This is Gary and Shannon and you're listening to KFI AM six forty the Gary and Shannon Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app. RAMS so impressive in that victory that meant so much, had just a kind of heaviness about it, an emotion about it because of everything that this community has been through and continues to brace for. It was a really remarkable ramp up to the start of the game, I thought, with a moment of silence and the way in which they made that stadium feel
almost like Los Angeles it was. I found it powerful, I found it emotional, and then of course the Rams went on to victory. Meantime, here if you missed it,
there's slightly better news in this next wind event. It was already not going to be quite as bad as last week, which was unprecedented, and really, you know, with eighty to one hundred mile an hour winds in this case, while we were expecting something that wasn't going to be quite as bad, now the National Weather Service is saying maybe it'll be even slightly less intense than originally forecast.
Now that's not to say it won't be very intense, and it's not to say that This isn't a wind event around which there should be a lot of precaution and preparedness, But what they were saying and what they are saying shows signs that we might optimistically be able to avoid another huge conflagration of the sort that we saw in the Palisades and Altadena. By the way, in the Altadena fire, there are already lawsuits filed, four of them.
They accused Southern California Edison of starting this eaton fire. Lawyers for homeowners in the Altadena area announcing these lawsuits just yesterday. They say their clients either had to evacuate their homes or lost their homes entirely in the Eaten fire.
In each of the suits blames Son California Edison. They say the fire started under a Southern California Edison transmission tower, and while there hasn't been a final determination as to the cause for the fire, there does appear to be a sort of a constellation of evidence, and like the as it All Comes together video, I'm sure you've seen it viral video, there have been anecdotal accounts of what happened there, and the attorneys are saying, this is a quote,
we believe that the Eaton fire was ignited because of see's failure to de energize its overhead wires which traverse Eaton Canyon. The three other suits that were filed yesterday, one represents a FedEx worker who lost their Altadena home, a second represents a homeowner who rented his property out in Altadena, and a third represents multiple homeowners who are essentially echoing the same claims that we've heard, in other words,
that Southern California Edison is responsible for this. So the lawsuit is well, this collection of lawsuits, I think it's just the beginning, right. One of the attorneys representing several Altadena residents accused the company of not cutting power to transmission lines as wins whipped through the area. The quote is, during the life threatening fire conditions predicted by the National Weather Service, SEE did not de energize as power lines in the area where the fire started. And so you
turn to the utility. What did they say? They say, they'll review the complaint when it's received. This is a quote. The cause of the fire continues to be under investigation. They say, our hearts remain with our communities. During the devastating fires in southern California, and we remain committed to
supporting them through this difficult time. You know, one of the things that I hear, and there are a lot of viral videos and a lot of podcasters are going off about this as well, is you know, how come I think Corolla.
Did something on this.
Adam did a big thing about these fires, and how come the these utility lines aren't underground? And of course putting them underground would be terrific. I mean, putting them underground is definitely the safest move. What's the problem with that? What's the issue with putting the utility lines underground? Why wouldn't they do it? Because of money? It's incredibly expensive to put them underground. I mean, I don't know, it might be by a factor of ten. It's insanely expensive
to put these transmission lines underground. And that's why they are not underground. It's that simple. And so you see through out California, in northern California where they've had any number of issues, through Sonoma County, the Paradise Fire, et cetera. They have shutdowns there that regularly leave people without power for thirty six forty eight hours. That's PG and e UP there and in southern California, we're going to have to implement strategies.
And let me tell you something.
These strategies are to they're coming, and they're going to involve AI and they're going to involve all kinds of new tech that will address an incoming meteorological scenario and narrative.
As it meets the existing.
Narrative and scenario with electric power being supplied to various areas that have these power lines above the ground.
So prepare for that. It's coming.
But of course, if these communities can pay, and many do you know, many communities will collect residents.
This happened. I know because in.
My area I was approached by a homeowner and they said, hey, we're getting everybody in the area to chip in, and we're all going to pay for the power lines to be buried and to be put underground. And if we all pay for it, we can get the city to do it. But it's not cheap, even with a lot of homeowner's pigeon in it's it's not cheap. So it's really very few communities that could band together and do that.
And again, that.
