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At Least 16 Killed As Wildfires Scorch Los Angeles County; Volunteers Spring Into Action As Wildfires Rage Across Los Angeles; Newsom Pushes For Faster Relief After Wildfires; Law Enforcement Going Undercover To Stop Looters, Illegal Drones; Biden Briefed By Key Officials On California Wildfires; Trump's Cabinet Picks Face Confirmation Hearings This Week. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 12, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:08]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York alongside my colleague Erin Burnett, who is on the ground in Pacific Palisades, California. We do have breaking news at this hour as firefighters are battling to contain three Los Angeles area fires before powerful Santa Ana Winds, with potential gusts of 50 miles per hour pick up again.

Here's where we stand right now. 27 percent of the Eaton Fire and 89 percent of the Hurst Fire are contained. However, in the Pacific Palisades, with the Palisades Fire, more than 23,000 acres have been scorched. That fire stands at just 11 percent contained.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: And Jessica, you know that 11 percent, what that means is more than 60 square miles, nearly the size of Washington, D.C., have been utterly scorched. Whether you're looking at it from the air or you're walking down those streets, it is complete and utter devastation, like a warzone, and thousands and thousands of homes, many of which have been standing for decades, are just completely gone.

And we understand in so many of these cases they had just a few minutes when they realized this fire was coming to get out. We do know so far nearly there have been 16 confirmed fatalities. They have been using cadaver dogs to go down these blocks. There are many more than that unaccounted for right now. So we truly do not know the death toll, even as they are fighting these raging fires, trying to prevent them from reaching down into the San Fernando Valley, Brentwood, of course.

And there are more than 100,000 residents in Los Angeles right now under mandatory evacuation orders. You feel that here. You see that in the hotels. You see every family with maybe another family, a refugee family staying with them. That is the saddest right now, as those crews are trying to battle that Palisades Fire here behind us as these winds are picking up.

And I want to bring in the Deputy Chief Brice Bennett with Cal Fire as those high winds are moving back in. Deputy Chief, I know that there is real concern. They come through

those valleys. You're going to have just some tropical storm force winds, perhaps even more, anticipated over these next coming days. What is happening right now as you're able to tell us with this fire?

DEP. CHIEF BRICE BENNETT, CAL FIRE: Right. So you've seen a reprieve. The weather has definitely been in our favor today. So you've seen a lot of aerial assets working together with thousands of firefighters on the ground. They're strengthening containment lines and a containment line can be anywhere from a foot of dirt to seven blades wide of dozer line. And that is the concern. Of course, that's great for a fire front, but with the winds, they pick up embers and throw them a mile, two miles away from the fire.

So your containment lines are immediately bust when you get strong force winds. And we're expecting north-northeast winds, not necessarily the Easterly Santa Ana Winds coming through from the weather service. And that is our absolute number one concern moving forward.

BURNETT: All right. So if you get the winds as you project them you said north-northeast if I heard you correctly, Deputy Chief, what does that mean in terms of where you are most concerned about the fire spreading?

BENNETT: Well, to be frank, everywhere, with the lines not having the time to have been created and the time to have been tested by lighter winds, you'll -- the evacuation areas and zones are reflective of those concerns. And you can see where we've put the most amount of resources to some of the areas, easterly side of Palisades Fire, southern side of the Eaton Fire. It's totally situational. And it's an ongoing assessment by fire ground commanders as to where to best put those resources to strengthen those lines. But again, Mother Nature is really in charge here.

[18:05:09]

BURNETT: And just to put the exclamation point on also what you said, Deputy Chief, which is you can establish a containment line, but then the embers can fly with the winds, and the containment line then means nothing. I mean, you know, it is just the vicarious nature of these winds that you're dealing with, what happens with the winds as you project them? And I know you don't know until you know, but in terms of your ability to fight the fire, you know, because I know some of the Super Scoopers you would use to get ocean water, it's hard for them when there's winds and too much turbulence.

Even your DC-10s can be dramatically affected by these winds and some of these up currents in the valleys. What do you anticipate happening to your aerial firefighting ability as these winds keep picking up?

BENNETT: Well, right at 30 miles an hour, a drop becomes nearly ineffective because you're dropping at an aerial altitude above ground of roughly 200 feet. So a drop has 200 feet to go before it touches the ground. The real intent is that it falls like rain onto the area you're dropping. If you're dropping into a 30-plus mile an hour wind, it turns into a mist and it goes away and it doesn't even hit the target.

