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CNN International: Los Angeles Officials Give Update On Fire Emergency. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 08, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
ERICA HILL, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome to our viewers from around the world. I'm Erica Hill in New York. This is CNN Newsroom, and we do begin with the breaking news this hour.
At any moment, we are expected to hear from officials in Los Angeles for an update on the wildfires raging across that area. We're going to bring you those remarks as they happen. That, of course, in reaction to several life-threatening blazes which are raging out of control. You see just a small picture of the destruction here, a number of homes, buildings, businesses, in ashes. Tens of thousands of people at this hour are under evacuation orders. The Palisades fire in the upscale Westside community of Pacific Palisades is now said to be tearing through an area the size of five football fields every minute.
CNN spoke with some of the evacuees. They described the scene. Take a listen to their words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the worst fire I've ever encountered. I've been within three, within a mile, and I've never had to get evacuated. So, I was really surprised that the fire moved so quickly this time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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, and it's literally apocalyptic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Let's bring you right now to that press conference with officials in Los Angeles.
ANTHONY C. MARRONE, L.A. COUNTY FIRE CHIEF: So, good morning. Thank you. Supervisor Barger. My name is Anthony Marrone. I am the County of Los Angeles Fire Chief, and I'm also the Region One Coordinator for Fire and Rescue Resources. I'm going to be giving an update on the Palisades fire in addition to the Eaton fire, although I am aware that we have four large fires burning in LA County at this time. The Palisades fire is located in both LA City and LA County. We are in
unified command with the City of Los Angeles Fire Department, in addition to CalFire. We have well over 5,000 acres that have burned, and the fire is growing. We have no percentage of containment. We have an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed, and also no reported fatalities, and a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who are on the fire line. We have over 1,000 personnel assigned. And the cause of the fire is unknown. However, it is under investigation.
For the Eaton fire, it is located in both the Angeles National Forest, the Altadena area of LA County and Pasadena. LA County is in unified command with both the Angeles National Forest and the Pasadena Fire Department. We have over 2,000 acres burning at this time, and the fire continues to grow with zero percent containment. We have over 500 personnel assigned, and unfortunately, we have two reported fatalities to civilians, unknown cause at this time, and we do have a number of significant injuries. We have over 100 structures destroyed, and the cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.
I will ask that LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley update you on the Hurst fire after I am finished with my remarks.
The LA County Fire Department operational area consists of 29 separate fire departments in LA County, and all of those fire departments are at drawdown with no fire apparatus or additional personnel to spare. As the region one coordinator, I have requested mutual aid from the five counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Additionally, last night, I contacted the State Office of Emergency Services and requested 50 engine strike teams.
[11:05:00]
50 engine strike teams is composed of 250 fire engines and over 1,000 personnel. We have also requested resources from out of state as well as Northern California. Thank you to the first responders from Nevada, Oregon and Washington State that are already on the road coming to LA County to assist.
Lastly, the National Weather Service has predicted a continued red flag weather event with strong winds and low humidities, placing all residents of Los Angeles County in danger.
To all of our viewers, please prioritize your safety as well as the well-being of those around you, as we come together to continue to get through this widespread disaster. Los Angeles County firefighters will remain on the frontline until we reach full containment, and we ask that you keep all of Los Angeles County in your thoughts and prayers.
I would now like to invite up Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley to give her briefing. Thank you.
KRISTIN M. CROWLEY, L.A. CITY FIRE CHIEF: Good morning, everyone. My name is Kristen Crowley, Los Angeles City Fire Department Fire Chief.
I'd like to start with just a moment, if we could, of gratitude, a move of gratitude for our first responders, our boots on the ground that are battling this intense and multiple jurisdiction and number of fires. So, gratitude to those who are doing the work since yesterday, through the night, and like Chief Marrone said, we're going to continue to work hard to ensure that we save people, lives and property.
With that, I'll be touching on a couple major points with the Pacific Palisades fire. We know that it continues to demand significant amount of resources and attention. A second major brush fire, now referred to as the Hurst fire, has erupted in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. Now, together, these fires are stretching the capacity of emergency services to their maximum limits. The Los Angeles City Fire Department is battling these two major fires while also maintaining, I want to focus on this as well, 911 services for the city's approximate four million residents. Now, despite the severity of the conditions, our department remains fully committed to safeguarding lives and property.
