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Laura Coates Live

CNN Reports On The Wildfires That Are Raging Across Los Angeles County; Trump Blames Biden And Newsom For Deadly Fires. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired January 08, 2025 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening and welcome to "Laura Coates Live." Tonight, six, now six major wildfires are burning across the Los Angeles area. All but one are 0% contained. We're looking right now at live pictures of the newest one, the Sunset Fire. It has broken out in just the last few hours and is burning on the top of the iconic Hollywood Hills. People are being urged to evacuate.

And elsewhere in L.A., the situation is no better. The descriptions from our reporters on the ground and the people they've been talking to tell you everything you need to know about just how bad this all is. They say it's beyond comprehension. They say the scale is gigantic. Residents tell us their neighborhoods are now unrecognizable. Many people have lost everything.

These are where the six fires are burning right now. The Palisades and Eaton fires are the biggest and most destructive, scorching thousands of acres and forcing tens of thousands of evacuations. The Eaton Blaze has killed at least five people. That inferno is sweeping across the community of Altadena. Anderson Cooper says the houses there are systematically being destroyed one by one as the embers spread.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: So, on this block, I count one, two -- all the houses -- all the houses on this side are gone. Now, the fire -- look, this house is engulfed. It's very much likely that this house will be next because these winds are now just whipping on to this house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Between 200 to 500 structures have already been damaged or destroyed. Many others, they are still actively burning as we speak. Here is a satellite picture of the Eaton Fire just this morning. It shows nearly every building in western Altadena on fire. In the Palisades, the destruction, it's immeasurable. The fire there has destroyed at least 1,000 structures so far. Homes now smolder and rubble. Restaurants, businesses lost. A public library totally destroyed. Multiple schools significantly damaged.

And these fires, they are sparing nothing. They're impacting communities from all walks of life and destroying places people visit every single day. Here's a Starbucks in the Palisades just before the fire. Now, this is what it looked like when it was ravaged by flames. It's now just a husk of charred cement, only a frame of what it once was.

Here, the entrance of the Will Rogers State Beach in the Palisades. And then, the apocalyptic scene when the blaze came through. Palm trees aflame. This is what once was the Altadena Community Church. Here it is just hours ago. Flames bursting through the windows. And these are homes in a neighborhood along the Pacific Coast Highway before the inferno. This is them after. Covered in smoke. Nothing but rubble.

CNN's Bill Weir is live in Pacific Palisades. Bill, this sixth fire, sixth fire breaking out now in Hollywood Hills, it's very worrying, as are the others. What can you tell us about this?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is, Laura, is just the heart of the Hollywood Hills. If you've ever been to the Walk of Fame to see the stars on Hollywood Boulevard, the handprints, just above, just north of that, is the area that is now under mandatory evacuation. From Laurel Canyon to the 101 Freeway, Mulholland up at the top, all the way down to Hollywood Boulevard there, those winding streets, home to the bungalows with those million-dollar views, and now a sign of a nightmare.

The sixth fire here in Los Angeles County that has broken out amid all of these epic Santa Anita winds, they're used to this at this time of year. What we're not used to out here is it being this dry. They haven't gotten any rain, really, since October to speak of.

[23:05:01]

And so, all the vegetation that grew after a wet winter last year has now turned to fuel. And we've seen that playing out really in a ring of fire around Los Angeles. It was so wild. I landed this afternoon, drove up the 405, and we had the Palisades Fire smoke on one side. What's happening in Altadena on the other side, people going about their lives in between. But with the Hollywood Hills tonight, a new battleground for firefighters. Who knows what the morning will bring?

COATES: And, of course, that area in the Hollywood Hills, if anyone has ever been -- I mean, you're talking about meandering, curving small streets. You can hardly fit one to two cars in both directions coming down, and you've got firefighters trying to even navigate and scale that particular area. Unbelievable.

Your team actually captured aerial images of the Palisades Village earlier today. I mean, structures still, Bill, engulfed in flames. What are those conditions like right now?

