20/20 - American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

Special reporting on the deadly fires in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get ready for Las Vegas style action at Bet MGM, the king of online casinos! Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette. With our ever-growing library of digital slot games, a large selection of online table games, and signature BetMGM service. There's no better way to bring the excitement and ambience of Las Vegas home to you than with BetMGM Casino. Download the BetMGM Casino app today! BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play

responsibly. BetMGM.com for Ts and Cs. 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you please contact connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Tonight a deadly inferno the city of angels ablaze everything is catching fire here. Trash bins, shrubs, trees. There's a fire right outside our car.

The fear. I mean, this is utterly terrifying. Yeah, let's get out of here. The lives shattered. I don't know how we're gonna come back from this. The heroes racing in. Tonight, the breaking new special. We are utterly surrounded by fire.

That building there is fully engulfed. The horror and the hope. I don't know how we're gonna get through it, but we will. David Muir reporting. Home after home here destroyed thousands of structures. Families returning to find that they have nothing left. American catastrophe, LA burning. Now reporting David Muir. American Catastrophe, LA Burning.

Now reporting, David Muir. Good evening and welcome to this special edition of 2020 Tonight from Los Angeles where an American catastrophe is unfolding. Wildfires ripping through this iconic city known around the world from the movies to the glamour, from the beauty of the coastline to the homes in the hills. Home to 18 million people from all walks of life. And tonight Los Angeles is a city shaken and suffering after devastating loss here. At least 11 dead now. More than 10,000 homes and structures have been lost. More than 150,000 still under evacuation orders tonight. The first fire is still burning tonight, and this evening, the stunning images.

Just moments ago, our station here in Los Angeles, KABC, up over a new flare up in the Santa Monica Mountains. These are the images coming in right now. This is part of the Palisades Fire, spreading tonight, three days after the first fires broke out here, extending evacuation warnings into new neighborhoods at this hour, as we come on the air for this special edition of 2020.

Tonight we take you through it all from the powerful first images of the Palisades fire, homes completely engulfed in flames fueled by wind gusts up to 100 miles an hour. Over the last three days several new fires in Hollywood, the Sunset Fire erupting in the hills just north of Hollywood Boulevard, quadrupling in size in just minutes, not far from the famous Hollywood sign. A torrent of embers spreading the fires from house to house, a man running through those embers from his burning home after realizing it was impossible to save. In those first early hours, residents of a nursing home evacuated in the middle of the

night, many wearing masks to protect themselves from the dangerous air. Evacuees driving on the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu as the fire burned every structure along the way. As the evacuation spread, the chaos homeowners, families stuck in traffic, abandoning their cars, a man helping his elderly father-in-law through the smoke right there. Firefighters from all over the country now stepping in, but most live right here, working around the clock in horrific conditions, some losing their own homes while they save others. They are the true heroes here.

Tonight, we're with so many families returning to their homes for the first time. I was with one dad. He raced to school amid the evacuations to get his boys, his wife staying back to save their valuable documents. They lost everything, but they have each other, he told me. Late today, our ABC News exclusive,

I flew up over the fires with Cal Fire. And while we were in the air, we witnessed not only the devastation along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, but the urgent effort. Three days into this disaster, the fire's still burning, the water being dropped to save homes as we're on the air tonight.

Our team across the fire zone tonight and KABC meteorologist Leslie Lopez and the new threat, what they're seeing with these winds and the forecast that concerns them tonight. But we begin this evening with the images and a city forever changed. Tonight, it's been just over 72 hours since Los Angeles began burning. A city now forever changed. The deadly apocalyptic scenes. Nine separate wildfires tearing through America's second largest city. Tonight here, the firefighters and the first responders have not stopped.

Tonight, the ABC News exclusive. We take flight with CAL FIRE up over the Pacific Coast Highway headed toward the Pacific Palisades. And the first images we see here, the coastline, the homes of Malibu that once lined the ocean, are gone. It's just stunning to look at this stretch along the Pacific Coast Highway here in Malibu. You can see it right over the shoulder here. Home after home just completely gone. They are taking us to where they say there is a firefight right now from the air.

