bay area news tonight. it is not over. those winds are picking back up. we have the latest from the fire lines in southern california. plus, how did the firestorm ignite? arson

investigators are on scene. the possibilities that they're looking into. and new video. look at this. showing looters trying to take advantage of the devastation in southern california. the message from the new district attorney promising a crackdown. good evening, i'm raj mathai. we begin the week with the grim reality down in southern california as crews search for more bodies. they're also preparing for more wind. and that means possibly more homes and lives threatened. let's start with the palisades fire. it's burned almost 24,000 acres from pacific palisades to malibu. evacuation orders expanded over the weekend into brentwood, encino and westwood. westwood is where ucla is. containment is at 14%. this fire is believed to have takenight lives so far. let's switch our graphic now to the east in

pasadena and altadena. the eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres. containment stands at 33%. this fire has taken at least 16 lives and damaged or destroyed an estimated 12,000 structures. most of those structures are homes in total. these fires have now taken 24 lives. earlier today, our sky ranger spotted arson investigators near where the palisades fire started, which was last tuesday. you see them down below. they are looking into any indications of how this all started, including whether it may have reignited from a separate fire in the same area that was caused by fireworks on new year's eve. investigators are also inspecting an electrical transmission tower as a possible reason behind the eaton fire. this is up above pasadena. this video, captured as the fire ignited, shows the flames burning near those electrical towers before racing down the canyon. now la's power company, it's called southern

california edison is also investigating whether downed equipment may be responsible for the smaller hurst fire, which burned 800 acres and is now 95% contained. so many moving parts to all of this. the cause, the active fire fight, the incoming winds and school for the kids. let's bring in nbc's jennifer bjorklund, who joins us from pacific palisades. jennifer raj i'm standing here in pacific palisades. where behind me you can see the tower from a very recognizable private school, the village school here in pacific palisades. there are so many questions that residents here have. where will their kids go to school? where will they live in the short term or the long term? how long will it take to rebuild? and in the meantime, this new windstorm threatening to come kick up the embers and start new fires? there are still houses that are standing in this neighborhood and in the neighborhoods in altadena, but help is coming in from all directions. that drone damaged

super scooper from canada will rejoin the fleet in the sky on tuesday morning. we also have dozens of mexican firefighters from the federal fire team in mexico and the mexican army joining the front lines here in the palisades that trained at march air reserve over the weekend. so help is coming from all over. strike teams are set up to watch overnight as the concern grows, along with the wind that is expected to last through wednesday. i'm jennifer bjorklund in pacific palisades, nbc bay area news. jennifer, thank you. and we talk about that wind. let's bring in our chief meteorologist, jeff ranieri. this is just emotionally overwhelming. jeff. here comes the wind again. what are you seeing right now? well, it is gradually beginning to start to pick up out there across the mountains. now i just want to start all this off and let everybody know we're not expecting winds up to 100mph like we had last tuesday when all of this started, but it still is going to be very gusty and there still are some hot

spots going on these fires. so we have the eaton fire near pasadena. also the palisades fire. with these fire warnings, winds will range 30 to 70mph coming out of the north and the east. that's that very dry santa ana wind. and we're going to be under these warnings until 11 p.m. on wednesday. i really see some much, much better wind forecast. very calm thursday, friday, even into this upcoming weekend. so let's take you into what we're seeing right now. palisades fire winds 15 to about 30. and here's the interesting thing. the way the wind is blowing, it could push some of the hot spots back on to where the fire is already burned. so a little bit of good news, but look, any kind of embers that start flying, we could see more fires getting start started. and then down there in santa monica they continue to be on high alert. and then out here towards the eaton fire near pasadena. winds right now, over the past 15 to 20 minutes have been gusting 15 to about 25mph. okay,

just to clarify, jeff, this is about what today, tomorrow. and then hopefully things will settle back down come thursday. correct? yes. we're just starting to see that kicking up here tonight, i think in the mountains as we head through this evening, what you're going to see on this map is a lot of this magenta pinkish color. that's wind gusts that could get 60 to 70. most of the lower elevations would be 20 to about 55mph. that's this evening. we'd stay with a similar forecast here, as you'll see all the way through tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening. then as we head through wednesday night, we should start to see that wind over the mountains beginning to relax. and then by thursday morning, we're looking at winds of five to about 15mph here, in large part for most of southern california. so late wednesday night and thursday, that's when that improvement is expected. okay. and part of all this is just managing the facts around all of this. we've been hearing a lot of back and forth about the water supply. is there enough water in our reservoirs? what are you seeing now in terms of the actual level of those

