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Wildfires In Southern California Partially Contained As Flame Spreading Winds Die Down; Getty Center Museum And UCLA Campus Prepare For Possible Evacuations Due To Wildfires; Resident Of Altadena In Southern California Interviewed On Losing His Sister To Eaton Fire; Former Forest Service Firefighter Saves His and Others' Homes From Wildfires; President Biden Promises Federal Government Assistance For California's Recovery from Fires; Insurance Crisis In California Possibly Affected Los Angeles County Residents Not Offered Home Insurance Plans By Private Companies; Atlanta, Georgia, Experiencing High Levels Of Snow; Helicopter Images Provide Aerial Perspective On Palisades Fire. Aired 10-11a ET.

Aired January 11, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:44]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. It's January 11th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. You're in the CNN newsroom.

BLACKWELL: Right now, emergency crews in California have a little break in the high winds to try to get flames under control. We've got a live look for you now. Look at this. All the flames and the smoke there. This is Mandeville Canyon right now. Fire officials told CNN this morning they're making progress. They're staying optimistic as they're battling at least six fires in the area of Los Angeles County.

The Palisades fire, though, is now the most destructive to ever hit the county, and we just learned that it's now up to 11 percent contained. And at least 11 people have died, but authorities fear the death toll will rise once it's safe enough to really assess the damage. And that damage spans entire neighborhoods, including part of the iconic Malibu coastline. Many of the thousands of people forced to evacuate had mere minutes to escape the flames.

WALKER: One woman told CNN she saw the smoke and knew it was time to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEISY SUAREZ, HOME DESTROYED BY FIRES: The flames just kept coming closer and closer to the house, and then I saw that it was just possible two houses behind the house in front of me. And I'm like, this, this is just getting bad. Like, we have to get out of here. And that's when I woke up my kids and my husband, and I said, it's time to go. We got to go. And I just grabbed pillows, and I grabbed blankets, because I didn't know if I was going to be able to sleep in a hotel. I thought I was going to sleep in my car, because I heard from neighbors that all the hotels were already busy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Investigations are underway into both how the fires began and the official responses. California Governor Gavin Newsom is calling for an independent investigation after some hydrants lost water pressure at the height of firefighting efforts this week. CNN reviews of government reports and interviews with more than a dozen experts suggest L.A. County's resources were pushed well beyond its limits, something the Los Angeles fire chief emphasized, telling CNN's Jake Tapper the city cut $17 million from the fire budget, crippling their efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: We have over 100 fire apparatus out of service. And having these apparatus in the proper amount of mechanics would have helped. And so it did absolutely negatively impact.

I want to also be clear that I have, over the last three years, been clear that the fire department needs help. We can no longer sustain where we are. We do not have enough firefighters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: A source tells CNN that the fire chief has now met with the city mayor, Karen Bass.

Joining us now is Julia Vargas Jones in Los Angeles. Julia, what's the latest, and what's the plan for firefighters today as there has been a bit of a lull in the winds?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Amara. Look, this is almost surreal as this fire is coming east towards the city. Now, I'll step out of the way so you see. What you're looking at here, you're looking west through the hills here. Over on the other side of this is all of the destruction that we've seen in the Palisades fire over the past five days. What you're describing there, that kind of frustration of firefighters, were there not enough firefighters on the scenes? Was enough done to save the homes of residents? Those are questions that we have been hearing from residents over the past couple of days as they start to understand the true extent of the damage, start trying to get back to their homes.

But it's difficult to even think about that as this fire is still raging, 11 percent contained and now moving into this area of Los Angeles. Ae are so close to the Getty Center, one of the most famous cultural L.A. institutions. We just got word minutes ago that it was evacuated. Our crew was there just a few minutes before this live shot, trying to have a sense of where the fire was and where it was spreading. We've been moving around trying to see the best vantage point for you guys, and it's so close to the 405 freeway that cuts Los Angeles north to south. [10:05:07]

And now all of this alerts for evacuation, now mandatory, expanded through the north of here into the Encino, San Fernando Valley area, as well as to these neighborhoods close to the veterans center, which was evacuated, they said, out of an abundance of caution. And now UCLA campus as well on standby for a potential impacts that it might have on -- from these fires, Amara.

