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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

At Least 11 Killed In Massive Los Angeles County Wildfires; Newsom Requests Probe Into L.A. Water Supply During Wildfires; 11 Dead, Thousands Of Structures Damaged With Wildfires Still Blazing. Aired: 8-9p ET

Aired January 10, 2025 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ROBERT LARA, HOME DESTROYED BY LA FIRES: Who do we call? I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, those three families did apply for assistance through FEMA, and we were actually interviewing them when they got this response. All three of them got the same response, the housing assistance and personal property had "not approved by FEMA."

Now, FEMA has been telling CNN that that's not an unusual response and a lot of times the first time around people aren't able to fill out those forms correctly but the people living in this, they say perhaps, FEMA needs to make this bureaucracy for victims a little bit simpler -- Erin.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Yes, all right. Kyung, thank you so very much. And thanks so much to all of you for being with us. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:56]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": And good evening, we are coming to you yet again tonight from a staging area along by the Pacific Palisades, along the Pacific Coast Highway, where law enforcement officers, firefighters and others, some National Guard members now, the National Guard has been called in, there are some here on the ground are all using this as a staging ground for battling the Palisades fire, which is one of the two biggest fires which are still about 10 percent or so contained. There is a lot of work being done.

You can see just over the hill right here and I'm told it's some distance over that ridge. There is another fire that has really sent off a lot of smoke into the air just over the last 30 or so minutes. It is incredibly active. We spent the day out in Topanga Canyon and a number of areas, and were going to show you that in a moment.

The official death toll now stands at 11. That's up from seven at this time last night and obviously that number is expected to rise as well. Some 30,000 acres have burned in all. There's a lot of concern.

Today, there was some good news, which was the winds had died down or were relatively calm. There is a lot of concern about what happens this weekend, particularly Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. It's expected that the winds are really going to pick up. We have a lot of reports to show you in the hour ahead tonight. I want to begin with what we have spent the day doing just up in Topanga Canyon, driving around with fire crews.

We came upon a community called Fernwood and we saw more aerial assets being brought to bear fighting, trying to put out these spot fires in that area. It was extraordinary to witness. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice over): In the mountains of Topanga, the battle rages on. By air and on land, firefighters are trying to save the community of Fernwood.

COOPER (on camera): They've been hitting this fire here in Topanga with a number of aerial assets. Fixed wing aircraft, there was a large one, there was a smaller fixed wing aircraft. They just dropped fire retardant on it. That's what the reddish pink color is.

They've also brought in helicopters that have been dropping water on this spot as well. They have a lot of assets in this area on the ground. They're also putting water on it from fire trucks down there. But this is a spot that they are focusing on right now.

COOPER (voice over): One after another, choppers move in. They sound an alarm to let anyone on the ground know water is coming.

COOPER (on camera): You can hear the sound, kind of a siren going. That's the warning that they're about to drop water. This is probably the, I don't know, the fifth or sixth water drop we have seen just over the last ten minutes, I'd say.

They're devoting a lot of resources trying to trying to nip this in the bud. It looks like from this vantage point, I'm told it is likely a structure fire. You can tell because of the black smoke.

COOPER (voice over): New fires pop up all the time. There's one also in the distance near Entrada.

COOPER (on camera): It looks like from this vantage point that there now may be another issue, another fire over this ridge. You can see the dark smoke rising from there as well. So, there's a fire that they believe is a structure down off to the right.

And then, over that ridge, it looks like there is now another fire to deal with. And obviously, on the horizon you can see some other smoke trails as well.

So, they are trying to save this community. That is where the battle has been joined. A lot of air assets, trucks on the ground, fixed wing aircraft like this.

Wow, I mean it's extraordinary to be standing here and feel the power of that aircraft go right over you and watch it just swoop down so low. This is rare, you see an aircraft swooping that close to houses. [20:05:42]

COOPER (voice over): We watched three choppers drop their loads in quick succession. It's a sign of how vulnerable this neighborhood is. On Medley Lane in Fernwood, we find James Larson, a firefighter from Orange County. He's been doing this for 30 years.

JAMES LARSON, ORANGE COUNTY FIREFIGHTER: Right now, we're setting up a defensive stance. There's some fire coming up the ridge here. We're protecting these properties. Of course, our main priority is life safety for not only the citizens here but for the firefighters.

COOPER (voice over): Nearly everyone who lives here has evacuated, but Adam Weber and some others have come back to try to save their homes.

