stephanie elam, thank you so much for that reporting. and find out how you can help the wildfire victims in the los angeles area. you can go to cnn.com. slash impact. you can also text wildfires to 707070 to donate. still ahead, we've got much more coverage on the four active wildfires swallowing up entire communities in america's second largest city. we're going to talk to a woman who lost her home in the palisades fire after being denied fire insurance. you're in the cnn newsroom kobe believed in himself at the youngest possible age. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories in sports history. i don't want to be remembered as just a basketball player. kobe premieres january 25th on cnn. >> dexcom g7 is one of the easiest ways to take better control of your diabetes. this small wearable replaces fingersticks lowers anc, and it's covered by medicare. >> not managing your diabetes really affects your health for the future. >> the older you get, the more complications you're going to see. >> i knew i couldn't ignore my diabetes anymore be

. >> all right, let's go now to cnn's stephanie elam. she is live in the fire zone. stephanie, what are you seeing on the ground? >> it's eerie out here, jim, now that the sun is coming up, i'm just going to step out of the shot. so you can see here how the smoke is coming off of this side of the hillside off the pch and coming out over the pacific ocean. but let me show you what's causing that. look at this. look at what's blowing up here on the side of this hillside. here you can see how those flames are just engulfing the skyline in just white and black smoke. as things are starting to burn more, as we're starting to see the sun come up. to be honest, it took a long time for us to be able to tell the sun was coming up, because it was just so smoky, and now the wind is just kind of cleared it out. like even the air feels clearer right where i'm standing, where it has been for the last few hours overnight. but i want to show you over here as well, because we've had some activity overnight. we've been here watching the top of this apartment complex burned down the top

i want to get right to cnn's stephanie elam. i see a lot of activity around you in pacific palisades. stephanie, if you can hear me, what's going on there? >> yeah, john, i'm going to step out so that we can show you this, because we watched the top of this complex up here burn down. we saw it. it really in the midst of a massive wind gust, really just blew up in flames and burned down. and then it seemed things got quiet. but now we've seen some action here. where firefighters and it looks like law enforcement are blocking off the street because it looks like it's burning between these two buildings back there and still on top of the building. if you listen, you can hear some of the pops going off and that is the fire destroying these buildings, things that are inside the building that are burning, the wind gusts are still very strong. just took my breath away there for a second and we can see some more fire burning back in this canyon here. this is why tens of thousands of people are evacuated. also, why you still have many peo

joining us now, cnn's stephanie elam, who's in l.a .'s brentwood neighborhood. that would be more to the eastern side of this fire. stephanie, your vantage point there. i know you've been watching teams all day in the sky, on the ground. what more can you tell us? >> jessica, i wanted to show you something different this hour because i want to highlight this ridge behind me. we're on top. it looks like that sandy color up there. you can see there's a vehicle up there. we watched them bulldoze that and make it wider. and we now know why they have been doing that. and that is because we were just informed by lafd, the los angeles fire department, that the winds are about to change. and so this fire that you've been seeing burning here next to us and has been burning for quite some time, and they've been manning and watching through this mandeville canyon here. the winds are going to change. and these fires that are burning here are going to head toward where we're standing. so what they're trying to do is create defensible space. that is a place where they can make

. >> let's go now to stephanie elam, who is live in malibu. tephanie, tell us about what you're seeing there. >> yeah, brianna, we are along the pacific coast highway. now that the sun is up, you can actually see more of the devastation. this is a wine bar that really popular live music they would have here. and and people would come out here and enjoy being next to the ocean. and i was walking up behind it and i didn't even recognize it because it is so demolished until i got to the front and i saw these blue chairs and this big yellow chair. look at these former barrels. all that's left are the metal casings around the barrels just completely burned out. and this is up and down this stretch of the pacific coast highway, where you can see the devastation of these smaller businesses here, as well as some homes up in the hills. think about how hard those flames had to be burning, how high they had to be burning for this kind of destruction here. and if you look through palisades, if you look through altadena, it's the same story where you see bu

