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♪ right now at 11, as if it couldn't get any worse. a new fire burning in southern california as the wind picks up again. this one just north of los angeles in ventura. crews are scrambling at this late hour to get the flames from spreading. theire is burning along a riverbed not far from a golf course. evacuations in that place, along that riverbed. but we're told no homes or structures are threatened. at last check, it had scorched about five acres. now, if that

new fire is any indication, it could be another very long night for southern california. and this is what firefighters have been fearing that elevated red flag warning going into effect yet again. another round of the strong winds and low humidity as two major fires continue to burn. governor newsom says an additional 300 firefighters have been deployed to the region. the palisades fire has burned more than 23,000 acres now and is about 14% contained. the eaton fire out near pasadena and altadena is about 14,000 acres. containment there 33%. at least 24 people have died so far, and more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed. the concern tonight that this new round of wind could further fan those flames. this video look at that is from porter ranch. look at the way those trees are swaying. this is a suburb in the san fernando valley, north of northridge. the wind there, already howling, unnerving after

a nightmare that los angeles has already experienced. nbc's camila rambaldi is in porter ranch tonight. we are in the northern part of the san fernando valley, here in the porter ranch area, where the wind has already started to pick up here this evening. you can see the palm fronds and the tree branches swaying here we are anticipating winds gusting as high as 55mph for porter ranch during the peak time, which is expected to be from 4 a.m. tuesday to 12 p.m. wednesday. this wind event is raising concerns for fire officials due to the increased wildfire threat. a red flag warning will be in effect monday night through wednesday, indicating dangerous wildfire conditions. the palisades fire, eaton fire and hurst fire have scorched more than 38,000 acres combined in los angeles county. a firefight still not over yet as officials continue to monitor those wind conditions tonight,

reminding everyone to stay alert and to heed to evacuation warnings and orders in porter ranch. camila rambaldi, nbc, bay area camila, thank you. let's bring it back to our chief meteorologist, jeff ranieri, talking about just the anxiety for all those people knowing that the fire might be in your region at any point, and they are going to be looking at significt winds here as we head into the next 48 hours. right now, it does not appear this will get up to that level we had last week when winds were up to 100mph, but again, still something to be concerned about here tonight. what we have here, of course, is t palisades and also the eaton fire. i want to take you down to the palisades. fire. wind gusts i've been tracking just in the past few moments, 15 to about 50mph. so some of the hotspots still could blow embers down towards the coastline. and as we've been mentioning, santa monica remains on high alert out towards the eaton fire. current wind gusts 20 to 40 miles, 45mph on that one. and then we have that new

fire that did develop this evening just north of downtown oxford. winds 15 to 35, at least five acres. it's in a dry riverbed. the brush is very, very low. so hopefully that's going to help firefighters to get a handle on thisne tonight as those winds pick up. speaking of winds, you can see as we hea through tomorrow morning, 20 to about 50 for lower elevations. but notice the mountains in that pinkish color. that's gusts of 50 plus miles per hour. we stay with a similar forecast from tomorrow morning into wednesday morning. and then by the time we get to thursday, there you go. you can see that wind starting to become much less 5 to 10 here by thursday morning. so thursday, friday, saturday, sunday that wind gets out of here. i'll have our local forecast coming up jeff. thank you though. santa ana winds that we're talking about impact such a large region. 13 million people are under this red flag warning. this stretches from santa barbara down to san diego county. let's bring in nbc's audrey asistio, raj. and jess,

the situation is so extreme. the national weather service says the setup is about as bad as it gets. at least 24 people are reported dead, with many more missing, and about 100,000 people remain under evacuation orders. meanwhile,, new videos are emerging tonight of harrowing moments as neighbors help each other escape. here's one of them. is this your house that's on fire right here? okay. let's go quick. okay. come on. caleb lawler posted this video on instagram showing the moments he rescued his neighbor and four of her dogs from the palisades fire vargas flames taking over their neighborhood as they barely make their way out. meanwhile, 8000 firefighters are now on the front lines, but city officials caution the winds could limit water drops in the days ahead. all available lafd resources have been staffed. i have strategically pre-positioned engine strike teams and task forces, which are dedicated to rapid response for

