from abc seven live breaking news. our families in tears. >> the community is in tears. i mean, this is devastating. it's never going to be the same. i'm never going to be able to show my kids where i grew up. it's all gone. it's all gone. >> a southern california homeowner with a gut wrenching perspective of a grim reality, the palisades fire, now the most destructive in los angeles history. more than 5000 structures burned to the ground, leaving mile after mile of simply scorched earth. the road to recovery only just beginning as yet another fire breaks out in la. so the damage continues. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley and i'm j.r. >> stone. that new fire is the kenneth fire which has erupted close to homes in the area of calabasas and hidden hills. evacuations are underway. it's already burned almost 800 acres, according to cal fire. >> of course, we're keeping an eye on that. in the meantime, abc seven news anchor karina

nova is tracking the other fires and some new video coming in from southern california. karina. >> yeah, a lot to show you, dan. both the palisades and eden fire remain out of control right now. and we have seen the number of buildings destroyed or damaged shoot up significantly today. we also know of the five deaths being reported. one is now attributed to the palisades fire. and this gives you an idea of where the fires are burning. the eden is to the northeast near pasadena. the palisades is more near the coast and santa monica. it's also the larger of the two wildfires, and as of right now, the most destructive. the number of structures burned rose to at least 5300 today. aerial images show home after home turned into rubble. the fire has burned 20,000 acres. the destruction from the eden fire rose dramatically today. officials now say as many as 5000 structures were damaged or destroyed this morning. they said it was around 1000. the acreage also shot up to over

13,000. altadena residents showed up to see years of their lives turned to rubble. our sister station in los angeles spoke to people who showed up at their homes earlier today. >> 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. >> 40 years of life gone in an overnight incident. yeah. it was it's unfathomable. >> and here's what residents are seeing after the wrath of the palisades fire, entire neighborhoods are leveled. filmmaker jon turteltaub's home was spared. but he says parts of malibu are unrecognizable. >> coming down in the middle of the night. no lights. i didn't know where it was on pch because all of the landmarks are gone. you don't know what street you've crossed, you don't know which house you've passed. it's just done. it's all done. >> for all those residents who lost homes in pacific palisades, altadena and other areas, there

is a lot of federal help right now. earlier today, president biden held a briefing saying the government would cover 100% of disaster response costs for 180 days. biden is also sending 400 federal firefighters and 30 federal firefighting planes. back to you. >> all right, karina, thanks very much. just beginning to assess what is going to be needed in the weeks, months and even years ahead. there are new questions about which power companies use public safety power shutoffs. as the l.a. county wildfires broke out, southern california edison says it shut off electricity on its distribution lines to altadena before the fires started. that did not happen in pacific palisades. electricity there is supplied by the los angeles department of power and water, and municipal agencies don't have to comply with these psps alerts. these power shutoff alerts. la dpw uses a system that shuts off power once an electrical line goes down. this will become important, of

course, when investigators begin to determine exactly how these fires started and spread so rapidly. >> drone footage over pacific palisades continues to give us an idea of the scope of this wildfire disaster. we already know strong winds played a significant role, and so did southern california's drought. new data released today gives us an idea of just how grim the situation is. abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel is here with a look at that. >> j.r. they have had no winter in southern california and the drought will reflect that. with severe drought conditions in southern california. let's first talk about the fires. the kenneth fire is the newest fire that has broken out near calabasas. multiple wildfires, strong, gusty santa ana winds. the last couple of days have not helped the situation. while they're not as strong right now, the gusts in southern california have been between 65 and 74 miles an hour. i just looked at the latest numbers. right now you have 38 at camp. 935 malibu.

