serial killer, why? >> the truth is, he's not actually dead. he and some of the most dangerous criminals the world has ever known -- escaped from a classified prison. >> how many? >> a lot. we have to get them all back before they kill anyone else. >> we're dealing with highly intelligent, malignant narcissists. >> who are violent and unpredictable. >> the longer they're out there, the more dangerous they're going to become. >> this is new behavior. >> they're escalating. >> but there's nothing more here. >> what are you hiding? >> the blast was no accident. someone

right now at 11, the nightmare turns even scarier. new mandatory evacuation orders have been issued tonight, as the ferocious palisades fire flares up again. this is new video from our sky ranger in southern california. the fire is roaring closer and closer to more neighborhoods. once again, the race is on to get out of that fire's path. this is video from a family's backyard, an eerie orange glow just over that ridge line. way too close for comfort as the fire is now heading straight for their homes. we're packing up our belongings, our pets. we want to give our heartfelt thanks to all of the first responders who have been helping save our homes, save our lives. the firefighters came to our door and pretty much knocked so we knew it was time to leave. we had our stuff prepared. we saw the fire coming our way. it will certainly be another long and sleepless night for so many in southern california. let's

get right to our meteorologist, rob mayeda. rob, the wind has really pushed this fire in directions where firefighters were hoping it wouldn't go. and it shows you just how dangerous conditions can be when the wind changes direction. we're not seeing those strong, damaging offshore santa ana winds, but wind out of the west for a time tonight. push that fire that palisades. fire off to the north and to the east. the new evacuation order zones south of encino. you see here. these are the hotspots where the area where the fire was the most active over the last few hours here on the north side. and another evacuation order. if you orient yourself here, here's 405 freeway. you've got westwood, ucla on the east side of the freeway and on the west side you have brentwood. the expectation is the fire may move into mandeville canyon. and if it drops down into this area ahead of the next wind shift, this could lead to a big problem, as we're expecting the return of these gusty offshore winds. so you can see here wind speeds starting to accelerate during the day tomorrow across southern

california, which means that fire could make another run to the south. peak winds as we head into sunday morning could once again be gusting from 40 to 60mph. so we have a new fire weather watch right over the palisades. fire there may get upgraded to a red flag warning as we head into saturday. also to the east around altadena. the eaton fire too will see those winds increasing again out of the north as we move forward into the weekend. we'll have the latest on the wind conditions in southern california and our own wind advisory in our bay area hills. coming up in a few minutes. okay. thank you. rob. this horrible situation playing out all week since tuesday. here are some of the latest numbers. the death toll stands at 11. more than 12,000 structures have burned in these wildfires. let's show you some of the detailed numbers. the last time the area was mapped, the palisades fire had burned more than 21,000 acres. but that number is likely going to be higher. now. it remains at 8% containment. the

l.a. medical examiner says five people died in the palisades fire, and as many as 5000 structures there have burned. as for the eaton fire in altadena, the threat is not over there yet. not even close. it's now more than 14,000 acres. only 3% containment. the eaton fire, blamed for six deaths and about 7000 structures, have been damaged or destroyed. the california national guard is in altadena tonight. governor newsom deployed about 400 troops to the l.a. area last night. they will support law enforcement as they try to crack down on looting. a curfew is in effect at this hour until 6 a.m. in those evacuation zones. the mayor of l.a. says people who violate the order will be held accountable. so far, 20 people have been arrested for looting. another major headline at this hour a closed door meeting between the mayor of los angeles and the city's fire chief. this

is exclusive video from our nbc station in la of the fire chief walking into that meeting, as the destruction and death toll grows, so does the blame calls for answers about why the mayor cut millionons of dollars from e fire budget. today, the fire chief publicly said the city failed. the community of pacific palisades. here's nbc bay area's thom jensen tonight as the wind fans, flames and the palisades fire grows, questions about what went wrong are mounting. governor newsom is calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure at fire hydrants. and now the l.a. fire chief is pointing fingers at the city. it is my job as a chief to make sure that my firefighters are funded appropriately, are equipped appropriately, and they're trained appropriately. that's why i'm here. that's why i'm in this seat. chief kristin crowley says for monthths,he's been sounding the alarm about how

nearly $18 million in budget cuts to the department could impact the community. we've spoken with the fire commission. you have made it very clear that this department is underfunded, correct? that is absolutely correct. in a bold, transparent interview with our nbc station in los angeles friday, the chief said the city has failed the community. so $17 million cut did not allow us to do what we needed to do and where that impacted us specifically for palisades was our ability to move into reserve apparatus so that apparatus could not be utilized in this fire. we were limited with the number of resources that we could add and pre-deploy to this fire. yes, nbc los angeles chopper over two locations in downtown l.a. and commission. and our nbc l.a.of crew was there late friday afternoon as the fire chief walked into city hall for closed door meeting with mayor karen bass, who said w wednesday that

