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More High Winds Threaten Containment Of Los Angeles Fires; Grassroots Efforts To Fight Back L.A. Fires; Newsom Pushes For Faster Relief After Wildfires; One-On-One With California Governor Gavin Newsom; Non-Profit Group Organizing Donation Drive For Children and Babies; At Least 16 Killed As Wildfires Scorch Los Angeles County. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 12, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:35]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York, alongside my colleague Erin Burnett, who's been in Los Angeles.

And breaking news at this hour, firefighters in California working tirelessly to establish lines of containment before powerful Santa Ana Winds with potential gusts of up to 50 miles per hour pick up again and potentially spread embers to dry, brittle areas.

Now, right now, 27 percent of that Eaton Fire, 89 percent of the Hurst Fire contained. However, in the Pacific Palisades with the Palisades Fire more than 23,000 acres have been scorched. That fire is currently at just 11 percent containment, and with that, fears are rising that those containment numbers could dip.

I want to go out to Erin Burnett now, who is there in California.

Erin is at a -- Erin, you're at a staging area where all of these people are coming and going as they make this huge effort to try to keep these fires from getting worse and doing even more damage.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: That's right. And right now, there's the tragedy behind us along these Palisades Hills and Malibu up behind us along the Pacific Coast Highway. Utter destruction. And as this city faces the trauma of that disaster, the situation is really, in a sense, out of control. Firefighters doing everything that they can. They have been using DC-10s. They've been using C-130s. They're using what they call Super Scoopers, scooping sea water and reservoir water and dumping it on the fires. All of those resources brought to bear.

Eight states, Jessica, Canada, Mexico have sent support. All of that here. National Guard, they've now got 2,500 National Guard deployed. And we do see them around the city at checkpoints. So all of that in place. And yet, as you point out, they are those containment numbers for this Palisades Fire at 11 percent. It's not just that it's only at 11 percent. It's also that it's the winds. And I don't know if you can see a little bit of blowing here behind us now as they're starting to pick up these red flag warnings of severe winds again over these next few days.

Jessica, it is really the fear. Deputy fire chief just telling you and me within these past couple of hours that no matter what the firefighters do, and they are doing everything, the way the wind can take an ember and bring it somewhere means that how this turns out is completely, at this point, unpredictable. They are at the mercy of the winds. And it literally comes down to that no matter everything and every resource that they are bringing to bear, Jessica.

DEAN: It is incredible. And I thought it was so poignant that he said, when you asked him, like, what do you need at this point, and he was so clear about it. He just said we need Mother Nature to give us a break. And of course, that's not anything that anyone can control, to your point.

Erin, stand by. We're going to get right back to you. First, I want to go to CNN's Natasha Chen, who is in the hills north of Brentwood. So that would be on the eastern side of that Palisades Fire more inland than where Erin is right now.

Natasha, what is the latest you're seeing?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, I'm not feeling any wind on my face right now, and we might be in the final hours of relative calm before those more serious winds pick back up. And that is what we are very concerned about. Those high winds could bring those flames back -- bring those hotspots back up. It could create new fires. And that -- those red flag warnings won't actually expire until Wednesday.

And so we're talking about the next three days of at least preventative power shutoffs, where a lot of the metro area might be in the dark to prevent another disaster from happening. But for the moment, because we've had relatively favorable winds today, this afternoon, there have been a lot of water drops going on behind me because those hills behind us, those are darkened out because that burned yesterday.

And you're seeing one helicopter right now taking off after a water drop. So they've been doing that and they're going to be doing a lot of preventative laying out of retardant in certain areas, knowing that if the winds pick back up very soon, they may not be able to fly a lot of aircraft to do this. And so in the meantime, you have a lot of people throughout the area suffering and a lot of people stepping up as well.

[19:05:00]

We know that there was a grassroots effort to suddenly bring a lot of donations to the Santa Anita track there, I think we have some images of, and it's so overwhelming and really heartwarming to see the community come together like that.

Cal Fire did put out a message that -- to please not bring perishable food to incident base camps, instead to go to LAWorks.com to see how people can help in person or to donate and to really look at what's needed most. But the effort that people, just everyday people trying to do any little thing to help their neighbor has been incredible because everyone here knows someone who's been affected.

DEAN: Yes, it is something that is going to change the face of Los Angeles and those communities truly forever. It is that significant of the moment. And as you mentioned, Natasha, right now, they're trying to make the most of this relative calm that you say, you know, with the winds not picking up just yet where you are.

