The Palisades Fire swallowed homes and lives, reducing whole communities to smoke and rubble in the wake of this massive wildfire. But behind these horrific headlines, a different sort of history was being written — one most people never heard.
Ride alongside a brave group of everyday people sick of watching their city burn. They stayed behind firelines to save the place they call home. The Community Brigade is a first-of-its-kind experimental program training civilians to work alongside professional firefighters. During one of Los Angeles’ darkest hours, they came to their city’s aid. We dive into what that could mean for millions of people across the world who live in high-risk fire zones. As wildfires continue to break records and push past what we imagined possible, this podcast tackles one of today’s most pressing questions: is mass destruction inevitable or can there be a different ending to this story?
Wildfires are a natural reality in Southern California, but is mass destruction an inevitability? Could the Community Brigade Program be a step to unlocking a different kind of future for people living in high-risk fire zones? We look at if the program worked and how it could reshape life with wildfire in Los Angeles and beyond.
7 Jan 2026
Get the Boys Ready
As the nation watched in shock and horror as the Palisades Fire brought Los Angeles to its knees, a group of civilians stepped up to defend their home turf. The Community Brigade Program is a first-in-the nation experiment that trains everyday people to work alongside first responders during disasters. Host Adriana Cargill takes us into the heart of Palisades Fire to ride alongside with two childhood friends who risk everything to save the place they call home.
10 Dec 2025
The Palisades Fire: A Sandcastles Special Trailer
In an age of unstoppable wildfires, meet the people finding a new way forward. We take you into the heart of the deadly Palisades Fire with the everyday men and women who stepped forward to defend their community.
20 Jun 2023
Special Feature: The Big Burn: Saving Our Giant Sequoias
This is an episode from LAist Studios, the creators of The Big One. This next installment of The Big Disaster series will provide you with a wildfire survival guide that includes not just tangible safety tips — but hope for our future. In this episode, host Jacob Margolis examines why trees that are adapted to living with fire are now burning and how we might save them. To listen to the rest of this 10-part series, visit The Big Burn (https://laist.com/podcasts/the-big-burn) or find The Big Disaster: The Big Burn wherever you listen to podcasts.
30 May 2023
EP5: Community Brigade
One of the Point Dume Bombers who lost his home in the Woolsey Fire uses his pain and loss as fuel for action. He embarks on a quest to change the way we live with wildfire. The LA County Fire Department, Malibu City Council members, everyday citizens, and other fire brigades in Malibu join his quest to create a new model of community resilience. Five years later, his relentless drive might just payoff: the Community Brigade Pilot Program is ever so close to becoming a reality.
23 May 2023
EP4: Under Siege Part 2
When Point Dume Bombers are pushed to their limits, will they survive the test? Part 2 of the Under Siege episode chronicles life in the harrowing aftermath of the Woolsey Fire.
16 May 2023
EP3: Under Siege
Hear the motley new generation of Point Dume Bombers in action as they race to put out hot spots, save homes, get essential supplies through roadblocks, and so much more. They did it all on the fly, but their efforts have inspired a new model of community resilience in the face of ever-worsening wildfires.
9 May 2023
EP2: This Kingdom is Mine
Why do people stay during wildfires and how did the Wild West culture shape the people who live on this hilly, chaparral-covered coastline? A history of Malibu, the evolution of surf localism, and the genesis of the Point Dume Bombers. We meet the obstinate Queen of Malibu whose determination and love of land shaped the culture of one of the best surf spots in the world.
9 May 2023
EP1: Castles Crumble
Loss, hope, and resilience in the face of one of nature's most terrifying forces: wildfire. We meet a group of surfers called the Point Dume Bombers who stayed in Malibu during the 2018 Woolsey Fire and find out how they survived the most destructive fire in Los Angeles County history.
14 Jul 2022
Trailer: Season 1
This is Sandcastles, a podcast about home, how we create it, and why we fight so hard for it. The first season follows a misfit group of surfers who fight tooth and nail to protect their home against the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles. Dubbed The Point Dume Bombers, they made it all up as they went, but their efforts are now the basis for a new model of community resilience in the face of ever-worsening wildfires.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
200 ratings
Host of Sandcastles?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
