NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Saturday, January 11, 2025

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

On the Frontlines of The Fire Fight; Growing anger over government response to wildfires; Meta & Amazon reverse course, roll back diversity programs; and more on tonight’s broadcast. 

Tonight, we are live in Los Angeles as the Palisades fire makes a devastating change in direction. Entire communities forced to suddenly evacuate. One of the most destructive fires in L.A. history now bearing down on new neighborhoods. Firefighters in an all-out battle to stop it. Thousands of residents forced to evacuate, including celebrities like Dennis Quaid. We're fighting as hard as we can to save our city. More homes destroyed, major landmarks at risk. This firenado flaring up. We're on the front lines with firefighters pushed to their limits. You're fighting the fires with swimming pool water? And those dangerous winds, they're set to whip back up again.

Plus, growing outrage. LA's fire chief blasting city leaders, saying they failed them by not providing enough resources. The mayor responding today. Our team across the fire zone covering every angle. Also breaking tonight, the snow and ice storm crippling the South. Cars crashing on icy roads, but thousands of flights canceled or delayed. An NBA game postponed. When will it all thaw out? New tonight, special prosecutor Jack Smith, who had charged President Trump, resigning today. And back here in LA, the street food vendors doing so much more than just

feeding this devastated community. How they've started a movement to help. This is NBC Nightly News with Jose Diaz-Balart. And good evening. I'm Tom Yamas in for Jose tonight. We are live from Los Angeles overlooking the Palisades Fire. This has been the most devastating of the five major fires raging across the city. And in the last 24 hours, it has taken a frightening turn.

I want to show you a video from last night. This is just after that fire switched direction, heading down the other side of the ridge. And this is that fire today, racing towards the heavily populated communities of Encino and Brentwood. You can see the smoke here just behind me. Firefighters desperately have been trying to stop those flames from crossing over the ridge

and heading to other major population centers. Last night, evacuation alerts went out across the area, forcing thousands to grab what they could and flee their homes. And even as we track this battle, we're not losing sight of the massive humanitarian crisis across this city. The death toll rose today to at least 13 people. More than 150,000 people have been told to evacuate. More than 12,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed. The mayor today vowing to rebuild. But with so many now homeless, the coming days, weeks, and months will be a real

challenge. Our team is spread out across the fire zone, but we're going to begin on the front lines of the fire just behind me. Tonight, this is the new front in the Los Angeles wildfires battle. This is still a very active firefight. The massive Palisades fire, already more than 20,000 acres growing overnight. Evacuations ordered for Encino and Brentwood, with homes in those iconic neighborhoods threatened by flames. News choppers capturing the growing line of fire. Definitely some scary stuff. The ATF now tasked with leading the investigation into what caused

this fire, even as the battle to contain it rages on. This is areas that have not burned in approximately 50 years, so we're we're seeing fire that was moving through there quickly. We were on the ground with firefighters today as teams lined up then fanned out across the massive fire zone. We're here at the front lines of the Brentwood fire you can see a flare up just behind me right there the flames rising and the fight is grueling for these firefighters they have to go down the canyon put out those flames they've been at this for five days now. With water resources limited, fire crews are getting water wherever they can, including swimming pools.

You're fighting the fires with swimming pool water? We've had to do that on multiple locations throughout the Palisades Fire. Overnight, the dangerous Santa Ana winds picked up once again after a short lull. The conditions creating this swirling firenado. Fire crews using chainsaws to cut and remove vegetation before it can catch fire. As dawn broke this morning, airdrops continued over this canyon in an attempt to contain the flames. These guys are heroes. I mean, they've always been heroes, but just the operation is unbelievable. But law enforcement sources say those airdrops have been threatened today,

as multiple drones have been spotted in their flight areas, a serious risk to the crews flying them. These aircrafts have played a critical role in getting the fires under control, dropping water and retardant to slow the progress of the flames. But a drone is already blamed for damaging this Canadian super scooper. It's been grounded for days and officials say it may not be able to fly again until Monday at the earliest. This as the world-renowned Getty Art Museum threatened by fire and students at UCLA have been warned to get ready to get out as all classes now will be remote all of next week.

And today, a close-up look at the devastation in Altadena. House after house, leveled. More than 150,000 people are under evacuation orders. Actor Dennis Quaid among them. I can't say enough about the firefighters and the first responders in this town. We got some good ones, just good people here. And we're fighting as hard as we can to save our city. More than 1,500 National Guard troops have now been called up,

some of them to patrol evacuation zones. And Los Angeles County officials say so far, more than 20 people have been arrested for burglary and looting. Just emptied the truck here with everything I was able to throw in. And so many now in limbo. Blake Mallon, a married father of two, lost his home. Tried to grab things that I thought would be hard to replace. So just a lot of kind of kids, baby things for Grayson and Sadie.

A lot of photo books. Kind of memorable moments. He stayed to the very end as he helped firefighters who ran out of water to save his house. I stayed really, I guess, for two reasons. One, to protect my house. And two, in the back of my mind, if I was going to lose absolutely everything, for me, I wanted to know that I did absolutely everything I could if I was going to lose it. I just don't want that to flash. Yeah. So it's all in the attic now? Yes, sir.

