Click on a circle on the map above and then click on the play button on the bottom left to listen to students’ stories about their homes and lives in Pacific Palisades and Altadena one year after the fires.
One year ago, the Palisades and Eaton fires burned 37,469 acres and damaged or destroyed 18,298 commercial and residential structures, including the homes of over 40 Marlborough students. We interviewed the students who were impacted, which included members of The UltraViolet staff, to learn about their experiences, their favorite memories of their homes before they were damaged or lost in the fires and their families’ plans for the future.
The interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity.
Eloise ’30 (Pacific Palisades)
“When everybody goes through a shared traumatic pain or time, no matter your differences, you’re able to come together and do things to help each other and make this process maybe a little bit less painful if everybody’s kind of gone through the same thing.”
Addie ’26 (Pacific Palisades)
“My favorite part of my home had to be my window and my view outside of my room. Every morning I would wake up and see this big beautiful tree with these red little flowers on it. And it was such a nice thing to wake up to.”
Ellie ’29 (Pacific Palisades)
“Right now, I’m living in the canals in Venice, and it’s so different from the Palisades … now I make more of an effort to hang out with my Palisades friends and go out with them because I don’t have that intimacy anymore where I can just walk to their houses. Also I just think that this happening puts in perspective how grateful I am to have lived there and for the people in the community.”
Cara ’26 (Pacific Palisades)
“One thing that is still hard for me is when I’m going to a friend’s house or a relative’s house that I’ve been to before and I see all their family photos and things that they’ve been gathering over the years … I think a lot of the support I’ve received has helped me. And also talking with other people that are in the same situation and feeling the same things is helpful.”
Chloe ’27 (Pacific Palisades)
“[My sister and I] talked a lot about the fires … and I think that was a really special bonding moment for us. And she actually came to Marlborough kind of because of that because she applied to other schools and during the fires we were like ‘this is too complicated.’ We just want you guys in the same place.”
Eleanor ’28 (Altadena)
“I moved to Altadena when I was 10, and I think it was just such a pivotal, amazing experience … I think being able to grow up in a place that was also just historically a place that Black Americans could go and buy property was really incredible because it’s one of the few places like that in the state and in the country, and it was really cool to be able to be a part of that.”
Evie ’29 (Pacific Palisades)
“The fires actually happened on my birthday … so I’m just always going to remember my 14th birthday. And I feel like right now — this period before we move back in — is going to be the one that I think about most. But once we move back in, it’ll be like, ‘OK, it happened and this period passed, but we’re back.’”