COOPER (on camera): What is it like for you to see this? I mean --

ADAM WEBER, RESIDENT: It hasn't hit yet. It's a very surreal and devastating to watch and at the same time, I have so much respect for the fire and really taking in the medicine of what's happening. It's a moment I've never experienced before in my life. It feels like LA is having its 9/11 moment.

COOPER (voice over): Firefighters will likely stay here all night. The situation changes with the wind. As we leave, we notice a new fire is now raging on a distant mountain. There is no end in sight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And that new fire that we saw on that far mountain, I can't tell if it's the same fire that we are now seeing over there, or if this is a different one. There are just spot fires still going, popping up, and that crew that you saw up there, they are probably going to stay in Fernwood overnight and sleep there. If they can get some sleep, if not able to be relieved by another group. They need to have people.

There are people pre-positioned because they know the wind just keeps changing. And if the wind change, and particularly this weekend, that's why I keep talking about these big concern, they need to have the crews pre-positioned there. Because just to get up to some of these communities, in small communities like Fernwood, you know, it takes a while.

These roads are very windy. They're difficult, especially for big vehicles. When we left, they were bringing in a bulldozer. It's just remarkable. I just can't get over how many, how much water were able to drop from the air today because the winds had died down. They were really getting able to get those aircraft in there.

I want you to meet Richard Jennings and his son, Alex. They have battled to save their home in the Pacific Palisades. Richard and Alex, I appreciate you guys joining us. Can you just talk about what you both have been through to save your home?

RICHARD JENNINGS, RESIDENT: Yes look, Anderson, thank you for having us on tonight. It's not just us, our entire community is working to try to save a small group of about 80 houses that are up off of Palisades Drive.

And, you know, for us, it's a very emotional piece. We personally went up there, and I have to say, if not for my son urging us to go, I don't know that we would have had a house today.

ALEX JENNINGS, RESIDENT: I mean, we wouldn't have been able to forgive ourselves and live knowing that there was a chance to save our house and we didn't go for it. So, I just said, let's go up there and try. And that's what we did. We fought for our community and our home.

COOPER: And we're showing a video of some of your efforts. You guys, you did, all night long, you were doing this.

R. JENNINGS: Yes, we got there about nine and we stayed till 5:30 in the morning. It's a tough situation up there. You know, the firefighters are -- there's not as many of them given all the fires around the city.

The fire hydrants were running out of water. And we just thought, let's go up and use our pool water. Let's use everything that we can to fight this. The video that you're seeing now is us trying to take care of our neighbors pool house. It sits between our two homes, and we knew that if we could just get that out and stop that fire, we could, you know, potentially save our two homes and maybe save others in the community.

So, we were really fortunate. We took on five small brush fires that were above our house on the hills. We had the help of one of the LA firefighting teams that came help put out that structure that was near the home.

And now, after we left at three in the morning, exhausted, you see photos of the other neighbors coming up and just continuing the work, throwing buckets, you know, down the hill, walking up with the next and just drenching every small fire. It's been an effort of all of the community coming together to try to fight this thing and I just wish we could be up there now.

You know, Anderson, it's really tough. But if I could ask for three things, I just wish one we could, you know, all get back to our homes and help those firefighters, take this on. I know that we've got to leave those serious firefighting to the professionals but when it comes to brush fires or embers, we can help.

[20:10:28]

Two, I'd love to see the public services like, you know, water and power be turned back on for those residents who do want to be there to try to save their homes and maybe three for the people who just can't be there to fight the fires and help the people. There's been so many people in our community who've lost their homes, who've lost everything, help them. Help them find a way through this tragedy.

COOPER: Richard, let me ask you, your neighbors, did you know all of your neighbors before this? I'm wondering. I mean, are these people you've known or are some of these people you didn't necessarily know, but they just saw you guys in need and did what they could.

R. JENNINGS: You know, I think we have a very special community that has an annual block party and gets to know many of the people in the neighborhood. But, you know, with 80 homes, you can never know everyone. And what I know is that right now, the people that are out there are putting out fires, the people's homes that they don't even know who it is. They're just looking to help anyone and everyone in that community to try to save as many homes as we can.

We know we've already lost some, and were really saddened for those families who couldn't be saved or whose homes couldn't be saved.

But were truly doing everything we can for the ones that are still there. And I think together we can try to control this.

