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At Least 11 Dead, 100k Under Evacuation Orders In CA Wildfires; Strong Winds Expected To Pick Back Up In CA Fire Zone, Potentially Slowing Containment Advances; Strong Winds To Return To California Fire Zone Later Today; Pregnant Couple's Home Burns Down One Day After Finishing The Nursery; Biden Signs Major Disaster Declaration For California Fires; California Officials Give Update On Wildfire Response; JPMorgan: California Wildfire Loses Estimated At $50 Billion & Natural Disasters Worldwide Created Losses Worth $320B In 2024. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired January 11, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta, alongside my colleague Erin Burnett in the Pacific Palisades area of California. Erin, we'll get you in a moment.

We want to remind people we are covering this breaking news. Firefighters are battling hellish conditions right now in parts of L.A. County as now four active wildfires continue to burn out of control. Progress has been made on two of the largest fires, Palisades and Eaton fires, but now there continues to be concern about strong winds that will be picking backup fanning the flames again.

L.A.'s fire chief tried to reassure citizens at a press conference last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Over the next few days and into the next week, we will be facing another critical weather event. I want to assure the residents within our incredible city of Los Angeles that Mayor Bass, Chief McDonnell and I are in lockstep together and that we will utilize every single resource at our disposal to ensure public safety and that we holistically protect Angelenos.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: The fires are already blamed for at least 11 deaths. Officials indicating this morning that at least 13 others are missing at this point, more than 100,000 are now under evacuation orders. Officials say two of the four fires have some significant containment.

The Palisades fire, which is the largest, has about 11 percent containment. The Eaton fire is at 15 percent containment. Some have questioned their response to this disaster. But at a press conference earlier today, L.A. County Fire Chief pushed back on those criticisms.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CHIEF ANTHONY MARRONE, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: We staffed all available reserve apparatus prior to the start of the Palisades fire. I did everything in my power to make sure that we had enough personnel and resources before the first fire started.

All of our surrounding states are here right now fighting this fire. So it wasn't for a lack of preparation and decision making that resulted in this catastrophe. It was a natural disaster.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Erin Burnett is in the Pacific Palisades area. Erin, you heard the fire chief there who said, you know, pre-emptively, they did a lot. But the biggest obstacle here, while they were ready for wildfires, not four all at once, which is what took place earlier in the week.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: No. Yes, that's exactly right. And what we're seeing right now, the winds are still low, but they're expected to pick up. And, you know, the scene is, it is like an Armageddon scene when you drive through Brentwood, which is now under pressure from the Palisades fires.

You talk about some containment. Containment basically means they establish a perimeter where they think they can prevent the fire from jumping over it. Containment does not mean the fire is put out.

So it's important when you talk about 8 to 10 percent contained, they right now are desperately trying to prevent that Palisades fire, which is where we are from spreading into areas like Brentwood. They've requested nearly 4,000 more firefighters.

And even here, we've been seeing quite a few of those firefighting helicopters flying over. They're trying to -- they've requested a lot more air assets.

[13:05:01]

And Fred, basically, what that means is they'll fly some DC-10s over with thousands of gallons of fire retardant, which is the red stuff that you can see. And I watched some of that from the air yesterday to try to drop it down and establish that perimeter.

But there is a feeling of incredible anxiety and fear. It is a 9/11 moment for this city. There is no one who is untouched by it. There is no one who is not afraid and anxious. You talk about 100,000 people. There are people who are refugees from their homes, who have lost their homes, whose homes they are afraid may burn. And that is now defining the entire life in Los Angeles. And this morning, when you come into Palisades, where we are now, it is a red cloud that has descended over Brentwood. And that is the situation as it is right now. There is also -- and this is important to understand, people are so desperate to see if their houses have even burned down amidst this.

You have lines of cars as far as the eye can see of people who are waiting and they sit there and wait with their engines off for the entire day to try to get the opportunity to be taken up to see their home. So even amidst that cloud, the people are sitting there waiting to try to come back up, but these winds anticipated to pick up and they are requesting all of these additional assets because of their fear specifically about the Palisades fire and spread.

I want to go now to CNN's Julia Vargas, who is also with me here in Los Angeles. She is on the eastern side of the Pacific Palisades where the fire threat is shifting at this hour.