They are now dropping water. But before we even get there, over this ridge, the Pacific Palisades, entire communities wiped away. Homes burned to the ground. This is just a devastating view as we fly over Pacific Palisades. You can see down low just how quickly these fires spread. CAL FIRE Deputy Incident Commander Justin McComb. When you look at the scope of the devastation here, what kind of winds were you dealing with in those first 24 hours? The winds that we saw were 70, 80, 1000 hour along the Pacific Coast Highway. And that was what the environment the firefighters were dealing with. There was embers just flying across laterally.

Very difficult to even do anything as far as perimeter control. There was, they were putting the edges of the fire out. It was mainly going house to house and protecting as many homes as you could. And the priority was to work for the life safety to try to get people out of the fire. He tells me three days into this historic disaster, they are still fighting the fires here. We see bulldozers on this ridge trapping the fire. You can see the flames burning over our shoulder here.

This is now three days into this. Almost impossible to get to that. And then we see it, choppers in the air, crossing the canyon, dropping water, trying to protect the homes with flames moving in. You can see the urgent effort here right now. This is Topeka Canyon. They're trying to save the homes in Fernwood.

That helicopter just dropped water from the air. Three days into this disaster, they are still fighting fires here, and they have a tool now at their disposal, which is water in the air. There are so many fires still burning here, more than 72 hours now after the first fires began. Back on the ground tonight, the family is returning home to see what, if anything, is

left. The father, who told me his wife, his two boys are safe, but they lost everything. And while we were in that neighborhood, we learned of another family nearby. told me his wife, his two boys are safe, but they lost everything. And while we were in that neighborhood, we learned of another family nearby. They had not been back. One of the children, 21 year old Jacob Brown, going back today, and he showed me what he found. David, I'm sure you saw, the entire town is gone.

Our lives, our homes, our friends, everyone has lost everything. I don't understand how you can attempt to rebuild an entire community without schools and roads and homes. It's devastation beyond the comprehensible. Jakub's childhood home, now nothing but ashes. He rings the doorbell of a friend's home, haunting because it still rings, though behind it there is nothing left. The alarms still ringing

here in what was once a church and a school. There's still hot spots, active fire. Just a few miles to the east, David Hanson is still waiting to get back in to see his mother's home. Hanson is still waiting to get back in to see his mother's home. David giving a thumbs up to the firefighters. His mother a senior capturing video from outside her home just 30 minutes after the fire broke out nearby. Her neighbors were trying to use water from their pool to protect their home. Tonight across Los Angeles at least 11 lives now lost. It's believed more than 12,000 structures, homes and businesses damaged or destroyed.

More than 55 square miles burned, more than 150,000 under evacuation orders. Since the first fires broke out Tuesday morning around the densely populated 25 mile expanse north of downtown LA, tonight still no cause has been identified for any of the largest of these fires. The Eaton fire in Altadena and Pasadena is now the most destructive in LA history. KABC reporter Leanne Souter was live on the air just after it broke out. It is just a sea, a massive wall of embers that just get blown across the area here and it's those embers that really are the big concern because it could get lodged in any of the homes next door. It also could start fires just you know more than a mile away. The Kennet fire erupting late yesterday afternoon near the Ventura County line.

The Kenneth fire erupting late yesterday afternoon near the Ventura County line. Firefighters battling the blaze from the ground, helicopters dropping water from above. And tonight here, an eerie new look at the wildfires. A home security camera capturing the moment's flames close in on Walter and Yalda Cease's Altadena home. Embers flying through the air. The couple had evacuated and now they're back. It's overwhelming. I don't know how we're going to get through it but we will. I know we will. It's just going to be a long process. They and their two dogs are safe but they have nothing and like so many here they tell us they will rebuild. While back in the air tonight firefighters dropping water from above while they can knowing

dangerous winds are ahead. When you think about these firefighters who really haven't had a break since this started and to look at this forecast and see that these winds are coming yet again what do you think? It's tough but you know we've bolstered our assets. We've actually had not only some of the regional resources from Southern California but we've got resources from Northern California. We've got resources from Nevada, Colorado on the way. So we've got resources coming in to back us up on this. With these winds returning? Correct.

The first report of wildfires here, 1030 Tuesday morning. And tonight, more than three days later, they have been unrelenting. Across Los Angeles, nine wildfires breaking out in just more than 72 hours here. All this is going gonna be gone. We travel with CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Brent Pesquois, who says he has never seen anything like this. We're on the Pacific Coast Highway.

