Pali High ASB President Speaks Up

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

No one enjoys being a Dolphin more than Palisades Charter High School Associated Student Body President Charlie Speiser.

After his home adjacent to campus burned to the ground, the senior appeared on “Fox & Friends” last week to talk about the aftermath of the Palisades fire.

“We started our high school experience during COVID, but that was online and didn’t work well for anyone—students or teachers—so we’re trying to get back under one roof and back to in-person learning,” Speiser said. “We’re looking for a temporary location somewhere in LA. We have a large student body of 3,000 students from over 100 different zip codes.”

Speiser told show host Lawrence Jones that the disaster has brought the school and the community together.

“I’ve never seen our community more bonded together, even though we’re so spread apart,” he continued. “All of my personal friends and peers lost their houses, but everyone’s texting everyday, running errands for each other. It’s amazing to see everybody’s selflessness.”

Speiser attended the boys basketball team’s league game at LACES last Thursday night, January 16, and recounted his own experience the day the fire broke out.

“I live on Erskine—my house shares a fence with the football field—and when we first saw the smoke, my mom and I walked up the street to check it out,” Speiser stated. “We saw the fire right as it started near what looked like Skull Rock, and within about 10 minutes, it jumped to the canyon. That’s when we realized that it was growing much faster than we expected.”

Speiser, captain of the Dolphins’ water polo team that captured three City championships before being dethroned in the fall, did not believe the threat was serious at first.

“We went home, and called my dad and brothers, who were all at work,” he added. “They came back and we started packing things, but we never thought it would jump Sunset and reach our house, so we didn’t take much. Instead, we set up hoses on the roof, thinking that keeping it wet might help, since most of our house was brick. We stayed for a little while, but when ash started falling into our yard, we knew it was time to leave.”

Like so many fellow students, Speiser is displaced but life—and school—must go on.

“For the first week after the fire I stayed at a different house each night, but I’m currently in Hermosa,” he said. “I actually got back into the neighborhood on the second day of the fire with my brother—that’s how we found out our house was gone. Looking back, we definitely shouldn’t have gone in, as the fire was still very active and there were downed power lines everywhere. We didn’t stay for long but that moment put everything into perspective.”

He said that while losing their home has been “incredibly tough,” he is “beyond grateful” his family is safe.

“As ASB president, my biggest message to everyone is that even in the hardest times, we’re not alone,” Speiser continued. “The support from our school and the community has been overwhelming. I want to encourage everyone to check in on each other. Even the smallest gestures—offering a place to stay, a meal or just listening—can make a huge difference.”

Speiser said he also wanted to recognize someone who he feels “truly embodies selflessness:” Rodolfo “Rudy” Barrientos, owner of taco food truck Gracias Señor.

“He’s been working tirelessly at the command post at Will Rogers State Beach from around 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. every night, feeding thousands of firefighters, police officers and National Guard members, all with a smile on his face,” Speiser described. “Rudy’s always been a staple of the Palisades community, but what he’s doing now is just incredible. His generosity and kindness deserve recognition.”

Speiser was encouraged reading a letter emailed to students from Principal Pam Magee, expressing the faculty’s goal to have graduation on campus in the spring.