On January 1, 2024, a wildfire sparked in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent California neighborhood. Since then, the wildfire has spread rapidly across Los Angeles County, into Eaton and Hollywood Hills. The fire has destroyed over 37,000 acres and killed at least 28 people. The fire has caused severe weather conditions that have delayed or canceled flights out of LAX (Los Angeles Airport), impeding mandatory evacuation orders.
Currently, the fire has impacted 10 Deerfield students to varying degrees. The Student Life Office responded immediately by observing the rapid growth of the fires and monitoring which Deerfield families fell within the borders of affected areas. Associate Head of School for Student Life, Amie Creagh, explained the school’s approach, stating, “[we have] ensured that we have a running understanding of who’s impacted, and then how we are extending outreach, and that comes from the grade dean, from the advisor as needed, we move in counseling to make sure they’re aware of students who might be impacted.”
Members in the Deerfield community addressed the sensitivity of the situation in different ways. Ms. Creagh considers group discussions for students to share their experiences. She said, “On the one hand, that could be a really good exercise, because not everybody understands what it’s like to be a kid from these affected regions,” but also acknowledges that, “that could be difficult, because people have been impacted really differently. We’re trying to work with kids to see if that would be of interest to them.” The Student Life Office is trying to work with students to understand how they can best support their different needs as they navigate through this difficult time.
School leaders are grappling with balancing public/school-wide acknowledgement of the disaster with the privacy of impacted students. Ms. Creagh stated, “If we say something at a meal, if we say something at school meeting, how are they gonna feel in that moment?”. Ms. Creagh stresses that, “We’re [Deerfield} going to support kids who are impacted by any struggle, circumstance, trauma, disaster, that’s always going to be a question for me as we think about incidents like these.” Whenever a disaster like the wildfires in Los Angeles has occurred, the Student Life Office has always quickly taken action, even though their support goes unseen by many.
The school has pre-existing systems ready to provide immediate and comprehensive support because of prior experience with natural disasters affecting members of the Deerfield community. Ms. Creagh assured that the support systems extend beyond Deerfiend students to their families, noting, “Our priorities are always going to be understanding who’s been impacted and just a full wrap around support for those kids, and sometimes also, outreach to families as well.”
The Student Life Office has emphasized its commitment to supporting students during this disaster. It continues to assure the student body that affected students are receiving resources and aid while attempting to maintain privacy and cater to their emotional and psychological needs.