Wildfire Coverage Part 1 | Hour 1

the House Whisper. I design custom homes, I build custom homes, and for this weekend, as always, I am your guide to better understanding that place where you live Today on the program, Well, for those of us who live in southern California, that place where we live is under the ongoing threat and devastation of what has been now the

most costliest wildfires in United States history. We're going to continue to cover those fires for you, of course through the twenty four hour KFI Newsroom, but we'll also be talking about them today on the show, specifically from my perspective and what I can bring to the table for you. We're going to be talking some about, especially this weekend moving forward, what happens next when the fires are done

and they will end, but they are still burning. When such devastation has been created by such a natural disaster, where do you pick up and what comes next, especially when it comes to your home or the total loss of your home. For those of you who are listening, and I know lots of people from all around the country are listening, I hope that you hang with us

because there's a lot of application here. Specifically, of course we're going to be talking about wildfires and its effect on a home, but in the bigger scope of things, much of what we'll discuss this weekend has to do with any natural disaster and a response from residential perspective after it has gone its way, whether it is a hurricane or flood, a tornado, whatever the case may be. Natural disasters have a way of resetting the clock in a lot of things, and we're gonna be dealing with

that this morning. How soon can anybody get back to these properties? What comes next? What are the next steps after your home has been devastated, and how soon is

that rebuilding process? Is there a rebuilding process, and what to expect through it out all of that and a whole lot more, and of course you will find a empathetic and an informative voice here, I hope, and we will be taking calls as well, and of course again I'm going to be talking about this as always with calls, anything you want to talk about regarding your home today. The number to reach me eight three to three two. Ask Dean A three three the numeral two, Ask dean

eight three three two ask dean. Of course, I am going to prioritize calls related to fire today, but we will take calls on any subject whatsoever as we go as we do. And that brings up an important point. As devastating as these fires are, and they are, I am in no way, shape or form going to make light of them. One of the things I want you to understand if you don't live in Southern California is as you see national news coverage, it always tends to

happen this way. You know, it looks as though Los Angeles is on fire. Southern California is on fire. It's burning to the ground, and a large portion of our home here is doing just that, and there is great devastation, as we will review in the updated stats here in

just a bit. However, if you don't understand LA or the La Orange County San Bernardino area, the greater Los Angeles metroplex, or what I just tend to refer to as southern California, if you don't understand if you haven't visited and you haven't really understood the scope of what life is like here, if you're from a traditional town or traditional city, then one of the things that is easy to misunderstand when you're looking at national news coverage

of what's going on here is these fires are massive and yet at the same time, most, the vast majority of Los Angeles and Orange County and San Bernardino County residents are unaffected directly by these fire Southern California, if you want to call it this southern the Southern California, the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, if we just take the LA name and apply it to the continuous urban sprawl essentially that is here in southern California, it is

roughly one hundred miles from north to south and one hundred miles from east to west. Okay, that is a massive, massive metropolitan area. These fires have affected tens of thousands of acres. But just understand for those of us here that there are most areas in Southern California are completely safe. But we have all all of us emotionally and all of us indirectly been affected by these fires. And so we are going to continue to focus on them as we go. Let me enter you shoot to our awesome team.

Sam of course is on the board. How are you doing, Sam, I'm okay, brother, It's good to hear your voice. It's good to be here as well. UH produced. There's our almost live studio audience. UH producer Richie is standing by already screening calls. The call of the phone lines are open again. Eight three three two. Ask dean eight three to three the numeral two ass Dean Eileen Gonzalez of course on the due's desk. Good morning, Eileen, good morning.

proximity as the crow flies to the fire. But this fire started with those heavy, heavy, crazy southern wind, southern south pound wind and h and so there has been no smoke in the Canao Valley, no blue skies, no, not even a trace of it, because it's all been blowing your way.

All right, y'all. Here's the thing. Let's have some news for my leen, and when we come back, let's get an update on all of the fires and then begin a conversation a little different than the ones that you've been hearing through the rest of the week, because you know, it's me, and we're going to be talking about homes and structures and also rebuilding and what does that mean all of that and more. Yafi Dean Sharp the House Whisper,

Welcome home. Thanks for joining us this early early Saturday morning, a few minutes before six thirty. We rent long in our opening segment because I wanted to sort of lay

out where we're going this weekend on our program. Here this morning and tomorrow, we're going to be talking about wildfires from a house Whisper perspective, hopefully adding to the conversation not just repeating updates and which, of course we're going to do, but also contributing to a broader conversation about where do we go from here as these fires will eventually of course, be snuffed out, and then the swath of Devas station that they have left in their path.

