cnn.com. slash impact or text wildfires to 70 7070 to donate. tonight, a special hour on the deadly fires in los angeles and the residents facing unthinkable tragedy. join anderson cooper for the whole story tonight at 8 p.m. eastern, right here on cnn. all right. thank you so much for joining me today, along with bill weir in california. i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn newsroom continues with jessica dean and erin burnett. right now.

>> this is cnn breaking news. >> you are in the cnn newsroom. >> i'm jessica dean in new york. >> we're going to join my colleague erin burnett in los angeles. >> coming up. >> but breaking news at this hour. the window to contain the deadly california wildfires is getting smaller. now, here's the good news. conditions through today have been better than expected. that's enabled firefighters to make some good progress. however, the powerful santa ana winds, with potential gusts of up to 50mph, could soon spread further inland. >> that there have been at least 16 fatalities already and with many more still unaccounted for, the death toll is expected to rise. more than 100,000 california residents also remain under evacuation orders from l.a. county. in just a few moments ago, california's governor gavin

newsom spoke with our own kyung lah about how the fires could further worsen the state's insurance crisis. take a look. >> what about insurance? >> i mean, we know we live here. your house is insured. my house is insured. >> mine is mine. i'm the one i. i have. my dad's house is under the fair plan, the state's plan. >> and it's very expensive. >> very expensive. and it's it's not great coverage, right. >> so what do you tell people? it's a great question. >> newsom's answer and much more from that interview coming up in just a few minutes. right now, though, we want to tell you that a quarter of the eaton fire has so far been contained. 89% of the hurst fire is contained. however, when you go over to the pacific palisades, over 23 acres have already been scorched. that fire, just at 11% containment. overall, 40,000 acres. that's a little over 62mi÷ have simply been destroyed. that is the size

of washington, d.c., and cnn's erin burnett is going to join us now from the palisades. erin, i know you've been on the ground for a couple of days now, and you've watched people go home to no home. you've watched people try to metabolize what's happened to them. all of this while these fires continue yes. >> i mean, you know, we have been seeing here since obviously, those fires ripping through on tuesday and wednesday, you know, on thursday, people had not seen their homes. >> they still so many of them have not seen their homes lining up, trying to go up behind where we are to the pacific palisades. but those are the people who have already suffered that unimaginable loss. right now, you have crews desperately trying to contain that palisades fire, which is really what is up on these mountains behind us that are completely scorched where we are. jessica. >> and at malibu, pacific palisades behind us that palisades fire, as you were pointing out, only about 11% contained, and that number has been very sticky. that has not increased from the official

numbers that they have given us in quite some time. >> so while the winds are picking up here, they are desperately trying to contain that fire because they do anticipate that these winds are going to pick up even more and more those so-called red flag warnings going to make that fire, you know, at risk of spreading, not just to brentwood, where it made a run yesterday, but also into the san fernando valley and encino, some of the most populated areas in greater los angeles will be under threat from this palisades fire. and that is what they are most desperately focused on right now to try to somehow contain that contain means, contain. it means cordon it off and be able to put a barrier around it. as you know, jessica, it doesn't mean put it out. it means that they think that they can defend the perimeter of the fire. and right now they are 89% not doing that, 11% doing that. so that is that is what they're trying to do right now. as you can see on your screen, the scope of the damage up behind us and pacific palisades is

still unimaginable. and people in those homes will wait hours and hours. some people wait three four hours if they're lucky to get up for ten minutes to even see and survey the loss that was their home. i'm here with bill weir and bill. you've been up. you know, we've been up and around those palisades and, you know, you just see this scorched mountainside. the day is so beautiful that it almost is hard to imagine the fight that is going on right over those mountains. >> absolutely. and the sort of the psychological fight that's going on in the minds of so many people who are worried. there's another 80,000 people living in potential evacuation zones. it's a siege, is now a week long fire siege. and where you think you're getting a break and where they deserve a break. when the sun is out is when they're really ramping up the efforts, especially the hotshots trying to cut those lines the more they contain now, the better chance they'll have once those winds start kicking up. those desert winds howling through the canyons. yeah, that's that's knock wood.