Next, I want to focus on what we've done over the last 24 hours, and with that, even within the city of Los Angeles, with these two major brush fires. Our department has responded to 3,624 911 calls for service. And to put that in perspective, our average is just under 1,500 calls in a 24-hour period. Over the last 24 hours, we also responded to an additional 32 structure fires within the city. We've treated and transported an extensive number of medical emergencies, while extending our normal 650 transports to the local hospitals.
When it comes to the Pacific Palisades fire, as Chief Marrone had said, this is over 3,000 acres at this point and continues to grow. We will confirm the exact acreage later. So, we'll make sure that we also communicate that to the community and to the media. Last night, as of 19:30 hours, all aircrafts were grounded due to the high winds. Aircrafts are continued to be able to resume their water drops and acreage mapping today when the weather allows us to do so.
A total of 3,398 civilians and 15,105 structures are in the evacuation zone, and again, the evacuation zones are the following, north of PCH, west of Kenter Avenue in San Vicente Boulevard, south of Mulholland Drive in east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. There are multiple evacuation centers, which are supported by the American Red Cross. Injuries, of course there is a lot of interest in injuries. We have several firefighters and civilian injuries that have been reported, and all patients have been treated and transported to local hospitals. Damage assessments, Chief Marrone did speak about a specific number. We are still vetting that through on the city side. So, more information to come, and we will message that as soon as we can validate that.
[11:10:00]
Approximately 400 LAFD firefighters have been deployed to the Palisades fire. We have many hundreds of law enforcement officers, our partner agency responders and Public Works members engaged in supporting our overall operations. We are going to be transitioning to CalFire this morning to manage this incident at 08:00 hours.
Next, I'd like to talk briefly about our Hurst fire, which is located in Sylmar. Last night at approximately 10:10 p.m., the fire erupted in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles, adjacent to the Los Angeles National Forest. The fire has rapidly expanded to over 500 acres, prompting the emergency evacuation of more than 3,000 residents. This fire is burning within the footprint of the historic Saddle Ridge Fire. Now, despite the extreme winds and significant risks, and that's what we're going to be talking about from today and probably throughout the next few days, there is always that significant risk of life and property. We will continue to focus on saving lives and protecting property. The exact anchorage at this point will be confirmed later, and we'll make sure that we communicate that to you as well.
Lastly, we want to make sure that everybody understands we are absolutely not out of danger yet. With the strong winds that continue to push through the city and the county today, I will tell you and we are all committed to our first responders. Our firefighters will remain focused on protecting lives and property.
The LAFD is extremely proud to stand with all of the entities behind me. Our top priority will continue to be life safety, ensuring that safe evacuation and the rescues of our residents that are in harm's way. It will continue to be our primary focus in this wind-driven fire event as it continues.
Thank you for your cooperation, your support and your diligence. And today, we will continue to stand with our partners to protect everyone.
Next up, I would like to introduce Sheriff Luna. Thank you. Sorry. Sorry. Next up -- oh, we moved it. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We're just moving around, having LA Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. Please.
ALBERTO CARVALHO, SUPT., L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Chair Barger, county and city leadership, in addition to the leadership of our first responders and our great community for the very, very important work you continue to do to protect our community, protect the assets, and first and foremost, the health and well-being and lives of members of our community.
Los Angeles Unified is the second largest school district in the nation, representing the interests of 540,000 students and 75,000 committed employees. We make decisions regarding closure of schools in a very methodical and science-driven manner. So, after a great deal of consultation overnight with experts looking at the data and considering the fact that air quality conditions deteriorated significantly overnight, we have made the decision to shut down a number of schools, particularly in the eastern part of our school system. I will define what those boundaries are. School communities, beginning with leadership, workforce and families have been informed about these areas, and as of now, those schools within the boundaries of the area that I will define are closed.
This accounts for about 10 percent of our total schools in our district, about 100 schools out of 1,000 schools. The areas that I'm speaking about are schools located north of Manchester Boulevard/Firestone Boulevard, east of 10th Avenue, west of I-710, and south of Highway 134. Any school within that area, and that accounts, again, for the eastern part of our district, where the air quality met or exceeded levels that are not appropriate for employees or students to be around, are effectively shut down. We will be making decisions about what will happen in those schools going into tomorrow by 04:00 p.m. today, based on the evolution conditions. In fact, since we made the decision to shut down those schools, air quality conditions have improved significantly, despite the fact that they worsened significantly overnight.
I want to speak specifically about schools surrounding the Palisades area. As of last night, we had to shut down five schools as a result of mandatory evacuation conditions.