COOPER: It's so -- I mean, Alex and Richard, what you did, you know, putting out these little tiny fires. I mean, with buckets. It's just incredible. But it may seem futile, but it's really not. I mean, you put out one little spot fire that can prevent some embers from going and hitting the roof and then spreading to the roof.

So, I mean, there's a lot of people can do if they have access to water.

R. JENNINGS: Absolutely, and we had to get creative. Look, we were using pool water and pool pumps and putting a pool pump together with a garden hose and a car sprayer that's meant for, you know, washing your car.

We made a makeshift fire hose and we took on all the fires that we could on the hill. You can see a few of the photos there.

The first night we got there, it was really bad. There were five fires that really we fought them for hours and, you know, at one point, one of our neighbors, Jesse, came from top. We were fighting that fire that you see on the retaining walls of these hills and he came over the top and just started dumping buckets. And without him, I don't know if we would have gotten that one under control.

COOPER: Wow, well, Richard and Alex, I'm so sorry, we're talking in these circumstances, and I'm just glad you guys are okay. And it's incredible to see what you and your neighbors were able to accomplish and I know you said you want to get back there. You want to pitch in and there's others who are up there.

Thank you so much. I wish you the best. I hope you get there soon. I appreciate it, you take care.

I want to go to Bill Weir, who has spent the day in another community. Let's take a look at what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIRO SERRELL FREED, FORMER FOREST SERVICE FIREFIGHTER: This tree, like the fire, came right up to the property.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

FREED: Like that tree torched out.

WEIR (voice over): For the last five years, Miro Serrell Freed was a hotshot putting out wild land blazes around Southern California. And all the while, he knew his own home atop a Sierra Madre ridge was a ripe fire target.

FREED: I've been doing, like, fuel reduction and defensible space, so I've been, like, lifting all the trees and, like, cutting everything back. So, in case a fire does happen, it can't get up into the trees and, like, torch out the building.

WEIR (on camera): And that paid off.

FREED: It paid off, if I didn't do that, this would have all this would have been gone.

WEIR (on camera): Right.

WEIR (voice over): But he never imagined he'd have to defend his own neighborhood from a moving hellscape with a garden hose and a chainsaw. He says that during repeated trips over multiple days, he had to beg for help from passing fire crews and even evade a police barricade.

FREED: Told me I looked tired and I should go find somewhere to sleep, and then threatened to put me in the cop car. So, I know Sierra Madre. I know another way to get in. So, I snuck back up here and put out a bunch of fires and saved four or five homes from burning.

WEIR (voice over): When fire crews from Arizona finally arrived, Miro found himself in command.

FREED: I've been, like, telling them what's going on and, like, telling them what to do. It's been crazy. Like, I'm not even paid for this. Like I always said, for the Forest Service, I like to do it, not for the money. It's like a great way to be outside and give service. But I never thought I'd be doing this (bleep) for free. Like its insane. Insane.

WEIR (ON CAMERA): Do you feel like you're in the clear yet? I mean, can you even relax?

[20:15:07]

FREED: Here we're fine. There's going to be another wind event. But the damage has been done. Like, everything is burnt and there's nothing left to burn, yes.

WEIR (ON CAMERA): What does that feel like? Have you been able to process that yet in terms of --

FREED: Yes, last night. I was up here by myself and, like, the lights were out and I was just crying. Just, we drove through, went by my Dad's house and we we're just crying the entire time. And just, yes, I called a couple of my crew members that I worked with, that are laid off and, yes, I just cried to them and yes, it's unreal, it's crazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And Bill Weir joins us now. Bill, it's just remarkable the efforts people have been able to, I mean, have gone through and some of them very successfully.

WEIR (on camera): Yes, you're hearing these stories where its literally blood, sweat, tears, luck that determines the fate of an entire neighborhood. Here's Miro's house over here. He, by the way, has left the hot shot. He's going to go into private business helping people defend their homes against wildfires, he tells me. And he's actually got some help, now. We've got a CalFire crew down in the brush.

Look at this work. The sun is going down, and these folks, men and women down here clearing this just to make doubly sure that they're in the clear up here in this part of Sierra Madre.

But for every house that burned, what is 10,000 structures, Anderson. There are so many stories of people who tried to save their places to varying success. But now the psychological toll of what comes next when the other half of your neighborhood is gone.