Takes care of one issue, but that's not the only way fires start. And so when it comes to how the fires start, I mean, look at what's happened to the Palisades in Malibu, decimated by fire, it's very likely that power lines had nothing to do with it. Well, there's a lot when it comes to these fires that has to do with their origins. I just told you about the lawsuit that's emerging in Altadena and the Southern California Edison retort. Even as they are involved in the
back and forth with attorneys. There'll be more of that, I'm sure with Southern California Edison. And when you look at the Palisage fire, it's a bit more complicated. They have ATF there on the scene and those are really
high end investigators. But there's a lot of investigative reporting, and there is a lot of surveillance video, there's satellite video, etc. That's all emerging in c C Woods is an investigative reporter at the Current Report and also editor in chief in Malibu Global Media, and she's joining us now with emerging evidence of arson in the Palisades fire. Good morning, Cec, how are you?
Good morning? Thank you for having.
Me, of course, So what have you found out and how is it all playing out in the way you see this Palisage fire and the genesis of it all.
Well, right now, what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing is I don't know if you could necessarily call it arson definitively, because they are talking about the fact that there were fireworks, which are illegal, that were set off on New Year's Eve, and that that could be the fire could have started from embers that were smoldering underneath. And you and I talked about this yesterday. I don't necessarily think that that is plausible like in this scenario,
but I'm not an expert. So there are eyewitness accounts of hikers that were running away from the fire. I did receive phone calls and dms from their parents actually, of these teenagers, and they are claiming that they were
not involved. They saw flames and they started running and they were begging me not to post any content, and I hadn't, so I was, you know, I assured them, look, I'm not going to put them in harm's way, and just seeing I'm sure with all the satellite imagery that it will be able to be determined.
More yeah, definitively, yeah.
Yeah, more more definitively yeah, but Arson, I don't know if I could really say this is on Arsen.
Well, just let me just double back on this New Year's Eve thing, because I'm seeing that. And yeah, we talked a CECI on my my show on YouTube yesterday and we talked it at link of that, and I showed actually some of the satellite pictures. If people want to see it, you can find it there on YouTube at Mark Thompson Show. But I really want to go back to that idea that somehow there were New Year's Eve of fireworks and then somehow though smoldering embers re
emerged days later. Is that that really seems like a stretch to me.
A major stretch. You and I talked about that yesterday, and then when I posted about being on your show yesterday and people went back and watched the YouTube, they put a link to a Washington Post article where these scientists are saying they can smolder up to ten days and blah blah blah. And it still seems like a big, big stretch to me, especially with how dry everything is over there and we had no rain. We have no rain,
and so so that definitely seems like a stretch to me. However, you know, we had the the arsen incident at Leo, Korea, which was the day after the Palisades fire started. Then I reported on an incident where there was a fire that started in Corral Canyon. Neighbors noticed what was going on. They called their local little engine that they they started it after Wolsey and oh no, it was before Wolsey twenty seven to one, and they have that right up there in the bowl in Corral and they got on
it right away. They noticed the suspicious truck and they apprehended a young male who had firefighter gear that they are suspecting that it is stolen firefighter gear. He had lighters, so they ended up taking him down to the roadblock and lost station ended up taking him into custody. I don't know where that's at right now, but this morning to Penga emergencies, it's like a certain site for Topenga residents. They're saying now that they're scared that embers are going
to flare up again. Makes a lot of sense because you know everything is still fresh.
Well yeah, I mean these are that seems far more credible that you could have these embers. There's just so many of them as a result of Policaige fire is still ongoing.
I mean, my god, yeah, but you are very tied in.
One of the reasons I want to talk to you is you're very tied in with the Malibu officials, and I think you have very good sources. What are your sources telling you? I mean, are they they saying anything that I don't know if you I'm not asking you to quote anybody, but on background, are they giving you anything?
Well, we talked about this yesterday as well. There are city officials that I talked to and support and confer with regularly, and we were discussing during the Palistates fire when it was just raging. I was talking with this one official and he told me that we were talking about Franklin fire, which was exactly a month almost to the day before, in December, December ninth, and he told me they are ninety nine point nine percent certain that
the origin was from a human starting a fire. Now, whether that the arts in or not, we don't know. They found evidence of like a homeless what looked like potentially a homeless person was in that area, and so that we know was started by a human. So the very first details he was getting on the Palisase fire was like there it was potentially started a tiny little flare up in a backyard in Pacific Palisades, And I thought, that just doesn't sound right, you know what I mean.