[11:15:00]
Those were Kenter Canyon Elementary School -- Canyon Elementary School, Marquez Elementary School, Palisades Charter Elementary School, Revere Middle School, and Topanga Elementary School, in addition to Palisades High Charter High School. We have reports that Palisades High sustained significant damage as a result of the fire. We are working with state and federal entities to quickly access resources to address the issues facing this community.
I want to very briefly address our workforce. We know today is not going to be a perfect day. A number of schools are shut down. However, localized conditions may make it difficult for our workforce or parents and students to access schools. Air quality conditions may vary, and in fact, may not necessarily be appropriate beyond the area where we closed schools. Please use your discretion. We will utilize grace and be flexible regarding attendance and for students and employees alike, specifically students, employees who face chronic respiratory conditions or other health issues. We will be flexible regarding these individuals. We will provide additional updates later on today regarding conditions of schools going into tomorrow.
For the schools that are open, recognizing the workforce needs of the parents of our children, beyond the bell activities, care for children in those schools will continue to be provided today. Today is not a typical day. We need flexibility, patience and grace, and we shall extend that to our workforce and certainly our parents and students in our community.
Once again, our hearts go out to those who have been impacted, and our internal gratitude to the first responders of our community for their fantastic, difficult work they've done over the past 24 hours. Thank you very much.
ROBERT G. LUNA, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF: Morning. A lot of information to pass on, but please know this. This is a very difficult and challenging situation, but we're surrounded here by people who really care, and we're going to get through this together. That means, with all of you as partners in our community. Our top priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our impacted residents, first responders, and all of the individuals involved, but understand that this is a very fluid situation, specifically in the Altadena area, and a lot of our personnel, our deputy personnel, are involved in life- saving measures, as we speak now.
We are working very closely with local, state and federal agencies to provide necessary resources and support. We have been in constant communication with both our fire and law enforcement partners across LA County and beyond to ensure that all available resources that are needed are being deployed strategically and effectively, but we are prioritizing life over everything else.
There are over several hundred Sheriff Department personnel working around the clock to evacuate residents in danger, assist with road closures, and respond to multiple missions that are given to us, and they do change periodically, depending on that life mission, to ensure that everyone is going to be safe -- or safe as possible. Additional personnel will likely be assigned to this fire, as this continues to go, and you heard from our fire partners that there is no containment here. I do want to split it up into two.
I want to start talking about the Eaton fire first. Currently, there are evacuation orders in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre. Evacuation orders, there are approximately 32,500 residents under evacuation orders, and approximately 13,186 structures that we deem at risk, and that could grow. Evacuation warnings, approximately 38,600 residents are under evacuation warnings, and approximately 14,342 structures are at risk. At 04:00 a.m. this morning, the evacuation orders did expand to parts of the city of Duarte, Monrovia and La Canada. And again, we continue to assess that. That's evolving. That's going to change. So, I encourage you to consistently pay attention to all sources of information so you're ready to go when you are given that order, if that does come.
[11:20:00]
As information is changing, even as I was driving up here, even as I'm walking up to this podium, I'm getting messages about several of our employees who are -- have lost their home in the last several hours. I don't know how many, because we are still gathering that information. But, like all -- we all live here in Los Angeles County. So, we are impacted. So, we're going to make sure that within our department, we're wrapping our arms around our employees, just like we do with community members.
Again, as I was coming up here, I did find out that we did have two fatalities in this area. I don't have any specifics. There is a lot of damage out there. We're still in the process of doing these assessments, trying to still save lives. So, this information is going to change.
The Altadena Sheriff station itself was evacuated, and it was at least limited on fire. There was some fire at the Altadena station, but we did have to clear out all of our employees out of there. I'm hearing some miraculous stories, and they're not -- they're just barely coming in of our deputies who were trying to evacuate the Altadena station, and then residents were running up from different locations around there, asking them for assistance in getting them out of their structures. And from what I understand, they were barely able to get people out before these structures started burning. There is just heroic stories of what our deputies are doing out there from last night and this morning.
I want to make sure people know deputies are working to assist residents who are evacuating and continuing to make evacuation notices, as we're speaking. They are securing areas that are evacuated. And it's always sad when I have to say this, but part of our responsibility is to make sure that no one loots or steals from our residents, our community members, who are already being impacted. And I'm sad to report, we made two arrests this morning for looting already. So, if you are thinking about coming into any of these areas to steal from our residents, I'm going to tell you something, you're going to be caught, you're going to be arrested, and you're going to be prosecuted. Don't do that. Stay out of these areas. It's only for emergency workers and people who live there.
