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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Out-Of-Control Wildfires Rage In Los Angeles County; Trump Huddles With Senate Republicans On Future Plans; Alito Spoke With Trump Before President-Elect Asked Supreme Court To Delay His Sentencing. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired January 08, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Thank you.
New fire video we have, I believe, from the Hollywood Hills that this is the new fire, I believe, that's begun. Not sure the extent. It's Runyon Canyon, I'm being told.
10,000 acres was the last estimate I heard for the Eaton fire, which is where I am. 15,000 acres in the Pacific Palisades. Not contained. Not contained. This is still very active. The smoke here is thick. It is dark. And there's a lot of fire crews here. They're working these incredible shifts.
I want to toss it over now to Kaitlan Collins, and "THE SOURCE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: And good evening.
This is THE SOURCE, live from Capitol Hill, tonight, where President- elect Donald Trump has just wrapped up a critical meeting, behind closed doors, with Senate Republicans, attempting to hash out a plan that could make or break his agenda, once he retakes office in a matter of days. That's not an exact duration. And one of the senators, who was in that meeting is going to join me live, here shortly.
But we start tonight in Los Angeles, where there are six wildfires now raging. Right now, at this hour, five are -- four of those are fires that I should note that we are seeing here, out of these six, are still 0 percent contained, this evening.
Officials say that at least five people are dead, and they expect that toll to rise, as they are making their way painstakingly, property by property, through neighborhoods that have been charred to the ground.
For a second night in a row, homes are burning in Pacific Palisades. Huge parts of the Palisades, tonight, just completely gone. Homes are also burning in Malibu, this evening, right up the coast from the Palisades.
And the next big threat that we are watching, this hour, here on CNN, is to Santa Monica, which is just to the south, along the coast, and part of which is now being evacuated. It's expected to be a long, tense night there.
We're continuing to monitor all of it, as this devastation is stretching far inland from the Pacific, all the way to places like Pasadena.
Anderson Cooper is just north to the just -- just to the north of Pasadena. He's in Altadena, tonight.
Anderson, tell us what you're seeing on the ground, this hour.
COOPER: Yes. Well, where I am is the Eaton fire, and the embers from that have come into this neighborhood, in Altadena, where I've been for the last six hours.
There were a lot of houses here, when I got here. Some had already been destroyed. But over the last six hours, we've just watched this neighborhood burn down to the ground.
This house is gone. This was the, sort of the last one on this block which is still burning.
There's a house, which has not burned, right next door to it. Firefighters were able to get out here, and they used water from what they had on their trucks, because the hydrants aren't giving any water on this block in Altadena. I can't speak for the rest of Altadena. But they were able to put water on the roof. And that house has remained. And there's another house that's remained.
But, I mean, every house that's in front of me, there are just small fires burning, as far as I can see up the block. I've walked around this two-block area. It's just been, you know, it's just been awful. 10,000 acres from the -- from the Eaton fire destroyed. 15,000 from the Palisades. The lack of the water here.
When I was talking to a Captain in the Fire Department about six hours, or maybe five hours ago, they had just run out of water from the hydrants. So, they eventually did what they could. They built defensive perimeters around some of these homes that hadn't been burned down, took out shrubbery that would -- it might ignite the house, and then they just had to go elsewhere, where there was water and more. But they have come back and used some water from their trucks now.
But that's the situation here. It's just been devastating all day long, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: And what is, Anderson, going on with the hydrants? Because this has obviously been a huge source of interest. I know that they have been getting -- transporting water in, to put on those trucks. But what have you been seeing that's going on with the hydrants, specifically? COOPER: Yes, I haven't been in the Palisades. That's where we know hydrants ran out of water, I believe, in the middle of the night. Here, as I said, it was -- it was, according to the street I was on, at least, they ran out about five hours or so ago, or it stopped working for the hydrant where the firemen was.
From everything, what officials are saying is that there is enough water in the reservoirs, theoretically, to fight these fires. It's a question of getting it in some of these uphill areas or mountainous areas. And for that, it's sort of an engineering issue.
I guess, in Pasadena, they use these tanks. They usually fill with water. Those tanks got drained out. And those tanks are used for gravity to -- for -- so that there's pressure, for water to come up to the hydrants. And because those tanks got empty, because so many people were watering their lawn, and people were fighting fires, they just didn't have enough water on hand.
[21:05:00]
A lot of questions being asked. Clearly, a lot of engineering, and something's got to be worked out.
But I talked to Governor Gavin Newsom, who was going around with fire officials. I talked to him just up the block, earlier today. He certainly, you know, he didn't have answers. But he certainly wants to find them.