I'll say also, right now we're still hearing aircrafts on the air. There's been a lull on those winds that were so damaging and played such an important part in in getting this fire to spread. But that is expected to change. The firefighters want to take advantage of these good conditions to use those aircrafts to help fight this fire from the skies, as well as from the ground. But we know that winds are expected to come back, not to the extent they were earlier this week when these fires began, but it will make fighting this even more difficult. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Yes, the Getty Center now evacuated except for a small emergency staff. UCLA is telling their students to prepare for potential evacuation, although they have not ordered the evacuation of the campus. And we've got these live pictures here courtesy of KABC. And this fire still raging. Again, Palisades fire now 11 percent contained. That is progress. And there is this moment of calmer winds. But still so many elements that these firefighters are battling. Julia Vargas Jones there for us, thank you so much.

And while many were able to escape the flames, others could not. At least 11 people are dead. One of them the sister of Zaire Calvin. I spoke with Zaire on "FIRST OF ALL" this morning about this loss for his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ZAIRE CALVIN, LOST HOME, MOTHER'S HOME TO FIRE: It was earlier during the evacuation orders. Just let her know that, you know, we had to get out of there. And she was collecting her stuff, and presumably, I felt that she was on her way out.

BLACKWELL: And you thought that she was safe, that she was out. When did you learn that she didn't make it out?

CALVIN: so my mother Is disabled. She's in her 80s, and she has steps in front of her home. So when we were -- it was a chaotic scene about the time that we were leaving. And I knew we had to take time to get my mother down the steps. Me and my cousin P.J., he was the only person to help. And I had my wife, my one-year-old baby. And as we were leaving, I glanced, and I remember seeing her car still parked out in front of the house.

BLACKWELL: And did you go over to the house?

CALVIN: Yes. Well, I just made a yell, like, went to the house. We got to get out. We got to get out. We got to go now. Came back, raced up the back, down the driveway, went and grabbed my mother. It looked like the scene out of a volcano movie with the winds gushing and the fire everywhere. It was, it was, it was rough.

BLACKWELL: And how did you ultimately learn that your sister did not make it out of the house?

CALVIN: So when we got everyone in the car and we got out, barely got out, when I left, I just noticed the car. And then the very next day, I had to go back to check because our car was still there, and I wasn't even sure she was even in the back, as we were leaving. But I know she's a bit of a recluse and doesn't really talk to people, notice her car sitting in front of the home, ads for a wellness check. When I went back with the police, they walked up, looked over, said they couldn't see anything, and then they left. I talked to my cousin P.J., spoke with him, came back, asked him to bring a shovel. He brought a shovel. He asked me where. I told him where her bedroom was located, and he took the shovel and he started moving debris around. And in that he ended up finding her remains.

[10:10:09]

BLACKWELL: He found her remains.

CALVIN: Yes.

BLACKWELL: I am, I am so sorry that you have lost your home, your sister. The things obviously can be replaced, but the loss of your sister, and to find her in that way -- I know that there's one thing that you wanted to be sure to say about the rebuild and the uniqueness of Altadena that when you came on today about when this community comes back, what you want to see. And what is that?

CALVIN: Yes. The most important part is, because I don't think people understand the richness of Altadena or even the history of Altadena. Altadena, the reason that we ended up with so many African Americans in Altadena was because Pasadena would not allow black people to live or dwell in Pasadena. So the servants in Pasadena, all the African American servants, they bought them houses and Altadena to live separately because there was no redlining for black people to live in Altadena during that, during that time.

So for that reason is why we have so many African Americans in Altadena. And when it comes to this housing, and us losing so much as a community, because we're a very tightknit community, diverse community, but strong African American community. And when these taxes come, I'm so worried about being, the taxes being reassessed because now these are complete wipe out demolition to all these different homes. So people being able to afford the taxes, if we need to be grandfathered in to make sure that we're not blackballed out the system and gentrified out of the, you know, out of our homes and our wealth.