the budget cuts did not adversely affect the firefighting ability. well, i am confident that it did not. bass hasn't responded to the chief's public contradiction, and there's no word tonight what the two discussed in that closed door meeting. thom jensen, nbc, bay area news. in altadena today, a fresh look at the devastation caused by the eaton fire. more than 7000 structures damaged or destroyed, and some who lost their homes and businesses are seeing that destruction for the first time. nbc bay area's velena jones is tell us they are frustrated with the lack of communication from law enforcement. they tell us that they came here to the evacuation zone after being sent an email that they thought would grant them permission to come see their homes, only to be turned away. altadena residents are now facing a new reality. it's been gutting. it's like

it's like armageddon at the top of lake avenue. molly stein's house is one of the few that survived the eaton fire. airdrops help put out flames next door and save her home at the same time. tonight, she's struggling with survivor's guilt. we have a house, but we're going to live there. with no village and nothing around us. it's a it's a terrible situation. stein is one of the many residents who gathered on lake avenue to try to access their home today. they showed up after receiving an email from the city of pasadena, reportedly offering permission for a one time entry to the evacuation zone to grab essentials like medications. but when neighbors arrived, they were turned away. so we came here and it's highway patrol. we have sheriffs, there's national guard. none of them have the same messaging. claire schaeffer says she's still trying to come to terms with the loss of the family home her dad built. i just really want to go home and go in my own

bed, and kind of knowing that that's not an option is just really unsettling. she's also frustrated her family has not been able to physically see what's left of their home. i think empathetic to people that have lost a lot in this disaster. in the now deleted post. the city of pasadena says the notification was a mistake and that it's still too dangerous to allow people inside the evacuation zone. they add their orders are only for pasadena residents and don't apply to thei altadena neighbors. reporting in altadena, velena jones, nbc, bay area news. the devastation difficult to wrap your mind around. so many people have lost just so much to help meet that need. a donation center right now is operating outside the rose bowl in pasadena. it is staffed largely by volunteers working around the clock looking to help where they can. the site is stocked with donated food, water, clothing and just basic

necessities. and tonight, people in the bay area are buying supplies, trying to do what they can to assist the la fire victims. nbc bay area's jocelyn moran joins us now with how you can help. jocelyn. yeah. janelle. businesses, churches and organizations are gathering supplies to send to la. others are connecting on social media, getting together to figure out how to contribute. tonight, a truckload of supplies from san jose is on its way to los angeles. we have relief worth of full semi truck that is going to the dream center in la to help with folks out there. people have been dropping off things like diapers and water the last couple of days, and volunteers today with westgate church packed all of those donations up. 100% of this effort is done by volunteers who care for la. we love la. others are posting on social media, working together to figure out how to get things from the bay area to

la. i was clicking through folks instagram stories and things, and then when i found out that people were collecting donations in oakland and planning to drive it down as early as this weekend, i figured that, you know, that's a great opportunity that i can kind of contribute a little bit more tangibly. latrelle powell grew up in the bay area, but went to law school in la and has friends and family there. today he went to several stores to pick up supplies like n95 masks, socks and diapers and dropped them off at the restaurant. juda in oakland, which is collecting much needed supplies. i just packed all the stuff in my car, drove over there. and this weekend, local content creators are teaming up to plan an event in emeryville on sunday where people can donate new clothing and toiletries. they're working with a group in la they're called we love la and they are doing community care packages. they've basically got 60 families right now that they are catering to. the full list of the needs of these families. support from the bay area to la on full display. but it's ultimately just

unconditional love. and you know what i see those folks going through? i know the same thing can happen to us as well. jocelyn moran, nbc, bay area news. bay area teams also coming together to help with relief efforts. the bay area host committee and bay area professional sports teams have announced their joint support for the fire victims. that includes bay fc, the golden state warriors and valkyries, the niners, giants, earthquakes and sharks. the contributions will go to organizations like the red cross and california fire foundation. the president and ceo of bay area host committee said in part, quote, moments like these transcend geographic or athletic divisions, and we stand together as a united group to offer strength and support during this challenging time. another live look from our sky ranger down in the la area. you could see this huge wall of flames going over this ridge. it is heading north and east toward encino, and then east toward the 405 down to the