COLLINS: (inaudible) some have to say to you.
COOPER: Well, yes, I mean, we talked about the water. We just talked about what he has been seeing, because he's got -- was on the ground, going out with fire officials. He's obviously seen a lot of fires, and we talked about how this compares to some of what he's seen. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I've been to a lot of these fires, a lot, going back to Paradise. And this approximates Paradise. It's not a numeric, just feeling, sense of loss, place, belonging.
COOPER: A lot of these firefighters that I was talking to on the street, they've been working 26, 27 hours. Are they -- that's just going to continue. I mean, there's--
NEWSOM: Well, I mean, it's--
COOPER: --there isn't enough folks here.
NEWSOM: Yes, I mean, we got a few 1,000 people working on this. And luckily, we were fully staffed. U.S. Forest Service is not is -- staffed up traditionally this time of year. Remember, we're in January.
COOPER: It's supposed to be wet this time of year. NEWSOM: It's supposed to be wet. I mean, so, this is, you know, this is anomalous. Even -- you know, I remember, Paradise happened in November, I mean. So, there's no fire season in California. It's year- round. But to have this level, the acuity of fires is without precedent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And Mayor Karen Bass gave a press conference about an hour or so ago. Obviously, there are a lot of questions about the water situation, about any cuts to the Fire Department, budgeting issues. There'll be a lot of that.
But for now, the firefighters are still doing the job. And it's going to be a long night. And it's going to be a long couple days, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Anderson, I was watching you earlier, and a house was literally burning to the ground behind you, as you were standing there, reporting.
In the hours that you've been there, I mean, how many houses do you think you have seen burned down?
COOPER: I don't know, 20? I'm not sure. I mean, I haven't left--
COLLINS: Wow.
COOPER: I've been in a -- like, I've been -- I've been standing on an intersection, and just walking up and down the four blocks of that intersection, and I've watched all those houses burn.
And you start to become fascinated with seeing how, the flames jump to a vehicle, and it gets the tires first, and then the vehicle ignites, and then the gas tank explodes, and then it jumps to a tree.
And the tree explodes in flames, in seconds, and becomes a burning tree of embers, and then tens of thousands of embers, the wind comes, and it blows that entire tree of tens of thousands of embers into the air. And they go, and they can float for two miles, in some cases, set down somewhere else, and start another fire.
So, you start to see the process of how fire spreads, car to car, house to house, tree to tree. At one point, standing in -- actually, we were right in this spot. I remember looking up, and I think our camera panned up, the sky was black, even though it was in the afternoon. It was like it was snowing embers. I've never seen anything like it.
And, yes, I mean, this -- this area, yes, 20 houses, more? I'm not sure.
COLLINS: Yes, it's hard to watch, and for those families, obviously.
Anderson, great reporting. And please stay safe. Thank you for that.
I want to go now to CNN's Nick Watt. He's in Pacific Palisades. And Nick, I should note that we are now getting reports of another fire that has started. It is near the Hills, near Runyon Canyon. If people have been in L.A., gone on a hike. I was just there last week, doing that hike. I mean, people know this area very well.
You're over on Sunset Boulevard. What are you seeing this hour?
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are still seeing flames, Kaitlan. I mean, the wind has dropped a little bit. But those embers, that Anderson was just talking about, have wreaked absolute havoc here.
I think when I spoke to you, last night -- just after I spoke to you last night, we came into this area, the Palisades Village, the downtown, the -- I mean, this is an urban area. This is an urban wildfire. We came down here, and we could just see the wind taking those embers, and just whipping them so fast, it was so obvious that this was going to go bad. And sure enough, this whole block is up.
And the problem is, you guys are talking about the water. The hydrants here went dry at 03:00 a.m. That was a problem. Also, there's just -- there just aren't enough firefighters. This fire behind me, this has been burning now for a few hours. Every now and again, a fire truck comes up, they take a look at it, and they figure, they've got a bigger priority elsewhere.
[21:10:00]
The Palisades, I have never seen anything like it. Here in the downtown, it looks like a bomb has gone off. It looks like -- it looks like a war zone, like a bomb has dropped. And I went to a residential neighborhood, just over there, to check on a friend's house, couple of hours ago. Nothing, just nothing, a wasteland. It is unbelievable.
This fire here now, Kaitlan, 16,000 acres. The last fire I covered here in the Palisades, which, at the time we thought was a big deal, that was a 1,000 acres. This is 16,000 acres.
Listen, we knew this was going to be bad. Everybody knew this was going to be bad. With the Santa Ana winds, with the drought we've had for so long, no real rain since the spring. When those winds were forecast, we knew it was going to be bad. Everyone got ready. But they were prepared for maybe one or two fires. As you say, now there were, like, six fires. How do you prioritize? How do you fight those flames? It is terrible.