COOPER: Yes, Bill, you've seen this firsthand. I mean, it's crazy how much it's the vagaries of the wind determining where these crews have to go, where they have to then shift resources. It is like a whack-a- mole. It's exhausting for these crews.

WEIR: Yes, absolutely, and for Los Angelenos, for Southern Californians, both the new transplants. You don't know how this wildfire thing works and for people who've been here forever and think they know wildfire. I'm hearing again and again from people like I'm a fourth generation. I've never seen anything like this. It surprised us. It moved so fast.

So, this is sort of real time survival of the fittest, adapting to these new conditions on this overheating planet of ours right now. But it's evident that the systems that are in place right now aren't going to cut it, if this is a new normal.

COOPER: Yes, Bill Weir, appreciate it, thanks very much.

To that point, Governor Gavin Newsom today was saying that he wants to see an independent investigation about the water issues.

I talked to him about that, actually about two days ago, in the midst of the Altadena Fire. I'll show you what he said about it then, and we'll talk about what he's calling for now. We're going to take a short break. A lot more ahead.

We're going to hear from more homeowners, from firefighters. Amanda Gorman is going to be joining us as well. The poet with a poem about what is going on here. This is Los Angeles is where she is from. We'll be right back with a lot more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:22:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I'm told by a firefighter, depending on the wind, it's very possible if that house, if flames jump to other houses or to shrubbery around there, that fire could very easily come up this mountainside and just go through all of this.

I mean, you see all this vegetation here. It could just move up here. Again, so much depends on the winds. They have died down today over the last several hours since this morning and that's certainly good news. But this is an area of real concern and there's a lot of firefighters devoted to this area right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And that's the small community of Fernwood in Topanga. And a couple of people who had evacuated, Adam Weber was one of them. We met there. He has come back. Others have come back, and they're trying to help fire crews by essentially spotting and sending out information about what they are seeing.

I'm with Captain Sheila Kelliher. You and I have been talking every night. You were in this parking lot the first night you had to evacuate. I just first of all, want to ask you about this. I mean, this looks like a pretty big fire that is now happening over --

SHEILA KELLIHER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT, CAPTAIN: There's a pretty big flare up, you were there today. That was right at Fernwood and as you go up a little bit further Entrada. So, that's all part of that Topanga Canyon area. They did a really great job inserting crews over there and getting dozer line around it, because their goal is to really protect those homes up by Fernwood.

So, which is good. So, they are accomplishing that goal. But we're not out of the woods yet. This wind you can feel is laying down a little bit. So, we have a little time to get the upper hand before the winds kick back up later this weekend.

COOPER: I was so impressed by just watching the operations around Fernwood today. I mean, this is a community we're talking maybe, I don't know, 10 to 15 homes, it is hard to tell. There must have been 30 airdrops of retardant and water that that I saw, maybe 25 that I actually physically saw.

KELLIHER: That air attack is so critical for us, and especially with the retardant. That's what really stopped that fire in Calabasas the night before. So it didn't get into the homes. So, them doing that is really keeping it away from the community for when there's a lot of homes up in that hills, there's a lot of assets up there. So pushing it that way, the air support is critical. COOPER: Yes, Medley Lane, the Medley Loop was the area that that we were on with, with the homes that we saw. Just big picture, you know, how concerned are you about what's going to happen this weekend with the winds?

KELLIHER: If we do what were supposed to be doing, we keep working through the night and the weather is cooperating right now. I think we can really make some headway. And then we're just dealing with normal red flag conditions, which is totally different than the monstrosity that we've been dealing with.

We have all the units in place. We've got over 3,000 firefighters on this fire. We.ve got over 350 engines, 54 crew busses, helicopters, dozers. We've got the world out here working on this.

So with that said, everybody's pre-positioned. So, we're in a great place to really do everything that we can.

[20:25:05]

COOPER: Yes, I appreciate all your efforts, that's really good. Thank you.

I want you to meet Chris Maddox and Thomas Keleher. I'm sorry. Thomas Renaud and Chris Maddox. Guys I'm sorry. Chris Renaud, a little bit sleepy. I apologize.

First of all, how are you guys doing? You decided to evacuate from your place in Altadena. For viewers who are watching, two days ago, we were in Altadena when it was just completely decimated. You evacuated early. What made you decide? When did you realize you should get out?