the worst case. we don't want that. but there's also a lot of fuel that's already been burned. so depending on wind direction, they could catch a break. >> right. and the wind direction is everything. i mean, you know, as we're thinking about it, jessica and the canyons can change it. so the fire could it could leap and it could, it could give it the fuel to spread, or it could cause it to actually fold back onto itself. exactly. and that's really the unknown. and also as where we're standing. right. we are literally between pacific coast highway and the pacific ocean. and they can use those super scooper planes to scoop up the sea water and dump it. but when the winds go out there, it's too. they can't even pick up the water. >> that's where most of that damage happened on. the winds are so high they couldn't put anything in the sky. no. you know, firefighting force in the world would fly in hurricane force winds. and so the more water that falls from the sky, the less you have to spray through hoses on the ground. right. and so it balances out. they say they're prepared. we saw this morning the fire chief requested an extra 60 water tankers to be

positioned here and there. but right now, there's so much uncertainty as to which way this thing is going and so much uncertainty as to how soon people can get back in and see what's left of their lives and just the exhaustion of the crews that we are seeing. >> i mean, this is nonstop. i mean, we talk about 24 hour days, 48 hour days. perhaps you could do that for a sprint. this is now not a sprint, right? this is now a marathon. >> exactly. and thankfully they got some they got some reprieves. the cavalry has come in from eight different states. there's crews here from canada, mexico. so a lot more man and woman power on the ground than we had a week ago. when this thing first started. but again, sort of at the mercy of of the fickle nature that doesn't care where you live, how you vote, how much you make when that fire is unchecked, humanity is unable to stop it. when it's really howling. so our thoughts are with those guys and men and women up there right now trying to, i mean, just truly incredible what they're what they're doing.

>> and, you know, loading up that fire retardant dc ten after dc ten because also with the winds it does get even harder to fly those. i mean, those missions aren't easy. you know, you and i have both seen them. i was up in the air the other day looking at it, and we see it constantly. but when the winds happen and the smoke is moving, that really, really heavy dc ten is a really dangerous aircraft to fly. >> and there's this thing it's interesting. they call it the venturi effect for the fellow weather nerds. that is when wind goes into it is forced into a bottleneck. i experienced it in downtown saint petersburg during the hurricane milton, where it accelerates well, here. it's coming across the desert and then into those canyons and and crowding downdrafts for these pilots. so they're just next level ability to put that retardant where it needs to go. and as long as the winds are calm and again working so indefatigably, i mean and to and to think about at that level of intensity, you know, where any tiny thing could be life or death. >> all right. well, you know, we're here and we're in the staging area. jessica, bill and i, this is where a lot of the,

you know, crews are starting. we've got national guard over there, you've got utilities, all of it sort of staging from here for that palisades fire specifically jessica. >> all right. bill weir and erin burnett, thank you so much. and you're right. thank you for walking us through just the heroic actions that those firefighters are taking to protect people, protect homes. it is incredible. we're going to check back in with erin and bill throughout the hour. in the meantime, i want to go to meteorologist allison chinchar, who's joining us live from the cnn weather center. and allison, as as bill and erin were talking about weather plays such a role in the firefighters abilities to get ahead of these fires and try to fight, fight them back and make sure that they're that these embers aren't spreading. how are things shaping up? what are these winds looking like? yeah. >> so we are starting to see those winds begin to pick back up. and we have for about the last hour or so you look at this wind map. this is current winds. and we've got a couple still left on here with those single digit numbers. but more and more of them are starting

to creep into the teens in the 20s. and that's going to be the trend over the next 24 hours to see them continue to go up. and not just for today, but also monday. you'll notice both of these days have both the elevated and critical fire threat, not just in l.a., but even some of the surrounding areas as well. and that's in anticipation of these winds continuing to rise as we go through the evening, and especially monday and tuesday and wednesday, because we're not going to really get a break for several more days now, you can see more of these starting to creep up 30, 40, 50, even some wind gusts as high as 60mph expected over the next several days. and that is really going to complicate things for a lot of those firefighters that are out there. you look at the fires that we have here and yes, those containment numbers have been able to come up the last 24 to 36 hours, and that has been fantastic news. but they're not quite there just yet. and one thing that all of these areas have in common is just how dry it's been. all of them in these dark orange color here indicating they are in severe drought category. and it's because of how little

