5.99. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU BRIAN. WELL, THIS MORNING FIREFIGHTERS ARE RACING TO CONTROL MORE OF THE PALISADES AND EATON FIRES AS ANOTHER ROUND OF SANTA ANA WIND MOVES IN. AND NOW THE DEATH TOLL, WE HAVE LEARNED, HAS GROWN TO 24. LET’S GO LIVE NOW TO THE AERIAL VIEWS OF THE FIRE. AS THE SUN IS GETTING READY TO RISE. AND AT THIS POINT, WE’RE NOT SEEING BIG ACTIVE FIRE, WHICH IS GOOD. NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS ARE IN PLACE ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY, PREVENTING PEOPLE FROM GOING BACK INTO THOSE BURN AREAS. THE LA POLICE CHIEF SAYS THE FOCUS IS ON SAFETY AND THAT PEOPLE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO BACK IN UNTIL THE LATEST WIND WARNINGS END, AND THAT WILL LIKELY HAPPEN ON WEDNESDAY. SO HERE’S A LOOK AT THE LATEST NUMBERS ON THE WILDFIRES. THE PALISADES FIRE IS THE LARGEST. IT’S 23,000 ACRES IN SIZE WITH 13% CONTAINMENT. THERE HAVE BEEN EIGHT CONFIRMED DEATHS INVOLVED WITH THE PALISADES FIRE. THE EATON FIRE IS OVER 14,000 ACRES IN SIZE, WITH 27% CONTAINMENT. THEY ARE GAINING SOME GROUND. THERE HAVE BEEN 16 DEATHS CONFIRMED ASSOCIATED WITH THE EATON FIRE, AND THE HURST FIRE IS JUST UNDER 800 ACRES IN SIZE. IT IS 89% CONTAINED. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE STILL UNDER EVACUATION ORDERS BECAUSE OF THE PALISADES AND EATON FIRES. THAT’S THE EVACUATION MAP RIGHT THERE. THE RED AREAS ARE MANDATORY EVACUATIONS. YELLOW IS EVACUATION WARNINGS AND EVACUATION ORDERS HAVE EXPANDED FOR THE PALISADES FIRE AS IT HAS CONTINUED TO MOVE EAST. AND TODAY, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER COMMUNITY MEETING FOR THOSE IMPACTED BY THE EATON FIRE. LAST NIGHT, FIRE OFFICIALS HELD COMMUNITY MEETINGS FOR BOTH THE PALISADES AND EATON FIRES TO UPDATE RESIDENTS, ANSWER QUESTIONS AND DISCUSS RECOVERY. HUNDREDS GATHERED AT PASADENA CITY COLLEGE FOR THE EATON FIRE MEETING. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS EVENT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET UP THERE AND YOU SEE WHAT’S HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE EXPECT TO SEE DESTRUCTION, BUT THEY ACTUALLY SEE DEVASTATION. IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO DESCRIBE IT. AND SO YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT THE CITY OF PASADENA, WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, WORKING WITH THE STATE AND WORKING WITH OUR NATIONAL LEADERS, WILL DO ALL THAT IT CAN TO ENSURE THAT WE WE DO REBUILD. TODAY’S MEETING WILL BE VIRTUAL. IT HAPPENS AT 4:00 AND WILL BE STREAMED LIVE ON YOUTUBE FROM THE L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT’S YOUTUBE PAGE. FIRE OFFICIALS WILL UPDATE THE CURRENT FIRE SITUATION. AND OF COURSE, ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS. NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY’LL BE TALKING ABOUT IS THE RETURN OF THE SANTA ANA WINDS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. KELLY CURRAN JOINS US NOW FROM THE WEATHER CENTER WITH A LOOK AT HOW STRONG THEY’RE LIKELY TO GET. GOOD MORNING. YEAH. ANOTHER PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. RED FLAG WARNING. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DEALING WITH HERE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. SO YOU SEE THE AREAS SHADED IN RED. THAT’S WHERE WE HAVE THOSE RED FLAG WARNINGS. AND OF COURSE IT INCLUDES PARTS OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY WHERE THE PALISADES FIRE AND THE EATON FIRE ARE BOTH BURNING. ALSO, VENTURA COUNTY AND DOWN INTO ORANGE COUNTY, TOO. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTING 50 PLUS MILES PER HOUR. AND AS YOU GET UP INTO THE HIGHER TERRAIN, WE COULD SEE GUSTS AS HIGH AS 70MPH. RIGHT NOW, OXNARD, HIDDEN HILLS ALREADY SEEING SOME OF THOSE BREEZES, THE RIVERSIDE AREA AS WELL. AND AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT FUTURECAST NOW, THESE ARE THE WIND GUSTS THAT WE’RE EXPECTING AS WE HEAD LATER INTO TODAY. WE’RE GOING TO SEE WINDS GUSTING UP TO 30 43MPH IN PARTS OF VENTURA COUNTY. CALABASAS, ABOUT 22MPH, DIES DOWN A LITTLE BIT MONDAY EVENING, BUT THEN TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WE REALLY GET TO SEE THOSE WINDS FIRE UP AGAIN. IN FACT, HERE WE ARE 630 IN THE MORNING ON TUESDAY, 43 MILE PER HOUR WIND GUSTS EXPECTED IN THE PALISADES PASADENA AREA. EVEN AS WE GET INTO TUESDAY NIGHT, GUYS, WE’RE LOOKING AT WINDS GUSTING 40 50MPH, WHICH CERTAINLY IS NOT WHAT THOSE FIREFIGHTERS WANT TO SEE. ALL RIGHT. WE APPRECIATE THAT, KELLY. THANK YOU. MEANWHILE, TODAY REPUBLICANS ARE CALLING FOR A SPECIAL SESSION AS THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES ARE IMPACTING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS CALIFORNIA. ERIN HEFT LIVE AT THE STATE CAPITOL THIS MORNING WITH WHAT THEY’RE SAYING. GOOD MORNING. THIS NOT JUST INVOLVING THE WILDFIRES, BUT THE SUBSEQUENT INSURANCE CRISIS, THEY SAY IS NOW AFOOT. THOSE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SENDING A LETTER TO GAVIN NEWSOM CALLING FOR A SPECIAL SESSION. NOW, LET’S READ YOU WHAT’S IN THAT LETTER. IN THE LETTER, REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS HIGHLIGHTING THE URGENT NEED TO SAFEGUARD OUR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES WHILE STABILIZING THE INSURANCE MARKET AND IMPLEMENTING PREVENTION MEASURES AGAINST THESE MASSIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES, EMPHASIZING WHAT THEY CALL THE UNPRECEDENTED NATURE OF THE CRISIS. CRISIS AT HAND. WHILE HIGHLIGHTING THE REQUIRED RESPONSE, PUTTING A STRAIN NOT ONLY ACROSS CALIFORNIA BUT THE NATION AND BEYOND. SO LET’S GET TO THOSE SIX PRIORITIES FOR THE SESSION. THEY SAID, QUOTE, OR NOT, QUOTE. EXCUSE ME? THE FIRST BULLET EXPEDITING PERMITTING FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION PROJECTS. AND THAT REALLY MEANS FAST TRACKING CRITICAL MEASURES LIKE CONTROLLED BURNS AND POST-FIRE MITIGATION RISKS. THE NEXT IS STREAMLINING ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR FIRE SAFETY INITIATIVES, ENHANCE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR FIRE RELATED CRIMES, INCENTIVIZING HARDENING OF HOMES, INCREASED WILDFIRE PREVENTION FUNDING, AND LASTLY, HAVE INSURANCE MARKET TRANSPARENCY AND INSURANCE REFORM. BACK OUT HERE LIVE AT THE STATE CAPITOL. THIS TURNING SOME HEADS BECAUSE OF AS OF LAST WEEK, THERE WAS SOME PUSHBACK AFTER A CALLED SPECIAL SESSION ON THE COMING PRESIDENT ELECT. WHILE THESE DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES THEY STARTED TO BURN AND CONTINUED TO BURN. NOW THE LEGISLATIVE REPUBLICANS SAYING, QUOTE, THEY ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING CALIFORNIANS WITH THE TOOLS AND POLICIES NEEDED TO BOTH REBUILD AND RECOVER AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL. ERIN HEFT KCRA THREE NEWS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, ERIN. A NEWS CONFERENCE, BY THE WAY, IS SCHEDULED ON THE WEST STEPS OF THE CAPITOL THIS AFTERNOON AT 2:00. HELP IS ALSO COMING FROM THE NATION’S CAPITAL. MIKE CHERRY. JOINING US NOW WITH MORE ON THE FEDERAL RESPONSE TO WHAT’S HAPPENING. SO WHILE LAWMAKERS ON CAPITOL HILL CONSIDER ACTION TO HELP WITH REBUILDING, THE WHITE HOUSE IS DOLING OUT MORE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP THOSE IMPACTED. A WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL SAYS MORE THAN 24,000 PEOPLE HAVE REGISTERED FOR THE AID. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS COVERING 100% OF DISASTER RESPONSE COSTS LIKE DEBRIS REMOVAL AND SETTING UP SHELTERS. THE WHITE HOUSE DOES PLAN ON ASKING CONGRESS FOR MORE MONEY AND HELP FEDERAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS ON THE FIREFIGHTING FRONT. FEDERAL AND STATE OFFICIALS ARE ALSO PROMISING ACTION TO FAST TRACK REBUILDING, SUSPENDING REGULATIONS AND WORKING WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES TO HELP PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES. INSURANCE CARRIERS. WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY TO HELP FIND WAYS TO TO KEEP THIS REALLY VALUABLE RESOURCE IN PLACE FOR SO MANY FAMILIES. THERE CAN’T BE A BLANK CHECK ON THIS, HOWEVER, BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AS REBUILDING OCCURS, AS THINGS GO ON IN CALIFORNIA, THEY HAVE TO BE RESILIENT SO THAT THESE SORTS OF THINGS CAN’T HAPPEN AGAIN. AND THE POLICIES OF THE LIBERAL ADMINISTRATION OUT THERE, I BELIEVE, HAVE MADE THESE FIRES WORSE. PRESIDENT BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS HAVE BEEN RECEIVING DAILY BRIEFINGS AND HOLDING MEETINGS TO COORDINATE THAT FEDERAL RESPONSE. DEIRDRE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. MEANWHILE, PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP HAS RECEIVED HIS SECOND INVITATION THIS WEEKEND TO VISIT CALIFORNIA’S WILDFIRE VICTIMS. THE L.A. COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CHAIR KATHRYN BARGER WROTE AN OPEN LETTER TO THE INCOMING PRESIDENT IMPLORING HIM TO STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY. TRUMP ALSO RECEIVED AN INVITATION FROM GOVERNOR NEWSOM ON FRIDAY. THERE HAS BEEN NO WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT. HOWEVER, ON ACCEPTING THOSE INVITATIONS, AND WE’LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES, BOTH ON AIR AND ONLINE, AND OUR APP. MAKE SURE TO TURN ON PUSH ALERTS TO GET THE LATEST INFORMATION. NOW, IF YOU DO WANT TO HELP THE FIRE VICTIMS, YOU CAN SCAN THIS QR CODE. IT’S VERY EASY RIGHT THERE ON YOUR SCREEN. BY THE WAY, WE ARE TEAMING UP WITH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS TO HELP PEOPLE IMPACTED BY THE WILDFIRES. YOUR DONATION WILL SUPPORT THE VICTIM