What are you learning more about these prison inmates who were helping fight these fires, acting as firefighters?

CHEN: Right. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told me today that they currently have 931 inmates fighting the fire alongside fire crews. That includes 114 support staff. So they are actively trying to cut fire lines. They're removing brush from structures to prevent fires from getting closer to more properties. They are right next to those firefighters. They have been trained. They are part of what's called the fire camps. And they are paid.

And they have been doing this for a while. And so it's just more people to help, because right now they need as many resources as they can -- Jessica.

DEAN: They need all the hands they can get. Natasha Chen, thank you so much for that reporting.

Let's go back to Erin Burnett again. She's at that staging center.

And Erin, I was mentioning that where you are is more west. You're right there by the water. Natasha is more inland where they are trying to stop this fire from progressing more inland. But it is kind of interesting to see your hair is blowing in the wind. You can tell it is picking up where you are where Natasha is, it seems a bit calmer, but that is the name of the game at this point, is what these winds decide to do.

BURNETT: That's right. And how they can move through the canyons, which can be those sort of narrow paths, those eddies, in a sense, air eddies that can be created that affects aircraft's ability to actually drop fire retardant, which is why they have been doing in some cases, as Natasha is reporting, sort of pre-dropping fire retardant in some of these neighborhoods that they anticipate could be at risk.

And they're doing that to try to just in advance prep. Of course they don't know where those embers will go. Now the Los Angeles County fire chief today did say that they have enough water. And that's obviously so important.

Jessica, we know about the dry hydrants in Pacific Palisades behind me. And of course the reservoir. And Governor Gavin Newsom has now said he's launching an investigation into what happened with not just the hydrants, but also the reservoir, that it had sat empty for a year, for nearly a full year before the deadly outbreak that has destroyed the entire Pacific Palisades. The L.A. County supervisor is with me now. Lindsey Horvath, also

former mayor of West Hollywood.

And Lindsey, I appreciate your time. So can we just start off with the water situation heading into what everyone anticipates is going to be an intense battle here over these next hours, day or two, as these red flag warnings are there. Do you feel confident that fire crews have the water that they need anywhere they may need to be to fight this?

LINDSEY HORVATH, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR, THIRD DISTRICT: So, as you said, our L.A. County fire chief has determined that because we have redundancies exactly for situations like this, we have the water in Los Angeles County to deliver for our residents. We know that they don't just come from one area or another based on where the winds are coming from. That also determines where we're able to access the water, especially for the aerial drops.

So we have, if one -- in Los Angeles County system, if we're having issues with one area of water tanks or access, we have another way to be able to deliver. And that's how we've been able to make progress in the Topanga Canyon area, for example, over the past few days and I was on site in Mandeville Canyon last night watching exactly how they were attacking it.

BURNETT: And they were successfully able to do that, which I know is a miracle for so many, that that looming cloud over Brentwood yesterday. In terms of the water and your anticipation, I mean, obviously there's water. You talk about hydrants as one situation and tanks, but also just the ability to use the sea water, which they had used with those Super Scoopers have continued to use. Reservoir water as well from some of those bigger planes.

Do they -- do you anticipate that they -- is there sort of a wind limit at which they're going to have to curtail some of that use of equipment and water?

[19:10:10]

HORVATH: Yes. That's one of the dangers of the red flag days. So we've learned that the aircraft cannot participate if the winds are 35 miles an hour or higher. So that's about the time when they get grounded. So what we're really trying to do yesterday and today is take advantage of the lower winds as we go into the red flag event tomorrow. We know that that's potentially a complication we'll have to face as we did last week.

BURNETT: And so really, I know you're just in this race against time.

HORVATH: Yes.

BURNETT: You look at the forecast for the winds. Do you feel completely at the mercy of which way it hits a canyon or which way -- I mean, it's very hard to predict. I know that deputy fire chief from Cal Fire a bit ago had told me that they were thinking they'd be coming from the north-northeast. That was an expectation. What are you thinking now? Because I know it affects where you pre, you know, you preplan assets. You preplan to have a fire battle that you think might happen.

HORVATH: Yes. That was the direction of the winds yesterday, which is why we did the drops in Mandeville Canyon. The preemptive retardant drops which helped cover the bottom of the canyon. And then in the evening, they were able to do the water drops to extinguish the fire. So that combination really allowed them to have a lot of success there.

The direction of the winds also helped start to move the fire away from one area and Topanga, which I know was the hot spot yesterday. And though we do know if the winds change, that really determines how they have to respond. So we're dealing with the things that are in our control. That's the evacuation orders, making sure that people get out of the way. And that helps keep our first responders safe.