brentwood area and the famed getty museum. new evacuation orders are in effect because of this flare up of the palisades fire. i did see, as you can see, er, chopper, they are making water drops at this late hour. you can stay with us for the latest on air and online. our website. just incredible. great resource for breaking news with what's going on down there and here in the bay area. we're also posting updates to nbcbayarea.com around the clock. we're back in 60s just ahead. another case of the bird flu in the bay area. should you be concerned? what we've just learned about this latest case and what doctors are saying tonight. plus, officially sworn in and making history. what happened in the south bay tonight? that's never happened before. plus, plan on a windy start to the weekend, especially around the north and east bay hills. the latest on when the peak wind gusts arrive and a very dry looking

sentenced as a convicted felon. a new york judge sentenced the president elect to an unconditional discharge in his hush money case. that means mr. trump's 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide an alleged affair with adult film star stormy daniels will stand, but he will not face any fines or any jail time. it comes after months of delays, legal wrangling and a final hour failed appeal to the supreme court. mr. trump says he plans to appeal this ruling. meantime, his inauguration just ten days away. san francisco has reported its first presumptive human case of bird flu. public health leaders say a child experienced fever and an eye infection, but did not need to go to the hospital and has since recovered. it is unclear how the child contracted the virus. the

sample was sent to the cdc after a confirmed positive by the san francisco public health department. this case marks the second human case in the bay area. an alameda county child tested positive for the virus back in november. health leaders stressed the risk of a human getting bird flu remains low, as there is no current evidence the virus can be transmitted between people. the reason that's so important is human to human transmission is what is required for pandemic potential of a virus, so we are not in a pandemic. san francisco health leaders say they've not yet determined how the child might have contracted the bird flu. history. tonight in the south bay, for the first time, there is a vietnamese american woman on the santa clara county board of supervisors. i will well and faithfully discharge the duties. discharge the duties upon which i'm about to enter. congratulations. betty jung was

sworn into office just a few hours ago. she's an attorney and a familiar face in the county. the swearing in ceremony coincides with the 50th anniversary of the fall of saigon. extremely significant for jung, because her family came here as refugees in the 1970s. and, you know, my parents spent the last four decades working on the assembly lines of silicon valley, putting together the pieces, working at near minimum wage levels to rebuild their lives here. so i hope i make them proud tonight. the rest of the board is also making history. incoming district five supervisor margaret evy coco gauff will be the first japanese american woman to serve as a supervisor. the board will also have an asian american majority for the first time, and for the first time since 1980, there will be more women than men. san francisco has a new fire chief. today, mayor daniel lurie announced he's appointing san

francisco fire department veteran dean crispin to the department's top spot. crispin has spent 34 years with the department. during that time, he was recognized for bravery three times. he was also part of the san francisco team that responded to the new york city after the september 11th attacks. crispin says one of his top goals for the department is to ensure it remains in touch with the community it serves. my goal for this department is to ensure it remains in touch with the community it serves. department members must concern themselves not just with the beauty of the fire engine or ambulance, but with the beauty and health of the neighborhood. i will ask our members to engage with the public to form bonds that will move our city forward. chief crispin will replace sandi tong, who has served as the interim chief. we're going to take you now live back to southern california, as our sky ranger down in la has been over the palisades fire after a new flare up is causing new evacuations. the fire is

spreading ferociously at this hour. let's bring in our meteorologist, rob mayeda, who is following this fire closely. and it is now expanding north and possibly east. yeah. if you've been following the palisades fire, a lot of the impact down in pacific palisades and near malibu. now, the action did shift to the north overnight as we made our way into this evening. you can see what we have here. the north offshore winds backed off, and that allowed a window of opportunity for this fire to work its way northward up along a ridge south of encino. and this is where new evacuation orders were issued this evening on the north side of the fire. and another area on the east side. the fire kind of backing down into mandeville canyon. evacuation orders on the west side of 405 freeway, just to the north of brentwood, and evacuation standby warnings even off to the north o westwood tonight. again, the fire making that run to the north and to the east. but all of this likely to change as we head towards tomorrow and sunday. our top concern for southern california,

unfortunately, is the return of some strong, gusty offshore winds. again, the same wind pattern that really helped drive these fires again, will be starting to flare up as we get into sunday around 7 a.m. you could see those wind gusts again from about 40 to 50mph. now around the bay area, we'll have gusty conditions in our mountains, just not as strong as what we're likely to see in southern california. and you can see it's the north bay diablo range in the santaruz mountains, mainly saturday dealing with those winds. and then we'll see the wind speeds locally starting to come down for sunday. right now we're watching mount saint helena. you can see the gusts up to about 39mph. peak wind for us will be saturday morning through about midday. then notice in the sunday forecast those wind speeds do start to come down. morning temperatures for satuturday a little breezy out there to start the day. temperatures in the 40s. and as we pass lunchtime upper 50s to low 60s and highs tomorrow mid 60s around san jose. not too windy around the santa clara valley. really. it's the hills that will be dealing with those gusty winds. now here's the problem for southern california