We are, at this point, unable to clearly determine the extent of damage at this point, because the conditions are rapidly evolving and the destruction needs to be assessed as the daylight hours have come forward. I do know that I've lost at least one sheriff's black and white to a fire. Thank God that the deputy is OK, but deputies continue to be on patrol throughout the road closure areas to ensure evacuation areas remain closed to the public. All schools in the Pasadena Unified School District are closed. There are -- there is a road closure at Altadena Drive from Allen to New York Drive. For those in need of shelter, please head to the Pasadena Convention Center located at 300 East Green Street in the city of Pasadena, and we're working with them in unified command and in partnership as well.
For animals, there are established shelters at large animal shelter, Rose Bowl Stadium at 1001 Rose Bowl drive in Pasadena, small animal shelter, Pasadena Humane Society at 361 South Raymond Avenue in Pasadena.
I'm going to switch gears now to the Palisades fire that we've been heavily involved in with our partners, again, with LAPD and LA City Fire and everyone else that's up there working. As of this morning, the fire was still burning in that area and that's impacting our residents. Evacuations are in effect, continuously in effect for the city of Calabasas, the city of Malibu, Los Angeles City, Pacific Palisades and unincorporated area of Los Angeles County and Topanga Canyon.
Evacuation orders are approximately 37,000 residents under evacuation orders and approximately 15,000 structures at risk. Again, that's specifically for the Palisades fire. Evacuation warnings, approximately 20,000 residents are under evacuation warnings, and approximately 6500 structures are at risk.
There have been minor injuries, and our partners at the fire department have talked about those, and several, unfortunately, structures that have been lost, and we're still assessing those.
Bear with me. I'm almost there. There is a lot of information, very important information. There are several road closures which can change rapidly, the 10 Freeway at Lincoln Boulevard; southbound PCH at Las Flores Canyon; southbound PCH at Topanga Canyon; Coastline Drive at southbound PCH, Westbound PCH to Entrada to eastbound closed front PCH in Malibu Canyon.
[11:25:00]
We have established shelters up for that fire in the following locations, Westwood Recreation Center, which is a 1350 South Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles; Pasadena Convention Center, which I already mentioned, we can go there, 300 East Green Street in the city of Pasadena, and El Camino Real Charter High School, 5440 Valley Circle Boulevard in Woodland Hills.
Animal shelters, large animals, LA Equestrian Center at 480 West Riverside in Burbank; large animal shelter, Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Avenue in Woodland Hills; large animal shelter, Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena; small animal shelter, Agora Animal Center, and small animal shelter, Pasadena Humane society as well. We got to take care of our pets.
As I wrap up, a reminder, and you've heard it from several of us, you need to be prepared. If you are in a warning area, make sure you have your essentials, your important paperwork, your medications, things that you can take, your phone charger to survive for at least a week. But, if you are told to evacuate and given an order, there is nothing worth your life. Please listen to the police and fire officials that are out there, and be prepared to evacuate. If you have more questions, or there is -- about evacuations, evacuation centers or road closures, go to lacounty.gov/emergency or our Sheriff's Department social media.
Now it's my honor to introduce my partner, the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Jim McDonnell.
JIM MCDONNELL, L.A. CITY POLICE CHIEF: Thank you very much. And as you look at the group assembled behind me this morning, each of those and everybody we represent who is out in the field, all have families. Many are impacted directly by the fire, but they leave those families to come and try and be able to help everybody else who is out there. So, I owe a debt of gratitude to everybody who is putting it all on the line for everyone else.
This is a tragic time in our history here in Los Angeles, but a time where we're really tested and see who we really are, and it's critical that at these times we be patient, that we come together, that we focus on saving lives and to be able to the very best job we can. So, when we look back on this, we know that we did what we could for others.
I look at the people who are out there on the line last night, the winds were like something that I have never seen before. Firefighters, police officers, deputies, they're out there sheltering in their vehicles, their trucks and their cars, so that they don't end up getting burned from the fire that was being driven by 75 plus mile an hour winds. They were there until they could get out of the car and go back to doing their work. As you can imagine, a very difficult circumstance to deal with. These are, as I mentioned, unprecedented conditions, but also unpredictable.
As the fire continues to spread and pop up in different locations, none of us know where the next one is going to be. So, I would ask you to be vigilant, to look at your neighborhood, to talk to your neighbors, to have everybody on board, so that if they see something start up, that we get on it very quickly. We get fire resources out there as soon as we possibly can, because with these winds, once it starts small, it'll be very big, very quickly. And so, I would ask for everybody's help, cooperation and vigilance in that role.
