Palisades Charter High School junior Nika Khalili could only look at the news in horror as flames consumed the neighborhood she grew up in. 

Just that morning, Khalili had been eating breakfast at a cafe with her mom. Suddenly, they received an urgent call from her brother’s elementary school, asking parents to pick their children up.

That very evening, “we got the evacuation order,” she described. “We had to make quick decisions about what to take—important documents, some clothes, and sentimental items like photo albums. … we weren’t sure how bad things would get or if we’d even have a home to come back to.”

The Palisades Fire has burned over 20,000 acres, displacing well over 100,000 residents. Most recently, the Hughes Fire, which broke out on January 22, scorched 10,000 acres or more.

Officials believe that from the Palisades and Eaton Fires alone, more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed, including homes, businesses, local landmarks, schools, and historic sites. 

The blazes have been devastating to Los Angeles inhabitants. “Our house burned down completely, along with everything in it,” said Jordan Roth (‘26). “It was more than just a home for us—it was a home for so many others. Our house was always filled with laughter and joy.” 

Windward students like Roth have found it hard to wrap their heads around the sheer destruction wrought by the fires. Daniel Turtletaub (‘28) reflected, “It all happened so fast. One moment, I learned my house was gone, and the next, I found out it was still there. [But] I’m still processing how everything I knew [in the Palisades] is destroyed.”

Roth, who has struggled to come to terms with the loss of places that held years worth of childhood memories, agreed.

While many students have found normalcy following Windward’s return to school on January 15 after over a week of remote and asynchronous hybrid learning, their lives outside of the hours spent on campus have been thrown into upheaval and uncertainty.  

“Our house burned down completely, along with everything in it,” said Jordan Roth (‘26). “It was more than just a home for us—it was a home for so many others. Our house was always filled with laughter and joy.” 

Some high schoolers, like Khalili, now lack even that normalcy. Palisades Charter High School, known to the public as the backdrop of films including “Carrie” and “Freaky Friday” (2003), was revealed to have sustained “significant damage” from the fires, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

The school’s principal announced that roughly 40% of the campus was either destroyed or damaged by the fires, including some classrooms, though the school’s main buildings remained intact. 

“My friends and I were in shock. For many of us, it wasn’t just a school—it was a place where we’ve built so many memories,” Khalili explained. As a result, approximately 3,000 students in grades 9-12 are left to learn entirely online. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about how long it will take to repair the damage and whether we’ll return to campus at all this year or even next year. Everyone is trying to stay hopeful, but it’s definitely a challenge,” Khalili said.

Students, teachers, and parents are currently grappling not only with the emotional toll of the fires, but also the struggles associated with online learning, such as ensuring that students remain focused and motivated.

On Khalili’s part, she “[worried] that some students may fall behind due to the stress and lack of resources.” 

But throughout Los Angeles, at Windward, Palisades Charter High School, and beyond, communities have come together to support each other. “I had a sports coach…he set up multiple camps for people who have been affected by the fires. I volunteered to help out,” said Daniel Turtletaub.

As Jordan Roth explained, “Friends have delivered care packages—some with items from their own closets, others with newly bought things,” as her own family, neighbors, and other loved ones are “offering help and hope where we can.” Khalili and some of her classmates have created a spreadsheet “containing nearly every GoFundMe for families, businesses, and facilities that have been destroyed by the fires,” calling themselves the LA Youth Recovery Collective.

Through donations, drives, and volunteering, “it’s inspiring to see people come together,” she said. Windward currently offers spaces for affected families to reach out regarding their individual needs, allowing the school and its community to respond and assist appropriately. 

In spite of these efforts, the future remains uncertain for many. “Right now, the next step for my family is finding a home,” Roth remarked. But beyond a physical place to stay, she worried that even when rebuilt, the Palisades “might not feel the same as it once did.” “I don’t feel good. I don’t even feel fine…I miss the feeling of my home and the comfort it brought.” 

She and others across Los Angeles have struggled to process the devastation.

“Some days I feel hopeful, but other days it’s hard to wrap my head around everything that’s happened,” said Khalili.

Yet in the face of such an unprecedented disaster, Turtletaub believes that the only path forward is to “heal, unite, and get through this together.”