CHRIS MADDOX, LOST ALTADENA HOME IN FIRE: Pretty early, I mean, what happened was we knew it was going to be a weird day. There was the Santa Ana Winds were blowing through and our friends Chris and Elizabeth from down the road called us, saying there was a fire in Eaton Canyon, and they needed to evacuate. They came over and so, we realized that, we'll, we're safe. You know, we don't have an evacuation notice in our area, but then we could see a fire growing along the ridge coming toward us from our front porch.

And so we decided what to do, and so, we packed our bag, because they had offered us to go with them to their son's school. Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark. And so we, you know, got the deed to the house. We got passports, and I packed a pair of jeans and that was it because we thought, you know what, we'll be back tomorrow.

THOMAS RENAUD, LOST ALTADENA HOME IN FIRE: Yes. We weren't really expecting the fire that we were seeing on the ridge two and a half miles away to even sweep into our part of town. It wasn't really until the next morning when we woke up and we we're looking at this watch TV app, which tracks all of the fires in the area. We realized that the evacuation warnings had extended into our neighborhood, into most of Pasadena and La Canada, and we realized, well, maybe this is a little bit worse than we originally anticipated.

You know, and then --

COOPER: And we have some before and after pictures. I mean, it's extraordinary -- it's horrific to see this. But what you said, I think is so important, a lot of people in Altadena, I mean, its unprecedented. There was not the expectation that this Eaton Fire which is happening, you know, a mile or two away that that embers of it would come and ignite fires in Altadena.

MADDOX: No, the wind was blowing east and so not west. And so, we thought we would be settling in for the night. We just left because, you know, why not? You know, Moorpark is far away and then Thomas ended up, you know, coming back and checking in on the house the next day.

RENAUD: It was, you know, we had some word from our friend's house that they were fine and they wanted to get back to the neighborhood to try to pull some more things out. So, I offered to drive them in, really wanting to check on our house as well and you know, I left them at theirs while they did their thing.

And as I was making my way through the neighborhood, I realized the closer we got or the closer I got to the house, just everything around was in flames or in ashes. And when I rounded the corner to our block and just saw the devastation, it was really just heartbreaking.

Like, you know, and it's not just us, you know, it's our entire community is leveled, you know, and it's -- Altadena is a working class community filled with artists and public servants and musicians and writers, and you know, I think we focus so much on celebrities and these mansions and people that have lost their homes in the Palisades. And all of that is terrible. But there is a huge community of working class Americans that have lost everything where we are and it's really terrible.

MADDOX: And this is not just a house, you know, this is a home that, you know, I saved my life savings as a TV and film writer to purchase. And, you know, we had Thomas' grandmother's artwork hanging on the walls, my grandfather's ashes on the mantelpiece and, when he called me telling me that the house was burned down, to realize all of that is just gone. And we have nothing, we left with nothing, no keepsakes.

You know, we have pool parties every year. Our house was a refuge for all of our artist, writer, actor, you know, ceramic friends and to see that it's no longer there. It's just -- it's literally devastating.

RENAUD: Yes.

COOPER: Yes, I mean, seeing these side by side images. Thomas and Chris, I'm so sorry for all you guys have been through. And I wish you continued strength in the days ahead and so many in your neighborhood, as you said, it's just --

We saw it ourselves. We saw it was happening. It's just devastating. I appreciate you being with us. Thank you.

We're going to take a short break. We'll have more from the fire lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:34:05]

COOPER: And welcome back to our continuing coverage. Governor Gavin Newsom, as I mentioned, has called for an independent investigation into the water issue. Obviously, as you know, in the Palisades, firefighters reported that the hydrants went dry when we were in Altadena.

Even there, the block I was on, at least, I don't know about the whole neighborhood, the block I was on the captain of the firefighter, I was talking to a captain, said that their hydrant had just gone dry about two minutes before I started talking to him.

I want to play for you what -- when I spoke with Governor Newsom at the Altadena fire, he was going out with fire crews, we met up with him, I asked him about the water issue, and he seemed to indicate he thought it was a local issue. Let's play what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: What is the situation with the water? Obviously, in the Palisades, it ran out last night in the hydrants. I was talking to the firefighter on this block, they left because there was no water in the hydrant here.

[20:35:00]

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: Local folks are trying to figure that out. I mean, just when you have a system where it's not dissimilar to what we've seen in other extraordinarily large-scale fires, whether it be pipe, electricity, or whether it just be the complete overwhelm of the system. I mean, those hydrants are typical for two or three fires, maybe one fire, you have something at this scale. But again, that's going to be determined by the local.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Certainly, that has, you know, this is a big focus for a lot of people here. There's a lot of anger about this, a lot of questions about it. How could this happen? How can it be fixed? How can we make sure it never happens again?