And Julia, I know they've requested all these additional fire assets. Nearly 4,000 more firefighters requested to try to fight this fire. What are you seeing where you are right now?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, we are seeing these firefighters have already started to arrive. These resources. I'll show you right behind me this. You are just west of me. This is our view towards you. Between you and me, there is this mountain, this wall of smoke.

This is basically the edge of the Brentwood neighborhood just to north of me. There's a residential neighborhood. The firefighters have been right now. I can see that. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see, but I see them rolling out hoses, trying to get them down the side of these hills to drench those hills try to stop that fire from coming and jumping over to this residential neighborhood over and over again.

We've seen planes from Cal fire making drops of retardant, those pink clouds and the pink spots that you might be able to see in the hills behind me, that is what they're doing. It seems from what we've observed in the past couple of hours that they've been circling around trying to get a perimeter around these residential areas up in the hills.

On the other side of these hills, it's Encino, San Fernando Valley, densely populated areas, thousands of people, as you mentioned now, under those evacuation alerts. And Erin, yes, a lot of panic here.

Just to give you a little bit of context of what this means of where we are. This is west right to the east here. All of this downtown L.A., right here on the other side. This is how close we are.

I'll tell you our crew coming in this morning was still dark and we could see the flames just so well just off the freeway did not take that long for us to be able to see those flames on our way here. And the point you just made about the residents trying to see their homes, trying to see if their homes are OK, if they've made it at all, those lines are still happening, people are still lining up in all parts of Los Angeles that have been affected by this.

But not just to see if their homes made it, but also because of this concern with looters. We're seeing new arrests and a very strict security perimeter around these neighborhoods now under these evacuation orders.

People just asking us for ID, lots of checkpoints. And officers telling us, we're seeing people trying to get in and it's difficult. It's a difficult situation to navigate because, of course, you want to have empathy for the folks who are just trying however they can to get up.

We spoke with people yesterday hiking up hills on foot to see -- to try to get a glimpse off their house. And we also saw folks on bikes who are just trying to see the level of destruction. At this point, firefighters still coming into these neighborhoods, trying to make use of these good conditions, Erin, that we have all those planes can still be on the sky to help fight the fire from above.

BURNETT: All right, Julia, thank you very much.

And I don't know how much of those watching can hear, but we are seeing an increased air, just air activity here in Palisades that we can see above us of those firefighting assets that they've requested going in.

[13:10:02]

And the gusty winds that supercharged these fires days ago had eased a bit. There'll be moments when you hear them, you know, yesterday morning, we could hear them whipping. Then that calmer wind was what the firefighters have been trying to seize to establish these perimeters and control these fires. But those winds are going to pick up again, something no one can control.

And CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has been tracking the winds, which is their incredible fear. I mean, Allison, they are racing against time. They're racing against the wind to try to control this when they know the winds are going to come. So what exactly is the forecast here?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, so the forecast is just that. We've got a very narrow window right now where these winds are still on the low side, but they are going to pick back up. So it is a race against the clock.

You can see the forecast for not just today, but also tomorrow. You have those elevated and critical fire threats, not just in L.A. proper, but again, look at all of these areas that surround it that have the potential for those fires as well.

You look at the scope of all of these, where they are located. The good news is that containment numbers have gone up in the last 24 hours. So having those lower wind speeds, has helped the firefighters.

Lidia Fire now up to 100 percent containment. Eaton Fire, increasing significantly. Kenneth Fire, increasing significantly. So we are seeing those improvements. And we will still have a few more hours of those low winds.

Many of these areas still in single digit numbers which is fantastic for the firefighters. But once we get into the afternoon, so you start to see them creeping up here in the teens in the twenties. As we head into the evening, they will start to take up even more and eventually by the overnight and into Sunday. Now we're talking wind gusts of 30, 40 miles per hour. So that's when it starts to become concerning again for those firefighters.

The other thing to note now, when you get those calmer winds, that helps the firefighters. The unfortunate part is you don't have the wind to disperse the smoke particles. So the air quality oftentimes in some of these, especially low lying valleys, just get stuck. It gets very poor because that smoke has nowhere to go.