So anyone who's under an evacuation order, we are insisting that you leave because that becomes a complication our first responders just don't have time for as we go into these very dangerous conditions.

BURNETT: And do you anticipate having to, you know, issue, and I know, you know, there are certain things you just don't know outside your control I realized. Embers, things like that that are carried on the wind. But where you have established the evacuation orders right now, where there has not yet been fire, right, those mandatory zones, how confident do you feel that that is the extent of the evacuation? Or is that also in your mind just a total unknown right now?

HORVATH: Well, it could change. I was actually heartened to see that the evacuation warning areas didn't shift today, and that means we've been able to focus intently on where the fire has popped up and really give it all we've got in these in these areas. Once the winds pick up, depending on how they move, that will determine whether and how we have to evacuate. The good news is we've been issuing consistent warnings.

And so as long as people are heeding those warnings, which means they are ready to go, they've packed what they are going to take with them and they get out of there, we will be in much better shape. I know some people who have gotten those warnings are already leaving, and that's a big help.

BURNETT: Yes. And I want to ask you also about the fire retardant because I understand that. And the deputy fire chief was explaining. Obviously they dropped that. But when the winds pick up, it becomes completely ineffectual because it becomes essentially a mist. Right? You're dropping it from 200 feet up. Winds are coming at 30 plus miles an hour, and it can become very ineffectual.

So as a result, they've been doing as much as they can in advance, but also trying to prep some areas, maybe drop on some structures in the Brentwood area our Natasha Chen was reporting ahead of this anticipated wind event.

How widespread has some of that been where you're dropping retardant on existing structures? HORVATH: Well, we've been around what is currently the evacuation

order area to ensure that we're doing all that we can for -- to keep the fires out of those areas. Last night, I saw in Mandeville Canyon, as they were holding where the concentration of the fire was, embers were flying. And as they fly, they can have these spots of fire that pop up. And as the fire runs up, that's really the danger.

So this retardant is an incredible help. But if we don't have those vehicles in the air, that becomes another challenge that we have to face.

BURNETT: Supervisor Horvath, we appreciate your time and thank you very much. As the winds are picking up here in this staging area just below the Palisades, we'll take a break and Jessica and I will be right back.

[19:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Winds are picking up here. We're at a staging area, as you know, where emergency crews have been coming and going through the day. We are definitely feeling a change in the wind, though, just really here over the past 90 minutes, 60 to 90 minutes, we have noticed a change. Winds picking up and it's a cold wind. And there -- these are anticipated to only increase.

You just heard that they really do not fly the aircraft that can pick up the water to dump on the fire once wind speeds exceed 35 miles an hour. They are projected to do just that and to stay that way for quite some time here over these next couple of days.

[19:20:06]

So let's go to Allison Chinchar in the Weather Center.

Allison, what is the forecast right now for these winds?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we are expected to get above that threshold that you just mentioned. We're not there right now. So the good news is those firefighters can still hurry up and get a little bit more of those containment numbers up until we reach those levels. But we are anticipating to get to a 30, 40, even 50 mile per hour wind gusts in the next 24 hours.

You've got the critical and elevated fire risk for the rest of the day today, but also into Monday. And that does include the city of Los Angeles. But a lot of the surrounding areas, too, where they're also going to be experiencing some of these really strong winds. You can see through the overnight more of those 20, 30 and 40 mile per hour winds are expected to jump back up. It could even reach as high as 50 to 60 miles per hour in some spots as we go through Tuesday and even Wednesday of this week.

So this is not going to be a short-term event. We are going to continue to see these high winds at least through Wednesday. Now when we look at the containment numbers, they have gone up. This is good news. They've been able to take advantage of this little bit of a reprieve from the winds the last 24 to 36 hours.

The one thing you will note that all of these areas have in common is this dark orange shaded area behind them. That is showing that they are under the severe drought category, and it's because of how little rain this area has had, not just this month, because we've had no measurable rain in the L.A. area so far in January, but even going back farther than that. When you go back all the way to October 1st, and that's not just a random number, that is actually the beginning of the water year.

And they do that instead of starting it in January 1st because it matches more of the natural water cycle. So when you go all the way back to October 1st, the Los Angeles area has only had 3/100 of an inch. Normally this time of year they would have at least four and a half inches on the ground, helping to kind of limit the dryness for a lot of the vegetation. And that's what these fires have been able to do.