WEIR: Well, the wind has died down considerably from what it was last night, those blow torch winds, thankfully, giving somewhat of a break there. But, yeah, we had a window. They've been, you know, restricting drone flights, not to interfere with the firefighting aircraft, of course, who were very careful to stay low to the ground when we were allowed to fly there, just to get a sense of things.

And it just reminds me of what happened in Paradise and what happened in Lahaina, Maui in which total devastation -- just block after block has been gutted by flame. And they lost two of their groceries, their two major grocery stores, two schools.

A library here just in this block that I'm surrounded in. You see the embers behind me of what was the Lurie Art Gallery, brownie shops. This was a UPS store, doctor's offices around. It's so devastating.

You know, Paradise, I just went back there five years after. That was historically the most devastating fire in recent history in this state. Only about a third of the people remain. They came back to rebuild, and they had to rebuild in a whole new way. The people who were there really want to be there, but they had to rethink their relationship with the land, and that certainly will be the case in a place like this.

The Palisades, 100-year history, settled by Methodists like a century ago, and then a lot of Jewish intellectuals fleeing World War II settled here. So, it's this really beautiful melting plot, very aspirational real estate. A lot of folks in the entertainment industry living in these million-dollar homes. But there's also the waiters and the cops and the teachers as part of this community who may not be able to afford the fire insurance that comes with living in a place like this right now.

So, all of this mounting sort of economic stressors on top of the infrastructure, on top of knowing where your kids are going to go to school next week, all of these communities have to wrestle with that in real time. And none of these are contained. That's the thing, Laura.

COATES: Yeah.

WEIR: When these winds are blowing, there is nothing -- you know, if humanity doesn't have the tools to fight it, if you can't put an aircraft up to drop a retardant, and if you do drop the retardant, it just blows everywhere and doesn't help stop the fire, what do you do? You just wait for it to burn out and wait for the fickle nature, then hoped that it doesn't take your whole life.

COATES: My God, Bill, the way you described it, and I'm so glad that you addressed the cross-section socioeconomically of people who are impacted by what is devastating so many different areas of that community and the thought of what next, what now, and how this all happened. Bill Weir, thank you so much.

WEIR: You bet.

COATES: I want to get right to the captain of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Sheila Kelliher. This has been truly unbelievable to watch. Just last night, there were less fires to contend with. Now, there are even more and it is spreading. I mean, they are continuing to rage. What is the status of now these six fires at this hour?

SHEILA KELLIHER, CAPTAIN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: You said it, and I might say Bill did a great job explaining all of that. He nailed it on the head. The six fires -- the Hollywood Hills, I used to work in that district in the early 2000s, and we did fight a few fires in the Hollywood Hills. It's steep, it's rough terrain, and the only thing we, I think, have going for us now this evening is that the wind is definitely starting to die down a little bit.

We'll take anything that we can get based on what their predictions say. It's supposed to even lay down a little bit more by tomorrow. So, we're hoping for that. That lets us get an upper hand on some of these fires, and we can really start to go to work without battling the erratic winds. That's what we're up against in every single one of these fires.

COATES: How do you capitalize on that site reprieve? Is this the time now that more firefighters are used or brought in? Obviously, without the wind, it's far less erratic, but this still poses a grave danger to you.

KELLIHER: Oh, it sure does.

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And because it exploded in so many different ways and so many different areas, we have put out, you know, the (INAUDIBLE) to our neighboring states, in the western states, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Northern California, our brothers and sisters down in Southern California. And so, all these units and resources are on their way to help with this fight. That will make a huge difference. When the winds die down, we will definitely get to really use (INAUDIBLE). That's a lot more. That really makes a difference.

So, all these things compound, and we really start to get the upper hand, just like the last couple of days, nature had the upper hand with us. So --

COATES: Yeah.

KELLIHER: -- we're in for a fight, and we're still in for a lot of work over the next few weeks.

COATES: You know, that just brings to mind the fatigue and exhaustion that the firefighters must be feeling already. What is the relief coming for them? How are you staggering the shifts to ensure that they can, one hand, be productive, and also have their wits about them to be safe?