reservoirs? well, i did just do a check, and they're ranging anywhere from 28 to 96% of capacity in southern california. now, the palisades reservoir that was offline. there's an investigation being started on why that reservoir was empty, and also on some of the fire hydrant issues that happened in southern california. we're hearing from a lot of homeowners about those p problems. and of course, reports from the different fire agencies. so there is water in those reservoirs, except that one in the palisades that continues to be offline and that is empty. now, one more quick thing on all of this rainfall forecast does t look good for us here. we've got this large area of high pressure coming in, and it looks like we could see dry weather through california for the next ten days. we may have to wait until early february until we start to see things beginning to bring some wet weather back here for us. it's been a long time since they received rain. i think you're referring to the santa ynez reservoir, which was

shut down for repairs many months ago. that's exactly right. thank you. jeff, as we've been reporting now, a lot of bay area firefighters are down in southern california. the santa clara unit of cal fire, based in morgan hill, has sent numerous resources, including its helitack chopper. this is a blackhawk helicopter capable of carrying 1000 gallons of water and retardant. the unit has also sent multiple crews, six engines and heavy equipment. firefighters from the south bay are also helping to coordinate all the housing and meals for those northern california firefighters. the crews are working around the clock and will continue to do that for weeks at a time when they hit 14 days, we evaluate their status and then at 21 days, we rotate them absolutely so they aren't out there too long. what kind of shifts are they working down there? 24 hour shifts. amazing the work that they do for our communities. cal fire says it's making sure it can also fully respond to any bay area emergencies, as it continues to

help, with crews down south. well, sadly, we see this during firefighters so often looters during these fire events. the new da down in l.a. announcing today that nine people have been charged for looting and burglary. this is surveillance video. look carefully there from inside of a home in pacific palisades last wednesday, the day after the fire started. these guys entering the property, the promise that we made when we started this, that these criminals would be arrested, t they would be prosecuted, and they will be maximally punished is a promise. we are keeping. a curfew remains in effect for the fire fighting the fire zones from 6 p.m. so it's in effect right now, 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. they're also investigating reports of scams and price gouging, which is highly illegal during these times. another aspect to all of this is the information or misinformation about the firestorms. people are angry about what they're hearing on social media, but many things

they're hearing are simply false. according to governor newsom, a lack of water reduced funding, and that delta smelt the fish. president elect donald trump and others repeatedly blaming governor newsom. i don't know what he's referring to when he talks about the delta smelt and reservoirs. the reservoirs are completely full. the state reservoirs here in southern california that mis and disinformation, i don't think advantages or aids any of us. responding to donald trump's insults, we would spend another month. there's a long list of misinformation and facts going around here. the governor is launching this website. you see it here. it's called california fire facts.com. and this is to counter the misinformation about the wildfires. it calls out point blank many of these social media posts, including some from mr. trump and elon musk. joining us now is our political analyst larry gerston. this is interesting here. it's fascinating what we're dealing with the fires and then the information about the fires. why is it so important for the

governor to spend time and resources to do this? can he just let it go? no, he can't let it go. he's the governor of the largest state. that right there that says something. he's got microscope. he's under a big microscope with really tens of millions of americans watching to see. and a lot of concern when you get to something like this, a major event, a disaster, how is it going to be managed? that's when we really understand what a person is about. when things are easy, that's fine. but when they're bad, when they're, you know, upsetting, that's that's when the pressure grows. how is newsom going to managet? the problem is, you know, this is a disaster largely out of his hands because it's done by nature. so what he has to do is be reactive rather than proactive. well, he's sit down. at some point with president trump. he'll be president in a week from now and go over this. or is this just kind of a negotiating tack from the president, incoming president, to governor nsom? i don't know how much of a negotiating tactic is. it's certainly an opportunity for president trump to hammer newsom. but good. look, he is a man of grievance.