BLACKWELL: And Zaire, we will certainly follow that as the rebuilding continues. Obviously, right now, the urgent need is to stop the fire and offer and protect and support people like you and your mother and your family. I thank you for your time, Zaire Calvin. And again, we are sorry for your loss.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BLACKWELL: Our thanks again to Zaire for speaking with us this morning.

Let's talk about what's coming in this day ahead. Wind gusts, they're expected to gain strength later tonight. And that, of course, complicates the difficult work of firefighters trying to contain these six fires.

WALKER: And we want you to listen to the brute force of the Santa Ana winds as they helped fires rip through parts of Los Angeles. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here to talk about just how strong these winds will be. Hopefully, we're not going to see what we saw in the first few days of these fires, but this lull in the winds we've been talking about, you said, is a very short window, and then things will pick up again.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So again, it's that very narrow window that the firefighters are just really hoping they can make the most out of before they start to come back up again tonight.

And so we take a look at what we've been dealing with. This is the forecast for Saturday as well as Sunday. And you'll see both days we have not only elevated but also critical fire threat for several of these areas. That does include the city of Los Angeles, but a lot of the surrounding areas, too. So keep that in mind.

Here's a look at all of the fires and the containment numbers that we have. The Eaton fire was at about three percent. We're now up to 15, so they've been able to make some strides there. The Kenneth fire going from 50 percent to 80 percent. So again, these numbers are improving. We'd like to get them even higher, up to 100 percent if even possible, before those winds pick back up tonight, OK.

So for the morning again, still relatively nice. If you're waking up this morning, those firefighters are out there. They are working very hard to take advantage of this. But notice by the time we get into the afternoon and the evening, you start seeing ticking up, teens, 20s even 30 miles per hour. By tonight, you really start to see that ramping back up, especially into the overnight timeframe. And even through Sunday, you're going to continue to see those wind gusts 30 to 40 miles per hour.

And we're also going to keep talking about the smoke, the downfall of the smoke, the downfall of those winds going down. It helps the firefighters, but it keeps that smoke kind of stationary. And that does not help with people who are in there in those areas breathing it in.

BLACKWELL: All right, Allison Chinchar thank you so much.

And I know that you're thinking of ways, how can I help? Well, we have collated some options for you to help the people impacted by these devastating wildfires. Visit CNN.com/impact for more information.

A firefighter in Los Angeles County takes matters into his own hands to save his home from these flames. What he told our Bill Weir about the harrowing experience. That's ahead.

[10:15:8]

WALKER: Also, parts of the south are thawing out after one of the strongest winter storms to hit the area in years. We'll have a live report next.

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BLACKWELL: California Governor Gavin Newsom's office says that more than 12,000 personnel, 1,660 pieces of firefighting equipment, have been deployed in the battle to save people and property in the greater L.A. County area.

WALKER: CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir spoke with a former forest service firefighter who tried to put out the fast-approaching flames with a garden hose and chainsaw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIRO SHERRELL FREED, FORMER FOREST SERVICE FIREFIGHTER: This tree, like the fire came right up to the property. Yes, like that tree torched out.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: For the last five years, Miro Sherrell Freed was a hotshot, putting out wildland blazes around southern California. And all the while, he knew his own home atop a Sierra Madre ridge was a ripe fire target.

FREED: I've been doing, like, fuel reduction and defensible space. So I've been, like, lifting all the trees and, like, cutting everything back, so in case a fire does happen, it cant get up into the trees and like, torch out the building.

WEIR: And that paid off.

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

WEIR: Right.

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

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

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

FREED: I've been, like, telling them what's going on and, like, telling them what to do. It's been crazy. And, like, I'm not even paid for this. Like I always said for the forest service. Like I like to do it, not for the money. It's like a great way to be outside and be of service. But I never thought I'd be doing this -- for free. Like, it's insane, insane.

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

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

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

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

WEIR: Miro tells me he resigned from the Forest Department as a hotshot. He's going to start his own business helping people with defensible spaces, clearing brush from around homes and maybe getting rebates from insurance companies for doing that going forward.

