NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, January 8, 2024

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

Homeowners try to save their properties and firefighters struggle; At least five dead as wildfires tear through Los Angeles; Wildfires cause hazardous air quality in Los Angeles.

Tonight, the historic and catastrophic wildfires in Southern California turning deadly after 80,000 people are forced to evacuate their homes. The apocalyptic images. A state of emergency in Los Angeles as thousands of acres burn, impacting one of the most picturesque places in the nation. Multiple wildfires raging out of control tonight, fueled by hurricane-force winds. The fire in the Pacific Palisades, now the most destructive in the city's history. At least five people are dead, an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed, more than a million without power, the grounds of the iconic Getty Villa up in flames. The first helicopters and planes taking off to join the fight, and desperate homeowners

racing to save their homes with water hoses. Streets choked with abandoned cars last night now empty. Our team in the fire zone. Also tonight, the new winter storm set to sweep across the country from the south to the northeast. Al Roker is here. President-elect Donald Trump asking the Supreme Court to halt his hush money sentencing set for Friday. The alarming moment, a man with a machete and knives arrested trying to enter the viewing for former President Jimmy Carter at the U.S. Capitol. And late tonight, President-elect Trump arriving to pay his respects.

The car blowing through a railroad gate slammed by an oncoming train in Florida, the driver's condition tonight, and the personal loss in California's wildfire disaster. Our correspondent returning to find his childhood home, devastated. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. I've covered wildfires in California since the earliest days of my career, when I don't remember anything quite like the firestorms raging across Southern California tonight. Multiple major infernos destroying more than a thousand homes and businesses, killing at least five people and defying efforts to contain them.

Firefighters in Pacific Palisades outmanned and in some cases out of water. Hydrants running dry. Firefighting aircraft for a time grounded by ferocious winds. Some gusting around 100 miles per hour. Rows of homes and restaurants along the Pacific Coast Highway were consumed by the flames. This is what it looked and sounded like. Almost haunting, the Pacific Palisades fire growing to nearly 16,000 acres. Forty miles away, the Eaton fire turned deadly and has exploded to over 10,000 acres.

Tonight, thousands in the region are under evacuation orders, filling shelters, schools are closed, while power is out for 1.5 million Southern Californians. Gotti Schwartz is in the fire zone to start our coverage. This area of Altadena has become an absolute wasteland. You've got rows and rows of homes that have burned. You've got some homes that are still standing, but it's just a matter of time. This was the moment the sun rose over the fire raging above Pasadena, but you'd never know it because the dawn disappeared in the smoke.

Again, you hear those explosions. So many of these homes, there is no hope. But against the odds in Mother Nature, some stayed doing everything they could to fight back. There are people still here trying to fight this fire with garden hoses. There is still water in this area, but with this much destruction, it almost seems futile. You were here fighting by yourself, right? Yes.

How long have you been out here? I've been out here since 4 a.m. 4 a.m., trying to protect your home? Yes. You now have a full contingent of firefighters here? Yes. How long have you been out here? I've been out here since 4 a.m. 4 a.m. Trying to protect your home. You now have a full, you know, contingent of firefighters here. Yes. It seems like right in the nick of time. They save this home for now. A scene that played out across so many fire lines from the foothills of the Angeles Mountains to the Palisades. And they're trying to make entrance. They're smashing down that door. They got to go inside. They got to make sure no one is here. Homeowners on rooftops trying to wet down everything.

It's hard to show the scope of what's going on. As we headed down Sunset Boulevard, the loss was worse than any fire we've ever seen. This looks like the apocalypse here. In the chaos, way too often, firefighters left without water as hydrants went dry. They are not designed to fight wildfires. A firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable. Water! Officials say they weren't able to fill tanks fast enough, which would have helped with the water pressure, something NBC's Morgan Chesky saw firsthand. Out of every fire hydrant you've seen, what have you found? Right now we're finding most of them are down or low pressure.