As you've heard before about evacuation, that makes the difference between living and not. And so, I would ask you to take these warnings, these orders to evacuate, very seriously. As you've heard over and again, be ready to go. Pack what you need up. But then please comply with these orders. We don't give them -- put them out lightly. When we believe that you're in the path of the fire, we're going to order that evacuation, and we really, really need your compliance on that, because if we have to send people in to try and make rescues, those people are putting their lives on the line directly for something that could have been avoidable.
Sheriff Luna mentioned looting. That's something that we also have to watch out for. That is incredible that we'd even have to talk about that during these tragic times. But, we are going to take that also extremely seriously, and we will follow up with that in the strongest way possible.
As far as traffic goes, that's something that we're used to dealing with here. This will be an extra test of gridlock in many places due to people not having access to their normal routes. I would say that if you have an ability to be able to stay out of the Westside today to commute or to work from home, as long as your employers are good with that, to take advantage of that.
The air is very tough today for particularly those who are challenged medically. If you can stay home and work from there, I would recommend that.
We will continue to support our partners and the fire service and our other law enforcement partners.
[11:30:00]
But, to all and the public who are watching this, sincere thank you to all of you for your cooperation and your patience, as we all get through this together. Thank you.
KATHRYN BARGER, CHAIR, L.A. COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Now we're going to introduce my colleague, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents the Palisades area. Lindsey.
LINDSEY HORVATH, L.A. COUNTY SUPERVISOR: Thank you, Madam Chair. This morning, we woke up to a dark cloud over all of Los Angeles, but it is darkest for those who are most intimately impacted by these fires. It has been an immensely painful 24 hours for communities I represent. The Palisades, the Hurst and Woodley fires are all in the third district, but our strength is in our togetherness, and that will determine how we make it through. We need your partnership in this time of crisis. It is difficult to process the immensity of the destruction and loss. We extend our hearts and every resource we have to all of our impacted residents.
We know when we talk about these structures, they aren't just structures. They aren't even just houses. They're homes. This is our home. These are places where we built community, where we raised families, where we made memories that we will never forget, even if we can't go back to these structures. These are our home. Losing home is simply devastating, and I know that we are all here to support you and stand with you in this time of need.
Aggressive winds and fire know no jurisdictional boundaries, nor does coordination and action across our LA county agencies with President Biden and Governor Newsom, as they unlock support through fire assistance, management grants for Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires so far.
The talent and tenacity of our first responders is nothing short of extraordinary. And I've said it before, these people on the frontlines are doing this because this is their calling. This is not simply a job that they came to, to have an occupation. They are called to this work to keep us safe, to keep our communities safe, and to do all they can in this time of crisis to protect our Los Angeles County.
Overnight winds grounded our vehicles, and we have red flag conditions through the end of day tomorrow, but we know that because of these fearless warriors on the frontlines, we are doing all that we can to contain this fire. Thank you for your work to keep Los Angeles County safe, including the third district communities of Pacific Palisades, Topanga Canyon, Sunset Mesa, Malibu, Santa Monica, Sylmar, Granada Hills, Lake Balboa and surrounding communities.
Our number one message to everyone in impacted areas is to follow all evacuation orders and warnings and to stay where you are safe as long as the evacuations remain in place. We continue to have shelter capacity for you, as you have heard, for you, for your pets, and we have animal sheltering sites as well. These orders are not just to keep you safe and to keep your community safe. They are also to keep those on the frontlines of this devastating crisis safe. And the longer that you wait to evacuate, the more you are putting people in danger, who are putting their lives on the line to protect your homes. Please don't do this. Please evacuate.
There is also an evacuation order in Santa Monica, the northern border of the city to San Vicente. The warning is north of Montana to San Vicente as well. We have an evacuation order as well as a warning there. Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall is in Sylmar and that is under evacuation warning because of the Hurst fire. Our Probation Department has evacuation plans in place, should that move to an evacuation order from a warning, and our priority is to keep our youth in our care safe.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has closed its schools today, and as you heard from Superintendent Carvalho, LAUSD has a variety of updates.
We have heard from our state insurance commissioner as well.
[11:35:00]
And while this is still quite early in this emergency, we do have some initial guidance from his office for evacuated households on reimbursable insurance expenses, with information to be found at insurance.ca.gov. Obtain a complete copy of your insurance policy. Take note of additional living expense limits, track additional expenses, document conversations with your insurer or adjuster, and don't rush any decisions. If you have any questions, call 800-927- 4357. Please continue to check emergency.lacounty.gov for the latest information, and I know we will see brighter skies by working together.