KELLIHER: Yeah, we definitely have our system where you got to rotate in and rotate out. You get your rest, whatever your shift entails. There's a certain amount of rest that you have to take before you can get back out there and do it again.

But I think we will definitely get some relief with the firefighters that are coming in from other agencies in other states to help put in some work and really, again, I'm going to say it again, get the upper hand on this. That's all we have left. So, we're not giving up, and we're going to keep fighting.

COATES: I know you hope to be able to deploy the aerial assets more when the wind is dying down. But there are reports that there is no water in the hydrants in some of the areas battling this fire. But city officials are saying and telling CNN that there's no water shortage. So, what's happening?

(LAUGHTER)

KELLIHER: Well, I did get a little education on water supply systems for the Palisades. I didn't know a lot about that. But what it sounds like is they've got these three massive tanks that they use their residential water, and each tank has a million gallons in it. And so those are built for residential use and that usually supplies the city of Palisades well.

So -- but they're not designed for urban wildland firefighting for 15 hours straight. So, you can imagine all the water that that pulled out because they're not part of a main system because of the terrain, because of the steep hills and the windy roads and things like that. That what works for that community, but they aren't really built for that type of excessive use.

So, as soon as that started dwindling, I think it was Department of Water and Power who came in, and they helped filled up those tanks. They're really trying to pull that all together and get those hydrants all working again. And the ones way up needs more pressure, need more volume, so it took a bit. But, you know, they got everything back online.

COATES: The work is still there. Captain Sheila Kelliher, continue to keep us informed and please stay safe. Thank you so much.

KELLIHER: Thank you. Good night.

COATES: Good night. My next guest is a photographer for the California State Firefighters Association. She has been out in the fire. She has been capturing images, stories. And here is one from last night. As Brandy Carlos was driving through the flames in the Pacific Palisades, she encountered a woman amidst the smoke and the fire who was running for her life. I want you to watch as Brandy risks her own life to rescue her.

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BRANDY CARLOS, PHOTOGRAPHER, CALIFORNIA STATE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION (voice-over): Hey, get in the car! Oh, my God! Get in the car. Tell her to get in the car. Get in the car, in the back. Get in the car. Come on.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): What's your location? I'd like to tell you --

CARLOS (voice-over): You're crazy. You're out --

UNKNOWN (voice-over): My car (INAUDIBLE). I parked my car. I (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Joining me now on the phone is Brandy Carlos. Brandy, these images that we're seeing, the desperation of people trying to escape by foot, fires that were jumping roads, is just devastating to look at. You have been out in these fires for two days and nights now. Last night, you said you were watching these communities -- quote -- "getting wiped off the map," and people have called this out of control, words like apocalyptic. How would you describe what you've been witnessing?

CARLOS f(via telephone): Hi. Thank you for having me. It was -- it was actually really shocking. I've done this for a really long time. And, you know, a lot of people say -- well, you were speechless. You know, this had to have been really bad, this situation. And as the world is watching what we're going through here in California with these fires, I don't really truly think they understand how bad it really is. I mean, it was awful.

[23:14:56]

Every turn, almost every single home, there was a point that I just got to not even wanting to be there and document anymore because it was very depressing. It was just sad to see everything burning to the ground.

COATES: We're watching and seeing the images you're capturing. Can you take us to the smells, the air, the heaviness of what it felt like?

CARLOS (via telephone): It's definitely hard to breathe. There are moments when you just have to close your eyes, kind of just, you know, recollect what's going on, push through it. You have tears pouring down your face from the smoke burning your eyes. You can't breathe. People who are really sensitive with asthma and, you know, they have lung issues, I mean, this had to have been so difficult for so many people.

COATES: You've also been speaking, Brandy, with people as they are trying to evacuate or even those who are trying to go back to their homes, not knowing what they're going to find. What did they told you about how they're feeling? I can only imagine the anxiety of not knowing, is my home still there? Are the things I have, are they still mine?

CARLOS (via telephone): That is the number one question I get on social media, especially when I'm doing live videos. And surprisingly, a lot of people want to know what is there. They want to know if their home is still there. A lot of stuff gets left behind. Pets, things like that.