So you'll see these air quality alerts that are in effect not just today, but likely in effect tomorrow, too. And you can see how those winds just kind of shift that smoke back and forth as the wind direction changes.

Because of that, too, you also have the red flag warnings and the fire weather watch because that is another component, too. It's not just the wind speed that creates an issue for the firefighters, it's the wind direction. As that shifts in a moment's notice, these firefighters, Erin, have to go ahead and completely change their plans that they had made based off of the wind direction being one way that has now shifted to something completely different.

BURNETT: Yes. And just, you know, the back and forth, and that's also with the valleys, right, can affect the -- which way the winds go just as these precious moments that they have.

Allison, thank you very much.

And coming up, you know, the question that is already being asked, even as they are in the midst of what is a 9/11 moment for America's second largest city, what could have been done to prevent this utter disaster from wildfires spiraling out of control and wiping out entire towns and parts of Los Angeles?

Our coverage of the devastating wildfires in Southern California continues after a brief break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:15]

BURNETT: OK. OK. I'm going to talk to it.

All right, we are back with our breaking news. I'm here in Los Angeles. The biggest wildfire in in southern California right now in the Pacific Palisades has been shifting and moving inland.

Let's just show you a couple of pictures. These are live pictures from L.A. County, fire spreading down this particular hill. Those homes igniting on fire. This is what is actively happening at every moment here in Southern California.

More than 100,000 people right now under evacuation orders, strong winds are threatening to slow progress on containment. And obviously, we are feeling some of that just start to pick up a little bit here.

People who are coming home are coming back to, well, not much. Here's one person who's home burned.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

NIC ARNZEN, LOST HOME IN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE: The best way to explain it is if you look around right now at your neighborhood, and if you think about waving at your neighbor and walking down your street, imagine in a 24-hour period, all of that being gone. I'm -- where I used to see homes, I'm seeing acres of debris and rubble.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BURNETT: It's acres of debris and it is a toxic soup. I mean, it is hell up here. Truly, it is the -- when a house burns down, when an entire town burns down, you can think about what's in that, right, the life. And that is all of the chemicals already concerned about the soil. I mean, the concept of even returning to these communities is really almost impossible to contemplate at this point.

Just to show you where we are right now, because we're in the Palisades in an area that, as you can see, is completely leveled and destroyed. But behind us is this fire is raging. And you can see it from various angles, but I just want to show you the sky because that just shows the power of the wind when you see the billowing smoke.

You've got a blue sky that almost looks like what you would expect from Southern California, if you can see here. And then there's the line. And the line is where that smoke is billowing out over the Palisades.

That fire right now here only about 10 percent contained, which really just means that they're trying to establish a perimeter. It doesn't mean that they're putting it out. So just -- I keep emphasizing what that word means.

And now that fire has been moving. And moving even as these winds are anticipated to pick up significantly towards west Los Angeles, Brentwood and Chino (ph) near the Getty Center. Of course, the art museum here and UCLA.

I did see this from the air yesterday afternoon. And I will just say something about it. The power of the fire. You look at the Getty Center itself, and we're going to show you this later today, that art museum, they were able to protect that in part because of decisions that they'd made before about undergrowth and taking a fire prevention.

But right across the street, it is completely leveled and gone. And that is the nature of this.

[13:20:04]

You might see one home up and then a complete street decimated. That is how the fire is spreading. And right now, Southern California, so many people had -- you know, you talk about the communities that it's hitting and in Palisades, people have talked about how many of these people were wealthy.

Well, that is true. But many of them had spent their entire lives working and struggling to try to buy a home here. And I met one of them. He and his wife had spent, you know, the past 10 years working, trying to earn enough money to buy a home here. He had originally, his parents had lived in a trailer park nearby.

Finally bought a home in Pacific Palisades, and now they're having a baby in a week. They finished the nursery, closed on their house a month ago. Finished the nursery this week, and their house is now completely gone.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BURNETT: Samir Chaudry lived in Pacific Palisades and has lived in this area his entire life, but buying a home was a dream. And his father said, you've got to work really, really hard to ever be able to do that. And he did.

He put everything into it. He bought a home with his wife. They moved in a month ago and finished building their nursery on Monday. And his little boy is going to be due, or is due, will be born sometime in the next week or two. And it is all gone, that entire house and dream.