Los Angeles County will continue to be unrelenting in our response, and I know we have only the finest on the frontlines fighting this fire. It's our duty to see them succeed. Thank you.
BARGER: All right. Now we are going to hear from LA City Council President and Mayor Pro Tem, Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
MARQUEECE HARRIS-DAWSON, L.A. CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT, MAYOR PRO TEM: Thank you so much. Good morning, everybody. On behalf of the City of Los Angeles, I just want to begin by thanking and recognizing and acknowledging the great work of our first responders, especially the men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who last night we all witnessed doing heroic work in the face of grave danger.
It -- last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we've seen in any part of our city, at any part of our history, fire literally jumping roads, taking out structures, and our public safety professionals created an environment where injuries were kept to a minimum, fatalities were kept to a minimum, and we wake up this morning with a renewed spirit that we can defeat this fire and move on to a brighter day.
I want to also acknowledge the two members of the council that are with us today that represent the areas of the fire, Councilwoman Traci Park of the 11th district, who is, I think, probably has about 90 minutes sleep, by my count, because every time I looked on the television, you were there knocking on doors in neighborhoods, in community centers, at the shelters, making sure the community was OK. And then an absolute professional, someone who, since I've been on the council with her, has had to fight a fire almost every year, and so is a pro from the San Fernando Valley, the council member from the seventh district, Monica Rodriguez, and again.
All the men and women, the firefighters are in the front, but our DWP workers are out there making sure we don't have additional fires from power lines and countless folks (DOT) making sure the flow of traffic stays so that folks who want to evacuate can do so, are out there as well. So, there is literally thousands and thousands of people working together to make this work. I want to announce a few more closures to add to the school closures
that we heard and the closures that the sheriff and the supervisor read to us. Griffith Park closed today, including Lake Hollywood. Runyon Canyon closed today. The Los Angeles Zoo closed today. The Hollywood Reservoir closed today. The Hollywood Sign closed today, as well as all the roads through the Sepulveda Basin in the San Fernando Valley. So, nobody should be going those places today anyway. I will amend what Chief McDonnell said. Not only if you're on the Westside or in the valley, anywhere in this city, if you can stay off the roads, please do so.
I live in South LA, a long way away from the fires. Visibility is less than one block because of the smoke. So, if there is not a good reason for you to be on the roads, we ask that you leave the roads open as possibly as you can to the public safety professionals that have to do their work and will lead us out of the crisis that we face here in the city of Los Angeles and the county of Los Angeles today.
Also, lastly, just grateful for the work of -- the President of the United States kicked in for us late last night, who happens to be in Southern California. The governor was with us in the Pacific Palisades last night, and has helped out. And a range of municipalities around the county and outside the county have come in to help where they can, and we're extremely, extremely grateful for their help in this time of crisis for our city and our county.
[11:40:00]
And with that, I will ask the Director of the Office of Emergency for Los Angeles County, Kevin McGowan, to come to the mic.
KEVIN MCGOWAN, L.A. COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thank you for the introduction. I'm Kevin McGowan. I'm the Director with LA County's Office of Emergency Management.
As my partners up here have said before, we're facing a historic natural disaster, and I think that can't be stated strong enough. This is not a normal red flag. We've been in partnership with the National Weather Service for days prior to the arrival of this severe wind storm. There has been amazing communication by the National Weather Service, and they should be acknowledged for all of the communication that was put out days in advance.
What's critical about that is it partnered all of our public safety and emergency organizations throughout the county to begin preparations for this, and a lot of the successes we saw over the last 18 to 20 hours is a direct result of painstaking preparations that had gone into place for the last 48 to 72 hours. We still have a long road ahead of us.
Our county is known with wildland fires. We just finished working on the Franklin Fire. We've had the bridge fire, the post fire. This has been a very destructive fire season. This is just going to add to it. Our eyes are on mitigating the impacts from this emergency, working with our community partners, and then charting a course for what will be a long recovery effort. With that, I would like to introduce our Department of Public Works
for LA County, Director Mark Pestrella.
MARK PESTRELLA, L.A. COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR: Good morning. Thank you, Kevin. My name is Mark Pestrella. I'm the Director of Public Works for Los Angeles County, the largest public works department in the United States. We're coordinating across the area with all our partner agencies, including, of course, primarily the city of Los Angeles, in addressing this event today.