any new fire that breaks out in the city. over the weekend, california's national guard dropped flame retardant on hotspots in the palisades fire after flare ups forced new evacuations in encino and brentwood, triggering this fire. nato, the eaton and palisades fires are still mostly uncontained, with multiple agencies, including the atf, investigating the cause of the palisades fire. law enforcement sources tell nbc news a possible human cause is an early focus in the case. they're identifying cause and origin for each of these separate fires. there's so many of them there, none have been ruled out of arson. officials are urging residents to stay out of evacuation zones. people are saying, i just want to go look at my house and i want to see what's left. we know that, but we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors. today, the l.a. unified school district reopened most of its 1000 campuses, giving students some return to normalcy. schools

damagedd by the fires or inside the evacuation zones remain closed, with so many now forced to start over. one estimate says the insured losses are already at least $30 billion. it is tough. there's millions of people looking at millions of different places, and so we just have to figure out one step at a time how we're going to handle it. audrey asistio nbc, bay area news. audrey, thank you. and take a look at the trail of destruction here, one of the most scenic highways in the world is almost unrecognizable. this is a drive along the closed section of the pch, the pacific coast highway in malibu. multimillion dollar properties, gone in ruins. abandoned cars still littered the road after flames forced so many people to jump out of their cars while they were evacuating and take refuge by the ocean. so what kind of person takes advantage of another person's misery? well, the kind that prompts curfews in the fire evacuation zones. looters are exploiting

this tragedy in burned out neighborhoods. the new da in los angeles announced today that nine people have been charged with looting and burglary. what you're watching is video from inside a home in pacific palisades. last wednesday, the day after the fire started. the promise that we made when we started this that these criminals would be arrested, they would be prosecuted, and they will be maximally punished is a promise we are keeping. curfew begins at 6 p.m. each night until 6:00 in the morning. now, governor newsom is calling for an expansion of the special legislative session currently focused on president elect ump. he now wants lawmakers to also consider ways to jumpstart recovery from the los angeles county wildfires and help with the emergency response. newsom's office said the efforts include a proposal to earmark at least $2.5 billion in additional funding to help schools rebuild, and to increase wildfire preparedness. plan already has the support of state senator pro

tem mike mcguire and assembly speaker robert rivas. as we've been reporting, a lot of bay area firefighters are down in southern california. the santa clara county unit of cal fire sent numerous resources, including its helitack chopper. that's a blackhawk helicopter. it's capable of carrying a thousand gallons of water and retardant. the unit is also set multiple crews, six engines and heavy equipment. firefighters from the south bay are also helping to coordinate all the housing and meals for the 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. 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. cal fire does say it's making sure it can be fully responsible and respond to any bay area emergencies as it continues to help crews down. south bay air continues to help

our neighbors in the south, and the first day of a donation drive at manny's in san francisco's mission district. the boxes are filled to the brim or even overflowing. then, on the other side of the bay in pleasanton, hundreds of thousands of meals will be headed to families in need. here's nbc bay area's gia vang. the images are stunning, and the stories of loss heartbreaking. all moving people here in the bay area. here we go into action. have a close childhood friend who doesn't know what's happened to his house. the winfield wildfires have destroyed entire communities, reducing more than 12,000 structures into ashes. pampers. that's just one of the reasons christina cain is here at manny's in the city's mission district. she brought bag after bag full of necessities and some items for the children impacted. oh, here we go. the eight ball. oh, nice. some joy. some joy. yes it is. certain things are going to look up. thanks for helping. yeah, too much to carry

for myself, i appreciate it. here we go. since eight this morning. this is what san franciscans have donated. you can see right here there are socks. and then inside this bag, we've got some fac masks. tomorrow at 11 a.m, the first van is coming to pick some of these items up and take them down to southern california. it will clear the space for more donations. we are in day one of a week long donation effort. i'm born and raised in los angeles in west la, so this disaster, it feels very close to home. manny yekutiel says from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m, you can donate needed items listed on the community spaces social media pages. it's overflowing and i'm feeling very overwhelmed in a positive way. volunteer drivers will make many trips to the la area through friday to deliver the goods to spaces and organizations manny's has connected with on the ground. we have to meet the moment we are being called right now to help. and so this is just the beginning. kids against hunger bay area knows that all too well. the nonprofit is packing meals for the next couple of days. their partners will pick it all up and drive it

