A structure fire has broken out at 3656 North Sunswept Drive, roughly half a mile east of the Upper School. The school has not reported any damage to campus at the moment. The newest fire, the most recent out of the series of wildfires across LA, started at approximately 8:52 p.m. It has been the closest fire in vicinity to either the Upper or Lower School campuses. Residents in areas of the Studio City and Valley Village neighborhoods have been asked to evacuate. Reports said “forward progress on the brush fire has been stopped” and that the fire was “contained”, according to Watch Duty, a wildfire alert system.
In-person classes have been cancelled for the rest of the week as a result of the new fire and other wildfires. The Sunset Fire located in Hollywood Hills, the Eaton Fire in Alta Dena, Pasadena and Monrovia and the Palisades Fire — the largest fire in LA history, burning over 15,000 acres — located in the Pacific Palisades, have displaced several members of the school community through evacuation warnings and have even entirely burned the homes of students and families residing in those areas.
The school has conditionally planned to reopen both campuses next Monday, Jan. 13 while observing the conditions of all fires, the administration said in an email. With families affected, the HW Parents Association has offered assistance to those displaced or evacuated by the fires. Deans, counselors and teachers have all reached out to students for support if needed, the email said.
“Our entire city is reeling right now from the devastating wildfires in and around Los Angeles,” the administration said. “Many in our community have been evacuated from their homes, and many have lost their homes entirely. The fires are not contained, and evacuations are continuing to shift and expand. Given the scale of this disaster, we have made the decision to close school for classes until Monday, January 13th.”
Furthermore, the school has postponed all non-season athletic practices and other extracurricular activities. Winter season athletic programs will resume practices and games tomorrow.
The school is also planning on opening campus on Friday to students and faculty seeking to process the recent fires — to take place conditionally based on the current conditions of the fires.
Alexa Liu ’25, who grew up in the Pacific Palisades, said she has been able to find peace knowing that her most valued belongings are safe.
“It just feels surreal,” Liu said. “I have lived there pretty much my whole life. [The Palisades] are no longer recognizable. However, while I’m somewhat worried about my belongings and photos that were left in the house, I’m relatively calm because my whole family is safe and our most important valuables are all safe or digitized.”
Liu said she remains optimistic that her house will survive the wildfire.
“Multiple of my neighbors across the street and Palisades High School down the street burned down,” Liu said. “I am hopeful that my house can remain safe against the rising winds, but I know that no matter what happens, the Pacific Palisades will work hard to rebuild infrastructure that is stronger and can better handle these natural disasters. I feel that as a community, we reacted too slowly and inefficiently to the signs and conditions of wildfires.”