If you had a hydrant for this building, If we had a hydrant for this building, we might have been able to save the back house. This apartment complex is untouched for now, but you can see how close those flames are. Firefighters are making their way up. Again, they're having to ignore massive structures like this huge apartment complex. It looks like it's going to go up imminently because they are just overwhelmed. There isn't enough water up here. The wind's also grounding that critical support from the sky for most of the day. And when firefighters were able to make a stand and save a home, there was no victory. Just a brief reprieve from the helplessness of fighting fire against the wind.

Gaudi, I feel like you really took us into what it is like there. This devastation goes well beyond the homes destroyed in Pacific Palisades. Yeah, well beyond the homes. The scope of this is so difficult to comprehend. We've seen schools. We have seen synagogues. We've seen churches here along the Palisades. This is the heart of the Palisades.

You've got a restaurant. I mean, down to the banks here in the Palisades have been reduced to ash. And unfortunately, we've been in the neighborhoods above, below and to each side of the heart of the Palisades. And so far, they're saying about a thousand. That's a preliminary number. A thousand structures lost. We can tell you that number is going to climb significantly. Lester. All right. Gotti, thank you. Until today, it was hard to imagine destruction on this scale.

Today, our Liz Kreutz saw some of the worst of it. A massive and deadly wildfire emergency is unfolding in Southern California. From the Pacific Palisades to Pasadena, multiple infernos continuing mass destruction of homes and businesses. Tens of thousands forced to evacuate. Last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we've seen in any part of our city at any part of our history. On the coast, the Palisades fire exploding to more than 15,000 acres. 75 mile per hour winds overnight pushing the flames up the Pacific Coast Highway where it overtook the iconic city of Malibu and created this apocalyptic scene stretching for miles on the California coast. We're watching multiple beachfront properties

here just go up in flames. First responders trying to get a hold of the fires. All the neighboring properties here destroyed as the winds are picking up. In the Pacific Palisades, officials say at least a thousand structures lost. Across Southern California, high winds and protected power shutoffs have left more than a million people in the dark. At the Eaton Fire burning in Altadena, 45 minutes from the coast, at least five people have died and more than 100 structures destroyed. As wind-whipped embers expanded the fire's path, it forced the evacuation of this assisted living facility. You'll see the people on stretchers and just the effort, very rapid effort to try to get these people out of harm's way. For many, the race to get out was by any means necessary.

Which is your house? Yeah, this is our house. Backyard's on fire. I'm out of here. Some of the most expensive real estate in the world reduced to rubble on Pacific Coast Highway. Here on PCH, home after home after home of beachfront properties are destroyed. Usually you would see the Pacific Ocean there. Now it's just ashes and smoke. As fires still burn, officials urging residents not to ignore evacuation orders. A high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire line. Today, President Biden meeting with local officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, who toured the destruction.

Have you ever seen anything like this? The closest approximation was Paradise, California, which was one of the most deadly fires in U.S. history. But at this stage, a little over 24 hours, nothing comes close. Tonight, thousands displaced with the flames still threatening homes. This is the garage. In Malibu, Steve Wiggins says he tried everything to save his. So I kept spraying all the embers, then the next thing I know a 30 foot wall of fire was coming at 60 miles an hour and I couldn't see and it's all smoky and I said well

it's time to leave. He came back today to find nothing. We lost everything we owned but it doesn't even look like a house anymore. It just looks like something. A lot of heartbreak, Liz. The fire threat still very active tonight. It really is, Lester. In fact, here in Malibu, you can see these crews continuing to work here as they try to put out the flames that are beginning to consume this home here on the coast. Millions across L.A. are on alert right now with some evacuation orders even issued in Santa Monica with red flag warnings continuing through at least Friday.