So, in my experience, you get the good and the bad with it. A lot of people don't like that you're live showing, you know, the destruction. But the other part of it is they want to know if they have something to come back to. But in this case, there is a lot that is gone and it is going to take a very long time to come back from what has happened. COATES: You've, obviously, photographed and covered fires in the past. How does this compare to what you have seen?

CARLOS (via telephone): I went to the Campfire Paradise up north and that was probably the most distrustful thing I've ever seen. I would say, by far, the last 24 hours, this has been the worst thing I've ever experienced, I've ever documented in my entire career.

COATES: Brandy Carlos, thank you so much.

CARLOS (via telephone): Thank you.

COATES: My next guest, Malibu resident Marika Erdely, captured the Palisades Fire just minutes before she was able to safely evacuate along with her family and her pet dog yesterday morning, just after 11 a.m. You can see the thick, black smoke that's in the distance and hear this fierce and gusty wind that gains strength as we knew overnight. Nearly seven hours later, using her ring camera, she watched a wall of flames bear down on her own home.

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COATES: My, God. I can't imagine. The ring camera cut off soon after those terrifying images. And Marika, she joins me now. Marika, these images are just so difficult to see. I'm so sorry for what you were experiencing. Do you even know the status of your home at this hour?

MARIKA ERDELY, EVACUATED MALIBU RESIDENT: Hi, Laura. Thanks for having me. Unbelievably, my home is still standing, although most of the homes, it seems, on my street, probably, it seems like 80% of them are gone.

COATES: You've lived at this home for 14 years. I just wonder what that feels like, to know that it was so close and that your neighbors did not fare as well.

ERDELY: It's a terrible feeling. I mean, I have two best friends in the neighborhood. Actually, many girlfriends and family friends. And the fact that their homes are gone. Some of my friends have lived in the neighborhood for 40 years.

I mean, this is one of those neighborhoods where it's so idyllic. I mean, most of the homes have views of the Pacific Ocean. We're so fortunate to live there. It's between Topanga Canyon and Sunset Boulevard, off PCH, right above the Getty Villa Museum. I mean, it's a fabulous neighborhood. It's the best one I've ever lived in L.A. And it's just heartbreaking that -- I don't even know. I mean, it seems like from the videos that I've seen, like more than half of the neighborhood is gone.

COATES: Oh, my God. Can you just take us back to the moment that you knew you had to evacuate? What did you do? What did you try to take with you? ERDELY: It was weird because my home office faces the Santa Monica mountains, so I'm not facing the ocean. And I was getting up ready to go to a meeting in Universal City. I'm a sustainability consultant, so I was going to meet with a client and review an audit report that we had done at their hotel. And I just went and was checking in -- I have a cousin visiting from Budapest. I was checking in on him. I look out at the ocean and the sky is this incredible orange.

[23:20:03]

So, I'm like, what's going on? And we stepped outside. We look to the left and see this giant plume of fire burning. We can see that it's Pacific Palisades because I'm at the very end of Malibu. And just, like, oh, my God, just standing there.

And right then, my daughter is calling me that my two-year-old granddaughter is having to be evacuated from the Chabad (ph) Preschool in Palisades. I immediately get in my car, drive over there. Chaos is just starting to ensue. I was probably one of the first parents, grandparents there to pick up my granddaughter, grabbed her, went home, and as soon as I get home, pulled her out of the car seat. My phone is going crazy, all the alerts that I need to evacuate.

So, I've got my cousin who's sick, the bad head cold, I got a baby, I've got a big lab with me, and I've got an SUV, but still, it's like, oh, my God, what do I pack? And it's not like I haven't packed. Two weeks ago, it was the Franklin Fire, which I was in the yellow zone which said, okay, you need to be ready to pack, right? You need to be ready to evacuate. So, I just got through these two weeks ago. Also, had evacuated during the Woolsey Fire six years ago.

