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All L.A.-Area Wildfires Zero Percent Contained As High Winds Rage; At Least Two Dead, Many "Significant Injuries" In L.A.-Area Wildfires; Pasadena Fire More Than Triples To 10,000 Plus Acres, Zero Percent Contained; Today: Trump Meets With Senate GOP On Capitol Hill; Trump Won't Rule Out Military Action Against Panama, Greenland; Trump Threatens Land Grabs Of Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired January 08, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:53]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We have breaking news into CNN this hour. We are watching apocalyptic scenes unfolding across Los Angeles County, four separate wildfires rapidly spreading, fueled by brutal tornado- like winds, some as strong as a hundred miles an hour in certain areas. None of these fires at this point have been contained to any degree, all of them zero percent contained.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, because right now firefighters are just rushing to save lives, as many lives as possible, as 10s of thousands of people are racing to evacuate, unsure if they're going to have a home to return to. Dramatic video now showing flames from the Palisades fire erupting in one resident's backyard. This gives you a sense of just how quickly this can happen.

The homeowner actually watched this happen through a security camera while they were away in New York.

And in the meantime, fire officials say the Eaton fire, which is burning near Pasadena, has exploded in size. It's grown to more than 10,000 acres. It's also being blamed for at least two deaths. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is live in Altadena near that fire - the Eaton fire. Julia, give us an update on what you're seeing.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, what we're seeing is these flames engulfing house after house, jumping over streets, it's jumped over highways. Altadena, Pasadena, we're at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest. But we're pretty far down at this point, 20 blocks at least from that wooded area. This is where people live. These are residents.

I want to - I'm going to step out of the shot here so that you can see where that American flag is. That used to be a house in my last live shot that was going up, engulfed by these raging, raging flames. We're seeing car after car being engulfed by flames as well. That is spreading, and that is in part - in great part, because of those hundred-mile-an-hour winds. Like, that is what's helping fueling this fire. Also is a very, very dry summer that we've had here in California.

As the fire spreading through the structures, touches the brush, touches these trees, it will - it just explodes. And we've seen that time and again, these trees that are just so ready for it - so ready to feed this fire and help spread it, both sides of the streets. People here in this community, we've witnessed quite a few of them trying to reach their homes.

I spoke to one family that said, look, we left our dog, and we just want to go back and get him. But we don't know that we can because it's no longer safe. We talked to people who evacuated last night to neighboring areas. Pasadena, this woman says, I left to go to - that is the kind of noise that we keep on hearing. I'm not sure if that is a tire, if that's a tank.

We hear these haunting noises as the air is also thick with the smoke. You can smell the chemicals. You can smell the construction material. It's apocalyptic. It is right, Boris, like that is what it feels like here. And the zero percent containment, that is scary.

And also scary is we have 750 firefighters on this fire. We've seen machines coming from different counties. We know that there are resources coming in from different parts of the country, Arizona. I hear Oregon. But right now, it's just not enough. And firefighters are going from one hot spot to the next just trying to contain this fire, but they have to make tough choices. And, you know, maybe some of those choices are not going to be a single-family home. It's going to be an apartment building. It's going to be a cluster of businesses. It's going to be somewhere that could cause much more damage than just one home.

And so, we're seeing people pleading and coming up to the sheriffs and to the firefighters that are roaming around these streets, pleading with them to get some help to take them to their house. But people are just - these firefighters are so busy.

[15:05:00]

They're working 36, 48-hour shifts just to try and get through this. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, they're trying to save lives at this point in time.

Julia Vargas Jones, thank you for the latest from Altadena, California.

And with us now is Sue Kohl, who evacuated from Pacific Palisades where they're dealing with another fire, the Palisades fire. She is also the president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council.

Sue, thanks for being with us. Can you just tell us a little bit about what it was like evacuating and what the status is right now of your neighborhood? SUE KOHL, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: Well, the status of my neighborhood is that it's pretty much all gone. I live in the village, in an area called the Alphabet Streets. And from the videos and reports that I've had, it's all gone. Typically, these fires start in the hills, and the fire department gets on it, and they usually get it contained. And usually, the flatlands down below consider themselves pretty safe.

In this case, what they're dealing with now, the biggest enemy, are these huge, you know, 50- to 80-mile-an-hour winds. And no matter how many firemen you have, no matter how many people are battling these fires, there's nothing you can do about that. So, the embers and the fire traveled all over town to all of the blocks, to every single neighborhood imaginable.

