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CNN International: Fire Crews Brace for Winds to Pick Back up in L.A. Area; Israeli FM: Progress was Made Towards Hostage Deal; India's Maha Kumbh Mela Festival Begins; Cal Fire: 41,000 Plus Acres Burned in Wildfire Outbreak in L.A. County; Trump Cabinet Picks Begin Confirmation Hearings This Week; Vatican Opens Holy Doors for Jubilee Year. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired January 13, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hi everyone, and welcome to all our viewers around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN Newsroom. Just ahead, Los Angeles on alert, fierce winds are forecast to pick up again, complicating the fight against the devastating wildfires. We are live in L.A. this hour.
Plus, sources suggest Israel and Hamas are very close to a cease fire agreement. We will have the latest details for you. And U.S. President Joe Biden races to cement his legacy with just one week left in office, while President-Elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees face a grilling on Capitol Hill.
After nearly a week of devastating wildfires, weary Los Angeles area residents are bracing for those Santa Ana winds to pick up yet again. Increased wind speeds are expected to continue through Wednesday, adding fuel to the fires ravaging the region. At least 24 people have lost their lives.
And officials expect that death toll to rise. The largest fire, the Palisades fire is still mostly uncontained. Days ago, it became the most destructive fire ever in L.A. County. Thousands of homes have been wiped out, leading so many lives turned upside down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of tears, anger. We're going through the stages of grief. There's no doubt about it. I think I finally went from denial into anger last night, but this is a challenge that I know will get through it. We've gotten through challenges before. This just feels like the biggest thing that's ever happened to us, but we will get through it. We just have to take every step, and standing in this line is one of those steps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Well, critical fire conditions are flaring up once again, with the National Weather Service warning of a, quote, particularly dangerous situation for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. All of this threatening to spur the fires, which have already burned more than 40,000 acres in less than a week.
That is an area bigger than Paris. California Governor Gavin Newsom says fire crews are being pre-positioned in various hot spots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): So, I'm up here in Mandeville Canyon, which was the site in the last two nights of tremendous investment of resources, firefighters working the line. A lot of those assets still here, not only in anticipation of potential flare up here in the Palisades fire, but also pre-positioned.
As we're pre-positioning in many counties throughout the state of California, because of the upcoming winds we're expecting. Monday, peaking Monday night into Tuesday, extending into Wednesday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: A lack of rain and dangerous winds are making this a particularly dangerous week. Allison Chinchar joining us now to explain. I mean, yes, firefighters have been at the mercy of Mother Nature for days now. So, take us through the wind forecast and what fire crews can expect.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, so the winds will really start to pick up as we go through the day. Today, you've got a wind advisory in effect already for a lot of these areas, because those gusts will get up around 50 to 55 miles per hour.
Then starting at 04:00 a.m. Tuesday, local time, they've already pre issued this high wind warning, and that's for that starting point of tomorrow, because Tuesday and Wednesday, those gusts could get all the way up to 70 miles per hour. So, it's an anticipation of these winds starting to tick up.
Now, again today, we're going to start to see them in the 20 mile per hour range, then the 30 mile per hour range. And it's not just today, but also Tuesday. Both of these days have what's considered the extreme fire risk. That is a level three of three. It does not get any higher than that.
[08:05:00]
So just to kind of show you how concerning these winds are forecast to be again, going forward again those numbers are going to start to tick up, not only in Pacific Palisades, but in and around Los Angeles, Malibu, Ventura, all of these areas are going to see those winds begin to increase as we go through the day today and stick around through Wednesday of this week.
Those containment numbers were able to go up over the weekend, thanks to a break from the winds, especially on Saturday. This was fantastic news. But the other thing that's been very concerning is the drought. All of these fires are in this dark orange shaded color here that indicates the severe drought category. That's all the vegetation, all the brush, is so dry that is fuel for these fires as they race across these areas. And it's not just the fact that January itself has been dry, but we go back even farther than that, all the way back to October 1. That's the start of the water year. It's not January 1, it's October 1.
It falls more in line with the natural water cycle. But if you go back to that date, the L.A. area has only had three one hundredths of an inch of rain since that point. They would normally have more than 4.5 inches up to this point. So again, just to show you how dry it is, and that's odd for this time of year.