we know this. and anytime he feels that somebody has been untoward toward him, mr. trump goes ahead and hammers pretty hard. and he has the bully pulpit unlike anybody else. political future for gavin newsom here. this is a test whether you like it or not, misinformation or not, this is a huge test. could this be part of a downfall if things go south for him? you know, there's never one thing or i should say rarely one thing that contributes to anybody's downfall. but, you know, you build up a reserve of events, things in your life, how you've managed them, the deficit too long ago. and people at the end of the day will judge you. yes. will he be judged on this? he certainly will. like anybody who's got a leading role the mayor, the da, all those folks as well. but but we have to remember that as, as an act of nature. there's only so much the governor could do. now, whether people look at it that rationally, that's another question. it has been disheartening just for me personally over the last couple of days, just to see all this

information, me spending my time just saying, okay, that doesn't seem to be tru and then it turns out to be false. and yet it's spreading like wildfire. sorry for the pun there. we got two problems here. one more and more people are reading newspapers less, watching tv less, and going to social media for their news. if you can say that to their news. and this is a problem because, you know, so much of social media is just not right. so that's a big problem in itself. and the other problem has to be with with people just not taking the opportunity to take a breath, let things unfold. let's see what's going on. don't reach any conclusions. we have a long way to go here before we really get to the bottom of this thing. and i think those people who have said anything, you know, and said it, how shall i say it with not thinking? well, well, i think they'll have something to pay. okay. thank you. larry. it's hard to go through this together with. it's so fresh, all of this. thank you. okay. up next. now, a symbol of love found amidst the destruction. how a

group of firefighters helped return a precious family heirloom to a family who lost almost everything in these fires. also, where's the most competitive housing market in the country? apparently it's not here in the bay area. the new list from zillow. and why some local realtors disagree. you're

i guess what i'm looking for from you is, i mean, i know how the fire affected me, and there's always a constant fear that who's to say something like that won't happen again? that's fair. we committed to underground, 10,000 miles of electric line. you look back at where we were 10 years ago and we are in a completely different place today, and it's because of how we need to care for our communities and our customers. i hope that's true. [joe] that's my commitment. [ambient noise]

real estate analysis from zillow

ranks the hottest housing markets in the nation, and the bay area is at the bottom. the report focuses on the most competitive housing markets. looking at zillow's forecast for local home value growth and how quickly homes are selling. it also considers job growth per new home permitted. buffalo, new york was number one on the list. indianapolis was second, and it's largely job growth and home affordability driving the rankings. so that's probably why we're near the bottom. zillow is forecasting our area sees relatively slow job growth and home prices staying flat in san jose and actually dropping by just under 2% in san francisco. and so as housing demand has cooled over the past year, inventory has increased in homes, especially in san francisco, are sitting on the market for longer than they did before the pandemic. all right. many local real estate agents aren't buying all of this. joining us tonight is jeff lamont with coldwell banker in burlingame. jeff, nice to have

you back on the program. we know a couple of things. great to talk to you again. we know a couple of things here. we are a hot market, at least we think. and also an ultra expensive market. what are you seeing right now? yeah. i beg to differ with the with the zillow analysis. we still have a really strong amount of demand and not enough supply. great job creation. our prices are actually going up in san mateo county. median home price in november was up by 21%, and in december was up by 3%. our inventory was down in november by 24% and down by 26% in december. so our prices are continuing to go upward. you know, i preach to my clients the best way to build generational wealth is to build a home. a lot of studies have shown that the net worth of a person who owns a home versus a renter is 40 times difference. yeah. i think that that certainly makes sense here. this is usually a dead period in the market for anywhere in the country. i believe. when does it

start to pick up? is it usually that april may months? no, no we're already we're already seeing things kick into high gear. you know very, very well attended open houses, multiple offers i'm seeing are kind of the norm at this point. so we are in a strong market. we're going to remain in a strong market. yes. it is expensive to own a home here. but you know, you build generational wealth. you buy your first home condo townhouse, you hang on to that for a while. you build up the equity and you buy a home. hey, jeff, we can talk about numbers. i also like to talk to you about just the people. who do you see? you're on the front lines here. what type of people or families are buying? is it just tech people and what type of people are selling and maybe getting out of the bay area? yeah, it's by and large techs, you know, high tech biotech, medical field millennials primarily or folks with family money. that's what's