So, this is not something new, but that feeling of, like, what do I really take? What is my most precious mementos? It's a terrible feeling. It really is where you're just, like, I don't even know. Like, what do I take? You know, even though you know what you should take, but you just --

COATES: Yeah.

ERDELY: I mean, it was like 10 minutes, and we were back in the car, trunk full, and off down PCH.

COATES: That sounds completely harrowing, to think that there was a two-year-old looking at you to know how they should react as well. Only parents know what that feeling is like. Marika Erdely, thank you so much for sharing. I'm so glad you're safe.

ERDELY: Thank you. Can I say one thing?

COATES: Yes.

ERDELY: Laura, I watch your show and I really want -- I think the most important thing here, and I was listening to your other guests, and I think the thing that we need to bring from this, and as I am a sustainability consultant, Green Economy, it's that what are we doing about this? What are we doing about climate change? What is the society doing for this? The reason that this is such a problem is because the winds are so extreme. So, what is the society -- as a society, what are we doing about our future for our generations?

I mean, we're just putting our heads in the sand and not focusing on it. These terrible events, these climate catastrophes are happening all over our country. Why can't we focus? Why can't we actually take care and figure out how we can do this and make things better and reduce emissions going out into the planet that create these problems?

COATES: Ahh!

ERDELY: I think that's what we need to -- the story is that.

COATES: Yes, I agree the story is that and much more. And we are going to endeavor to try to find the very core answers that will prevent this from happening, at least educate those that can make the difference. Thank you so much.

Up next, we're going to take you to the front lines of one of the hardest hit areas, Altadena, California. CNN's Natasha Chen standing by live with an update next. Plus, the heartbreaking return to a destroyed home captured on camera. Actor Cameron Mathison documenting the rubble that used to be his home. He's live with us tonight.

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COATES: Let's go straight to CNN's Natasha Chen. She's is Altadena. That is one of the worst hit areas by these Los Angeles fires. Natasha, unbelievable to even see behind you. What are you seeing there tonight?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Laura, this was one of the last standing houses in this neighborhood. When we got here, the walls were still there. And now, we can see right through to the -- through the living room. I can see the fireplace on the left. I can see through the entire house. This is an example of what we've been seeing throughout the day, all through Altadena. So many houses went up in flames like this.

And you have neighbors who are coming back to see if there's anything to come home to. In some cases, when they see that their house is still standing, they're trying to do everything they can to protect it from also going up in flames. But block after block after block, we're seeing just the remains of homes, the remains of people's lives. Their entire lives here just disappeared in the spot, in one day.

And right just a block or so down from where this house is, we have also been reporting from the main business district. Earlier, we showed video of a Bank of America that was fully engulfed. That is an example of the businesses on that stretch that have really been destroyed today. I don't think we saw a block that was spared, frankly. There may have been some businesses that were occasionally standing, and then a couple of hours later, we turned around and that's also up in flames.

So just a 360 throughout the day, throughout the hours, we saw home after home, business after business crumble. And a lot of explosions, a lot of really toxic- smelling fumes, making it very difficult to breathe.

[23:30:00]

This is what we observed last night when we were over on the west side by the ocean, by the Pacific Palisades as well, just that very thick air of ash and smoke and heavy winds. And, of course, now, we're talking about a Hollywood Hills fire. So, you're really looking at extremely iconic places in the heart of L.A. now. You know, that no picture of L.A. is without the Hollywood sign. And now, you're seeing people who live near there trying to flee for their lives.

This is really just an incredible, unprecedented event where really the whole metro area is experiencing this in some way, shape or form, either really close to flames or breathing in this air. Laura?

COATES: And that's with the wind. When they stop, you've got that stagnant air as well. Now, Natasha, the scope is unbelievable. Thank you so much.

We are only just beginning really to understand the magnitude of the loss. Actor Cameron Mathison, he documented his gut-wrenching ride back to his neighborhood in Altadena.

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CAMERON MATHISON, ACTOR: Oh! Oh, God!

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COATES: Cameron Mathison joins me now. Cameron, I can hear the distress. I cannot imagine what you've gone through, to even feel that way as you're nearing your home. Can you just -- can you take us back to what it was like to be back in your neighborhood? What were you thinking?