We turn into one of the neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades, this small school burning. You can hear the bangs going off. Yeah, yeah, the fire's ripping through that school right there. The cars here charred. And then we see it home after home burning. It's just jumping from home to home right now with this wind.

There's nothing to stop it. As we drive up into the hills, the charred cars were families simply stopped, got out and escaped. These people who were coming down from the hills here decided to give up because the fire was encroaching. Right, right. The traffic was so bad they figured their chances were better getting out on foot and running the rest of the way out of here. I mean it's an apocalyptic scene. It is, it is. You see where the bulldozer had to come through and push the cars aside so we can get up here. The bulldozers moving the cars so that fire trucks could get through.

So we're now 24 hours into this disaster and we've got another multiple homes in a row here in flames. Yeah the wind is just pushing this fire from home to home to home and you'll see it's even running down Canyon to the homes that are below these homes. There's just no stopping it when the winds are this strong. Everything's going to burn. We walk through the darkened neighborhoods here, smoke hovering over the homes, many still crackling from the flames. Overnight, Joshua Oppheim and his dog trying to escape the fires surrounding them on Sunset Boulevard.

Embers coming off. Thousands of firefighters spanning out, racing to contain the flames. The new fires jumping from home to home. Bro, I don't. And residents here doing whatever they can. This young man, Orly Israel, trying to use a fire hose to beat back the flames in his own backyard. Bro, we gotta go! You can hear the intense fire crackling.

Oh. The fire alarm going off. Yeah, let's get out of here. We tried. His friend there, Tanner Schaff, wearing a mask, trying to help him, trying to save the home. We tried our best. They both escape through the front door, running to safety.

The homes, the trees, all around them, on fire. There's nothing we can do now, bro. And then they pray. God protect this house in the name of Jesus. Protect this neighborhood, God. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Palisades, I see LAV1. The biggest fire, the Palisades fire,

entire streets engulfed. One firefighter with a hose trained at the front door, though every home there on fire. Some 40 miles away, the Eton fire in Pasadena. The Pasadena Preschool Academy on fire. The residents at this senior living facility, the terraces at Park Marino, rushed out of their bedrooms wearing masks to protect them from the air. They were rescued. A heroic effort by the LA Fire Department and emergency response teams across the region tonight. They are saving lives amidst the

horror. The scope of the loss here, though, is unimaginable. It's devastating. It's devastating. And I feel for those people. I've spoke to some of them. I hear it in their voices. It just it tears up my heartstrings too. Um, like I said, at the end of the day they were alive, they knew they would rebuild and come back better. And I just gave them a hug and I said, you know, please reach out with anything you need. Well there's no question you've saved lives here. That was our goal. That's our number one priority. Thank you. The sun blow in the sky over Los Angeles, reflecting a new reality for this city.

Shining through the heavy smoke as some of the most destructive wildfires in the history of Los Angeles rage on tonight. The devastation for miles. We saw first-hand what is left and the sounds of the fire alarms ringing out. ringing out. Everywhere you go you can hear sort of the alarms still going off long after the fires here. And it's not just the neighborhoods where you see home after home. This used to be the grocery store right here, completely hollowed out. And then over my shoulder here, if you look right up, you can see

nothing left but the tattered American flag there, covered in soot and torn, but still hanging. In this neighborhood, we are told about the first home that caught fire and how it then spread, one neighbor alerting the others. This was the house here on the corner that began to burn, and then they alerted everyone down the street to get out of their homes because they knew it was just a matter of time before the flames jumped from house to house, which is exactly what it did. Not only on this block, but on every block you can see the one off in the distance.

The next block here you can see. The fire ripped through here as well. As far as the eye can see, really not a home left standing. The damage here is difficult to put into words. The cars here in the streets incinerated what's left of sort of the burned out charred metal frame here just sitting on the street here. And if you look across the street there's still some embers burning here. But you can see right in this yard here the washer and dryer sitting, that's just about all you can make out. And we met families

returning to their homes for the first time. This husband and father of two, Alessandro Vigilante, had not been home yet. Have you seen your house yet? The father had raced to school to pick up his boys under evacuation orders, his wife staying behind to grab their most important documents. I'm sorry.

He sees for the first time what is left. That's the entrance and this was the living room, the suburb TV. He tells me this used to be one of the boys rooms. My wife was here and she just collected what she could and then left. What was she able to save? The documents, mainly the documents. And then she took a couple of stupid things like my son's perfume because he has a wee wee ton of de-toilette. His cologne?

