home. and memories are gone. >> we're going to make sure california has every possible resource to fight these fires. >> we do anticipate another red flag event beginning on monday. >> more wind on the way as crews are still trying to get ahead of the flames in southern california. good afternoon, i'm kristen z. >> and i'm julian glover. more than 35,000 acres have burned and thousands of homes have burned with it. and what could end up being one of the most expensive wildfires in california history? >> today, more images of all the damage, homes and lives destroyed. this as crews continue to work to try to put out the fire. still burning out of control. six fires have scorched los angeles county and four remain burning. today, many residents were dropped from their fire insurance plans before the flames hit, and those insured are concerned about whether or not they will get the funds to rebuild. >> i want you all to know that we are going to be working diligently with the state to

make sure that those that are insured get the financial help they need. >> the palisades and eaton fires are still the most destructive with the least containment. more than 7000 structures were damaged or destroyed in the eaton fire alone. another 5 to 6000 from the palisades fire. fire officials are hopeful for progress. >> a lot of really good progress here along the fire's edge. mop up patrol. and we expect to gain significant containment in this area this afternoon. and this evening, after we feel a little bit more comfortable in the red flag. warning expires. >> the national guard arrived to some burn zones to crack down on looting, and at least 20 arrests have been made. starting tonight, police will begin enforcing a nighttime curfew in evacuation zones from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice. >> nothing shows the damage quite like before and after images, and that's what we have here. this is what people returning to their homes are finding pretty much nothing. a nightmare for so many of the

homeowners who have called southern california home for so many decades. reporter zach fuentes and brianna willis continue our coverage from los angeles, a once thriving community now decimated by flames. >> the deadly palisades fire leaving thousands of residents, including mathias hernandez, without a place to call home. >> i completely did not believe it would be like, be like this. our community is. >> everything's gone. hernandez says when he finally evacuated, he only left with the clothes on his back as he never thought this would be the reality he returned to. >> and me and my friends are calling these past two days the worst day on earth for us. i mean, this is the worst possible thing imaginable. >> worst case scenario over the last four days, the flames have scorched more than 20,000 acres, destroying more than 5000 structures. the scope of the damage continues to go far beyond just homes. this is actually the palisades village, a place where people shop, eat and simply go to the bank. now, what's left of the rubble

remains unrecognizable. the battle to contain the blaze still underway. from the air and the ground. while the future remains uncertain for families across the los angeles area. >> i think we've all had someone impacted by this fire. i keep saying it. you are not alone. >> hernandez says now is the time for neighbors to help neighbors, to save what's left of the once picture perfect pacific palisades area. >> today, if we can stay a community even though nothing no, no property stands, you know, if we can stay a community through, like finding people in person, embracing them, and just like staying a community because we have nothing left. >> while we have experienced calmer winds today. gusts are expected to increase once again, which firefighters say could test their containment lines. in pacific palisades, i'm briana willis, abc seven news. >> we're in altadena on fair oaks avenue. angeles national forest is just behind us up here, and we are just continuing to see more and more of the devastation that we've seen on the ground. and now we're seeing

in other images that are being shared from the sky, and eveng more images on the ground here, as we've seen block by block, just devastated by the fire that came through here. and even before the fires that came through, there was a lot of wind damage, downed trees, that residents actually had to help each other move some of these trees out of the roads as they worked to evacuate just a couple of days ago. and now, as we're back here today, just seeing the level of more and more of the level of damage and devastation here to so many of the homes, it is just tragic to see now. right now there is a police perimeter around this evacuation zone because of the concerns of looters. we came here this morning and police told us to be careful with looters because they had just arrested two. this was about 2 or 3 in the morning that they had arrested two looters. and we know that's on top of the many other arrests that were made. so we're not seeing many people here in the way of residents coming back like we were seeing yesterday. but who is out here are the law enforcement patrols that are out here making sure there are no looters. and of course, the fire crews that are going up the hill