January is typically the second wettest month of the year for this area. And it's not just la you look at Long Beach, Burbank, a lot of the surrounding areas also looking at those significant rainfall deficits. When you look at the seven-day forecast, rain is not in the forecast at all, and that's very concerning.
Now we do get a little bit of a break, Amara, as we get to the end of the week. Those temperatures will start to come back down, humidity starts to go back up. So, a few things to maybe look forward to, but you're still talking day six and day seven from now, we've got a long way to go till we get there.
WALKER: Extremely, extremely challenging conditions. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for following this for us. Well, Brian Rice is the President of the California Professional Firefighters Union, and earlier he spoke to my colleague, Kasie Hunt about the threat of more flare ups in the coming days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN RICE, PRESIDENT OF CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS: I think that for the next couple of days, and the governor said it through Wednesday, there's a pretty large spread of a red flag warning, I think the threat is very real, and that the state of California is moving resources in to match. I can't say match that threat, but in anticipation of that threat, the threat is real.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: So, sir, at this point, I mean, what do you think are the biggest risks from these winds? Which neighborhoods do you think are potentially more at risk than others, and what does that mean for your crews?
Well, right now, the -- it looks like the big threats they're talking about, the Brentwood area, the Santa Monica area that the governor mentioned, Mandeville Canyon. In some of these areas on the northern end of the Palisades fire, you're seeing areas that haven't had a fire, in some cases, up to 40 years.
So, you're seeing a much higher fuel load. They know that they're getting resources in there. But Kasie, it's like I said, every time I've spoken to you, the weather matters here. It's still dry. The humidity levels are coming up a little bit. I think that they probably aren't beginning to see the type of overnight recovery in the dew point and the humidity levels that they want to see. But it's not single digit like it was when this fire started. And right now, it all matters. And it is the neighborhoods that are in front of the flame front, the -- excuse me, the flame front, and then some of the things that add to that, you know, the islands of areas in the burn that haven't burned.
They were saved. They were saying to the fire, moved around them. Those pose a threat too. You don't want to see a start in those areas that help fuel a flame front.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: And that was Brian Rice, President of the California Professional Firefighters Union. Now the people who were forced to evacuate are sharing the often-harrowing stories of how they fled the fires and what they faced when they made the heart-breaking return to their neighborhoods only to find their home gone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I took my son, we ran to the car, and he was scared. He was crying. I was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- trying to, you know, be calm and try to get out of Palisades as fast as we could.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I dropped to my knees, and I just started praying, please, God, please, just save my house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm ready to jump into the ocean. All the firemen they got the hell out of here. They backed quickly, and I should have followed suit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We started piling up the Torres (ph) in the back of my car. I checked with my husband. I couldn't see him. There was so much smoke. I checked with him do you have all of them? And he said, I think so. And we just left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he was walking around with his lantern in the house. Chase (ph) and I were talking to him. We were on FaceTime. And he said, he'll be fine. I'll be here when you guys come back. He was in his bed when I found him.
[08:10:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so fast, a friend was able to go to the neighborhood, once it had completely burned down, and send us a video. And that's when we found out for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The idea of trying to figure out where we're going to be for the next month, where we're going to have this baby. We had so many friends and a massive support group there that I was really, really planning to lean on and losing them. It's like, it's almost harder than losing at home. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably only have a dozen or so homes in my census track. It's like half the town is gone. It's just too overwhelming. We're just living with clothes on our back and lucky to have friends that are bringing us in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody just needs to understand that they've done their best. And you know, as long as they're with their family and they have their lives, you know, life is long, and I think we have that to look forward to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: CNN's Michael Yoshida joining us now live from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles with an update on the fires there. Michael, we've been hearing also from our meteorologists about the dangerous wind conditions that are expected to pick up again today.
Talk to us about just the last few hours, what you've been seeing there on the ground in terms of the firefight and how firefighters are anticipating the worsening conditions.
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there. Good morning, Amara. You talk about those potentially worsening conditions. Can tell you, over the last day, into the early morning hours, we know that crews are staging just east of where I am in Pacific Palisades, a little further up into the mountains, in preparation trying to get those crews, those apparatus, there to be ready for whatever challenges, threats these winds could bring.
