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and is bracing once again for powerful winds to sweep through as massive wildfires rage. we're following the conditions after crews spent the day keeping the flames from spreading. what's going to happen to the west side, where there's a lot of generationons that have lived there? a gut punch for locals returning to their neighborhoods after the eaton fire. the destruction marking a huge cultural loss for the l.a. community. and a bay area team bringing a high-tech edge to the firefight. how they're helping crews spot new fires within minutes of sparking. good evening. two of the most destructive fires in california history continue to rage in l.a. county. crews spent the day trying to slow down both the

palisades and eaton fires ahead of more strong winds. the death toll has risen to at least 16. 11 of those deaths from the eaton fire. it continues to rn just north of pasadena after wiping out entire neighborhoods in altadena. tonight, it is 15% contained after burning more than 14,000 acres. cal fire says it wasn't too active today, but still threatens nearly 40,000 structures. meanwhilele, the palisades fire continues to grow, with new evacuations ordered for encino and brentwood as flames they creep closer to homes in those iconic neighborhoods. more than 23,000 acres burned in that fire. that one, just 11% contained. taking a live look at the palisades fire right now. federal officials will try to take a live look at that later on. but right now, federal officials from the atf are now leading a task force to investigate the fire. it has burned more than 5000 structures and then are threatening thousands more. and, rob, you're keeping a track of

how the wind conditions are tonight in l.a. county. yeah. during the day, some progress. a little bit of good news out there around the palisades fire. you can see the wind speeds still dry with those gusts above 28mph in the santa monica motains. but around the eastern flank of the fire, which this morning was very active down into the mandeville canyon area. a flare up there, which is showing up in this red area on the satellite detected heat has been contained as of late afternoon and early evening ahead of the onset of those stronger, gusty winds we expect overnight. so that is good news around the brentwood area as we await those stronger winds to arrive, which we do think will happen between now and sunrise, right there in western l.a. county, close to where the palisades fire is, and also in the mountains above the eaton fire there near altadena. now, as we go through the rest of the day, sunday, wind speeds coming down for a time, but coming back up again. so we're watching these ongoing red flag warning conditions around the palisades fire. in addition to that, around the eaton fire, you've

got the high wind warning. some of the mountain tops there will still be looking at the potential of wind gusts from 50 to 70mph, and this is going to last through wednesday. so four more days of critical fire danger for the mountains of southern california. we'll talk about when we'll finally see some relief and if any rain is in sight around the state coming up in our forecast in a few minutes. four more days. rob. thank you. thousands of people in los angeles are now homeless, facing not only the challenge of rebuilding, but how to get through the coming weeks and months. the red cross has opened shelters citywide. this one right here is near the palades fire. it is full inside families. some multiple generations are facing the reality of what these fires took away. as a lifelong californian, we know wildfires. this this isn't uncommon, but to see devastation at this scale is just heartbreaking. in altadena, thousands more families are homeless. for renada ortega, her house and backyard floral studio never stood a chance. we work so

hard to get here and now to see it this way. i never thought i would live through something like this. so many heartbreaking stories. and among the ashes in altadena, the town's historically black community. velena jones is there tonight with more on how the community embraced diversity and the concerns of what it will look like in the future. among the ashes in altadena includes the community's history of acceptance and diversity. that was the most important thing my dad shared with me. he says, make sure you buy your house, you know? so when we bought this house in 1993, the whole thing was to buy it and create generational wealth. we were not going to leave. kevin williams family moved here 1965 as a kid, while many families were being pushed out of their communities and redlined. williams family found refuge in altadena with a dream of

creating generational wealth. again, one of the other reasons why we wanted to maintain this residence is for the legacy purposes for them to be able to inherit this house so that they could stay. it's tough. williams lost two buildings on his property to the fire, but his home was saved. tonight, he's concerned for those in the black community who weren't as lucky. he explains many of their homes were inherited and aren't insured. so are they going to be able to rebuild? who's going to come into the neighborhood? what's going to happen to the to the african american people who trailblazed the home of 40 years was also lost in the fire. she's a historian and explains at one point, altadena was around 48% african-american, she says. today, that number is closer to 20%. pasadena was doing a lot of urban redevelopment and urban renewal, and it used to be the urban renewal. removal is what was actually said. and so a lot