MATHISON: Yeah, I mean, I've actually never heard those sorts of sounds come out of me before. So, it's very odd. It was just such -- it's kind of a guttural pain and disbelief and shock and fear as I was approaching my property and not seeing the house.

But, anyway, yes, it was early in the morning. I was asleep. And I woke up at five because they were covering -- I saw on the news that they were covering there. The reporters were on our block showing the houses around my neighborhood burning. And I recognized these houses. These are my neighbors. And I couldn't see from this camera angles whether my house was spared or whether it wasn't.

And so, I just couldn't take it anymore pretty much. I just -- I got -- I got in the car and weaved my way up into the neighborhood. And it was still, obviously, as maybe you can see from that video, houses were burning all around and it was tons of smoke and roads were closed. But I made it up.

COATES: Hmm.

MATHISON: I made it up to my street. And then when I kind of came into our stretch of the -- of the houses, it was just totally decimated like there was -- many, as you saw in the video, houses, and then fires, houses and fires, but our street in particular, our block, I should say, was pretty much nothing left. It looked like, in many cases, there was no houses ever built there. It was just decimated to nothing.

COATES: As if it was never there. I mean, can you even process, Cameron --

MATHISON: Yeah.

COATES: -- the extent, the scope, how quickly this all happened?

MATHISON: It really -- and I -- you know, I realized that you've been talking to so many people that have been through this and there's so many people out there that are going through it. I'm just -- I'm like -- I've never -- you know, you think you have compassion for these stories when you hear them in the news and you see them, and then you go through it, and you're like, oh, I had no idea, I had no idea. So, I'm thinking about everybody out there.

But no, I -- you know, I couldn't -- I couldn't believe it. It wasn't anything that was within my realm of reality. And, you know, I can't remember what you asked me. I'm so sorry.

COATES: No, I -- what -- you are describing what our hearts are asking you, frankly.

MATHISON: Thank you. I'm so sorry.

COATES: And we are just looking right now at this side by side photos, if we can show it, showing your beautiful home before this tragic fire.

MATHISON: Yeah.

COATES: And now after, as you talk about it. Can you just tell me how long had you lived there and the kind of memories that you hold there?

MATHISON: Yeah, we've been in that house for 13 years. I've got to tell you, like a lot of people at home, maybe they can relate to this, we put everything into that house. We loved that house. We fixed everything up. Inside the walls to the molding, to the floors, the paint, to the furniture, to the light. We just constantly were tweaking and we loved it and cherished that house. Our kids were raised there. Four days ago, my daughter said that she wanted to raise her kids in this house.

It's that kind of a place to us, obviously, way before these fires happened. And it's just -- you know, and I'm sure many people can relate, it has got so many memories. [23:35:03]

We're so grateful for so much. We're so grateful that we can rebuild a lot of the things. We're so grateful that we're all healthy, obviously. But there's just so, so much that you can't replace. And you don't really feel that until you go through it. You know, when you go through it. And then you start every 10 minutes, my son or my daughter or their mom has been -- just been -- like just stopping and taking -- like catching their breath and being, like, oh, I just remembered something else, you know.

COATES: Oh, my God.

MATHISON: Like Vanessa's baby pictures from when she was a kid, only in film. Our -- you know, just childhood mementos and kids' projects from when they were little. And our cards that we wrote to each other for decades, you know, that we all saved. You know, ornaments that we had on our tree that we gathered from all around the world for the past decades.

Anyway, I'm not trying to lay it on. I'm just saying these are the things that are tough. You know, these are the things that you can't replace. And that's part of a disaster like this. And we know we're not the only one. And we really do think about others going through it, for sure. So, I know I'm kind of caught up in my own little bubble right now, but it's hard not to in this moment.

COATES: No, first of all, you don't need to be apologetic for feeling how you are and expressing. I think so many people -- I know my mind certainly went -- when I think about the losses that people are experiencing. Obviously, it's first about everyone's physical safety. But then, I think about that emotional connection to your home, to the -- you know, my tree is still up in my house. And thinking about what all the things mean to you.