really driving our market right now because they can afford, you know, with these these millennials that have got good jobs where they're pulling in, you know, 4 or 500 k a year, they can afford to spend $2 million on their first home. yeah. a lot of the sellers that i, that i work th, and i know a lot of other folks are working with, some of them are trust sales, where mom and dad have passed away. and i'm working with the adult children that have inherited the homes. some of them are leaving the area to go where their dollar goes further. and actually, i think on our on our last interview we talked a little bit about that. so that's that's what i'm seeing. but the buyer, the buyer market is really being driven by the high tech and biotech jobs and the people that work in those fields. always good information. and just to clarify, again, you're seeing a hot market even right now. open houses. if i go next saturday, people are going to be lined up there. yep. yep. i talked to one of my associates and she had over 100 on on a listing that they had here on the peninsula. wow. okay. jeff. jeff lamont with coldwell banker in burlingame. appreciate your time. great information. have a happy you. and bye. and i just

wanted to add my thoughts are with all the folks in southern california. pretty horrific situation. it is really hard, especially for that real estate market. now just that rental market. jeff, thank you for your time. okay. thank you. all righty. take care. let's get back to southern california. now, there is some good news out of all of this. it's tnks to a group of hard working firefighters. here's nbc's alex rozier. these concrete steps are the only recognizable feature of what used to be victoria desantis home. obviously, there's been fires before but never have affected this neighborhood. when the eaton fire tore through altadena last week, it burned her house and most of the block she's lived on for 18 years. for us, we make a right turn up out of olive. and just to start the street, there's just nothing there. if you take one look at the rubble, you'll realize victoria's family lost so much. but amazingly, one day after the fire, firefighters made a priceless discovery when they found a symbol of love

amidst destruction. as she rushed to evacuate early wednesday, victoria placed her wedding ring and wedding band near the front door. i took off all of my rings because it was so dry. i just kept putting hand lotion on and my rings were starting to kind of slide off and i thought, i don't need to look for that. if the power goes off, i'll just set it by the front door with my keys so i can grab it on the way out. sadly, she didn't grab the rings on the way out, so after her home burned, she returned on a mission. so i just asked these firefighters if they wouldn't mind helping me find my ring. victoria thinks she found a piece of her melted wedding ring, and the firefighters found something too. they're just like hands and knees digging through the ash. and one of the guys says, i found a ring, but it's not gold. and i said, oh my god, that's my wedding band. i could not, for the life of me believe that this little tiny thing was found amongst ashes and debris.

after a week with so much loss, she'll hang on to this wedding band forever. to me, it's just a symbol of our family. it's our love. they have each other and this symbol of love and resilience in a dark time. that was jeff rozier reporting down in southern california. up next back here in the bay area. another look at our forecast as we kk oicff

what are we looking like next ten days it's trending dry, so we may not actually get into some better rain chances until we start off february. and it's all from this strong area of high pressure. now, the other thing we're tracking again tomorrow is this low preure in southern california. and that's going to bring more wind. let me get you more details on that microclimate forecast, and i can showou, in case you missed our earlier update, we are seeing some winds in the mountains gusting 20 to 40. you'll see that bright color there corresponding with the key, even some isolated gusts to some of the highest peaks up to about 50. they'll be under high wind warnings through the day on wednesday. much, much calmer. by the time we get to thursday, gusts still could get up to about 70mph. back here in the bay area, we had some strong winds this morning. it's calmed down for most locations. mount saint helena still reading 32 and some of the mountains in the

north bay, 20 to about 40. but we're on the tail end of that and all that's going to be getting out of here tomorrow. we'll start it off with 30s and 40s. a frost advisory i don't see anyone getting at 32 or below. it's just going to be a chilly start for tomorrow morning. so have that heaviest jacket out and then we'll see those numbers finish off here in the 60s across the bay area. with plenty of sunshine on that 7-day forecast. as we look at that weekend ahead. we got some sun, some clouds, temperatures here in the 50s for highs by saturday and sunday, and a mix of 30s and 40s right thrgh through the morning. we've got more updates on that weather, of course, coming up at 11:00 tonight. we'll see you then. thank you jeff, tonight in prime time here on nbc at 8:00. deal or no deal island, followed by law and order svu at ten. and then we hope you stick around and join us for our 11:00 news, live and local. that's going to do it for us here at 7:00 for

hollywood rallies to help victims from devastating