And we evacuated yesterday as soon as we could, as soon as we got the notification. And we evacuated pretty easily going east out of the Palisades. The people that really got into big trouble are the people that were trying to go west and get to the ocean. They - a lot of them came down a street where there's only one way in and one way out. And that's why the cars got all stuck and people were getting out and walking. And then there was a fire impeding even their walk.

So, it was treacherous for all the people in the western part of town to get out. But I pray that they all did.

KEILAR: Yes, so scary, so do we ...

KOHL: And also ...

KEILAR: No, sorry, go on, Sue.

KOHL: I'm just going to say, I've heard from - now people all over town, churches have burned, all the schools have burned, the markets, the gas stations. So honestly, it's not as if even people can at this point think about, maybe I'll, you know, rebuild and get back in. People are kind of questioning, you know, rebuilding and what to go back to, because it's just so incredibly devastating, more so than anyone's ever seen.

KEILAR: Yes, it's -- so much of it is destroyed. And just the idea for people - I'm from Southern California, south of you, and just for people who are not from that area, the idea that the Pacific Palisades is destroyed to this degree is unfathomable, not the least to residents like yourself. But I'm so glad you were able to evacuate easily.

But you're grappling with the fact that your life has - you know, your place where you've lived, all your memories, where you've been with your friends and neighbors is going up in smoke. How are you dealing with that?

KOHL: Well, it's tough. You know, when we left - you know, you always try and figure out, what do I take, what do I take. Family photo albums, obviously, the dogs, the dog food, you know, medications, got all of that. I really didn't think it was going to be a long-term evacuation. We've evacuated before. But like I said in the past, we've always come back.

So, what I neglected to take really was clothes. So, I think today the focus is going to be on trying to get to a store and buy something to wear. Knowing how to go forward, I don't know, because also I'm a real estate agent. And obviously, you know, our business is going to be pretty much closed down for the near future. At least that's what I think.

The devastation is everywhere. The homes are gone. And I hope the town rebuilds. I know it will. I've heard about people thinking about leaving. But we don't know where we're going to go. We don't know where we're going to be living for the next year or two. It's just hard to know.

We sit, like everyone, watching the news and it's just hard to know. So, one day at a time, I guess. One hour at a time.

KEILAR: Yes, one day at a time for sure. Sue, we're so glad that you're safe. We thank you so much for being with us. We're thinking of you and your family.

[15:10:04]

KOHL: Thank you so much. And I just want to say thank you so much to our LAFD and LAPD officers are absolutely outstanding. What they're going through is unfathomable. And our councilwoman, Traci Park, has been so communicative, really sort of helped us all stay together. So, thanks to all of them.

KEILAR: To a resident that we have had on, they have all been thanking the firefighters and also their local representatives. It's pretty amazing to see that gratefulness.

KOHL: Yes. Yes.

KEILAR: Sue Kohl, thanks for being with us.

KOHL: Yes, thank you.

KEILAR: Firefighters, they're really up against these winds. That's the problem, is they're racing to contain the flames.

SANCHEZ: CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar's tracking conditions.

Allison, what can we expect over the next few hours?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. We are going to finally start to see these winds beginning to come back down, but it takes time. And you have to understand, too, where they're coming from.

Look at some of these peak wind gusts that we know of, 80, 90, even a hundred miles per hour. So even if you cut those numbers in half, you're still looking at 40 to 50 mile per hour wind gusts. That is plenty to be able to continue to spread the fires and keep the firefighters from really being able to make advancements in the containment. Because they have not one but four separate fires. You've got the Eaton fire, Hurst, Woodley and also Palisades.

Now, for those who are not familiar with this area, we've put some landmark spots on here so you can kind of understand the area. So, here's where the Hollywood sign is, Dodger Stadium a little bit down here, the Rose Bowl Stadium, just to kind of put that in perspective.

Now, the Palisades fire specifically, we've been able to kind of map out where the fire has actually burned through this particular area. So, all of this red-shaded area, that's where the fire has spread through these particular regions.

And the one thing to notice, look at all of the structures here. You're talking buildings, businesses, homes that it's kind of crossed over, even some pretty decent roads. But notice it also comes right up to the water. You know, places that you don't traditionally think of, of where you would see these fires, especially just raging up to the point of making it to the water.

And it's thanks to that wind. It's been so strong for so long now, 24 hours in some of these areas have had winds at least of 40 to 50 miles per hour and sometimes gusting stronger. As we go through the rest of the afternoon, we're finally going to start to see them coming back down below 60 miles per hour, then below 50, below 40 and below 30, especially as we get through the overnight hours.

This is when the firefighters will really be able to make the most advancement in those containment numbers as once these winds can finally come back down. And that is going to happen just not really until later tonight and into the overnight hours.