to fight the fire and to check on hotspots here as well. i want to talk to steve gutierrez, a union representative with the national federation of federal employees, and there are a lot of federal firefighters who are part of this fight to battle these fires. >> yes. that's correct. we represent forest service, wildland firefighters, federal wildland firefighters that are up on that hill right now, and green fire engines and green hotshot buggies and putting in and constructing fire lines. at the moment, these folks have saved a ton of lives here in altadena. >> zach fuentes, abc seven news when it comes to destructive fires in state history, the 2018 camp fire remains the worst, with 85 lives lost and more than 18,000 structures destroyed. >> that's the fire that destroyed the town of paradise. as we all remember painfully, the eaton and palisades are poised to become the second and third most destructive. moving past the 2017 tubbs fire in the north bay and the 1991 oakland hills fire, the eaton fire burning in altadena has claimed at least six lives and damaged

or destroyed an estimated 7000 structures. the palisades blaze has claimed at least five lives. meantime, with an estimated 5300 structures damaged or destroyed. >> as you know, this is a total team effort. firefighters from across the state and especially the bay area are on the ground right now in southern california, lending support to those local crews still fighting these destructive wildfires. >> abc seven news reporter cornell bernard is checking in with some of them today, and he's live in nevada for us with details. cornell. >> yeah. hey, christine and julian, firefighters from station 61 here in novato, now part of a strike team of other marin county firefighters who are in the l.a. area right now lending whatever support they can to firefighters who are likely exhausted from that ongoing firefight. >> you know, the devastation is really the thing that is shocking everybody, the amount of homes that have burned and the way the fire came down and

impacted these communities, it's just it's heartbreaking. >> marin county fire battalion chief grant groneman telling us what he's seeing across the southland, a trail of wildfire destruction there, still active fire burning on on the incidents up in the hills. >> firefighters are just, you know, currently working to extinguish hotspots around structures to ensure that, you know, the loss is limited to what already occurred. >> chief groneman is one of 50 marin firefighters on the ground lending support in the firefigh, alongside dozens of other bay area crews. his team is also doing surveys from the air over the eaton fire zone in altadena. >> we also want to make sure that every stone is turned over if someone is missing a loved one, and that we can identify what occurred and, and, and, and identify anybody that's missing. >> cal fire's lake napa unit posted on x. its crews helped save a home from the eaton fire at 3 a.m. on friday after working a 24 hour shift. >> yeah, we're at the rose bowl. the rose bowl here in pasadena

is being used as the base base camp for the eaton fire. >> santa rosa fire marshal paul lowenthal is part of a team of 70 firefighters from sonoma county now on the front lines. >> unfortunately, we're getting pretty good at our responses to these large scale wildfires across california. you look at what occurred here or at our at our own, in our own county, with the tubbs and nuns fire of 2017, southern california firefighters provided mutual aid to sonoma county back then. >> and now lowenthal's team is returning the favor. this image showing a santa rosa engine crew working alongside los angeles city fire those three engines together, is a prime example of how firefighters may not know one another. >> they may operate differently within their own jurisdictions, but when it comes to an incident like this, they work seamlessly together. >> you know, it really highlights the true mission of mutual aid. many firefighters say they do not know how long they will be in southern california. it could be weeks. we are told by local officials

that while they're gone, local fire stations remain fully staffed in marin county. cornell, bernard. abc seven news, cornell. >> thank you. and you can help people affected by the california wildfires by donating to the red cross. go to redcross.org. slash abc to help the red cross respond and help people recover. >> we know they are not out of the woods yet down there in southern california. that's why we want to check in now with abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel for a look at the latest conditions where those fires are burning. sandhya. >> yeah, you're absolutely right. julian and kristen, let's take a look at the red flag warning that continues until 6 p.m. tonight for parts of southern california. clearly, the fire danger is going to remain high going into the weekend as they have just issued a fire weather watch that starts saturday evening goes until sunday afternoon. we're looking at a strong santa ana wind event with gusty winds and low humidity. here are the current wildfires. the largest is the palisades fire at just over 21,000 acres. they are making some progress with