They're going across the incredibly dry ground, all of the dry brush, the dry vegetation just becomes easy fuel for those fires. And even just one year ago, we had no part of California under drought. And now much of Southern California is in that drought category.

BURNETT: All right, Allison, and, you know, we've heard some of that brush as we've been hearing from officials here has not been cleared in decades in some of these areas that are now under threat, making this such a fraught and precarious situation. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Erin, thank you so much.

A lot of people out there want to know how they can help. You can find out more about that, go to CNN.com/Impact. You can also text wildfires to 707070.

And still ahead tonight, California Governor Gavin Newsom touring the devastation today. CNN was there with him. We will bring you that interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:18]

DEAN: And welcome back to our coverage. You're looking live at scenes from Los Angeles County as fire crews there do everything they can to slow and stop these fires to protect people and homes as these winds threaten to pick back up. Meantime, Governor Gavin Newsom has been on the ground in Altadena touring the damage from the deadly wildfires. He's laying out his plans to help communities recover and rebuild.

And earlier, CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with the governor about the challenges ahead. And Kyung joins us now.

Kyung, there are many, many challenges ahead in terms of what it's going to take to make people whole and to rebuild these communities. What did the governor tell you?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the governor is trying to reach out to the people who are living in this. The one thing that we have heard from a lot of the fire victims is that they don't have anything concrete, they don't know where to go next. I mean, how do you step forward when this is what you're living with? What the governor is saying today is he is offering a concrete timeline on getting an assessment. He is setting a deadline of 14 days.

It is critical to have that assessment to take to your insurance, to get FEMA rolling. And essentially what Newsom is saying is he's -- in a state notorious for red tape, he's going to slash it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: 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.

Well, you can tell the debris is gone and we -- I said we want -- nine months is the goal, nine months to a year. 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. And it's not great coverage.

[19:30:10]

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

NEWSOM: 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, that'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)

LAH: And you heard the governor there talking about the debris removal and the pace that he wants to move at. He added on to that, saying that all of this that you're seeing here, this is a lot of this is toxic materials, Jessica, because, you know, if you think about lithium batteries today or how your appliances are made, all of that stuff seeps into the ground.

What type of foundation needs to be built? Can you build on the existing foundation? So, there are a number of challenges ahead -- Jessica.

DEAN: No doubt about it. All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much for that reporting -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Jessica, and one of the things that you noticed here, it's not just the fact that you've got evacuation zones and places that are ghost towns. Obviously, the complete and utter devastation of the fire zones.

But what that's meant is all these people, more than 100,000 evacuated or homeless, many seeking refuge with family and friends, many in hotels. We have seen them all.

It is an odd thing to say, but one thing that stands out is the number of dogs. Dogs are everywhere and they're everywhere in the hotels. When people leave their home, if they can only take one thing, they take their beloved pet. It is so important in people's lives.

There's also now, of course, animals that have been driven out of these fire zones. Some animals that are seeking shelter.

Dia DuVernet joins me now, president and CEO of Pasadena Humane Society. And Dia, it is incredible the pets that you see everywhere. And it is a defining part of this crisis. What is the situation like at your shelter?

DIA DUVERNET, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PASADENA HUMANE SOCIETY: Thanks, Erin, for bringing attention to this human and animal crisis that is just unimaginable.

We've taken in over 500 animals, close to 600 animals since the disaster started. Originally, most were coming from evacuated families who needed temporary shelter for their pets. We've started to send search, rescue and recovery teams out into the affected areas in partnership with shelters from throughout the state and national resources, as well.

We are operating a dispatch line here where people can call and report where pets might have been left, and we can check those specific addresses. We are seeing some people coming back to reclaim their pets, who are finding, though, that they don't have homes to return to.

And so, we're starting to think about how we can provide more longer term support for these families that don't have a place to go. It is really a tragic crisis.

BURNETT: In these zones, in the Palisades, I mean, there is nothing alive. In fact, yesterday when there were a couple of birds that flew over, we all actually stopped in our tracks because everything up there is gone and everything up there is dead.

And a couple of people that came back, somebody was talking about, they were able to get two of their pets, one of their cats died. I mean, this happened. And I'm curious about what your biggest issue is right now. What is the biggest problem that you face as you are trying to rise to this crisis?