His cologne. Just something emotionally related, but nothing. But nothing else? No. Taking what they could and grateful to have their lives. Aidan Khan returning to his home in the Pacific Palisades making his way up Sunset Boulevard. This is my bedroom right here. His apartment completely destroyed. Here's our patio. There's the front entrance.

Here's our patio. Here's the front entrance. The elevator's still there. But with the winds, there is still so much uncertainty. Another major fire breaking out this time in the Hollywood Hills, the Sunset Fire. The gridlock, the panic to get out. At the Eaton Fire in Altadena, fire crews using saws to cut open garage doors

for their fire hoses to reach the flames inside. This is what's left of the auditorium at the Elliott Arts Magnet Academy Middle School, the scorched row of chairs. A satellite image over that fire showing nearly nothing was spared. Back at the Palisades fire, we're learning of some familiar names who have lost their homes as well. Some well-known actors including actor Billy Crystal. He and his wife Janice telling ABC News they have lived in their home since 1979, raising their children and grandchildren there saying quote, we pray for the safety of the firefighters and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people, and we know in time it will rise again.

It is our home. Less than 24 hours after those two friends, Orley and Tanner, tried to use a hose to beat back the flames in Orley's backyard. Yeah, let's get out of here. We tried, we tried, bro. Tanner returning to his friend's home the next day. This is my first time back to the house from last night.

This is Orly's home. There is literally nothing left. While back at that home in Pacific Palisades that once stood, There is literally nothing left. While back at that home in Pacific Palisades that once stood, that father, Alessandro, telling me he is grateful that he has his family. They lost everything, but they have each other. And he also believes tonight that every one of his immediate neighbors were saved too. I mean, I think it's impossible for people

around the country to look at this and understand the scope of this devastation. Everything is gone. But you've got your boys and you've got your wife. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. We figured out the rest. I'm glad you're here.

Thanks. And that you're okay. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks. Well, I think about that father and about all of the families who we have met here and they have all said the same thing.

Even though they have lost everything, they still have each other. And I so appreciate their bravery in sharing their stories with us. And we should point out the firefighters. So many have not stopped since the first fires broke out here, their strength, they have not given up. They are the real heroes here.

Our Matt Gutman has been reporting on the fire lines since the first flames broke out, witnessing the firefighters in the desperate battle from the very start against the flames. An army of firefighters on the front lines here in harrowing conditions, reports of hydrants without water or with little pressure. There will be many questions here in the days and weeks ahead about this. Tonight, Matt Guppman on some of those questions and on the firefighters, their bravery and the one firehouse that survived

the only building left standing in one community. It's hard for the mind to comprehend everything we're seeing here. That large building behind me is engulfed with all of the houses down the street. Tamesco, on fire. But swirling around them, controversy about whether Los Angeles officials fail to supply enough water and deploy enough firefighters.

Lots of talk about the water running out, that you were fighting a fire without all the resources necessary. As all these homes actually do burn down, and a lot of them have their own fire sprinkler systems, that those sprinkler systems become compromised as the house burns down and the water will free flow. As we see our gauges go down lower and lower, we knew we were getting low on water.

Tonight, ABC News has confirmed a nearby 170 million gallon reservoir that feeds Pacific Palisades has been taken offline for repairs well before the fires broke out. If you had all the resources and all the water, would it have made a difference here? I've been on the job for 36 years and I've never seen weather like that. It was a hurricane-force wind with fire involved. It was indescriforce wind with fire involved.

It was indescribable. California burning. This is the week of living dangerously in L.A. The Palisades fire extremely hot and incredibly close. Are you just evacuating now? What's going on up there? Houses on fire up in the corner and all the way down that street.

I've seen tons of fires. This is nothing. I was scared for my life. It was terrifying. Angelino's on the run, caught in gridlock traffic, abandoning vehicles to fate and fire. In order for firefighters to actually get to the fires, they had to carve a path. And so a bulldozer literally shoved all of these cars

to the side. You can see the bumpers ripped off, the scratches along the vehicles here. There's glass in the roadway. And the terrified motorists here, they had to flee to safety on foot. 20,000 acres of heartbreak. Fires so ferocious, it calls for a new measurement.