containment on the fire lines, and that's because the winds have started to back off. 34 camp fire and the winds have veered direction, coming off the on and blowing towards the land. so here's a look at what you can expect. a little breezy to gusty at times, but not nearly as strong until tomorrow afternoon. the winds pick up going into tomorrow night. you can see they're 38 miles an hour there in some areas. and this gusty wind pattern with the low humidity downsloping winds is going to remain the concern. we have a wind advisory going up for our hills from midnight saturday until sunday morning, as we are expecting gusts up to 50 miles an hour in our local hills. i'll be back with more on that coming right up, julian. >> an important warning. thank you so much, sandhya. well, this morning, a 3.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of san francisco, followed by at least two smaller aftershocks. just really small shakers there. it was centered about three miles west of ocean beach. there were no reports of injuries or damage. there was also no tsunami report. >> our coverage of the southern

california wildfires continues. up next, the insurance concerns after so many policies were canceled. also ahead, a new fire chief named in san francisco and the climate change threshold that our record warm weather has blown through a team can help you plan for your dreams. so your dream car, and vacation home, may be closer than you think. ready to meet the dream team? you can with wells fargo.

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we're getting a look at the. scope of the devastation here. >> and one of the main challenges some survivors will face is their insurance policy and how to navigate it. abc seven news reporter luz pena spoke to a tubbs fire survivor about the key points to keep in mind to get all of the money you are entitled to from your insurance. >> yeah. that's right. the 2017 tubbs fire became one of the most destructive wildfires in california history, and the images we're seeing now out of southern california serve as a reminder of what many people here went through. one of them is annie barber, who has used her experience to help other survivors with their insurance claims. it's been seven years since annie barber woke up to flames consuming her neighborhood in santa rosa, and about 215, 220 in the morning, i got a nixle that said fire jumped 101 heading to coffey park. >> evacuate immediately. >> coffey park was leveled. a different site today. this represents the resilience and

unity of this community. annie, like many here, made it her mission to help other wildfire survivors. >> everybody in the neighborhood wants to pay it forward in some respect because they know how traumatic this is. >> annie began to volunteer for the nonprofit united policyholders, and now is a coordinator who's deployed to fire zones throughout the country without insurance. can't recover, guiding many through the hardest moments of their lives, starting with what to do about your mortgage. >> we recommend that they call their mortgage company, and they ask them if they could please open an escrow account so that money from the dwelling portion of the insurance will be coming in. you'll sign it, you'll send it to your mortgage company. they will open up an escrow account for the amount that you owe on your mortgage, and they'll hold on to that and walk it through the rebuild process with you. that is their collateral on your home that's gone, leading many to find ways to hold off payments. i had a total loss. can i do a

forbearance? and in the perfect world, what they'll say is absolutely. and they'll give you three months at a time. >> united policyholders says documenting the inside and outside of your home now before a fire is key, as well as after. >> for insurance claims, you can clearly communicate with your insurance company any promises that were made. and really, you know, again, treat it like a business negotiation. >> now they're gearing up to go to southern california to help. >> once they are contained, we will be going down to southern california to have our volunteers who are previous disaster survivors staff, the local assistance center. >> annie is continuing to prepare to help those who she understands at a deeper level. >> this is the best work i could be doing is helping others. it feels really good. >> and the nonprofit united policyholders was created after the devastating oakland hills fire storm in 1991. on their website, they have a list of

resources. something you can do now is know your neighbors and truly know your insurance contract. before a fire in the newsroom. luz pena, abc seven news. >> thank you. luz. san francisco mayor daniel lowery has made the first major appointment of his administration, and the timing is significant. battalion chief dean crispin has been named san francisco's 27th fire chief. it comes on the heels of the city sending nearly two dozen firefighters to help fight the palisades fire. crispin accepted the appointment, pointing to today's earthquakes to highlight the importance of his role. >> i received a stark reminder of the seriousness of this position this morning at 702 hours, we were struck by a 3.7 earthquake. citizens of this city, our department stands ready to protect you and your loved ones. should disaster strike to take this photograph. >> crispin has been with the department for 34 years and has served as captain of stations in chinatown, north beach and south of market. >> we're getting some new details today about governor