Thankfully, the wind, as I say, is dropping. But it's not over. The Santa Ana winds are going to pick up again in a couple of days. And just the devastation. And just, as I say, when you've got fires like this that are just -- that are just having to leave them to burn, that's going to set something else on fire. It's a chain reaction. I have never seen anything like downtown Palisades. It's shocking.
COLLINS: I mean, to see--
WATT: Kaitlan. COLLINS: --to see what is behind you, right now, Nick, is just as stunning.
I was in the Palisades, a week ago, having breakfast at a Cafe Vida, a cafe that I read today is gone, is just completely lost. I was reading employees were posting about it--
WATT: Yes.
COLLINS: --and saying, it was destroyed.
And just, I mean, you know this, you live in this community. We were talking about your own home, last night. I emailed you today to say, How is your family? How is your home doing? Because that's how--
WATT: Yes.
COLLINS: --how seriously this is progressing, and quickly.
WATT: Yes. Yes, so, I mean, Santa Monica is in danger again. They've just extended some evacuation orders down sort of nearer the beach.
But, I mean, after I finish speaking to you, I'm probably going to go. I've got texts from more friends, to check on their house over here. Before I even go to check on their house, I know it's not going to be there, because I've driven past that area, and there's nothing left.
I'm going to go to my house. I'm going to hose the whole thing down, just hoping that if everything is wet, if an ember lands on it, it won't ignite. And then, I think I'm going to go with my family up to West Hollywood, although now we're hearing more fires up there. So, let's see.
Yes, it's extraordinary to cover something like this, in your own community. I've been covering fires for a long time. You have sympathy for people. Now, I have empathy.
Kaitlan.
COLLINS: I mean, Nick, to hear you saying that in between this, you're going to go and hose down your own home, as you are reporting on other people's homes being burned to the ground because of this. I mean, how do you -- when you're doing that, where do you even start?
I mean, as Anderson was just talking about, the firefighters were putting water on a roof of a house, to try to protect it, where he is.
What does that even look like when you start that process?
WATT: Well, I don't know. We'll see.
Listen, last night, it was my wife who had to pack up. And you make decisions about what you're going to take. You evaluate what's most important in life. And you pack it up.
I mean, the thing is, all these friends, who are asking me to go and look at their houses? When I went into this one neighborhood, earlier today, and I was looking for their house, when I saw their neighborhood, I thought to myself, You know what? For their sake, I almost hoped their house is gone. Because what would life be like, living in the one house that's left in an ashy wasteland, and also when your downtown, when your community is gone?
The two grocery stores in the Palisades here, huge grocery stores, gone. The theater, gone. The library, gone. Palisades High School was on fire, when I drove past it earlier. Other schools have gone. Offices. People's lives. Even if their homes are still OK, their lives, their community.
A friend of mine says she's lived here for 35 years. She knows dozens of people who've lost their homes. Her office is burned down.
There's not much left, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yes, Nick Watt, please stay safe. And we'll continue to check in with you. Thank you for that.
And as Nick is noting, he has friends that he's checking on their homes.
These wildfires have destroyed the homes of many, many people. That includes the host, the producer and podcaster, Melissa Rivers. She is the daughter of the late Joan Rivers. And Melissa is joining me now.
And Melissa, I just have to start by saying, I am so sorry for what you and your loved ones are, and your neighbors, are going through right now. I mean, this is such a beautiful, beautiful area. How are you holding up, tonight?
MELISSA RIVERS, AMERICAN TELEVISION HOST AND ACTRESS: I definitely have not gotten my head around it. I got some video sent to me that our house is totally gone.
[21:15:00]
Our -- you know, I lived in the Palisades. I'm right in the area that Nick is reporting from. And everything's gone. You can't really get your head around it. And you think, Oh, it's just me. And it's not. And I look at a community I've lived in for, again, honestly, since my father passed away, it's just gone. It's unbelievable to see.
COLLINS: Well, and I'm grateful that you, and your son, and your fiance, made it out safely.
But when you live in this area? And obviously, in the Los Angeles area, in California, you get fires all the time. How do you know? When do you realize it's going to end up looking like this, like what we are seeing right now?
Voice of RIVERS: A, you don't.
But B, one of the things that I want people, I am begging people, to understand is when you get the notice that your area might be evacuated, get everything. When they say, go, you go. You don't need to be standing on your roof with a garden hose. And that's not going to do anything.
And I just beg people, if you are ever in this situation, listen to the warnings, and get out. That's how my son, and my fiance, and our dogs, and we had time to grab passports, important paperwork. Because as soon as we got the original, You might have to go, we started packing.