cnn's stephanie elam live in pacific palisades. stephanie, you just put your goggles on. we've heard from you. you've never seen anything like this. >> no. and i really feel like i'm in a hurricane the way the winds are blowing. except for the fact that i'm surrounded by all the smoke and the smell that that acrid smell of a wildfire when it's burning through buildings. and the winds have really picked up. also, i can tell you that there was a building standing there. we watched it burn down, but now i think that this is an apartment complex, and i can see now that there are little spots burning inside this building. we are concerned that this building may go up. not sure yet. you can see that it's still burning on the other side of it there. this is the reason why tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. while we see these three blazes threatening homes, burning down homes. we know homes have been lost at this point. we know that there are tens of thousand people without power. some of them shut off for safety to try to contain how bad these blazes can grow here.

our stephanie elam is northeast of l.a. and altadena and cnn's julia vargas jones is west of the city in pacific palisades. we will get to them and have much more on all of the fires in just a moment. but first, as we were just saying, breaking news out of a new york city courtroom right now, president elect donald trump is being sentenced in his hush money conviction just ten days before he is set to return to the white house. the unprecedented ruling follows a 5 to 4 decision by the supreme court to deny trump's last minute appeal. last night, cnn's laura coates is outside the new york court. laura, walk us through where things stand right now. a lot of things happening at this very moment. >> well, we may not have been here, but for the supreme court last night, deciding in a 5 to 4 decision a very tight ruling where chief justice john roberts and justice amy coney barrett joined with the so-called liberal justices to say that this could go forward. we knew from the judge it was unlikely that this is going to be a jail i

that's where we find cnn's stephanie elam reporting live. stephanie. strong winds are expected to be a challenge yet again today and through the weekend. what are you seeing there now? >> yeah, we still feel some of that breeze out here right now. i have to tell you, guys covered a lot of wildfires, but haven't seen anything quite like this. look at this. just an entire block of homes decimated. gone. just the chimneys standing up. you can tell where the homes were because of that. you look at that and you think, okay, that's bad, but it's not just there. if you look at this whole entire street, this side also decimated. they were out here just a little bit ago. the firefighters putting out hotspots within this property. you're talking about 14,000 acres in just this fire alone that has burned, decimating these cars, people's homes, their memories. they're there for some of them, their livelihoods because they were working out of there. all of this chart in such a short amount of time, they're saying that more than 5000 structures have been lost in jus

back to you. >> that's cnn's stephanie elam there in los angeles.ow to get the latest on the weather conditions, we're joined now from oxnard, california, by todd hall. he's a senior meteorologist with the national weather service. thanks for joining. at this time of the night. what are the conditions, the weather conditions on the ground now that firefighters are dealing with? todd. >> well, in general, we're seeing wind gusts between 35 and 50mph across much of our higher terrain in southern california, where these fires are burning. uh, those numbers will likely increase through the night as we start to experience the next round of santa ana winds. so typically, our santa ana winds, they strengthen through sunrise and really reach peak intensity just shortly after sunrise. so we're gearing up for another round of of critical fire weather conditions on these fires. and, and potentially a some more strong winds across these across these burn areas. >> wow. um, and when i spoke with you this time last night, you said that though these are strong win

back to you. >> cnn's stephanie elam reporting from the fireline near brentwood, the santa ana winds this month have been exceptionally strong. cnn meteorologist chad myers looks at why they pose so much danger in the days ahead. >> santa ana winds happen all the time, but the one that we had on monday was extraordinary. 85 to 100mph. unheard of. but what we're seeing now is even a 45 mile per hour santa ana wind will do certainly some damage because we have so many sparks that are already out there. by morning hours here, i mean, we have winds at 43, 45 mile per hour gusts. now, this is a transverse range. this is a mountain range up here. you're always going to see color here because it's on top of the mountain. that's kind of how the model is going to run this. but we kind of die off a little bit. have a lighter day on monday. but then again tuesday and wednesday. look at the colors as we bring them back all the way through wednesday and even into thursday. these deep reds are not what we're looking for when we already have embers on the ground. so for today, critical for tomorrow

