cbs' charlie demar joins us from pacific palisades with the latest. charlie, we know there's a little bit of a return to normalcy today as most schools reopen. >> reporter: michael, good morning. yeah, most kids will be returning back to school in the greater los angeles area. we know that eight schools will be closed. those are schools in heavily impacted areas. school officials say a number of factors went into making that decision to open schools like the fire's containment and air quality. but tragically as cadaver dogs continue to do their work and continue to search these burned down areas, the death toll is expected to rise. firefighters in southern california are in a race against time to contain the deadly wildfires. the national weather service warns that dangerous high winds are expected to return in the coming hours. >> these winds combined with low humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in all of los angeles county very high. >> reporter: as of sunday, officials said the palisades fire, the largest, was still less than

charlie demar in altadena. thanks. >>> today another round of trump cabinet picks heads to capitol hill for their senate confirmation hearings as president-elect donald trump works to shore up his administration ahead of monday's inauguration. and perhaps none are more controversial than defense secretary nominee pete hegseth. yesterday democrats grilled the army veteran on his qualifications and a litany of personal scandals. cbs' jarred hill joins us with the details. so can we get any sort of read on how president-elect donald trump feels about hegseth's chances? >> yeah. cbs news is learning that team trump is pretty confident in how hegseth did yesterday during that confirmation hearing. this one was often combative, but it didn't appear to raise flags for the republican senators that he'll need to vote for his confirmation as defense secretary. in fact, one skeptic turned into a supporter. >> i don't have a similar biography to defend secretaries of the last 30 years. >> reporter: before the senate armed

for the very latest on the firefight, now go live to charlie demar, live in altadena. charlie. >>>>and ryan, we are in hard-hit altadena. this is what so many homes look like block after block. just completely leveled shells of one of what they once were. i want to give you a look at what this looks like here. what we have seen in many of these homes, you can see water from some of the homes there. what was possibly the kitchen, the fireplace, the fire stack is still standing here. but as for the fires, the palisades fire, that pacific palisades fire that is the largest fire right now. and as firefighters continuously continue to feverishly try and fight that fire, it is still burning. they're trying to put out that fire along with so many others. >>>>strong wind gusts remained a problem for firefighters friday as they battle multiple wildfires that have devastated los angeles county. >>>>the eaton fire current estimated acreage 13,956 acres with 3% containment. >>>>overnight, firefighters notched a win, stopping much of the kenneth fire. residents there described the panic of

charlie demar has the latest from los angeles. grueling search and rescue process is already underway here in altadena. we have already seen crews sifting through the more than 7000 buildings that were destroyed in the fires. dramatic footage shows firefighters conducting water drops in los angeles county trying to stop new sparks from spreading. >>>>20 200 hours working structure defense >>>>on the ground. fire crews are standing by with wind gusts up to 70mph expected in some areas. >>>>we're going to create a a buffer around every every house. we're clearing trees. we're clearing brush. anything around those structures. >>>>since igniting a week ago, the palisades and eaton fires have displaced tens of thousands of residents and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, including daisy suarez's home. >>>>i have to send my kids to be away from us, you know? and as a parent, it's not what you want to do. >>>>elena ted lieu lost her home in altadena. >>>>we saw that our home was on fire and there was nothing we could do. but, you kno

charlie demar reports from la >>>>as investigators race to try and prevent the spread of the fires, investigators are busy trying to determine how and where the fire started. the extreme fire danger is real, with another blaze breaking out last night north of l.a. in ventura county, forcing evacuations. firefighters managed to stop its growth for now, but the fight continues in fire ravaged los angeles. that's the big piece is the winds, and they can blow embers, you know, two miles away, there's a red flag warning in effect, with potential wind gusts as high as 70mph, raising concerns even further inland. we just ask people, be extra vigilant as we move through yet another round of offshore winds. crews are putting out hotspots in the palisades fire, but as the smoke clears, questions arise. atf fire investigators were seen at the top of this ridge, a popular hiking destination in the pacific palisades, looking for evidence. officials are also trying to determine if embers from this new year's eve fire may have reignited to spark the massive palisades fire. residents who lost property in the eat