And the second they say, Go, you go. And I just hope people -- you know, there is nothing to learn from this. But I hope people understand that when you get those warnings, it is no joke.
COLLINS: It's such an important message to hear from you. And you've lived through this, and just gone through this.
Nick was saying, when his wife was packing up, as they were preparing to evacuate, yesterday, it's hard to know what to bring.
I mean, how did you -- how did you and your family make a decision like that? When you're looking around at your house, and all of these things that are -- that are meaningful to you, or have memories, how do you know how -- what you can bring, when you can only bring so much?
Voice of RIVERS: Unfortunately, I've had to evacuate before, between the earthquakes and the fires and growing up in Los Angeles. So, I kind of have a mental checklist. I made sure that we got passport, that we got birth certificate, medication, clothing.
I just was out shopping for clothes. It started to hit me that no one -- we literally just have what's on our back. I grabbed, I think, dog food, cat food. Luckily, my office, which is in -- was in my home. Everyone was there. And, in my personal situation, that's it, that is the end of everything that were -- that belonged to my family, and the history of it.
So I honestly, to be a 100 percent honest, I grabbed my mom's Emmy, a photo of my dad, and a drawing that my mother had done of me and my son. And I can't even remember which is grammatically correct, right now. And dog food, cat food. And that was it.
But the most important thing is, have your papers, have all your ID, have your passports, have that in one place, ready to go. Thank goodness, we are organized like that. And have extra pet food. And--
COLLINS: Yes.
Voice of RIVERS: --it's amazing what you grab. It's amazing what you take. I went for a drawing of my mother's, rather than a photo. Because I know I can find the photos.
COLLINS: But a drawing of hers, yes.
Melissa. Voice of RIVERS: I can't replace.
COLLINS: Yes, it's so special.
Voice of RIVERS: My heart is-- my heart is so broken, not just for myself, but (inaudible) going through this. And obviously, in our neighborhood, and like you mentioned, Cafe Vida, and all of -- and Nick put it great. It's a town, and it is wiped off the map.
COLLINS: Yes, it's devastating to see it. It's such a special place.
Melissa, I can't say I'm sorry enough. But I'm grateful that you were able to grab that drawing of your mother's. I know that that's incredibly meaningful to you. Thank you for joining me, in a time like this. I really do appreciate it.
Voice of RIVERS: Thank you.
And if everybody, if you're getting the warnings, please get out. Our firefighters are working so hard. Don't be in their way.
COLLINS: Yes. Melissa Rivers, no one can say it better than that. Thank you. Thank you for that.
And she said that, the firefighters need to be able to get in the way.
The devastation that we are seeing is just unimaginable. We're going to speak to someone, coming up, who helped evacuate three generations of her own family. They now have nothing left.
[21:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DORAN, LOST HOME IN WILDFIRES: There's my house, gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: We're going to check in there.
And also, here in Washington, the President-elect has just wrapped up a meeting, his first time here on the Hill, since he won the 2024 election. A senator that he just spoke with is here, to take us inside their meeting tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Breaking news, as we have just learned about a new evacuation order now in place, around a new fire, in Los Angeles County, in the Hollywood Hills, near the very famous Runyan Canyon area. It is well- known to those who live in the area, and are watching, and many visitors to the area.
[21:25:00]
I want to get straight to my source, tonight, Captain Erik Scott, who is the Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
And it's great to have you here, Captain.
Right now, we are showing live pictures of this new fire that has just broken out, near where these mandatory evacuations are taking place. This is the Hollywood Hills, near the famed Hollywood sign that everyone knows Los Angeles from. What can you tell us about what we're looking at right now?
CAPTAIN ERIK SCOTT, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, that's another significant fire just broke out in that area. So the 101 freeway to Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Boulevard on one side, Laurel Canyon on the other.
The wind has just been relentless. Southern California is currently enduring some of the most historic fire conditions on record. This is extreme weather, strong winds, dry conditions, multiple fires across the region. And it's putting immense pressure on our agency, and all other agencies.
It feels like you're in a boxing ring with a heavyweight champion, and you take blow after blow after blow after fire after fire. And it is very challenging. We're up to the challenge. But believe me, we are being tested.
COLLINS: Do you expect there to be more evacuations in the coming hours? Should people who live in this area, and around Nichols Canyon in the Hills here, should they be prepared for that?
SCOTT: Yes. We already sent out a wireless emergency alert that forces notification to people in the area, to make them aware of a fast- moving brush fire. We've already polygoned or created the area of concern and the target hazards inside, essentially where the fire is, where it's going, and where people need to go.