Now that the winds have been calm, at least for the last few hours, and now that there's a lot more crews in from other states, even the help is noticeable. There's some relief in these places, but those red flag warnings could be kicking back up. And these days it's anybody's guess what happens next.

Bill Weir, CNN, Sierra Madre.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Bill.

Joining us now for a look at how the federal government is assisting, CNN's Betsy Klein is live from the White House. Betsy, what has the president said about these fires?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Victor, President Biden and Vice President Harris are staying in Washington this weekend to continue to receive briefings on the wildfires and stay in close contact with local and state officials. Now, of course, President Biden had been set to travel to Rome, where he was going to meet with the Pope at the Vatican and also meet Ukraine President Zelenskyy, canceling that trip a couple of days ago. And Vice President Harris, for her part, canceling a planned trip to Singapore, Bahrain, and Germany. Of course, this hits very close to home, literally, for Vice President Harris. Her home in Los Angeles is within that mandatory evacuation zone as of now.

But of course, the federal response at this stage is twofold. Number one, help fight those fires and stop them from spreading, and number two, help those who have been impacted by these fires. Now, what the federal response looks like right now, President Biden has directed the federal government to cover 100 percent of the state's costs for the next 180 days. He has also authorized a FEMA program that gives victims $770 to kickstart recovery. That is for things, immediate needs like baby formula, things like water, gas, prescription drugs. But that is just the start of much FEMA aid that will be needed. He's also providing air tankers to help with firefighting, helicopters, and military personnel from the Department of Defense.

Now, the president has vowed that the federal government will be there with the people of California as long as it takes. But I just want to remind you of the timing here as they construct the inaugural stands right behind me. President-elect Trump takes office just nine days from now, so a lot of questions about how he will handle this response going forward. But here's what President Biden had to say. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to make sure California has every possible resource to fight these fires and help survivors. This is not going to be over even when all the fires are out. It's just going to be the beginning. And the change in insurance policy in California for these modest homes, as well as these very expensive homes and businesses. So we're going to be around a long while to go to help, the federal government, and the mayor as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:25:03]

KLEIN: President Biden says he is keeping the transition team closely briefed ahead of this very lengthy and complex recovery process that is likely to span the entire federal government. Victor and Amara?

BLACKWELL: Betsy Klein for us at the White House, thank you so much.

So some homeowners in Los Angeles County have been now allowed to return to at least where their homes used to be. We've got these sobering photos before and after the fires ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. You're taking a live look right now over Los Angeles County. And we just learned minutes ago that firefighters are making progress on battling the flames. The Palisades fire is now 11 percent contained, the Eaton fire 15 percent. So there is some progress being made, although it is a bit slow right now.

[10:30:01]

Firefighters got a brief break in high winds, but those are expected to pick up back up later today. We are, of course, continuing to track the latest developments and we'll bring them to you here on CNN. We also should mention that there have been some new evacuation orders. We learned that the Getty Center, that massive museum complex in Brentwood overlooking the city of L.A., has been evacuated and emergency personnel is staying behind. And also, as you were mentioning earlier, Victor, UCLA also telling its staff and students to remain on alert because, as this has been going, you just don't know when these evacuation orders will come, if they indeed do.

Well, a massive winter storm has brought the south to a standstill, and its effects are not over yet.

BLACKWELL: Right now, there are more than 1,800 flight delays, nearly 800 cancellations. Those numbers are rising by the minute. But for those who are not stranded at the airport, look at this. A fun snow day in the south. This is Atlanta's Piedmont Park, packed with people sledding and sliding down on cardboard or plastic sheets, whatever they can find, building snowmen.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now from Atlanta. And of course, the concern is the roads. They look clear behind you, but what's the latest here? People are dealing with the ice here on the east coast.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Yes, that's right, Victor and Amara. Well, the roads are getting better and better, but as you can see behind me, there's still this mix of ice and slush that many people have to put up with. That's what many people across the area woke up to, because many residential streets are yet not clear. However, major thoroughfares like I-85 right next to us, right here, are in much better condition. And you see the traffic flowing at would be pretty much normal for a Saturday morning.