DUVERNET: Well, I'll tell you that we are finding animals that are alive with the strike teams that we're sending out into the community. Pasadena Humane is a nonprofit organization, but we serve not only Pasadena, we serve ten surrounding areas and Altadena is one of the areas that we serve and as you know, that community has been completely destroyed but we are finding animals that are alive. We are having stray animals come to us who are suffering from burns, singed paws, smoke inhalation, dehydration.

So, we are treating these animals in our intensive care unit. We have five veterinarians on staff. Were also calling in resources, specialty veterinarians to help us with some of the species that are coming in that we don't normally see on a daily basis at the shelter.

We are really mobilizing a huge statewide network of animal welfare organizations and calling in national partners as well to help us respond. We are dedicated to meeting the needs of the animals in this community and doing everything we can to do that. [19:35:35]

BURNETT: Well, Dia, thank you very much for taking the time out of all of that. just to let us know what's happening. Thank you.

We're going to take a very brief break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:29]

DEAN: With the fires still raging across Southern California, those impacted by the fires are left without their homes and everyday necessities, that includes diapers, food, clothing, and as the federal and state governments begin deploying resources, some Californians are taking it upon themselves to help their neighbors right now.

Joining us are the CEOs of the national nonprofit Baby2Baby Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein. Baby2baby helps provide assistance to children and families all across the country.

Thank you so much to both of you for being here. I know you guys have just jumped to it and you've been working night and day to try to get to these families and kids. Kelly, I want to start first with you. You guys focus specifically on some of the most vulnerable among us, children, families, especially those who live in poverty, who are often the hardest hit in these disasters. What have you been seeing?

KELLY SAWYER PATRICOF, BABY2BABY CO-CEO: I mean, Baby2Baby always focuses on children and children's needs. So, at this time we're seeing a huge need for diapers, formula, baby food, blankets.

Families have lost their homes, been evacuated, are living with three or four families, you know, in one apartment or hotel room. So, we're really seeing people coming through our pop-up distributions, driving through in robes, in flip flops and slippers.

They just really had to leave their house in the middle of the night. There was a knock at the door. They left with nothing. So right now we're really focused on children's needs and getting them the basic essentials they need, making sure that children are fed with schools closed, where usually a lot of the families that we serve get their meals. They're really not receiving food.

So, we are just making sure that these basic, critical, essential items are being distributed, whether it's through our shelters, the school districts we serve at, the evacuation sites, we have trucks going out delivering these essentials. We're hosting pop-up distributions and then we have also volunteer sessions happening at our headquarters here in Los Angeles, where the community is coming together and showing up and creating these bundles for children in need.

DEAN: Yes and, Norah, look, I think any parent out there can understand there's a lot that's needed, especially when your child is a baby or a newborn, you know, that's a specific need and then when they get a little bit older, just how traumatic it is to be without your home, without maybe that favorite stuffed animal, much less focusing on making sure they're getting fed, that they have diapers, that they have those real necessities. How are you making sure you're getting this to them? How do the logistics of all of this work.

NORAH WEINSTEIN, BABY2BABY CO-CEO: Right, well, on a year round basis, we work all over the country, but our home town is Los Angeles. And so, we have a network of 470 organizations that we work with all year long, and that spans from homeless shelters, resource centers, school districts and so, we were able the minute the fire started to reach out to all 470 partners, ask them what their specific needs were and hear from them, what items, what size diapers, what requests were coming in and began filling them immediately.

So far, we've given out 1.5 million items to the children in Los Angeles, but our work is certainly just beginning, and it's going to be a very long road of recovery ahead.

DEAN: And that's the thing we're looking at video while we're talking to you, all of just the utter devastation.

Kelly, I know you guys are there in LA. It's also your home, and I'm sure you both know plenty of people who have been affected by this. It's just -- it's almost incomprehensible to begin to wrap your arms around how much people are going to need, not just today, not just tomorrow. As Norah was saying, this is going to go on for a while.

PATRICOF: Yes, we have a long road ahead. And, you know, we work in disasters and we have been for the past decade. So, to have one here in our own hometown where our headquarters is, obviously, affects all of us, our team, our staff, and so were working to try and make sure that we're meeting the needs of families in this moment.

I think seeing the outpouring of support from across the country has been really inspiring, even just today, having, you know, a room full of a hundred volunteers here, packing up hygiene kits and putting comfort items together into bundles with diapers and shampoo and all of the things that a child would need in this moment is really so heartwarming to see.

So, it is what we do every day. But having it here in our hometown where we're all affected and we personally know people affected, has been really amazing to see the support.

[19:45:23]

DEAN: Yes, I'm sure it has.

Norah, for people out there who want to help, what do they do?

