Palisades Charter High School reopens Tuesday a little more than a year after fire tore through campus and the surrounding community.
The Palisades Fire destroyed 30% of the campus including classrooms and the track and field. Now there is a wide grassy expanse where an academic building once stood. Bulldozers cleared the baseball diamond to make way for three dozen portable classrooms. Many of the campus’ trees are still standing with blackened trunks.
A few of the 2,400 students expected to return in-person toured the campus Monday, including junior Jackson Richmond. He said despite the changes, the campus still feels familiar.
“Nothing just beats, like, the look of Pali,” Richmond said. “Like, it's in movies for a reason.”
But other Palisades families are more cautious about returning. Some parents have raised concerns about whether the remediation efforts went far enough and how the test results were communicated to families.
“ I have mixed feelings,” said Victoria Kotlyar, parent of two sophomores. “I'm happy that they're gonna have a school to go to, but I am concerned about just the environment and if there's any pollution.”
The process to reopen the school included debris removal, cleaning, and multiple rounds of soil, water, air and surface testing in the new and remaining buildings.
“At the moment, I'm 100% convinced that we are in a very safe environment,” said Principal Pamela Magee on Monday. “We've got folks watching out to make sure that that continues into the future.”
Environmental testing continues
Pali High was once part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school converted to an independently run charter school in 1993, but continues to lease its campus from the district.
LAUSD coordinated and paid for the post-fire clean-up.
LAUSD hired outside contractors to test, clean and retest the soil, water, air and surfaces in the remaining and new structures for toxins related to the wildfire.
“We have full confidence that what was done was appropriate to safeguard not only our students, but our staff, students [and] the community,” said Office of Environmental Health and Safety Director Carlos Torres in a virtual community meeting on January 21.
The district did additional environmental testing in November and December 2025 to ensure the campus was not harmed by the demolition and construction in surrounding neighborhoods.
“We will be doing periodic sampling and analysis at this school and all the schools that were directly impacted by the fire,” said Deputy OEHS Director Jennifer Flores,
For example, the district has installed air sensors at the school that can detect two types of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide, which are associated with pollution.
What risks remain?
Toxins related to wildfires can linger indoors, including in porous surfaces like carpet, stuffed animals and acoustic ceiling tiles. They release into the air over time in a process called “off-gassing.”
UCLA environmental health sciences professor Yifang Zhu said one way to imagine off-gassing is through the lingering smell of cigarettes at a casino that no longer allows smoking.
Whether those toxins harm people depends on “a combination [of] the chemicals themselves and then the level of exposures and the duration of the exposures over time,” Zhu said.
LAUSD contractors used vacuums with special filters to clean Pali’s remaining ceiling tiles. The air was tested several times and the results showed no buildup of fire-related compounds, “therefore the removal of the ceiling tiles is not necessary, and the interior spaces are safe to occupy,” read the district's report.
The school district asked Zhu and fellow researchers studying the health effects of the fires to review the district’s remediation plan and environmental test results. (Zhu said she and her colleagues were not compensated for their evaluation.)
“There's always chemicals you can detect, but I think we should really think through the lens… what is the additional level of risk?” Zhu said.
Zhu, whose daughter is a recent graduate of Pali, concluded that if given the choice now, she would feel comfortable sending her back to the campus.
How to report student health issues
Researchers are still working to understand the long-term health impacts of exposure to the L.A. wildfires.
Palisades High Director of Operations Rafael Negroe said if a student feels ill, they should report their symptoms to their teacher and the school nurse.
“If it's determined that it could be environmentally driven, I become involved and then try to get to the source of it based on diagnosis and or symptoms,” Negroe said.
“There's no such thing as zero risk,” Zhu said. “Risk is very personal. Every family is… different.”
Students plan to revive Pali traditions
Students say they’re looking forward to reviving Pali traditions from pep rallies to the senior’s blind speed-dating event.
Homecoming returns to the campus gym Saturday. The students pushed the fall dance to the end of January to hold it on their home turf.
The theme is “A Night in Greece,” and junior Tiffany Jensen said she expects to see a lot of blue and white summer dresses.
“A year ago, no one knew what was gonna happen to Pali,” she said. “It feels so amazing to be back on the campus to see all of our teachers, our faculty, staff, everyone is really excited to come back.”
A few key features of the campus remain closed. The “stadium by the sea,” pool and related buildings, are still under construction and anticipated to reopen by the end of this February, according to Director of Operations Rafael Negroe.
Constructing a new building to replace the destroyed classrooms will take longer. LAUSD has budgeted $266 million from the bond passed in 2024 to rebuild Pali’s campus by the end of 2028. The district will also seek reimbursement from its insurers and FEMA.
Will all the families who left come back?
It’s still unclear how many families who lost homes in the fires will return or opt to transfer to schools closer to where they now live. Many of the schools damaged by January’s fires have fewer students this year. Pali’s enrollment has dropped 14% compared to before the fire, from 2,900 to 2,500 students. About 100 students are enrolled in the school's virtual learning program.
Parent Victoria Kotlyar said her family sold the property where their Palisades home once stood for “dirt cheap.”
“ We cannot wait so many years to rebuild because our kids are growing and they have nowhere to go,” Kotlyar said.
But her high school aged children, including sophomore Max Paik-Schoenberg, are committed to Pali.
“Whatever we buy, we're trying to buy something in the area so our kids can continue their education journey at these schools,” Kotlyar said. “We love the schools.”
Tuesday is the first time Paik-Schoenberg will see the Palisades since the fires. He transferred to Santa Monica High School instead of switching to virtual learning, but re-enrolled ahead of the campus reopening.
“ I'm pretty excited,” he said, “but I'm not really sure if it's gonna be the same as it was.”