of people of color moved up from pasadena to altadena. these are four of the 11 victims who lost their lives in the eaton fire. we are still waiting to hear about the other victims. as the community looks to heal. they hope their legacy of diversity will be preserved is a rare good example for america. i think for how we've all gotten along and been very diverse. velena jones, nbc, bay area news. velena jones there for the last couple of days now in southern california tonight, mexico is entering the fight against the wildfires. more than 70 mexican firefighters and humanitarian workers touched down at lax airport this afternoon. they also brought food and supply donations with them. they'll join the 14,000 national guard members, firefighters and officers already in l.a. governor newsom was on the runway today to meet crews and thank mexico for the solidarity. 40 million americans that live

in the great state of california. i want to thank president sheinbaum. i want to thank all the members of the military for being here. it means the world to us. and you can hear more from governor newsom and the wildfire response during an exclusive interview on meet the press. you can watch that tomorrow at 8 a.m. right here on nbc bay area. firefighters on the ground have two big concerns tonight. the winds picking up as rob was talking about creating the risk of flying embers sparking new fires. teams from two bay area companies are in the fire zones using their technology to help. nbc bay area's marianne favro joins us with details. reporter a san francisco company is priding monitors that can detect new fires within three minutes of sparking, while a san jose state researcher says his company is able to more accurately track the winds. together, they're hoping their innovations will provide critical information to fire crews as flames continue to rage through southern california.

bosnia is rushing to put up high tech fire monitors developed by torch, the san francisco company he founded. he says the devices are designed to detect a fire within three minutes of igniting. we took the concept of a smoke alarm and we brought it to the outdoors, except we also have infrared cameras, spectral analysis, gas sensing, temperature and humidity sensing and ai. and all of that is combined in inexpensive sensors spread around an area. and the goal is for them to detect a fire really early on. that information can be critical, especially in areas where embers can quickly start a fire. in evacuation zones where there are no people around to report them. we're just trying to put sensors up in any of the at risk areas early in the fire fight, winds in the palisades area topped 80 miles an hour, and high winds are still a concern, which is why a san jose state university fire weather researcher is working to deploy his technology

to provide more accurate wind forecasts in the fire zones. our model has been trained up to predict the winds in that area, to be more accurate and give firefighghters andge. he says right now, his company, paladin industries, is providing current wind data to a meteorologist assigned to the southern california fires to provide critical data to determine where fire crews should go and how to keep them safe when a fire detection occurs. we are looking to model the first eight hours of the fire more accurately than anyone else. while both companies are still fine tuning their technology, they hope their data can make a difference and help crews more effectively battle future fires. marianne favro, nbc bay area news. the sf spca is trying to help pet owners affected by the socal fires. the shelter is waiving adoption fees for dogs to try and clear space for animals from the los angeles area. they plan to head south on monday to pick

up animals clearing space for la shelters to then take in animals. a fire victims and people they cann ao support by donating online or dropping off clean towels, sheets and unopened pet food. of course, we will continue to follow the fires in la throughout this newscast when we're not on the air. our website is a great resource. our team is posting updates around the clock. just go to nbcbayarea.com. we're back in 60s just ahead. a big change is coming to the north bay after a new casino project clears a major hurdle. why? the plan is controversial enough that even the governor spoke out against it. plus, the pain in la is being felt here in the bay area. how local businesses are rallying to help and how you can too. and at this hour, still seeing wind gusts over 40mph around the altamont pass. up to 65mph at mount saint helena. wind advisory ongoing to start sunday, when we'll see changes in that wind speed and when we might see rain back in