Here in the Pacific Palisades in this neighborhood, we've seen one fire truck stage just around the corner. We've seen Cal Fire continue to make the rounds, because in these two major fires that Eaton fire, the Palisades fire still, for the most part, largely uncontained and burning at this point in time.
Of course, the areas burned by these major wildfires across Los Angeles last check bigger than the City of Paris, a good portion of that here in the Pacific Palisades, we've been showing these visuals the last few days, these neighborhoods heartbreakingly unrecognizable.
You can see the debris around me just in this street, but you go one street over, it's the same site. The really only way to tell where some homes used to be, these chimneys, these brick chimneys that we see every so often, just showing where someone's home once stood.
Just so much work again this morning to try and contain these fires, as that's the most pressing issue, trying to get them contained, be ready for any potential wins that may happen later today, and ideally, eventually and hopefully be able to put those flames out.
WALKER: Yeah, I'm sure it has so many people who had to evacuate, you know, with just minutes to spare, or maybe seconds, you know, they want to go home, or at least go back to their neighborhood and see, you know, what's left. What is the latest guidance for those you know who have been affected? What are officials saying? YOSHIDA: For sure. So, we know that over the weekend, officials have been telling us that looking forward, trying to project that it's obviously it's hard to do at this point, we know the wind's likely to return later today, and officials say potentially Thursday as a target point. But a lot of this is at the mercy of Mother Nature.
If the winds cooperate, the dry conditions cooperate, the crews are able to get these fires contained enough to allow people to see for themselves. Obviously, we've been showing all of these images, but for those who want to get here, that's the target point. But once you get beyond that, then the officials saying six to nine months to try and remove all of this and then start that long rebuilding and recovery process.
WALKER: It's just devastating, and the fact that this the wind threat continues, is just so challenging. Michael Yoshida, thank you very much. All right, still to come, a dangerous situation with the two largest wildfires in Los Angeles County, still mostly uncontained. Strong winds are threatening to make the disaster even worse.
Also reports of progress on a Gaza cease fire and hostage exchange deal in the waning days of the Biden Administration. A live report from the White House is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:15:00]
WALKER: Turning now to the Israel-Hamas war, where a Hamas official says the group is, quote, very close to an agreement with Israel for Gaza cease fire hostage exchange deal, but several sticking points remain. Now talks are currently underway in Qatar, and the Israeli Foreign Minister is also expressing optimism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIDEON SAAR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Progress was made, we see some progress in the negotiations. Israel wants a hostage deal. Israel is working with our American friends in order to achieve a hostage deal, and soon we will know whether the other side wants the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. President discussed the negotiations on Sunday, this as Biden is poised to give his farewell foreign policy address in just a few hours. CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House.
Hi, Arlette, Biden surely will address Gaza in his last foreign policy speech of his presidency, later today at the State Department. What will he talk about and how focused will he be on this potential Gaza cease fire deal?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, President Biden is planning to use this speech to try to talk about how he has worked to strengthen America's position in the world. A senior administration official argued that the -- or said that the President would discuss how he believes he is handing the next administration a stronger hand than he inherited.
Remember, President Biden and his team had long argued that President Trump, in his first term, had damaged relations with U.S. allies that has really been at the center of Biden's foreign policy strategy, trying to reinvigorate those alliances and global partnerships.
The Biden team often points to their work with a quad partnership, strengthening relations in the Indo Pacific, as they look to counter China in certain ways. There's also the president has often talked about how he has kept the European allies together when it comes to offering support for Ukraine and Russia.
But of course, President Biden is ending his presidency as there are still two ongoing wars. That war between Russia and Ukraine is set to enter its third year. And then there is that conflict between Israel and Hamas, which officials have been working for the past a year and several months to try to end but so far to no avail.
Now it's unclear how much time exactly President Biden will spend on that conflict or another issue that he has been criticized on when it relates to foreign policy. That's the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan for President Biden the speech will really serve as a book end for his presidency
He will deliver these remarks at the State Department, the same location where four years ago he had laid out his foreign policy vision for the country. Today, he is hoping to tout what he can even as there are still a lot of outstanding questions about how some of those ongoing wars will fare once he leaves office.
WALKER: Appreciate your reporting there. Thank you so much, and in just a matter of hours, Joe Biden will deliver one of the last major speeches of his presidency. Mr. Biden is going to the U.S. State Department for a speech discussing America's role on the global stage, as Arlette was just saying.
