♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: i want to thank my guests sebastian stan and auli'i cravalho everybody. check out a new "corrections" over on youtube now. thanks for watching. we love you. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪

♪ right now at 11, an eerie and sobering sight in southern california. this is what it looks like over pacific palisades tonight. darkness where there should be light from street lamps, cars and homes. most of those homes now gone. it is a heartbreaking situation. we've learned the death toll is rising late tonight. the l.a. county medical examiner said at least ten people have died in those ferocious fires. and another major headline an arson investigation is now underway in

connection with a new fire that broke out in the calabasas area. a person of interest is now being questioned by investigators. meantime, the threat is far from over. it is a worst case scenario as crews scramble to stop new fires from spreading. the smaller one broke out late this evening in the san fernando valley. it is one fire after another as that intense firefight continues at this late hour. we have a lot of new information from the fire zone. now, this is night three and the wind is still a big worry. the question thousands are asking, though, is when will southern california catch a break? another big concern looting. curfews will be enforced to protect fire evacuees at their homes and their property. about 180,000 people remain under evacuation orders. all right. let's give you a rundown of the fires. there are three biggest fires burning right now. the palisades fire has burned nearly 20,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 5000 structures. crews have made

little progress. that fire, now 6%, contained. the eaton fire in altadena, near pasadena, has burned more than 13,000 acres and destroyed or damaged up to 5000 structures as well. and then there's this one, the kenneth fire, which broke out today. that's in the calabasas area. it's burned nearly a thousand acres. now, that fire triggered widespread evacuations in both los angeles and ventura county. a lot of people fearing the worst as it spread fast. but there is relief tonight. forward progress has been stopped. but there's also an unsettling twist. a person of interest is now in custody. nbc bay area's velena jones is in westlake village with the latest. we are here in westlake village at the incident command post for the kenneth fire. that's in ventutua county. you can see cal fires here, as well as ventura county fire department. we have law enforcement on hand as well. this is where they are managing

the fire tonight. good news tonight. those evacuation orders, both in l.a. county, have now been reduced to evacuation warnings. evacuation warnings issued in ventura county have been lifted. so they got a handle on this fire very, very quickly. they had an immense amount of resources. but before those evacuation orders were lifted, thehere was severe concern in this community tonight. take a listen at what some of tse evacuees had to say. it's the worst. the worst feeling, you know, it's our home. it's like everything is here. it's like some feeling like you can't explain. it's like everything is going to be gone. probably. the fire is under investigation. lapd is looking into the possibility that this was an arson and reportedly have a person in custody. there is a person that was spotted by where the fire started. we're not sure if that

person in custody is that same person. but tonight, law enforcement looking into that. reporting in westlake village velena jones nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much. velena now new at 11. governor newsom has called in the cavalry, deploying the california national guard to help out. 400 troops will be tasked with traffic control and protecting critical infrastructure. they will also have to support law enforcement as they try to crack down on looting. so far, 20 people have been arrested. now, the governor posting this on x, warning that anyone taking advantage of an evacuated community will not be tolerated. now, to combat that, looting curfews will be enforced from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in those evacuation zones for the pacific palisades area and the eaton fires. so definitely some progress. but the firefight is far from over. los angeles city leaders are now looking forward, though, already talking about what happens after the flames are extinguished. nbc bay area's

jocelyn moran spoke to a north bay fire marshal that is helping on the front lines. jocelyn, what did he say? well, jess, first, la's mayor is vowing the city will help people rebuild quickly. but fire crews, including teams from the bay area, still have a long fight ahead of them. tonight, the wind is still fanning flames as several wildfires rage in southern california. cre from across the bay area are on the fire lines, helping where they're needed. crews from sonoma county are in the altadena area trying to gain ground on the eaton fire, and they're doing what we refer to as tactical patrol, where they're actually patrolling. a lot of the neighborhoods that were affected by the eaton fire and the altadena area checking for hotspots. more than 10,000 structures have been destroyed in both the palisades and eaton fires combined. new drone video above. pacific palisades shows the magnitude of the destruction neighborhoods devastated in altadena. nbc's gadi schwartz spoke with rupert garcia as he searched for anything with meaning. we're just trying to