And Samir is with me now here in Palisades. And Samir, you drove up here with us and as we know this isn't -- you're not allowed to come up here, right? We were up here as media. What is it like to see this?

SAMIR CHAUDRY, LOST HOME ONE DAY AFTER FINISHING NURSERY: I mean, it doesn't feel real.

BURNETT: Yes.

CHAUDRY: I think everyone watching and everyone here knows that when you turn the corner to your hometown, The place you grew up, no matter where you live now, that's home. Driving through that -- those streets, seeing the shops, seeing the restaurants, like, that's what home feels like. And it's pretty surreal to drive here and it's gone.

BURNETT: And your wife, obviously, and you are -- you're going to be going to the hospital in a few days --

CHAUDRY: Yes.

BURNETT: -- having a baby, and then you don't have anywhere to go.

CHAUDRY: I don't know yet exactly where we're going to go. I think one of the hardest things about this time is that while a lot of us are grieving in Los Angeles, the loss of our homes, the loss of the life that we were living, the loss of the life that we imagined, at the same time, there's a rental market now and people are taking opportunities and jacking up the prices for rentals.

And I would ask all Angelenos right now that if you have a place to rent, pick a fair price and be a kind human.

BURNETT: You talk about the grief and I'm wondering because of course you're right now days away from, you know, what will be --

CHAUDRY: Yes.

BURNETT: -- and what should be one of the greatest joys of your life and hopefully looking back will be and yet it comes in the context of the home that you built for that baby. The home that you have spent a decade working to earn to buy --

CHAURDY: Yes.

BURNETT: -- is gone. How are you right now emotionally balancing joy and grief?

CHAURDY: The thing that that is keeping me going is that he doesn't know. He doesn't know that this happened.

BURNETT: Your son.

CHAURDY: My son does not know that this happened. He'll only know the world that we show him. And so, when he comes out, we have the opportunity to show him a world filled with joy and kindness. A world that's my wife and my smiling faces. That's the world that he'll know.

He doesn't know this happened. And it's our job to protect him from that.

BURNETT: And just so people understand, you just had managed to buy this house. You had --

CHAURDY: Yes.

BURNETT: -- to lived up for it. Your parents, you said, had -- were refugees.

CHAURDY: Yes. My parents experienced the partition in India, in the Indian --

BURNETT: Yes.

CHAURDY: -- Pakistan partition. They got displaced from their homes. My dad came here in the 70s and he found the Palisades because of the self-realization center, on sunset in Palisades drive and he loved it and wanted to live here.

First had a mobile home on Tahitian Terrace, then made enough money to buy a home on Bienvenida. And then in the 80s, bought land in the highlands. I was born on Bienvenida. I grew up in the highlands. I went to Marquez Elementary. This has been the only home I've known. And it's a really special place to me.

And what's incredible now is I was sitting with my parents, who are also displaced. You know, their goal was to make sure that their kids never experienced that, what they experienced, being displaced from their home.

BURNETT: Displaced and refugee.

CHAUDRY: Yes. And we were looking at each other and just going -- I mean, it was -- it's a story we've told forever in our family that they were able to root our family here in the Palisades.

BURNETT: And now you're going through this, but thank God together. And with this --

CHAUDRY: Yes.

BURNETT: -- joy of a rebirth and a restart with your child.

CHAUDRY: Yes.

BURNETT: Thank you so much, Samir.

CHAUDRY: Thank you, Erin.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[13:25:03]

BURNETT: Samir's story and just the pain that he's going through, you know, I know that it may sound trite to mention just daily life, but I think actually it's important because, you know, I was talking to someone this morning, they were alive. Of course they're alive. That's the miracle of it.

Their home is completely gone. They can't find a place to live. Two young children and the boy had a soccer game, but he couldn't go to the soccer game because they didn't know if they play it because of the air quality and because he didn't get cleats out of the house before it burned down or his jersey or any of his sports clothes.

And they didn't know where to go to get them fast enough. Couldn't get a jersey. And that is the complete and utter disruption of life that is happening here, even as the threat is looming over more destruction. And it's happening over hundreds of thousands of families.