Burn rate, five football fields per minute. And you can feel the intensity of the heat. Now it's lighting up the trees here and this is how all of these new fires are being created here. On Malibu Beach, lifeguard stations ablaze with the ocean right there but not close enough to save homes and businesses along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is like driving through hell itself down here, It is like driving through hell itself down here. Literally through hell. This is madness down here.

Fire flames inferno. By day three, words and water fail. But the burning is without end. The sad cycle goes like this. Fire comes, people run, the fire finishes, and people like this couple we spotted in the ashes of an apartment building come back to count their losses. And a combination of fear and hope as Gail McGowan recovers a safe. A fireproof safe? That remains to be seen.

Is this your safe? It is. I wanted to get to it before the loons got to it. McGowan had lived here for 22 years since her husband died, and she was hoping that one particular ring had survived that heat. I mean, I gotta save something. Look at everything else. This is my home right here.

On her way out, she had grabbed her phone, nursing scrubs, but little else. So documents, passport, things like that? Nothing. Are somewhere here? Yeah, yeah. Everything, everything, everything, everything. Minutes later, the fire still flickering. A friend Mario heaving that safe off the building. He left to get a shopping cart and came back with cops on a patrol. You have your

idea with him? You bet. The officers were concerned about looters, made sure that Gail's I. D. Match the address of where they were. Then they cracked the safe. Thursday authorities announced the arrest of 20 looters. We asked the LAPD about that. Oh, it's huge. It's huge. You have million-dollar homes all intact, rows and rows of them. And there's really no way to police this area effectively right now.

Pacific Palisades right now could just be taken off the map. There is no Pacific Palisades. Matt, I'm still thinking about that moment with the safe and what they found when you were able to crack it open. I want to bring in Matt Gutman here tonight who's been out there reporting from the fire lines since these fires broke out. Matt, as you know, there have been a lot of reports about firefighters running out of water in Pacific Palisades or dealing with

hoses that had very little water pressure. I know authorities have been pressed on this. There's so much still to learn about this, but what have you heard from the firefighters themselves about what they faced in those early days? In short, David, impossible odds. 100 foot walls of flame, 80 mile per hour winds and yes, a shortage of staff and water.

And city officials are acknowledging that shutting off certain utilities did affect the water pressure here. One reason that Governor Gavin Newsom is demanding an independent investigation into these water issues, calling it deeply disturbing, David. Yeah, they said they shut off the utilities because they were fearful the power lines would actually contribute to more fires, but there'll be questions about, you know, the back and forth of that decision making. A lot of questions ahead. And Matt, I know you're gonna continue to follow it for us.

Matt, thank you. When we come back here tonight, amid heartbreaking loss and the hope of recovery, tonight right here, the family's sifting through the ashes. What some have discovered, and this is really moving later here. The family's hoping to rebuild their homes and real questions now about a potential insurance crisis here. Will families be covered? And real concern tonight about the Santa Ana winds

again. What they're now expecting in the hours and the days ahead all over again. And then later tonight right here a remarkable effort to help. The idea that is now taken off and how you could help tonight, too Los Angeles strong we'll be right back Get ready for a Las Vegas style action at bet MGM the king of online casinos Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette. With our ever growing library of digital slot games, a large selection of online table games,

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with iGaming Ontario. Welcome back. And tonight, thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area have been destroyed by these fires. 180,000 people have been evacuated. Up to 200,000 more are under evacuation warnings tonight. In fact, they've been told that they must be ready to leave at a moment's notice

with the threat of these strong winds returning in the forecast. Many have lost everything already and have begun that search for anything to remember the life they had in their cherished homes. Our own Kana Whitworth is among those under evacuation orders tonight, and Kana is still reporting for us right here this evening. As we see so many images of the thousands of homes damaged and destroyed, it's overwhelming to realize that every single one of them held a story. That is the living room. Uh huh.

That's the front entrance. Beyond that there was a bedroom. If I could only have found one thing, this was it. It's the bill that we have at the front of the house, and it came from my husband's childhood home. In the Pacific Palisades, I met with a woman, Patricia, her home of more than 40 years, destroyed. At our age, it's going to take years to come back for a village, for a beautiful town to come back.

