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This is It is five oh one. This is your wake up call for Monday, January. Good morning, I'm Amy King. Wow. It's been a heck of a week, but we're glad you're getting this week started with us. It looks like we could be in for more. We're going to bring you all up to date on what's going on with the fires, what's coming up. But I wanted to share a couple of positive things because man, this has been a rough week. Remember mister Rogers, he also said he
always said look for the helpers. People have been turning out in droves to help. It's been amazing to see they We've got the Dream Center that's taking in donations and they've just got piles stacked high, like ten feet high of donations to people, which is amazing. And they have another donation center set up out at Santa Anita, and I was watching that over the weekend. Amazing. They said, we've got enough. Can you imagine that we've got enough?
I think as we move through this, they're probably going to need more. But right now they do Pasadena Humane packed to the rafters with food and donations. They've taken in hundreds of animals and people have turned out. They said, we don't even need any more volunteers. They've got so many people who are coming into help. And then a couple of things that I thought were very cool. On Saturday night, I turned on the TV. I came in and worked on Saturday afternoon with Neil Sevedra, and Saturday
night I turned on the TV. There was normal programming. I was so excited because it's been all fires for like the last week, so I went, that's got to be a good sign, right. And then also I think it was CBS I was watching and they were showing the hillside and it was dark, like no glow from the fires, which was again another really positive sign. And then of course there's that big, beautiful white full moon the other day when I was driving in it was
distinctly yellow because from the smoke, and it's better. Air quality is still not great, but there's a big, beautiful full moon up in the sky and it is gorgeous. Here's what's ahead on wake up call. Another strong Santa Ana wind event is expected to blow in later tonight and last until Wednesday. GUS could reach its highs eighty miles per hour during the peak of the windstorm. Authority say anyone living near the fire zones or in the mountains and foothills needs to be ready to evacuate at
a moment's notice. Containment of the Palisades fire has increased to thirteen percent. It's burned twenty three thy seven hundred thirteen acres. Firefighters have surrounded twenty seven percent of the fire, and Alta Dina it's burned just over fourteen thousand acres. ABC's Alex Stone has been on the line of the fire and we're going to be talking with him in just about three minutes, so stick around for that. He's going to have some amazing stories for us. Most LAUSD
schools are going to reopen this morning. Superintendent Alberto Carvalla says conditions have improved across the region and the district is confident it is safe for students and employees to return to campus. Most schools in Santa Monica are also reopening today. There are a couple that are still closed, but schools Malibu were going to stay closed until at least Wednesday. Let's get started with some of the stories
coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. At least twenty four deaths are now blamed on the fires in Pacific Palisades in Altadena. LAPD Chief Jim McDonald says beliefs have been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to go back into the fire areas, but he says the focus is now turning to search and recovery.
We will have cadaverdog deployment and that will result in crime scene preservation efforts and then the recovery of remains, working closely with the La County Coroner.
A nightly curfew from six pm to six am is still in effect on the mandatory evacuation areas around Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Only firefighters, utility workers, and law enforcement are allowed into that area. The La County das set to announce charges this afternoon. Against people arrested for looting and arson. Nathan Hakman said last week his office would be charging people arrested for arson, breaking curfew and looting.
Looting is a despicable crime.
For the people who have already been arrested, Please know this is not going to end well. You will be punished to the full extent of the law.
The DA's office says the looting charges being announced today are against a group of people in Pacific Palisades, and the arson charges are against a man in Azusa. The man allegedly started a fire at Pioneer Park late Friday night and was arrested as he allegedly watched the fire burn. Let's say good morning now to ABC's Alex Stone. Alex, things are looking better and worse in the wildfires burning in southern California. And you've been on the lines. Tell us what you've seen.
Yeah, you know, I mean all day yesterday it looked so much better. I've been on the Eton fire now since Wednesday morning, and yesterday we saw big change that the fire activity, and it was the same on the Palisades fire as well. But the fire activity was minimal to none really no wind and they were able to hit it really hard. But the question is going to be this next round coming in, and that's what firefighters
are getting ready for that. They know that the high winds are probably going to be in slightly different areas than they were this last go around, But still, does it spark up what's already out there, what's already burning? Does something new start? The fire Chief La County Anthony Moroni, I mean, he admits that they're worried about that, telling us.