But now we're looking at the trail, so there's a couple of different versions of the story out there.
But you know, I mean, it.
Does appear that, just in our last minut or so, it does appear that the trail that you're talking about, that that Tamescal trail, is that it that Tomescal aage trail. Yes, that appears to be supported anyway by satellite imagery and by anecdotal evidence, and that really is the focus for investigators for the most part.
Would that be fair to say?
Oh?
Absolutely, And I can't imagine that the FEDS are not you know, privy to that type of information. If we can get a hold of that satellite imagery, lord on, who only knows what they could get a hold of, you know what I mean. So I'm pretty sure they're zeroing in on that's their specialty, on what the actual true origin, you know, the ignition spot. Yeah, looking so I was surprised it was the way out there near that ridge because like I said, I was told.
That it was you know, sure, it's hard to imagine, although maybe it's not given the velocity of the winds that it could start there and then spread the way it did.
But well, I'm hoping that the winds. We have a lot of security issues in Malibu and I'm just praying that this doesn't flare up again because we have enough problems with arsenists and looters getting through barricades. We do
not have the resources. You know, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Apartment is severely understaffed, and the National Guard is presence only and they are not allowing security companies through the barricades that service these residents, and residents are really on edge right now because of it.
Yeah, the looting situation is real, and you know, and even yeah, the potential from ours.
Yes, and they're they're directing up as firefighters and cal fire and they are getting through these barricades. That's why having the additional security is so important, because our resources are stretched so thin.
Well, this is one of the things I'd like to see changed. I'd like to see a systemic changes that would allow people with appropriate certification to get through these barricades and to be allowed in to provide additional security against these things like looting and aditional arson. Thank you so much, CC Woods again at the current report, and the editor in chief at Malibu Global Media. Yeah, appreciate
your good work, and we'll talk again again. The Polisades fire close to twenty four thousand acres, only seventeen percent containment, and eight people have lost their lives in all of that. And you hear how it's an ongoing situation. You could even hear in CC's voice, there's a sense of panic
about what may happen. So this next wind event, which is coming late this afternoon and tomorrow, it will not be as bad as last week, And revised forecasts even show there might be a chance that it won't be as was suggested originally, as quite the intense event as the initial forecasts had predicted. But again these are all everything's preliminary. All forecasts change, variables change at the last second.
But that's the very latest discussing.
As you might imagine the fires their origins, this next wind event that will re emerge late this afternoon and into tonight. Even as we've talked about the fact that maybe it won't be quite as bad as originally feared. It still looks as though it will have a lot of complications for all of us, so do stay tuned to KFI.
There'll be additional programming.
We've really built out a lot of the support structure here at KFI to make sure that you get the very latest. Is anybody else addicted to this Watch Duty app? I mean, my god, Deborah, it's wild man.
Yes, And I'm constantly getting notifications and as soon as I do, I'm checking it out.
Yeah.
The watch Duty app was created by a guy in Sonoma County I think was a you know, had their own experiences, you know, Sonoma burnt so horribly very recently, and he created this app and it's staffed by volunteers. It's a nonprofit and I've never felt better about upgrading with the t twenty five dollars. It's twenty five dollars or the years I've paid twenty five dollars a month for this thing. It's so good. All of the latest
advisories are there. In addition to that, you have overlays and layers that will show you wind velocities and directions and air quality. It's really super impressive.
And it also shows you your evacuation zones.
It's great, it's quite special.
So anyway, we've built out a lot of support structure here at kfive, But in addition, all of us have sort of as individuals, built out our own area of information and support structure, just as we anticipate this next event.
Well, you know, it's also cool. I don't know about your neighborhood, but I live up in the hills and it's pretty scary, and we have a group chat with neighbors. There's about forty of us and we call ourselves the Evacuation Squad, and so everybody is posting about the win and about the evacuation warnings and just everything, making sure everybody has watch duty. And it's really it's great because, I mean, one of the positive things that is coming
out of this is just communities rallying. And also I'd like to say that I hope that when all of this is over that there is something special that we can all do for our firefighters and first responders. Man, those people are the true heroes.
Couldn't agree more.