Lester. All right, Liz Kreutz, thanks. We want to give you a lay of the land now as to where all this is happening and look at why resources may be so stretched. Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the nation with major urban centers, sparkling beach communities and rugged mountains. Pacific Palisades, where the first fire broke out yesterday, sits on the coast, Malibu to its north, iconic Santa Monica to its south. Moving inland 25 miles to the north and east of the Palisades is the Silmar area. That's where the Hearst fire is burning. And then another 25 miles southeast from there is

Altadena near Pasadena, where the deadly Eaton fire is raging tonight and where we find our Steve Patterson. Steve, good evening. Lester, the air quality here has been miserable for now more than 24 hours. You can feel it. And when the smoke bill is like this, it travels for miles. Area hospitals now filling up due to smoke inhalation, with experts saying the best thing you can do is to stay inside. And even then, if you have an air purifier, use one. If you have to be out in this, wet rags and surgical masks will not work.

You need an N95 with a purifier. Today, the air quality index, or AQI, reached more than 300. That's hazardous to everyone, not just the most at-risk groups. All right. Thanks, Steve Patterson. Our colleagues at our NBC station in Los Angeles, KNBC, have been working nonstop for more than 24 hours covering this disaster. Their deep connection to those communities reflected in so much of their coverage, including this moment when reporter Michelle Vyas was on the air as neighbors battled flames consuming the home next door. This home next to it was on fire. They were making gains here. They were making gains and then all of a sudden the winds picked up and you can just see how it's fueling the fire next door as

these neighbors desperately try to keep their home from catching fire. So you're just helpless as you watch these people doing probably, you know, you put yourself in their situation and it's really dark and it's really fiery here. There's a lot of explosions and there's just no help in sight. And you're just wondering when this is all going to end. Riverside County, please stop. Thank you so much. Oh, my goodness. Praise the Lord. I mean, they're going to really douse this fire here. An amazing television moment and certainly an amazing moment of humanity. Let me bring in Al Roker now. Al, what are the conditions that help fuel these fires?

Is there any sense and sign of relief? There is some relief coming, Lester. We saw those air flights resume because the winds have died down. The biggest problem is since October 1st, they've gotten less than 10 percent of their average rainfall. The good news is this high pressure, low pressure combo that has been squeezing these Santa Ana winds out, that's been the problem. Well, now they are starting to move to the east and separate. So the winds are starting to die down. That's good news. In fact, you can see those winds overnight coming down the gusts into single digits in some spots. Now, the next thing we're worried about, that storm system in the southwest, that's going to cause 52 million people to be under winter storm warnings, advisories, watches, snowfall amounts, Dallas two to five, three to 6 in Tupelo, plus icing conditions stretching from Texas all the way into the southeast.

Big travel problems over the next 24 hours. Okay, Mal, thank you for that update. In 60 seconds, the latest on President-elect Trump's new legal showdown. His last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to call off his Friday sentencing. Will the justices step in? We're back now with President-elect Trump's sentencing. It is hush money case set for Friday. Mr. Trump today making a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to call it off. Laura Jarrett joins us. Laura, will we hear from the justices soon? Most likely tomorrow, Lester. That's when the court has indicated that they would like to hear from the government, hear from the prosecutors.

So we'll probably hear then. But remember, even if they do not block this sentencing and it actually moves forward, the judge who's overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, has already indicated that he is not likely to give the president elect any prison time. Instead, he's going to do something called an unconditional discharge, which would essentially be letting him off without any punishment at all. Now, at the same time as this is going on in New York, we also have this ongoing situation around the final report from the special prosecutor, Jack Smith. They obviously want to try to keep this under wraps. The attorney general saying today he intends to release a part of the report that has to do with the election interference claims against Mr. Trump, but plans to keep under wraps the part about the classified documents

case in Florida. Remember, he still has two co-defendants in that case. Okay. Laura Jarrett, thank you. And this evening, President-elect Trump paying tribute to the late Jimmy Carter as the former president lies in state ahead of tomorrow's funeral service. But a frightening moment today, Capitol Police saying a man was arrested at the entrance with this machete and three knives in his bag. Police say he faces multiple charges. We'll take a break and then coming up, are you paying too much rent? The Justice Department accuses some of the country's biggest landlords of price fixing.