rain has fallen in the last few months, not just january itself. but look at this. since october 1st, which is when the water year begins. that follows more of a natural water cycle rather than having it start on january 1st. since that october 1st date, they have only had 3/100 of an inch of rain in the l.a. area. normally they would have at least 4.5in by this point in time. and to kind of show you some comparison, this is january of last year. now where where there was no drought whatsoever in the state of california. now fast forward, we have several areas in that severe drought category. keeping in mind too, that this map is more normal. january is actually the second wettest month on average for this area. so this is not the time of year you normally see fires this large, especially spreading so quickly. but it's because that brush, that vegetation that's on the ground is so dry, it's able to spread those fires so quickly. now, one thing we've noticed is we've talked about the potential for rainfall in the

upcoming week, and there really isn't much hope, certainly not in the next five days. but when you push it out to day six and day seven, we do start to see the humidity levels finally begin to increase into areas of southern california. now i will point out this is a very tiny, tiny portion of green. it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to result in a tremendous amount of rain, but at least even a little bit of some higher humidity levels would allow these firefighters at least a better opportunity to get some of those containment numbers up as well. >> yeah, we certainly wish him for that. allison chinchar thank you so much for that. and you can find out how to help. wildfire. wildfire victims in the los angeles area. to donate, you can go to cnn.com/impact or text wildfires to 707070. still ahead tonight, cnn is on the ground speaking one on one with california governor gavin newsom. you'll see that. you're in the cnn newsroom. >> as the new year starts, follow cnn.

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february 2nd on cnn. >> and welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the los angeles wildfires. we know president biden was briefed earlier today on the status of the fire fight, and also how federal resources are being deployed. we also know that right now, winds are getting stronger still. the hurst fire is now near totally contained. that is freeing up crews to take on the much larger and deadlier palisades fire and eaton fire fires. we're joined now by former secretary of defense leon panetta. and secretary, thank you so much for being here. i know you're a lifelong californian. you began your political career as state representative, and i know you're in northern california, but just i'd be curious how you would rate the state and local government's response so far to these fires. >> well, look, uh, for all of us in california and i think for all of us in the country, this is a horrific event to have this

kind of devastating fire, uh, taking lives, destroying property and, you know, i think everybody is doing what they can. the firefighters are on the line. they've been increasing over these last few days with volunteers from across the state, whether they have sufficient water or not, i don't know, but i'm assuming that they they now have water, and they certainly have all of the all of the equipment they need to fight this fire. the problem is, if the santa ana winds pick up, uh, it's just going to be very tough for anybody, anywhere with whatever skill to be able to stop this fire from exploding again. >> it's a erin burnett and bill weir we're talking about the everybody kind of is at the mercy of mother nature when it comes to just the ferocity of the winds and this particular environment as well. um, so and i know some of

the state's representatives in congress have called for a full investigation. gavin newsom, of course, wanting to know about the reservoir. um, do you think that that is appropriate? does there need to be an investigation into into where things might have gone wrong and. >> oh, yeah. listen, without question, there has to be an investigation to look at all aspects of what was involved in in trying to. there are all kinds of issues, whether it's water, whether it's response time, whether it's evacuation routes. uh, there are a number of issues to look at. but very frankly, the fundamental mission as we speak right now is to do everything we can to stop this fire. as long as this fire continues burning in palisades and eaton and other areas. and then it's it's hit by these horrific santa ana winds. we're going to we're going to continue to have a real

devastating fire hitting california, more devastating than almost anything else we've experienced. and we have experienced our share of wildfires. >> i know, i know, and it is it is continuing to happen in real time. i do want to also ask you about the upcoming confirmation hearings as we come back here to the east coast for a second, because those are coming down the pike in this next week. um, on tuesday, pete hegseth trump's pick for secretary of defense, will be going through the beginning of his hearing. and there was a moment early on where he seemed to be kind of hanging on by a thread and then managed to survive, keep trump's support. what would you be asking of him in a hearing if you were one of those senators? you have set that seat as secretary of defense, what would you be asking of him? >> well, obviously there's a lot of areas to cover, and i hope that senators, republican and democrat alone, recognize that this is one of the most

important positions related to national security. so it is very important that we pick the right person for that job. uh, there have been issues that have been raised, whether it's dealing with alcohol. he's had some problems with that. uh, dealing with sexual violence or sexual abuse. he's had problems with that. i think the background check will tell us a lot about whether he's had other incidents along those lines, but i think also important is the issue of making sure that a secretary of defense, he understands that getting men and women to serve in our military is extremely important. he can't engage in these culture wars. he's got to recognize that we need strong men and women to be able to serve. they are an effective fighting force. we have the best fighting force in the world. he can't do anything