I'm going to talk a little bit about our focus in terms of infrastructure, and then I'll move on. Before I do that, though, I do want to acknowledge all of the residents that have either lost a home or who are being evacuated. I do personally understand what that is about and understand what kind of fear that can put into you.
One thing I would recommend to you, before you leave that home, if you want something to do, is to close that home up tight, close any openings, completely tight to the home, and make sure that access is open to the fire department in the event that they want to come on and do work on your property. That's one thing I've learned through the years is important.
So, right now, LA County Public Works is focused on water supply, the road safety and transportation system, and preparing our flood control system for the inevitable post event, which may be flows of debris and mud. With respect to water resources, there has been quite a bit of talk in the media about the water system that we're using for suppression. So, let me make the following statement. There have been quite a bit of comments over social media about the local water supply and its impact on firefighting efforts. There is collaboration across this region. Over 200 water retailers serve the region. LA County serves the area that -- in the Eaton fire area. LA City serves the area of the Palisades area. We also serve the Palisades area in the north area of unincorporated air water supply through the hydrant system.
The municipal water systems that service our homes and businesses continue to work effectively. However, they are not designed to fight wildfires. A firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable. This is a known fact. That's why air support is so critical to the firefight, and unfortunately, wind and air visibility have prevented that support. County water reservoir -- however, county and city water reservoirs, open reservoirs, are available and on standby once that support becomes available. We will be having fixed wing as well as helicopter draw of water from our system.
We also need customers to understand that it is really quite futile to attempt to fight fire with your fire -- with your hose at your house. That's not something I would recommend you do. But, in fact, I would ask that you turn off your water and turn off your gas, both things before you leave the residents, so that we can continue to have that water supply for the hydrant system.
The transportation system is operating with many, many closures. Those closures are meant for evacuation as well as fire suppression efforts. So, we're asking residents not to abandon vehicles in streets, to not park vehicles in streets, but to leave those vehicles on your property. And we ask that you drive very carefully, because we also have the other event of wind right now, and we have numerous, numerous signals out across the area.
[11:45:00]
So, we need people to drive very consciously in the street system.
And then the third piece in the road system and in our homes is the wind is causing massive tree fall. We have numerous, over hundreds and hundreds of trees that have fallen in the area already. We expect more of that to occur. This is a safety hazard for you and your children. So, we're asking that you avoid walking outside, avoid being under trees, avoid parking cars under trees, all the things as you can imagine that a tree can do. A tree can be just as devastating to a home and to your personal self as a fire.
So, please be aware that the wind event is going to continue, and the infrastructure is in place to do with that. We are currently preparing to remove that. We are removing trees as they fall, where it's safe to do so. There will be a mass debris removal system put together. The county is coordinating, but we would be removing and working with the cities to remove the mass debris that's going to occur, not only from the fire -- the structures that have been damaged, but all of these trees that are down. So, please. One of the things is, make way for our utility workers --
HILL: So, you've been listening to an update from officials in Los Angeles about these four fires which are burning now, and the words we have heard from a number of these officials, it is a fluid situation. It is a historic a tragic time, devastating. What they are stressing at this moment, the numbers are massive. We're going to bring you more of those numbers when we come back.
But, I want to give you the quick highlights here, which is these fires are moving fast because of the winds. They are shifting directions. Brush fires are popping up. The wind fire then will exacerbate that very quickly. Officials stressing, if you get that order to evacuate, go. Listen to the officials and do not put first responders at risk by staying where you are. Be ready. Have a bag packed if you're in those warning areas. As these are spreading, tens of thousands of people, of course, are under evacuation orders and warnings.
There have been a number of significant injuries, we're told, among both civilians and firefighters that have been treated. We have learned of two fatalities, unclear at this point of the cause. And as we're watching two of these more well-known fires, two of the larger ones at this time, both the Palisades and the Eaton fire, unclear what started them. Those causes are under investigation.
We should just point out here too, the sheer number of personnel that are fighting on the grounds here, of course, you have the firefighters from the county, from the city, from a number of surrounding counties. Also, a request, we know, has gone out to the state. There are firefighters and departments on their way down from Northern California. Also, we were told that there are folks from Oregon, Washington, Nevada that are also already en route. They're going to be shifting control of this to CalFire. That's important.
There are also questions about water, as you know, this area, of course, in a drought, questions about whether water should be used, stressing their residents should not try to fight this with a hose. In fact, turn off your water, turn off your gas, especially before you evacuate.