These winds, combined with low relative humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County very high.
So, I mean it's really getting through these next two or three days that it's going to come down the can we push through without a new wildfire roaring up or without these kicking back up? But driving through the communities of Altadena, I mean, it's just everything is gone. There's not a lot left. Home after home, building after building, everything is gone.
Alex tell us, because we've seen a lot of pictures and so from your not bird's eide view, but from your vantage from street level, is it you say everything? Are there a few houses still standing dotted here and there? Or is it just complete, complete destruction.
There are some more on the perimeter of the burn area where there will be a lot of homes that are burned, and then one that is there and you go, wow, how did that one? You know, with the Christmas decoration still up and it will look perfect. But in the heart of the burning near like fair Oaks and Palm, I mean, it's just it. Nothing, nothing made it in that area.
But there's and it's got to be here. And I haven't obviously been into this burn area, but there was another fire that basically took out the whole the towns of Talent and Phoenix in southern Oregon, and it was just eerie to drive around because you'd see like a chimney standing and the foundation but nothing else, or a washing machine here and there, but the rest was just reduced to ash.
Yeah, and that's very much what it's like. And everything is a gray color. You know, it's all kind of and it's cliche y is the moonscape or the you know, the accurate Yeah, but it really is that it is this gray ash everywhere. There's still a lot of power lines down southern California. Edison was coming in yesterday beginning to get up and bring down some of the burned out towers, the poles of the power poles, Yeah, get
those down, get some of the dangling wires down. But yeah, the vehicles, many of them melted where parts of them melted down the road and then solidified. When you look at the homes, it really is only the chimney. Most of them are older homes in Altadena, so they've got brick chimneys. Those remained. You'll see the outline of what was a sink or a washing machine. Yesterday there was a we I was walking along and all of a sudden there's a whisk from somebody's kitchen sitting there. So
just random items that are all over the place. Found a football yesterday that like a child's football, totally untouched, that was just sitting there. And so that there are some random things. You go, well, how did that make it? But these other things didn't. A lot of melted Christmas decorations. But for the homes, they burned quickly and very hot,
and so there's not a lot left. As the flames came through mainly on Wednesday morning in Altadena, and you know, still they've got to get in many areas they've only done I think twenty some odd percent of the search of the buildings. They've got to get cadaver dogs in, and the numbers have been going up and they're probably going to keep going up, but people who could not get out.
Yeah, it's twenty four at this point in both.
Yeah, the number dead twenty four. I think that they've searched like twenty seven percent of the grid something like that. Hopefully they are searching in areas where they knew that it was likely that that there were people who were killed, because otherwise, if they've only searched twenty seven percent and we're at twenty four dead on both of the fires,
then the number is going to keep going out. But if they're now and we haven't talked to how they're doing the grid search, if they're going out from the hardest hit area, well then the numbers should slow down as they're going out.
But that's not clear.
But we saw the medical examiner driving around yesterday yesterday that you know that there's just so much that they've got to do, and people badly want to get in, and they know that that people want to get back in, But there's a lot going on inside right now all.
Right, ABC's Alex Stone, thank you so much for the information. Be safe out there, you got it.
Thanks Amy.
All right, Amazingly, there are other things going on in the world, so let's continue and check out some of the other stories going on that are coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. A six point nine magnitude earthquake has hit southwestern Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency says a tsunami warning has been issued. That just hit less than a half an hour ago, so we're still waiting to get more information about that. Confirmation. Hearings are
said to get underway on Capitol Hill this week. ABC's Mary Alice Parks says more than a dozen of President elect Trump's key nominees will be questioned, including Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth.
He's been one of Trump's most controversial nominees, facing accusations of sexual and financial misconduct, as well as alcohol abuse. He denies those claims and has never been charged.
Excess hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. Hospitals across the US are reporting a wave of respiratory illnesses. The CDC says more than half of the country is seeing high levels of flu, covid RSV, and even the common cold. I can attest to that one. ABC's Morgan Norwood says, so far this season, more than sixty three thousand people have had to go to the hospital because of the flu.