[08:20:00]
He is expected to highlight his efforts to build alliances and partnerships across the planet. Now this comes exactly one week ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. The transition to Trump really gets underway this week, as several of his Cabinet picks will begin their Senate confirmation hearings, including Trump's controversial defense secretary, choice, Pete Hegseth.
CNN's Steve Contorno, is tracking how the Trump team is preparing for the Senate hearings. He's joining us now live from outside Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Steve, give us a sense of the mood at the Trump camp and also the preparations that have been made the mock hearings, the intense mock hearings that they've been having.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Amara, there's a considerable level of optimism heading into this final week of the transition, because they believe they are really well situated to have Donald Trump's cabinet in place within the first couple weeks of him taking office, 13 of his nominees will have hearings on Capitol Hill this week, and that is really out of pace.
That is far ahead of the schedule eight years ago, when Donald Trump first took office, that process was much delayed. There was a lot more controversy around the deliberations. There was a lot many -- there are many more cooks in the kitchen. Donald Trump didn't even really know many of the individuals that he elevated to the top positions in his cabinet. And that certainly isn't the case this go around.
One of the defining hallmarks of this cabinet is how much they -- their allegiance has been already on display to Donald Trump, and really that was not the case with Trump's first cabinet. You go back to those initial hearings, many of those individuals went to great effort to explain to senators, how they differed from Donald Trump and how their views were different than the ones that Donald Trump expressed in the campaign trail.
Well, that is not the expectation this go around. And one other area where they believe that they have learned from past confirmation battles is how to prepare this group of incoming nominees for these high stakes' hearings. They have been, as you said, in rigorous preparation for weeks. There have been mock hearings that have gone on for sometimes several hours.
For these individuals, they are being forced to confront their own past controversies, their statements. They're also being expected to be up to speed on Donald Trump's policies. Because really, at the end of the day, one thing that Sean Spicer Trump's last Press Secretary told me with this cabinet, the expectation is these individuals are there not to defend their ideas, but to defend the president's ideas.
And one other person that they will be speaking to is not just the Senate or the American people, but Donald Trump himself. You know, he will be making decisions, ultimately, whether or not to stand by some of these more contentious picks based on how they perform this week, if one of these nomination hearings goes awry, if one of these individuals he has elevated to such a key post can't get the job done on such an important stage.
That ultimately there is opportunity for him to pivot, and time for him to make a different choice in this -- the nominees are aware of it. Senate Republicans are aware of it, and Donald Trump is very aware of it, Amara.
WALKER: Yeah, it will be a striking difference from eight years ago, the confirmation hearings then where this time around. We should see all of Trump's choices in lockstep with his agenda. Steve Contorno at Mar-a-Lago, thank you very much. Good to see you.
Well Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is offering to release two North Korean soldiers if North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un can arrange the release of Ukrainian troops held in Russia. On Saturday, Ukraine announced that it captured the North Koreans in Russia's Kursk Region. Ukraine Security Service released the video that it says shows the wounded prisoners being interrogated. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang, though, have acknowledged that North Korean troops are even fighting alongside Russian forces. The world's largest religious gathering has kicked off in India. Millions of Hindu devotees have come together to mark the beginning of the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Over the next six weeks, 400 million people are expected to attend the festival on the river banks. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Excitement lights up the night as fire dancers celebrate ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in India. The next six weeks, the City of Prayagraj will be the center of spiritual devotion in Hinduism. Attracting an expected 400 million pilgrims from India and around the world.
They bathe in the confluence of three sacred rivers in the largest religious festival on Earth. It's a trip of a lifetime for many devotees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Visit here helps cleanse sins of several lives. It was by God's grace that we could come here. I had never seen something as wonderful as this. Never been to such a massive festival before.
[08:25:00]
SANDOVAL (voice-over): The Maha Kumbh Mela, or festival of the sacred pictures, is held every 12 years and is considered holier than the Kumbh Mela festival that occur roughly every three years. Pilgrims take a dip in the waters to wash away their sins and receive salvation from the cycle of life and death.
And though it's a spiritual festival, there are some very earthly logistical challenges to hosting such a large event. 4000 hectares of land have been transformed into a pop-up city with thousands of tents, kitchens and porta potty set up for the visitors.
