Students and teachers feel the fallout of the Palisades fire

The fires’ destruction deeply affected Burlingame students and staff with ties to Southern California. Throughout January, many were frantically calling their relatives and frequently checking the news for updates. For Lee, who had just visited her family in Los Angeles days before the fire, the news hit close to home.

Lee’s family evacuated for a few days before safely returning, but even with the threat of the fire gone, Lee’s cousin was suffering from the poor air quality in the area. Her eczema made the situation even more difficult.

“My cousin’s eczema is probably worse than mine, and the smoke [was] wreaking havoc on her skin,” Lee said. “She’s been using a Dyson air purifier basically 24/7 to keep the air within her house clean [and] keeping her doors closed and her windows closed for the most part, just to prevent any of that contaminated air from getting in.”

For English teacher Robert Thurtle, who grew up in Los Angeles County, the fire was devastating and deeply personal. Thurtle’s childhood neighborhood and several locations he frequented were completely destroyed.

“I would take my son to this place called Skull Rock, and we used to go up to Skull Rock and hunt lizards and hang out up there,” Thurtle said. “I grew up hiking around that area.”

Thurtle also visited his family in Los Angeles, and while his family and most of his friends moved out of the now-destroyed neighborhood, he felt rattled and overwhelmed by the devastation.

“I was thinking ‘Oh my god, a whole portion of my life is gone,’” Thurtle said. “It’s been erased, [so now] it’s more a place of memory.”