It is eerily quiet in the Pacific Palisades. Soft rays of light filter through cracked walls and rubble as the ashes of Palisades Elementary Charter School blow away in the wind. Meanwhile, five miles away, the faint scent of residual smoke filled Upper School Symphony Teacher Neli Nikolaeva’s nose as she walked her son to his first day at his new school, Brentwood Science Magnet. She couldn’t help but feel the painful loss of his old elementary school. Nikolaeva said Palisades Elementary, along with her home, was among the many places she was heartbroken to see burned down during the recent Los Angeles wildfires.

“My 8-year-old child is in second grade,” Nikolaeva said. “Seeing his school partially burned and seeing the community that we had of people we love dispersed and trying to regroup has been difficult. It has been the most emotionally charged experience for me to see our kids be able to continue schooling at Brentwood Science Magnet. I will always celebrate Pali Elementary. It’s a beautiful campus that was destroyed, but the community being able to continue forward is what brings tears of joy to me. [Coming back to teaching] has been one of the other greatest joys in my life. I’ve seen how much community matters to me and my family.”

Like several other families, Nikolaeva’s family is currently recovering from the emotional and monetary damage caused by the wildfires. Out of 144 people surveyed, 18 families at the Upper School stated their families lost their homes in the fires, according to a Chronicle poll.

Between the Palisades and Eaton fires, nearly 200,000 residents were placed under evacuation orders as firefighters were unable to contain the blaze, according to NBC News. NPR News reported that a combination of low humidity and high winds Santa Ana winds allowed the fire to spread rapidly throughout Altadena and Pacific Palisades, making containment difficult. Mila Detmer ’27 said her parents were only able to grab a few possessions before leaving their house for the last time.

“My dad was more focused on hosing down the house, so he grabbed just a couple things, and my mom mainly grabbed a bunch of valuables, like our photo albums and family heirlooms,” Detmer said. “She grabbed a couple outfits because she thought we would only have to go to a hotel for three days, so we wouldn’t bring our whole closets. We lost pretty much everything except for our important documents, like passports.”

Detmer said firefighters in her neighborhood explained to her family how challenging it was to contain the wildfire.

“We talked to the firefighters, and they said the winds were too intense, and they were 100 miles an hour,” Detmer said. “They would set up a fire line at a street, and then the ember cast would go everywhere, so they would have two separate fires surrounding them. Then they would have to disengage and then set up on another street.”

Katie Chambers ’25, who also lost her home in the Palisades fire, said the fire destroyed her family’s sentimental and irreplaceable belongings.

“I had a box of letters,” Chambers said. “I have a tradition where on my birthday, I would write one letter to future me. Every year, on my birthday, I go reread the old ones and then add a new one. I’m really sad I lost that box of letters because I’ve been writing them since I was six.”

Upper School Counselor Emily Joyner said those affected by the Los Angeles fires are experiencing a range of emotional responses, from unaffected to distressed.

“This has been a collective trauma that impacts an entire city and region of the country,” Joyner said. “After a disaster, there can be numbness, particularly for those most impacted. They might just not feel much of anything or feel energized and supported by their communities. For other people, it might have a more immediate emotional impact, particularly when people have lost their homes, or pets or are displaced from their homes. There can be a bit of a mix. But after a few weeks, there can tend to be a dip in mood and emotions. It’s the disillusionment phase, where, after people maybe aren’t talking about it as much, it feels like things might be returning more to a state of normalcy.”

In the wake of several major fires, insurance companies are overwhelmed by the volume of claims. California’s Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan, which offers coverage for properties that most companies will not insure, received over 4,400 claims in the three weeks following the fires, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. The Claims Journal, an insurance news magazine, estimates for insured property losses to range from $28-45 billion, from both privately and publicly insured homes.

Nikolaeva she said affected families will have to make many decisions about whether to rebuild or move on.

“There’s a lot up in the air,” Nikolaeva said. “By nature, this situation is so unexpected, because even people who were insured have to make decisions. We are in a situation where we need to make many choices and having time to make those choices is really helpful.”

22.5% of families whose homes burned down plan on rebuilding their homes, according to a Chronicle poll. Chambers said her family is unsure whether or not rebuilding their home will be financially worth it.

“We honestly don’t know yet if we’re going to rebuild,” Chambers said. “I know my parents really loved living in the Palisades, and we lived in our neighborhood for pretty much my whole life. I know they would love to stay there, but I think at the same time, they want to see if we like it better somewhere else, so we’re not sure. We’re going to give it some time and then decide.”

Dylan Fullmer ’27, who co-founded Build Back Pali, a student-run fundraising group, said he was inspired to help businesses in the Pacific Palisades rebuild after seeing videos on social media of a store owner returning to his restaurant for the first time since the fires.

“[The Build Back Pali founders] all grew up in the Palisades together and decided we wanted to help make a change and raise money to rebuild where we grew up,” Fullmer said. “Our first official partnership is with Cafe Vida. We got in contact with the manager, Alby. He went viral on social media for walking around the ruins of Cafe Vida. We’re focused on fundraising and giving them all money so they can rebuild faster. We’re also looking to partner with one or two other small businesses, like the barber shop that had been there for a long time and burned down across the street from [Cafe Vida].”

Co-founder Jake Yoon ’27, who also lost his house in the Palisades fire, said he felt a personal connection with small businesses that burned down.

“I’ve lived there my entire life, and I’ve been to most of these small businesses,” Yoon said. “For instance, I used to order from [Cafe Vida] a lot when I used to live there. Seeing the community I grew up in burned down really inspired me to go help [small businesses] because they are a crucial part of my childhood and my life.”

Detmer said her family plans on reconstructing their home.

“We definitely want to rebuild because we love the community in the neighborhood and it was so nice living there,” Detmer said. “I want to rebuild and possibly go live there in the future if I have children. We haven’t talked to contractors or anything like that yet, but we found out through my dad’s friend that he had contacted five people on our street that want to rebuild. He wants to bring together all the people that want to rebuild so we can rebuild the whole community.”

Across all fires, an estimated 10,000 homes were burned down and over 40,000 residents were displaced, all of whom are now struggling to find affordable housing as the pre-existing housing shortage has been exacerbated by the fires, according to Fox Weather. Chambers said finding long-term housing was difficult for her family.

“It was kind of a disaster,” Chambers said. “Especially from the Palisades, a lot of people ended up going to the same areas. I’ve noticed a lot of people have come down to the South Bay or have gone to the Hancock Park area.”

California prohibits rent increases of more than 10% when housing demands increase due to emergencies, with violators facing up to a year in county jail, $30,000 in fines or both, according to the California Apartment Association. Still, Chambers said finding permanent housing was difficult due to price gouging.

“It’s just a mess trying to find a house because there’s like 30 applications for one house, and there’s so much price gouging going on,” Chambers said. “Luckily, we found a place, but we had to get it from a friend of a friend. There’s some pretty nasty people out there that try to get around [laws against increasing rent].”

Detmer said the support of friends and family has helped her get through this challenging time.

“Luckily, a lot of people have been very nice, like my grandma,” Detmer said. “My dad didn’t expect that we would be at her house for almost three days. He told me, ‘At 53 years old, I never thought I would be living with my mom.’”

Nikolaeva said amidst all the uncertainty, she is grateful for the support of the school community.

“I just feel so blessed that I can continue doing what I love to do,” Nikolaeva said. “Working with my students has been beyond amazing, offering me so much love, passion, and healing. We had the annual solo instrumental concert on Saturday. Students showed up to support their peers who were performing, and I felt like that was a huge step forward in my ability to celebrate again.”

This story was originally published on The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle on February 12, 2025.