So that's not really the answer necessarily all the time. It's more about using the right tool for the right job. But with these kind of winds, it's more about what's the home made out of, what's the structure made out of. Is the vegetation all the way up against the house? Are there wood piles? Are there flammable materials next to the house that those embers are looking for a place to fall and start a new fire? That could be leaves in a gutter. It could be wood piles. It could be a pine or trees or just any type of ornamental vegetation that's right up against your house that when it catches, it carries the fire into the house.

And if you haven't updated your construction or have an ember resistant home with defensible space or zone zero, or no combustible materials around that home, it's really hard to defend against these sort of firestorms.

BURNETT: I mean, the situation is fraught and precarious at this moment. And, Deputy Chief, your crews have been going nonstop. They have been going nonstop. And this is now a marathon and not a sprint. But they're having to go at sprint speeds. I know you've had help from eight states come in, Canada, Mexico. And I know all that makes a difference. But how are your crews doing having worked 24, 48 hours in so many cases, and there's just no end in sight at this point?

BENNETT: Well, to be honest with you, it's horribly demoralizing for a firefighter to not be able to stop something or to prevent this sort of damage. We were just built a different way that we feel like we should be able to have an answer for every problem that 911 presents us with. And we do our darndest to make sure that we can. But there are times where our best isn't good enough, and we can only do so much.

One of the things we do is the firefighters are working now in shifts, so they'll get rest. They're not necessarily working for 48 hours straight, but some have done 24 or 36 hours straight. But they're getting a little bit of rest at strategic times when they can. But some of the other things we do is we support them at base camp with our employee support services division to make sure that we're watching each other's mental health, to make sure that we can carry on with the job at hand, and make sure we can help the citizens as best we can.

BURNETT: As you know, Deputy Chief, you're in the midst of fighting a war right now, and -- but there obviously is already a lot of, you know, frustration and anger out there. There's politics at play. There's all of these things. A new incoming federal administration. All of that playing out. If you just had to say, because you're a deputy fire chief, the politics are not where you are, what do you need?

If anybody is listening out there, you know, what you need to fight this and beat this right now that you don't have, or you want more of, what is it?

BENNETT: We need Mother Nature to give us a break. BURNETT: Just that simple. I mean, is it just that? At this moment,

that's really what it comes down to. It comes down to the power of Mother Nature.

BENNETT: We have the firefighters. We have the water. We need the time.

BURNETT: Water and time. And Deputy Chief, thank you so very much for taking just these few minutes to speak to me. I appreciate it.

BENNETT: Yes, absolutely. Have a good day.

[18:10:02]

BURNETT: Jessica, you heard him. I mean, that it comes down to that. After all of this, it comes down to Mother Nature. With all the technology and all of everything in the second largest city in the United States, it comes down to water and time. Two things that he cannot control. And that's the situation that we're in right now and millions of people here in this city.

DEAN: It is incredible. You're right that it's just -- it's that complicated and that simple. Mother Nature needs to give them a break.

Erin, thank you so much. We're going to check back in with you in just a moment.

But on that note, let's talk now with CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who's going to join us to talk more about those winds.

You heard him there, Allison. They need a break. Will they get one?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not in the near future, unfortunately, no, because now we're already starting to see those winds picking back up here in just about the last hour or two. And they're only going to go up from here.

Here's a look at the current winds. Again, we're lucky we've still got at least a couple spots on the map with some single-digit numbers, but more and more of them are getting up into the teens and even into the 20s. And those numbers are going to continue to go up through the evening tonight, as well as Monday and Tuesday of this week.

You've got the critical and elevated fire risk, not only for the remainder of the day today, but also into Monday. And again, notice it's not just Los Angeles. It's a lot of the surrounding areas, too. When we look at these numbers, this is fast forwarding to overnight tonight. You'll start to see those numbers really begin to rise. Those 30, 40, 50 mile per hour wind gusts. And especially as we get closer into Monday and Tuesday, it's not out of the question to have some of them even reach 60 miles per hour in some spots.

You look at some of these numbers, and yes, the containment numbers have gone up in the last 24 hours, thanks to the break that we did actually get. The hope is that they can make a little bit more advancement into these before those winds really start to get strong. As you heard that gentleman say, that 30 mile per hour threshold is really what they are looking for because once it gets to 30, 40, 50 miles per hour, it just becomes simply too hard for the firefighters to really utilize all of the tools that they have.