More than 40,000 police personnel and cyber-crime experts are part of a web of surveillance, and authorities say AI will be used to monitor the crowds. Indian police say they've been conducting security and rescue drills to prepare for any emergencies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is full security. As you can see, we are alert and prepared. The area is covered by cameras and our food soldiers in civilian clothing will be present on the ground as well.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): The festival runs until February 26th and having it run smoothly without any major security issues, would be a win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was promised to showcase India's religious and cultural symbols to appeal to his Hindu base. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WALKER: Still to come. We're going to take you live to Southern California, where the death toll from the wildfires is increasing and dangerous winds are ramping up again, with fire warnings at the highest levels.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: It's still a very dangerous situation on the ground in Southern California, and also unpredictable, where wildfires have been raging for almost a week now. The National Weather Service warns that the next few days will be critical when it comes to the firefighting efforts.
Strong winds are expected to hit the area and last through Wednesday and red flag warnings are now in effect. The two largest fires remain mostly uncontained.
[08:30:00]
Also, the death toll has climbed 24 with dozens more missing. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Los Angeles, who has faced plenty of criticism for her response to the disaster, is striking a positive tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: We will be prepared. We will get through this, but it takes the unity and the spirit that I saw yesterday to make sure that Los Angeles comes out of this a much better city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: For the very latest let's go now to Stephanie Elam. She's there in Malibu. Stephanie, it's been nearly a week now. Where do things stand? What's the latest in terms of the progress that's been made?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fear Amara is that the progress that's been made could be set back as we are starting to already feel these stronger winds impact the area. It's middle of the night, still here in California, and I can tell you that the winds are already kicking up, and that's a big fear.
If you take a look behind me where I'm standing, this was an in right on the Pacific Coast Highway. If you haven't been out here, it's just a beautiful stretch of highway right along the California Coastline. And so, there's a lot of these smaller businesses that have been here for decades that have now been decimated.
And this is just one small picture that is happening over and over and over again. In fact, according to data from Cal Fire, the area that has been burned between the Palisades fire, where I'm standing now, as well as the Eaton fire and the Hearst fire, all of that land that has burned. The total area is more than the size of Paris. And we're not done. It's still burning. Schools are still closed, although the main school district here in
the Los Angeles area is opening up schools, except for nine. They're trying to get a sense of normalcy back for some of these people. But still, more than 100,000 people are evacuated right now Amara.
People are still trying to figure out what they can do, and for people who are in the evacuation zones who want to get back to their homes, they're saying that's likely not going to happen until maybe Thursday, because of these red flag warnings that we have and making sure that the places are completely safe before people start bringing their families back there. So still a lot more waiting around for people who are been on pins and needles for several days.
WALKER: Stephanie, the last number that I saw, I think, was over 10,000 properties that fire officials were giving in terms of the number that were destroyed in these fires. When it comes to -- you know the human aspect. I mean, so many lives have been turned upside down, like you were saying, schools in so many different cities in Malibu and Pasadena, they remain closed.
A lot of businesses are now gone. What have you been hearing from the people who have lost so much and now their lives are put on hold? What are they saying about what's next for them?
ELAM: A lot of people are just still trying to just process their grief. It goes through waves. You know, you take things for granted that you'll just -- you know oh yeah, I'll put that in the closet. I'll get they can't. There's nothing. They have nothing right now. So, there's still a lot of processing it.
What you see throughout the area, stores closed or closing early, restaurants closed, closing early, there's still a lot of street signs -- street lights that are out when you go into certain areas near there. So, some restaurants that are outside is telling people, hey, there's no power in the neighborhood, so we can't open right now.
These are all the little things that are -- you know side effects of the fact that the power is out, and the fact that there's fires still blazing, and there's still the very large concern that with these winds, the small containment, that they've been able to start a wage over the weekend, they really did make great progress over the weekend.
What they're afraid that with these winds, we could see that those numbers get challenged a bit here. And one good thing I will say is that when I was standing in Malibu a couple days ago, they're all kind of running together now, I couldn't see up into the sky. It's a full moon tonight.
And I can see the moon and I can see some stars, but all of that could change quickly depending on the which way the winds are blowing, and also whether or not, with the sunlight coming up today, whether or not the fires start to rage again and become more challenging to battle.
