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Charter School Destroyed in Los Angeles Fires Struggles to Rebuild

School officials are scrambling to find an alternate site for its campus while trying to support families, nearly half of whom lost their homes.

Bonnie Brimecombe, principal of Odyssey South Charter School in Altadena, surveys the charred remains of the school’s TK through second-grade building on Jan. 20, 2025. Multiple buildings on the school’s campus were destroyed during the Eaton Fire. (Jules Hotz/CalMatters)

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When she got the news, Bonnie Brimecombe was standing on a sidewalk outside her in-laws鈥 house in Monrovia, where she had evacuated amid the chaos of last week鈥檚 fires. It was a video, sent by a colleague, showing the charred remnants of Odyssey South Charter School, where Brimecombe has been principal for three years.

Classrooms, desks, books, the owl murals, the fourth-graders鈥 quilt project, the newly planted native plant garden 鈥 all scorched by the Eaton Fire. Flames still lapped at one building, as the rest of the campus smouldered.

鈥淚t was gone,鈥 Brimecombe said, choking back tears as she recounted the moment. 鈥淎nd then all the text messages from families started coming in. You鈥檙e just getting message after message, 鈥楳y home is lost, I have nothing.鈥 The school didn鈥檛 even matter at that point. You just think about the families.鈥

Odyssey South, a popular TK-8 charter school in Altadena, was among the dozen or so schools destroyed in the Los Angeles fires. At least 40% of the school鈥檚 families and 10 staff members lost their homes. As of Friday, 5% of families were still unaccounted for.

Like at all the damaged schools, staff are navigating their own fire hardships while frantically scouring the city for new classroom space. Even as the fires continue to burn, the most important thing, they said, is to bring an element of normalcy to children whose lives have been upended.

Searching for a new school

As soon as she saw the video, Brimecombe and her staff 鈥済rieved for a few minutes鈥 and then got to work looking for a new school. They鈥檝e toured other school sites, churches, office buildings, even a vacant Bed Bath & Beyond. They鈥檝e talked to real estate agents and countless property owners who鈥檝e offered to help. 

But it鈥檚 not easy to find space for 375 students. The first hurdle is enrollment 鈥 Brimecome isn鈥檛 sure how many students will actually be returning to school once it reopens. Some evacuated to other counties or even other states, and it鈥檚 unclear how many will return, or when.

Another challenge is competition. There aren鈥檛 that many vacant spaces in the Pasadena area suitable for a school, yet there are at least five schools looking for space. Not all have the same needs, and they鈥檙e cooperating when they can, but there鈥檚 still not enough space for all the schools who need it.

The next obstacle is more practical. A vacant office building seemed perfect, but where would Brimecombe and her staff find hundreds of school desks and chairs? A nearby school offered to share its campus, but there wasn鈥檛 enough space for the entire student body so they鈥檇 have to split up 鈥 not a desirable option when students need continuity and to be with their friends, Brimecombe said.

And the final obstacle is money. Like many charter schools, Odyssey leases its campus from a school district. The school has insurance, but no control over the district鈥檚 plans to rebuild the site. The state and federal governments will provide some funding, but as an independent charter organization Odyssey is mostly on its own. It can鈥檛 raise money through a bond, and it lacks the staff to navigate the labyrinth of grants, permits and other paperwork. Although the school has launched an , staff aren鈥檛 sure how much money they鈥檒l need or how much they can expect from various sources.

Odyssey isn鈥檛 alone. Los Angeles County has a high concentration of charter schools, and at least a half dozen were damaged or destroyed by the fires. Two charters near Odyssey 鈥 Pasadena Rosebud Academy and Aveson Charter School 鈥 not only burned down, but the principals also lost their homes.

Charter schools have a long road ahead as they wrangle with school districts and patch together money for rebuilding, said Keith Dell鈥橝quila, an advocate with the California Charter Schools Association who focuses on greater Los Angeles.

鈥淔or some schools, it鈥檚 total devastation,鈥 Dell鈥橝quila said. 鈥淧eople who are leaders in their school communities also have no place to go at the end of the day, no place to put their kids to bed. It鈥檚 been unimaginable.鈥

His group is asking Pasadena Unified, which leases space to several damaged charter schools, to help find new space for those schools and to share funds from a recently passed pair of measures that are slated to bring in nearly $1 billion to district schools.

Pasadena Unified did not immediately respond to an email from CalMatters.

A 鈥榟eartbreaking鈥 reality

Stacy Connor, head of Odyssey鈥檚 parent association, said the Eaton fire was the most terrifying experience of her life.  She and her family had to evacuate their home in Pasadena at 4 a.m., as 100 mph winds howled and flames roared a block away.

She and her husband and two children spent a few days at a church in Glendale before moving in with family for 10 days. Their house survived, but barely. Half the roof burned off, the siding was scorched and nearly all the contents were destroyed by smoke and ash.

Now, she鈥檚 spending her days haggling with the insurance company and replacing items lost to the fire. She鈥檚 also facing the 鈥渉eartbreaking鈥 reality that she may have to find a new school for her 9-year-old daughter. 

鈥淓very single staff member at that school knew every single child. They truly loved children,鈥 said Connor, who spent countless hours volunteering at Odyssey. 鈥淚t was such an inclusive community where everyone felt welcome. I don鈥檛 know if we can replace that.鈥

Doubling down on mental health

Founded in 1999, not long after California legalized charter schools, Odyssey serves about 850 students on two campuses. (The other campus was not damaged in the fire). Odyssey South is ethnically diverse, reflecting the demographics of Altadena 鈥 about 30% Latino, 45% white and the rest a mix of Black, Asian and people who identify as more than one race. About a third are low-income. Students perform well above the state average in math and reading, and there鈥檚 typically a waiting list for enrollment. 

The school has a strong focus on social-emotional learning, an approach that will help students and staff recover from the trauma of the fires, Brimecombe said. Students are used to talking about their feelings, listening to their classmates and supporting each other. 

鈥淚n a way, we are ready for this kind of a situation. Resiliency is already built into our core values; we know how to come back,鈥 Brimecombe said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 going to be tough. We鈥檙e going to need to double down to provide all the mental health support our students will need.鈥

The most immediate need was finding a place for students to go now. A few days after the fire, the local Boys & Girls Club offered to provide all-day care for the students, where they鈥檝e been playing and talking and spending time together in a low-stress atmosphere. More importantly, parents can return to work and tend to insurance and rebuilding efforts.   

Within a week, the school planned a community event for families in San Gabriel, which is about 10 miles away but was less affected by wildfire smoke.

鈥淲e wanted to get everybody back to see each other鈥檚 faces. Have a minute to cry together,鈥 Brimecombe said. 鈥淪ome kids may have lost everything, but they could say, 鈥楳y friend is still here, their mom is still here, my teachers are still here.鈥 It helps to understand, it鈥檚 not all gone.鈥

It was such a success the school is planning a second event, this time with resources like therapy dogs for students, mental health counselors, meditation sessions and representatives from the Red Cross, insurance companies and FEMA.

Meanwhile, Brimecombe and her colleagues hope to find a temporary campus and reopen within the next few weeks. The sooner students can get into a routine and resume learning, the faster their recovery will be, she said. She and her staff have been working 18-hour days, toiling through exhaustion and stress. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 just been full force forward ever since the fire, but it鈥檚 up to us, right?鈥 she said. 鈥淲e need to do it for the kids, because they can鈥檛 do it for themselves. They need to see our faces. They need to know that beyond this awful thing they鈥檙e going through, we know them and we鈥檙e there for them.鈥

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