What all of these areas have in common is that they are all under severe drought. That's what this darker orange color you see on the map signifies. And to tell you how dry it really is, we look at the numbers. When you go back to since October 1st, I want you to understand it's not just a random number we picked. That it begins the water year. The water year goes from October 1st to September 30th. It doesn't start on a calendar year, January 1st, like many other things do.

And that's because this follows more of a traditional and a natural water cycle. So when you go back to October 1st, the Los Angeles area has only picked up 3/100 of an inch. Normally by now they would have at least four and a half inches on the ground, saturating that vegetation and helping those firefighters out.

Also to note, January is traditionally the second wettest month out of the year for this area. This month they've had nothing, at least no measurable rain in the L.A. area. You go back to one year, so January 9th of 2024, last year, no part of California was in a level of drought. Now you not only have a good chunk of Southern California and moderate drought, but several of those locations in higher categories, including the severe drought.

And that's going to be a concern. The one thing they need is rain. And when you look at the forecast, there is none in the next five days. You go out a little bit farther, day six, day seven, what we do start to see is at least a little bit of that elevated humidity level starting to go up. And yes, there is a teeny tiny bit of green right now down there into extreme Southern California. But I caution this because you're talking day six and day seven. That does not necessarily turn into several inches of rain.

What it's more likely to turn into is elevated humidity levels, and that will still help. That and maybe getting those winds to calm back down by next weekend. But that at least at this point right now is the only hope we really have in the short term to look at.

DEAN: All right, Allison Chinchar, walking us through it. Thank you very much.

Our coverage of the California wildfires continues. Next we're going to talk with California's chief service officer about the volunteer effort happening on the ground and how people can help the thousands of people in need right now.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:23]

DEAN: Shortly after the fire started burning in Los Angeles, volunteers started rallying to help those in need. And all across that state, people have been working to gather supplies and get them to those who have been impacted by these fires.

Joining us now, Josh Friday, the GO-Serve director and California chief service officer. He leads volunteer service initiatives all across the state of California.

Josh, thanks so much for being here with us. I know you're right now at Pasadena City College. I see activity behind you. Tell us what you all are working on right now and what you've seen.

JOSH FRYDAY, GO-SERVE DIRECTOR AND CALIFORNIA CHIEF SERVICE OFFICER: You're seeing right now what we see all over the city, which is people stepping up in a massive way to support each other, to support the community. We have distribution sites that have popped up, led by the YMCA here, the Pasadena City College and other organizations where donations have come in in droves from the entire community. Volunteers, thousands of them, literally here this weekend who have stepped up to help box these donations and they're being driven to other distribution sites.

So what we're seeing across the city is the best of California, which is that help each other. We support each other from people from all different backgrounds, and it's really inspiring to see.

DEAN: Yes. And am I right that this is the largest volunteer force in the country that you all have there in California?

FRYDAY: So Governor Newsom believes deeply in the power of service, the power of service to bring people together from different backgrounds, different perspectives, to just solve problems, to just create solutions, to help each other, support each other. So we've created the largest service corps in the country, larger than the Peace Corps. And we have many of them deployed right now throughout the city of Los Angeles, supporting shelters, supporting food banks, supporting distribution sites, doing unbelievable work because that's the spirit of California.

[18:20:10]

What makes us so strong, and we're seeing that work. You're seeing it behind me right now, and we're seeing it throughout the entire city.

DEAN: Yes. And it is -- what is something that's so key about this is that this is a disaster that's still happening. It's not over yet. And I -- the need continues to grow.

Where are you seeing the most need? What are people needing right now?

FRYDAY: So we are still in the middle of the disaster, which is why we're calling on people to help. We're saying, first and foremost, be safe. Sign up for alerts at Ready.CA.gov. Make sure you are -- there's so many ways that you can give, and we're seeing people give. You can give your time. You can volunteer at a food bank, at the L.A. food bank. You can volunteer at the YMCA. You can volunteer with so many organizations that need your time. You can also give resources. You can donate clothes and food and items

that people who have lost everything need. And you can give money. We are asking people to go to Philanthropy.CA.org, help the California Fire Foundation, other organizations with any resources you may have, but you can also give thanks. Give thanks to the first responders who are putting their lives on the line to protect so many people, and the California Service Corps members who are serving so many.