So, I nearly canceled this interview to run down there and assist. But as soon as we end, I'll head there.
And I just came up the PCH from our new base camp at Zuma Beach. And along the PCH, going up to Santa Monica, it reminded me of Lahaina, Maui, and Front Street. There is a ton of devastation and countless leveled homes along that area.
We had another major brush fire, the Hurst fire that was in Sylmar, kind of the north part of L.A., 2,000 acres, 0 percent contained. There was another fire called the Eaton (ph) fire that had two deaths already, and that just started today.
So, again, there's significant issues going on throughout the area. But what we have done is we've requested to have additional resources from Automatic Aid, so nearby fire stations have come in to help. We've called in for more assistance from the state. And we're giving everything we can right now.
COLLINS: I mean, your resources were already stretched. I know other states are helping. We heard that from the Governor, earlier. But now with another fire, on your watch. I mean, what does this look like over the next few hours? And are you worried that more fires are going to start, in the next few hours?
SCOTT: This is going to be extremely challenging for the next few hours.
Last night was one of the worst wind events I've ever been. It's certainly in my 20 years with this department, and working for other departments in the past. The wind was beyond extreme. I'm six-foot- four, 225, and I lost my balance a couple of times, the wind was throwing me around, so.
But as far as being stretched thin, like you mentioned, yes, we are stretched to our capacity with the emergency services. So, we still got to deal with 4 million people that live, play in LA. And so, we normally run about 1,500 emergency incidents every day. We take about 650 people to the hospital every day. We are so surpassing that. We had about 3,000 to 4000 emergency calls, compared to our normal 1,500, yesterday.
So, we knew this was coming though. We knew the weather was going to be bad. We told everybody, and we prepared for it. We augmented our staffing levels. We put additional boots on the ground in key areas, that are prone to wildfire, to allow us to hit these hard and fast. We pre-deployed those other resources.
And we even put up parking restrictions, like in the Hollywood Hills, where this fire broke out. Because there's hairpin chokepoints coming out, when people are trying to evacuate, and you got a big red fire engine trying to come in.
COLLINS: Yes.
SCOTT: So, we did a lot of preparation. That's helped. But we got a long road ahead of us.
COLLINS: I know your time is valuable. Before you go. People are watching. What do you want them to know? People who are in these areas, what warnings or urgings do you have for them, this evening?
SCOTT: I applaud your previous viewers, Nick and Melissa. They did a good job. You need to evacuate early. Don't wait to be told.
We are doing everything we can to alert you, to make you prepared, to help you to understand. We know people also get notification fatigue. But right now, people are very awake to the potential.
[21:30:00]
And if you see smoke, you smell smoke, get into that Ready, Set, Go. And if you live in the brush area, you should be in the Set, absolutely right now. If you get any smoke, or if you get any alerts coming by, that a brush fire is nearby, move to that Go part. Get out, grab your pre-determined belongings, your vehicle should be backed into your driveway, and you should be ready to go. This is serious. COLLINS: Captain Erik Scott, thank you so much for your time. I know how important it is. I really appreciate it, tonight. And good luck, tonight. Please keep us updated. Thank you.
SCOTT: Thank you.
COLLINS: And we have new video that we are getting in, from a Pacific Palisades family. That's where Nick just was reporting from. Doing everything that they could to save their home as it caught on fire earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be back.
CAITLIN DORAN, FAMILY LOST THEIR HOMES IN WILDFIRES: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you.
What do you want? I'm going to go back at the neighbor's house.
C. DORAN: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or do you think that side's better?
C. DORAN: I don't -- do whatever you can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That was Caitlin Doran there with her family, including her 84-year-old grandfather, all of them eventually packing up and fleeing, as the wildfires ruined and destroyed their homes.
And Caitlin, and her dad, Tom, are here with me now.
And I just want to say thank you to you both for being here.
I mean, just watching that video, and hearing you say, I love you. I mean, it's just, it's devastating to see what your family has gone through this evening. How are you holding up?
C. DORAN: I mean, we have a 11 adults, three pit bulls, a lab, a 175- pound tortoise, and a cat, in a one-bedroom house. But like, we're doing well, I'd say--
T. DORAN: Yes, we're doing all right.
C. DORAN: --overall, like, with everything that's going on. It's so much more than just our house is burning down, but the entire community's that, I believe they said 75 percent done. So, we're happy to be together, that's for sure.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, obviously it's a lot of people and animals in one home. But obviously, we're grateful for your safety.