As the fire roared down a hillside toward their Altadena home, Vanessa Prata and her parents hurried to pack their car. They focused on saving irreplaceable items, like family photographs and a baby doll from Vanessa’s childhood.But they didn’t leave.Instead, the Pratas have remained in their family home of 27 years, which is somehow still standing amid widespread devastation from the Los Angeles wildfires, even as homes just over a block away burned. And as residents who did flee are kept away by police or military barricades, Prata and her dad have taken it upon themselves to check on their neighbors’ homes.“They’re sitting in these shelters. They’re not sure whether their house survived or didn’t survive,” Prata said. “Once you know what the situation is, you have an ability to regroup and see what you’re going to do moving forward.”The fires raging around Los Angeles have consumed an area larger than San Francisco. Tens of thousands of people are under evacuation orders. Since the fires first began Tuesday, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and some vehicles, and killed at least 24 people. The White House said Saturday that the Department of Defense is making its nearby bases available for emergency shelter, including more than 1,000 available beds.Prata, a 25-year-old nursing student, had stopped at a hardware store on her way home from dinner Tuesday night when she saw the flames approaching the home she shares with her parents, two cats and a dog. She called her dad, then rushed home as many other people headed the other direction to evacuate.At the house, the Pratas frantically packed, in the dark once the power went out. But Vanessa’s father, Aluizio Prata, who teaches electrical and computer engineering at the University of Southern California, didn’t want to go. He didn’t think the fire would reach them, but if it did, he wanted to stay and help fight it.They spent much of the night at a home up the street, carrying buckets of water, spraying the yard with a hose and stomping out embers before they spread in the powerful wind gusts.As the toll from the wildfires became clear, Vanessa Prata saw many people doing what they could to help those who lost their homes. They were donating food, clothing, household goods and pet supplies. Taco trucks from Los Angeles were offering free meals.Prata remained home, with her family occasionally running a borrowed generator to check the news and keep the freezer cold. She wanted to help, too. But there was little she could do from behind the barricade. If she left her neighborhood, she wouldn’t be allowed back.So on Friday morning, Prata posted to an Altadena community group on Facebook, offering the one thing she could think of that would help.“We are more than happy to drive around and take a picture for any person who would like to see their home or, God forbid, what is left of their home,” she wrote.The requests came pouring in — as many as 45 by Saturday morning. She and her dad set out on Friday, checking addresses written in a small notebook. They slowly make their way past fallen trees, downed wires and the husks of burned out cars.Of more than two dozen homes they visited Friday and Saturday, fewer than half were still standing. At the end of a cul-de-sac, reached only after getting out of the car and walking past fallen trees and utility poles, the ruins of one home were still smoldering. One person whose house burned sent her a photo of what it had looked like before the fire.“Those are devastating, when you get to the person’s house and it’s gone and you know that you’re the one who’s going to break the news,” she said. “You’re looking at the burnt ashes and then they send (a photo of) the house, how beautiful it was prior. And it’s, there’s no, there’s no words. You just say, you know, ‘I’m sorry. I wish there was more that I could do for you.’”But her training as a nurse made her a good candidate for that work, she said.“I’m not new to people crying, people passing away in front of me,” she said. “I have an ability to be able to handle it.”And she is gratified to be part of the community effort. So many volunteers showed up to help at nearby donation centers Saturday that some were being turned away.“Everyone is pitching in and doing what they can,” Prata said. “It’s overwhelmingly beautiful to see.”