What do we do, especially when entire It's one thing to say, oh, I had fire damage on my house. It's something entirely different to say that an entire neighborhood or a region of homes has been destroyed. What happens then? Is there a rebuild? Who rebuilds? When will we rebuild? And so on? So we're going to have that unique perspective and take on that as we move along this morning.

But I do want to say this. I went long in the first segment just to get to all of that information in and to have an extended conversation with the team and the crew here. And we're up against another short break, another short break right now, and when we return, we'll get back on our regular cycle here and dive into this conversation. Does that sound good?

do we defend against this? Because they're here. They're here now. I will, of course, over the course of today and tomorrow be reviewing with you the things that you can do to harden your home against these kinds of events. But I also want to take this weekend and specifically focus on where do you go after a disaster like this?

How do you move forward in regards to your home, everything from what to expect on the insurance level to the city level, municipalities, neighborhood responses, infrastructure, and so on. So we're going to do as much as we can. Phone lines are also open, by the way, and if we have the opportunity, and I'm hoping to take calls and as always, anything you need and want to talk

about your home today. I am going to prioritize fire calls, but honestly, wouldn't it be just a great relief to spend a few minutes talking to somebody about a problem with their home that is unrelated to it burning to the ground. So whatever our opportunities are, will take those calls as they come. The number to reach me eight three three, to ask dean eight three three, the numeral two acidine foe lines are open now. Producer Richie standing by.

He'll tell you everything you need to know. Pop you into the queue and hopefully we can put our heads together and figure out what's going on with your home. And of course, ongoing coverage from the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. We've got Eileen Gonzalez with us this morning at the tip of that spear, and she will keep us informed about any immediate up dates and breaking news in regards to the fire. Let's do a quick update of what we know so far. There are multiple fires burning.

Here is the latest. I believe these are the latest numbers, If not directly on the nose, they're very very close The Palisades Fire, of course, the largest of all of the fires that we've been dealing with here. Currently eight percent contained, the blaze has burned through more than twenty

one thousand acres in and around Pacific Palisades. The current count of structures either affected or destroyed I believe is over fifty three hundred structures since Tuesday, and currently the fire is now spreading toward Brentwood, so it is making an eastward journey now along the hills up above Sunset Boulevard and moving eastward as opposed to pushing as far south, which has been its primary direction up until these wind events calm down, And of course we have more wind

events coming anticipated in this next week, so it's very very important during this lull right now in the wind that these fires get as contained as they possibly can be before the wind starts kicking up again. But the Palisades eight percent contained currently and moving eastward toward the Brentwood area. The Eton Fire three percent contained, affecting of course Pasadena, Altadena Sierra Madre fourteen thousand, a little over

fourteen thousand acres currently. Some are saying as many as seven thousand structures have been damaged or destroyed by that fire as well. Looking down into these heavily lived in neighborhood areas. The Kenneth fire fifty percent contained. That is the one that just started up on Friday, or was

it Thursday Thursday? Thursday Thursday, Calabasas Hidden Hills area fifty percent contained and from what has been reported to me, on certain fronts, on certain critical fronts, no forward movement for movement has been blocked on its most critical front, so that's good news. In regards to the Kenneth fire. The Lydia fire was Antelope Valley area ninety eight percent contained.

It burned through three hundred and ninety five acres. The Hurst fire in the north area of the San Fernando Valley seven hundred and seventy one acres seventy percent contained. Good news there as well. And the Archer fire, which is new, that's a blaze that broke out Friday morning, yesterday morning in the Granada Hills area. We're looking at twenty plus acres so far, zero percent containment on that

new bust out fire in the Granada Hills area. And the Sunset fire which flared up as far as we can tell, I mean, my assumption was the Sunset fire was not being set by somebody else or a down power line. My assumption was the Sunset Fire was a spot fire that happened as a result of embers traveling from Palisades. I don't have that confirmed. That was my assumption, but the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills one hundred percent contained as of Thursday evening, according to CalFire. All

in all, more than twelve thousand structures damaged or destroyed. Currently, eleven deaths have been counted. It's anticipated that more will will come or at least be realized, as these fires are contained and the areas are surveyed. And as of now, these Los Angeles area wildfires specifically amount to the costliest wildfire disaster not in Los Angeles history, but in US history, in US history. So let me begin with this. I

think this is where all of this should begin. Appreciation on my part from all of the brave, dedicated men and women who have been tirelessly fighting these fires and who do all the time. I know we have in

the last couple of decades. Ever, since nine to eleven, we have all kind of culturally been accustomed to seeing a member of the US Armed Services and thanking them for their service, which I think is a great thing a great thing as well as police, but absolutely if you live in southern California, it is time to let those words trip out over your tongue every time you see somebody who works for one of our first responding

