Palisades Charter Returns Students, Sports Just ONE Year After Fires (video)

Palisades Charter High welcomed students and on-campus activities back to the school just a year after the record-breaking disaster from the Palisades Fire.

Palisades Charter High School welcomed back students and sports on campus for the first time since Palisades Fire in January 2025. / Tarek Fattal

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — It's hard to envision the resilience of a community revealing itself in real time, but when you step onto the campus at Palisades Charter High School, it's easy to see.

Just one year removed from the Palisades Fire, which marked one of America's most devastating disasters, that caused more than 23,000 acres of damage and claimed 12 lives, the people of Palisades Charter beamed with pride this week as it hosted a wrestling match, a girls basketball game, and Thursday night's boys basketball game against league foe Fairfax.

As you walked through the campus toward the gym, there were students in the quad studying, boys throwing a football, and cheerleaders practicing their routines to the backdrop of rackets popping from an ongoing tennis training.

The campus is alive. It's energetic. It's amazing. It's back.

In a remarkable feat, the campus welcomed back students to classrooms and on-campus activities starting Tuesday, Jan. 27 for the first time since the Palisades Fire roared through the community on the night of Jan. 7, 2025.

The bungalows that were burnt to the ground on the backside of campus are gone and have been replaced with a large grass field. The baseball field is gone, too. The space is being used for a large block of temporary classrooms.

Palisades Charter High School on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 after the Palisades fire in Los Angeles. / Tarek Fattal

DOLPHINS DUNKING THEIR WAY BACK

Palisades defeated Fairfax 75-28 in the Western League tilt led by OJ Popoola's 19 points, EJ Popoola's 16 points and AJ Neale's 13 points among of a bevy of dunks.

For the past year, the gym hasn't been available to the volleyball or basketball teams, forcing those programs into a scramble to find gym time to practice and play games. That's all over now.

"It's good to be back," Palisades coach Jeff Bryant said. "I could feel the energy from the start of school this week, and they're excited. They finally have a home court, they finally get to see their own locker room."

The gym does look different. All of the championship banners had to be taken down and thrown away due to smoke damage.

Palisades is a heavy favorite to win the City Section Open Division title. The Dolphins are 8-0 in league play with the postseason just a few weeks away. But for now, it's all about having their home back.

"Just be here and be interacting with their classmates and teachers, you feel the energy," Bryant added.

feed

---

Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school sports news.

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: 

Download iPhone App | Download Android App