And it is something that we all can connect to and relate to, to imagine such a sense of being bereft and a sense of loss and fear and anxiety. As these fires are looming, and we are anticipating that the attorney general here is going to give us another update on the California response to these wildfires where they are right now, we expect sheriff police to be a part of that, going to be important updates on containment and where we are.

We're going to be taking that for you live today, and we'll be right back with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:30]

BURNETT: These are live pictures here in L.A. County. You're looking right now at a -- at a hill where fire has been sort of rolling down there. And we're standing amidst destruction.

But right there, what you're looking at is -- is the ongoing hunger of that fire. It is eating the homes in its path and just continuing to move. They're obviously trying to contain it as best they can before these winds pick up.

The smoke billowing up in the air around everywhere here now is obviously toxic. It is a toxic soup of chemicals. Also, of course, memories, everything going up in smoke.

Julia Vargas Jones is here with me in Los Angeles. And also here with the Palisades Fire on the other side of the mountain from where we are, which has been spreading to some of those neighborhoods.

And from where you can stand, Julia, I know you can actually see it sort of rolling down. What does that look like?

JONES: It looks really scary, Erin, honestly. So we've been here a couple of hours in this location and we've watched as this hill turned to ash, like all of this behind me.

When we got in, the fire was at the crest at the ridge of these hills, and it has just made its way down into the canyon. And now we're watching it make its way up the next one.

There is, right here in the middle of this canyon that you see, a lot of white smoke. And then something in there that's black smoke that's billowing.

We've seen also at least -- there's at least four or five different planes making drops of retardant around here. Helicopters making water drops. Here comes one.

Whatever it is that's under the beyond that hill and in that canyon, they do not want it to be on fire.

And all these additional resources that have come to this area, about 3,700 firefighters in the Palisades Fire. We were told from the PIO just a couple hours ago, they are working tirelessly to contain it before it gets to this residential community that is right at the line of where we are.

We've watched them roll down different levels of hoses down this canyon exactly to try and drench this area so the fire does not make its way up this next hill that is a lot more densely populated. This is the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, so close to the 405 freeway

that cuts the city north-south.

You know, you mentioned earlier, Erin, that this is the city's 911 moment. It feels that way. There is no one in this area that doesn't feel touched by these fires. It is definitely a magnitude that Los Angeles has never seen before.

BURNETTE: What?

All right, Julia, thank you very much.

Looking at those firefighting planes. They've been flying -- they're going to be flying C-130s.

You know, the -- the giant cargo ones. U.S. military also have been using DC-10s. And actually seeing those DC-10s in the air, they are big and they're dropping 2,000 to 5,000 gallons of fire retardant at a time that we could see.

The federal response to this is -- is, in a sense, just beginning. They've already had some 16,000 applications to FEMA so far. That's going to be the tip of the iceberg of what they see.

We've also seen on the ground here, though -- and I saw this myself for the first time yesterday -- National Guard.

We are seeing National Guard manning some of these checkpoints because there are checkpoints now around all these communities, because of safety, because of fear about looters. But we have seen presence of the National Guard already.

And President Biden has said this week, as he's been getting his briefings, that the federal government response will -- they will cover what they -- the entire cost of the fire.

That's what they're saying that they will do the wildfire response, to be clear, of course, as the insurance event, this could be the largest, certainly, in California history.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins me now from the White House.

And, Julia, as we are awaiting, in any moment, we do anticipate getting an update from officials here on the ground, attorney general, fire other officials who are dealing with fighting this.

The federal government's response, obviously, is going to be crucial. And I've seen others -- you've got members of federal government fire on the ground here in various places, actually running into them in hotel lobbies and other places. They are here.

[13:35:03]

But what is the federal government role in this right now? JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Biden administration says

that it's been in constant contact with California Governor Gavin Newsom, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

And during a briefing yesterday that those two leaders were a part of, President Joe Biden received an update on the efforts to suppress those two fires across L.A., as well as how federal resources are being used to assist with that response on the ground.

And Vice President Kamala Harris, who was also a part of that meeting, she emphasized that the devastation from this is going to linger for quite some time.

Following that briefing, Biden promised that his team would remain, you know, supporting -- 24/7 will remain working with and supporting those local and state officials, 24/7.