find something. i mean, i don't care. like, my kids found a teacup, half a teacup, broke. she she was thrilled, you know? i mean, what else can we get? man. it's gone, bro. to the families who have been impacted by this disaster, you're living through a nightmare. i know. and i promise you, we're going to help you get through this and eventually recover and rebuild. today, president joe biden promised federal resources, including 400 additional federal firefighters and more than 30 aircraft. the federal government will cover 100% of the cost for 180 days. this is going to pay for things like debris and hazard material removal, temporary shelters, first responders, salaries, and all necessary measures to protect life and property. as families come back to see what's left of their neighborhoods, los angeles mayor karen bass is looking ahead at rebuilding. we are going to clear the red tape and unnecessary delays and cost and

headaches that people experience in ordinary times so that we can rebuild your homes quickly. but befofore thatan begin, firefighters still have a lot of work ahead to contain the flames.ur crews are here to help. in southern california, just like southern california, crews were helping us during our time of need. jocelyn moran, nbc, bay area news. now it is both frustrating and baffling that wind is still blowing, and now it's expected to pick up again overnight. let's bring in our meteorologist, vianey arana. so at what point is it going to pick up and how bad is it going to be. well, you know, we had a brief moment where it felt like the winds finally gave an opportunity to kind of back off, as far as, you know, the gusts that we had seen upwards of 45 plus. and typically, just to give you an idea, if you look at this map, with all the active fires burning, we tend to see some humidity recovery overnight. we're seeing some of that closer to the water. but in through parts of the interior we're talking about single digit numbers less than 10% in some

spots as far as that humidity goes. so the conditions remain extremely dry. and that palisades fire. right now gusts are at about 14mph. so the winds here have died down. but that will change in the next couple of hours. notice i took this overnight into friday at about 8 a.m. look what happens to those wind speeds. 4050 plus mile per hour winds. you look at the key index right up here. the strongest gusts expected for some of those higher ridges. and then as we inch into that friday forecast continuing into the afternoon, look what happens at around 10 p.m. tomorrow. so this will be a much needed break and relief at least friday into saturday. but just looking ahead at the forecast, it does look like we'll see the return of those gusty santa ana winds starting late saturday into sunday. and that could of course be a big area for concern as we inch into next week as well. but i'll be back for a closer look at that and your local forececat in just a few minutes. yes, that is very unnerving. okay. thank you very much. vianey. so it was a mistake. l.a. county officials

are now apologizing after an emergency alert was erroneously sent to millions of people. that alert went out late this afternoon to nearly 10 million people across l.a. county, rattling nerves. it told people that an evacuation warning was issued in their area. turns out the alert was actually only intended for people near the kenneth fire. a second alert was sent a few minutes later telling people to disregard that first evacuation warning. an l.a. county supervisor posted on social media saying the alert was due to a technical error. now, the director of emergency management also released a statement saying in part, quote, we understand that these wildfires have created great anxiety, hardship and distress among our residents and we are committed to sharing accurate information. now, hampering the fire fight has been a lack of water at hydrants on the palisades fire tonight. that's getting the attention of community leaders all across california. they're all coming to the realization that residential hydrant systems just

may not be enough to snuff a fire out. when it comes to battling these massive wildfires. nbc bay area's thom jensen is in oakland tonight, where station closures are already top of mind. and now there's this water supply issue. everybody in oakland has been talking about the closure of this fire station. fire station 25 and another one in the oakland hills. but tonight they're also talking about these fire hydrants, especially in light of what's happening in southern california. with firefighters battling the palisades fire. work to lay out enough hose to reach a distant fire hydrant, because the nearest one has little or no pressure. a serious problem that persists on the raging wildfire, one that crews, including this one from san francisco, keep running into hydrants that aren't working properly and have extremely low or sporadic pressure. do you know what your incoming pressure is? it's bound to be between 10 and 50, but it's real. okay. and then zero.