cnn's stephanie elam is there. stephanie, we can see you standing in front of just the destruction. >> so much destruction. and you were talking about those winds, john. they are really starting to kick up now. i don't know if you can tell as well. yeah, i guess this guy is flapping up here so you can see this. it is really windy. and this is part of the concern because right now it is cooler. it is a little chilly out here. and that usually happens during wildfires where we see the flames kind of simmer down into the earth and we don't really see them. but then as daylight comes, things start to heat up and we start to see these blazes come back. but this is the overall effect of what we've been seeing here. take a look at this. this was an inn right on the pacific coast highway, just decimated by the blaze. and palisades fire coming through here. and you think about it, the fire has burned through more than 23,000 acres. the eaton fire over on the east side, burning through 14,000 acres. and according to data rele

cnn's stephanie elam is in pacific palisades. stephanie, what are conditions like right now?still very windy. it appears. >> still very, very windy. and with that wind makes it very impossible for firefighters to try to contain this blaze. that's why they're not even focused on that right now. they're still making sure that people are getting away safely and that they are protecting property as they can. this is a very difficult series of conditions to fight fire in, because not only do you have these winds that are hurricane force, and it feels like some massive creature is like trying to pick up and toss our cars while we're sitting in them. let the firefighters do their jobs there. but just that wind alone. it is really difficult to work in because it's hard to see out here while you're doing all of this. and on top of it, in these small canyons back up in this area, it also makes it very hard if fire gets in there to stop it. we have been out here almost all night long and through in the morning, and i can tell you this black smoke is not what you want to see. that means

cnn's stephanie elam is in malibu for us. stephanie, more dangerous wind gusts apparently on the way. that is not good news. >> not good news, as they've been really making some progress on these blazes, jim. and that is precarious because with these blazes, there comes the threat that some of those embers could get caught up in that wind and fly really far and start a fire someplace else. so that's what they are working to prepare for. staging firefighters in parts of these areas where they know that they could be a threat to prepare for what we are already starting to feel. it's windy out here. now, let me just show you. i'll show you where we're standing here. this now the sun is up. you can see that this is what's left of what wasn't in here along the pacific coast highway in malibu. just completely destroyed. stairs to nowhere. you can even see a palm tree that just looks like it was taken down. the remnants of the tree still there. but this is just a microcosm of the overall loss in this area. and you're talking about he

let's get right to cnn's stephanie elam. she is in the hard hit pacific good morning, stephanie. >> good morning, john. and the good news about that auto fire that they're saying that they're able to stop it from progressing further, even though it is not contained yet. but this is exactly what officials want people to be aware of. the fact that we're going to see these stronger winds. and i can tell you it's starting to pick up a little bit here. we're going to see these stronger winds today and tomorrow. and just because we have the palisades fire burning in the eaton fire burning doesn't mean those are the only places where we could see blazes erupt and grow with these winds. and so that's why they're asking everyone to be prepared to evacuate. have your emergency kit ready to go in case you do need to get out. and that was the situation for one couple in the eaton fire. i want you to take a listen to cheryll ku. she was coming home from work when she saw the flames in the distance, and it was caught on their ring camera.

first, to cnn's stephanie elam on the ground in altadena, where so much has been lost. stephanie, what are you seeing there now? >> it's devastating. i mean, you know, a lot of times we cover these wildfires, kate, and you'll see one house gone and maybe another one there and another one across the street. it's entire blocks here, just like it was in the palisades fire where i was earlier this week. look at this. behind me you can see that there's a gas leak over there of some sort. so that's just burning over there. but this house completely decimated. oftentimes you will see this just the chimney standing there. the only thing standing there, you know, you're talking about the number of people impacted by this. you've got 180,000 people who have evacuation like they have to go, and then 200,000 people who are under warning. think about how many people that is in this very populous county. it is a lot of people being impacted by this. and on top of it, the air quality. you're talking about people who have lost everything. some people now knowing that they've lost loved