south at the end of the week. with the natural disaster, though, especially right in our own state, we want to try to get as much there as we possibly can as fast as we can. we're hoping to have at least 200,000 meals packed before they pick up these bay area efforts to extend a hand. adding up this taking action just helps overall feel that i'm doing a tiny little drop for all of the things that are going on around our world in san francisco, gia vang nbc bay area news. our team here at nbc bay area continues to follow these fires very closely. when we're not on the air. our website is a great resource. we're posting updates around the clock. just go to nbcbayarea.com. you can also find the latest on our nbc bay area app. it's a free download in the apple and google app stores. we're back in 60s. ahead, a symbol of love found amid all that destruction. how some firefighters help return a precious family heirloom to a family who lost almost everything in the fires. also,

their rally cries have been heard. the announcement about a san joseospital and its trauma center. there's a lot of people feeling a sense of relief, and i'll have the latest on those wind conditions from the bay area to southern california. pl, what's happening

special counsel jack smith's final report into his investigation into former president trump. that report deals with mr. trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election loss. earlier today, a federal judge cleared the way for a portion of that report to be made public. it investigates mr. trump's election interference efforts leading up to the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. in the report, smith said he believed the evidence wawas sufficient to convict mr. trump if his success in the 2024 election had not made it impossible for the prosecution to continue. mr. trump was

indicted on four federal felony charges. the case was ultimately dropped after he won the election. trump has denied all wrongdoing. special counsel jack smith resigned from his position on friday. back here at home, a win for community health care advocates. santa clara county has reached an agreement to purchase regional medical center. this comes after its current owner, hca healthcare, decided to downgrade the trauma center. the decision sparked months of outcry from health care workers and residents who feared for the health outcomes of east san jose. here's nbc's jocelyn moran. tonight, there's a sense of relief. people in the community feel like their voices have been heard. this is such a win for everyone in the community, particularly for the residents of east san jose power. darcy green is one of many who showed up to rallies over the last several months with the hope of keeping the trauma center at regional medical center open. nearly a year ago, nbc bay area learned the hospital's current operator, hca healthcare, planned on

closing its trauma center services in august of last year. that sparked a campaign to keep it open. in july, the hospital said the trauma center would stay open, but it would downgrade from a level two to a level three trauma center. but it wasn't enough. the county moved to purchase regional medical center. it's a very densely populated community, and the downgrading of the level two trauma center at regional medical center, i've said it before, would have been a death sentence for the residents of east san jose. and come april 1st, the county is set to take over operations after agreeing on a $150 million purchase. we will be in a position as the county government to restore regional as a trauma center, and we will be able to do so on day one. the county says it's now working to onboard the hospital's employees to the county system, and it expects a smooth transition. but it's not just about the trauma center. the county plans to bring back more services in the future. afterwards, we begin to bring back stemi and stroke services that were actually taken away.

and then also to bring back the maternal infant care services that regional medical center had at one point. tonight, community members feel the county's decision to purchase the hospital will save lives. every minute counts. it's crazy to think that our community in east side san jose, that's already experiencing so many health disparities, would have to travel farther to get the care that they need, so it's life saving. in san jose, jocelyn moran, nbc, bay area news. a 19 year old oakland man and his 18 year old sister are in critical condition tonight after someone fired into the family car. that shooting happened early yesterday morning. police say the teenagers and their father had just packed up the car with things to sell at the coliseum swap meet. three told investigators that a man tried to open the car door. the father started driving away. that's when the man allegedly opened fire. neighbors say the family sells bikes a and toys the flea market every weekend. fellow vendors are hoping to organize a fundraiser to help them. a police chase through the streets of san francisco overnight ended