I mean, you know, and there are a lot of charities associated with work that the firefighters and first responders are doing and there's no shortage of those charities, so definitely check them out. We did a thing on my YouTube show yesterday where we we ram down a bunch of them and I put hot links under the video to all of these things and you can click right through. It's the Mark Thompson Show on YouTube. If you can
find yesterday's show, it's all right there. And they're also you know, animal rescuers, and there are.
Those who are providing food.
I mean, Jose Andreas is probably the highest profile example. But there's just such a great effort and as I was saying in the first hour, there is a community that you see the best of Southern California coming together. And I know it almost sounds so cliche to say, well it brings out the best in us to these kinds of challenges, but it really is true. In the heartbreak, there is so much in the way of uplifting stories and so many who are ready to make a difference.
I saw a story yesterday about people who had lost their home and they were volunteering to help others who were also evacuees who or had lost their home in getting them food and in one of these areas that was providing one of these essentially pop ups that was providing food and shelter. So there is so much good out there. And as Deborah says, you know, the heroic work of these first responders and these firefighters, it's you know, incalculably critical and it's so very impressive.
I know you're an animal lever like I am.
I think it was Angel Martinez that sent me this story that I think it went viral, and it was a dog that wouldn't leave its burning house. I think
it was in the Palisades. So you see this dog was you know, barking and scared but would not leave, and it was right next to a firefighter and the firefighter is you know, holding onto the dog, touching the dog, and an animal I think it was an animal trainer came and tried at first to rescue the dog, and the dog didn't want to go because it was so scared. But finally they got the dog into a car, and then that animal trainer slash rescuer, was able to track
down the owners. But here's a firefighter that's hosing down a fire in the Palisades and is consoling this this poor dog.
There are some images of the firefighters holding there's one image of a firefighter holding a deer.
I saw that. Oh my god, it that just made me weep. I'm telling you.
I've you know, I've cried more than I did as an eleven year old kid watching Born Free or one of those movies that you know, some tear jerker film.
I'm telling you.
I was saying before the moment of silence that all of the NFL games did. They all did a moment of silence, and as the announcer, the PA announcers saying, you know, please let's pause for a moment of silence for our friends in southern California who I'm choking up during that. I mean, it's it's very emotional, it's so powerful. We are all super charged that way. And look, one of the things that informs all of that is that many of us haven't slept for like six days, which
will do it. I mean, I didn't sleep at all last night.
Are you going to sleep tonight? You're not going to sleep tonight because we know that the wins are gonna they're supposed to pick up later today through the night. Yeah, I see, I've been up like everybody just on alert, on edge.
The best we can do is offer you information, which will continue to do and just you know, speaking of the animal thing, we are going to get into that in the next hour with someone who has a global meaning complete sense of what's happening with the animal rescuers. There's a problem in La County and there's a problem in La City, and that is that many certified rescuers are not able to get past the evacuation zones to
rescue animals that they know are there. They're hearing from owners we left our cat behind, we left our dog behind, and they're reaching out to these groups again certified rescuers. There has to be some kind of memorandum of understanding such that all of these various law enforcement officials who are doing such great work, you have to hold those lines otherwise you'll have looters in there. You know, you
can't just let anybody in. But there has to be some kind of memorandum of understanding so that many of these animal rescuers can get through and actually help situations that are desperately.
In need of help.
So anyway, we're going to get into that next hour. Also, I'll mention the longtime mayor of Santa watching developments, of course around the fires and around the meteorological narratives, the weather forecast, which did show signs of improvement. We talked to Mike Wolford from the National Weather Service last hour and he was hopeful, and so I'm hopeful based on his hopefulness, but not necessarily is hopeful when it comes to getting Feds to step up and give us the
billions of dollars in federal relief that we need. The lead congressional Republicans saying that they want to place conditions on the aid to California's wildfire victims. They're saying, look, you guys have problems out there, and until you fix those problems, we may not be sending you money from Washington.
I well, Mike Johnson, who's from Louisiana, which is itself is rich because they got tons of money in Louisiana following Katrina, as they deserved to get I mean, as you needed to provide, and yet that money was misspent. There was a bunch of corruption, I mean, so it's rich that the congress person from Louisiana is making these statements about California.
So speaking to reporters Monday, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson saying he thinks there should be conditions on any federal aid money sent to victims of the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires.
Obviously there has been.