And of course, you can give love and support. We're seeing that in a really heartwarming way with the devastation now is breaking our hearts. But the community is lifting our spirits.

DEAN: Yes. It has been remarkable to see how people have really come together and just the sense of community both across the Los Angeles County area, but then also in these specific communities that have been affected and people really wanting to wrap their arms around their neighbors.

I do want to ask on behalf of people who are watching all around the country right now, even sometimes around the world, since we're CNN, how can people help if they're not in L.A.? What's the best thing for them to do?

FRYDAY: The best thing that you could do from around the world is to give. You can go to CaliforniansforAll.CA.gov and find a donation link to where you can support people on the ground who have lost everything and also support the many organizations like the YMCA, like the L.A. Food Bank that is providing critical resources to people in need. And you can give to those organizations. You can give to people, and you can also join the spirit of giving that we're seeing throughout California right now.

DEAN: Yes. It's unfortunately going to be a long road ahead. I think, you know, this is likely going to take years to get people whole again. So there's certainly going to need the help out there in California.

Josh Fryday, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.

FRYDAY: Thank you.

DEAN: And find out how you can help those wildfire victims in the Los Angeles area. You can donate at CNN.com/impact. You can also text the word wildfires to 707070.

Still ahead, our breaking news coverage of the California wildfires continues. We're going to go live to our reporters on the ground near the Palisades Fire, where you see so much destruction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:29]

DEAN: California Governor Gavin Newsom speaking to CNN tonight from Altadena, touring the damage from the deadly wildfires there. He says his teams are working to inspect thousands of damaged homes in the next two weeks. He's also responding to criticism, including from President-elect Donald Trump.

Here's his interview with CNN's Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: So what is this assessment? Help explain why we need this and what this means for, you know, that homeowner.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: You got through the State Fire Marshal, Cal Fire working with county partners, teams of two go in. They will go into a property like this. They'll assess and they will photograph, and then they will post online after it's verified. about a 12-hour process. And people can go on a Web site. They don't have to physically be here to know if their property is damaged. And that will then begin the process for the property owner on insurance and getting us to a point where we can start the rebuild process.

LAH: How quickly do you anticipate being able to do that?

NEWSOM: Well, as I said, I want all the inspections done within 14 days. Every single structure that's been impacted by these fires. So that's --

LAH: That's thousands of homes.

NEWSOM: Thousands of homes. And so that's the mandate. Whatever resources they need, we said we're going to provide it. And then we're looking right now at debris removal. And you're looking at herculean effort. I'll give you an example. We were just with the inspectors. They say it's a little different world now today with batteries, not just car batteries, but battery packs. People with solar, those Tesla wall batteries and the like. So the hazmat side of this is made a little bit more complicated, which is fine. We'll work through that.

LAH: How soon before this house and that house behind you, how long before you envision this neighborhood?

NEWSOM: So on the basis of just moving forward to eliminate as many barriers as possible, the current estimate, and you can come back in two weeks and objectively, on the basis of new information, I likely would have a modestly different answer. After stress testing the last 48 hours we think, if we get these contracts up and running, we deal with jurisdictional issues between the cities, many cities and the county of L.A., and the state working with our federal partners hand in glove, that we can move forward within six to nine months. Get all that debris removed, all the hazardous materials removed. If we get this first 14 days done, that will start that clock.

LAH: You're seeing --

NEWSOM: Well, you can tell the debris is gone and we -- I said we want -- nine months is the goal, nine months to a year.

[18:30:00] You're looking at the magnitude of this. And with the hazmat side it has to be done in a way that services the long term needs. And then obviously you're going to learn from this process.

LAH: And then what about insurance? I mean, we know, we live here. Your house is insured. My house is insured.

NEWSOM: Yes. Mine, the one I have -- my dad's house is under the Fair plan, the state's plan.

LAH: And it's very expensive.

NEWSOM: Very expensive. It's not great coverage.

LAH: Right. So what do you tell people?

NEWSOM: We tell them that we are not only assessing all of that in real time, and have hired an independent group to look, to stress test not just the insurance market, but the utility market in California as well. No one has an understanding fully yet of what caused these fires beyond just hurricane force winds, unprecedented winds, and the driest conditions since the 1850s. As it relates to this dry January here in Southern California. Combination of those two things. But was it a utility line? Who's responsible? Was it -- all those things are being determined.