Pediatric units especially overwhelmed, with some hospitals hitting ninety five percent capacity. Health experts are urging everyone to get their annual flu and covid vaccines if they haven't already, and to of course stay home if you are sick.
She says. At least to twenty seven hundred people have died from various viruses. The White House says President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have talked about the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire hostage deal in Gaza. President elect Trump's pick for National security advisor, Florida Republican Congressman Mike Walls, says negotiations are literally happening as we speak.
Let's have a ceasefire, Let's allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across the tarmac, or at a minimum, some type of agreement.
During the President's call us official say Biden, stress, the immediate need for a cease fire in Gaza and the return of the hostages, as well as an increased flow in humanitarian aid. A new report says banks around the world are getting ready to cut up to two hundred thousand jobs in the next three to five years. A survey by Bloomberg Intelligence says it's because artificial intelligence is being used more and more in the financial industry. The report says most of the jobs being cut will be
in back and middle offices, as well as operations. House Republicans from several states, including California, are set to meet with President elect Trump to talk about increasing the ten thousand dollars cap on state and local tax deductions. Bloomberg reports Trump's economic advisors are looking at doubling it to
twenty thousand dollars. It says if the incoming administration goes ahead with the change, it will mean big savings for people around the US, and anyone affected by the wildfires in southern California has more time to file their taxes. Governor Newsom has ordered the tax deadline for fire affected residents to be pushed back from April fifteenth to October twenty fifth. October fifteenth of this year. So, as you know,
the Chargers didn't make it. I know producer and while she's sitting over there crying still, so we'll be cheering on the La Rams tonight in Wildcard playoff action. LA is actually in Arizona to take on the Minnesota Vikings. The game was supposed to be played at SOFI Stadium, but was moved to Glendale because of the wildfires. It starts at five o'clock on ABC and ESPN. At least thirty five historic locations have been destroyed by the wind
whipped wildfires in southern California. Confirmed losses include Will Rogers Historic Ranch House and other buildings at Will Rogers State Historic Park, the Altadina Community Church, the Pasadena Jewish Temple, and Saint Mark's Episcopal Church. Red flag parking restrictions are in effect in the city of La starting at eight
am because of another Santa Ana wind event. LA Fire says the restrictions will be enforced to make sure firefighters can get more quickly to the fires that break out, and also to keep the streets clear for anyone who may need to get out of the evacuated areas. Air quality in southern California continues to be unhealthy. Public health officials say people should stay inside as much as possible and wear masks outside. At six oh five, it's handle on the news. A guy dressed like a firefighter has
been busted in a burn area in Malibu. Right now, let's say good morning to ABC's Karen Travers. Karen, is the fires still smolder and even burn in some areas. The government's lending a helping hand to people who've lost everything, and the danger isn't even over yet.
Yeah, I mean, we heard from the FEMA administrator, Dan chris Well yesterday. She was out doing Sunday political talk show interviews, including ABC's This Week, and she said that the biggest concern she has right now is that it's still such a dangerous situation. She said, the red flag warnings have been reissued, the winds are coming back, and they want to make sure people are in a safe place. But she did say that FEMA has the funds it needs right now for this immediate response and to help
with the ongoing recovery efforts. FEMA, of course, got twenty seven billion dollars in that government funding bill at the end of last year, so she said, you know, they have enough funding at this point, and they're trying to make sure it gets to the people that need it, so that you know, a couple things like one reimbursing state and local officials for the cost of fighting the fires, which as you know, is very much a still ongoing effort and will be for some time, and also helping
people who need it right now. The President last week issued a major Disaster declaration for California and with that, FEMA was able to activate its Critical Needs Assistance program and that means that people can apply for that initial payment of seven hundred and seventy dollars, and the White House says twenty four thousand people have registered for FEMA assistance. But they really want people to take advantage of what is available to them, you know, don't wait, here's the money.
We can get this out to you right now, because they want to help people with immediate critical needs and that's just have lost everything or evacuated.
And Karen, that's seven hundred seven I need dollars. That's just a one time flat kind of tie you over until more assistance gets in. That's not that that's not all they're going to get.