It's surreal. I'm numb. And while we spoke, she pulled out the only thing she could salvage from her home. This was from my daughter's bathroom. Her bathroom was blue and white, and the turtles went around the vanity, the tile. And I found it. It was the only thing I found. Thank you. We got it, Dad, we got it.

Roughly 180,000 people in Los Angeles, including myself, have been evacuated from their homes. We are utterly surrounded by fire. Broken memories are everywhere. You're just right over there. Just last May, I interviewed Ricky Lake. We sat in her stunning dream home overlooking Malibu. Every day is like magic here for me.

But just yesterday... This is what's happening right now. She posted news of her own evacuation on social media. Oh my gosh. Writing about that dream home. It's all gone. Cameron Matheson, star of General Hospital, says the grief of losing a home, which he documented on his social media, will impact his family for generations to come. My daughter in particular said that she wanted to raise her kids in that house.

And she said that actually less than a week ago. Like, why would she say that now, right before it burns down? It's really something the well-known names and the families from all walks of life, everyone in this together having lost their homes. Kana Whitworth with us tonight. And Kana, I know you, like so many of our colleagues, had to evacuate your home. If you don't mind me asking on the air tonight, I've checked in with you off the air, but again, how are the boys doing and have you been able to check in on your home tonight?

Oh, David, you're so kind. Look, my boys are doing well. But again, how are the boys doing and have you been able to check in on your home tonight? David you're so kind to look my boys are doing well We're not able to return home yet But I did have the opportunity to check on my house and there is active firefight going on right near my home Waterdrops and the like but I stand here tonight in utter gratitude to firefighters that my boys Still have something to go home to because of scenes like that. And I also want to pass along to people watching that we are in this with you and we are in this for you and we will continue to tell these stories David because as you know this is far from

over. Yeah well I know you don't want to pat on the back but you are dedicated and you're just like everyone else from this Southern California community who are in this together, still fighting every day. Thank you, Kena. When we come back here, families facing a devastating reality now, how to rebuild their homes and the real question tonight, will insurance actually cover this? And there is concern about dangerous winds now in the forecast again. Tonight, what we're now learning about the days ahead. KABC meteorologist, Leslie Lopez is standing by.

Her own father, a long time LA firefighter and what she's now expecting with these winds. The new forecast is in, it's concerning and we'll have it here in a moment. Get ready for Las Vegas style action at Bet MGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack,

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If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Welcome back tonight. We now know the Eaton fire has destroyed more homes than any other wildfire in Los Angeles history. Many turning to shelters now and long, there are already real questions about whether insurance

will cover this for these families. Mola Lenghi in Alta Dena tonight. Meet Travis Hayden. His house burned down in the Palisades fire. I lived in the Pacific Palisades in a mobile home community. I loved living in the Pacific Palisades because I loved to surf. There were 176 units there, and they're all gone.

It was completely leveled. I dug through some rubble. There was some ceramics that had survived, but really nothing. Everything was burned, melted, destroyed. Now many homeowners like Hayden are facing another nightmare, an insurance crisis. When I moved in, the first thing I did was try and secure insurance. And it turns out that because my home was built in 1957, anything before 1976, is incredibly difficult to secure fire insurance for.

Every time I tried to get insurance, it was just denied. Hayden is just one of many California residents who couldn't even procure fire coverage. But Hayden's story is putting a spotlight on the insurance crisis, which has been years in the making. The 2018 Camp Fire was, at the time, the most destructive fire in California history, costing insurance companies billions and starting a reassessment of how they do business in the state.

It's led to skyrocketing prices for homeowners to keep any policy and thousands of canceled policies. As for Hayden, he has no choice but to figure out what he can do next. It's simply my home. I can't imagine living anywhere else. Well, David, right now there's an estimated $20 billion in insured losses. And as you know, those fires are still burning. By the way, David, the homeowner we spoke to, Travis Hayden, he's currently staying with friends. Like so many others, turning to friends, family, hotels, shelters.

This while he tries to figure out what to do next, how he's going to rebuild his life without insurance, David. A really overwhelming road ahead, Mola, thank you. When we come back here, what started out as a random act of kindness has now turned into a major spontaneous relief effort tonight. And this evening, how you can help as well. And just moments ago, our station, KABC ABC up above yet another new flare up in the Santa Monica Mountains tonight this is between Tarzana and the Pacific

Palisades prompting evacuation warnings in new neighborhoods including Brentwood and the winds we have the new forecast right after the break. ABC Wednesdays Tim Allen and Kat Dennings star in the new family comedy Shifting Gears. Dad, I'm broke and I need a place to stay until I figure out what the rest of my life looks like. So, a couple of days. When his daughter moves back in. The last time you walked out that door, you looked back at me and gave me a double bird.

