tonight, the historic and catastrophic wildfires in

southern california, turning deadly, after 80,000 people are forced to evacuate their hos. the apocalyptic images. a state of emergency in los angeles, as thousands of acres burned, impacting one of the most picturesque places in the nation. multiple wildfires, raging out of control tonight. fueled by hurricane- forced winds. the fire in the pacific palisades, now the most destructive in the city's history. an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed. more than a million without power. e grounds of the iconic getty villa, up in flames. first, helicopters in planes, taking off to join the fight. and desperate homeowners, racing to save their homes, with watater hoses streets choked with abandoned cars last night, now empty. our team in the fire zone. also tonight, the new winter storm set to sweep across the country from the south to the

northeast. al roker is here. president-elect president trump asking to halt his hush money trial. man with machete, trying to enter the viewing for former president jimmy carter at the capitol. and late tonight, president-elect trump arriving to pay his respects. the driver's condition tonight. and the personal loss in california's wildfire disaster. our correspondent, returning to find his childhood home, devastated. >> this is "nbc nightly news," with lester holt. >> good evening. and welcome. i've covered wildfires in california since the earliest days of my career, when i don't remember anything quite like the firestorms raging across southern california tonight. multiple major infernos, destroying thousands of homes and businesses. killing at least five people and

defying efforts to contain them. firefighters in pacific palisades, outmanned, and in some cases, out of water. hydrants running dry. firefighting aircraft grounded for a time by fresh winds. some gusting a hundred miles per hour. rows of homes and restaurants, along the pacific coast highway, were consumed by the flames. this is what it looked and sounded like. >> almost haunting, the pacific palisades fire, growing to nearly 16,000 acres. 40 miles away, the eaton fire turned deadly and has exploded to over 10,000 acres. tonight, thousands in the region are under evacuation orders, filling shelters, schools are closed, while power is out for 1.5

million southern californians. gadi schwartz is in the fire zone to start our coverage. >> this area of altadena has become an absolute wasteland. you've got rows and rows of home that have burned some are still standing. but it's just a matter of time. >> thfersz the moments the sun rose over the fire, above pasadena, but you'd never know it. >> again, you hear the explosions. so many, there is no hope. >> some doing everythinghey could to fight back. there are people still here, trying to fight this fire with garden hoses. there is still water in the area. but with this much destruction, it almost seems

futeile. >> you have been here since 4:00 a.m. should. >> yeah. >> you now have a full contingent of firefighters here. seems like right in the nick of time. >> they saved this home for now. a scene that played out across so many firelines from the foothills of the angeles moununtains to the palisades. >> i've been trying to make entrance. they're smashing down that door. they gotta go inside. gotta make sure no one else is here. >> who else is in the house? >> reporter: homeowners on rooftops, trying to wet down everything. >> i'm going to help you. >> it's hard to show the scope of what is going on. >> as we headed down sunset boulevard, the loose is worse than any fire we've ever seen. this looks like the apocalypse here. >> in the chaos, way too often, firefighters left with hydrants way too dry. >> a fire hydrant

with multiple systems drawing water for several hours is not sustainable. >> they hoped to help with water pressure. >> out of every fire hydrant you've seen, what have you found? >> right now, we're finding most are down or low pressure. >> if you had a hydrant for this building? >> if we had a hydrant for this building, we might have been able to save the back house. >> this apartment complex is untouched for now. but you can see how close those flames are are. firefighters are making their way up. again, they're having to ignore massive structures like this huge apartment complex. looks like it's going to go up imminently. because they are just orwhelmed. there isn't enough water up here. >> reporter: the wind also grounding that critical support from the sky for most of the day. and en firefighters were able to make a stand and save a home, there was no victory. just a brief reprieve from the helplessness of fighting fire against the wind.

>> gadi, i feel like you really took us into what it is like there. this devastation goes well beyond the homes destroyed in pacific palisades. >> yeah, well beyond the homes. the scope of this is so difficult to comprehend. we've seen schools. we've seen synagogues, churches. here, along the palisades. this is the heart of the palisades. you have restaurants here. and unfortunately, we have been in the neighborhoods above, below, and to each side of the heart of the palisades. and so far, they're saying about a thousand. that's preliminary structure. a thousand lost. we can tell you, that number is going to climb significantly. >> all right. thank you. until today, it was hard to imagine destruction on this scale. today, our liz kreutz saw some of the worst of it. >> a massive and deadly wildfire is unfolding in southern california. from the pacific palisades to