WALKER: Yeah, and that is just so challenging when you don't you know, know how this will impact the fires and which way they may go? Stephanie Elam, thank you very much for being there on the scene.
Let's bring in Kenichi Haskett now. He is a Section Chief at the LA County Fire Department. Kenichi, thank you so much for your time on this early morning there in Malibu. I just want to start with some of the numbers that we have in terms of where the fires stand. The two largest ones, Palisades fire, the last numbers is that its 13 percent contained, and the Eaton fire at 27 percent. Do those numbers still stand? Or do you have any updates?
KENICHI HASKETT, SECTION CHIEF, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: We'll have more updates as we get first light here. It's still dark this morning here.
WALKER: OK.
[08:35:00]
But we'll do some lights. So as soon as those -- soon as we get some light, we'll get some better containment numbers.
WALKER: How are your crews preparing for this resurgence of winds?
HASKETT: It's supposed to be hot and dry again. As you guys mentioned, with a red flag. I can report some positive news. Last night, I talked to my Ops Chief just about 10 minutes ago, they didn't have much activity on the Palisades. What I mean they didn't have, by that is the unburned area within the perimeter of the 23,000 acres of the just the Palisades fire.
We didn't have any calls of service. What that means is people weren't calling nearby saying that they see smoke or fire, so that's good. And they were able to bolster and increase our containment lines and start extinguishing those hot spots that we had.
So, we're able to surge in resources now, with over 5200 firefighters that we have here now to just on the Palisades, to get in there and basically start working around homes that are still smoldering -- homes that are still there, where we still have smoke and ambers. So that's some shimmering hope of getting people back in.
WALKER: Yeah. Obviously, credit to your crews for that glimmer of hope. Can you talk about, though -- you know there was this small window of opportunity, maybe a few of them, over the weekend, which allowed firefighters to make some progress. Can you talk about these windows and what was being done, I would imagine -- you know as quickly as possible during that time?
HASKETT: Yes, thank you for bringing that up. We had as every -- that we could get. So, our super scoopers are in the air. Our very large air tankers, those commercial type airplanes that you see, that we all board, those are in the air, as well as all of our helicopters flying aggressively on both fires, so we're able to get the water that we needed, that we had, and the retardant that we needed, and to bolster those containment lines.
So, we made -- I would like to say we made, even though people can't go back home. You see the devastation. This is not just devastation for Los Angeles. This was a disaster for us. So, we worked our rear ends off to get in there and go direct. And what I mean by going direct is with the close to over just 5000 firefighters, just on the Palisades.
They're on the ground getting out those little smoldering hotspots, you see. Because more than anything, we love the aircraft, but we need firefighters on the ground to extinguish every one of those. For example, we've all maybe seen a campfire. When you put out the fire in your campfire, you can't have any coal, right? You get the coal from the wood or the ground burning. You can't even have it, what we like to call it's not out until it's cold and out.
WALKER: OK. You know, I do want to point out that you and your fire crews -- you know -- you are all a part of these communities, and I can only imagine the fatigue, just how physically challenging it must be to be out there, you know, day in and day out, but also the emotional toll, seeing their beloved cities going up in flames? How has that been for your crews, and what have they been saying?
HASKETT: I talked to some of the firefighters and police officers that have had their -- that have come to work, that have had their homes destroyed, just like many of our constituents in our community just we're experiencing. I mean, I'm fortunate enough not to have experienced that. I have been evacuated multiple times, but crews have experienced their homes being destroyed.
They've come to work to serve their communities, to get -- to get back into the rhythm, so to speak, and get it off their mind. But it is taking, I say, more of an emotion toll, but mentally, they're still engaged. They want to be here to serve the communities they see the devastation, the disaster.
So, we want to fix things. We want to fix problems. I mean, people are criticizing us about the water. We will improvise. We will get this fire out. So, the crews have been working tirelessly. We're very grateful for the rest of the nation sharing their firefighters with us, as well as Canada and Mexico, so that what's going to help us get this out. If I can touch on one thing real quick -
WALKER: Sure.
HASKETT: -- is people want to go home. I don't know if you have images up of just the sheer destruction we're dealing with. I need them to please give us patience. These communities are destroyed. If you're going back to home, the homes and you're grateful and thankful, or I would be thankful enough to go back to home, that would devastation around me.