He watched his block burn down. Then finally, his home, as the attic caught fire. And for Blake, it is a total loss. In September, he says his insurance company pulled his fire coverage. If you could talk to the insurance companies, what would you tell them? With this message and my story and everybody else's story, is do what's right for the people and the families that have paid into your businesses for years. So many families in a similar situation. This, as we look just over our shoulder here, helicopters from the Firefighter Department making drops on flames that are just behind us. That anger you heard there from the family towards local leaders in L.A. is growing. Tonight, the fire chief blasting city leaders for not providing enough resources. The mayor is speaking out now.

Ellison Barber has that part of the story. Tonight, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass under growing pressure. There is nothing, nothing, nothing that I will not do for the city where I was born and raised. Overnight, her office responding to rumors that the city's fire chief had been fired. Posting on social media, the fire chief was not dismissed and is in full command of the LAFD. Did we have enough resources? I will tell you no. That chief, Kristen Crowley, speaking out to NBC's Los Angeles station, KNBC, Friday. This department was asked to take a $17 million budget cut.

That is correct. She also told LA's Fox station that despite the city's growth, the number of fire stations has gone down. Crowley placing the blame for the current crisis squarely on the city. Did they fail you? Yes. Chief Crowley and Mayor Bass side by side at a press conference today. The fire chief and I are focused on fighting these fires and saving lives.

And any differences that we might have will be worked out in private. Also to be worked out, the failure of fire hydrants in the region. Just two blocks down, there's a fire hydrant that's working just fine. The one two blocks above us is not. Governor, I live here, Governor. California Governor Gavin Newsom confronted on the issue earlier this week. Is it going to be different next time? It has to be. Newsom now calling for an investigation into the lack of pressure in the hydrants. Frustration today mounting as people waited hours trying to gain access to their neighborhoods to see what, if anything, of their homes remains. All our friends have lost everything and nobody knows what's going to happen.

We're just walking around numb. And Ellison joins us live tonight. Ellison, I know tonight you're among the people still trying to get to their homes. What are people being told about access? I mean, Tom, it's just cars as far as you can see by eye. People tell us that they have been told it would be three cars going in at a time, escorted by police, and that the priority would be people needing to get medicine. But these people over here, they tell us they are all waiting to go get medicine,

and they say they cannot get answers on when they can go up, if they're going to be able to go up. And some of them, Tom, they say they have been waiting nine hours. Tom? Yeah, and they unfortunately are going to have to wait a lot longer. All right, Ellison Barber for us. You've seen the images from above. Entire neighborhoods totally wiped out. Thousands of people are now homeless. Facing not only the challenge of rebuilding, but how to get through the next few days and weeks. Morgan Chesky has this story. Anybody need water? Tonight, a massive relief effort racing to keep up with the flames, with tens of thousands pushed from their homes by fire, with many starting from scratch.

Literally the basics. Underwear, a pair of running shoes, socks. The Red Cross opening shelters citywide. This one near the Palisades fire, completely full. As a lifelong Californian, we know wildfires. This isn't uncommon, but to see devastation at this scale, it's just heartbreaking. Inside families, some multiple generations facing the reality of what these fires took away. For Khadija Luccarelli and her three children, it's a shelter turned home. I never thought of this. It seems like I'm in a movie. Their home in the Pacific Palisades lost when the flames exploded late Tuesday. A single mom now wondering when six-year-old Onyx and five-year-old Fifi will be able to go back to dance class.

Walk me through what happened. Yeah, we were actually in rehearsal, and I got the call that we should be evacuating. We did lose our RV, which was our home. In Altadena, thousands more families homeless. For Renata Ortega, her house and backyard floral studio never stood a chance. We worked so hard to get here and now to see it this way. I never thought I would live through something like this. Yet amid the ashes of unimaginable loss, glimpses of hope as survivors in a fire-stricken city cling to what they do have. Everyone here around us is a family, like a blanket of warmth, and it keeps me going. And here in Mandeville Canyon, you can see fires actively burning right now. This was a prime area of concern for firefighters, not just for the number of homes in this area,

but also should the Palisades fire move through here, it could very well impact the heavily populated San Fernando Valley. Tom? Morgan Chesky, we thank you for that. These powerful winds here have been fueling these fires. And now after a bit of a lull, they're picking back up, as you can see. I want to bring in meteorologist Angie Lassman. And Angie, if they're going to be gaining strength later today, I think we're already feeling it. You definitely are, Tom. And they're only going to intensify from here on out over the next couple of days. Those winds today, 20, 30 miles per hour in the higher elevations. Those are going to be gusting

50, 60 plus miles per hour as we get through at least the next 12 hours. You'll notice those ramping up closer to the coast as well, up to 30 and 40 mile per hour winds expected. By late Monday into Tuesday, high pressure drops in, sits over the Great Basin. That means another dangerous Santa Ana wind event takes shape. This is going to leave us with those winds 40 to 70 miles per hour across this region. The humidity levels 5 to 15 percent, further fueling what we've already been dealing with across that region. Those alerts will continue through at least Wednesday. Tonight, the resignation tonight from the special prosecutor investigating President-elect Trump, plus the major reversal for Facebook and Amazon, both now dialing back their diversity initiatives, we'll explain.