So he's -- the governor is now saying he wants an independent investigation into it. Nick Watt has more on that.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Anderson, the governor wants to know what went wrong. I can tell you a little bit of what went wrong here in the Palisades is that the pipes here in the Palisades are at the end of the city water system. They're slightly narrower, less pressure. So they have tanks in the hills, three million gallons that are supposed to help keep the pressure high.

But, you know, I've spoken to some experts in this field, Anderson, and they say however much, if you had 10 million gallons in those tanks, you weren't going to be able to keep up with the demand from the firefighters just trying to keep this fire under control. So he's going to ask questions. Hopefully we'll get some answers.

You know, as you mentioned, a lot of people are getting a bit angry and one of them is the L.A. City fire chief. She -- Chief Crowley, was pulling no punches today. She said, listen, now, between 2010 and now, we're dealing with 50 percent more calls, but we have fewer firefighters.

She says they've got 100 pieces of crucial equipment in the shop right now because they don't have enough mechanics. She said they need 60 more fire stations. She said that we -- we just cannot sustain this.

But the other thing she said that was interesting, Anderson, was she said, even if we had 100 more engines, we were never going to catch this Palisades fire. It was just too brutal.

COOPER: Yes. Yes, I saw her interview with Jake Tapper. It was fascinating. I mean, she was being very blunt about, you know, what --

WATT: Yes.

COOPER: -- she was saying was directly seemed to contradict what the mayor, Karen Bass and said when she returned from her trip to Ghana at a press conference where she was saying that the budget cut did not impact their ability to fight the fire. The fire chief was saying it did impact, right?

WATT: Yes. Absolutely. She directly contradicted. She said, absolutely, yes. Those budget cuts to overtime and to civilian employees. You know, the other thing that she said is that, you know, brush, as you and I've been talking about for days now, is key. That's the fuel. So, you know, around here, it's mandated that you cut brush back from -- from buildings so that buildings don't catch fire.

Chief Crowley said that their budget just hasn't been big enough for them to send the people out to inspect the brush to make sure that people are actually cutting it back. Yes, I mean, she was pulling zero, zero punches.

COOPER: Yes, a lot of questions to be answered. Appreciate it. Jennifer and Marcus Errico are joining me now. Both of you understand you feel you saw the beginnings of the -- what became the Eaton fire. Can you just talk about what it was you saw when you saw it?

MARCUS ERRICO, SPOTTED EATON FIRE: Yes, I came home early from work. I work on the west side and I left early because Jen said that the winds were really picking up and it was about 10 after six when I pulled off the 210 Freeway onto Altadena Drive, which leads right up to our house. We're right against Eaton Canyon.

And as I was driving up, I saw a glow in the hillside right above our house. And given everything we've been through with the Bobcat fire in 2020 and knowing what was going on in the Palisades, I was really concerned. I just kept my eyes focused on that. And as I got closer, I could see right across from us on the hillside in Eaton Canyon, there are a series of transformer towers with power lines stretching up into the mountains. And at the base of one, there was just a small ring of flames around the whole base. And I knew with the way the wind was whipping that I needed to get -- get home right away.

So about 6:15, I pulled into our house into the garage. And I ran into the door and I said, Jen, there's a fire on the hill. We got to go. And that's when Jen leapt into action.

JENNIFER ERRICO, SPOTTED EATON FIRE: Yes, I mean, I just called 911. They said they had just started receiving calls. And then we grabbed our go boxes and we rang every doorbell on our street. And within 15 minutes, there were five fire trucks in our neighborhood and we were all gone and evacuated.

And then obviously --

COOPER: I mean, first of all, it says a lot about you that you -- it says a lot about you that you took the time to ring other doorbells on your street to -- to warn everybody.

[20:40:07]

I know that the power company has not made any comments about that, the images we were showing about the idea that that is where it began. And obviously there's investigations going on.

But you -- you believe that that is the first -- the first fire that ultimately created the Eden fire. Yes?

M. ERRICO: I -- I can't say definitively that it was the power lines that caused it. But I can say definitively that the first fire in Pasadena, Altadena. Eaton Canyon is right on the edge of Altadena and Pasadena. That's where the fire began. It was under that tower on -- on Tuesday night. It was it began as a small little blaze underneath and within 10 minutes, the whole hillside was engulfed in the fire --

COOPER: Wow.