That is not all it is. We've talked about this a lot back in the fall, a lot of misinformation back then about the hurricanes too, and people saying, well, that's all they're getting. No, this is just a here is this, apply for this. Get it because you need some money right now, because you don't have things, either because you've evacuated or because you've lost everything. So this is available to you. Figure out how to get it, then get it quickly, okay.
And then what are some of the things Karen, that FEMA specifically does to help people, you.
Know, specifically they're trying to work well. First of all, you know, the big thing is like reimbursing state and local officials for the cost. Like they're getting funding out there, so that's kind of like a big picture thing. Second, they're setting up things where they can actually get assistance to neighborhoods and people that need it too. It's working
on housing situations. You know, there's a rental assistance and reimbursements if you are staying in a hotel or if you are staying in some sort of short term rental FAMA. The administrator, Dan chris Well, said that there is funding available to you to get reimbursed for that. The other big thing that they're starting to think about, I mean that's starting, but they're working on right now. And this is going to be a big problem is like the
eventual longer term housing crisis. Where do people go? You know, if you rebuild in your community, where are you in the meantime though? And if your kids are still able to go to their school, how do you stay by their community? Where is your job? And the White House has been very clear like they want to help people stay where they have been, but that's going to be challenging.
They need to get a sense of the available housing inventory, figure out what they could do in terms of temporary housing, shelters, things like that. And that's the federal government working with state and local officials.
Yeah.
I mean with twelve thousand people at least, well there's twelve thousand homes and other buildings, but say it's only only ten thousand or something like that, that's still ten thousand people and there's already a housing shortage. So it's going to be really interesting to see where those people are going to land in the interim until they can rebuild.
Yeah. Yeah, and that emphasis them like trying to help people stay where they are. If your school is still functioning, you want your kids to be able to go to their school. This is such a tumultuous time already. You don't want to inject any more uncertainty for your family. But that's challenging to keep everything as normal as possible.
Okay. And for people who want to apply, I know you've got to run just FEMA dot gov.
Yeah, there's all sorts of you can go to FEMA and it will direct you to everything you need through there.
Okay. ABC's Karen Travis, thank you so much for the information. We'll touch to you soon.
Got a great day, all right you.
Two red flag warnings are in effect through Wednesday across southern California as more strong Santa Ana winds are expected to blow through. LA County Fire Chief Anthony Moroney says the fireweather conditions are critical.
These winds, combined with low relative humidities and low fuelm moistures, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County very high.
Maroni says firefighters are prepared to keep dealing with severe conditions for as long as they need to. LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley says her department will have every firefighter on hand and available for this wind event. Investigators are looking to see if an electrical fire and eaton canyon may have started the massive wildfire above Altadena.
Photos and videos taken by residents last Tuesday night show Southern California Edison electrical transmission tower and flames amid damaging and erratic winds which were headed down the canyon and toward homes.
Kfi's Daniel Martindale says the California Department of Forestry is investigating the tower and the surrounding area. The fires burned more than fourteen thousand acres since last week, destroyed about seven thousand homes and businesses and other buildings, and killed at least sixteen people. The incoming Trump administration has been invited to bring it down allegation to La to see
firsthand the devastation caused by the wildfires. LA County Supervisor Catherine Barger says she has personally invited President Electroump to make the trip.
To meet with our impacted residents and hear their stories, to thank our first responders, and most importantly, to see how the federal government can help our communities heal and rebuild.
She says the federal government is an essential partner when it comes to responding to an emergency and to helping communities recover. Metro is going to continue to offer free rides on its trains and buses as the fires continue. The one thirty four and the six oh two lines which run along PCH are canceled until further notice. In Altadena, the six sixty and six sixty two routes are being detoured, along with the Metro micro which serves Pasadena, Altadena, and
Sierra Mount a Madre. The Southern California rescue group Pause for Life Canine Rescue, and the Internet Sational pet Air Transport operation Wings of Rescue has flown about one hundred dogs and cats to Seattle from Southern California. The shelter animals were flown from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Seattle yesterday. Sending those animals north freeze up space in the shelters here for animals coming in because of the fires, either by being dropped off by their owners or those being
found wandering in the burn areas. And evacuation order has been downgraded to a warning for an area of the Eton fire South of New York Drive and east of North Hill Avenue to Altadena Drive. In Altadena, the Ela County Sheriff's Departments's residents with homes in that area will now be permitted to return to the area. Some residents in the Palas Sades fire burn area will also be allowed to return to their homes. The orders have been
downgraded to warnings. The La County Sheriff's Departments is The affected areas include north of West Sunset Boulevard up to and including Mount Saint Mary's University, North Bundy Drive to the four h five and from the northern boundary of the Encina Reservoir van Alden Avenue east to Strawberry Field Park.