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it happened just before nine. bart says it is not clear why, but the person was on the tracks near the civic center station. service is impacted, riders being told to expect major delays on the san francisco line in the sfo millbrae direction, the red line is temporarily canceled and the blue line is being cut short. a norther california indigenous tribe is celebrating a victory tonight that will also bring big changes to the city of vallejo. the u.s. department of interior is approving a request by the scotts valley band of pomo indians to place a 128 acre

parcel of land in federal trust. that means the government holds a title, and the tribe gets to develop and govern the land. the scotts valley tribe plans to build an eight story casino, homes and an administrative building on the site, which is bordered by i-80 and columbus parkway in vallejo. now, several bay area tribes, along with governor newsom, oppose the plan. they say the scotts valley tribe has no historic connection tohe land. we want to return you to our coverage of the deadly and destructive fires ravaging southern california. the devastating images coming out of the area has left many people in the bay area wondering how they can help fire victims. nbc bay area's alyssa goard has a look at some of the ways people are jumping in to offer support. here in the bay area, businesses and community groups have been finding all kinds of ways to help support folks who have been impacted by the fires in los angeles. many people here say that their loved ones have had their lives forever changed by this disaster. whipping up

cocktails is hanley's specialty at the snug bar in san francisco. she grew up near altadena, where the eaton fire is raging in southern california. she says the school she attended and the school where her mom is currently a teacher was destroyed, so no one really knows quite yet what the future holds for those students or my mom. leah and her coworkers want to help people and animals in la as they recover from the fires. so friday they launched a new cocktail called the city of gels as a fundraiser. for every cocktail sold, we're donating $3 split between the pasadena humane society and the california fire foundation. in two days, it's become their most popular cocktail by far. it has kumquat. it's very floral with some rosemary, and it's just kind of representing california's terroir. and there's also a rosewater component to incorporate the city of roses, which is pasadena, a few miles away. blackjet baking is also mixing

flavors to provide relief. i've decided to make a coconut layer cake that has on the top. i love la on it. the cakes can be ordered online and the proceeds will go to the nonprofit. restaurants care. so they've created this fund that will go directly to restaurant workers, food and beverage workers. local content creators are also gathering donations of new clothes and toiletries. they'll have a big drive in emeryville on sunday. every dollar counts. just if you have anything to spare or if you don't, just continue to project information and have conversations and make sure that you keep the humans affected in mind. in san francisco, alyssa goard, nbc bay area news. we're seeing that so much, so many people here in the bay area across the country really wanting to pitch in to help with what happened in la. and, you know, one of the things that sparked this was obviously the winds we get we're getting winds here as well. it's an interesting situation. you know, it's not what you would expect

in january to have red flag warnings for multiple days. but we have kind of an unusual pattern that's affecting what's happening in southern california and also what's happening here in the bay area tonight, as you saw just a few minutes ago, we continue to see wind gusts in our local mountains from 40 to 60mph, but not so much in san jose. it's still pretty mild outside. it's 60. you got some north winds at times and some pret dry conditions, and you can see it especially out towards dublin. 19% humidity right now. north wind at 12mph. at 58 degrees. we're seeing less wind. humidity at 71% closer to san rafael. again, not really seeing too much in the way of north wind. and look at san francisco still at 60 degrees. so we have the windiest conditions has been the case throughout much of your saturday on the north bay mountains over towards the diablo range, mount saint helena, gusting to 66mph. but as you drop down out of napa and into orinda, those were the wind. speeds are about 20 to 30 mile per hour gusts. oakland. hayward not really in those

winds. so most of the concern for the wind gusts continues to be above 1000ft. this is in the north bay, east bay hills, diablo range and santa cruz mountains through late tomorrow morning. then eventually we should see the wind speeds back off a bit as we move forward into sunday afternoon and sunday evening. but notice that wind direction still staying offshore even into our monday forecast. offshore winds a sign that high pressure remains locked in just to our west. so morning temperatures in the wind sheltered valleys will be chilly. next few mornings could be waking up to 30s and 40s. high temperatures tomorrow again. above average, likely mid 60s south of san jose and low 60s around san francisco to oakland. so we've been talking about how unusual this fire danger is for january, the lack of rain. this is what january should look like. gulf of alaska low kind of acting like a pinwheel for storms to reach the west coast. high pressure flattened out and just to the north of hawaii. but this is the upper air pattern we've seen