cnn's stephanie elam joins us live. she is in pacific palisades, in southern california. she's made her way there for us. stephanie, what did you see through the night? what have you seen, where you're standing and what you saw on your way to get where you are now? >> well, casey, i'm a californian. >> i was born and raised here, and i have covered a lot of wildfires for cnn. >> but i have to tell you, the drive here is one of the most treacherous drives i have had to make to get to a wildfire, simply because when you cover a lot of wildfires, they're out and about. this is some densely packed terrain here. and i just want to show you, from where we're standing on the pacific coast highway, this building over here, we've watched this structure burn down since we've been out here overnight. and then when you pan over to the side just a little bit, you can see that this apartment complex is also on fire. we've been watching fire crews race up there now and then just on this other side here you can see there's another blaze on that side, just in this little bit of section of

stephanie elam is live in pacific palisades for us with the very latest here. you have been doing such great work out there and watching the city that you love burn. stephanie, what is the latest that you are hearing now? >> yeah, so i have to tell you, people are fatigued in los angeles. it's just been going on for so long for so many people not be able to get back to their homes to see what it looks like. this is just what has people still on edge. and i can tell you, i put my mask back on because we are starting to feel the winds blow up. and because i'm standing between a whole block of houses that have been demolished by fire and picking things up. it's time to put the mask back on. so these are part of the concerns, these winds, what they're blowing and also whether or not they'll start other fires. and that is the big concern here. and that is why part of the reason they don't want people coming back into these areas just yet, also because they are methodically going through each lot to make sure with sniffer dogs, make sure that if anyone is a victim los

. >> cnn's stephanie elam is in the middle of the devastation there in altadena, california. and, stephanie, we understand the national guard is there in the area. >> oh, yeah, i can tell you when we got here overnight that the national guard was out there stopping people. and when i stopped to speak to one officer as i was coming through, he said to me that there had been people looting up in this area. so there have been arrests because of that. but when you look at it, first of all, i don't even know why you would want to come in here and do this. when we came in, it was so smoky overnight. but look at this. you've got places like this where from this angle, you could barely even see that a house is there all along the street. it's like the chimneys are totem poles of these homes. the memories that used to be here for all of these people. cars are burned through. you've got the chimneys, besides the chimneys, the washers and dryers that are still there and some of the places. but all of this all up and down this block, this is another viewpoint of just how bad this is. and

. >> stephanie elam is live for us in altadena. steph, give us a sense of what you're seeing there. >> every time i talk to you, brianna and boris, i want to show you the impact of the devastation in a new way because there's just so much. and look behind me here. you see this house? the corner of it seems like it's been impacted some. these tall bushes here definitely charred. but then just look over here at the house next door gone. and the house next door gone. all of this just decimated on this part of the street. across the street, it's the same thing. it's just almost. it doesn't make sense how some houses make it and others don't. you look down here, this house on the other side. gone. the other house past it. still there. and what is something that we're really going to have to deal with here as californians? is the change in how weather is the climate change impact is huge here. these communities that are up against the wildland interface are facing a new reality because it does get really dry here. we've had two wet winte

back to you. >> all right, stephanie elam, thank you.ell, firefighters got a break saturday, but winds are set to pick up again soon. cnn's derek van dam joining us now with a look at the forecast so we can talk about the winds, but also just how dry california has been. >> yeah. those winds are pushing around a tinderbox. right. ready to explode again. they've only had 3/100 of an inch since the start of their water year, which is october 1st. okay. they should have over 4.5in. so representative of that is this little cup of water. don't think volume, think depth. that's the amount of water that los angeles has had. it should be overflowing this cup with how much water they should normally have. january is their second wettest month of the entire year, so it just hasn't fallen from the sky. so we're extremely dry. you return in the winds like we saw last week. and then what's going forward through this week. and we have critical fire weather from today right through wednesday. this is just representative of the next three days red flag