M. ERRICO: -- was just channeling right down the canyon in our backyard.

COOPER: Yes, well, that's -- that's incredible. How is -- is your house?

J. ERRICO: I mean, it's still there and we can't believe it. But the devastation is just -- it's just too much to bear.

M. ERRICO: Yes, we -- we -- we pulled out of our driveway Tuesday night. We backed out -- we backed out around the fire engine that was parked basically in a perpendicular to our drive. They were laying hoses into our -- into our backyard, into our neighbor's yards. There was a crew in our backyard pointing their -- their hoses into the canyon as the flames were coming. And when we left that night, we didn't think we'd ever see our house again. And somehow they held it. We're forever grateful to those firefighters that came and responded within minutes. They saved most of our neighborhood in the immediate area, but just a few 100 yards in either direction. It's a moonscape now. COOPER: Yes. Yes. I mean, I saw it myself happen. It was just unbelievable. Jennifer, Marcus, I really appreciate your time tonight. I wish you both the best. We're going to take a short break.

Ashes are actually starting to kind of sprinkle down here, which is why I just now put on -- on my mask. I think it's from -- from the fire that's happening now just over the ridge. We're going to take a short break. We'll have more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:46:50]

COOPER: And welcome back to our continuing coverage. I want you to meet Jessica Rogers, her son Joshua and Elia, her daughter. Talk about what happened to your house.

JESSICA ROGERS, LOST HOME IN PALISADES FIRE: It's to the -- to the ground. My house is gone as well as thousands and thousands and thousands of homes of all of my neighbors.

COOPER: What do you want people to know about what happened here?

ROGERS: It shouldn't have happened. However, here today, I'm bringing a message of hope. I'd like for everybody to remember that what we need to focus on is that the love in our heart lasts forever and it is enduring. And what's amazing about our hearts is they can expand and receive more and they can also give more.

And so today I'm here to deliver that message of hope with hope you can create. We have an opportunity to rebuild. And so regardless of what happened, we can move forward.

COOPER: It's extraordinary that you are saying this and your home is gone. I mean, you have a rock. Explain -- this is -- is this one of the few things you have from your house?

ROGERS: Yes. So I -- we lost everything. Everything burned to the ground. And we love nature and we go on walks and we go to the beach and we do our trails and everything. And -- and we find heart rocks everywhere we go. And so -- yeah.

And so when I wanted to support my children and give them hope, I decided I had to go out. And so I caught -- I got caught at the barrier. I called Chief Batista of Santa Monica and he said, give me a minute. And he put me in touch with the fire chief in Santa Monica who promised me that he would bring back a message of hope for me. And he said, what do you want from your house? I said, I don't know anything. I have -- I have rocks everywhere. And he presented.

He came to me last night at my hotel in Venice and presented me with this rock so that I could give my children hope and remind them that this is a memory of our home that we can cherish forever.

And life goes on and we can rebuild and we can recreate new memories, just like we are right here with you tonight.

COOPER: How are you guys doing, Joshua? How are you?

JOSHUA ROGERS, LOST HOME IN PALISADES FIRE: You know, it's scary and the house is gone. So not great, but.

COOPER: You found something, though, in the wreckage day from your grandfather. Is that right?

ROGERS: Yes, we found a little like, horse dolls, metal horse dolls that were my dad's grandparents.

COOPER: I think I wish you the best. I'm so sorry. We're talking in these circumstances. And, yes, I just -- and I'm so inspired by -- by your -- your optimism when for all rights, you -- you could not be optimistic in this moment.

J. ROGERS: The choice is always choose love. Love is all that we take with us. When we go, you choose love. All we have in this world is the relationships that we create the memories that we're willing to build and create. That's all we take with ourselves. So we're going to build up.

I have more love today than I've ever had before. And I want everybody who's suffering out there from these fires to know that they can choose love. And I know they are because I'm at places with I run into these people and we're sharing love with each other.

[20:50:03]

COOPER: And we're seeing that people reaching out, helping neighbors. I mean, it's been extraordinary what we're seeing. Thank you so much to all of you. We're going to take a short break. Amanda Gorman will join us next. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back coming to you from a staging area in Pacific Palisades, where it is now dark outside. So you can't even see the smoke from a large fire, which is over a ridge. Basically, I'm not sure how much in the distance, but it is really brought a lot of smoke over in this direction. Some ash was falling a short time ago. That seems to have stopped and there's a slight breeze coming off the water, which is why I've removed my net -- my mask.