And this promise comes as Biden has just over a week left in office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, 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 ago to help the federal government and the mayor, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And the president has directed 100 percent of -- has directed the federal government to cover 100 percent of the state's cost for that initial response. So that's over that first 180 days.

Biden announced that FEMA has activated it's Critical Needs Assistance Program to jumpstart recovery, which gives an initial one-time payment of $770 to survivors so that they can quickly purchase critical items like water, formula, gas and prescriptions.

The administration is also providing resources like air tankers and firefighting helicopters to assist with the response. And then more than 600 California National Guardsmen are currently assisting, and hundreds of other servicemembers are standing by to assist if called on.

Now, Biden was originally scheduled to be in Italy right now. He canceled that trip, and his aides say he's here at the White House and focused on this federal response.

And important to highlight, once again, that in just nine days, a new administration will be overseeing this -- Erin? BURNETT: Yes, just such a -- such a crucial point.

Julia, thank you very much, especially amidst all the criticism that the incoming president has leveled so far at California.

We are anticipating an update from the California attorney general in just a moment on California's response to these deadly wildfires. The response and also, of course, how it started to begin with. And we are going to take that to you live.

Stay with us here for our breaking coverage anon this Saturday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:03]

BURNETT: We want to break in here. The California attorney general is just speaking with an update on the fires.

Let's listen.

ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: -- to help the long process to heal and recover and be successful.

This hits close to home, of course, both as a Californian, but also many of my own employees at the California Department of Justice have lost their homes, have been forced to evacuate, help loved ones evacuate.

And I also have a daughter here in Los Angeles County who I have been in very close contact with, making sure that she's safe and following all of the orders and directives.

Please know that state and local officials, our courageous first responders and my team at DOJ and I are here to support you throughout this difficult time.

And there are many trusted non-profits and charities there as well. You are not alone. There is a great deal of support.

Unfortunately, we've seen before that emergencies like this, in addition to bringing out the best in so many, also bring out bad actors who seek to use the trauma, the chaos of moments like this for their own gain.

They see an opportunity, an opportunity to prey and take advantage. They take advantage of vulnerable and hurting families to make a quick buck, unfortunately. We've seen that before, so it's important for us to be prepared now.

We've seen businesses and landlords that use increased demand during emergencies to jack up the price of essential supplies and services of gas and water, batteries, first aid supplies, construction materials and housing, including hotels and including short-term rentals.

It's called price gouging. And during the state -- a state of emergency like there is currently in effect in Ventura County and Los Angeles County. It is illegal. You cannot do it. It's unlawful. It is a crime, punishable by up to a year in jail and $10,000 fines.

California law prohibits a business from charging more than 10 percent more for a good or service than they did before the emergency. So prices should only be going up 10 percent or less, and not more.

If a business only began selling the item after the emergency declaration, they can't charge more than 50 percent of the cost of the item.

This is California law. It's in place to protect those who are suffering from a tragedy, to make sure that they are not victimized again and exploited as they are trying to recover.

My office issued a consumer alert earlier this week about price gouging that has more details about the law. Bottom line, be on the lookout for illegally jacked up prices.

If you see something, if you know someone who's been the victim of price gouging, please report it to local authorities or my office at oag.ca.gov./report right away. We can take it from there.

And I just want to put a special point on this. We are talking about people who have lost loved ones, whose homes have perished in the fires, who have lost treasured belongings, whose lives have been turned upside down, who are struggling and suffering.

They're looking for housing. They're looking for essential goods to keep their lives moving. The last thing they need is for someone to victimize them again, exploit them and take advantage of them and harm them through price gouging.

They need the opposite. They need some people who are giving them care and support and looking after them and valuing them and helping them.

So this is not who we are. We should not be engaged in price gouging, whether it's groceries or rent. We are very serious about this.

And the governor's office as well is very focused on this. We are working at the highest levels in the governor's office on ensuring that there is no price gouging, and that anyone engaged in it is held accountable.

So I want to make two points about this as well. Some of our hotels and some of our landlords use algorithms based on demand and supply to set their prices.

If those algorithms lead to prices higher after the declaration of emergency than before by more than 10 percent, you're violating the law. You need to figure out how to adjust your prices consistent with the law. And if that means departing from your algorithm, depart from your algorithm.

