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CNN This Morning

CNN Crew Escapes California Wildfires; Firefighters are Battling the Three Blazes; Extreme Winds Fueling Wildfires; Biden Says He Could Have Won. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 08, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:57]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back.

A CNN crew had to make a quick escape last night when they saw flames on both sides of the Pacific Coast Highway. They had, of course, been out there covering those L.A. wildfires.

CNN's Natasha Chen explains how they made their way to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We were there from about noon until about just after 6 p.m. local time, when we had finished our last live shot. And I guess what we hadn't quite surmised was exactly how bad it had gotten south of us on Pacific Coast Highway. And that's the way we came in to get to our spot to cover the fire. And we knew that we had heard reports that the flames jumped the highway, but I guess we had not seen with our own eyes just exactly what that meant and what that looked like for us getting out of there.

So, at the end of the night, you know, we're - I - we pulled up to a fire truck and kind of waved at a firefighter and said, hey, where do you think is the best way for us to leave, to get out of here? He kind of shook his head at us and said, well, I guess you go south. And so that's what we did. Pretty quickly realizing that there were flames on both sides of the highway, there were embers flying over the lanes of the highway.

I spotted an emergency vehicle and decided our best bet is to just follow that car, to follow right behind him as closely as possible. If he's driving, then he's probably knowing the best way out.

So, as we're driving behind this emergency vehicle, I'm hearing an explosion on my right. There are houses on fire right up against the road on the left. And as I mentioned, embers flying. And so, at this point, we're - I m just holding my breath and I can feel the heat from inside the car just watching the embers fly across the windshield.

So, not ideal. In that kind of, you know, we get put on a lot of kind of risky assignments. And in this situation, we had to make a calculated risk for the best way to leave.

[06:35:00]

And I think, you know, thankfully, we got out of there and we got a real look at just the level of destruction and really the fear that a lot of those residents might be feeling if they're looking at those images on the news, if they've evacuated. I can't imagine. They're - they're wondering if their house is - is the next one on fire. If they have anything to go home to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNT: Very glad Natasha and her crew are OK. But, of course, that is the situation facing tens of thousands of people in California who are trying to make their way to safety.

Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, we are going to continue to cover those tens of thousands who have been forced to flee. Officials are warning, the worst is yet to come. We continue to bring you our latest coverage from southern California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough. It's tough. They can't get up. They're stuck on the wheelchairs. We got to lift them up, put them in the vans and then take the wheelchairs at the same time. So, we got to get everybody out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of these people are terrified, and they don't have a blanket. They don't have a wrap. They have nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:40:44]

HUNT: All right, we're going live now to Los Angeles County, California. These are live pictures at this hour of the fire that is burning there. And this is one of three out of control wildfires that have burned thousands of acres through the night. Officials are warning the worst may be yet to come.

Fire crews on the ground say there's no possibility of containing the fires, as the winds near 100 miles per hour. Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated. And new overnight, all residents in Malibu have been told to prepare to evacuate, even if they're not under an order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE KOHL, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: It blew the fire into every single neighborhood in the entire town. And there are a lot of houses lost in every neighborhood. You're not going to find a single neighborhood where people haven't lost their homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: More than 1,400 firefighters are battling the three blazes. L.A. Fire has asked all of their crews to report availability. It is the first time in two decades that they've had to carry out that protocol.

CNN's Stephanie Elam joins us live. She is at - in Pacific Palisades, in southern California. She has made her way there for us.

Stephanie, what did you see through the night, what have you seen where you're standing, and - and what you saw on your way to get where you are now?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, I'm a Californian. I was born and raised here. And I have covered a lot of wildfires for CNN.

But I have to tell you, the drive here is one of the most treacherous drives I have had to make to get to a wildfire. Simply because, when you cover a lot of wildfires, they're out and about. This is some densely packed terrain here.