Tom, tell me, how are you feeling? I saw this video, and this moment, where you were just, I just -- let me let everyone listen to it first, because it's a powerful moment of you watching your own home go up in flames here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
T. DORAN: There's my house, gone. Nothing left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, Tom, to hear you say that, There's my house, gone, there's nothing left. I can't even imagine what that felt like for you.
T. DORAN: It was -- it was a bit of a shock. We fought the fire until about 10 o'clock, when the water stopped, and we had no water pressure.
So, at that time -- and we were -- we were winning the battle, because of the way the house was built originally, it would -- had, you know, it was smooth on the sides, no place for the -- for the embers to slide into it.
And we abandoned my father-in-law's house, across the street, about 45 minutes before that, because of the low water pressure, and then we just, we had to go. There was no water up in the -- up in the streets. We had no -- there was no fire department up there, at any time, during the day, since the start of the fire.
The air tankers, we had, I think, two drops, two retardant drops, and then they left. So we felt -- we feel, that we were abandoned by the city. The Mayor removing $20 million from the Fire Department, I'm sure that didn't help. I know they're trying to do their job. But we felt abandoned.
C. DORAN: Yes, it was -- it was pretty crazy. We were watching the flames from the deck, from 10:30, to about 03:00 when we evacuated our tortoise, Tiptoe. And, no -- I mean, we didn't even have a fire truck go up. And smoke was going the other way. So as prepared as we were to leave, once it hit about 04:35 p.m., we had houses in the Alphabet Streets go in, it was -- it was bad.
[21:35:00]
So, we got grandma, grandpa out. And for us, that just, it's very significant, because we're -- I'm a fifth generation Palisadian. My family's been there since the 1930s.
COLLINS: Yes.
C. DORAN: My mom grew up in the house across the street from where I grew up. And we just watched them both go up in flames. Didn't -- I mean, what are you going to do?
T. DORAN: Along with--
COLLINS: I mean--
T. DORAN: Along with practically every house in the neighborhood.
C. DORAN: Oh, yes, the whole.
COLLINS: Yes.
C. DORAN: We got an aerial view of it, the neighborhood flattened. It's just, it's so sad, the whole community is gone.
COLLINS: I can't even imagine what it's like to not only watch your house, but to see your neighbors', your friends' houses, also, to have that happen.
And I want to say thank you to you both for coming on.
And Tom, I promise, when we have officials on from the City, we will ask them about the response, and about what this looked like, because I think those are -- those are important questions to ask.
So, I just want to thank you both, for taking the time to come on. I know you're all crammed in one house. I'm glad you're all safe. But Caitlin and Tom, thank you both, for joining me tonight.
T. DORAN: All right.
C. DORAN: Thank you so much.
T. DORAN: You're welcome.
C. DORAN: Have a nice night.
COLLINS: And we're going to continue to bring you updates as they come in.
Of course, we noted there, we just learned about a new fire that has broken out. We're watching that very closely.
Also here, on Capitol Hill, President-elect Donald Trump has just finished up a meeting with Senate Republicans, as he prepares to return to the White House. My next guest was in that meeting. We'll talk to him about what happened, behind closed doors.
[21:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back. We are here, live on Capitol Hill tonight.
We are keeping a very close eye on Los Angeles. Right now, you can see a sixth fire has broken out. This is near Runyon Canyon, a very popular area in the Hollywood Hills. We are watching that very closely. And our reporters are on the scene tracking all the developments.
We are going to do a quick check-in here on Capitol Hill, where President-elect Donald Trump returned, earlier this evening, for the first time, actually, since he won back the White House, in November, kicking off a critical mission to deliver on his campaign promises, to not see them get doomed in Congress, as he is hoping not to have happen.
He met with Senate Republicans, to hammer out what they are hoping to say are the concepts of a plan, at this stage, whether to try to pass everything he would like to see in one big bill, or to split them up in half.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL- ELECT: We're looking at the one bill versus two bills. And whatever it is, doesn't matter, we're going to get the result.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And my congressional source tonight was in that meeting with Trump. The Republican senator, Mike Rounds, of South Dakota, joins me now.
And Senator, it's great to have you here.
That meeting, you came out -- you went into it. No consensus. You came out of it. Is there a consensus of how to move forward? Just one big bill or splitting it into two?
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): The consensus is we're going to get it done one way or the other. And the real thing is, is which way is going to work the best, we'll work that over the next couple of weeks, maybe even the next couple of months. But clearly, both would work. It's a matter of which approach would work better.
Nobody is set in stone on the right path forward. But we do know, number one, that we have to get the economy back rolling again. Second of all, the border has got to be contained. And then finally, we want to bring energy production back in. All of those items are doable with one single bill, we believe.