WEINSTEIN: Well, they can do a few things. Donating funds is always fast and easy, and we're able to understand the needs on the ground.

So by donating funds, we can specifically put together the needs, the amount of diapers, the clothing, the wipes, the hygiene items, real time with those donations. And they can go to Baby2Baby.org to make those donations.

Anyone with a company that has items, big palletized items available can contact us as well. And again, those are the high need items, the same ones we keep talking about. It sounds like a broken record, but it is those same diapers, wipes, hygiene items, clothing.

And also if you do live in the LA area, we are hosting volunteer sessions every day. People can come and do their part, which has again been really heartwarming to see.

And then just following us on our social media, Baby2Baby, and we're updating it every time we can so that people know how specifically to help.

DEAN: Well, we wish you all the best, and we are grateful that you guys are out there. I know that so many people are getting some relief and feeling just a little more comforted when they are able to receive that. Kelly and Norah, thank you so much.

PATRICOF: Thank you.

WEINSTEIN: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, officials are on the ground in the fire zone, searching for people who have been reported missing. Meanwhile, families are already mourning the loss of at least 16 people who have died in these wildfires. We're going to tell you what we are learning about those victims, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:46]

DEAN: The deadly wildfires in Los Angeles County have claimed the lives of at least 16 people. We know many more people remain missing at this hour. Search and rescue teams and cadaver dogs are moving from neighborhood to neighborhood, searching through the ash, looking for remains.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is joining us now.

And, Gloria, you're learning more about the lives and the heartbreaking stories of several of the people who died in these wildfires. What more can you tell us about them?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, and actually knowing just that process that's taking place now, right? The first responders getting out there to do those search and rescue recovery operations of people who we know are still missing.

Sixteen people confirmed dead so far, 11 from the Eaton Fire, five from the Palisades Fire. We've heard the stories of people who stayed at their house because they wanted to protect it. People who had experienced smoke and wildfires before and thought that they could fight the flames. We've heard the stories of the disabled and the elderly who couldn't get out, and we've heard the story of Rodney Nickerson. He was a grandfather who lived in his house, raising two generations, his children and his grandchildren.

His family told us that he was very attached to the house and the neighborhood. He was 82 years old, a retired aerospace engineer who worked at Lockheed Martin. He lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years.

Now, his son spoke to him on Tuesday morning, as the two usually did. They were very close, but he said that as the day went on, he was not able to get a hold of him. He said that he was going to stay behind and that he'd be there when they returned.

Our affiliate in Los Angeles spoke to his daughter. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMIKO NICKERSON FATHER DIED IN WILDFIRES: This is where we've been our whole life, and my son tried to get him to leave and my neighbors and myself. And he said, he'll be fine. "I'll be here when you guys come back." And he said his house would be here.

His house is here, and he was here, too. He was in his bed when I found him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So, Jessica, just imagine, you return to your house and you're actually able to find the remains of your father in his bed. That's what happened to that daughter. And that's what's likely happening to many more people as authorities are able to get into the area to do these recovery operations.

Sixteen people reported missing, 12 in Eaton, four in the Palisades and public officials in Los Angeles, making it clear they expect the death toll to increase -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that.

We'll be right back.

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[19:59:06]

DEAN: In this video, you're looking at just in to us here at CNN. You see hundreds of wildfire evacuees, volunteers, all gathered there at San Anita Park for food and other resources.

A donation center has emerged after a group of street vendor friends joined forces to feed people and Erin, what is -- I don't know, if want to --- there is a silver lining here which is the neighbors helping neighbors and how people have -- I mean, you're looking at all of these people there and they're just showing up for each other and it is an incredible thing to see the sense of community even as we wait for that sun to set behind you and wait for what comes tonight with these fires.

BURNETT: You are right, you know these winds have picked up even as we're here but that community, you feel it, and even people finding community in their shared loss that we see as people, you know, in hotels and around where people see each other for the first time going back to those communities.

Here, about a thousand people were fed by local organizations, first responders. I mean, it is incredible to see that even as they are still in phase of fighting this and thanks so much for joining us. I am Erin Burnett in Los Angeles. And join me, I'll be back here again tomorrow night, of course, covering all of these fires -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Erin, thank you so much.

I'm Jessica Dean hear in New York. I'll see you right back here next weekend.

Up next, here on CNN, it's a special hour on the deadly fires in Los Angeles and the residents facing unthinkable tragedy.

Join Anderson Cooper for "The Whole Story." It starts right now.

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