firefighting agencies, to thank them for their service. Appreciation also for all of the cooperation and out of area fire services who've rushed in to assist. Tina and I were actually coming down. We had spent a little time on Thursday morning up in the Santa Barbar area, and when we came back down, we thought we would go and simply do a little bit surveying on behalf of the station for what we could see on pch We get all the way down to Pepperdine and it wasn't looking

good there at the time. But at the Zuoma Beach Command Center, which the entire parking lot at Zuma has been you know, taken over by firefighting agencies as a command center, as a little relief station and so on, it was really heartening to see the just the mass hundreds of firefighting vehicles and equipment there, but really heartening

to see that the where they came from. It you're reading the doors and the sides of these fire engines and tankers and the trailers with bulldozers and Caterpillar firefighting equipment on it. Equipment from cities and counties from all over California, as you could imagine, but up and down California, from every corner of this state. There every city, every county represented, and then as well as out of state firefighting agency. We saw equipment from Arizona, from Oregon, from

Washington State, from Idaho. I'm sure there are some that I'm not mentioning, but that's what comes to mind, and it was just it was heartening. And if there's a way to touch a positive note here, a silver lining as it were, to a natural disaster, I think it's that the idea that the way that people can pull together and help each other for a time, for a time, if there's a silver lining to a disaster, the immediacy of the threat and the need can bring out and

does often bring out the very best in people. Now, of course, for those who have comfortable, safe vantage points, these events are already being criticized and politicized. That's not going to happen here with me this morning, today or tomorrow, this episode, this or the next on the podcast. Not interested in that, don't go there, not gonna That's not my game. I'm here to talk to you about what happens next and how we can help get you through it.

But but, and so, of course, of course, the further you are away from these fires, the more you hear all sorts of criticism, the politicizing of the events, and that's just going to continue, you know that's the case.

But for the countless people who are in it, for the tens of thousands of people who have been evacuated, for the thousands and thousands of people who've lost their homes, for all of the firefighters on the front lines, for the volunteers who show up with food and water and blankets, for the neighbors who show up offering shelter and opened arms and kind words, and for the friends and family from all over, just a big shout out of appreciation.

And again, if there's a place that you can turn your heart and mind to when it's frustrated and confused and stressed from all of the fear and anxiety of the disaster itself, it is it's heartening, heartening to see human beings act like the best of human beings in times like this. All right, what happens next? Let's talk a little bit about FEMA. Let's talk a little bit about the steps that will happen as we move forward, and this fire will we'll tackle that. Okay, if I

Dean sharp the house whisper, welcome home. We are discussing on going coverage of the southern California Los Angeles area fires from our unique perspective here in regards to homes, and from our expertise as designers and builders of homes. I'm going to continue that conversation today and tomorrow. Also we may be going to the phones. I hope we will be going to the phones. There's certain info I know I want to get out for you, especially this morning.

And then we will and as always, we can talk about fire, we can talk about the current situation. We can talk about anything regarding your home. A three three two, ask Dean is the number to reach me? The phones are open. Producer Richie is there. He'll take your call, tell you what you need to know, pop you into the queue. All right, As we continue to discuss where we're at here, So I want to turn the corner and ask this question, how does an entire neighborhood rebuild.

That's a tricky situation. It adds multiple, multiple layers of complexity to a fire story. It's one thing for a home to be to have experienced fire damage, a house fire, two or three houses in a street, or a neighborhood to be touched by fire, or an open space wildfire. These fires are all of the above, and they have, as you know by now, devastated multiple multiple blocks of entire neighborhoods.

with Conway on Thursday night, and rightly so. Conway was directing all sorts of people who are listening to make sure that you have, if you have been affected by the fires, that you have contacted FEMA and have gotten on the list. Okay. FEMA, SBA, the Small Business Administration, they are on the ground in fires like these. Grants are issued by FEMA for immediate needs.

lost significant work time due to the fires. But the problem with insurance is that many are not insured at all or significantly underinsured when it comes to these events, and there are folks who are going to be battling their insurance companies for months and years to come. I wish, I wish I could give you a brighter picture regarding that,

but that's simply the case. So for those of you who have not been touched yet by a natural disaster or fire, the lesson here is to make sure you understand how you are insured and that you have, if

at all possible when it comes to natural disasters, replacement coverage. Okay, yes, replacement cost coverage costs more, But of course, as in most things, the heaviest burden is going to be falling on those with the least amount of money, and in situations like this, the poor and those who are under insured and who have minimal amounts of money, many of them are never going to recover from these fires financially, in terms of recouping their losses. These are the realities

on the ground. So first line of defense, of course, get safe, get relocated. We'll talk about that when we come back. How about that. Okay, more coverage on these southern California fires from the house whispers perspective here on KFI. You're listening to KFI