Good news. Two people have been arrested for flying drones around Altadena, where they eaton fires, burn more than fourteen thousand acres and destroyed or damaged seven thousand homes, businesses, and other buildings. At six oh five, it's handled on the news. Governor Newsom says, damn the environment. We got to rebuild. Good thing. Let's say good morning now to Jean Gable, who is a SPOKESPURN spokesperson with Wings of Rescue. Earlier in the show, I said, look for the helpers. Well,
here are some of the helpers. Good morning, Jean.
How are you doing. Amy, good to talk to you today.
Doing great. So we know that a lot of pets have been dropped off at shelters or they were found wandering like if people couldn't get back to their houses to rescue their pets, and so those pets are going into shelters in La which is stressing an all rad overcrowded shelter system. So that's where Wings of Rescue comes in.
Absolutely, we've actually been flying out of Los Angeles for quite some time because the conditions in the La Metro area are very bad right now. Our shelters are pull up and a lot of places that in the past have been able to considerably diminish euthanasias are back up to having to put down lots of animals. So we were already trying to do our best to take pets out of shelters that were already available for adoption and move them to shelters around the country where there's an
open kennel space. Well, now that the fires happened, that just puts an incredible amount of extra pressure on not only space at shelters, but on the rescue workers that are at those shelters who have to take care of these pets and try to find the owners, and grimly I've been hearing about a lot of the shelters are actually picking up remains so that owners will have closure when they're able to take stock of all of this.
So it's a very hard job for them. And by taking out pets that are already in those shelters and available for adoption, we can free up a lot of space and resources for them. So we did two flights this past weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, both from the Hollywood burd Bank and Sole planeloads of the pets we took I think about sixty pets on Saturday and almost ninety pets on Sunday.
Okay, So Gene, tell us what these flights are like. Are these are the animals they're loaded into the cargo area or are they're in the main cabin? How are they being transported?
We use pressurized fully We only fly fully pressurized in temperature controlled planes. Pets always ride in the main cabin along with the pilots and crew. In this case, we are using turboprop planes, which typically would have carried thirty or forty passengers, so they're fairly large planes. We can take oftentimes one hundred hundred and fifty pets depending on the size. All crates, all dogs and cats have to
be in crates securely fastening crates. All of them carry medical certificates from a veterinarian with them to wherever they're going, and they have water and other things that they may need on the flight, depending on the leaf of the flight. So it's a pretty pretty big operation. We depend we
provide the flight part of the component. We depend on a shelter at the ascending end and at the receiving end to actually gather the pets and then take the pets and make sure that they get put up for adoption and get good homes.
Okay, Gene, So for the how do you find those shelters? Do you guys just start calling shelters around the US and just say, hey, if we're overcrowded, we need to relieve some of the pressure on the system. Can you take some in.
Yes, we do a lot of that. Sometimes the shelters we work with have allies around the country that they work with but one way or the other, somebody has to agree to take these pets before obviously we'll take off, and with a planeload of pets, we never go anywhere until all the pets are spoken for. We run a fairly complicated system where the receiving shelters often there are
multiple shelters. When we land, they get a choice of pets that they want, because we don't want pets going anywhere where they're either not going to be able to find a good home or they're going to displace pets that are already at those shelters. So there's a lot of flexibility on the part of the receiving shelters. They're the ones who have to determine whether or not bringing these pets in is going to be a burden to their local community. We don't want to create that situation at all.
Of course, of course, and we want to stress too that the animals that you are flying out, like you said that a group just went to Seattle yesterday, they are not rescued pets from the fires. These were dogs and cats that were already in the shelter waiting to be adopted.