stephanie elam, thank you so much. i appreciate you and your crew there, john. >> and that's the key. the conditions could get worse. the warnings in some areas are at their highest level. so where how strong are the winds and how long will they last? let's get right to meteorologist allison chinchar in the weather center. allison. >> yeah. that's right. the unfortunate part is we are going to see those winds go up. we've already seen that in the last few hours. you can see a lot of those winds picking up into the teens and even into the 20s. with anticipation. they get even higher throughout the day. you've got the red flag warnings in effect for today, but they're going to stay in effect through tuesday and even wednesday of this week. you've got the sustained winds that will get to 20 to 30mph. but those wind gusts likely to get up to about 45 to even as high as 70mph. you have not only today, but tomorrow, where you're looking at this pink area here, that's a level three of three, the highest level you can get for

thank you so much, stephanie elam. it was heartbreaking to hear. it was like made us all gasp that that daughter found her father dead in his bed from the fires. i know we'll be hearing more devastating stories like this. the loss of life expected to rise. appreciate your time and your crew for being out there during this time. stephanie. kate. >> the fires. they are still raging and officials fear that the danger and say that the danger is far from over. >> but there has been some progress made in containing some of the fires. >> the biggest factor in any forward progress. still, the wind threat which could complicate this fight once again. >> cnn's allison chinchar is tracking this one for us. >> she joins us now. >> and, allison, what are you seeing in terms of the wind, in terms of what they're up against and what the next few hours look like? >> right. so they're going to have a very short window for the firefighters to really be able to make some huge advancements in those containment numbers, because while things will start to get better, th

let's get right to stephanie elam. stephanie, you've been in both of the major places where this destruction is just unbelievable and unprecedented. where are you now and what are you seeing? as the light is beginning to peek through? >> sort of starting to peek through. i say that, sarah, because it is so smoky out here right now, that i think it should be a little bit brighter than it is right now, but it's thick because just on the other side of the ridge, for me, the fire is burning out towards the wilderness. but where i'm standing right now is in altadena, and this is up against the foothills. so last time i spoke to you, i think not last time, but two days ago i was over in the palisades fire. now i'm here and look at this. it's the same situation, and i wish i could just say that it was just this house. i wish i could say that it wasn't that house and that house and that house across the street. entire blocks just completely devastated and it's almost unfathomable that there is this much loss at this time to see

but first, stephanie elam is in the pacific palisades. good morning, stephanie. >> good morning john. >> and we are seeing some of those winds starting to kick up. >> now that we know that the winds were not as strong yesterday as predicted, but now is the day that they are watching out for that, particularly over the eaton fire. and this is why they're asking people in all areas to be prepared for an emergency and having to evacuate. as we see these winds pick up. but overall in these areas, it is a slow, methodical process of trying to make sure that they go from each lot to the next, making sure that if there's anyone who did not make it out, that they're able to find them, and then also just to for cal fire to go through each and make sure each place is safe. in fact, take a listen to an official from cal fire talking about this process. >> crews are doing a methodical process of moving through the area, going to every individual structure and searching it, looking for hazards, possibly searching for any victims that may not have made

. >> sauce stephanie elam is there with singer ellie goulding. >> goulding. and. oh! oh, look at that hair and that outfit. >> oh. you look beautiful. you know what? i. >> i'm trying to be beautiful like you guys. and i'm also happy new year to you, because we are living in the future. so happy new year from 2025. and i want you to know that ellie goulding just got off stage and brought everyone into 2025, and she killed it. she was out there singing and jumping and athletic. how do you do that? how do you hit those notes? how do you do that and stay so active while you're on stage the whole time? >> honestly, i do a lot of running on the treadmill and singing at the same time. i learned that from beyonce, and i feel like whatever beyonce does, i do. so yeah, that's how i do it, basically. >> and so when you hear everyone start to sing your words back to you, you know the song that you've written and you're performing over and over again, what's that like for you? >> oh, it's just it never gets old or boring. every single time it's a different feeling, you know? and b