we can only do one inch and a half. residents whose homes are still standing are finding their own household water systems down, too, as they try to help. we went inside the house and there is no water inside the house. this woman dipped a bucket from a hot tub to try to douse flames running up a hill towards a home. then water tenders showed up because the hydrants weren't working. we have another water tender here. that means we have more water. thank you. thank you. l.a. county leaders say the hydrant systems were made to fight house fires, not large wildfires. a firefight with multiple fire hydrants drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable. the head of oakland's firefighter union is working to save two temporarily closed firehouses in the hills, and has now been tracking the hydrant problems in southern california. those are our life link. in order to get water to the pump to be able to put out fires. so yeah, i'm definitely very concerned. union president seth collier says oakland firefighters personally work to maintain hydrants and report broken ones to east bay mud,

which is responsible for all of the hydrants across the east bay. the la situation really highlights how fragile some of the infrastructure is here, and also how dependent we are as firefighters on the water supply system. reporter we reached out to east bay mud to talk about the status of all the fire hydrants across the east bay, but a spokesperson said nobody was available to talk tonight. in oakland, thom jensen nbc bay area news. okay. thank you tom. i'm sure we'll go chasing that answer another day. all right. let's give you a live look from sky ranger. this is southern california. what you're looking at is a donation site for fire evacuees at the rose bowl, which is in pasadena. you know, which is right next to that altadena fire. we invite you to stay with us for the latest on air and online. our website, a great resource for breaking news. and we are posting updates to nbcbayarea.com around the clock. okay, back in 60s. ahead a big

decision. first day on the job, the immediate change san francisco's new mayor just made. and you might see the signs warning that it's about to happen. a new plan to crack down on rv encampments in san jose. temperatures managed to reach the 70s in several spots today. right now, we're in the 50s. we'll take a closer look at what the overnight hours are going to roll through as far as temperatur, and a look

as the nation paused to honor and remember former president jimmy carter. his funeral was held today at the national cathedral. all five living presidents attended, along with dignitaries from around the world and members of the carter family. president biden delivered the eulogy, describing his friend as a man of faith, character and service to make every minute of our time here on earth count. that's the

definition of a good life, a life jimmy carter lived during his 100 years. he built houses for people that needed homes. he eliminated diseases and forgotten places. he waged peace anywhere in the world. wherever he saw a chance. he loved people. following the service, the former president's casket was flown to his hometown of plains, georgia. that is where he will be laid to rest alongside his wife, rosalynn carter. all right. back here at home, new at 11. a driver in the hospital tonight after a solo car crash in san jose. happened early this morning on tully road in glen angus. way. officers got a call around 330 this morning about that crash. paramedics rushed the driver to the hospital. they are recovering from their serious injuries. police closed the nearby roads for several hours as jpd is still investigating exactly what led to that crash. well, a big decision from new san francisco

mayor daniel lurie. he announced a citywide hiring freeze on his first full day on the job. lurie says the move is necessary in order to get the city's spending under control. the city is facing an $876 million budget shortfall over the next two years. in addition to the hiring freeze, there will also be a pause on new contracts and programs that have not already started. in a statement, mayor lurie said in part, our city is facing a major budget deficit. today, the era of band-aid solutions is over. we are committed to fiscal discipline, giving san franciscans the accountability they demand and focusing the government on doing core things well. meanwhile, san jose's mayor is ordering cleanup 30 sites where rvs are piling up. the city putting out temporary know stopping and tow away signs. people are being told they have two weeks to move. homeless advocates say the enforcement shouldn't start until they have enough places for people to actually go. we'll

work with you, but you need to find a sustainable, permanent place to live in your rv. that may be private property, because a friend or family member says you can park your rv on my property. that may be an rv park where you can pay for utility hookups, but it's not okay. in residential neighborhoods next to parks. the mayor says the city's second safe parking site is expected to open soon, near the san jose flea market, and a thousand new interim housing units are slated to open this year. okay. calling for backup. more firefighters are on the way to southern california. governor newsom says 900 additional firefighters were deployed today to battle the fires in socal. some of them are coming from as far away as portland, oregon. so far, oregon has sent 15 strike teams and 70 wildland firefighters to los angeles. now, we still really have no grasp on the magnitude of the damage from these wildfires, but it is safe to say that it's going to take a long time and a lot of effort and money to rebuild after the flames are