Absolutely, I think that's a common question. We get this. We'll see what happens if somebody comes and tries to claim their pet and it's all a tennesse seattle. That never happens. We only will transport pets, and this is not just in disaster situations, but in general. We will only transport pets that have been in a shelter for at least thirty days and are considered free and clear and ready for adoption at those shelters, well, we'll take them to another shelter.
Okay, do you have more flights planned for the wildfire response or is this just part of your ongoing operation.
We do actually have two flights on next Saturday that we're doing from Los Angeles to Fort Worth, Texas, and we'll probably carry a couple hundred pets there, and then we just have ongoing flights. We do weekly flights from central California because there's a lot of issues there, and we've been doing more and more flights from Vanuy's and the south of Los Angeles, in Indio and places like that.
There's a lot of overpopulation, so we go wherever we can. Unfortunately, right now, the shelters around the United States are very full up and it's a tight situation, but we make sure we flying home for him. And what it means now is during the pandemic, we could fly and drop off one hundred dogs at one shelter and that wouldn't
be a problem. Now we often have to find several shelters on the receiving end, or we might even have to make several stops with our plane before we can find homes for everybody on flight.
Well, the important part is you're giving dogs and cats a second chance, and that is wonderful. How can people help?
We are at wingso Rescue dot org and as they go there, there's plenty of opportunities to donate. We unfortunately, because we work all over the country, we don't really have much of a volunteer network ourselves, but we can encourage people to volunteer at their local shelters, which is really where the action is. They're on the ground doing the hard work.
All right, Gene Gable with Wings of Rescue, continued safe flights and thank you for giving those pups a second chance. They need it and we appreciate it.
Thank you, Amy. We know you're on the level and we're very happy to be on the show this morning. Thank you.
Thanks again, Gene, and if you want to donate, it's a nonprofit Wings of Rescue dot org. They're going to be making another trip from La to Texas to take some adoptable dogs and cats to an area that's not quite so crowded because, as we know, a lot of
animals have come in. We talked to Kevin McManus at Pasadena Humane last week and they had already taken in and this was like as last Wednesday or Thursday, they had already taken in three hundred and fifty animals, both from people who had dropped them off at the shelter to temporarily take care of them while they were in evacuation zones and animals that were found wandering in neighborhoods. Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom.
I'm happy to be alive, and any step, said I can take towards bettering myself.
At this point, I will. This woman in Altadina says she never imagined the fire in her neighborhood would explode like it did.
I said, oh my god, but maybe it's not that bad because we've had fires behind Angela's National Force.
Before this time, I.
Said, it'll be okay, it'll be fully curtained.
I said, but I'm coming back.
It's going to be contained.
I'm coming back.
And of course, people who have lost their homes are still not being allowed back into mandatory evacuation zones to see if their homes are still there or what's left of them until at least Thursday. Because of more strong winds in the forecast. Law enforcement officials say it's just not safe to allow people back in yet. About seven thousand homes and other buildings have been damaged or destroyed
in the fire in the Altadena area. The fire that started in Pacific Palisades has burned nearly twenty four thousand acres and is thirteen percent surrounded. That's up from yesterday. Operations Section Chief Christianltz says more than five thousand firefighters have been working from the air and on the ground to stop the fire and that the right half of the fire from Tapanga is looking good.
We still have resources going all along the fire's edge, securing that edge, using mop up techniques to get deeper and deeper in to secure that at to limit any probability of any kind of escape that we have all around the perimeter on the top half of the fire.
He says, crews have been looking for heat sources and putting those out. Structure protection groups are also being placed along the top side of the fire because of the winds expected this week. Those crews will also be used for initial attack on any potential new fires. The fire that burned more than a thousand acres in West Hills
and into Ventura County has been surrounded. CalFire says crews spent the day yesterday putting out remaining hotspots and improving containment lines to prevent flare ups before strong winds return this week. The fire started Thursday afternoon in an area north of the one to one Freeway near Valley Circle Boulevard. Evacuations were ordered, but no homes were damaged or destroyed.
LA won't just have to rebuild homes and businesses after the fires, It'll also have to replant and tree advocates have vowed to make the city beautiful again.