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Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Well tonight there is growing concern about the forecast here in the Los Angeles area. Meteorologist Leslie Lopez from our station here in LA, KABC is here. I mentioned earlier her own father, a long time LA firefighter. Leslie, you grew up learning about these Santa Ana winds. Your father knew the danger all too well. But what do you expect in the hours and days ahead here? Yeah, David, thank you so much.

You just worked down the street here at Fire Station 42 in Eagle Rock. And we are expecting calm winds for the time being. But boy, that is going to change. Right now, we are now reissuing some fire weather watches. This is going to be extending from Temecula all the way out towards Thousand Oaks because Saturday night into Sunday wind speeds will be reinvigorated by an area of high pressure. There you go 43 mile per hour winds over into Thousand Oaks. We're gonna move you off into Monday because this looks like it'll be the stronger of

the wind events that will be taking place here over the next coming days. This will not be as extreme as the wind event that will be taking place here over the next coming days. This will not be as extreme as the wind event that just passed, but again, this high pressure center will sit over the four corners bringing with it another strong Santa Ana Monday into Tuesday. So again, that elevates our fire danger once more, likely bringing in some red flag warnings. David, back over your way.

So watching closely right into the next Monday and Tuesday, Leslie, thank you. And so many of you at home have been asking how could there have been so many homes lost here? Matt Rivers tonight on the perfect storm of severe drought and these record Santa Ana winds. Normally, the lush mountains and deep arroyos of the City of Angels are a gorgeous backdrop for the region.

But this week, a combination of extreme weather and climate forces created a devastating scenario. And all of this is a far cry from this same time last year when we saw historic flooding here in Los Angeles. We've had more than a month's worth of rain in just the last 12 hours. But in the months following that devastation, L.A. has been experiencing a

severe drought. Experts call it hydroclimate whiplash, rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather. And we're dealing with actually two record wet winters the last two years, which had kept fires low. But all of that water had actually helped our forests and our chaparral grow to create all this vegetation that then becomes dried out and flammable. Add to that those extreme winds with speeds

up to 100 miles an hour, and the result is a catastrophic weather event, with embers able to ride those gusts for miles, igniting new fires virtually anywhere, anytime. And David, we've spoken to experts who tell us with the continued effects from climate change, increased winds, increased average temperature, increased severity of drought,

unfortunately situations like this will almost certainly be more common in the future. David. Matt Rivers with us here tonight as well. Matt, thank you. When we come back tonight, a remarkable act of kindness growing quickly tonight and a major announcement from our parent company, Disney, and how you can help too. Amid the heartbreak, something else has happened here.

It began with a food truck and a single video now seen by thousands. Kevin Osbeck from our Houston station, KTRK is here in Los Angeles. We're out here at the Rose Bowl lot. I we are giving away free food. It all started with a tick tock, letting people know help was available, gaining over 35,000 views, a beacon of hope for those who the Yeah, the loss of our house, of everything hurts, but seeing everyone together and just knowing that everyone is here for us, you know, we're not alone. And David, take a look at this. We are now at the third location where this pop-up donation site has had to move. And take a look at this.

There are now donations as far as the eye can see. Lines of shoes, piles of clothes, hot meals. If you lost your home in a fire, this is the place to come. So this is now in a huge parking lot in Arcadia. This is what SoCal Strong looks like. David. Let's keep it going. Thanks, Kevin.

When we come back here, how you can help at home. Before we go, the family's in need. Tonight, Disney, the parent company of ABC, donating $15 million to Wildfire Relief, offering support to the Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. If you'd like to help, go to redcross.org

or salvationarmiusa.org. This January. Something dragged me into the sewer the other night. We need to find it.org or salvationarmiusa.org. Inspired by the best-selling books. Goosebumps. The Vanishing. Are you gonna be okay out here? I'm not sure. Why don't you go ahead and give me five stars now before anything happens. All episodes now available on Disney+, on Hulu, on Disney+, on Disney.com. For the TV 14 LV.