most of this month. instead, summerlike high pressure, like a blocking high set up to the west, which allows these areas of low pressure to drop into the deserts of southern california, which brings up those gusty offshore winds. and unfortunately, this pattern remains locked in. no rain chances, it looks like for the next 5 to 7 days, those rain chances stay off to the north and of low pressure still dropping in east of the sierra, could be dealing with a little more wind at times as we head towards next weekend. so for san francisco, looking at highs near 60 with some chilly mornings ahead by san francisco standards, mid 40s is eight and tuesday and wednesday. right now, the only thing that looks like a january forecast could be those morning lows in the valleys. patchy frost frost advisories possible as we head into monday and tuesday, but the dry weather just continues from north to south around the state as long as that blocking high stays offshore, it's like a shield keeping all the storms way off to the north, which is not what firefighters want to hear right now. all right, rob, thank you. in better news. yeah, well, not such great news to start. 49ers season is over, but

the nfl playoffs just kicked off. and we're talking football running wild on wild card weekend. the dominating performance by king henry that he delivered in the ravens win over the steelers tonight. look at him go. stick around. sports is next.

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there's the teaming-up-with-my-hero type of happy ... and the we're-never-going-to-forget-this kind of happy come find your happy today ... only at the disneyland resort. signed justin verlander to a one year, $15 million deal. he has 262 career wins and more than 3400 strikeouts in 19 seasons with detroit, houston and the new york mets. he's a three time cy young award winner, a nine time all star and a two time world series champ. he won both of those with the astros. the big question is, how much does he have left in the tank? he'll be 42 next month. speaking of tank at the shark tank. san jose taking on minnesota. down two in

the second. william eklund is there for the rebound and the put back. it's his ninth goal of the season. that cut the lead in half. but the wild put the game out of reach with an empty netter late in the third period and the wild skate by the sharks by the final score of 3 to 1. stars back. meanwhile, there goes henry. there goes henry all the way for the touchdown. oh, henry! derrick henry running wild in the wild card game against the steelers, rushing for 186 yards and two touchdowns. baltimore had 299 yards on the ground. the ravens run all over the steelers, 28 to 14. former niners head coach jim harbaugh leading his chargers into houston against former 49ers defensive coordinator demeco ryans and the texans. houston's defense came to play. they had four interceptions, including this pick six by eric murray. the texans shocked the chargers 32 to 12. ai blake mohs

to jump into the passing lane. good if it goes. got it off the bank. jaylen blakes cashes in at the bank. cardinal up ten at the brea over virginia. maxi marino led the way for stanford. had a game hig 24 points and ten rebounds. it's his nation leading 13th double double of the season. the cardinal win it 88 to 65. also cal lost to virginia tech. that's a lo atok pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we got you, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get an unlimited line free for a year, plus a free 5g phone.

sag-aftra is donating $1 million to its members who have been affected in some way. the money will specifically go to those who have lost their homes or are

experiencing other hardships. the union represents about 160,000 actors, media professionals and broadcasters in hollywood. president fran drescher released a statement today thanking its members, including broadcasters who are providing coverage from the ground. yes, so much to still report on. they're on the ground because this is still happening. rob. yeah. and unfortunately, we're weather conditions are concerned. youou know, y're looking at four more days. red flag warning conditions there. and the dry weather there also extends obviously up here to the bay area. gusty conditions in our bay area hills. no signs of rain. the 7-day forecast as we head through the next seven days here or in southern california as well, but i think second half of the week, a little less wind there over the l.a. fires. all right. let's hope so. thanks, rob, and thanks for watching. saturday night live is