That story is next. Caught on camera in Florida, a car blowing through the railroad gate smashed by a high-speed passenger train in North Miami Beach. Police say the driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Now to the new developments in a story we brought you last summer, the Justice Department widening its lawsuit against a real estate software company to include six major landlords and property managers. Here's Antonia Hilton. Tonight, the Justice Department expanding a lawsuit against RealPage, accusing the software company of coordinating with landlords to pool non-public tenant data and coordinate to keep rents artificially high. Now adding six of the largest U.S. landlords and property managers to the suit, including Graystar, Camden, Cortland, Cushman & Wakefield, Livecore, and Willowbridge, representing more than 1.3 million units in 43

states and D.C. Many landlords use RealPage to help set rental prices and manage occupancy. Optimize property performance even in challenging market conditions. This summer, the DOJ alleged their software facilitated a price-fixing scheme. This conduct had really corroded the market and allowed companies to put profits over people. In the updated complaint, the DOJ says competing landlords conducted phone and email discussions, even cocktail hours,

and participated in monthly user groups promoted by RealPage to share information. They quote one Graystar employee telling a competitor that a property manager had declined to fully participate due to, quote, price-fixing laws. That competitor replied, hmm, price-fixing laws, huh? That's a new one. Price fixing scheme, as alleged, is not only affecting the properties managed by RealPage's clients, it's causing a rent increase across the board. RealPage told NBC News they deny the DOJ's claims and plan to fight them, saying their practices are legal, and it's, quote, past time to stop scapegoating RealPage and now our customers for housing affordability problems. Two landlords did not respond to NBC News for comment. Two others denied the claims, vowing to vigorously

defend themselves in court. Cushman and Wakefield, a management company, told NBC they should not have been named in the complaint and that their practices do not violate antitrust laws. And Cortland settled with the government, telling NBC they've developed their own software. Antonia Hilton, NBC News, New York. And next, what was lost in Los Angeles, the scope of these wildfires hitting home for our Jacob Soboroff. So many have been devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires, including our Jacob Soboroff, who returned to the area where he grew up. I grew up in Pacific Palisades, born and raised here, and I've never seen anything like this. We've had a lot of fires and even evacuated sometimes,

but nothing like this. The whole town is gone as we knew it. This is the Palisades Public Library. It's still on fire. I brought my kids here. This was like the pride of the community when this thing was built. The weight of it all, I think, is very, very intense to think about. In my 26 years, this could be one of the top most devastating fires I've seen. What happens in a situation like this where the high school's destroyed, you got churches

destroyed, you got the two supermarkets in the community destroyed? How do you come back from something like this? I come back one day at a time. To me, Sunset Boulevard is the heart of my community. There's not a single house left standing here. What do you do? What do they do? There's just never, ever, ever been anything like this. I mean, I know my house is gone, but I kind of just need to see it firsthand to just let it sit in. I just can't believe it. I thought I was going to wake up this morning and it's gonna be a bad dream. This is the first time that I've seen the house that I grew up in and I don't really know what to say. Mom, look at this. Is that Frontera? Yeah. Your birth house?

Yep. I'm so sad. Every one of you guys was born in that house. I know, it makes me sad too. This was a really, really special place for the Sobrow family. And I'm very sorry to see it go. And I'm very sorry for all of the residents of Pacific Palisades and everyone across the greater L.A. area that's going through this right now. I look around the town, the neighborhood, the place that I grew up in. I talk to my friends who I spent so much time with on these streets.

And it's hard to imagine what comes next and what happens next. Hopefully, Jacob, much better days ahead. That's nightly news for this Wednesday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.