A family friend says Fiona Lowe was deeply affected by the loss of her home in the Palisades Fire months before her death at 13. The tragedy forced the family to rebuild while Fiona and her sisters confronted what the blaze had taken from them.Fiona Lowe’s final months have taken on a heartbreaking significance as the people who knew her continue to remember the vibrant 13-year-old behind the headlines. Now, a family friend has revealed that one devastating event had a profound effect on Fiona and her family before her death.The friend, Mykesha Robinson, knew Fiona through her daughter Faith, who had been one of Fiona’s closest friends when they were elementary school students. Looking back, Robinson remembers a girl who was outgoing, kind and quick to make other children feel welcome.But Fiona’s family had already endured an enormous upheaval before the teenager died.

Mykesha told the Daily Mail that Fiona and Faith met on their first day at Palisades Charter Elementary School in Pacific Palisades. Faith was having difficulty settling into her new surroundings, Robinson recalled. “She was that girl. She was not shy. She would go up and talk to anybody.””Faith had a tough time integrating,” Mykesha recalled. “It was kind of just really tough for her. And Fiona just came up to her and was like, ‘Hey, do you want to be friends? Do you want to go jump rope?’ And Faith’s like, ‘Yeah.’ So they hit it off really good.”The girls quickly became inseparable, earning the nickname “FiFi” and becoming what Robinson described as “two peas in a pod.” Mykesha remembered Fiona as “sweet, loving and so kind.”