Shrouded in dense fog early Monday, a line of vehicles snaked in both directions along the narrow single lanes of Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades area, marking the full reopening of the famed highway after last month’s devastating wildfire that ravaged the adjoining hillside neighborhoods.

The slow-moving traffic was flanked by a litany of work trucks, contractors, cleanup crews and law enforcement working in and around the outer lanes.

Along with the renewed flow of vehicles, which began at 8 a.m. after weekend confusion involving details of the highway’s full reopening, local businesses also announced that they were starting to come back, some putting out “now open” signs to alert passersby that they may once again patronize places that have been closed for weeks. Others placed signs outside their doors announcing reopening dates later in the week.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents the 3rd District, which includes the Palisades and Malibu, called the reopening of the coastal highway an “essential step in our recovery” in a statement.

“We are strongly encouraging local-only traffic,” Horvath’s statement also noted.

But some residents said that it was too soon for regular traffic to return to the area.

May Sung, a resident of Pacific Palisades for more than 20 years, wore a white cleanup suit as she prepared for contractors and the Environmental Protection Agency to begin cleanup work on her property. Sung worries about looting, squatting, people wandering and liability.

“We don’t need lookie-loos here, we don’t need liability,” she said. “Now we have no fences or gates, but we’re still liable for our properties.”

With few people around and some houses still standing, she also worries about the possibility of squatters and hopes that the devastated neighborhoods will continue to be protected by authorities.

Neighborhoods off of the highway continue to be restricted to residents and contractors only, with entry passes or proof-of-residence for the area required at checkpoints.

The California Highway Patrol will be working with the National Guard to ensure that the area is only accessed by those who need to be there, taking over from the Los Angeles Police Department, which had been on tactical alert since Jan. 7, according to a statement from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. This plan was announced after many expressed discontent with an initial announcement that Pacific Palisades would reopen to the public.

“We continue to adapt in real time to this dynamic situation. This plan secures the Palisades and eases the strain on LAPD, whose ability to respond across L.A. has been impacted for nearly one month. My priority continues to be rebuilding the Palisades as rapidly and safely as possible,” Bass said in a statement.

Waiting in line for a resident’s pass at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center parking structure, Carey Hern, 55, saw the arguments on both sides as the highway reopened. It is a “tricky” thing, she said, since she and other residents want to protect their neighborhood: “We’re sensitive,” she said.

But she also understands that many businesses, especially in the Malibu area, survived the fire and want to be open again. The initial announcement that the area would be open to the public concerned Hearn, who had not returned to her neighborhood prior to the now-rescinded announcement that the entirety of Pacific Palisades would open.

“It felt violating that it would be open before I would be able to see the loss myself,” said Hearn, who visited her neighborhood for the first time on Saturday. “It felt like another blow.”

Though Carey’s home of more than 10 years in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood was lost in the fire, she worries about what could happen to her neighbor’s homes that did survive if the area is fully opened.

“There’s no lights, they don’t have enough police to protect that area,” she said. “If my home was still there, I’d certainly be worried about theft.”

Another resident waiting in line for a pass on Monday concurred that the concept of reopening the Palisades as a whole did not sit well with her. She was happy when that was reversed but supports the reopening of PCH, hoping that doing so will help with traffic flow.

Pacific Coast Highway’s reopening is just one sign of the area beginning to shift into the recovery phase following the fire. In the neighborhoods in the hills of the Palisades, more signs of recovery are popping up — FEMA representatives are canvassing, leaving information for residents to contact the agency. Contractors have arrived, assessing properties with homeowners looking to rebuild. Insurance representatives are taking photos, documenting damage for those they insure.

Brightly colored flyers advertising the services of fire rebuilding contractors dot the posts and signs of the largely scorched Alphabet Streets neighborhood, alongside signs from the Contractors State License Board, warning against “unlicensed or unscrupulous contractors,” that homeowners should beware of.

A deadline for residents to “take the next step on debris removal” by choosing to hire a contractor or opting to have the Army Corps of Engineers remove debris and submitting this selection has been set for March 31, Bass announced Monday.