And so we're just stress testing the worst case scenario. If it was a utility, what does that mean to the utility market? As it relates to insurance, what does it mean to private insurers? Who are the insurers? We've been making a lot of reforms in our insurance market, and we'll need to make subsequent reforms.

LAH: Something that's particularly pressing for this community you're standing in is lack of insurance. A lot of people inherited homes or were working class.

NEWSOM: Yes.

LAH: What do you what about people who didn't have insurance?

NEWSOM: And that's, I mean, and that's going to be the most difficult and challenging thing. And that's where FEMA comes in. That's where the SBA comes in. That's where the state of California comes in, it's where the federal government comes in. That's where philanthropy comes in. People have lost their lives. They've lost their businesses. They've lost hope. And we've got to restore the hope and then restore their lives and businesses and opportunities.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Governor Newsom also signing an executive order today to suspend some environmental regulations to help victims of the fires rebuild faster.

And, Erin, I certainly don't have to tell you, you have been on the ground, you have seen this devastation firsthand. It is just going to be such a massive undertaking to make these people whole again and to get these communities and these structures back and to build this back.

BURNETT: It's just incredible. Exactly as you say, Jessica. And you look at Paradise and the fire there that decimated. That was a town of 28,000. That was six years ago. The population of Paradise City, California, now is 11,000. So six years and they're only back about a third. And of course, a lot of those are different people. I mean, this is going to fundamentally change what had been a core part of an identity of L.A. when you look at Pacific Palisades, even as they are right now fighting to have this spread even further.

And deputy fire chief of Cal Fire just moments ago telling us it comes down to time and water and that that even if they establish containment, that an ember can take it and completely transform this and take out more entire parts of Los Angeles. I mean, it is a stunning moment that we're in, and Natasha Chen is near me but in Brentwood.

And Natasha, you've been there last night. That was -- as we were here. That was a frontline. They were desperately trying to prevent that fire from coming into Brentwood. And a lot of where you are is under mandatory evacuation. They succeeded for, then, but it is very much a frontline of this Palisades Fire.

What are you learning now from fire there that you're talking to?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, there's really good news where we're standing. And in fact, in the distance here, we can see an aircraft dropping water on a hotspot right there. But the hillside that you're looking at is darkened out because this all burned yesterday. And favorable wind conditions overnight really helped firefighters get control of that fire, to not let it go into the Mandeville Canyon below, where there are a bunch of houses, and get closer to the ridge where we are right now.

So they were able to keep the fire in that direction. And the winds we've been feeling today have been in the direction of where the places that have already burned. And so that is very positive for their progress. Of course, everyone is bracing for what's about to come. I think you could see the drop happening right now. This has been going nonstop all day. In the press conference that ended a short while ago, we were told that because they anticipate high winds starting, you know, later tonight, going into the next couple of days, they may actually pre-treat some areas with retardant, knowing that it's possible aircraft could be grounded when the winds get too fierce.

So they're doing a lot of this work this afternoon. We've been watching them fly back and forth, just trying to get a control on this -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yes. And some of that preventative so crucial. You know, I'm also curious, Natasha, because of where you are, you know, we're able to drive through some of this and as media I know we are. But you see mandatory evacuation areas and also even in suggested evacuation areas, obviously we're in a staging area here.

[18:35:09]

You've got crews and utility crews going out, but, Natasha, those homes are abandoned but they are not burned down, right? It's on that frontline. So we know that there has been looting. There have been arrests of looting. We've even heard of looters sort of trying to dress up as firemen. Now we're learning about police trying to go undercover to try to block this because of concern about looting. What are you hearing?

CHEN: Yes. Our colleague Josh Campbell reports that the FBI and other authorities are working together to actually go undercover in civilian clothes, civilian vehicles to kind of patrol and check around to see if there are people here who should not be here. There are obviously people in any situation who are -- who may take advantage of the moment. And in the press conference just now, they made that announcement again to please tell people to stay away.

And I know there are a lot of people desperate to try and come back to their homes that they left. If they are still standing trying to look for medicine they may have left behind or clothes just to get through the next week, just to see what their houses look like. But unfortunately, because of the staffing and manpower they've been told that conversation about repopulation and going back in cannot be had until after this red flag warning is over on Wednesday. So it's not likely that Palisades residents can talk about coming back in until Thursday morning -- Erin.