to undermine our manpower needs. >> and there's been this argument floating around that, heck, seth, despite not really having any experience to to run the department of defense, could be sort of a figurehead. he could be staffed with people who have the experience to run the defense department. they can make up for it. do you think it can work that way? >> well, that's frankly a lousy way to do business. sure, there are a lot of people that can provide some, uh, some support here, whether they're in the military or in the civilian side. uh, and there are plenty of those. but to have a secretary who's not fully in charge of the department able to manage that department able to deal with the with the serious national security issues that we're confronting. this is a dangerous world right now. we're dealing with russia. we're dealing with china. we're dealing with iran. we're dealing with the middle east. we're dealing with north korea.

we're dealing with terrorism. there are a huge number of threats that are out there. you need to have a secretary that understands and appreciates the dangers that we're facing. >> yeah, it is striking. this is a very different world that president elect trump is coming back into than what he came into in 2017. >> without question, this is a much more threatening world. this is much more dangerous. uh, the fact is that now we're not dealing with our, uh, with these autocrats in. separate, separate, different channels. they are now working together. uh, russia is working with north korea. north korea is working with russia. uh, china is working with both of them. so we are dealing with an axis of autocrats right now. that makes this a much more dangerous world, and one in which the united states must

continue to exercise world leadership and must continue to build and strengthen our alliances. that's the only way to confront this kind of world. >> all right, secretary leon panetta, as always, thank you very much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> california governor gavin newsom laying out a timeline for how quickly building inspectors will be able to look at all the structures damaged or destroyed by these destructive fires. we'll talk more about that when we come back here in the cnn newsroom. >> the whole story with anderson cooper is a five time emmy winner for long form journalism. this week, l.a. burning the whole story with anderson cooper tonight at eight on cnn. >> you know what's brilliant? boring. think about it. >> boring makes vacations happen. >> early retirements possible, and startups start up. that's why pnc bank strives to be boring with your money. >> the pragmatic, calculated,

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their own story. >> kobe the making of a legend premieres january 25th on cnn. >> closed captioning brought to you by mso book.com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have. >> call now and we'll come to you. >> 808 two one 4000. >> and welcome back to our breaking live coverage of the los angeles wildfires. crews behind us are trying to fight those fires as the winds are picking up here. we're in a staging area. our kyung lah is in altadena, which of course has been completely leveled. so many parts of altadena and the

governor of california, gavin newsom, was there as well. right now, dealing with the crisis, dealing with fighting the fires and also dealing with recrimination and frustration about the situation on the ground and why this happened. of course, as there are still fears that it could continue happening as these fires rage. kyung is with me now in altadena and kyung, you had a chance to speak to governor newsom. what did he tell you? >> that he's got his hands full. all of those things that you're talking about, erin. but he's also certainly looking ahead to offering some concrete timelines and cutting the red tape, making a number of promises to our cameras, saying that he is going to try to make things easier for the people who have lost it all. take a listen. so what is this assessment? help explain why we need this and and what this means for you know that homeowner you got through the state fire marshal cal fire

working with county partners, teams of two go in. >> they will go into a property like this. they'll assess and they will photograph, and then they will post online after it's verified about a 12 hour process. and people can go on a website. they don't have to physically be here to know if their property is damaged. and that will then begin the process for the property owner on insurance and getting us to a point where we can start the rebuild process. >> how quickly do you anticipate being able to do that? >> well, as i said, i want all the inspections done within 14 days. every single structure that's been impacted by these fires. so that's thousands of homes, thousands of homes. and so that's the mandate. whatever resources they need, we said we're going to provide it. and then we're looking right now at debris removal. and you're looking at herculean effort. i'll give you an example. we were just with the inspectors. they say it's a little different world now, today with batteries, not just car batteries, but battery packs. people with solar, those tesla wall batteries and the