stephanie elam live for us from malibu. thank you for that report, omar. >> well, she was talking about wind, and it could be a major factor coming up here. meanwhile, the pentagon says u.s. military aircraft have dropped more than 16,000 gallons of fire suppressant on the wildfires over the weekend. and now we're getting a firsthand look at what it's like inside the cockpit of one of those aircraft. this is a c-130, and it can drop 3000 gallons of fire retardant in less than five seconds. but you can see the review there and how quickly they're moving through these canyons. and the plane can be refilled and back in the air in less than 12 minutes. these aircraft are especially crucial as winds pick up. today i want to talk more about those winds with cnn's allison chinchar, who's in the cnn weather center for us. so, allison, i mean, what does the forecast look like at this point, especially in regards to wind? >> right. so it looks like, omar, we're going to start to see those winds begin to pick up later on today. and th

in the meantime, we're joined right now by cnn's stephanie elam from the l.a. neighborhood of brentwood. stephanie, where you are just to give people an idea, there's the ocean, the palisades, very close to that ocean. and then as you move eastward inland, that is where brentwood is. you're up in the hills there. what are you seeing? >> yeah, we have seen sort of a change of attack here from above on this palisades fire. we're seeing the wind kick up and a little bit. we just had like a little wind tornado right behind us. a little tiny one. because the winds are stirring up. also, let me show you what's going on here. you can see how dark that smoke is over there. they are really working to tamp this area down right now. we have seen a number of helicopters come through there with the snorkel on the bottom that enables those helicopters to go out to a reservoir, to a lake could be to the ocean, depending on how they're doing this pick up water and then without having to land, pick it up and then come and drop, you know, hundreds of thousands of gallons over and

cnn's stephanie elam is in pacific palisades. she's joining us now. and, stephanie, when it's gusting 70 miles an hour, we've all quickly learned that means that aircraft could once again be grounded. what does this mean for fire containing efforts? >> right, kate. that is really key to containing a fire. >> is having that battle from the sky. one good thing about the auto fires, while they haven't contained it, they said that they have stopped the further progression of it so far. but what we are expecting is more of these winds to start. actually about next hour or so here. now they won't be as strong as those hurricane force winds that we saw last week that led to the devastation that we see here. but still, strong winds could be a problem as there are still some hotspots burning out there. i'm going to move out the way so you can see where i am now here in pacific palisades. this was an apartment complex that had ocean views. i believe that's an elevator there in the background right now. some atf special assets are coming into the area to investig

. >> cnn's stephanie elam is on the ground near brentwood and shows us what fire crews are doing to prepare for this new round of strong winds. >> i want to draw your attention to this ridge line up here behind us. up there where you see a vehicle parked up on top of that sandy colored area. they have been bulldozing, making that broader, making that wider. and the reason why they're doing that is because they want to have a defensible space, a place where they can battle against the flames. were the fire to come this direction. and we have gotten information that the winds will change direction and start to blow this way. right now the fire is burning out in this canyon here in brentwood, california. but what they want to make sure is that it stays away from these homes that you see right here. um, all day saturday, we've seen firefighters staged there behind these houses that are up against this ridge. and obviously a lot of people like to live here. they've got this lovely, beautiful nature backdrop behind them. but this is also the downside of that is just how close they are to this fir

. >> cnn's stephanie elam has been covering these fires for hours. stephanie described the scene where you are right now. >> it has been really eerie out here for, like, the last hour and a half, because we couldn't even tell the sun was coming up. first of all, because it was so dark and smoky behind us, and then waves of darkness would come in again, and then it would lighten up again. we get a little patch of fresh air, and then the smoke would come back again. and you can see one of the major culprits here is this apartment complex here on the other side of the pacific coast highway. dana, that was taller. we watched overnight while part of it on the upper left hand side burned down. there was a massive gust of hurricane force winds that came through here, and it lit up. so much so that the sky got completely bright and orange and then burned down. we saw the flames go down lower, and that is when we saw firefighters, law enforcement, get out here and block off sunset boulevard. you see, more fire trucks are going up that way right now as they're