newsom's proposed $322 billion budget. state budget leaders say the package includes nearly $17 billion in rainy day funding, with a modest surplus of $323 million. officials credit the better than expected forecast to stock market gains by the state's wealthiest taxpayers and previous budget cuts. >> we are a lot better off than the last couple of years. we're not facing a budget shortfall. we do recognize that we still have work to do to ensure long term sustainability. >> officials say the budget will fund the governor's priorities, including universal pre-k, but the package limits new investments with just $1.2 billion in new spending. >> we want to check in on our weather, but also, you know, they've been worried about the air quality, perhaps even worsening now in southern california due to the wildfires. >> yeah, those n95 masks have certainly been something that folks want to wear down there. we want to check in now with

meteorologist sandhya patel for a look at those current conditions when it comes to air quality. yeah. >> and julian and kristen, good afternoon to you guys. let me show you the current situation in that area. hello everyone. you can see wildfire smoke in the vicinity is not as extensive right now, but it is certainly concentrated across this region. they are still dealing with the air quality issues. yesterday if you recall, we had reds and oranges. right now we have moderate air quality across parts of southern california. they are going to continue to see impacts from the smoky skies, the wildfires and the smoky conditions. but here's the biggest change that has happened. the winds have backed off a bit, which has helped the firefighters gain some ground. area of low pressure has pushed off to the east. high pressure is still in control, but as the two have separated, the winds have backed off temporarily. let me show you live doppler seven. right now we do have a few clouds off the coastline. and as we check out those winds right now, 25 miles an hour in our

hills at spring valley atlas peak 24, those gusts are going to increase up to 50 miles an hour. so the hills are under a wind advisory from midnight until 10 a.m. sunday. gusty winds, possibility of some outages, and some downed tree limbs. so let's look at our fire danger index counts for the humidity and the winds. and you can see as we head towards tomorrow afternoon, the fire danger will go into the high to very high category over the hilltops and continue well into saturday night and even into sunday morning. so just keep that in mind as you go about your weekend plans. we also have the potential for minor coastal flooding. coastal flood advisory. 5 a.m. to noon tomorrow. high tide is coming up and that means the usual spots will likely see flooding. beautiful view from golden gate, 59 in the city 64 oakland. temperatures are coming down today compared to yesterday, 67 in san jose. still mild there. kgo roof camera a little bit of a breeze. 62 in santa rosa, 59 petaluma, mid 60s concord and livermore and from sfo. it is a sunny view this

weekend. gusty offshore winds, above average temperatures with sunshine and mild weather. and then next week our dry pattern continues. as we look at those temperatures. they come down into the 40s and 50s at 8 p.m. some passing clouds. tomorrow morning we start off with mostly clear skies and then in the afternoon it will be another mild one. numbers will come down by the evening hours. those winds pick up over 30 miles an hour tomorrow morning and then tomorrow afternoon. you can see there 33 miles an hour. fairfield, close to 40, in fairfield, half moon bay, heading towards midnight sunday. the gusty offshore winds is obviously a concern, so stay aware of your surroundings. tomorrow morning. 30s and 40s chill in the air tomorrow afternoon. you're looking at high temperatures in the 50s and the 60s. it's definitely going to be a windy one. accuweather seven day forecast. gusty winds, mild day, still windy sunday morning. and then next week we'll have another burst of some winds coming our way, but not quite as strong. certainly temperatures will start to trend lower. so kristen and julian, they'll

be closer to average, but the dry pattern continues. >> okay. appreciate it. thak you. >> sandhya. well, you're going to like this. i think the oakland zoo has officially named a spider monkey that they recently rescued. she is now named azula's after the montes azules biosphere reserve, home of the mexican spider monkey. the zoo says she still has symptoms of being malnourished, but is now following a healthy diet and her organ function is good as well, so hopefully she'll gain that weight in no time. >> great update there. i know so many people were concerned about her her. well, coming up here, another possible case of bird flu, this time in a human. and it's also in san francisco. >> and the fate of tiktok in the u.s. is now in

the child first tested positive for flu. expanded testing then revealed the possible infection from bird flu. the child did not need to be hospitalized and has since fully recovered, thankfully. well, the future of tiktok in the u.s. is now in the hands of the u.s. supreme court. >> today, arguments were heard on the law that could ban tiktok in the u.s. >> abc news reporter perry russom has an update on today's hearing. >> today, lawyers for tiktok say the app will go dark by january 19th unless the supreme court blocks or delays its potential