as we go, hour by hour, those gusty offshore winds will continue well into the night and pick up at times going into tomorrow morning, we have gusty winds. you're looking at 37 simi valley. those downsloping winds go on into friday morning. and then friday afternoon a wind shift, onshore winds coming off the ocean, transporting higher humidity into the area, which should help the firefighters temporarily. red flag warnings until 6 p.m. tomorrow. moderate to strong winds, the santa ana winds and critically dry conditions continue, so severe drought in southern california. you can see much of the central portion of the state is abnormally dry. so we certainly are doing better than they are because of our recent rain. i'll be back with a look at their air quality, plus our warm weather that we've had coming up. dan. >> all right, sandhya, thanks very much. these are images of a prescribed burn today in moraga, where community activists are concerned about residents being able to make it out if there is a fire, especially given the limited number of the mostly

small two lane roads in that area. but as abc seven news reporter anser hassan explains. officials in moraga say solid plans are in place. >> the moraga orinda fire protection district worked on a prescribed burn on thursday near the moraga lafayette border. it's an effort to create a fuel break to protect homes from wildfires. >> the work that we're doing also makes retardant drops land in lighter fuels where they are much more effective. >> the prep work helps to maintain the hillsides, but some moraga residents are concerned about another potential problem the town's small two lane roads in the event of a chaotic wildfire. >> everybody's going to try to get out and people are going to be trapped on these one and two arteries out of town, and it's going to be a disaster. >> cheryl sabnis is with the group save moraga. it's focused on how to evacuate morocco's almost 17,000 residents, and it wants the town to do more. >> the tough part about infrastructure is, is that it is limited. >> morocco police chief john king admits the town's limited roadways presents a challenge,

but he says evacuation plans are in place. this evacuation document has been sent to residents. a community warning system set up with the county will inform residents where to go, and law enforcement have another manual explaining how the evacuation zones will operate. >> these are our traffic control points. we're going to have to set up how many people it's going to take me to, to staff those and then any equipment i might need. >> and all this. in addition to the real life drills by first responders, he says, the city is also considering building new roads or expanding moraga way, a hiking biking trail along moraga way that could then be transformed into a into a travel lane if need be. but sabnis believes the moraga evacuation town plan reads more like a shelter in place plan. >> i have read the plan. i've reviewed it. you have neighborhoods in one part of town being sent across town. it's not really workable. >> sabnis acknowledges the work the town has done, but says there is more work to do. >> and experts. our hands are up

as community members to help the town make these plans, and we all want to make it through a wildfire event in moraga, anser hassan abc seven news. >> you've likely seen the viral images of residents in pacific palisades doing everything they can to assist in the fire fight. some using garbage cans, buckets, anything. they can get water on flames. abc seven news south bay reporter dustin dorsey says that's a result of the water demand being too much on the fire hydrant system. and he explains how one bay area city is working to try and prevent a similar situation in the middle of a deadly, costly and out of control fire fight. >> many crews responding to the pacific palisades fire have been without the greatest tool in extinguishing flames. >> water utilities. understandably shut off power because they're worried the lines that they carried energy were going to be blown down and spark additional fires. and when they did that, it cut off the

ability to generate pumping the water. >> and los angeles mayor karen bass says windy conditions only exacerbated this issue. >> the number one problem, especially on tuesday, i mean, on wednesday, was the fact that we weren't able to do the air support because of the winds. >> no air support meant immense pressure on the hydrant system, which was simply not designed for the volume of fire we're seeing in los angeles. san francisco fire rescue captain justin shaw broke it down in the easiest way to understand. if you turn all the faucets on in your home, you lose water pressure. if your neighbors do the same, you all lose pressure. now imagine the amount of hydrants running as homes go up in flames. >> they're all based on volume and pressure. the systems are usually designed for 1 or 2 homes or buildings to be needing a fire hydrant at a time. we have entire neighborhoods that are in need. >> we saw a similar situation in 2002, in san jose. a fire at santana row hit 11 alarms and became the worst in city history. their hydrants

struggled to keep up with demand as well. that fire, as well as those in l.a, are both examples of why san jose water prioritizes millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades. >> you need the hardware in place, right? obviously, you need the water mains and the fire hydrants to be able to do it, but you also need the water supply. you know, you need both sides of that in order to be able to deliver that on that protection. >> it will be reflected in customer bills. but san jose water says it's easy to see how important good infrastructure is when terrible situations happen. dustin dorsey, abc seven news. >> just unbelievable. that image particularly so. thousands grappling now with the reality of losing their homes and businesses in los angeles. in the meantime, bay area wildfire survivors are sharing advice and speaking about the challenges of rebuilding. and there are many. nearly 2500 of the 2800 homes lost have been rebuilt in santa rosa following the tubbs fire there in 2017. abc seven news

