fire safety and evacuation is our top priority and we all worry about it on a daily basis.”

Those fears sharpened after the January 7, 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, when the Sunset Fire broke out two days later. CBS News reported that tourists still came to the Hollywood sign area even after an evacuation order was issued on January 9, 2025, deepening concerns that the area’s draw can collide with emergency orders in real time.

The risk is not theoretical, residents say. CBS News also reported that in April 2026, a fire truck had to slow down around cars, including some double-parked vehicles, while trying to reach a canyon fire. NBC Los Angeles had previously reported similar gridlock fears, with city cameras documenting more than 52,000 cars over two weeks in June 2024, compared with about 16,000 in a two-week period in March. Residents worry that a similar surge during a major blaze could turn a traffic jam into a life-threatening delay.

Los Angeles City Council District 4 Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office says the Hollywood Sign is “consistently one of the top three most visited tourist destinations in the city,” a status amplified by social media posts that push visitors to get as close as possible. Her office says the area long lacked consistent funding or a clear annual traffic management plan, but the city has since approved extra traffic control staffing, an additional $200,000 for fiscal year 2023-24, permanent fencing along Mulholland Highway to obscure dangerous viewpoints, 24/7 visitor and vehicle counters at Lake Hollywood Park and a planned roundabout at Mulholland Highway and Canyon Lake Drive. Built in 1923 to advertise “Hollywoodland,” the sign now sits at the center of a modern conflict between tourism and evacuation readiness.