I want to bring in a poet, Amanda Gorman. You all know who she is.

[20:55:00]

Amanda, you are from Los Angeles, and I know you have written a special poem which you are going to -- which way - - are very excited that you are going to -- to read for us. But before we get to that, I just want to -- I mean, how are you seeing all what is going, seeing the -- this -- the images of the city that -- that you -- that you were, you know, you grew up in. What's been like for you?

AMANDA GORMAN, POET: It's been heart wrenching. I'm actually in New York right now, just by an odd turn of fate. I was here for work, and then I started seeing all the news in Los Angeles, and it's just heartbreaking. I'm a proud Pacific Palisades resident, and so seeing neighborhoods in areas that I love torn to shreds, it's gutting.

COOPER: What -- you've -- what went into, I mean, how did you write this poem that -- that you are going to recite, having -- what -- how do you go about doing that?

GORMAN: Oh, I mean, I let my heart break and I let it pour and I let it bleed. I think I had to write the poem, because I myself. I'm just trying to process what I'm seeing. Since I'm not in the city in person, I was feeling so helpless and so powerless, and so the only thing I felt I could do was to turn to what I always do, which is language.

COOPER: Well, if you are ready, I would love to hear your poem.

GORMAN: All our angels have gone this smoldering dawn. We soldier on. We've proved ourselves strong, not from how badly we've burned, but how bravely we bond. Apocalypse does not mean ruin, but Revelation in devastation, this in furnace has endured us, but it cannot endure us even in the surreal, we do not surrender. We emerge from the embers.

The hardest part is not disaster, but the after. Scorched earth is where the heart hurts, where we restore first, where we start the work. Today we mourn. Tomorrow, reborn, we end the burning. Befriend the hurting. Mend those who face the flame. We reclaim our city's name of revelation that only this place tells to find our angels. All we need do is look within ourselves.

COOPER: To find our angels all we do -- all we must do is look within ourselves. You know, that's beautiful, and I think it's so important. You know, we just had on a woman whose house has been destroyed, and she was speaking about love.

GORMAN: Yes.

COOPER: And, you know, in the -- in this small, little hamlet of Fernwood, earlier today in Topanga, I watched firefighters who are probably sleeping there tonight, if they can sleep at all, work, just constantly trying to save --

GORMAN: Yes.

COOPER: -- a handful of houses on one street, dropping plane after plane and helicopter, helicopter. And there were neighbors there who had evacuated, who came back to try to help out their neighbors. So we have seen that. We have seen the best in people over the last several days. And I think your poem speaks to that, at least that's what I take from it.

GORMAN: Thank you so much.

COOPER: Amanda Gorman, thank you.

GORMAN: Thank you.

COOPER: I wish you the best. You take care.

GORMAN: You too.

COOPER: There is a lot going on right now at this staging area, as I said, the sea is there, the fire is there. The firefighters are here, police officers are here, National Guard members are here. They have been -- have been called in now. There's a lot of -- of trepidation about what may come Saturday afternoon, what may come Sunday morning, in terms of wind, and that's something we're going to be watching very closely. And a lot of people here are going to be watching very closely, because it is all about the wind.

If the wind can stay, if the wind does not pick up over the next several days, it will really allow a lot of air, more air assets, to put fire retardant on the ground, to put water on the ground. So one of the things they were doing up in Fernwood today was -- was there -- they did have a truck up there, just pouring water out onto some structures, and also until the ground all around these structures, so that even if the wind does pick up and the embers do come and the flames spread, there will be enough water soaked into the ground.

And so if the wind can stay as it has been somewhat still today, they can get a lot more water in there onto the ground and get things soaked.

[21:00:03]

So let's just hope that in the next day or two, the winds do not pick up as they are expected to, and that the direction that they do blow is a direction away from -- from these homes. If you want to help people here, go to CNN.com/impact. And you can find -- that's the web address. You can find out all about organizations which are working here. CNN.com/impact.

This Sunday, we'll have a special hour on The Whole Story. It's our documentary series, a special hour devoted to what is going on here and what we are seeing on the ground from including from all our correspondents. There's a lot more ahead tonight.

Kaitlan Collins starts us off right now with The Source.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening.