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Three Wildfires Raging Out of Control in Los Angeles County; Residents Flee as Wildfires Rip Through L.A. Neighborhoods; Trump to Meet With Lawmakers Amid GOP Debate on Strategy. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired January 08, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking right now, apocalyptic conditions across Southern California as crews battle a life threatening firestorm, three wildfires raging in L.A. County from the Hills to the valley, all of them, 0 percent contained and spreading rapidly. Neighborhoods are engulfed, homes wiped off the map, a nursing home had to be evacuated, the state of emergency now in place for tens of thousands of residents.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President-elect Trump heads to Washington, which is already part of the United States. So, what is his next target now for international expansion?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And more big changes coming to Meta. First, they fired the fact checkers. Now, new guidelines that people fear will make it easier to post hate speech on the platform.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: We begin with breaking news. Multiple wildfire emergencies are happening right now in Los Angeles County. Three separate fires rapidly spreading, all of them 0 percent contained, as life threatening winds right now fuel the fire's rage. This morning, firefighters rushing to save lives as officials warn the worst is yet to come.

Tens of thousands of people have been told to evacuate, many racing from their homes against simply apocalyptic conditions. Right now, abandoned cars are being moved by bulldozers as they block smoke- filled streets, many people forced to flee on foot as the flames closed in.

This hour, the Palisades fire is the largest fire burning at the moment, at one point said to be burning about five football fields every single minute. This was a scene just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASMINE VIEL, KCAL REPORTER: We are burning on both sides. This is the high school to my left. The high school is burning the football field, all the hills on Tabasco Canyon. This is right, right past sunset. These are apartment buildings and homes. And, again, this is the Palisades Charter High School. This looks to be the swimming area seems to be fine, but right up the road, I don't know if you can see that we walked right up here, fire trucks are zooming all over because the hills, every side of Temescal is on fire. We had to get out of the El Medio Avenue area, because El Medio, I think I have some video of that or we're trying to turn it around, but El Medio Avenue is also now burning on both sides as embers are being pushed across.

Ow, you see that? You see that gust? That's what -- wow. There we go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: I mean, you can see just how insanely destructive and difficult it is to deal with these particular weather conditions.

And there were some terrifying moments for our CNN crews. Both Nick Watt and Natasha Chen had to race to safety. We will show you more on that soon. But, first, Meteorologist Derek Van Dam standing by and our Stephanie Elam is live for us in the Pacific Palisades at the moment.

We're going to start with you, Stephanie. I see that throughout the morning you've been dealing with this. The fires are burning right behind you. Tell me what you're experiencing.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I have to tell you, Sara, like, you know how many wildfires we have covered through California to -- you know, getting here was the scariest drive I've had to make to a wildfire since I can remember covering wildfires because there are power lines down. It is smoky. It's dark. There are fires burning along the Pacific Coast Highway.

For people who have not been out here, it is some of the most beautiful stretch of highway you could ever imagine. It's also treacherous with some turns and it's right up against this rugged terrain that you find here, Pacific Palisades in Malibu.

And that is why this is so concerning, when you look at what we're seeing behind here. This fire, the Palisades fire is still raging and on top of it, you talk about how fast it's growing, do you see these winds that we're dealing with right now, that just blew that fire up that you're looking at right there, just blew it up.

[07:05:00]

It was burning beforehand. But now you can hear, I don't know if you guys can hear it, but it's almost like a snap crackle pop that is happening back there of everything popping inside of it like popcorn going off inside of that building as this fire has exploded. The alarms have been going off for hours. We've watched another building burn down here. All of this is why tens of thousands of people are evacuated, why they want people to stay away.

And when you talk about those evacuations, take a listen to these two women talking about what it was like getting out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's literally apocalyptic. When we were running down, you could see palm trees, just like random palm trees on fire. So, I'm sure leaves are burning and falling down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got in the car to go. And then all the cars were abandoned. So, I had nowhere to go. So, I just had to get out of my car and start walking. And I've lived in Malibu my whole life and I've seen tons of fires. This is nothing. I was scared for my life. It's terrifying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Completely terrifying. And, you know, she mentioned those palm trees. They're beautiful. We associate them with California, but they're also flamethrowers. Because once that top gets caught up in fire, you know how pliant palm trees are, they can just throw that fire. And in these winds, those embers take off and they could land someplace else and start a fire.

Also worth noting that L.A. County is in a drought here. This is the driest start to the wet season on record, period. We have not had enough rain. In fact, we barely have had any at all. The fact that we are looking at January and dealing with this just shows you how dire of a situation climate change has made this. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes, it's really true. This is the first time you know, you and I have covered so many of these fires and it's the first time I've been afraid for people across L.A County. It's not just in one area. These fires are burning all over. Can you give us a sense of just what it feels like to be out there in the wind, which, as I understand it, we still have 45 hours left to go of this really intense wind that's spreading these flames?

ELAM: First of all, when I woke up this morning, it's because I heard the wind with this morning last night, depending on how you're looking at it. The wind was actually that loud. Then when I walked out of my place, I could smell the fire. That has never happened where I live. So, this shows you that this is a different kind of response.

Waiting to come talk to you, I've been standing here, there's been a couple of gusts that blew me off my feet. So, it feels like you're, you know, we're covering a hurricane, something else we both have done. These winds are no joke. And when I tell you that wind hit that fire, the whole sky lit up with all of the orange of that fire and it's burning brighter.

This is nothing to play with. This is nothing like we've seen before. You hear so many people saying that. And then you've got to keep in mind up inside those communities, they're tight roads, they're very narrow. It is hard to maneuver and get in and around that. You add in fire, you add in all the water from fighting the fires and it is dangerous and treacherous out here.

SIDNER: Stephanie, please stay safe. I know you know how to do that with you and your crew. But thank you for being out there. And we're going to revisit you, because I know these things change so quickly and the possibility of that fire sparking even more fires and more buildings is really, really high at this hour. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also our colleague Natasha Chen, she was reporting all day on the Palisades fire yesterday. And as she and her crew wrapped up for the night, they then discovered that fire had essentially exploded on It's a lot of cars all around them and the route out. You can see this is what they came upon and what they were driving through as they were getting out. They got out safely.

Here's how Natasha described it afterward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We were there from about noon until about just after 6:00 P.M. local time when we had finished our last live shot. And I guess what we hadn't quite surmised was exactly how bad it had gotten south of us on Pacific Coast Highway. And that's the way we came in to get to our spot to cover the fire. And we knew that we had heard reports of the flame jumped the highway, but I guess we had not seen with our own eyes just exactly what that meant and what that looks like for us getting out of there.

So, at the end of the night, you know, we pulled up to a fire truck and kind of waved at a firefighter and said, hey, where do you think is the best way for us to leave to get out of here? He kind of shook his head at us and said, well, I guess you go south. And so that's what we did, pretty quickly realizing that there were flames on both sides of the highway. There were embers flying over the lanes of the highway. I spotted an emergency vehicle and decided our best bet is to just follow that car, to follow right behind him as closely as possible. If he's driving, then he's probably knowing the best way out.

So, as we're driving behind this emergency vehicle, I'm hearing an explosion on my right. There are houses on fire right up against the road on the left.

[07:10:03]

And as I mentioned, embers flying, and so at this point, I'm just holding my breath. And I can feel the heat from inside the car, just watching the embers fly across the windshield. So, not ideal in that kind of -- you know, we get put on a lot of kind of risky assignments. And in this situation, we have to make a calculated risk for the best way to leave. And I think, you know, thankfully, we got out of there and we got a real look at just the level of destruction and really the fear that a lot of those residents might be feeling if they're looking at those images on the news if they've evacuated, I can't imagine they're wondering if their house is the next one on fire if they have anything to go home to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Thankfully Natasha and her crew as we know, got out safely, but unbelievable what was not there when they went in, John, and then what they had to drive by going out.

BERMAN: Let's get right to CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Den to figure out when these conditions might get better. What are we seeing right now, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: John, the next few hours are absolutely critical in West L.A. County. And just going back to what Natasha experienced and what Stephanie was describing with regards to how quickly these fires spread under these types of conditions, the palm trees that are notorious to Southern California, here's one burning out of control. But look at the incredible amount of wind that's not only shaking this vehicle, embers and quickly spreading them across the road, starting and igniting additional what we call spot fires.

This is the moment that the Palisades fire erupted yesterday. And you can see the direction of the wind with the smoke plume just emanating out into the open of the Pacific Ocean. Here's what I'm concerned about as it stands right now, the immediate threat.

You're looking at West L.A. County and the Palisades fire. The area that's burned is right here. You can see some of the topography. These are actually buildings, homes, residents, apartments, businesses. This is a canyon right here. And with the video I showed you just a moment ago, you can imagine the winds whipping up and over these canyons and into the valleys below taking the embers, spreading them and starting additional spot fires. You can see one there. There's another one. That is how quickly and how rapidly that this will spread.

So, what we've got right now is this northerly component to the wind. If we start to see what's called a backing of the wind to more of a north northwest, that would put more of Western L.A. County at threat, so more residential area, more densely populated areas.

There is some relaxing of the winds forecast later this afternoon, but then again with Sta. Ana winds, they will pick up overnight and into tomorrow morning, as we typically see with Sta. Ana wind events, they peak right around the dawn hours. John?

BERMAN: All right, Derek, watching this very closely, as we heard in Stephanie's piece there. It's the sounds that can be the most terrifying. You can hear the wind gusts, you can hear the embers popping. We'll come back to you in a little bit, Derek. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Ahead, President-elect Trump says he has not ruled out using military force to take Greenland and the Panama Canal. How did he suddenly go from isolationist to imperialist?

Plus, a look at exactly what will be allowed on Facebook and Instagram now that the fact checkers are gone.

And much more ahead on those breaking wildfires in California, take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just when you think you know what the fire's going to do, it swirls around and comes behind you. So, it's definitely erratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

BERMAN: All right. We do have breaking news. This is brand new video just in, remarkable footage. You can see the flames raging in the Pacific Palisades. This was captured by a woman on a flight approaching Los Angeles International Airport. And we've got more breaking news just in seconds ago. The mayor of Los Angeles just posted she expects these conditions to get worse. The conditions are expected to get worse over the next several hours.

We've seen remarkable footage of these fires. I hope we see much more. The situation already bad, getting worse. Nick Watt is in the middle of it.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Palisades Village, the heart of Pacific Palisades. This used to be a restaurant. I don't know what that was because there's nothing left. I can't tell what that used to be. But you can feel what the problem is. It's this wind, and the wind is only going to get worse. It's the wind flick -- look at these embers, Chris, look at these embers. Any one of these embers could go and cause a fire somewhere else. Look, we got this, we got another spot fire up here. Just around the corner, an entire apartment building was gone. It's dry vegetation, it's wind. It's a terrible combination.

30,000-plus people evacuated. We have no idea yet how many structures have been lost. But we have been up in the hills, million dollar homes we've seen destroyed. We're down here in the village, apartment buildings, restaurants, destroyed. The question is, just how far is this fire going to go before the wind finally dies down?

Nick Watt, Pacific Palisades, California.

BERMAN: And our thanks to Nick and his team.

Let's get right to Dr. Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. The mayor of Los Angeles -- and we're going to put as many pictures as we can so people can see the conditions in Los Angeles during our conversation.

[07:20:01]

The mayor of Los Angeles just posted that she expects these conditions to get worse. What are you expecting the next several hours?

ARIEL COHEN, METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES: Powerful winds, destructive winds are ongoing right now. We're getting observations showing 70 to 90-mile-per-hour winds over the mountains continuing some of the lower elevations from the San Gabriel Valley all the way to the Malibu coast area, getting 50 to 70- mile-an-hour winds that are going to continue to carry these fires rapidly forward, creating just paths of destruction. And everyone needs to be listening very carefully to emergency notifications, evacuation orders. And when they come, you need to take action, evacuate to save your life.

BERMAN: What population centers are you most concerned about at this minute?

COHEN: Right now, areas from the Pasadena to Altadena area, also westward, throughout the San Gabriel Valley, extending across the San Fernando Valley, and certainly the Sta. Monica mountain range, all the way to the Malibu coast are going to be most susceptible to the most destructive winds. We have multiple fires that are growing explosively under these conditions and will continue to do so. Everyone needs to very calmly and very proactively be preparing. And when the notification comes of an evacuation order, take it seriously. It's a life and death situation.

BERMAN: You say calmly and deliberately, but I feel like I can hear a touch of urgency in your voice. This situation, just how bad is it based on what you've seen historically?

COHEN: This is one of the worst situations that we have ever seen. This is a unique and volatile combination of weather parameters that has come together with some of the most extreme, destructive, life- threatening windstorms that we're getting across the area with bone dry conditions. Everyone needs to be thoughtful, thinking ahead, make sure you're planning, you know where to go, have multiple ways of getting information. And I am pleading with you, if you get the evacuation order coming from local law enforcement and emergency management, take it seriously and evacuate. Your life will depend on it.

BERMAN: Again, at this point we've said 30,000 or so evacuation orders in effect. Do you anticipate there will be more large scale evacuations ordered in the next several hours?

COHEN: These fires are spreading rapidly. They're going to continue to do so. The next few hours are going to be absolutely, extremely critical for rapid fire spread and the potential for expansions of these evacuations is issued by emergency management. Local law enforcement is certainly there for additional areas to be included.

BERMAN: All right. Dr. Ariel Cohen, we appreciate you being with us. I hope people are heeding your warnings, if they can hear us, because I can hear it in your voice. Thank you very much. Saying one of the worst series and sets of conditions he has ever seen these fires growing explosively. Kate?

BOLDUAN: And we're going to have much more on the fires ahead.

Another story that we are watching, keeping a track of today as well, President-elect Donald Trump is headed to Capitol Hill this morning. What's going to happen as the new Republican Senate majority takes over?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SIDNER: Today, President-elect Donald Trump expected to meet with congressional Republicans as they try to figure out how to move forward on his agenda. This is after he made some concerning statements that he has not ruled out military action in his quest to take Greenland and the Panama Canal. GOP lawmakers are in this decision-making process as to whether or not they try to pass this one, as he called it, big, beautiful bill or do something else. That debate is playing out as two more Trump picks will be on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers today.

CNN's Steve Contorno joins us now from West Palm Beach, Florida. He made these comments in this wild press conference that are not on the congressional agenda. What can we expect on the Hill today?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Donald Trump is traveling to Washington, D.C., to attend the funeral of President Jimmy Carter. And while he is there, he will be huddling with Senate Republicans to discuss their ideas for a best path forward to get his agenda done in the first hundred days. And here's what they're going to be discussing, whether it makes sense to break down Trump's agenda into one bill or two bills. And they want to pass it through a complex budgeting mechanism called reconciliation that would not require Democratic votes in order for it to pass.

Now, the question is whether to cram all that into one bill and try to get his border security packages, immigration policies, as well as an extension of the Trump era tax cuts and new tax cuts that he has proposed on overtime wages and tips and social security. Can that all be part of one bill that also would raise the debt ceiling?

So, there's a lot to discuss here. And as I said, they want to try to get this done in a hundred days. But they are looking for some guidance from the incoming president. And Trump is waffling a bit on whether or not he wants one bill or two.

[07:30:02]

Take a listen to what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Well, I like one big, beautiful bill.