SANCHEZ: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for the update.

Still to come, more coverage on the wildfires burning out of control across L.A. County. What one pharmacy owner is doing to help people get the medications they need after they had to flee their homes without them.

KEILAR: Plus, President-elect Trump heading to Capitol Hill today as he talks up using either military or economic force to bring Greenland under U.S. control. We'll break down why Trump wants it and speak with Trump's former U.S. ambassador to Denmark.

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[15:17:34]

SANCHEZ: A strategy session today on Capitol Hill. In just a few hours, President-elect Donald Trump will meet with Senate Republicans amid a debate over the best way to push forward his agenda. Trump has called for, quote, "One big beautiful bill to approve plans for immigration, energy and tax policy, as well as raising the national debt limit and installing spending cuts."

But some Republicans feel the most effective way is splitting this bill into two, and they want more guidance from the President-elect. Here is Republican senator, Kevin Cramer. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I hope he provides some real clarity on what he'd like to see in this reconciliation package and how he'd like to see us proceed with it. Obviously, I have a strong opinion that I think it'd be easier and faster to do the two, but if he wants to do one big beautiful bill, so be it. We'll do it.

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SANCHEZ: Some Republicans have expressed concerns that Congress won't get to a second package if they take that two-bill route. Meantime today, much of the conversation on Capitol Hill has revolved around yesterday's news conference with Trump and his comments about seizing areas like Greenland or the Panama Canal.

Obviously, Brianna, a subject that is quite interesting.

KEILAR: Yes, controversial, even --

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: -- and we can understand why, because in that same news conference, Trump was asked if he would rule out using American military force for his stated desire of the U.S. acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal. And he wouldn't rule it out. It was a significant moment. So why is he fixated on these particular places?

Well, first, let's talk about Greenland, because it has long been seen by experts as key for U.S. security, especially to repel a potential attack from Russia. And the U.S. actually has an air base there in the northwest part of Greenland. It is the northernmost outpost of the U.S. military, and it's equipped with a missile warning system.

So those are some of the national security interests there, but there's also economic interests. Greenland has oil, it has gas, it has rare earth metals that are key components of cell phones, electric cars, wind turbines and other products as well.

Remember, China currently dominates global rare earth metal production, and Greenland is changing. Climate change is reshaping the island and the sea around it. So Arctic shipping is up 37 percent over the last decade, and that's in part due to melting ice.

[15:20:05]

That's opening up the crucial shipping lanes known as the Northwest Passage, and that allows more commercial and military ships to cross. So, what does Greenland's government say about all of this sales talk? The island's prime minister has said, "We are not for sale and will never be for sale."

Now, to the Panama Canal. The waterway connects, of course, the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. It's a shortcut for transporting key goods like lumber and petroleum. The U.S. ended its joint partnership in controlling the strategic waterway back in 1999, and shortly after the Panamanians retained full control, shipping volume quickly exceeded the waterway's capacity. On top of that, severe drought in recent years has led to lower water levels. That has endangered passage through the man-made lake that is between the locks on the Atlantic side and the Pacific side.

And as a result, canal authorities have restricted traffic, and they've jacked up the price of passage through the canal. And those fees are one big aspect of Trump's issue with the canal. He calls them ridiculous. He calls them highly unfair.

And then there's Trump's other claims that China is seeking to exert more control over the canal zone. There is a little truth to that.

Now in 2017, Panama actually signed a joint statement that stressed it would not maintain any official ties with Taiwan. Since then, China's influence in the area around the canal has grown. Though Panama's president recently dismissed the idea that China has overt control over the canal after Trump wished a, quote, "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly but illegally operating the Panama Canal."

That is not true. China certainly has made progress bolstering its influence in Latin America, including Panama, but they are not operating the canal lovingly or otherwise, Boris.

SANCHEZ: I want to discuss this further with Carla Sands. She served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark in Trump's first administration. She's also the vice chair of the Center for Energy and Environment at the America First Policy Institute.

Thank you so much for being with us, Ambassador.

I do wonder whether you ever heard Trump express interest in taking over Greenland during his first term. Was this something that you discussed with him directly?

CARLA SANDS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO DENMARK UNDER TRUMP: Well, you know, we had really been absent the whole high north for decades. We hadn't had a diplomatic relationship for 67 years with Greenland when I got to Denmark as the ambassador. And so, I said that my number one goal was to open a consulate in Greenland to reestablish those diplomatic ties. So, I was able to work with the Trump White House, the State Department and the Department of Defense to get this done and we did.