One of the issue is these high winds. That means that they cannot get the planes up in the air to bring out that water power that you often see in the footage of some of these wildfires. The hope is that eventually, when these winds die down, they are ready. They have those planes. They have those apparatus ready to go when the time comes, that they can safely put them up in the air. Sadly, that moment is not now.
We're going to continue to put all of this information together for you. We're going to take a quick break here. We'll see you on the other side with a further update. You're watching CNN.
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[11:50:00]
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HILL: Thanks for staying with us here in the CNN Newsroom.
I want to bring you up to speed on our top story that we're following out of Southern California. There are now four active fires burning in the Los Angeles area, as well as one in Riverside County, one of the worst fires is the -- in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Entire blocks have been destroyed now by flames, thousands fleeing their homes overnight in the Pasadena area to the east. Another large blaze, the Eaton fire, has now taken two lives, we understand. We do not know the exact cause of those deaths, but there have been two fatalities reported, more than 2,000 acres burned. Strong winds are continuing to fuel these flames across the region. Tens of thousands of residents told to evacuate, either under evacuation orders or evacuation warnings, told to be ready.
Tricia Cosentino is one of those residents who has, in fact, evacuated from her home in Pacific Palisades. You made your way out late yesterday afternoon. Tricia, we're glad that you're safe. Glad that your family is safe. I know there is much concern at this hour, of course, for what was left behind. Do you have any news at all at this point of your neighborhood, of your neighbors?
TRICIA COSENTINO, EVACUATED FROM HOME IN PACIFIC PALISADES: Well, news is coming in. I don't know how much I can rely on it. My home is in the Highlands, which is where the fire started. And as of this morning, it was OK. But, we just -- I just heard that it is now in our canyon, in our homes. I have several friends who have already lost their homes. Our reservoir is empty. There is no water left. Every -- almost every friend I've talked to has lost their home. It is unbelievable.
HILL: It seems every person that I either see on our air this morning, or everyone who I have been in contact with, who I know in Southern California, is saying the same thing that they have been through plenty of fires. They have never seen anything like this. Do you feel the same way?
COSENTINO: Yes. I mean -- and it is all walks of life. The Pacific Palisades is this crazy little community, and we have -- there is $10 million homes, but there are -- I have friends who are in the mobile home park. Their homes are gone. I'm in a townhouse. It is all walks of life, and it's amazing how the community is coming together. Everyone is not at home, and we all have had friends open our -- their doors to us all over the city. It's been an incredible show of support from the entire country.
HILL: I mean, it is -- that is I suppose a reminder of the good that is out there in these times of horrific tragedy, as we look at this. We're looking at some video on the screen here of when you were evacuating. Just walk me through what that was like for you. I mean, I see the smoke in this video. We see what appears to be some sort of a fire vehicle in front of you. But, were there are moments -- we hear about people getting turned back, turned around. The road is no longer open. Were you confident you would make it out safely?
COSENTINO: No. In fact, the first attempt at leaving the road that we were on, it was -- there was fire burning on all sides of us. There was smoke in the car. I made the decision to turn around and go back the canyon road. It had -- at that point, it had rocks in it. I knew I wasn't going to be able to see ahead. I had my son in the car. So, we went back home. We were being told to evacuate. It wasn't safe to evacuate. About an hour later, we realized we weren't safe at home either, and we ended up with a police escort. And after that hour, they had actually cleared the road of debris.
When we got to the bottom of our road, you can see on the videos, there are just dozens of cars that people were told to get out and run. So, I'm glad that wasn't us, but it was -- I thought it would be better when we got out of the canyon. I didn't know. And it just got worse all the way to the water.
[11:55:00]
The Sunset Boulevard was just on fire. Everywhere you looked, the trees were burning. Clear on south on PCH. I mean, leaving -- looking back, the hillsides were burning. I saw our friends homeless. Their home on PCH was gone. It was like being in a movie. I mean, it doesn't feel real.
HILL: Yeah. I mean, I can imagine, it must not. Just looking at these pictures, they are devastating. And as you point out, I mean, this is your neighborhood. These are your homes. These are your neighbors. Tricia, I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I'm glad you and your son were able to make it out safely, and a number of your neighbors as well. We'll continue to stay on it. And I hope, ultimately, there is some good news coming your way when you are able to get more information about your home. But, to your point, if there is one silver lining, it is the way that so many are rallying around one another. Thank you.
COSENTINO: Thank you so much.
HILL: Thanks to all of you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Our coverage continues in just a couple of minutes. We have One World right here on CNN.
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