stephanie elam is is near where i am in the brentwood neighborhood. we drove through there. stephanie, where you are to come up here and you can just see that right behind you, just enveloping and it feels like it is so very close. it is. i know they're trying to set up that defense where you are. what are you seeing? >> yeah. erin, what you're seeing here. and we just saw a couple of drops here. and what what is happening here is that they're using this mandeville canyon, which stretches sort of north to south. they're using it as a way to bring this as a breaking line. so right here you see this helicopter and i believe this is from the orange county fire authority, which is the county just south of los angeles county. there you go. dropping thousands of gallons of water right there on a hot spot on the other side of that ridge. and the precision that these pilots have, these teams have is amazing. we were just watching from cal fire, one of their c-130s, which drops 4000 gallons of fire retardant. and that's what that pink stuff is, right? that's that phosphate that they d

joining us now, cnn's stephanie elam, who's in los angeles brentwood neighborhood, that's on the eastern part of this palisades fire. and, stephanie, i know you're up in the hills. you've been watching as choppers and other aircraft have been dropping water flame retardant, trying to get ahead of this fire. if and when these these winds pick right back up. what are you seeing? >> the winds are picking back up. i can already tell you that, jessica. it's starting to gust here right now. it's gotten a little chilly out here and the wind is blowing up some of this ash. and i can also see it's changed the way it's blowing some of the smoke here. the big fight right now is happening here beyond this house, across this canyon on the other side there. that is where we are seeing a lot of the helicopters as well as the fixed wing aircraft making their way in to make drops. that's where you see that dark smoke around the power lines there. the fire has been racing up the hill there, and they have been working to get that under control. they've been attacking it from different angles, coming in fro

first, let's go to stephanie elam in malibu. and that does not look like a scene of malibu behind you, stephanie, what's the latest you're hearing? >> it's not at all, kate. i mean, even right now, if you hear the cars coming behind me, their fire trucks, their hotspots, hotshots coming through here. crews that are coming in and probably changing out as we're getting closer to daybreak here. but what you were talking about those winds. let me tell you, the winds are already starting. we've got a few strong gusts that have come through here where we're standing in malibu. and this is where when the fire first started, this was on sort of the northwestern edge of it. and you can see some of the destruction here behind me. this is what used to be an inn. it's like an old timey inn that was here along the highway, driving up the beautiful pacific coast highway here. all of these sort of smaller operations, some large corporations, some homes, businesses of all sizes. nothing has been spared by this. palisades fire and the eaton fire.

live now to cnn's stephanie elam, who is at the scene of the biggest fire. it's called the palisades fire. there in pacific palisades. stephanie, tell us what you're seeing. >> the winds are still blowing us around, brianna and boris. it is still very intense out here at this hour. and when you look, you can actually see how fast the smoke is blowing off of this canyon area up here behind sunset boulevard, which dead ends into the pacific coast highway. and the smoke is like hurtling past us with ash and little bits of debris coming off of there. but if you look at this building behind the 76 gas station, there was a taller structure there, and we watched it burn away overnight. just to show you how quickly things are escalating and being demolished out here. and that's just parts of what we can see. we've seen parts of fires burning along the side of the pch going north and south. a little structure next to this gladstone's seafood restaurant, a pretty famous restaurant here along the highway here there was a fire there. looked like maybe in a rubbish bin, b

but first, meteorologist derek van dam standing by and our stephanie elam is live for us in the pacific palisades at the moment. we're going to start with you, stephanie. i see that throughout the morning. you've been dealing with this. the fires are burning right behind you. tell me what you're experiencing. >> yeah. i have to tell you, sarah. like, you know how many wildfires we have covered here in california? in two. you know, getting here was the scariest drive i've had to make to a wildfire. since i can remember covering wildfires. because there are power lines down. it is smoky, it's dark. there are fires burning along the pacific coast highway. for people who have not been out here, it is some of the most beautiful stretch of highway you could ever imagine. it's also treacherous with some turns, and it's right up against this rugged terrain that you find here. pacific palisades and malibu. and that is why this is so concerning. when you look at what we're seeing behind here, this fire, the palisades fire, is still raging. and on top of it, you talked about how fast it's growing.