Now, the National Weather Service has updated, giving us the latest on the storm. And let me tell you, Victor and Amara, the official amount of snow that we got in the city of Atlanta was 2.1 inches. And for those keeping count, it was 1,079 days since we last got measurable snow.

Now, normally every year we get 1.8 inches of snow. So 2025 is already above average. Many people, of course, are enjoying this winter wonderland, including several who went to Piedmont Park. And this is what one of them had to say. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIVANI VIRANI, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, GEORGIA TECH: I was born and raised in the metro, and I've never seen -- I feel like I've never experienced anything like this. I woke up at like 7:00 in the morning. I knew this was coming, and I was like one of those people who believed that it was actually going to be like four to five inches. And I'm glad I woke up to a really good surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Victor and Amara, I was telling you in my first report that 6:00 in the morning that there was still 90,000 customers without power in the state of Georgia. Fortunately, that figure has gone down to barely over 50,000. So those crews are working very, very fast in spite of the challenging conditions. Now back to you. WALKER: And the good news for the people who can't stand the cold,

which, although I feel like a lot of us have been enjoying it, it's going to get warmer again, I think by Sunday, in the 40s.

BLACKWELL: So in the 40s.

WALKER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

WALKER: Warmer.

BLACKWELL: That's good. That's good.

WALKER: Rafael Romo, thank you.

Well, the wildfires burning deadly and destructive paths across Los Angeles County could be the costliest disaster in U.S. history. We're going to talk to an expert next on what this means for California's already fragile insurance market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:37:59]

WALKER: We want to take you back out live to Los Angeles County. You can see the huge plumes of smoke there. This is the Palisades fire. It is now 11 percent contained. Now, firefighters got a brief break in the high winds, but those are expected to pick up back later today. But this fire is moving east, and that has led to some new evacuations, including the Getty Center, the museum there in Brentwood, where emergency personnel is being allowed to stay behind. But that is the famed cultural institution, the art museum that is so beloved all around Los Angeles and really around the country.

The California wildfires are placing the spotlight on the ongoing insurance issues many homeowners were facing even before the fires began. Many Californians turned to the state's FAIR plan for coverage after some national carriers declined to renew millions of homeowner policies. Between 2020 and 2022, insurance companies declined to renew 2.8 million homeowner policies in California, including over 500,000 in Los Angeles County. And that is according to most recent data from the California Department of Insurance.

Joining me now is the former California insurance commissioner Dave Jones. Dave, good morning to you. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. We have been seeing this trend in states not just in California, but in other states like Florida, where you see these extreme weather patterns, where these insurance companies are not renewing these homeowners' policies. And we've seen the impact also in the Pacific Palisades specifically. Knowing that, do you expect that some of these fire victims may not have insurance?

DAVE JONES, FORMER CALIFORNIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: Well, I think most of them do have insurance. When they were non-renewed, they went to the FAIR plan and obtained insurance there.

[10:40:00]

I think the bigger tragedy, on top of the deaths and injuries are the continued insurance crisis and availability of insurance for people. And it's only going to get worse. The climate scientists tell us we're not doing enough fast enough to transition from fossil fuels. Temperatures are going to continue to rise. We're going to see more extreme and severe weather related events -- hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, severe convective storms, wildfires, drought, extreme heat. So the future is not a good one.

WALKER: Yes, So tell me more about that and what this would mean, then, for those who still live in the area, those who may choose to rebuild. I mean, are we going to see premiums skyrocket and perhaps more insurers pulling out of the state?

JONES: So we're definitely going to see premiums go up. We're anticipating that based on regulatory changes last year. And now with these fires they're going to go up even higher. The commissioner has ordered a one-year moratorium in the areas of the disasters against non-renewals. The hope had been before these fires that, based on the regulatory changes giving them a rate and reducing their exposure to a FAIR plan shortfall, they'd start writing again. And we hope that the insurers will follow through on that commitment.

There's a lot to be angry about here, but one of the things we should be angry about is the insurance industry's continued investment in the fossil fuel industry, whose emissions are causing these events and causing insurers challenges writing insurance. Just to give you a sense of that, the U.S. insurers have about $536 billion invested in fossil fuels. Globally, insurers collect annually about $11.3 billion in premiums. So they're both investing in fossil fuels and collecting premium from fossil fuels. State Farm alone has over $30 billion invested in fossil fuels, and that's the company that says it can't continue writing insurance. So why are insurers allowed to invest in and collect premiums from the very industry which is making it challenging for them to continue to write insurance in the United States? It makes no sense.