pasadena. multiple infernos, continuing mass destruction of homes and businesses. teps of thousands. >> last night was one of the most devastating we've seen in our city history. >> on the coast, the palisades fire, exploding to 60 miles an hour. 75-mile-an-hour winds overnight overtook the iconic city of malibu, and created this apocalyptic scene, stretching for miles on the california coast. >> we're watching multiple beach front properties here go up in flames. first responders trying to get hold of the fire. all the neighboring properties here destroyed, as the winds are picking up. >> in the pacific palisades, officials say at least a thousand structures lost. across southern california, high winds and protected power shutoff have left more than a million people in the dark. at the eaton fire, 45 minutes from the coast, at least five people have died, and more than a

hundred structures destroyed. as wind-whipped embers expanded the fire's path, it forced the evacuation of the assisted living facility. >> you'll see people on stretchers. and the rapid effort to try to get these people out of harm's way. >> for many, the race to get out was by any means necessary. >> which is your house? >> yeah. backyard is on fire. i'm out of here. >> reporter: some of the most expensive real estate in the world, reduced to rubble on pacific coast highway. >> here, home after home after home of beach front properties are destroyed. usually, you would see the pacific ocean there. now, it's just ashes and smoke. >> reporter: as fires still burn, officials urging residents not to ignore evacuation orders. >> a high number of injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who are on the fire line. >> today, president biden meeting with local officials, including governor

gavin newsom. >> have you ever seen anything like this? >> the closest approximation. but at this stage, nothing comes close. >> tonight, the flames still threatening homes. in malibu, steve wiggins says he tried everything to save his. >> i kept spraying all the embers. and next thing i know, a 30-foot wall of fire was coming at 60 miles an hour. and i couldn't see. and it was so smoky. and i said, well, it's time to lever. >> he came back today to find nothing. we lost everything we owned. but disgdz doesn't even look like a house anymore. just looks like -- something. >> a lot of heartbreak, liz. the fire still active tonight. >> you can see the crews here.

as they try to put out the flames. millions across l.a. are on alert right now, with some evacuation orders, even issued in santa monica, with red flag warnings, continuing through at least friday. lest are. >> look at why resources may be so stretched. los angeles county is the most populous county in the nation. with major urban centers, sparkling beach communities and rugged mountains. pacific palisades, where the first fire broke out yesterday, sits on the coast, to malibu to its north. iconic santa monica to its south. moving inland, 25 miles to the north and east of the palisades, is the sylmar area. that's where the hearst fire is burning. and then another 25 miles southeast of there is altadena near pasadena. where the deadly eaton fire is raging tonight and where we find our steve pattern. >> lester, the air

quality here has been miserable for now more than 24 hours. you can feel it. and when the smoke billows like this, it travels for miles. area hospitals now filling up with smoke inhalex perts saying, if you have an air purifier, use one. if you have to be out in this, wet rags and surgical masks will not work. today, you need n95 with purifier. it's hazardous to everyone not just the most at risk groups. >> all right, thanks, steve patterson. our colleagues at our sister station in los angeles, knbc, have been working nonstop for 24 hours, with this disaster. their deep connections, reflected in so many of this coverage. including this, when reporter michelle baes was on the air, as neighbors battled flames, consuming the home next door. >> reporter: this

home next to it was a fire. they were making gains. they were making gains. then all of a sudden, the wind picked up. and you can just see how it's fueling the fire next door. as these neighbors desperately try to keep their home from catching fire. so you're just helpless, as you watch these people doing probably, you know, you put yoyourself in their situation. and -- and it's really dark. and it's really fiery here. there's a lot of explosions. and there's just no help in sight. and you're just wondering when this is all going to end. >> riverside county, please stop. thank you so much. >> oh, my goodness. praise the lord. i mean -- they're going to really douse this fire here. >> an amazing television moment, and certainly an amazing moment of humanity. let me bring in al roker now. al, what are the

conditions that helped fuel these fires? is there any sense and sign of relief? >> there is somey leaf coming, lester. we saw those air flights. winds have died down. since october 1st, they've gotten less than 10% of average rainfall. the good news is this high pressure, low pressure combo squeezing these out, that's been the problem. now they're starting to move to the east and separate. so the winds are starting to die down. that's good news. in fact, you can see those winds overnight. next thing we're worried about, that storm system in the southwest. that's going to cause 52 million people to be under winter warning. snowfall in dallas. 3 to 6 in tupelo. plus icy conditions in texas to the southeast. big travel problems over the next 24 hours. >> okay, al. thank you for that update. in 60 seconds, the latest on president-elect trump's new legal showdown. his last-ditch appeal to the u.s.