And I just want to show you, from where we're standing on the Pacific Coast Highway, this building over here, we've watched this structure burn down since we've been out here overnight. And then, when you pan over to the side just a little bit, you can see that this apartment complex is also on fire. We've been watching fire crews race up there now. And then, just on this other side here, you can see there's another blaze on that side, just in this little bit of section of highway.

I can tell you that we have been hearing the gusts shaking our cars. Yesterday while I was driving, I felt like the Hulk was trying to, like, flip my car while I was sitting in it at a red light at one point. That wind is part of the problem here.

And then you compound that with the fact that L.A. County, just in and of itself, is in drought, just getting back into drought, and this is the driest start to the wet season on record here in Los Angeles. That's making things worse as well.

These winds, if you can see with some of this - oh, there you go, the winds are picking up right now. What happens is it picks up some of those embers, and it just flies through the air, and then fire takes off, rushing through with all this dry brush. A lot of this area has not burned in a long time. So, it makes it very difficult here.

So, the effects of climate change are definitely a part of what we're seeing here. Why tens of thousands of people are outside of their homes right now, not even knowing if their homes are still standing. Why you saw people abandoning their cars and running away.

Driving back into the city yesterday, I can tell you, the plumes were so high and the winds were so fierce that you could even smell the fire. Even being, you know, I was about 100 miles away at the time, and I could still sort of see some of the smoke that was coming up, the plumes that were coming up. This morning, waking up, I could also smell the fire. The drive here,

there's power lines down. There's fire burning all along the Pacific Coast Highway. If you've not been out here before, it's a remote, beautiful road directly behind me this way. Right here behind where we're standing is the Pacific Ocean. So, I can hear the waves, but I'm also hearing things exploding inside of buildings nearby as these fires are raging here.

And remember, this isn't the only fire. There's also a fire out by Altadena. They're warning people in Malibu. This is all very concerning because these winds are not expected to die down until later on today, Kasie.

HUNT: Stephanie, you - as you've been talking about that wind, we know that the firefighters haven't been able to focus on containing the fires. That's not part of their mission right now. The mission is strictly people's lives. The human toll.

[06:45:03]

What do we know at this point about when they might be able to start trying, at least, to contain the fires, and do we have any information right now about the human toll of - of what has unfolded here?

ELAM: As of now we don't know that anyone has lost their lives, but it is still early, right? And - whoo, those winds kicking up again. And what they do worry about first are people. People first, then property. So, right now, they can't worry about containing it. They've just got to try to stop it.

And just listening, you know, maybe you hear the eerie sound of the alarm going off behind me, I don't know if you can hear that, but this building has been sparking all night. They've got to go make sure all of that is without people. That is the priority right now. And as long as these winds are picking up as they are, like I parked over here and an ember flew out that was about this size and went underneath my car. Someone came over, like, there was an ember that went under there. As long as these embers are blowing like this, the mission here is just to make sure that people are safe. And that's why they want people to be gone.

It took a lot for some people to get out of these areas yesterday. But, as you can see, this is still very threatening along the highway. I mean you can't even see it because I'm looking up the highway. It's so smoky. But I can see there's more fire burning up there.

I drove past four different places that I can remember off the top of my head where I saw the blazes were burning on the side of the highway. They have closed off the Pacific Coast Highway. They don't want anyone coming up here right now. It is not safe. And I'm telling you, if you're thinking about doing it, don't do it. It was a treacherous drive getting here. It's not worth it.

We're out here to show you what it looks like so people don't have to do the same thing, Kasie. HUNT: Yes, well, and, Stephanie, as you pointed out, you have covered so many of these fires for us here at CNN. You've - you are - you are from - this is your home. And that perspective, remarkable. We really appreciate you rushing to get into position there. Stay safe. And I know you'll be covering this for us throughout the day.

Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.

All right, straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, remaining confident. President Biden says he believes he would have fared better against Donald Trump than Kamala Harris did in November, apparently.