like. so the hazmat side of this is made a little bit more complicated, which is fine. we'll work through that. >> how soon before this house and that house behind you? how long before you envision this neighborhood? >> so on the basis of just moving forward to eliminate as many barriers as possible, the current estimate and you can come back in two weeks. and objectively, on the basis of new information, i likely would have a modestly different answer. after stress testing the last 48 hours. we think if we get these contracts up and running, we deal with jurisdictional issues between the cities, many cities and the county of l.a. and the state working with our federal partners hand in glove, that we can move forward within 6 to 9 months. get all that debris removed, all the hazardous materials removed. if we get this first 14 days done, that will start that clock you're seeing. well, you the debris is gone and and we said we want

nine months is the goal nine months to a year. you're looking at the magnitude of this. and with the hazmat side, it has to be done in a way that services the long term needs. and then obviously you're going to learn from this process. some of the buildings that are surviving part of their assessment is why did they survive in so many cases, it's building materials. it's not having the eaves. you see, this is a miracle. this house survived with the old structure where you get those embers that would flow right into the attic, and that structure is gone. and making sure that you never see new construction like that again. >> and then what about insurance? >> i mean, we know we live here. your your house is insured. >> my house is insured. >> yeah, mine isn't mine. i'm the one i, i have. my dad's house is under the fair plan. the state's plan. >> and it's very expensive. >> very expensive. and it's it's not great coverage. right. >> so what do you tell people? >> we tell them that we are not only assessing all of that in real time, and have hired an independent group to look to stress test not just the insurance market, but the utility market in california as

well. and we have that experience after camp led to one of the largest bankruptcies in u.s. history, the largest investor owned utility, pge. and from that came a wildfire fund to help stabilize that market. and i say that because we're also mindful of the ongoing investigation as to the cause of this. and part of that cause determination. no one has an understanding fully yet of what caused these fires beyond just hurricane force winds, unprecedented winds and the driest conditions since the 1850s. as it relates to this dry january here in southern california, combination of those two things. but was it a utility line? who's responsible? was it all those things are being determined. and so we're just stress testing the worst case scenario. if it was a utility, what does that mean to the utility market as it relates to insurance. what does it mean to private insurers? who are the insurers? we've been making a lot of reforms in our insurance market, and we'll need to make subsequent reforms something that's particularly pressing for this community.

>> you're standing in is lack of insurance. a lot of people inherited homes or were working class. what do you what about people who didn't have insurance? >> and that's i mean, and that's going to be the most difficult and challenging thing. and that's where fema comes in. that's where the sba comes in. that's where the state of california comes in, where the federal government comes in. that's where philanthropy comes in. people have lost their lives. they've lost their businesses. they've lost hope. and we've got to restore the hope and then restore their lives and businesses and opportunities. >> jd vance was on television today talking about lactaid lack of competency on your part. >> okay. >> what do you say to you've heard this almost every single day. yeah. >> i didn't talk to him. i, you know, hurricanes that were attached to fires. unprecedented when experiences heroic firefighters from all across the united states. we've got folks from texas. we got folks from wyoming that have been pounding on this. the best next gen technology. we've got

these these firehawks and guys with night vision goggles pounding these fires 24 over seven. we've got thousands of national guard men and women that have been on here. we pre-positioned 120 engines, helicopters, dozers, water tenders. we did that on sunday two days before this event. so with respect to the future vice president, i didn't hear his remarks, but i would invite him, as i did donald trump, to to visit with the community. express empathy of the scale of this tragedy and and be here for the american people that happen to reside here in southern california. >> and essentially, erin, what he's saying is he doesn't have time to deal with that, that this is such a massive disaster here in los angeles that he has just got to focus on things like this that you've just heard from him. erin. >> and, kyung, you know, obviously that's going to be so crucial because there's only days left of the biden administration. so when he

talks about hoping that fema is going to pay for insurance for people who didn't have it, that is going to become a trump administration issue. there's also, kyung, as you were talking about with him, you know, so much of the anger and recrimination here about the water. and even as they're fighting the fires. right. he's in the midst of the fighting, the fire. why the hydrants ran dry. what was the situation with the reservoir? do you feel that that he has answers to any of that? >> i think he knows he has to have those answers. he's launched that investigation to look into the hydrants, to to at least figure out what happened with that local reservoir. he does very clearly say that in regards to the the some of the lies that have been pushed, that those state reservoirs, those those are lies. but in regards to the local reservoir, certainly that's going to be a part of the investigation. a lot of questions, like you heard the governor talking about the utility lines, all of that has got to be answered moving forward, in part because you