The House, on the other hand, would love to do a bigger, more beautiful bill, as they've talked. We think it can be done. But we think the taxes may take a little bit longer, just because of the intricacies of a $4.6 trillion.
COLLINS: Yes, it's a massive bill--
ROUNDS: Yes, it--
COLLINS: --to put everything together.
ROUNDS: It is huge. Yes.
COLLINS: I mean, is that possible to keep Republicans on the same page if you do pursue that one big bill? ROUNDS: We think we could. But we think it would be easier, in the Senate, if we did two. But it's OK, because the bottom line is, regardless of which of the processes we take, we're going to get this done.
And we have to get it done. Because number one, we know that we've got to secure that border. And second of all, if we don't, the American people will see a tax increase of about $4.6 trillion, and nobody wants that.
COLLINS: Yes. And, of course, a big question of what that would look like for the debt and the deficit as well, if that does get passed. I mean, we'll see how that happens.
ROUNDS: Yes.
COLLINS: I do have a question. Republicans -- senators often ask questions in these meetings, to President-elect Trump. He made a lot of news, yesterday, when he was talking about Greenland, not ruling out taking it by military force, yesterday.
I was thinking about this. Because something you've said before, and we've talked about this, is you've talked about the importance of Ukraine being able to protect its own territory, that Russia can't just go in and take it by force.
I was talking to Trump's National Security Advisor in round one, Ambassador John Bolton, last night. He was saying that when Trump says something like that, and doesn't rule out military force, he said it sounds like Putin and Ukraine or President Xi of China and Taiwan.
How do you personally see it?
ROUNDS: I--
COLLINS: Do you see that comparison?
ROUNDS: I don't. Look, the President, clearly, is saying Greenland is very, very important. The Panama Canal is very important. And he doesn't feel that we're getting treated fairly there. And a lot of Americans, once they find out what our costs are to move our naval ships through there, they would agree with him.
The same thing with Greenland. Greenland is critical, because as climate change occurs, Greenland is becoming -- is going to become a more and more important part of the world strategies, among the major players. China, and Russia, and the United States, all recognize that the polar region is extremely important.
We have an air base on Greenland. And the folks on Greenland, right now, there's about 55,000 -- 56,000 people that are there, they have depended on the fact that they know that we are part of NATO, and that we defend them.
The real question is, is would it be appropriate, if there's a way to do it, to be able to bring Greenland in, as part of the United States, as a territory, or otherwise. So, I think that's the discussion that's going on.
And look, there isn't -- there's no suggestion on his part, just because he's not ruling it out. What he's really saying is, is Why should I rule anything out, I'm a negotiator.
COLLINS: Yes.
[21:45:00]
ROUNDS: So, we'll start out by just simply saying, Greenland's important, we got to talk about it.
COLLINS: You're saying, take him seriously, not literally.
ROUNDS: Yes.
COLLINS: Senator Mike Rounds, we'd love to have you back to talk more about the specifics in the future.
Of course, a lot of time covering these wildfires.
ROUNDS: Yes.
COLLINS: And I am so grateful for your time tonight.
ROUNDS: And our thoughts and prayers go out with--
COLLINS: Yes.
ROUNDS: --all of those victims out there. This is a bad, bad thing. And, as we say, you look at your government as to how they respond during an emergency, and--
COLLINS: Yes, and they may be needing congressional help--
ROUNDS: They're going to need help.
COLLINS: --in the future.
ROUNDS: Yes.
COLLINS: We'll be talking to you about that. Thank you so much for that.
More to come ahead on those raging wildfires. We are getting breaking news, on the ground, in Los Angeles. Back in a quick moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:50:00]
COLLINS: We are following breaking news, this hour, as six fires are now raging, simultaneously, across Los Angeles, this evening. The newest has just happened in the Hollywood Hills area, near Runyon Canyon, where evacuation orders have just been issued. The fires have killed at least five people, we know so far, injuring many others and, of course, destroying countless numbers of homes.
You're looking at live pictures, right now. This is what is stretching firefighting resources that were already stretched to their limit, even further, this evening.
We have reporters covering it all over the Los Angeles area. We're going to continue to bring these developments, as we are watching this all very closely here.
Also here in Washington, I want to check in on an important story, tonight, as we have learned from Justice Samuel Alito himself, confirming on the record that he had a direct phone call with the President-elect, who was here on Capitol Hill this afternoon. They had a phone call yesterday afternoon.
Now this comes, of course, as the President-elect today asked the High Court to call off his sentencing, in the hush money case, that is scheduled for Friday.
Now, Justice Alito says this call was about a job recommendation, from a former clerk of his, who wants to work in the Trump administration, asked him to recommend him on his behalf.