reporter luz pena went to santa rosa today to speak with wildfire survivors. >> images of homes consumed by flames and leveled neighborhoods in southern california are giving many bay area wildfire survivors flashbacks of one of the most destructive wildfires in california history, the 2017 tubbs fire in sonoma county. >> it's devastating for those of us who have been through this. it's very similar to our fire. the tubbs fire, because of the winds having 60 to 100 mile an hour winds blowing those embers, it's like a blast furnace. >> janet leeson and her family lost everything. seven years later, they're still rebuilding and gave insight into what many in southern california may experience, starting with the challenge of finding a home when thousands are also searching. >> we started looking for a place to live and decided to purchase fifth wheels and we

lived on trailers. >> then came the insurance. >> we were underinsured, which was pretty typical of most of the people in our area. we used our insurance money to pay down our mortgage so that we could be owner builder, so that we didn't have to deal with the contractor, which saved us money. >> her home is now as fireproof as it can be. >> cement board. siding. so it won't catch fire. >> seven minutes from janet's home, over 1300 structures were destroyed in santa rosa's coffey park neighborhood. pamela van helsing said coming together as a neighborhood to rebuild was key. >> find others who are in the same situation and work together. that's what we did here. it helped immeasurably. >> they have a message for other survivors. >> give yourself grace to move slowly and carefully and thoughtfully through these next months and even years, because it's a marathon to recover from something like this. >> and for those supporting

those in need, your words matter. >> please try to avoid saying, well, at least you're lucky that you got out or it's only things. those are hurtful things. just be there for them. >> in santa rosa luz pena, abc seven news. >> you can help people affected by the california wildfires donated red cross.org/abc to help the red cross respond and help people recover. >> they can use the help. well, more to come here. a bay area tribute to former president jimmy carter. as the nation says farewell today to see how a local habitat for humanity chapter is honoring his legacy. >> also, the all star lineup before and after next month's nba all star game at chase center. the music acts you can check out and where they will be playing. abc s

family members. officers found the bodies on wednesday at a home on monarch court, after the boyfriend of one of the residents requested a welfare check. now, the victims have been identified as two women, ages 67 and 33, and two men, ages 67 and 28. police say a semiautomatic handgun was also found near one of the deceased, and that there is no threat to the public. the contra costa county district attorney's office has opted not to file charges against a motorist who killed another driver in a road rage confrontation in orinda. the incident happened back in september. police say one driver, who has not been identified, shot 50 year old scott decker. after decker attacked him during the incident, decker died at the scene. the incident was captured on video by a camera in the driver's vehicle, which he gave to law enforcement.

>> former president jimmy carter was laid to rest today in his hometown of plains, georgia. residents lined up to say goodbye to the 39th president as a procession with his casket went down main street. carter's family held a small private service at the baptist church where jimmy carter taught sunday school. after leaving the white house, his family buried him next to his beloved wife, rosalynn, near their humble home in a place they both picked out this morning. all five living presidents attended a state funeral at the national cathedral in washington, d.c. mr. carter passed away december 29th at the age of 100, and habitat for humanity is paying tribute to president jimmy carter's work with that organization over decades. today, the public was invited to sign two memorial doors in the bay area. they were displayed at oakland city hall's amphitheater and the east plaza at san jose city hall. >> very special right there. as we head to the break, here is a live look at the conditions

outside right now. beautiful sunset. wow. so what's in store for your bay area forecast? we'll check back with meteorologist sandhya patel for the details