And I'm just so glad that you shared because I think that's exactly what people think about. They think about the stories within those homes. And I appreciate you sharing it with us tonight.

MATHISON: Thanks for listening. I really appreciate it.

COATES: I'm glad you're safe. Cameron Mathison, thank you.

MATHISON: Thanks.

COATES: Just in tonight, President Biden canceling his trip to Rome in order to help with the federal response to these fires. And his decision coming as the president-elect is going after California's governor, blaming him for the fires. We'll dig into all of that next.

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[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COATES: With multiple fires raging in Los Angeles County, President- elect Trump started his day on Truth Social, beginning to assign blame. And most of it directed at California Governor Gavin Newsom. And it wasn't just on Truth Social. Trump continued to voice his criticism during his visit to Capitol Hill just earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: I've been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come. You have tremendous water up there. They sent it out to the Pacific because they're trying to protect a tiny little fish, which is in other areas, by the way, called a smelt. And for the sake of a smelt, they have no water. They had no water in the fire hydrants today in Los Angeles. It was a terrible thing.

This is a true tragedy, and it's a mistake of the governor, and you could say the administration. They don't have any water. They didn't have water in the fire hydrants. The governor has not done a good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: The governor isn't really engaging, but he did respond to Trump's comments earlier tonight, right here on CNN, with our own Anderson Cooper out in the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The president-elect chose to attack you, blame you for this.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): It's, uh, one can't even respond to it. I mean, it's, uh, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn asunder. Churches burned down. This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say. I won't.

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COATES: I want to bring in Abel Maldonado. He's California's former lieutenant governor. Lieutenant governor, thank you so much for joining. I cannot imagine what it's like to see these communities from your perspective and then to hear the comments that are being made. Are these comments from the president-elect helping anything right now?

ABEL MALDONADO, FORMER CALIFORNIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: Laura, the president-elect has made these comments before. He has done it. He said that for a couple of years now. He's concerned about the water coming down into the southern part of California. He's concerned about being able to clean brush, forest management. So, they've been there.

But today, today and tomorrow and the next week, the most important thing, Laura, for Californians is to make sure that the first responders have every resource that they need in order to save lives. That is the only focus that we should be in. Gavin and president- elect, they have their issues over the years. I get it. They can resolve those as we move forward. Today, it's saving lives in California.

I live about two hours just north of where this is happening. Last night, Laura, our home was shaking from the winds. And we were at 70 miles an hour. I heard last night in the fire areas, anywhere from 89 to 100 miles an hour. That is unconscionable.

California is resilient, Laura. We've been through fires, we've been through earthquakes, we've been through explosions, we've been through so many things. But what's going on today, it's not in the rural area of California. This is a very populated area. With all those winds, it's just uncontrollable, Laura. It's a very difficult position that we're in.

My daughter lives in Los Angeles with my son-in-law. They came -- they are with me today. The air quality is horrible. So, we're talking about the fire, we're talking about first responders, air quality is bad as well, Laura.

[23:45:00]

COATES: It's unbelievable. There are some of these fires that are 0% contained. They're calling in firefighters from neighboring states to try to help, hoping this reprieve from those wind miles per hour that you mentioned will at least afford the firefighters a fighting chance to combat these fires.

And yet California -- you've dealt with wildfires before. You know there's no easy fix. But there are lessons perhaps that could have been learned from past fires. Are there?

MALDONADO: You know what? There are. And, you know, the government, the politicians go out and talk about it. I really believe in my heart, Californians also want solutions to some of these problems. Look, Laura, last year, we had floods. The year before, massive floods. So, you just imagine the fuel that is in California today.

We had -- I mean, let's not forget, it's January. It's supposed to be winter. We usually have floods. We usually have a lot of rain. And today, everything is dry. So, I believe that once we get through this, we can come together and say, what can we do as Californians with state government, with federal government, so this doesn't happen again? This is devastating, Laura.