You're not going to have power. You're not going to have just a basic creature funk conference of clean water. The water is going to be contaminated. Think about gas.
[08:40:00]
Gas lines, once we start charging -- turning back on the gas for all the homes that have been destroyed, the homes around you, the gas pipes are destroyed. So, the infrastructure has been decimated. So, we need people to please give us some grace to make sure it's safe to return home to your home after a wildfire.
And even coming back in to go through your rubble. People want to go back through their rubble, right and find their memories. I totally get that. I understand that I've been on multiple fires where I've done that, and it's obviously emotional, not just for me, but them. It needs to be safe. We need to make sure they have at least a N95 mask, or even better, to make sure they have the appropriate PPE so.
WALKER: OK. Well, we absolutely will get that word out that people please to be patient, to not return to their neighborhoods.
HASKETT: Yeah, thank you.
WALKER: And of course, you know, give the fire officials the time they need to make sure things are safe. And of course, everyone is so grateful for all the work, the tireless work, heart and soul work that you all are doing out there. And we will watch this with you, and wish you the best. Kenichi Haskett, thank you from the L.A. County Fire Department.
HASKETT: Thank you. Thank you for -
WALKER: All the best to you. Absolutely.
So as questions swirl over California's handling of strained resources, CNN's Kyung Lah spoke directly with the state's governor, and during their conversation, Gavin Newsom explained the evolving scope and scale of the wildfire damage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Governor of California while overseeing this fire emergency in Los Angeles County for the first time, is now laying out some concrete timeline of when he wants this rebuilding to begin, saying that he wants assessments of all of the losses done within two weeks, and that's to get insurance and FEMA rolling.
So, what is this assessment help explain why we need this and what this means for that homeowner?
NEWSOM: You got through the State Fire Marshal Cal Fire, working with county partners, teams of two go in. They will go in 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 website.
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: So that's 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're telling the debris is gone and we said, we want nine months. Is the goal, nine months to year. You're looking at the magnitude of this, and with the hazmat side, just 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? And we know, we live here, your house is insured. My house is insured.
NEWSOM: Yeah.
LAH: Yes -
NEWSOM: My -- the one I have, my dad's house is under the fair plan, the state's plan.
LAH: It's very expensive.
NEWSOM: Very expensive, and 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 in a higher independent group to look to stress test, not just the insurance market, 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 working class.
NEWSOM: Yeah.
LAH: What about people who didn't have insurance?
NEWSOM: 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. LAH: The governor has signed a slew of executive orders, not just on the assessments to speed that along, but also on loosening some of the environmental regulations to get some of this building done as quickly as possible. Kyung Lah CNN, Altadena, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:00]
WALKER: Let's return now to one of our top stories, and preparations are underway for Donald Trump's Inauguration as the 47th President of the United States. Exactly one week from today, Republicans in the U.S. Senate are trying to make sure that Trump hits the ground running. They will begin confirmation hearings for Trump's cabinet picks starting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden is attempting to define his legacy with one of his last major speeches in office. He will tout his foreign policy achievements later today in a speech at the U.S. State Department. Let's dive into all of this. Let's welcome the Director of the UVA Center for Politics, Larry Sabato. Larry, it's always great to see you.
So, one week to Trump's Inauguration, Biden is trying to cement his legacy. And you know, you may remember, he began his first term by declaring that America is back. And I'm sure that that message is probably haunting still, to many Democrats now. And I would also imagine this last foreign policy speech for Biden will carry a lot of significance for him, even if it doesn't really change the minds of the people who weren't so happy with him and his legacy?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Oh, absolutely. In fact, the most serious criticisms that I've heard recently of Joe Biden and the Biden Administration have come from Democrats. You know, Republicans have just completely written him off, although we need to remember, he retains 100 percent of the powers of the presidency until noon on Monday, January 2nd, so 20th, excuse me.
You never know what a president will do at the end. Maybe there'll be more pardons. Maybe there will be executive orders of one sort or another that we haven't focused on yet. We'll see. But mainly, it's a long goodbye, which actually began in August when he withdrew from the reelection race.
WALKER: Do you think he does have some final moves left in him, including some pardons, perhaps, of -- you know Former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney?
