Pali High School rests across the street from homes destroyed in the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades on January 7, 2025.Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesMom Lisa Ward lives in Topanga, between Palisades and Malibu, where the LA wildfires are raging.Her family was horrified when they saw TV images of their local high school burning to the ground.While her 17-year-old won't get the graduation he hoped for, his priority is to help homeless friends.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lisa Ward, 59, a stay at home mom from Topanga, California.