got to figure out who's going to pay for it, who's going to be to blame for all of this. >> right? i mean, and such crucial questions. and it sounds like kyung, from your conversation that there's been there's been no, no contact between the incoming trump administration and the governor of california and officials here, even though this is likely to be the costliest wildfire in u.s. history, one of the costliest natural disasters in all of u.s. history. yeah, right. >> yeah. these are two men who have a long history of battling it out over tweets and over social media. they have a public battle, but they also understand how to work with each other. newsom has lived through the first trump administration. we have seen him here at this state. understand that there has to be coordination, and so that coordination is not going to be lost. it is also politically advantageous for the incoming

president to make sure that the largest economy in the country is, is going to be upright and is going to be working, and also understanding that california did swing more red, not certainly nowhere near close to voting for trump. but there are very large pockets of the state that became more conservative. so that's not lost on trump. he certainly understands that he knows what the politics of this is. and also governor newsom certainly is is he is political. he understands that. but at the same time, he has an entire state to take care of a very large crisis on his hands. >> all right, kyung, thank you very much. it's such an important interview with the governor of of california, who is at the center of this storm. we're going to take a brief break, and our breaking coverage will continue right after that. >> have i got news for you is

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about wegovy. >> as the fires continue to burn across southern california, thousands of californians are asking things like, where will we live? do we have enough clothes, enough diapers? and while the federal and state governments have pledged to help those in need, some californians are taking it into their own hands right now to help rebuild their communities. joining us now, los angeles county residents pia baroncini and ben richter, who have jumped into action to help their neighbors by getting a drive together for various items. thanks so much to both of you for being here with us. pia, i want to start first with you. what inspired you to take action and what have you seen? >> you know, we could see the fire from our house. i'm born and raised in pasadena. my mother grew up in altadena. >> it's just endless stories, endless personal stories. >> my best friend who bought

her childhood home from her parents. >> her house is gone. her mother's house is gone. >> her sister's house is gone. altadena and pasadena, specifically, are a hub for a very legacy black community. >> and more recently, so many families have been starting their lives there, people who didn't really want to live in west hollywood or beverly hills were wanting a more quiet, suburban way of life, and their houses are gone, and we did outreach really quickly. i posted on instagram i wanted to figure out what i could do. i reached out to ben right away because wake and late is a huge space, and the outpouring was so intense right away, so i knew we needed a large space and it has just taken off. we have revolve, we have hudson jeans, we have, i mean huge brands. gap, dillard's, halle berry is coming. we have nikki kehoe donating home items, parachute. it's really been

overwhelming. >> yeah. and so you're putting all of these items into one place because as we keep reminding people, we keep interviewing people. they literally left with the clothes on their back. they were lucky to just who did not think that their houses were going to burn down. >> they left quickly and they have nothing. >> and ben, you've got this space where all of these donations are going to. people will then be able to go there and get what they need, new clothing. when they, as i was saying, don't have really anything at this point. and we know that the federal and the state governments have pledged to help these victims of the fire. but what is interesting to me is how people like you and pia have jumped in immediately right now, because this need is immediate. >> yeah at community is just such a huge part of what we're doing and who we are. >> and so, you know, when pia called, it was just, you know, a no brainer for us. we've been trying to do anything that we

can for the fire department, for the lapd, anything that we can do to to help our community and teams to get pasadena and altadena back on their feet is, um, it's the least that we can do. >> yeah. and, pia, what's the greatest need that you're seeing right now? >> honestly, everything i'm. so it's like i open my phone and there's just another thing, you know, i have an autistic child. i keep thinking about the parents of children on the spectrum who don't have their sensory toys. my friend's cat is missing. my friend yesterday messaged me, she doesn't have a crib. i mean, it's really everything. so we haven't turned down anything. what we've been really able to do, which i'm excited about, is people from out of state have been messaging saying, what can i do? so i'm just like, ship it all to us. we have 40 volunteers a day. i have tables being donated. we're also asking people to send us letters of encouragement that we can put on the walls. and basically thursday and friday,

we're hoping that's going to be the hub of the drop off. we'll be sorting all day saturday and sunday. people can come pick up anything they need. i have some people coming, you know, i know a lot of these families. shame isn't the right word. but to show up and grab things for yourself, a lot of families are saying it's it's awkward. it's we're hoping that people will come. our goal is to get as many families directly affected in altadena and pasadena as possible. we can come we can get a hug. you can hopefully grab a bite to eat and be with your community and grab what you need. and if we have, you know, we're going to have a lot of stuff. hopefully we'll be able to continue to do this for as long as we need. >> it's amazing. ben richter and pia baroncini, thank you so much for what you're doing, and certainly we hope to talk to you when it's better days. thanks to both of you. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for having us on. thank you. >> yeah. all right. we'll be right back.