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ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. we're back now with president-elect trump's sentencing in his hush money case mr. trump making a last-ditch appeal to call it off. >> most likely tomorrow, lester. that's when the court has indicated that they would like to hear from the government, hear from the prosecutor. so we'll probably hear then. but remember, even if they do not block this sentencing, and it actually moves forward. the judge, who is overseeing the case, juan merchan, has already indicated he is not likely to give the president prison time. he will likely be give letting him off without request punishment at all. at the same time, we have this situation around the final report from special prosecutor, jack smith. they obviously want to keep this under

wraps. the attorney general saying today, he intends to release the part of the report that has to do with election interference claims. remember, he still has two codefendants in that case. paying tribute to former president jimmy carter. but a frightening moment today, capitopolice saying a man was arrested at the entrance, with this machete and three knives in his bag. police say he faces multiple charges. we'll take a break. and coming up, are you paying too much rent? justice department accuses some of the country's biggest landlords of price fixing. that story is next. country's biggest landlords of price fixing. i noticed things changed. breztri gave me better breathing starting within 5 minutes. it also reduced flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler... for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

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caught on camera in florida, , a car blowing through the railroad gate, smashed by a high- speed passenger train in north miami beach. police say the driver suffered nonlife-threatening injuries now, to a new development in a story we brought you last summer, the justice department, widening its lawsuit against a real estate software company, to include six major landlords and property managers. here's antonia hilton. >> reporter: tonight, the justice department, expanding a lawsuit against reel page, accusing the software company of ordinating with landlords to pool nontenant data and coordinates to keep

represents artificially high. now adding six property managers to the suit. including greystar, camden, cortland, wakefield and willow bridge, representing 1.3 million units. many landlords use reel page to help set rental prices. >> ont myselfed market preference. >> this summer, the doj alleged their software facilitated a price-fixing scheme. this aallowed companies tout p profit over people. >> competing landlords conducted phone and e-mail discussions, even cocktail hours, and participated in monthly user groups, promoted by real page to share information. they said a property manager had failed to communicate due to price-fixing laws. that competitor replied, price fixing laws, huh? that's a new one. >> price fixing, as

alleged, is not only affecting properties managed by real page's clients, it's causing a rent increase across the board. >> real page told nbc news that they deny the doj's claims, and plan to defend them, saying their practices are legal. and saying the -- time to stop scapegoating real page for our housing problems. two others denied the claims, vowing to vigorously defend themselves in court. >> cushman and wakefield, a management company told nbc, that they should not have filed the complaint. and nbc saying they have developed their own software. antonia hilton, nbc news new york. anand next, what was lost in los angeles. the scope of these wildfires, hitting home for our jacob soboroff. los angeles. the scope hitting home. this is steve's stomach, where voquezna can kick some acid, heal erosive esophagitis, also known as erosive gerd,

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app now. >> so many have been devastated by the los angeles wildfires, including our jocab soboroff, who returned to the area where he grew up. >> reporter: i grew up in pacific palisades. born and raised here. and i've never seen anything like this. we've had a lot of fires, and even evacuated sometimes. but nothing like this. the whole town was gone as we knew it. >> this was the palisades, public library. it's still on fire.

i brought my kids here. this was like the pride of the community, when this thing was built. the weight of it all, was very, very intense, to think about. >> in my 26 years, this could be one of the top, most devastating fires. >> what happens in a situation like this, where the high schos destroyed. you've got churches destroyed. the two supermarkets in the community destroyed. how do you come back from something like this. >> you come back one day at a time. >> to me, sunset boulevard is the heart of my community. there's not a single house left standing here. what do you do? what do they do? >> there's just never, ever, ever been anything like this. >> i mean, i know my house is gone. but i kind of just need to see itit rsthand to just let it set in. i just can't believe it. >> i thought i was going to wake up this morning and it was going to be a bad dream. >> this is the first time that i've seen the house that i grew up in. and i don't really

know what to say. >> mom -- >> look at this. >> your birdhouse? >> yep. >> i'm so sad. every one of you guys was born in that house. >> i know -- it makes me sad, too. >> this was a really, really special place for the soboroff family. and i'm very sorry to see it go. and i'm very sorry for all the residents of pacific palisades and everyone going through this right now. i look around the town, the neighborhood, the place that i grew up in, i talk to my friends, who i spent time with on the streets. and it's hard to imagine, what comes next. and what happens next. >> hopefully, jacob, much better days ahead. that's nightly news for this wednesday. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt.

please take care of yourself and each other. good night. the