SABATO: Well, he has said that he is considering pardons for Former Representative Cheney and a number of other people who are threatened and have been threatened repeatedly by Donald Trump. Whether they follow through, it depends on what the individuals have told Biden I think -
WALKER: Right.
SABATO: -- if they really wanted them, Biden would probably do it.
WALKER: So, confirmation hearings, they will kick off tomorrow, and perhaps one of President-Elect Trump's most controversial picks, Pete Hegseth, of course, for Defense Secretary. He's going to be in the hot seat, and there have been so many questions and concerns voiced about his alleged excessive drinking, his extramarital affairs, alleged treatment of women. What will you be watching for? How contentious do you expect things to get?
SABATO: Well, that one is going to be contentious, because there are so many different criticisms. You made a good list of them there. I would add one more, his inexperience. He's never run a large organization at all, and this is one of the largest in the world.
Now he's a combat veteran, but he's young, and his major experience is from TV, so I simply don't imagine that will go smoothly. But we'll see there are 53 Republicans at the majority they can lose three Republicans and the vice president can break a tie.
[08:50:00]
So, the odds are in favor of everyone of Trump's nominees, but there may be one or two exceptions, and Hegseth would be one of them.
WALKER: Well, Trump and his Republicans, they want to hit the ground running on day one. I want you to listen to what Senator John Barrasso, the new Senator -- the Senate Majority Whip, excuse me, predicted on CBS this weekend on what we should expect with Trump's agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): The rubber hits the road this week with all of these hearings on the cabinet, and then when President Trump takes office next Monday, there is going to be shock and awe with executive orders, a blizzard of executive orders on the economy as well as on the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: So, the president-elect, he's promised sweeping action on day one of his presidency, right, including a border crackdown, extending tax cuts, opposing tariffs. It's a long list. How many promises in reality, do you think Trump would be able to follow through with just a stroke of a pen?
SABATO: Well, not that many. There will be, according to his own people, about 100 executive orders. Some of them are pro forma. They're issued by every president. But there are going to be some executive orders that will revoke Biden's executive orders, not all of them, because some of them are tough to untangle, but you will see a lot of that.
The image they want to project is of action and immediacy. A crisis exists, and Donald Trump is going to solve the crisis, both foreign -- in foreign affairs and domestically. Whether that's really true, we'll, see?
WALKER: Well, we'll watch it closely with you and Larry, we will talk it over again and again together. Larry Sabato, always good to see you. Thank you.
SABATO: Thank you.
WALKER: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: It was a no go for launch for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The 30-storey tall New Glenn Rocket was expected to launch into space for the first time ever, early on Monday morning. But an issue with the rocket arose, and engineers could not resolve it in time.
New Glenn is the first rocket developed by Blue Origin that aims to be capable of sending satellites to orbit and compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX. And finally, more than half a million visitors have flocked to the Vatican for a rare opportunity to walk through the Holy Doors at St. Peter's Basilica. CNN's Antonia Mortensen was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTONIA MORTENSEN, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Where are you guys from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mexico. Mexico City.
MORTENSEN: Wow. And why have you come here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we are so excited about the door that's opened for this year. So, it's a good opportunity for us to -- you know to cross the door and see that's all the marvelous things behind the door, and having all these -- and all this energy that we will feel that once we are crossing, that's awesome.
MORTENSEN: This is really a very special occasion for many visitors and pilgrims who've come here from all over the world. The door to St. Peter's is usually cemented shut, and it's only opened up every 25 years. According to the Vatican, over half a million people have already passed the threshold of the Holy Doors since Pope Francis opened them officially on Christmas Eve to kick start the beginning of the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year.
EDDA SALGADO, PILGRIM: It's very special to come here with my family and with my daughter, so we can all go through the doors together. And I think this will be like the only time I will be able to do that.
[08:55:00]
MORTENSEN: The Jubilee is a Holy Year for the Catholic Church, which offers its faithful the chance to receive forgiveness for those who make the pilgrimage. Apart from the Holy Door at St. Peter's, visitors have the opportunity to enter through four other holy doors that are usually closed as part of their pilgrimage. A very busy start to the Jubilee Year here at the Vatican, and it's gearing up to be even busier, with 35 million visitors expected in Rome. Antonio Mortensen, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: All right. Thank you so much for being with me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Erica Hill is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:00]
