Pacific Palisades school campus reopens after extensive wildfire damage

More than 220 students returned to St. Matthew’s Parish School in Pacific Palisades Wednesday as the campus reopened for full-time, in-person instruction following extensive damage from the January 2025 Palisades fire.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park joined students, families, faculty and school leaders at the Bienveneda Avenue campus for the reopening, which comes nearly 76 years to the day after St. Matthew’s first opened Sept. 12, 1950.

“Seventy-six years ago this week, St. Matthew’s opened its doors to students for the first time. This week, after everything this community has been through, those doors are opening again,” Park said in a statement. “Schools are anchors of a community, and when kids come back, families come back. A neighborhood starts feeling like home again. There is still a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, but this is what recovery looks like.”

The Palisades fire extensively damaged the St. Matthew’s campus, destroying its Lower School campus, library, administration building, portions of its Early Childhood campus and rectories, according to Park’s office.

Park’s office began working with St. Matthew’s leadership and The McGregor Company in July to help facilitate the installation of temporary classrooms needed for students to return to the campus.

The councilwoman’s office coordinated with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to move the project through the city’s permitting process, according to Park’s office.

The school received its main permit for the temporary classrooms July 28, followed by electrical and other required permits.

More than 220 students ranging in age from 2 through eighth grade were expected to return for full-time, in-person instruction.

St. Matthew’s joins other schools that have reopened or welcomed students back following the fire, including Palisades Charter High School, Paul Revere Middle School, Marquez Elementary School and Calvary Schools.

The school has remained active in the Pacific Palisades community during the recovery, participating in events including the Fourth of July celebration and Turkey Trot, according to Park’s office.