out. even though it is a bit early. a bay area based group is stepping up to help. the group was called after the fires usa, and it offers help with everything from insurance claims to even providing emotional support. the group formed after the north bay fires back in 2017, and it tells us it is still helping the community of boulder creek rebuild after the 2020 ccu fire. i often hear from those community leaders that the one thing that we brought that they really needed at that time was hope. hope that they can recover. hope that they will get through this, that there is a way forward and that they do have allies here. and of course, jess. we're keeping a close eye on the wind conditions and what we can expect here locally. so let's get right to your microclimate forecast now. we've been clear as far as the skies go. we've

had a lot of sunshine thanks to that high pressure that's managed to keep our temperatures warmer than average. and if you look right now on the map, we've still got several 50s, even a couple low 60s up through parts of the north bay. so san rafael right now at 62 degrees. sonoma 60 degrees. and if you notice, satellite is showcasing exactly what we're seeing on our live cameras. that's those clear conditions through and through for the state of california. and of course, we've been keeping a close eye on the wind speeds down in southern california. a much different picture for us here in the bay area. if you notice, you know, the southern california winds are expected to pick up overnight here locally. we did still see some gusty winds up through parts of napa through friday morning. for some of those higher elevation areas, we were talking about 20 to 25 mile per hour winds. those will continue to diminish in the next couple of hours as far as our temperatures go. with these clear skies, we're going to get some chilly mornings. some spots could see some 30s on the map. this is right around 7 a.m, so if you're going to be out and

about, i suggest layering simply because even though we're going to start out chilly by the afternoon, expect for those temperatures to once again climb back up into those upper 60s. might even catch a couple of low 70s as well, just like what we saw today. now, as far as the dry conditions, those temperatures will remain through the weekend. and here's what we're monitoring in that long range outlook right now. that ridge of high pressure is what has kept that humidity so low down in southern california as well. and right now taking this through the weekend, it does look like that dry weather will continue. now we're keeping a really close eye on is the more wind possibility. the reason is, is that as we inch into that saturday forecast, we're going to catch a much needed break for southern california. we're going to see the winds diminish. but sunday into monday, we're now seeing a new pattern set up. and that could bring back the return of those gusty santa ana winds. as far as how strong they'll be is going to depend on the setup of we. once we get that high pressure, along with that low

pressure and the jet stream heading into wednesday, january 15th, it does look like we're still going tkeep the dry conditions for now. so let's tap into what's been going on in southern california, because we're going to continue to see these gusty winds through friday morning. and just to give you an idea of how dry conditions are, we're talking about less than 10% in some areas. so far they've only had about 1600 of rain since october 1st. so it's extremely dry. we're also starting to see, of course, that poor air quality around those fires. and that is going to be a key component for wearing those n95 masks based on that particulate matter. you know, a bandanna won't do it. a cloth mask won't do it. it's got to be that one that will get that 2.5 particulate matter in place over the next seven days. we're going to stay dry. no rain in the forecast, really for the entire state of california locally. notice the temperatures are going to stay warm through the weekend mid 60s. so we're going to stay above average. and then as we head into next week things cool down. yeah. so much of

what's happening down there is reminiscent of what we went through. we really thought about it when you mentioned the mask as we were wearing those masks during that time when we had the fires here as well. so yeah, so we can totally empathize and feel for the folks down in southern california. okay. up next, several san francisco walgreens stores about to shut down what's behind the sudden closure. and we have jimmy. hey, everyone. willie geist is my guest tonight. plus, we have talk and stand up

president elect trump's inauguration. microsoft and google both donated $1 million each. that money will go toward events like the opening ceremony, the galas and the parade. openai ceo sam altman and meta both announced that they gave the same amount late last year. okay, if you live in san francisco, you may soon need to find yourself another pharmacy. that's because walgreens says it will close a dozen stores in the city at the end of february. those stores are part of the company's larger plan to shutter some 1200 stores nationwide. in a statement about the upcoming san francisco closures, the company said in part that, quote, increase regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our ability to cover costs associated with rent, staffing and supply needs. today, we spoke with customers who had mixed feelings about the closures. it doesn't matter. you're going to have to drive a