upcoming ban at the supreme court today. tiktok's lawyers argue the law that would ban the app is a burden on tiktok speech. >> it's fear that americans, even if fully informed, could be persuaded by chinese misinformation. that, however, is a decision that the first amendment leaves to the people. >> the law, backed by congress with bipartisan support, would ban tiktok unless its chinese based parent company, bytedance, sells the app. the biden administration says china's control of tiktok through bytedance is a grave threat to national security. u.s. government officials say the chinese government could pressure bytedance to manipulate what viewers see on the app and handle massive amounts of user data. >> those realities mean that the chinese government could weaponize tiktok at any time to harm the united states. >> bytedance has long denied the accusations and has said it will not sell the app. it's used by 170 million americans every month. >> could the justices essentially pause the effective date of this law, wait for the change in administrations and some kind of potential political

compromise, as donald trump asked the justices to do? in a filing he made last week. so i think that is one potential middle ground that we could see coming out of this case. >> and the u.s. is not alone in taking actions against tiktok. more than a dozen countries have either banned or restricted the app, including canada, india and australia. the justices are expected to make a decision within a week. perry russom, abc news, washington. >> perkins, 11 and 12 years old, have social media accounts, even though most platforms require users to be 13. a new ucsf study found 25% of kids use social media to forget about their problems. 11% admit overuse hurt their schoolwork. the research links underage social media use to depression, eating disorders, adhd, and disruptive behaviors. >> our coverage of the southern california fires continues. next, we'll have the very latest from altadena. >> the effect of climate change on natural disasters and the bad climate news out today. >> and san francisco's backup

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county, 11 people are confirmed dead six in eaton and five in palisades. more than 150,000 people have evacuated their homes, and many are left with only rubble to return to. just now, a community meeting answered some questions for devastated residents. >> no one is allowed into altadena at this time. i understand there may have been some rumors spread that if you have your id, you can come in. that is not the case as of right now. all of altadena is still considered an evacuation area, and all of the roads are closed for people coming in.

>> authorities will remain in the area once they allow people to return to ensure properties are protected. >> and now we want to get to abc news reporter alex stone live for us in altadena, where the eaton fires caused massive destruction there. alex. >> christian and julianne, new numbers that we got today after firefighters were able to do an aerial survey of this area. they now believe that there are at least 7000 structures that have been destroyed. that makes this the most destructive wildfire in los angeles county history, and the second most destructive wildfire ever in the state of california, behind the camp fire in 2018. up in paradise. but just so much destruction here. home after home, block after block, gone. as firefighters try to put out the flames, national guard troops now patrolling the streets in los angeles to help enforce evacuation orders. a 6

p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for the6 eaton fire and palisades fire areas to prevent looting as the city deals with catastrophic wildfires. >> we're not doing this to inconvenience anybody. we're doing it to protect the structures, the houses that people have left. >> the fires, which have devastated los angeles neighborhoods on the east and west sides of the city, have destroyed over 10,000 buildings, with those figures expected to grow. >> we found out through word of mouth yesterday, confirmed from our neighbors that hiked in that our house was gone. >> the palisades fire between santa monica and malibu on the city's west side, and the eaton fire in the east near pasadena, already rank as the most destructive in los angeles history. they've consumed over 53mi■!s and turned entire neighborhoods to ash. the winds with gusts up to 100 miles an hour earlier this week, have died down due to the favorable overnight weather conditions. >> we can report that the palisades fire is now 8%

contained. the kenneth fire forward progress has been stopped with 35% containment at 1000 acres. >> in washington, president biden pledging to pay for 100% of the state's immediate costs for the next 180 days. >> the scope, the scale and the erratic movements of these fires is truly unprecedented. >> and you heard there the containment numbers are coming up a bit. they had a pretty good day today. the containment numbers may come up more. the winds have been calm all day today. we're only about an hour away from the red flag warnings finally going down after so many days of red flag warnings that they are going to be lifted, but probably only for a short time. because come late this weekend into early next week, the santa ana winds are going to return. another round of santa ana winds coming in here. live in altadena. alex stone, abc seven news. >> alex, as the wind conditions change, how has that affected the air quality? right. pushing the smoke one way. or perhapsng not at all. and i'm wondering