Advocates aim to replace non native species like palms with fire resilient trees such as coast live oaks, which provide shade without adding wildfire risk. These native trees are adapted to the region's climate and even rely on fire to reproduce. Aaron Thomas, director of Urban Forestry at Northeast Trees, saw this resilience firsthand when five coasts Live oaks in his
family's backyard survived the Eaton fire. Despite challenges, groups like Tree People remain dedicated to rebuilding urban forests to better withstand climate extremes. Bragita de Gastino k if I News.
A lot of us feel a little bit stemied, stifled, like you don't know what you can do. You're like, how do I help? How do I help? And it's I can't even imagine what the people who are out of their homes and can't get back into their homes are feeling, and the ones who know their homes are gone, how they're feeling. We're going to tell you how you can help in just a second. Here's a few things
we're following from the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. The number of people killed in the wildfires in southern California is up to twenty four. Eight are in the Palisades burn area, sixteen in the Eton fire. Officials say they expect that number to increase as they search through the ash and rubble of the fires and Pacific Palisades and Alta, Dina and Pasadena. We were talking to ABC's Alex Stone.
He said that they'd only covered about twenty seven per of the ground and they've got the cadaver dogs and the medical examiner out there, so they're going to keep on searching. We'll hope that the number doesn't go up much. Investigators are looking into whether an electrical transmission tower may have sparked the fire in Altadena that's burned more than fourteen thousand acre. Photos and videos taken by residents last Tuesday night show a SoCal Edison tower in flames as
high winds whipped through the area. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protections investigating the tower and the surrounding area. Residents who live in the wildfire burn areas can now see the damage from the fire that has taken out
more than twelve thousand homes and other buildings. LA County officials say preliminary maps and damage assessments can be seen at Recovery dot La County dot gov, slash Eaten dash Fire and then the site affected for those affected by the Palisades fire is similar Recovery dot La County dot gov and then slash Palisades dash Fire. The sites will be updated daily, so even if you can't get into those areas, you can go and look, we're just minutes
away from handle. On the news this morning, LA County's new da is going to be throwing the book at an alleged arsonist and also some looters. Okay, I mentioned how can you help? What can you do? And it was pretty heartwarming to be watching over the weekend as you saw video at the Dreams Center with iHeartMedia has teamed up with the Dream Center Los Angeles to take donations for wildfire victims, and stuff is stacked so high
at the donation center. And then also there was another one that popped up out in Santa Anita and it was at the Santa Nita Racetrack, huge amounts of people just milling around dropping off donations, and then at the Dream Center yesterday people are starting to pick them up. So amazing how Angelino's are turning out to help people
who are so affected, who've lost literally everything. I don't know if you've seen the interviews, but I watched an interview with one woman who was wearing sweats and she said, this is all I got. That's it. We got out and it's just hard to imagine, hard to fathom. But here's the things that we're looking for at the Dreams Center. A non perishable food, canned food, snacks, ready to eat meals,
bottled water, and sports drinks. Bottled water, especially because in the Pasadena area they're not supposed to drink the water because the water is been damaged by the fires, so bottled water and sports drinks always a good idea. Hygiene products, things like toothpaste and soap and shampoo, and feminine products, clothing and blankets, of course, baby supplies. I saw a lot of diapers on TV, but diapers, formula, baby wipes,
baby food, air purifier, and masks. Health officials are saying that air quality is really bad, especially around where the fires are. It's getting better in some areas as the winds blow it out, blow the pollution out, but there's still some pretty bad areas, and officials are saying you really should be wearing an N ninety five mask if you need to be outside. So they're taking air pure
fires and masks, flashlights, batteries, portable phone chargers. Didn't even think about that, like, what if your phone dies and then how do you charge it? You need a charger, first, aid kits, medical supplies, and then of course pet food and supplies for anyone who has animals, and then cleaning supplies, mops, buckets, disinfectant, gloves, gloves, anything to assist with the recovery. All the items that are collected at the Dreams Center are then being distributed
to people who need it. Here's where you can donate. You can drop off items at the Dream Center. It's at twenty three oh one Bellvue Avenue in La nine zero zero two six twenty three oh one Bellevue Avenue. That's where you can donate. And if you don't have a donation of things, you can always donate money Dreamscenter dot org slash donate. Can also find information on where to donate on our website. KFI AM six forty and we thank you for any donation that you can make.
Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Most schools in the LA School District are set to reopen following fire related closures. Masks will be provided to students and workers. No outdoor or athletic activities will be held. Schools in the most severely impacted fire areas are going to stay closed.
Most Santa Monica schools are also reopening today. Schools in Malibu will remain closed until at least Wednesday because of another round of red flag warnings, which forecasters say could create particularly dangerous fire conditions. The death toll from the fires in Pacific Palisades and altadenas gone up to twenty four, most of them are in the Eton fire area sixteen people. Officials say they are in a search and recovery mode
and are limiting access to burned out areas. The electrical fire in Eaton care Onion is being looked at as the possible cause of the fire above Altadena. Kfis Daniel Martindale's photos and videos taken by people in the area last week show a transmission tower on fire during strong winds.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is now investigating the tower and the surrounding area. Officials are keeping the area off limits to everyone but investigators.
The Eton fires burned more than fourteen thousand acres since last week, it's destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least sixteen people. Containment of that fires up to twenty seven percent. A man dressed as a firefighter has been arrested for allegedly breaking to a home in Malibu.
The man was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a firefighter. LA County Sheriff Robert Lunas says more than thirty people have been arrested in and near wildfire evacuation zones. Twenty five of them were arrested in the vicinity of the Eton fire in Altadena and Pasadena.
Some were arrested for curfew violations. Again, curfews in the mandatory evacuation zones are still in effect from six pm until six a eight. Governor Newsom says he wants too fast track efforts to rebuild after the deadly wildfires. He told NBC's Meet the Press he has issued an executive order to remove some of the obstacles faced by residents hoping to quickly rebuild.
We're already organizing Marshall Plan.
We already have a team and looking and reimagining LA two point zero, and we.
Are making sure everyone's included, not just the folks on the coast.
His executive order is expected to suspend some laws aimed at protecting the environment. Newsom is also called for investigations into the wildfire response, specifically into why Cruise ran out of water. FEMA is setting up at eight libraries in La County to help people with submitting applications for disaster relief. They'll be available from nine am to five pm today in Alhambra, La Kenyata, Flintridge, La Crescenta at the Live Oak Library, and in San Fernando, San Gabriel, Temple City,
and West Hollywood. The Chinese owners of TikTok, having said if they're going to sell the app to an American company, as is required by a law signed by President Biden, ByteDance, has until January nineteenth to sell or be banned in the US for alleged national security concerns. ABC's Alexis Christopher says that's a day before the inauguration of President elect Trump, who has asked the courts to delay any decision on the app.
The Apple and Google Play stores will not be able to host the app any longer, so if you never downloaded it, you won't be able to If you're one of the one hundred and seventy million people in this country who have the app half the country, you're no longer going to get software updates.
She says. Internet hosting companies and data storage providers that support the app will not be able to do so anymore, and if they do, they'll get fined. Leslie Charleson, who played Monica Quartermain on General Hospital for over forty five years, has died. The show's executive producer says she died yesterday. Charleston played Monica since nineteen seventy seven. That makes her the show's longest serving cast member. Leslie Charleson was seventy nine.
This is KFI and kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County Southland weather from KFI another Santa Ana wind events expected to blow through later today through Wednesday, with red flag warnings in effect again. Sunny, smokey, windy high's in the middupper sixties at the beaches Metrola and Inland Orange County, load to upper sixties in the valleys and Inland Empire
fifties for the Anelote Valley. Clear skies tonight, with lows in the thirties and forties, sunny tomorrow with highs in the middubber sixties, couple degrees warmer for Wednesday, and then cooling back down a couple degrees with highs in the sixties Thursday and Friday. It's fifty five in Los Alamitos, fifty in Santa Clarita, fifty four in Seal Beach, and fifty two in Whittier. We lead local live from the
KFI twenty four hour newsroom. I'm Amy King. This has been your wake up call, and if you missed any of wake Up Call, you missed a lot, but you can listen anytime on the iHeartRadio app.
You've been listening to wake Up Call with me Amy King. You can always hear wake Up Call five day, six am Monday through Friday on kf I Am six forty and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.