BURNETT: Which is just, you know, puts on America's second largest city. And Natasha, you live here, but on edge and on hold and life not as normal in any way even in the midst of the unbelievable tragedy that has struck this city with these fires. I know that you also have new reporting.

And a little bit ago, Natasha, we were talking to Cal Fire deputy chief, and he was talking about the firefighters and how they are -- I mean, they're obviously exhausted, but he's saying some 24 hour shifts. Now they're trying to, you know, give them some rest in between. But they are running at a sprint speed for a marathon period of time.

You have some new reporting, I know, and some of the inmates that they have been using from the California system to fight the fires. What exactly is that?

CHEN: Yes. So part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, they have a program called Fire Camps or conservation camps, and there are 35 of these located in 25 counties across California. Two of them actually are female camps. And so you have a number of them, hundreds of them actually joining the fire fight right now. I was told this afternoon there are 931 inmates currently helping to fight the fire, including 114 support staff.

So a large number of -- that would make more than 800 of them physically cutting fire lines, removing brush around structures to try and, you know, prevent fire from encroaching upon more property. So they are working those lines right now as we speak in an emergency like this. So we're told that they often work 24-hour shifts as well, and then they're given 24 hours rest.

Now, these inmates volunteered to do this. They are paid and they get credits for the time that they've served on the fire line. So, for example, most of the inmates who are working to cut those fire lines out there would get two for one credits and two days of their sentence taken off for one day out here on the fire lines, Erin.

BURNETT: Yes. Natasha, thank you very much on those front lines along the Palisades Fire in Brentwood right now.

We're going to take a brief break, and Jessica and I will be just back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:43:08]

DEAN: President Biden convened key officials for a virtual briefing on the Southern California wildfires. The president was briefed on the firefighting efforts and also how federal resources are supporting the state and local response there.

Julia Benbrook is joining us now.

Julia, what more are we hearing from the FEMA piece of this, the federal response?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, this administration is entering its final full week, and it's going to be a busy one. President Joe Biden continues to be updated regularly on the efforts to suppress the fires across Los Angeles. And as you mentioned, recently wrapped a virtual briefing with key officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and FEMA director Deanne Criswell.

Now, in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper earlier today, Criswell emphasized that these fires are still dangerous and urged people to continue to listen to state and local officials. When pressed on what these next few days might look like, she said that any change in weather could have a big impact on what happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Firefighters are, you know, they're working day in and day out. There's resources that are out there, but if the weather changes, it creates different conditions. It's going to change the environment with which they're operating under. Again, the most important piece is keeping them safe as they try to protect all the homes that are in the path of the fire.

And then people need to, you know, start the registration process with us. They can register for assistance. They need to contact their insurance company and find out what their insurance company is going to pay for. And really, we can start working with them on what this road to recovery is going to look like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And as of this morning, FEMA says that 24,000 people have registered for FEMA assistance made possible by the president's major disaster declaration.

Now, Biden has directed the federal government to cover 100 percent of the state's cost for the first 180 days for that initial disaster response.

[18:45:07]

And this is all happening as his team is preparing the transition. He says that they are briefing the incoming administration on the steps that they're taking. In addition to monitoring these wildfires over the next few days, he has two major speeches coming up. A busy week ahead. Tomorrow, he'll be speaking at the State Department, focusing in on his foreign policy achievements. And then on Wednesday, he will deliver a farewell address here at the White House from the Oval Office -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much. Reporting from the White House there.

Let's go back out to my colleague, Erin Burnett, who has been on the ground there reporting on these fires, talking with so many people who are affected.

And, Erin, as Julia was just laying out, look, this is local, state government, also federal government. There's so much relief and building back that's going to have to be done. It's a massive, massive undertaking.

BURNETT: Yes. And trying to start that process, even as they actually don't even know the scope of the disaster because they are fighting these fires. You can maybe see the winds starting to pick up a bit here. It's on and it's off, but it is obviously these red flag warnings anticipated to dramatically pick up here and stay that way for these next days. So we're in a staging area right for part of the Palisades Fire. So you can see utility trucks, a lot of fire trucks will come and go from here. Crews come down here to stage.

Leigh Waldman has been here covering these fires, and you've had a chance to talk to a lot of the fire officials, utility officials who are here. But while you were here today, you actually saw a fire. Like basically what's happening with these winds and an ember. What happened?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So we're standing here, we're in our car getting ready, and after we talked to one of these officials about these wind conditions, and there was, I guess, an ember buried under some of the ash on the cliff side, and it's a brush cliffside over here.