Plus, more terrifying scenes overnight in southern California as those wildfires rage out of control, fueled by hurricane force winds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just when you think you know what the fire's going to do, it swirls around and it comes behind you. So, it's definitely erratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:51:49]

HUNT: All right, welcome back.

We're continuing to follow the shocking scenes out of southern California, where wildfires fueled by extreme winds continue to rage out of control. Overnight, at least three separate wildfires exploded in size, some of them burning at a rate of more than five football fields per minute. The Palisades Fire has now burned more than 2,000 acres, including the campus of the famed Palisades Charter High School. You've probably seen the school before. It's featured as a movie set in films that go back decades. "Teen Wolf," "Carrie" and "Freaky Friday."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK MELVOIN, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD MEMBER: Palisades Charter High School is currently engulfed in flames. We know that there are firefighters working heroically who are on the scene now trying to preserve the main structures. But the baseball field, tennis courts, some bungalows, the athletic building have been destroyed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam with the latest.

Derek, what are we seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kasie, the next few hours are absolutely critical as we anticipate the strongest of the winds during this particularly dangerous situation to unfold.

And I want to show you just how quickly and how erratic the fire is. This is a palm tree just engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds. Look at those embers being blown across the road with winds shaking the vehicle, trying to steady that camera shot. Just incredible. That shows you what they are contending with on the ground.

This is another way to look at it as well. These are the wind gusts that they experienced overnight, 71 mile per hour wind gusts in Burbank, 55 in Santa Monica. That's dangerous. And when you think about the environment of the dry conditions, this is just a recipe for disaster. And we're seeing it unfold in real time.

So, what you're looking at right now is a radar image. Why do I bring this up? It's not raining, Derek. What this has the ability to do is pick up particles in the sky, like a rain particle. This is actually ash from the Palisades Fire. You can see the direction of the wind coming up and over the mountain ranges, coming down towards the coastline. And there it is picking up on the radar. It is being pushed around by nearly 100 mile per hour gusts, in some of those higher elevations. Of course, that gets funneled through the canyons, and it starts additional spot fires.

So, at the moment, we have three out of control, 0 percent contained fires in Los Angeles County. Still, our critical fire weather continues. Extremely critical, in fact. And it's all being fueled by the driest start to the water year on record. Just incredible to see what has happened from October through to right now, how Los Angeles County creeping right back into drought conditions.

HUNT: Yes, really unbelievable. And, of course, some of the most dangerous hours for residents of L.A. and the surrounding areas are right now through 5:00 a.m. local time. Derek Van Dam. Derek, thank you very much for being with us throughout the hour, and we'll see you throughout the day as well.

All right, let's turn now to politics because, new this morning, a one-on-one conversation with the outgoing president, Joe Biden. "USA Today's" Susan Page sat down with Biden as he prepares to leave office in less than two weeks. Following Democrats' devastating loss to Donald Trump, Page asked President Biden if he believes there would have been a different outcome had he stayed in the race.

[06:55:01]

She asked this, quote, "do you believe you could have won in November?" Biden replied, quote, "it's presumptuous to say that, but I think, yes, based on the polling that," Page jumped in. Quote, "do you think you would have had the vigor to serve another four years in office?" Biden said this, quote, "I don't know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I'm going to be when I am 86 years old?"

Those comments now forcing Democrats to reassess how the final months of the race ultimately played out. This was earlier right here on CNN THIS MORNING. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN WILD (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: That line would not have helped Democrats. And I think that - who knows whether he could have won. But I - you - we have - we can't underestimate the fact that having a woman, a woman of color, at the top of the ticket, may or may not have not helped Democrats win the presidency.

I was confident in his mental acuity. I did have great concerns about his ability to project and to speak. He's had a lifelong speech impediment, as we know. But this was something different.

HUNT: Was it a winnable race for her or was it unwinnable?

WILD: I think it was unwinnable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, our panel is back with us.

And, former Congresswoman, I asked you earlier if it was winnable or unwinnable for her. Is President Biden right, that he could have won this race? Was it winnable for him, do you think?