If you're a mom and pop and you're not aware of these laws, you're now aware of these laws. Ignorance is not an excuse. Not understanding what the law is, is not an excuse. That's why I'm telling you.

So it's important that the victims of these fires be treated with respect and dignity and fairness. Price gouging is illegal. We will not stand for it. We will hold you accountable. We will prosecute as appropriate.

[13:45:07]

On top of price gouging, in times like this, we see scam artists taking the opportunity to take advantage of the vulnerable, unsuspecting, well-meaning folks, folks in need, folks who are desperate.

Be on the lookout for scammers who create fake organizations masquerading as charities and nonprofits, or who use crowdfunding sites to falsely claim that they're raising funds for victims.

We have people with big hearts who want to help. They want to donate. They want to support the victims. And we also see scammers who are taking advantage of that goodness and that generosity and scamming and defrauding those individuals.

We've seen scams that have gone after elderly -- elderly individuals, immigrants, others, including those who don't speak English as their first language.

Some even create fraudulent organizations with names that sound eerily legitimate and are easy to fall for, like American Red Cross of California. Sounds good, sounds legitimate, sounds official. It's not.

It sounds like the Red Cross we all know and trust, but that was actually the name of a now defunct organization that the DOJ ordered to cease and desist back in 2019 for misleading donors.

It tried to use the good branding and goodwill that the Red Cross, the real Red Cross, had to create this scam.

Scams come in many forms. They're often creative, confusing, persuasive. They can come by text, they can come by phone calls, emails, social media and crowdfunding sites or in person.

So here are a couple of key scams to look out for in the wake of this type of disaster. The first is a contractor scam. This is where someone pretending to be a contractor tries to pressure homeowners into putting down a deposit fee to, quote, "hold their spot" and guarantee construction, construction that may never occur.

The scammers might also pretend to be insurance adjusters demanding payment for filing a claim or seeking personal identifying information.

They may pose as a government official or a relief organization like FEMA, fire restoration, or an insurance company asking for, again, personal information or demanding a fee for services that are actually free. There is no fee for government services like these at these times. There are five important ways you can stay vigilant and protect

yourself from scams like this. Verify credentials. Don't be afraid. And I encourage you to check licenses, certifications, reviews for contractors, adjusters, charities. Make sure that who you're dealing with is legitimate.

Be skeptical, skeptical of demands for upfront payments. That's a red flag. If they're saying they're going to help you, but they need a significant upfront payment, be suspicious.

Confirm authenticity through official channels. I always encourage you to go to official government sites, including our own DOJ's Web site. We have a registry search tool there where you can confirm that charities are legitimate, that you are thinking about donating to. That's that. Oig.ca.gov/charities.

Monitor your bank accounts to make sure that you're not being taken advantage of and defrauded. Report fraud immediately to local law enforcement or to my office at Oag.ca.gov. We want to do our part to help to stop the fraud and help any other victims from becoming victims.

Finally, we've seen reports of looting. There's no way around it. Looting is wrong. Looting is unlawful. The idea of going into a disaster area to take advantage of the people who have been forced to evacuate and stealing their property is unimaginable, and it's happening.

Don't do it. It's illegal. It's also dangerous and interferes with our first responders who are doing important work and can divert critical and limited resources.

So to anyone who would go out and take advantage of this tragedy for their greedy gain, who would further victimize people who have potentially lost everything, who are already victims, who would look at this devastation and see dollar signs, I have a message for you: You will be held accountable, and my office will be engaged to hold you accountable.

As I close, I want to take a moment to thank our firefighters, law enforcement, first responders, the Cal Guard, servicemembers who are on the ground saving lives, helping people through this tragic time.

Thank you to all of you for what you've done, what you are doing, what you will do.

They are heroes and they deserve our unending support.

Under California law, reserve firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel have the right to take leave from work to help respond to the fires, as do National Guard, who are called to state active duty.

[13:50:01]

I encourage employers across the state to support employees who are selfless enough to put their lives on the line, to serve and save our communities.

I urge everyone in the greater L.A. area to please pay attention to official alerts, red flag warnings and evacuation orders that will keep you safe.