BURNETT: Really just right across the Pacific Coast Highway. Yes. WALDMAN: Right across the highway here. And a small fire sparked

there. And luckily, because we're in this staging area, they were able to extinguish it very, very quickly. But that just speaks to the nature of how quickly these fires can start and how quickly they can spread. And thankfully, they were here to extinguish it. But with these winds, it's a dangerous situation.

BURNETT: So dangerous. You talk about those embers and they're in there throughout the neighborhoods that have been razed, but can be ignite anytime or get picked up and fly as I know the deputy fire chief was saying. They can establish the perimeter, they can try to do that. But then the embers can blow and that that means they have no control over what happens then.

So you've had a chance to speak to, you know, fire officials talking about the shifts that they are working. And what have you learned about that?

WALDMAN: Yes. So we know that they are working these extended shifts and they're exhausted. They're focusing a lot of their efforts on the Mandeville Canyon area because that's where the fire is shifting. That northeastern part of that fire. So they were working for four days straight. LAFD Fire Captain Eric Scott told us today four days straight. So they're so thankful for all the help that they're getting in this command center.

But for them, it's so personal because this is their -- this is their home. This is their dirt is what he said. So while there's --

BURNETT: Their dirt. Yes.

WALDMAN: There's homes that are razed around their fire stations, many of their fire stations are still standing, but they have no power. They have no gas. Their crews are done with their shifts going back there, hoping to get some sleep, and they have no resources at their fire stations anymore, so there's no real relief in sight for them. And in that Mandeville Canyon area, he was telling us, brush there hasn't burned in 40 to 50 years. It's incredibly dry.

This wind that we're feeling, these gusts come through, it dries out the brush even more. And so these embers come through there. It has a very high chance of sparking a new fire and burning even more.

BURNETT: Yes. The real risk there. And as Leigh says, those -- you go to Palisades and it's razed, but the fire station is standing and they are there and they are fighting those fires as they reignite, turning off the water, the natural gas in those homes. And they're up there in their own community that has been raised.

We are going to take a brief break and we'll be back with our ongoing coverage of the L.A. wildfires in just a minute.

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[18:53:30] DEAN: Many of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks will be on Capitol Hill this upcoming week for their confirmation hearings before the Senate. Among those include Trump's pick for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and attorney general, Pam Bondi, as well as secretary of State, Marco Rubio, among many others.

CNN's Steve Contorno is joining us now.

Steve, this is a big week for these nominees on Capitol Hill.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Jessica. And sources close to Trump's transition team tell me to expect a very different set of hearings than what we saw eight years ago when Trump's first cabinet was on Capitol Hill for these hearings. Back then, the hallmark of these hearings was so often how these candidates tried to differ themselves and distance themselves from some of the more controversial elements of Donald Trump's campaign and his beliefs.

We saw some of them stake out positions on climate change and Russia and all these other areas, including the wall on the U.S. southern border, where Trump had made such a big part of his campaign. And his nominees were saying, wait a minute, we think differently. Well, that is not going to be the case this go around. Many of Trump's nominees are hand-picked, in part because they are so loyal to Donald Trump.

Sean Spicer, Trump's first press secretary, telling me that Trump's first -- these nominees are there not to defend their ideas. They are there to defend Trump's policies. Now, some of them, though, will be defending themselves because they have faced a lot of questions about their credentials and their histories.

[18:55:01]

But Republican Alabama Senator Katie Britt telling our Jake Tapper earlier today that the public should give them a chance. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): What President Trump has done is he has selected people who are willing to not move as business as usual, but yet are ready for action. They understand his vision for the nation. They understand the mandate that was given on November 5th. And they understand that time for talk is gone and time for results and action is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Jessica, we have been told that these nominees have been undergoing rigorous preparations for these hearings because they know how high stakes they are, and they also know that Donald Trump will be watching them closely.

DEAN: All right. More to come on this in just the coming days.

Steve Contorno in West Palm Beach, thank you so much for that. Our breaking news coverage will continue ahead with my colleague Erin

Burnett in California. Six straight days of fires burning across Los Angeles. We're going to be joined by an L.A. County supervisor to talk about the latest effort to beat back those fires and keep people safe.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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