WALKER: Who would regulate that?

JONES: Well, that would be regulated by state legislatures, which under our system of insurance regulation in the United States is done at the state level. And states could say, look, insurance companies, you need to transition out of collecting premium from fossil fuel companies and investing in fossil fuel companies, because it's those very emissions which are contributing to your inability to write insurance for the people in our state.

WALKER: David, there are so many people, you know, friends of mine, friends of friends who I've heard just personally, who've lost their homes, they've lost their entire communities. What kind of advice can you give to those who've lost their homes and the steps that they should be taking next when it comes to their insurance companies? I'd imagine these insurance companies are being inundated with phone calls right now.

JONES: So first, most people don't realize that most insurance policies written in the United States have coverage for what's called adjusted living expenses, which is basically your costs associated with being driven out of your home, your motel, your restaurant, your clothing, whatever you need to try to restore your life again immediately after the disaster. So you should contact your insurance agent, contact your insurance broker, contact your insurance company and ask that that money be made available to you. The state law in California requires insurers to begin paying that out right away.

Then you need to begin to actually provide documentation to the insurance company with regard to your overall loss. That can be a long and painful process, but you need to start engaging. Be wary of fraudsters who typically come into the area, fly by night contractors who want to set you up immediately to help you out. You need to check them, investigate them, make sure that in fact, they're real. The other challenge people are going to have is when you have a disaster like this that's destroyed over 10,000 structures, you have shortages in contractors and labor. So it's going to be a challenge. And contact the Department of Insurance if you're running into any obstacles with your insurance company.

WALKER: Yes, there for sure will be many challenges ahead. Dave Jones, appreciate the conversation. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, as we continue to see these live pictures, this is L.A. County firefighters battling the elements, but making some progress containing the wildfires there. We've got a look at the devastation. More of this from the air coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:48:12]

BLACKWELL: More live pictures out of California. Firefighters battling the Palisades fire. And look at this, as those flames move quickly, we also have to remember the concerns about the air quality, this just constant wall of smoke hovering over these communities. Health officials have said that these are dangerous, obviously. Eleven percent contained there, Palisades fire.

WALKER: Yes, stay indoors if you can.

New evacuation orders were issued overnight as the fire crept closer to homes and businesses. And this is just one of six fires burning right now. CNN's Erin Burnett got a look at the damage from the air. And here's what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH ZAIDA, PHOTOJOURNALIST: So right now, we're south of the Palisades and the fire. Looking up, you can see this is PCH right here.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT: Pacific Coast Highway running right along the Pacific Ocean, yes.

ZAIDA: And then leading up into Malibu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm seeing your picture. And once again, I guess you're not hearing --

ZAIDA: And even here, it's almost impossible to see with all the smoke.

BURNETT: Yes. Flying into this, it is like you're flying into a complete wall of fog. It almost doesn't even look like that. It just looks like an actual wall, like a white wall.

ZAIDA: Yes.

BURNETT: That we're flying into.

ZAIDA: There's a fire bomber just dropped retardant right there.

BURNETT: All right, so that that red that we're looking at is fire retardant? There we go. We're zooming in on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is live right now.

BURNETT: That plane is dropping that there. So that is an active area, then, in the Palisades fire.

ZAIDA: Yes, that's their way of setting a defense wall for the fire progressing any further. And when they're referring to containment, this is what they're talking about, is where have they set up their defense.

[10:50:00]

And 100 percent containment pretty much means that they've set up set up their defense in a circle around the fire, and the circle is complete.

BURNETT: And that is really important to understand that containment doesn't mean it's not burning. It means that they've been able to establish a perimeter, essentially, that they can defend. I mean, it's using words like, again, warzone words, right? But that's exactly what it is. You're setting up a line that you're going to you're going to make your front line.