Please monitor trusted and official resources like Los Angeles County, L.A. County sheriff, L.A. Police Department, social media channels, the California Office of Emergency Services, and California Fire social media channels and Web sites as well. Again, go to the official sites.

Our law enforcement officials' and first responders' top priority is your safety. So when you hear that siren or get the mandatory evacuation notice, please comply. Please comply immediately.

And don't wait until the last minute. If you think you might need to leave, pack a bag and collect your things now so you're ready if the time comes.

There are many things in your home that are very valuable to you, and I understand that. But nearly everything in your home is replaceable. You are not. Your family is not. Keep yourself and your loved ones and your family safe.

Finally, I want to remind our immigrant communities that they are welcome at shelters regardless of immigration status. My office has put out guidance and model policies to assist California shelters and ensure they do their part to protect the rights of immigrants and their families.

This guidance can be found at our Web site at oig.ca.gov/resources.

I want to end with this, Californians are resilient. California is strong. We are strong, especially when, as now, we stand united. We will get through this, L.A. will get through this together and we will rebuild and we will heal.

California DOJ is here, ready, willing and able to support Angelenos and local law enforcement and local officials in any and every way we can. We are at your service.

I will come back at the end to answer questions, if there are any.

But for now, please allow me to welcome Supervisor Horvath to say a few words.

LINDSEY HORVATH, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: Thank you, Mr. Attorney General. Thank you for your strong --

BURNETT: So we're going to be monitoring this press conference here -- so I just took my mask off -- as -- as it continues.

You heard the attorney general there talking about looting. It's been a very real concern in areas like this. And you may say it doesn't look like there's much to lose. Things have been obviously burnt to the ground. But there are some homes standing and then there are areas that are evacuated or that people have chosen to leave because the fire seems so close that there's been concern about looting as they talk about that.

Also, he talked about, already, even as these fires are looming, the concern about rent increases.

I was talking to someone who is a refugee from this fire. Their family, they've just been unable to even get a rental and the prices have just gone up so astronomically that they aren't even able to afford it.

And that situation is happening again and again and again. It's -- it's an issue of cost. It's also an issue of what's even available in an area that is so short of housing.

So these are very real concerns right now that he's talking about as people are dealing with the -- the gut trauma punch of what they're going through.

Also, when he talks about, just take what you can take, I will say one other thing. Talking to another family, when they left, you know, they a lot of people have this feeling, as I'm sure anyone around the country watching can relate to of, oh, it's near, but it won't happen to me.

And in those final moments when they realize the flames are coming, they run to grab whatever they can.

Somebody says, well, I grabbed my passports and I grabbed a few random pairs of pants, and then I started to go grab all the scrap books. But they were too heavy and I couldn't and then the flames just came and we ran.

And now I'm looking at what's in my bag and I'm going, what did I even get? And -- and you realize people didn't even have time to think about what it is that they would say was the most valuable things in their homes to them psychologically that they wanted to grab. And now all of that is just burnt behind us.

So we're going to take a brief break as our breaking coverage continues here. Some of these winds starting to pick up here in southern California. You see those firefighting -- they've put about 4,000 more assets on the edge of that fire here in Palisades.

[13:54:30]

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Its estimated that the California wildfires have already incurred losses worth up to $50 billion, a heavy price to pay, as experts say the cost of climate change continues to rise.

CNN's Anna Stewart has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Last year was very costly due to natural disasters, hurricanes, storms and floods all around the world. Munich Re, the world's biggest insurer, estimated total losses of $320 billion, with $140 billion covered by insurance. So less than half.

Climate change is playing a big role, according to Munich Re's chief scientist.

TOBIAS GRIMM, HEAD OF CLIMATE ADVISORY, MUNICH RE: We saw a number of extreme weather events in many countries, including Canada, United Arab Emirates, Spain and Brazil.

We all have the pictures in mind with the airport in Dubai knee deep in water, with the city of Valencia, where cars were swept away in mud like toys, with areas that were widespread flooded in Brazil, in Central and Eastern Europe, in China and in many other regions.

Climate change is showing it's claws.

[13:59:50]

STEWART: The two costliest, most destructive disasters of last year were both in the United States, Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The aftermath led to losses of $56 billion and $38 billion, respectively.

Now, the current wildfires in California aren't included in this report, given it's a new year.