little further. and the parking is really good here, too. so i'm worried that i have to go somewhere where the parking isn't as great and it's just going to make everything a little harder. just the environment. you know how things are today. nothing is secure that it's going to be here forever. so it just gets down to it's business. walgreens says it will notify patients about where prescriptions are being transferred. most likely, it will be the closest walgreens store that remains open. okay. the warriors in the motor city tonight to battle

games in california. the warriors packed their bags and headed east. first game tonight. detroit against the pistons. warriors came into the game shorthanded. both jonathan kuminga and andrew wiggins weren't available, but little used guards jimmy santos and linda waters the third, picked up the slack. here's waters with a three point basket. warriors were up by as much as 18 points in the first half. second half. the warriors kept up the pressure. trace jackson davis taking the pass from draymond green, dunking it home. the pistons made a run at the end, but the warriors hold on to win 107 to 104. now the warriors don't have much time to rest. the next game tomorrow night in indianapolis. now a few days ago they fired their coach. today the raiders got rid of their gm. after just onseason, the team relieved tom telesco of his general manager duties. on tuesday, they let go of head

coach antonio pierce. since firing reggie mckenzie after the 2018 season, the raiders have gone through three full term general managers in the past six seasons. the new gm and coach will presumably work with the new raiders minority owner, tom brady, who was brought into the franchise this past fally is what we know at this hour. the death toll has risen to at least ten people. the palisades fire has burned nearly 20,000 acres, but it is now 6% contained. the eaton fire, that's the one in altadena. it's burned more than 13,000 acres. unfortunately, containment is at zero. now, between those two fires, some 10,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. and there's the kenneth fire in

calabasas. forward. progress has been stopped, and a person of interest is being questioned by arson investigators. some good news, thoug tonight, the community is coming together to help people displaced by the fires. this video from just a few minutes ago at the rose bowl parking lot in pasadena, which is next to altadena. people are dropping off donations for people in need. families can come pick up supplies, water, even diapers, all for free. that's what happens when something devastating like this comes and happens.eople rise to the occasion to help their neighbors, but still a lot of concern with the wind going to pick up again. certainly, you know, that's the thing with these winds is that we need those windows where they begin to calm down. but unfortunately, if you look at the timestamp, they're at about 9 a.m, we are expecting to see some gusty winds once again ramping up into that 40 50 mile per hour range in those tonight, the race to contain the catastrophic wildfires in southern california that have destroyed

more than 9,000 structures. the historic fires burning out of control in the los angeles area. new images showing the scope of the destruction. at least five dead, including the first confirmed fatality from the palisades fire, the most destructive blaze in the city's history. officials warning the toll will likely rise. the flames burning tens of thousands of acres and now threatening critical communications towers. a staggering 180,000 people forced to evacuate. now families returning to find their homes burned to the ground. officials under scrutiny for their preparation and response. our team on the front lines as firefighters encounter yet another failing hydrant. also tonight, the major winter storm slamming the south from new mexico to virginia and causing travel chaos. over 2,000 flights canceled across the country. the farewell to former president jimmy carter. the emotional state funeral at the national cathedral, bringing together all five living presidents.

and then the late president's final journey to his hometown in georgia. and amid the utter devastation the symbol of hope still standing in the ashes of southern california. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and welcome. tonight in los angeles county the smoke plumes parting long enough to reveal the heart-crushing extent of loss, stretching across neighborhoods in the eye of those deadly fire storms. in altadena two aerial images of a single neighborhood tell the story, one a before photo of tree-lined streets and modest homes, the other what is now left. block after block of utter devastation. tonight, multiple major wildfires still burning across more than 45 square miles of the sprawling county. from inland cities north and northeast of downtown los angeles to the oceanfront enclave of pacific palisades to the west, where the first