with this. that car crash that sent four people to the hospital, including two cops. both the police cruiser and the suspect's car crashed. the cruiser slammed into a shuttered liquor store near the intersection of san bruno and paul avenues. that white sedan you see there crashed nearby. sfpd says two officers and two suspects were hospitalized, but their injuries were not serious. first lady is in town. doctor jill biden is in the bay area for a three day visit. it is her last trip here as first lady. mrs. biden landed at sfo earlier this evening, and tomorrow and wednesday she will be in san francisco to talk to health care leaders about a white house initiative to advance women's health research. not clear if the first lady will attend any other public events before heading out on wednesday. let's go back to southern california now. we have a new information and update on that new fire that we told you about just about 15 minutes ago. this is in ventura. forward progress has been significantly slowed. that is really good news. this fire has burned about ten acres along a

riverbed. again, this is in ventura county. no homes or other structures are threatened. and there is some good news to report. it's all thanks to a group of hard working firefighters. as victoria desantis rusushed to evacuate hr home in altadena early wednesday. this was last week. she placed her wedding ring and band near the front door. sadly, she didn't grab the rings on the way out. she just was too panicked with everything else. so after her home burned, she returned to look for those wedding rings. that's when someone she asked some firefighters to help while she found what she thinks is her melted wedding ring. the firefighters sound found something else as well. 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, like a

needle in a haystack there, victoria says. after a week filled with so much loss, her ring is a symbol of not only love but resilience. look at that photo right there. yeah, and it's always we've done it in those fires. you see, people find something very tiny that is so meaningful and really gives you hope for the future. and we look at that wind down there right now, it is starting to pick up 20 to about 50 in the mountains. you can see on this map here some of those bright colors showing up again, 20 to about 50. currently, they could see wind gusts up to 70mph all the way into wednesday during the day. then by 11 p.m. on wednesday, we start to get in on some calmer winds and looks much, much better thursday, friday and saturday. back here in the bay area. we had some strong winds this morning. most of the bay area now though, is calm, although mount saint helena still at 31 mile per hour gusts. we're going to see this wind for us get out of here as unfortunately it stays in southern california. back here in the bay, we got high pressure. that's going to bring some sunshine. let me get you more details on this and what's

happening with our rain chances in your microclimate forecast. and here it is tomorrow morning. it is going to be chilly to start. make sure to have that heaviest jacket out under mostly sunny skies. we're going to get down here to 40 in the south bay over to the tri-valley 39. maybe some patchy frost here in the north bay at 37. and for the east bay, some upper 30s temperatures by the afternoon going up into the 60s here in the south bay. so all in all, not a bad day for us here. 63 in san jose, 64 in milpitas. and those light winds, 61 in oakland, 64 here in concord and the low 60s continue across most of the peninsula, from daly city to palo alto. although half moon bay here at 59 san francisco, upper 50s in the marina, the mission at 62 and for the north bay 62 as well in sonoma, right here in novato, we're at 63 rainfall chances. doesn't look good for us. it's january. this can be one of our most active going to push everything way up towards canada and alaska into

the next ten days. i got to tell you, we may not actually get in on some good rain chances here until the beginning of february, so we're missing out on a big chunk of our rain season here with that high pressure right here in san francisco. 50s to 60s for highs. and we got plenty of 40s in the mornings next several days. and across the inland valleys, also 50s and 60s for highs 30 to 40s across the mornings. we are tracking those fire conditions and what's happening in southern california. and of course we'll have more updates. all right. thank you, jeff. let's move on. happening now. it's president biden's final week in office tonight. he says he's forgiving more student loans. he's relieving debt for more than 150,000 people. the majority are for people who attended schools that, quote, defrauded their students, and also for public students, and also for public servic workers - i had health insurance before. (discouraged) so expensive. i mean, i'm helping my mom out, i don't have that kinda cash. - ugh, i know. but you can get

financial help now through covered california. it's totally affordable. you'd be surprised. they've got this calculator thing that shows how much you'll pay. - for real? - yeah! what are you doing not having health insurance, man? - hey, i know, i know... - here, let me show you... - we all have questions. covered california has answers and can find a health plan that's right for you. covered california. this way to health insurance. more places to charge. federal lawmakers today announced san jose and other silicon valley cities will receive $12 million to install 237 new charging stations. about half of those will go up at san jose libraries, community centers and parks. city and county of san francisco will also benefit. it will receive 15 million to pay for up to 300 charging ports and garages, lots and curbside locations. we may be in the thick of winter, butt's never too soon to think about our upcoming music festivals.