how you're experiencing it. >> yeah. the air quality is not good. everybody, all of our team here, everybody is wearing masks. i've got mine right here that i'll be putting on right when we're done. and around l.a. it's been pushing this fire, especially because the palisades fire has been pushing out toward the ocean and not real populated areas because of the direction the winds are pushing. but this one has been pushing smoke right into glendale and burbank. and really the heart of the l.a. area. so people who have breathing problems and the elderly have been told to be careful to stay inside, run their air conditioning, run air purifiers in their homes to try to help them out in that way. but it is just complete devastation here. everything is gone. the magnitude of this is incredible how much burned those images are. >> so tough to see there. alex stone, we appreciate your reporting. thank you so much. well, abc seven's parent company, the walt

disney company, is donating5 million to help in response to the southern california fires. in a statement, ceo bob iger wrote, walt disney came to los angeles with little more than his limitless imagination, and it was here that he chose to make his home, pursue his dreams and create extraordinary storytelling. that means so much to so many people around the world. we are proud to provide assistance to this resilient and vibrant community in this moment of need. and david muir anchors a special edition of 2020 with continuing coverage of the deadly california fires. american catastrophe. l.a. burning a special edition of 2020 starts tonight right here at nine on abc seven. we'll take a sho

event of a major catastrophe. >> abc seven building a better bay area reporter lyanne melendez is here with a look at san francisco's unique system when it comes to water. >> yeah, we're very lucky, actually. and again, you know, you look at those images in southern california and you have to think, what do we have? are we prepared? so we took a look at san francisco's very complex emergency water system and discovered things that most of you didn't realize exist. sure, san francisco neighborhoods have

plenty of fire hydrants, but as we learned in southerns, but as california, hydrants can run dry. it happened to us during the 1906 earthquake. it's been a constant reminder. >> we've had the experience of the city going up in flames and trying to develop a system that will keep that from happening again. >> in the last several years, san francisco has added underground cisterns for a citywide total of 222. many holding up to 75,000 gallons of water. the largest located near city hall with a capacity of more than 240,000 gallons of water. >> you could easily find them. there's a round circle of bricks, usually in main intersections. >> a few years ago, abc seven was invited to go underground to check out the construction of one of the new systems. the older ones have also been repaired and reinforced. the important thing to know here is that they are completely

unconnected from the rest of the water system, meaning if the regular fire hydrants run dry. firefighters have another source. here's former fire chief joanne hayes-white in 2014 talking about the significance of these cisterns. >> some people say, well, you haven't you don't really use it on a regular basis. but i can tell you when the big one hits, these will be invaluable. >> you know what else? san francisco has three reservoirs that feed high power emergency hydrants. these are not your typical hydrants. they are completely independent. and gravity fed. perfect for san francisco. former assistant deputy chief tony rivera. >> they have more robust mains that are made out of ductile iron and steel. they're not relying on another source of water. this is like a system designed specifically for

firefighting. and it's used by our firefighters, our apparatus. we have special equipment on board to access the water. it's something you won't see in any other city. >> each reservoir covers several neighborhoods. for example, the twin peaks reservoir feeds all of those big high pressure hydrants with a black top. the ashbury tank feeds the ones with the red tops, and the jones street tank delivers water to all of the blue top hydrants, except that the high pressure system does not extend to some neighborhoods like the bayview and richmond and sunset districts. in a civil grand jury report, it was recommended that the city expand the supply with a target completion date of no later than 2034. still, it was in those neighborhoods where most of the cisterns were added. because redundancy is our middle name, san francisco can also rely on fireboats to pump

seawater into the high pressure network. that's what was used in the marina during the 1989 earthquake. to stop the fires from spreading. rivera describes our water emergency system as unique. >> when i was in my position, i had firefighters come from all over the world to ask me to look at it, to go to our pump stations. they had never seen anything like that. >> so we started shortly after 1906, and thanks to several bond measures passed by voters, we are able to have the system that we have. meanwhile, there is a big push by residents of those neighborhoods that lack that high pressure system to finally get it done. i have to say, i feel comfortable about where i live. so, you know, and i've been here for 30 years and never knew that there were different kinds of fire hydrants. the black hired fire hydrants, the blues and the reds, all distributed in different neighborhoods. >> and those reservoirs to, like you said, is redundancies.