ZAIDA: Yes. You're containing the threat. You're not eliminating the threat.

BURNETT: So this is the plane that just dropped the fire retardant that we saw, and now it's going out. As it was doing that, one thing that you could see being in a helicopter, and all of the altitudes are, is that the right is that how I'd say it?

ZAIDA: Yes, altitude.

BURNETT: So when you see that plane flying that dropped the fire retardant, as that was happening, there was a commercial flight that you could see nearby it. And all of this is happening in an incredibly busy airspace. There it is, dropping more fire retardant right now. All of this is around the perimeter of the Palisades fire where they're trying to establish that defensive line.

ZAIDA: My in-laws actually lost their house in the Palisades fire. And it's something that's very hard to comprehend, because you started the week just business as normal. And then by Tuesday night, they're wondering if their house is even still standing. And then Wednesday, I was able to get up in the air and confirm that it was gone. So that's their house right there in the center of the screen.

BURNETT: That's their house. So this is your in-laws' house right here?

ZAIDA: Yes. And a lot of memories with our three kids there. And so it's just one of those things that you just got to pick yourself up and rebuild. But you're not alone. You have a whole community that's suffering, and try and bond together one day at a time.

So there's the entrance into the Getty.

BURNETT: All right. That is the Getty museum, one of the Getty family and one of the preeminent art museums in the country, certainly in L.A. And they had, right in the in the middle of the fire area, but had established a perimeter and were able to save. But look right there, right there next to it. Complete devastation, total devastation.

And then can we swing back over to the Getty? There you go. Swing right back over to the Getty and you see right there, they were able to save that. This is the Palisades fire in the distance, saw another giant fire retardant plane flying through that. And then as we pan across, you can see the smoke over all of L.A. here. And coming in here, you're going to see it. Finally, the iconic Hollywood, which you can barely see now because of the smoke, behind that is the Eaton fire. So what we're looking at there, just over the hills, and just that, that volume of smoke, that is the Eaton fire.

This image is absolutely incredible. This looks like the aftermath of some sort of a bomb.

ZAIDA: Yes.

BURNETT: And that's just the sun shining back through the Palisades?

ZAIDA: Yes.

BURNETT: It does, though. It looks as if some, a bomb had been dropped there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Fascinating look from above there with our Erin Burnett.

BLACKWELL: Now, the winds in California, they're expected to pick up again today, later today. The impact that could have on the efforts to get these fires under control, we'll dig into that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:58:19]

BLACKWELL: Again, we've been looking at live pictures here courtesy of KCAL and KCBS here, as they are continuing to fight these fires, as the Palisades fire now 11 percent contained. Now, when I spoke with CAL FIRE earlier today, the battalion chief said that the winds there now are the typical Santa Anas they're used to fighting these fires through. However, the winds are expected to pick up later today, and that's going to be, obviously, another challenge for the firefighters.

WALKER: And those winds have been shifting east, or at least the fires have. And that's caused new evacuations, which includes the Getty Center Museum.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is back with us. So talk about these winds when we expect them to pick up and how strong they might be.

CHINCHAR: All right, I think like you guys mentioned, it's the twofold component. It's not that they're picking up, but it's also the fact that they're changing direction. So all of those plans the firefighters had in place, they've now got to switch gears because the wind direction has shifted.

And so we take a look at what we're dealing with both today and also tomorrow. Notice both days we have both the elevated and critical fire threat, not just for Los Angeles, but a lot of the areas surrounding it as well. The firefighters have been able to make vast improvements in these containment numbers. In fact, the latest number we have for the Lidia fire, that is now finally at 100 percent containment. The other fires also increasing. Eaton fire gone from three percent to 15 percent, Kenneth fire having gone from 50 percent to 80 percent. So they are making improvements thanks to the lower wind speeds.

But that will change by tonight. We're going to start to see these single digit wind speed numbers jump up to the 20, 30 mile per hour range as we go through the overnight hours, and even continuing into Tuesday, even continuing into Sunday. Then on Tuesday, we get our next round of strong winds, Monday through Wednesday, really peaking on Tuesday. There we could see those wind gusts back up around 50 to 60 miles per hour.