organizers for bottlerock napa valley releasing the lineup today. a lot of recognizable names. legendary east bay band green day is headlining the opening day. justin timberlake and noel kahn are headlining the other days. some other notable acts on the list. sublime, ice cube, and cage the elephant. more than 80 performers in all will take the stage. the three day festival kicks off memorial day weekend. tickets for bottlerock go on sale tomorrow. bottlerock bringing sexy back. it's's a big deal. up next, we'e going to check in with what the warrio didn't do

we may have a problem. it's almost panic. time for the warriors. they have now lost 17 of their past 24 games. that's a big deal. probably the most difficult stretch of steph curry's career since his early days with the team. tonight in toronto, start with the little warriors fan here. they made the poor kid take off his warriors jersey. remember this is in toronto and put on a raptors jersey for an on court shot. final three minutes of the game now kyle anderson for the warriors. and the dark jerseys here with the three pointer. the warriors led 101 to 98. but from there the defense could not hold. toronto's ochai agbaji coming up big with some big buckets in the final 90s. here he is again. raptors win 104 to 101. here's a very defeated steve kerr. this is as frustrating a night as we've had

all season. for me this game was right there for us to win. and we just we let them let them get right back in it. and again it's, you know, lack of lack of discipline in our in our coverages defensively in our offensive execution. and i'm the coach so it's my fault. wow. from a dejected steve kerr to an excited rams head coach sean mcvay nfl playoffs. now this gameme was supsed to be in l.a, but was moved to arizona because of the wildfires. rams and vikings here. the rams defense matching a playoff record with nine sacks. sam darnold was on the run all night a forced fumble there. the rams return it for the touchdown. l.a. shocks minnesota 27 to 9. the rams will now face the eagles on sunday in

on ventura, you can see things are quieting down. thankfully there. firefighters say the forward progress has significantly slowed on this fire that broke out along a riverbed there late this evening. last check, the fire had burned ten acres, no structures threatened. and jeff, the ththing that's still a big issue is this wind that we don't know what we're going to wake up to. yeah. we could get gusts in this area, maybe up to 50 and some of the mountains 70mph. that fire is near the river ridge golf club, if you know it. and it's happening in the santa clara riverbed. so good news on that fire. but we've got the other fires we're tracking in southern california. so the wind advisory ends 11 p.m. on wednesda tonight, the critical hours in the southern california as more dangerous winds threaten to bring new

destruction. crews racing to contain these historic fires just as santa ana winds return with gusts up to 70 miles an hour, threatening the air assault on the flames and potentially spreading new infernos. we're on the front lines with a team hunting for hot spots. the death toll rising to at least 24. dozens of arrests made, including looting charges, and investigators zeroing in on what sparked the largest blaze, the palisades fire. was there a human cause? plus, the desperate homeowners who have been defending their homes with hoses. the disaster making california's dire housing crisis even worse. our team in the fire zone. and al roker tracking the winds. also tonight, the first major movement in months on a possible ceasefire deal in gaza. could an agreement be struck before president biden leaves office? a critical week for president-elect trump and his cabinet nominees. conference hearings

set to begin. first up, pete hegseth, his pick for defense secretary. the tough questions he faces about his experience and his conduct. the alarming new study on the rising risk of dementia, and what you can do to minimize your risk. and the emotional reunion in california. the dog back together with his owner and the firefighter who saved his life. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> and good evening. i'm tom llamas in for lester, who is on assignment overseas. tonight there is new concern about the fire emergency and threat here in los angeles. that's because the santa ana winds that spread these fires so rapidly and destructively are once again forecast to ramp up. the situation so extreme, the national weather service says, quote, this setup is about as bad as it gets. there is some progress, though