So, we put a consulate there. And President Trump, while I can't talk about the conversations that we had that were private, I will tell you that I admire the fact that he wants to secure our country and make sure the American people are safe and also not let our big, dear neighbor, Greenland, just off our northeast coast, that's big, it's one third the size of the continental U.S., so it's the world's largest island.

And he is not going to let them fall into the hands of, for instance, the control of the Chinese Communist Party. I admire that.

SANCHEZ: Is there an indication that you have the Chinese or intent on invading Greenland?

SANDS: It's not about invasion. That's not how they do it. They do it through things like debt trap diplomacy. So, in 2017, the Chinese Communist Party flew the then Greenlandic premier, his government, his top CEOs over to Beijing, rolled out the red carpet, had the C-suite meetings and tried to pull them into their Belt and Road Initiative.

No American company, no American government was doing that. China was doing that, and so they were on it. When I tried to get a high-level visitor in 2018 to go to Greenland for a ceremonial occasion, one of their big anniversaries, I couldn't. I couldn't get any interest from the State Department.

But when President Trump focused on it, he said, we cannot have this. Denmark can't afford to develop or defend Greenland. So, I really am excited about this next step for Greenland, since they have been talking about going independent for decades. Finally, their premier has said it from the podium, so they are looking, I think, to fast- track this.

But with 57,000 people living on the world's largest island, they will never be able to defend themselves or develop themselves. So, they'll need a partner like the United States, in my opinion. I'm not speaking for the Trump administration.

SANCHEZ: Sure, sure. Greenland has been a part of Denmark for something like 600 years with relatively minor interruption.

[15:24:59]

I do wonder if Denmark, being a member of NATO, potentially invoking Article 5, wouldn't they be able to defend themselves that way? And also, doesn't the U.S. potentially strain relations with a NATO ally by suggesting, as Trump has, that he's considering using military force as part of an effort to take over Greenland?

SANDS: Well, there's a lot to unpack in your question. So, I will just say that Greenland does have a long history with Denmark. They were owned by the king, the island and the people, until not that long ago. They got - they became semi-autonomous about 75 years ago, and now they want to go independent. But they don't control their defense or their foreign affairs. Everything else they have control of.

But as a matter of fact, if you look at Denmark, it can't defend itself. And I'm talking about little Denmark in northern Europe. They have an economy and a population around the size of the state of Colorado. Greenland is a gigantic area, and it's out there in that huge sea. They're in the GIUK gap. There's only a handful of countries that could actually secure that region, the U.S. being the predominant country, and certainly the one that, you know, is part of the rules- based order that's not going to use undue influence and go down the road that the Chinese Communist Party has gone down in so many African and South American countries, where you see they're taking over, and basically - and they're - it's very corrupt.

So, we want Greenland to have opportunity, just like every country wants. President Trump has the right idea to secure Greenland and to bring business opportunity, to have good-paying jobs. That's what Greenlanders want, and Denmark can't provide it. It hasn't ever provided it, so why would it happen now?

I know that they've suggested putting toward their defense in - or their awareness in the Greenlandic area around $1.5 billion Denmark has, but that's over multiple years, and that's ...

SANCHEZ: Sure.

SANDS: ... a drop in the bucket of what is needed. President Trump's idea is common sense.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador, perhaps on the merits, it makes sense from an economic and security standpoint. You can argue those merits. I do wonder about the approach, though, suggesting that the U.S. military might be involved in some kind of takeover of Greenland. That doesn't concern you? Does that not go against what the United States has tried to fight against in, for example, Ukraine and other parts of the world, in Iraq during the war, Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, doesn't that stand against American doctrine?

SANDS: Well, we already occupied it once. During World War II, we occupied Greenland, and that was the first time that they had actually modern buildings built. They have no development there. They have no road between any town in Greenland.

SANCHEZ: And that justifies sending U.S. forces there, Ambassador?

SANDS: I'm not - am not going to get in between President Trump and his negotiations about how we move forward with Greenland. This is his deal. He wrote the book, "The Art of the Deal." He's the best dealmaker I ever saw, so - and he knows how to negotiate with foreign leaders. So let me let him decide how he's going to do this negotiation, and I'll talk to you about the merits and about the situation.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador Carla Sands, we'll leave the conversation there. Thanks for the time.

SANDS: Hey, thanks to - great to talk to you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: You're looking at live pictures now out of Los Angeles County where firefighters are currently battling four separate wildfires. This is in the Altadena neighborhood, the area facing off with the Eaton fire, and this has been an ordeal for everyone in L.A. County. It is far from over, too. We have a live report coming from the Pacific Palisades in just a moment. Stay tuned to CNN.

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