>> absolutely. >> the worst hit here? >> yeah. >> i feel safe, and i now appreciate our geographical features in the bay even more now. yeah. >> yes, exactly. next to the water. yeah. >> thanks, liane. appreciate

donating to the red cross. go to red cross.org/abc to help the red cross respond

and help people. so many of our family members recover. >> a new record that nobody wanted. 2024 is now officially the hottest year on record. a threshold that experts say could lead to more severe climate disasters. >> abc seven news south bay reporter dustin dorsey looks at the effects climate change is having on the state. >> apocalyptic views in southern california has everyone looking for answers as fires continue to burn.nswers as fires continue to >> this is like mars, the moon, armageddon, climate change. i mean, something's going on here. it's absolutely, utterly insane. >> fires are complex, but most experts agree one contributing factor stands above the rest climate change. >> it does seem like the hotter earth is generating more and more and more extreme weather for the for everybody. and we issue a particularly dangerous situation. that's usually a 5 to 10 year event. and yet here we've issued three of them in the past three months. >> 2024 was the hottest year on

record for the first time ever. the global temperature rose by more than 2.7°f compared to the pre-industrial average. and the heating planet causes a phenomenon that san jose state climate scientist eugene cordero says is known as hydroclimate whiplash. >> where you go from dry to wet and back to dry, it's something that's that's challenging to forecast, but certainly something california has been experienced before. we have these super dry years and then it could then next thing you know, we're having these floods. >> that's because warm air works like a giant sponge. when it releases water, it can soak our state. like with the historic atmospheric rivers from past winters. but when that water gets soaked back up. csu east bay assistant professor tony marks says there may not be significant rainfall for months like we've seen in southern california. >> it becomes really prime conditions for these extreme fire events. and the santa ana winds, or the foehn winds accelerated the spread of fire marks, block says.

>> extreme conditions like these are possible throughout the state, including here in the bay area. >> we know that these are not once in 100 year events anymore, that these are events that are still, you know, not happening everywhere all the time. but the risk of these events is becoming higher as the weather becomes more unpredictable. >> cordero says we may need to adjust where and how we live to prevent further destruction. dustin dorsey, abc7 news. >> our abc seven originals documentary, bay area 2050, looks at the impact climate change will have on our environment over the next few decades. you can learn more about the problems and the potential solutions. bay area 2050 is now streaming everywhere you watch abc7. >> all right, we want to take a look. heading into the weekend at our weather. >> yeah. and specifically this record warmth that we've had this year. we want to check back in now with sandhya. yeah. >> and julian and kristen. we've been talking about it for years and it's happening. unfortunately, as we just heard. so let's take a look at 2024. it

is the warmest year on record 3.5°f above average. and records began back in 1895. this is for the entire country. records also being set globally. and as we take a look at some of the statistics, $27 billion weather and climate disasters in the u.s, our climate is definitely warming. it was the warmest year globally, and then the previous year previous record holder was 2023. excuse me. this is really important because the first year the earth was warmer than 1.5°c. the paris agreement was signed in 2015. the whole idea was to try to prevent this kind of warmth. and ironically, here we are talking about it now, which is precisely why you have in the middle of winter, red flag warnings, fire weather watches for southern california, and they're dealing with the destructive wildfires. so that red flag warning shaded in red until 6 p.m. tonight it becomes a fire weather watch. 6:00 tomorrow evening

