A searing new documentary captures the devastation of the 2025 Palisades Fire, as residents recount survival without first responders and unite to demand change in wildfire preparedness

“We’ve come back to our apocalypse of a house,” bemoaned Jo Drummond as she grieved while visiting the devastating debris at their family’s Big Rock home in Malibu, which was one of thousands that were obliterated in the horrendous Palisades Fire on Jan. 7. Drummond’s heartaching remark launches “Big Rock Burning: An Untold Story of the 2025 LA Fires,” a searing and intimate documentary chronicling the nearly complete decimation of Big Rock during the Palisades Fire. 

The film captures the raw aftermath of a harrowing night when residents, abandoned by first responders, were left to fend for themselves after officials deemed the area too dangerous to enter. More than 40 members of the Big Rock community who lost their homes were involved in the filmmaking process and the short documentary. They have collectively created seeks not only to tell the story but to effect meaningful change in how fire-prone communities in Malibu and beyond prepare for disasters and in how authorities respond to hopefully be more present while neighborhoods valiantly seek to save their homes.

The film reveals that, with no help coming, neighbors in Big Rock turned into first responders — some fighting back flames with garden hoses, others forced to flee through walls of fire while, tragically, others did not survive, explained Co-Producer David Goldblum of Conscious Contact Entertainment. 

Goldblum gifts the film with his well-recognized talent to compellingly communicate with viewers through his impact-focused storytelling, a gift that shined in “Grassland,” a criminal justice system drama, the sex industry film, “Sell/Buy/Date,” which is executive produced by Meryl Streep, and “Uvalde Mom,” which recently premiered at SXSW. 

Goldblum’s co-producers include Julie Parker Benello (”Athlete A,” the Oscar-winning feature documentary “American Factory”) and James Costa (”The Dating Game,” “Welcome to Chechnya”). Executive producers include Mark Hamill (”Star Wars,” “The Life of Chuck”) and Bryan Fogel (the Oscar-winning feature documentary “Icarus”). Goldblum noted that his longtime girlfriend, Andrea Perez Martinez, who serves as an associate producer for the documentary, “was there for me every night when I came home from the set while we lived in a hotel room for four months and she has watched every cut of the film and supported me throughout.”

The message is loud and clear

The film’s seminal thesis is simple, Goldblum notes: The fire’s devastation did not have to happen and such a catastrophe should never occur again. 

“I made this film as a resident of Big Rock who lost everything,” Goldblum said. “This is a call to witness — for my community, and for all communities.”

Parker Benello noted that Goldblum reached out to her even as the fire burned, seeking support for developing a film that candidly shared how the tragedy unfolded. “We hope that this film helps to make things change with regard to how we all prepare for fires and how first responders respond,” she emphasized. 

“I watched the fire from my balcony and our community lived on the edge, not knowing what would happen,” Costa remarked. “I hope the film sends a strong message that fire doesn’t care who you voted for and it clearly mandates that we all need to stop pointing fingers and blaming others. Rather, we all need to clear all brush that needs clearing to help prevent fires — we are all in this community together and nobody wants to live through this trauma again!”

The film is releasing at the optimal time, Costa noted and it clearly communicates that “it’s not fun to live through fires again — January is coming and we all have to prepare for fires better.” 

A peek at the film’s content — but not a spoiler 

The film is heart-wrenching, thrusting viewers into the throes of ash-strewn skeletal ruins of mangled steel, wooden frames, and concrete that were once loving homes in what was once a thriving neighborhood. However, the picture’s greatest strength lies in its We the People ethos demanding change. And now. An introductory statement in the film recounts, “As the fires raged, the hydrants ran dry, emergency resources stretched thin, and communication systems failed. In many neighborhoods, NO HELP CAME. Big Rock was just one of many communities left to face the fires alone.” 

Despite Malibu’s fame, it’s a small town, those in the film recount. “Normal regular people live here!” Drummond notes. “We love this community!”

Another fire victim, Wade Major, stated as he surveyed the ruins of his destroyed residence, “This is the home that my parents built in 1962. We’ve been raising my daughter in the house that I was raised in.” Gesturing to the rubble before him, he added, “I have a 12-year-old daughter — this destruction was her greatest fear.” 

Standing tall and brave, resident Arno Koch surveys the ruins of what was once his home in a telling moment in the film. Koch notes, “In Big Rock, there are a lot of people that inherited homes that were purchased by their grandparents for less than the cost of my property insurance. A lot of other people spent everything they had to purchase a home — we did. A lot of other people were in a difficult financial situation already before this — we were.”

After pausing to reflect, Koch added, “Big Rock is the most beautiful community that I have ever known — just the people on the street. I don’t think that you get that very much anymore.” 

The neighbors in Big Rock want that community back and they demand that tragedies such as the Palisades Fire never happen again, Koch added. 

When asked what his vision is regarding the impact that the film might have, Koch reflected and then responded, “What I would hope is that there will never again be excuses from the fire department to the effect that it is unsafe to come help us fight a fire — stating that it is too hard for the fire trucks to drive up to our neighborhood is not acceptable!.”

In a righteously indignant yet imploring tone, he added, “NO MORE EXCUSES! I don’t want to see fire trucks staying on PCH while we residents are fighting a fire to save our homes!” Continuing, he shared, “My big hope is that residents won’t be alone during a fire! There needs to be more deference given to the firefighters in a firetruck stationed nearby — they should be able to make the call whether to drive up and fight a fire, as opposed to a command center telling them they cannot do so from a remote location. The authorities have to trust the on-site firefighters to make a good decision.”

Had that happened, Koch noted, his neighbor would not have perished in the fire.

Janet Fulk and Peter Fulk-Monge, longtime Big Rock residents, noted that they had lost their home in the 1993 wildfire. The couple shared that they prepared for wildfires and hardened their homes with brush clearance, defensible space, embers protection and all logical strategies. However, they also have a back-up plan if necessary while being besieged by a fire. 

“We have 30 gallons of water and 600 feet of fire hose and are as ready for a fire as we can be,” Fulk-Monge noted. 

Chiming in, Fulk shared,  “We also have scuba tanks if necessary — we will put our scuba tanks into the pool which allows you to breathe underwater — you can stay underwater for under an hour.”

Malibuites get a free sneak preview of the film

“We are excited to announce that we will be doing the Oscar-nomination-qualifying theatrical run from Sept. 12-18 at the Laemmle in Santa Monica in their Shorts by the Sea program,” Goldblum shared. 

Fortunately, Malibuites are able to view the film beforehand.

“We’re tentatively set for Friday, Aug. 29 to showcase the worldwide debut showing of ‘Big Rock Burning’ at City Hall,” Scott Tallal of the Malibu Film Society said. “We’re delighted that we will be joined by co-producers with David Goldblum and Mark Hamill, and perhaps one or two others involved in the film as guests for our question and answer session.”

Tallal added that there will be a reception at 7 p.m. and show time is at 8 p.m. followed by Q&A. “Reservations must be made at MalibuFilmSociety.org,” He added, noting that admission is free for Malibu residents who complete the one-time registration process on the website.