As the fire roared down a hillside toward their Altadena home, Vanessa Prata and her parents hurried to pack their car. They focused on saving irreplaceable items, like family photographs and a baby doll from Vanessa’s childhood.
But they didn’t leave.
Instead, the Pratas have remained in their family home of 27 years, which is somehow still standing amid widespread devastation from the Los Angeles wildfires, even as homes just over a block away burned. And as residents who did flee are kept away by police or military barricades, Prata and her dad have taken it upon themselves to check on their neighbors’ homes.
“They’re sitting in these shelters. They’re not sure whether their house survived or didn’t survive,” Prata said. “Once you know what the situation is, you have an ability to regroup and see what you’re going to do moving forward.”
The fires raging around Los Angeles have consumed an area larger than San Francisco. Tens of thousands of people are under evacuation orders. Since the fires first began Tuesday, they have burned more than 12,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and some vehicles, and killed at least 24 people. The White House said Saturday that the Department of Defense is making its nearby bases available for emergency shelter, including more than 1,000 available beds.
Prata, a 25-year-old nursing student, had stopped at a hardware store on her way home from dinner Tuesday night when she saw the flames approaching the home she shares with her parents, two cats and a dog. She called her dad, then rushed home as many other people headed the other direction to evacuate.
At the house, the Pratas frantically packed, in the dark once the power went out. But Vanessa’s father, Aluizio Prata, who teaches electrical and computer engineering at the University of Southern California, didn’t want to go. He didn’t think the fire would reach them, but if it did, he wanted to stay and help fight it.
They spent much of the night at a home up the street, carrying buckets of water, spraying the yard with a hose and stomping out embers before they spread in the powerful wind gusts.
As the toll from the wildfires became clear, Vanessa Prata saw many people doing what they could to help those who lost their homes. They were donating food, clothing, household goods and pet supplies. Taco trucks from Los Angeles were offering free meals.
Prata remained home, with her family occasionally running a borrowed generator to check the news and keep the freezer cold. She wanted to help, too. But there was little she could do from behind the barricade. If she left her neighborhood, she wouldn’t be allowed back.
So on Friday morning, Prata posted to an Altadena community group on Facebook, offering the one thing she could think of that would help.
“We are more than happy to drive around and take a picture for any person who would like to see their home or, God forbid, what is left of their home,” she wrote.
The requests came pouring in — as many as 45 by Saturday morning. She and her dad set out on Friday, checking addresses written in a small notebook. They slowly make their way past fallen trees, downed wires and the husks of burned out cars.
Of more than two dozen homes they visited Friday and Saturday, fewer than half were still standing. At the end of a cul-de-sac, reached only after getting out of the car and walking past fallen trees and utility poles, the ruins of one home were still smoldering. One person whose house burned sent her a photo of what it had looked like before the fire.
“Those are devastating, when you get to the person’s house and it’s gone and you know that you’re the one who’s going to break the news,” she said. “You’re looking at the burnt ashes and then they send (a photo of) the house, how beautiful it was prior. And it’s, there’s no, there’s no words. You just say, you know, ‘I’m sorry. I wish there was more that I could do for you.’”
But her training as a nurse made her a good candidate for that work, she said.
“I’m not new to people crying, people passing away in front of me,” she said. “I have an ability to be able to handle it.”
And she is gratified to be part of the community effort. So many volunteers showed up to help at nearby donation centers Saturday that some were being turned away.
“Everyone is pitching in and doing what they can,” Prata said. “It’s overwhelmingly beautiful to see.”