until sunday at 6 p.m. as strong santa ana winds and low humidity combined. meanwhile, across the south and much of the midwest, they are dealing with a significant storm that's bringing wintry weather. not just snow, but they're talking about ice all the way down to the southern tier of states. this is keeping warnings and advisories going. winter storm warnings and advisories going through that region right here in the bay area. it is quiet locally. look at the afternoon highs with a windy one on tap tomorrow. anywhere from the low 60s to the upper 60s or mid 60s. excuse me for the bay area. lakeport 59 degrees. as far as rain goes, unfortunately we don't have anything in sight over the next ten days, but there may be a little bit of moisture in the form of drizzle locally, and also down in southern california, where they are desperate for some rain. another santa ana wind event going to be picking up this weekend in southern california. here in the bay

area, we've got those gusty winds tomorrow into sunday morning. so the accuweather seven day forecast, it's dry. temperatures will be dropping next week closer to average. we don't have any rain in sight. kristen. >> all right it's time we get some. thank you sandhya. newly unveiled as cbs. this emotional support robot. the creator said he had to take his mother's dog away after she was diagnosed with dementia, but she still wanted a cuddly companion. this robot resembles a two month old labrador. its tail wags, the ears move and the mouth and eyes open and close. it can sense when it's touched and respond to voice commands. >> okay, well, have you given up on your new year's resolution yet? if so, today is your day. the second friday of january is quitters day, marking when most people abandon their new year's resolutions. people often quit due to setting unrealistic goals, lack of planning or not seeing those immediate results. if you want to hang in there, you want to focus on smaller,

more achievable goals, small benchmarks to get you to where you want to be. but the reality is, you know, if you don't start, you didn't quit. >> and that is very true. but yes, i agree with that. you know, setting yourself up for success. >> exactly. >> you know, realistic goals. >> yeah. >> baby steps. yeah. >> there you go. well, up next, from tool time to shifting gears. >> actor tim allen's return to prime time next. year. >> i'm reggie aqui, i'm lyanne melendez, i'm luz pena, i'm tara campbell i'm j.r. >> stone at abc seven news we deliver local stories with real answers to help make our a team can help you plan for your dreams. so your dream car, and vacation home, may be closer than you think. ready to meet the dream team? you can with wells fargo.

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years, followed by abbott elementary at nine, american catastrophe la burning, a special edition of 2020. you don't want to miss that. then stay with us for abc seven news at 11. shifting gears marks actor tim allen's return to the sitcom world, and he tells abc's george pennacchio why the time was right for this particular show. >> is that my gto? i built that 15 years ago, and somebody stole it. hi, dad. there's the thief. >> tim allen is revving up for his network tv return in shifting gears. >> so many people came to me so long ago and said, would you do another sitcom? and it was a kind of a i thought it was a

funny idea. this is about a guy that's has just been recently widowed, and then his daughter comes back. >> i play tim's daughter, riley parker, and she also recently lost her mom, obviously, and is going through a divorce. and she is a very young woman, never married him. >> we've been over this. >> well, i know, but none of your biz, dad, i guess. but anyway. and now that her mom's gone and she's getting a divorce, she has to crawl home and admit that he was right about her husband and kind of face all that. >> allen said he wanted the show to have a good balance of humor and heart, leaning into the grief that the characters are feeling. >> i've always appreciated that people have a sense of humor somewhere, and that that nothing can stop that. >> he also said he wanted his character to be a car guy, and tapped into his own collection for production. >> i said, you can use any of the prop cars i have because i built some movie cars so you can use them in. this is like being at my at my home.

>> daryl chill mitchell, whose character stitch works in tim's restoration shop, said he's got his eye on a couple of tim's cars. >> you know, just for fun. you know, since i've known him so long, he's a good friend. he might just be able to go in there and be like, yo, tim, slide me that playboy. you know what i mean? just slide me that one right there. you ain't gonna miss it. >> you need a place to stay until i figure out what the rest of my life looks like. >> so, a couple of days. >> george pennacchio for abc news. >> and tonight's episode of shifting gears is an encore episode of the season premiere. brand new episodes drop on wednesdays at 8:00. right here on abc seven. abc seven news is streaming 24 over seven. get the abc seven bay area streaming tv app. and join us whenever you want, wherever you are. and that's going to do it for abc seven news at four. i'm kristen z. thank you so much for watching abc seven news at five with dan and ama is coming your way next.