We are following some other major headlines tonight, including breaking news from the Department of Justice. Special Counsel Jack Smith, the independent prosecutor who had been investigating President-elect Donald Trump, has resigned. White House correspondent Aaron Gilchrist joins us tonight. Aaron, this was not unexpected. That's right, Tom. Jack Smith's resignation was expected ahead of Mr. Trump taking office, and we learned about it in a court filing today where a footnote revealed the special counsel submitted his final confidential report on Tuesday

and separated from the Department of Justice yesterday. Now, Trump had been indicted in connection to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and separately for mishandling classified documents. The federal charges against Trump were dismissed after he won the election in November. Smith has completed a report on the election interference case, and that could be released as soon as tomorrow. The lawyers for Mr. Trump's former co-defendants are trying to block that. Tom.

Aaron Gilchrist for us tonight. Aaron, we thank you. Staying in D.C. now, President Biden today awarded Pope Francis, America's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom. President Biden, a devout Catholic, was supposed to travel to the Vatican next week to visit with the pope. But that trip was canceled so the president could oversee the response to the wildfires here in California. The president awarded the Pope the medal over the phone today instead. And overseas, Ukrainian President Zelensky says his army has captured

two North Korean soldiers who were fighting for Russia. Zelensky releasing these images of the detained soldiers who were injured and given medical attention. These are the first troops from North Korea captured in that war. And we're back in a moment with more from the front lines here. Plus the change coming to two of the biggest companies in the world, Meta and Amazon, rolling back diversity initiatives. Will other companies do the same? Stay with us. We are back with the significant reversal from two of the biggest companies in the world

instagram and facebook's parent company meta and amazon now both rolling back some of their diversity and inclusion initiatives new questions tonight about whether other companies will follow emily akeda has more tonight a major change up in corporate world, as tech behemoths Amazon and Meta are dialing back their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Anti-DEI activist Robbie Starbuck recently telling CNBC, They're causing division employee on employee, and you're losing money. Amazon saying in a recent memo, we've been winding down outdated programs and materials. And Meta told Employees Friday, given the shifting legal and policy landscape, the company is changing DEI programs

focused on hiring, training, and picking suppliers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan's podcast Friday. It's one thing to say we want to be kind of like welcoming and make a good environment for everyone. And I think it's another to basically say that masculinity is bad. And I just think we kind of swung culturally to that part of the kind of the spectrum where, you know, it's all like, OK, masculinity is toxic. We have to get rid of it completely.

His comments come as tech giants appear to be trying to make inroads with the incoming president, a vocal critic of DEI policies. And following similar moves from companies like Ford, Walmart, and McDonald's. Still, some companies are bucking the trend. Costco's board urging shareholders to vote against a proposal to re-evaluate its DEI policies that they say enhance our capacity to attract and retain employees and satisfaction among its diverse customer base as the workplace sees a new wave of scrutiny. Emily Ikeda, NBC News. And we'll have much more from right here in Los Angeles with the street food vendors who started a movement to feed evacuees that has grown into something so much bigger.

Finally tonight, Los Angeles is a city known for its amazing food scene, and in the face of so much devastation, those chefs from high-end restaurants to food trucks are kicking into high gear to help those in need. This massive operation to feed and help those in desperate need started small. When the fires hit, street food vendor Jimmy Medina and his son did what they could. They handed out hot dogs. But then he put out a call on social media for more food and more help. It's not only us now, it's multiple. A lot of people are helping us out. That call out led to this turnout on Thursday night with people dropping all kinds

of donations for anyone in need. And this was the turnout today. His and other street vendors' operations taking over the Santa Anita racetrack parking lot. Street food chefs from all across Los Angeles joining in. We've been working for more than 12, 15 hours a day. We just came to try to do the right thing. We didn't expect to inspire so many other people. Comfort food giving people who lost so much the fuel to simply keep going. This means the world to simply keep going. This means the world to us. We care about this community, you know?

It's the most important thing, coming together and helping everybody. Across the disaster zones, restaurants feeding and cheering first responders as well. Chef Jose Andres making sure firefighters here don't go hungry. We are obviously in the different fires trying to provide food to the firefighters, making sure we have food almost 24 hours a day. So we have two food trucks. Simple dishes with so much heart, a recipe for helping this community heal. And if you want to help, we have a list of organizations you can donate to that's on NBCNews.com or you can scan the QR code that's on your screen right now. And be sure to tune in to Meet the Press tomorrow morning for an exclusive interview with California Governor Gavin Newsom.

That's NBC Nightly News for this Saturday. I'm Tom Yamous reporting live from Los Angeles in the Fire Zone. We thank you for joining us. Stay safe. Good night.