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it. learn more about daily routine at laura geller.com. >> i'm gustavo valdez in pacific palisades, california, and this is cnn. >> closed captioning brought to you by book.com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a free book. >> answer questions you may

have. >> call now and we'll come to you. >> 808 two one 4000. >> and we are back with our coverage of the los angeles wildfires right now at the foot of the santa monica mountains. palisades fire. and the destruction up right behind us here with the crews that are staging that response to fight that ongoing, raging palisades fire right behind us. as that happens, these houses are razed, schools are razed, communities are completely disbanded and destroyed. ross zabo is the wellness director at the geffen academy at ucla. ucla, by the way, has been warned they could be on evacuation. that is the the touchy touch and go nature of this situation as they're fighting this fire right now. ross, though you are not only living this yourself, but in this moment where tomorrow is going to be monday and children are going to go back to school, some of them, and i want to talk about the kids that aren't going back to school, though. first, if i could. the

schools here in and altadena, some of them have been completely burned down. those schools, as far as i understand, talking to families here in the palisades, they don't have a plan yet. they don't know. so those children are completely adrift in a certain sense. so what? what to do in a moment like this of such complete and utter uprootedness? >> it's really unimaginable. and, you know, a lot of times teachers don't even get training on this. there's no person coming in and saying, hey, here's what you should do. >> so at geffen academy, we started a mental health education institute and put out resources to really try and help people so that they understand. just some tips, some things to think about. but remember, a school community really is the whole community. it's not just the kids. the students, it's the the teachers, the parents. and a lot of teachers are parents too. and a lot of teachers in the communities you're talking about have kids going to the

schools. so it's a it's just a really devastating moment. >> and just, you know, some of the schools i know there's a question. i mean, they're not going to be going back to their school anytime, maybe never. i mean, by the time of as many years as it could take, right. so who knows how those remote learning situations may present themselves? i know that some schools, even in the area kids, are going back. there's been a lot of, i guess, you know, frustration may be the right word. parents don't know really what a lot of l.a. public schools are, are even planning to do, whether it's remote learning or in-person learning. just this moment of in limbo. how how as you talk about this should teachers even address this with children who are both living through trauma but also desperately seeking some sort of sense of normalcy from authority figures in their life, especially teachers? >> schools are that routine for a lot of students.

>> and so every school district is going to work as hard as they can to get kids back into that routine. some of the biggest tips i have are obviously we talk about mental health. a lot of times after a crisis or a natural disaster, mental health needs to be talked about as often and as normalized as as physical health. and the reality of this disaster is, as you said, it's not going to be a week or a month. it's going to be months and maybe years. so some things that people can do are one, realize that any reaction to this trauma is okay. some kids are going to be devastated and lashing out and upset and frustrated. other kids are going to seem like they're not affected at all. every response is okay. teachers don't need to fix everything. they can be there for people and validate and affirm the emotions that are happening. the other thing that's really important is that schools have a common language for mental health. we do have a common language for physical health, but a lot of schools aren't on the same page with mental health. and so it's critical to build that

understanding. and then the last piece there is to make sure that teachers aren't processing their emotions with their students. it's a really difficult time. make sure as a teacher, much like that oxygen mask, you're taking care of yourself outside of school so that you can show up in the classroom, wherever that is. >> all right. well, ross, i very much appreciate your time. thank you. and viewers, just to understand, talking to people here, you have, of course, the families, parents and teachers who have lost their schools. the schools are completely gone. those situations, so many of them now totally adrift as they try to figure out what to do. but even in other schools, as today, it's a clear day. but when the wind blows another way and this fire is raging, ash is coming down. children from many schools, los angeles public schools, they were closed. maybe they're going to online learning. maybe they're not just a complete and utter sense of uncertainty for for so many in the second largest school district in this country, we are going to take a brief break. we'll be back here along, of course, with jessica dean in just a couple of minutes

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