once again, sort of a nonstop onslaught of these gusty offshore winds. you got more monday into tuesday right now. right now, even all t way through wednesday, those dry offshore winds are expected to continue in southern california. and the culprit is the same reason why we're staying dry in the bay area. high pressure off to our north and west. occasionally areas of low pressure dropping into our east. that is maintaining the dry pattern and unfortunately, a very windy one across southern california. it's likely to stay that way through about wednesday. so around the bay area for your weekend plans. a little windy, especially around the hills for your saturday. a little less wind as we get into sunday, and still no rain in the forecast for what is typically the wettest time of the year is dry here, but our fire danger is somewhat suppressed by the rain that we did see in november and december. so right now our fire danger a little bit reduced, but southern california, the opposite story without really any measurable rain going back to october. so unfortunate. okay. thank you rob. up next, the clock is ticking for tiktok. will it be down in just a matter

of days? the plea the social media platform just made to the supreme court to avoid a ban in the u.s. and we have jimmy. hey, everyone. pamela anderson is my guest tonight. we're playing box of lives. plus we have andrew re

settling in just fine tonight. she has a name. george solis. last week we told you about the rescue of this baby spider monkey. police found her during a traffic stop in central california. it is illegal to own a pet monkey in california. and she needed medical care, so she was taken to the oakland zoo. the zoo says her name, eshoo les, is a nod to an animal preserve in southern mexico called montes azules. the young animal is still recovering, but her veterinarian say she is making steady progress. the u.s. supreme court appears likely to uphold a law to effectively ban tiktok in the u.s. the court heard oral arguments in the case today. the law in question requires china based tiktok owner bytedance to divest itself of the company. if no sale takes place, the platform would go dark in the u.s. on january

19th. the justices did not appear convinced by tiktok's free speech arguments, but uncertainty remains over how the court will handle the case, especially with president elect trump taking office one day after the ban takes effect. a preliminary decision is expected in the coming days. facebook's parent company, meta, announced it's ending a number of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a memo to employees. meta said it's ending internal programs that were created to increase the company's hiring of diverse candidates. it also announced its chief diversity officer will move into a new role. in its memo, meta said it continues to value diversity, and it still has a principle of serving everyone. both the warriors and the sharks were a long way from home. the doves in indianapolis and the sharks

indianapolis to take on the pacers. six players, including steph curry, draymond green did not play. curry was resting his knees while green had a back issue. as for the game, the warriors were able to keep the game close early. there's lindsey watters hitting a three point jumper after a great play by buddy hield. the warriors also got a big contribution from little u.s. pat spencer. spencer scored a season high 17 points. unfortunately, the pacers were too much and too fast, and they went on to roll to a 108 96 victory. the warriors next game monday night in toronto. the sharks in salt lake city to take on the utah hockey club in the first quarter. early, the sharks took the lead. fabian zetterlund right there with the wrist shot past the utah goalie. sharks up one. nothing now in the third period, with a little more than 96 minutes left in the game, utah takes the lead. barrett hayton with the winning goal. sharks lose

there's so much good to look for and to donate to, and we just we can feel the love from the rest of the country. and we are. we're grateful. actress jennifer garner says that the palisades fire tore through her neighborhood, but her home survived. now, the actress is partnering with chef jose andres to help evacuees. she is working along volunteers with world central kitchen to feed people who are displaced by the fires. and jamie lee curtis is donating money to help fire victims after her family was forced to evacuate from the palisades fire. the oscar winner is pledging $1 million to start a fund of support for fire survivors. in a post on instagram, she says she's been in touch with state and city leaders to make sure the money is distributed for the most impacted people. and another live look at the palisades fire

burning at th hour. another flare up this evening. more evacuation and you could see how big this fire line is as it's moving toward more communities. let's bring in our rob mayeda. you've been following the fires all evening, and this new flare up, the intensity of this fire. you know, we don't have the strong wind, but you see the flame lengths there 50ft or higher at times. this area, the hills here, south of encino. the most recent fires that have burned in that area 1961 and 1944. there really hasn't been recent fires in that area. so the fuels are very dense. and what we had tonight was the fire burning upslope on the ridgeline there. evacuation orders between this fire and 405 just north of brentwood tonight that was issued earlier this evening. very dense and very dry as they've had very little rainfall. okay. thank ♪ tonight, the death toll rising from the wildfires in