Can you -- I mean, I've seen some of the folks that are on your show. They've lost everything. They've lost their home. They've lost everything. What do we need to do to put all hands on deck? I think first responders are doing everything that they can. Let's give them everything. We'll come back and figure out the funding down the road. Today, let's save lives.

COATES: Abel Maldonado, thank you so much for joining.

MALDONADO: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Up next, we're going to take a closer look at the businesses that were also impacted by these fires. Some of them were entirely wiped out, including one of Malibu's most iconic seafood restaurants, the Reel Inn. More than three decades of history burned in just a few minutes. The owners are standing by to share their story, next.

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[23:50:00]

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COATES: You know, these devastating fires in Southern California have left lives and livelihoods in complete ruin. Countless small businesses that serve as the pulse of these communities, they may never reopen. This is video of the Reel Inn, a Malibu institution engulfed in flames. This Pacific Coast Highway seafood spot has been open since the 1980s, now reduced to rubble. The owners, Teddy and Andy Leonard, letting their loyal customers know on social media that all the staff, thankfully, is safe and that they hope to rebuild when the dust settles.

Teddy and Andy join me now. Andy, Teddy, it's unbelievable. I have seen your restaurant. I have -- it's an institution. The Reel Inn has been there for 36 years you've owned it. What has it meant to you? And what has it been like to see that video, to what has happened to it?

TEDDY LEONARD, OWNER, REEL IN RESTAURANT: It's like a gut punch. It's very hard not to cry every time I see the video because that was our life. And it was the life mostly also of our crew. That is our family. Most of our crew have been with us over 30 years. So, it was a mom and pop situation. And our crew was our family. And that's our first concern right now, our crew and their well-being, and then, hopefully, that we can rebuild.

COATES: Thank God they were all safe. And for you to include in the message about their safety and trying to rebuild. Let's everyone know just what a family it really was, Andy, and still is. And you are out of sight in Airbnb with your son and your stepson. How are you all doing emotionally tonight? Can you tell me what's happening with your home?

LEONARD: We don't know yet.

ANDY LEONARD, OWNER, REEL IN RESTAURANT: No, we can't.

COATES: Yeah.

T. LEONARD: We just -- we've heard that they've brought in some air strikes (ph) because the winds have allowed the air strikes (ph) to happen now, which they weren't earlier. Topanga is -- we're at the top of the ridge of Topanga. And the fire had come up through the town was the last thing we heard. So, we don't really know.

And we walked into this Airbnb last night. We looked at our grandsons, we looked at our family members, and we got very, very clear that nothing matters but these people. And the outpouring of love and support from our customers has been overwhelming. It has literally buoyed us up through this emotional sea that we're on. Don't you think it kept us really going?

A. LEONARD: Making sure everybody is safe and getting a few hours of sleep has segued directly into, okay, how do we fix this? How can we get the place back together before everybody loses their career opportunities or their financial base or, you know, their work ethic and wanders off because a lot of these folks cash their checks with us on Friday and they can't take six months off while we go get some plans and some permits.

So, we're deeply involved with the California State Parks and really hope we'll have an opportunity to put it back together just as quickly as we can do it.

T. LEONARD: And to that end --

COATES: Go ahead.

T. LEONARD: We started to GoFundMe for our crew.

[23:54:58]

So, we're trying to get together at least three months-worth of salaries for the crew to keep them going while we try and sort through with the state parks what is happening or until they can get other jobs at an appointment.

COATES: See, what you have said just now is to me the heart of why small businesses in Main Street really keeps our country going. And I've worked. I've been a waitress. I've been a bus girl. I have worked many a restaurant in my day before law school and beyond. And let me tell you, to hear you both be so concerned about what it's like for people who live paycheck to paycheck every single day, is really something to commend and really a value to our communities overall.

I sincerely hope that people are hearing your message and know just exactly what it takes for the work for over 30 years to do what you've done. And I hope to see you rebuild. Teddy and Andy Leonard, thank you so much.

A. LEONARD: Thank you.

T. LEONARD: Thank you.

COATES: I want to thank you all so much for watching. Our coverage of the wildfires in Los Angeles continues in just a moment.

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