After the fire: Stories of what the flames couldn’t destroy

Meet people whose lives were upended by fire - and transformed by resilience.

From the recent Los Angeles fires, we hear from Casey Colvin, who searched for days to find his beloved dog, Oreo, and 10-year-old Grayson Roberts, who lost his home, his Braille materials, and his drum kits - but not his spirit.

We also talk to RoseMarie Wallace, who reflects on how losing everything made her stronger, and Leslie Wharton, who shares what 13 years of rebuilding and reflection have taught her after losing her Colorado home to a wildfire.

Resources:

American Red Cross: Recovering After a Fire

Suggested episodes:

• We, The Dog
• Aftershocks: Life after getting struck by lightning
• The story of the first African-American face transplant

 

GUESTS: 

• RoseMarie Wallace: a Massachusetts woman who had a major house fire in 2014. She is also a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging at Tabor Academy, and a storyteller who honors identity, motherhood, and the quiet power of resilience 
• Casey Colvin: a Pacific Palisades resident whose dogs, Oreo and Teeka Teeka, went missing after the fires in January 2025. He was ultimately reunited with both, and the emotional moment of Casey finding Oreo after a five-day search captured global attention 
• Grayson and Terica Roberts: a mother and son from Altadena who lost their home in the fires in January 2025. Grayson is a 10 year-old drummer who has been blind since birth
• Leslie Wharton: author of Phoenix Rising: Stories of Remarkable Women Walking Through Fire, and a forthcoming memoir, Home Fires Burning.  Leslie lost her home during the High Park Fire in Colorado in 2012, and is now based in Washington State

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