PACIFIC PALISADES, California — On Sunday afternoon, I ventured behind the LAPD, LAFD, and National Guard lines to visit this embattled town, including my alma mater Palisades Charter High School.

Deroy Murdock stands in the Quad at Palisades High School (Source: Deroy Murdock)
Pali High, as we called it before charter schools became necessary, is largely in great shape, despite widespread, mistaken news reports. The bungalows burned in the back of the campus, as did a building that once featured shop classes. Everything else — the remaining 85 to 90 percent — is pristine. Pali mainly appears as if the students went home as usual and would return in the morning. The only sign of distress was a shrill alarm that shrieked relentlessly during my 20-minute walk-through.
Deroy Murdock surveys limited, but severe, damage at Pali High. (Source: Deroy Murdock)
Please join me in underwriting the 10 to 15 percent reconstruction that Pali High needs. You can do so here.
Beyond my old school, however, the local damage is extensive, severe, and heartbreaking.
Before and after photos of Palisades Presbyterian Church. (Source: Before – Google Street View; After – Deroy Murdock)
Just one example: Palisades Presbyterian Church sits just above Pali High, at the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and El Medio Avenue. The previously attractive house of worship is now just a smattering of metal beams. The steel steeple also survived, complete with a cross near its peak. The faithful might call this a sign of Divine omnipotence. Religious skeptics might respond that the demolition of the rest of this church and much of the surrounding community fortifies their worldview.
Before and after photos of Palisades Presbyterian Church. (Source: Before – Google Street View; After – Deroy Murdock)
That said, more of Pacific Palisades is unscathed than I expected. Between Corona del Mar and Pampas Ricas Boulevard, Toyopa Drive in the Huntington Palisades is the same as it ever was. On that stretc...