southern california as yet another inferno erupts in los angeles. more evacuations ordered as that new fire spreads. and stunning images revealing the utter devastation. more than 12,000 homes and buildings destroyed. at least 11 dead. more than 150,000 still under evacuation orders. plus, a fire fighting plane out of commission after striking a drone. the fbi investigating. and after her home was spared, actress jennifer garner speaking out, the friend she says she lost in the flames. our team across the fire zone. also tonight, donald trump sentenced in his hush money case. thjudge imposing no penalty but formally making him the first convicted felon to be president. you'll hear his defiant words to the court for the first time. the winter storm slamming the south, delta passengers evacuated into the snow after an engine issue in atlanta. major travel troubles, more than 3,000 flights canceled. new images from the shootout during the terror attack in

new orleans. what the body cam shows. the supreme court hearing arguments over a law that could ban tiktok in the u.s. just over a week from now. will the justices let it go into effect? what they signal. and as the fires rage in los angeles, the heroes saving some of the most vulnerable from the flames. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening, and welcome, with one eye on the wind gauges, the other on new fires popping up, crews in los angeles are taking advantage of what's pected to be a brief improvement in the weather picture as they struggle to eke out gains against the region's deadly wildfires. tonight, the death toll rising in the los angeles area where at least five major blazes are burning. the biggest in the coastal city of pacific palisades, that sprawling fire now 8% contained. the eaton fire near the foothills communities of

altadena and pasadena, only 3% contained. more than 7,000 structures there damaged or destroyed. the death toll between the two fires now at least eleven. in the fire zones, people who days ago were literally running for their lives, are now returning to smoldering communities, hoping their homes will be the exception, the one standing amid the destruction. tonight destroyed communities anxious to know what's next, also questioning how things were allowed to get so out of control. let's start once again with tom llamas from l.a. >> reporter: the fire fight in california now in day four. today we saw firsthand how homeowners continue to face ththe wildfires head on. >> topanga is there. if we e burn, tonga burns. we need to stop this. >> reporter: using water hoses, shovels and sprinklers, these residents have been fighting for days. you're sweating, you're covered in water and dirt, why are you doing this? >> because there's a whole

community behind us, and if we go, they go. >> reporter: with firefighters on the ground and the winds slowing down, air assets attack the blaze from above. we're in the middle of the palisades fire fight right now. that's a fire hawk, a black hawk helicopter that has up to a thousand gallons of water dropping it right on some of the hottest spots of this wildfire. >> the accuracy of those air drops would have been unbelievable. >> repter: even carmen harman who is six months pregnant spraying down her home with water. she's expecting a boy, and says she's trying to ensure her baby has a place to come home to. >> we're ready to go if we need to. we have routes out. but yeah, we want to try and stay and fight. >> reporter: the threat isn't over. today new evacuations ordered as a fire broke out in grenada hills, and last night, another new fire near calabasas. a furious effort held back these flames. but with each new outbreak, already thin resources are being stretched even further. today, there's one less fire fighting plane in the air,

after a super scooper was struck by what the fbi is investigating as a civilian drone strike. the damage left a fi-sized hole in its wing, grounding the vital aircraft designed to drop 1,500 gallons of water on fire. the fires have now burned more than 56 square miles. that's larger than the city of san francisco. more than 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed. these stunning before and after images of the eaton fire in altadena, showing what the fire did to a vibrant community. according to the los angeles county medical examiner, the fires have now killed eleven people, including 83-year-old grandfather, rodney nickerson of altadena, and the number of dead is still expected to rise. >> there are still a lot of people unaccounted for. we don't know where they are. i think this toll is likely to go up, whether it's significant or not, pray god it's not. >> hajime white lost her father, anthony mitchell and younger brother justin who had

cerebral palsy. in the pacific palisades, actress jennifer garner's home was spared. but she's dealing with the loss of her own. >> i'm pointing to a street where a friend of mine lived and she died in the fire. right up there. so coming down here and seeing it, it's very, very real. >> reporter: amid miles of destruction, the national guard now standing outside fire zones to prevent looting. today, governor gavin newsom called for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure in fire hydrants. this as outrage is growing and questions remain about what impact l.a.'s mayor, karen bass's budget cut to the city's fire department had on the response. our local station, nbc los angeles, pressing the city's fire chief for answers. >> so $17 million cut did not allow us to do what we needed to do. and where that impacted us specifically for palisades was our ability to move into reserve apparatus.