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good evening everyone. let's take a look at a live picture right now from the latest fire burning in southern california. this is the kenneth fire. fire? you can see this is near calabasas. the flames are moving up the hill. very gusty situation in the area where the fire is burning. so obviously this is not favorable for the firefighters there. smoke from the wildfires can be seen on the visible satellite picture right now. now, the winds are not nearly as strong as they were a couple of days ago. but they're drying winds. and you combine that with the drought. a severe drought doesn't make for a good situation. as those fires

continue to grow and expand. air quality alert in effect for southern california. look at the air quality the orange is indicating poor for sensitive group. red is unhealthy. this heavy, thick smoke is going to continue to impact them. but some of this in the upper parts of the atmosphere will start to drift into the southern part of our viewing area as we head into tomorrow afternoon. so if you see hazy skies, don't be surprised if you're particularly sensitive to smoke. you'll want to close your windows and doors and put your ac on recirculate. high pressure is still the controlling factor, but the area of low pressure is starting to shift off to the east. so while we are expecting the gusty offshore winds to continue. not nearly as strong as they have been in days past. a live look at live doppler seven skies are clear right now. taking a look at the winds over our hilltops. east foothills 30 miles an hour. we've seen 60 and 70 mile an hour winds in the hills in the last 24 hours. those offshore winds did bring record warmth today. 70 in oakland, 71 at sfo,

75 in redwood city. sure doesn't feel like january. plenty of 70s in santa rosa, livermore, san jose, concord, 68, in san francisco. taking a look at a live picture. it's a clear view from golden gate 64 there in petaluma and the emeryville area. you're looking at a beautiful sunset shot. santa rosa, 6074. excuse me, 68, in concord. and a live picture from santa cruz tomorrow. hazy areas, a little cooler this weekend. we're looking at mild weather, gusty winds again and early next week. dry pattern with near average temperatures for a change. saturday morning we're going to start to see the gusty offshore winds developing over 30 miles an hour remaining. that way into the afternoon. those winds will translate down to the lower elevations as well. and then another round of gusty winds sunday morning, sunday night going into monday. so this also will mean that fire danger will remain elevated in southern california. i suspect the red flag warnings will get extended beyond tomorrow. looking at the

hourly forecast, still mild at 620 we head into 820 temperatures in the 50s tomorrow morning, beginning with mostly 40s and 50s, and by the afternoon it is a little bit cooler than where we were today. we're not expecting the same repeat of today's temperatures tomorrow morning. 30s. 40s. bundle up. it's a chilly start, but it's a comfortable day in the afternoon. mainly sunny skies. you're looking at 60s for a lot of you. 68 degrees in san jose. the accuweather seven day forecast. sunny and slightly cooler tomorrow. gusty winds would turn over the weekend and we are looking at a windy start to the week before temperatures drop off, enough to where they'll be closer to where they should be. dan. >> okay sandhya, thanks a lot. speaker emerita nancy pelosi has announced muni will receive $9.2 million in federal funding to modernize the historic presidio yard. pelosi says the u.s. department of transportation grants will support the overhaul of the century old bus maintenance facility. officials say it will improve maintenance as well as working conditions

that will get muni busses back into service sooner. >> san jose has started cracking down on rv encampments in the city. officials are first targeting the 30 largest unauthorized rv parking sites. they'll set up towaway zones and alert people living in oversize vehicles that they have two weeks to leave. meantime, san jose is tripling its shelter capacity for rv residents. it's also setting up safe parking sites for rvs in the berryessa and saint teresa neighborhoods. >> all right. coming up next, the nba all star weekend concert series, the artists that you'll see and how much

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san francisco nursing facility that's provided homes for seniors for more than a century is closing. little sisters of the poor has announced plans to shut down saint ann's home near the presidio in the spring. the closure means 59 residents must find new places to live. administrators are working with staff, residents and their families to help manage those transitions. >> finally, here. san francisco is getting ready to host

thousands of people for nba all star weekend, which is a little more than a month away now. and tonight we're learning who will perform during the weekends concert series. dance pop dj and producer zedd, as well as electronic duo the chainsmokers, will perform the concert series at pier 48, runs february 14th through the 16th. three day general admission tickets cost $400. vip tickets? well, they're going for 650. and vip plus tickets will cost you $1,500. the difference? vip plus gets you onto an elevated viewing platform and closer to the stage. >> vip plus. much more news ahead at 530 on abc seven bay area streaming tv, including continuing coverage of the southern

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tonight, a special edition of "world news tonight." as we come on the air in the west. the unimaginable destruction here in los angeles. multiple wildfires still burning out of control.