SUSAN WILD (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: I would have to agree with him that that was a presumptuous statement. I - I think it's - I think it's not terribly likely, but I think he might have done better than Harris did, but I don't think he would have won the race.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think he could have won if he could have fixed inflation, the border and his age as a candidate. These - the - you know, at a certain point we almost have to stop talking about this because it does not matter. Kamala Harris was the nominee. She was the candidate. She lost. There was a -

HUNT: Right, but we're talking about it because this is what Biden said.

WILLIAMS: Well, no, no, I'm not - I'm not - no, no, no, no, I'm not criticizing -

HUNT: Yes, yes.

WILLIAMS: The decision - the decision thereof. But it's just - but - but the simple reality is, he - his polling was not suggesting that he was going to win the presidency. It is a simple fact. And it's almost, you know, in denial town to start pretending that that wasn't the case.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And this is - I feel so badly for the - the very bright folks who have been advising him on polling, whose message was clearly not getting through. The data did not show that Joe Biden was in a position to be reelected. The data showed that the only way Democrats were going to have a chance was to be able to make a clean break from the inflation, from the border. WILLIAMS: Yes.

HUNT: Yes. Well, and can I -

ANDERSON: That was just not possible with Biden.

HUNT: Can we just take a step back on the age question for a second, Mike Warren, because he is acknowledging in this interview something that he has never acknowledged before, to my knowledge. And, you know, we're talking about polling and data. Americans were telling pollsters and people asking them what they thought, that they did not think that he was ready to do it. And I find it to be a relatively stunning admission for him to turn around and say, after he said he was going to run for reelection, he promised the Democratic Party that he was going to - you know, he was fit, he could handle it. And now he's basically saying, I don't know.

MICHAEL WARREN, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE DISPATCH": He's like moving toward that position of cognitive dissonance that I think most voters had with the idea that Joe Biden really could do this for another four years. That is - that is exactly what voters saw. It was out there in front. And at that CNN debate, it just was laid bare. All - all the sort of hiding that fact that the White House had been doing for maybe understandable reasons was just all laid bare. He seems to be getting to that point, but I think he's got a big ego, and I think that's very difficult for him to admit, actually, no, I couldn't have done this for four years.

WILD: A politician with an ego, imagine that.

WARREN: I know. It's hard to believe.

WILD: And I think the question is, can Donald Trump make it for four more years?

WILLIAMS: Yes. But here's the thing, only God knows where any of us will be in our lives in four years, right? No one knows what the future would have held. But the simple fact is, so far so good, which were - which were his words, is not the standard we ought to be following when picking a president of the United States.

WILD: Yes.

ANDERSON: And not only is so far so good not the standard, but that's really - I mean voters, so far in advance of when that CNN debate actually happened, were sending this message, we're ready to turn the page, we're ready to turn the page, we're ready to turn the page, and it just fell on deaf ears. And I do think that Kamala Harris was put in a nearly impossible position of having, what, 107 days to run for president. She's getting this thrown in her lap. Really unable to fully break from the problems of the Biden administration. I think that Democrats - I think Joe Biden is trying to salvage his legacy, and I think this is - this is a - not - not getting it done.

WARREN: By the way, the energy change I saw. I saw Kamala Harris in Atlanta like right after she got the nomination. The energy change among Democrats was so big.

HUNT: Yes.

WILD: Yes.

[07:00:00]

WARREN: I - I don't think the Democratic energy would have been behind Joe Biden.

WILD: And we can't forget that all these younger people, all these people that were very unenthusiastic about the race between Trump and Biden, suddenly showed a lot of enthusiasm. My - my kids in their late 20s, you know, their friends, they were all very, very excited about her. So, those were people we likely wouldn't have seen vote.

HUNT: Yes.

Thank you all for being here this morning. Thanks to you for joining us as well. I'm Kasie Hunt. Do stay with us. We've got major breaking news out of the West Coast.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.