But Alito said in his statement tonight, and I'm quoting him now, "We did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, I was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed."
CNN's former -- former -- current CNN Legal Analyst, former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams is my legal source tonight.
Elliot, it's obviously not pretty -- pretty -- it's not weird for a Supreme Court justice to recommend a former law clerk. That's why people go and clerk for them.
But to have him be on the phone with Trump, a day before Trump's attorneys are going to file this, which maybe he doesn't follow the Trump cases closely. But it was very clear that Trump's team was likely going to go to the Supreme Court. Did they not get--
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right.
COLLINS: --what they wanted?
WILLIAMS: Yes, look, more than anything else, Kaitlan, the appearance of impropriety with the Supreme Court Justice is really what matters here, even if it was completely above board.
I am old enough to remember when my own boss, the Attorney General, got in trouble, for having someone she was investigating, Bill Clinton, on her plane, with Loretta Lynch.
So, merely talking to the President -- the President-elect is sort of problematic, and the appearance of it.
Now, has he gotten what he's wanted? We shall see how this all plays out, over the coming days. This is all moving incredibly quickly.
COLLINS: Yes. Elliot Williams, thank you for that. Obviously something we'll continue to monitor here.
Up next. We go back to the ground in Los Angeles. Wildfires are continuing to rage out of control, as a new one has broken out. New evacuation orders have been issued. We'll tell you more, straight ahead.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Back to our breaking news, in Los Angeles, the new fire that has just broken out in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon. For people who have been there, it's a very popular hiking trail, right there in the -- in the Hill -- the Hollywood Hills. It's surrounded by homes. Of course, as you go there and you walk around, you can look out, people go, and you can see all these homes.
That is what we are now looking at, where this new fire has just started, and now evacuations are being forced for some of the areas that you're looking at right here.
As we just heard from a representative, from the Fire Department in L.A., saying that even if you are not under an evacuation order, you should be prepared to leave, even if you're not, right as of this moment. He said, to get ready.
You can see the aerial video here, showing pockets of fire, raging on top of the Hills, as firefighters are desperately working to put out this blaze. So far, they are struggling to put out any of it.
CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir, is in Pacific Palisades.
And Bill, obviously, we were just checking in with the Palisades, and looking at what this looks like. Now to hear that this area, in Hollywood Hills, near Runyon Canyon, which, I mean, anyone who's been over there and hiked, knows this. I was just there, last week.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Right.
COLLINS: I mean, they were already having trouble with the five fires that were there. Now there is a sixth one that has started.
WEIR: Yes, so if you've ever been to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the stars in front of the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards, all of that, looks directly above where you are there, into the Hills, beyond Franklin Boulevard, there is Runyon Canyon.
And that is -- that neighborhood, those are the iconic curvy streets that have amazing views of downtown, all the way to the Pacific. That is one of the most popular dog parks, you're talking about, that hiking trail there. Young actors work on their lines, doing that loop up, their reward at the top, as you get towards Mulholland Drive, is this amazing view. But the idea that flame is now ripping through that part of the city may be threatening down into the Franklin Boulevard area. That's the Hollywood Bowl is to the east of that area there as well. Hugely troubling. So difficult.
And again, this is a combination for these first responders of the conditions, these Santa Ana winds, this bone dry brush that grew like proverbial weeds, when it had a wet winter last year, but then was dried out for the last few months of drought. And then, the terrain, these winding roads, these canyons, lack of water pressure up in these hills.
I was thinking about it. A couple years ago, I was covering the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, and talking about the boom in private firefighting out here, where people who have these multimillion dollar homes are trying to hedge their bets, by hiring private firefighters. But these days, nobody is getting into these. Doesn't matter, public, private, doesn't matter, when the conditions are this bad.
Here in Pacific Palisades, we've been just watching these businesses burn to the ground, without intervention. It's so disturbing, a modern American business just allowed to burn to the ground, because there's so many of these fires everywhere.
We'll see what happens up in the Hills, tonight, Kaitlan. That will be a focus of a lot of stress.
COLLINS: Yes, stress that these firefighters did not need added to their plate, this hour.
Bill Weir, covering it for us all. Thank you for that report. We'll continue to check in with you.
[22:00:00]
And where this new fire has broken out in this area, obviously, as Bill was noting, when you go up there and walk, it is these winding roads. And so, not only are we looking at this, and seeing how firefighters are going to be dealing with this. It's also people evacuating and getting down these hills, these neighborhoods that have these steep winding roads, as firefighters are trying to get up them, and trying to deal with this, and to prevent it from getting to these homes.
We're following this all closely. The breaking news will continue here, on CNN.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" is up next.