Water resource mis management for his management mistakes, all sorts of problems, and it does come down to leadership. Johnson went on to say there had been discussions among Congressional Republicans about tying any money sent to California to raising the nation's debt limit. The Speaker also saying he believes both state and local LA leaders had been derelict in their duty. Johnson's proposal drawing both support and criticism Monday, I think it's appropriate. Bill Jackson is the chair of
the San Francisco Republican Party. He says, well, he doesn't support tying federal aid to national issues like the debt ceiling. He does think it's appropriate to have the federal government require California to make certain changes in order to receive disaster relief money.
We need to not write endless blank checks for large disasters when simultaneously state and local leaders are not making the preparations and not allowing not demanding that local governments do their part to mitigate these disasters as well.
Well, you know, great, but just breaking news.
Those checks are written to Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia. They are written generally without any strings attached. How many times are they rebuilt in Florida from the hurricanes they've got hurricanes? You know, the ocean super cooked like it is, is serving up hurricanes to far to like a short order chef, and we're sending them relief money regularly, and that money does not have any strings attached.
But now, in this highly partisan environment, Washington is playing a red blue game. Certainly Johnson is Look, both parties are not monoliths, right, Neither party is completely one note. So you have members of the Republican Party who seem as though they're trying to attack this situation more reasonably than those who are extreme partisans who just want to make Californian suffer. Similarly, they're Democrats to say, hey, we really want to look into reforms, and we want to look
into responsible changes and strategies moving forward. And then you have those who say, you know, just give us the money. I mean, this is a massive, profound tragedy, desperately in need of resources from the federal government that include financial resources. And by the way, we contribute way more money than any of these other states from which these congressmen come, Louisiana among them. Dude, check, Louisiana gets money from California.
I mentioned Louisiana because Mike Johnson. But there's an outrageous quality to this, given the fact that California, this robust financial engine for America, is having to beg these representatives from states that take from California for some of that money back for some of that return on investment.
The notion of conditions on federal aid is not popular among money politicians that include some Republicans as well as a majority of Democrats, including Senator Adam Schiff.
I am concerned about it, but I'm hoping that they will take the approach, frankly, that I've taken over my years in Congress, and that is, we've seen disasters in every part of the country of different kinds, earthquakes and floods and fire and hurricanes. I have never once asked or even considered is this a blue state or red.
State of California. State Senator Scott Wiener believes, if enacted, Johnson's proposal could create a dangerous new precedent. Wiener says, despite the uncertainty, the state government will be there to support the LA area, but he acknowledges without federal help that could be more challenging.
Yeah, the state government is not going to be enough. You are going to need the Fed. This is an unprecedented, I mean gargantuan financial hit to the state of California, but.
We as a state are going to be there for LA, just like we were there for northern California and other areas during wildfires. Speaker Johnson says that while his personal view is that there should be conditions on any aid sent here to California, he wants to see what the consensus is among House Republicans before possibly moving forward.
Yeah.
I mean they're trying to attack this from a various political perspectives, but I don't know how to handicap this.
In the end.
We will discuss this more all this week because this is an unfolding situation that will require some buy in from Washington, and I think we will get some buy in from Washington. But there is a deplorable aspect of this, which is just sort of like, well, you know, it's a it's a blue state, let them burn. It really is a a time during which you don't want those
questions asked. I mean, does that occur to you when these you see these areas of destruction in Tornado Alley and all those places I mentioned, you know in Oklahoma, Kansas, you don't go, well, you know, tough spot.
But I mean, let's face it, they're a red state.
I mean, if you're if you're a Democrat, never heard any any Demo or Democratic politicians say well, you know, maybe they really have to think about maybe you know, I don't know, changing.
A lot of the.
Construction restrictions there and regulations. I mean, I would suggest that after all of this, and we'll be talking about this this week, because this is what's being talked about and needs to be talked about the changes that we do need to make in building back. So I think that is a conversation that we're already having. We don't need to have our you know, our feet held to these big fires to learn that we need to change
the way we build these homes and businesses. Construction materials need to change, but we don't need to make these changes at gunpoint. From Washington, i'd respectfully suggest that anyway, Mark Thompson sitting in for Gary and Shannon. When we come back, the longtime mayor of Santa Monica join, Phil Brock, will get a State of the State there, and Judy Mancuso as well, the founder CEO of Social Compassion in legislation.
She will give us a sense of what's happening with animal rescue and the way in which the state and city can help in that.
Regard as well.
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