cnn's stephanie elam is in l.a .'s brentwood neighborhood. at is on the eastern side of the palisades fire. and, stephanie, you've been there for hours today. you've been watching as crews have been trying to protect that area as they change different directions. what can you tell us about right now? i know you were feeling the winds pick up last time we talked to you. >> yeah, the winds have definitely picked up and had to catch my hat a couple of times when the gusts came up here. and if you take a look at the smoke behind me here, you can see it's starting to change direction as well. starting to go up and starting to move now south down this mandeville canyon here, as the sun is beginning to set. but over on that ridge, we did just see a flare up of flames. we've still seen some aircraft out here battling the blaze from the sky. even as the sun is going down here, but they are really working to create space between these homes and the wilderness if they can. a place where they can count on being able to stage and fight against these blazes

. >> i want to get straight to cnn's stephanie elam, who is in altadena, california, one of the many neighborhoods that has been absolutely decimated by one of the five fires that's out there. stephanie, how is it looking now? >> yeah, it looks worse by daylight. dana, when you see it, i'm looking here at this area where you have almost this entire block taken out, but then you've got one house that made it so that's a positive. and it's also just disturbing. i can see this big tree has fire that burned through it. it seems like it might make it. it's burned up through the branches. but then look at this house. this house next to it just completely gutted everything. burned out the car in the backyard. just charred the glass. molten metal melted kind of into the sides of that vehicle that was there. and when you look at this devastation all around, there's other signs of things that we haven't really seen. because remember, it was extremely windy. we had those hurricane force gusts that were coming through here. also with the palisades fire out by the coastline. look at this tree take

cnn's stephanie elam is on the ground near brentwood and shows us what fire crews are doing to prepare for this new round of strong winds. >> i want to draw your attention to this ridge line up here behind us. up there where you see a vehicle parked up on top of that sandy colored area. they have been bulldozing, making that broader, making that wider. and the reason why they're doing that is because they want to have a defensible space, a place where they can battle against the flames. were the fire to come this direction. and we have gotten information that the winds will change direction and start to blow this way. right now the fire is burning out in this canyon here in brentwood, california. but what they want to make sure is that it stays away from these homes that you see right here. all day saturday, we've seen firefighters staged there behind these houses that are up against this ridge. and obviously a lot of people like to live here. they've got this lovely, beautiful nature backdrop behind them. but this is also the downside of that is just how close they are to this fire bu

. >> cnn's stephanie elam is with us live now from the front lines of the biggest fire we have, which is the palisades fire. >> we also have cnn's julia vargas jones with us from the front lines of the eaton fire. >> steph, let's start with you here. tell us what you're seeing. >> it's very eerie out here as the winds pick up and then the smoke starts to billow towards us and you can't really see. we are just watching down here though. and it's so smoky. i don't know how well you'll see it, but it looks like this seafood restaurant here along the pacific coast highway looks like it may have some fire burning there. and what you really need to understand about these fires is they spread so quickly when it's this windy, because it just takes a little bit of an ember that catches on the wind and blows into the rooftop of something else and blows into some brush, into the palm trees. and that can ignite, ignite a whole new area. and that is the fear out here. this is why there has been no containment, because the winds are still very, very strong. i want to show you this building here. we

stephanie elam, really appreciate the reporting. i want to go to a major development on capitol hill where house speaker mike johnson now says he believes conditions should be placed on california wildfire aid. i want to bring in cnn's manu raju, who joins us from capitol hill. manu, you just spoke to the speaker about this issue. what is he saying? >> yeah, i just spoke to him just moments ago about all of this. remember, typically aid to rebuild after natural disasters typically does not have conditions. typically it's done by significant bipartisan support. but this has been a different situation with donald trump coming into office with donald trump and republican criticism over the leadership, the democratic leadership in california, and a sign that the aid to california could come with strings attached and could become a big fight in congress. >> we've got to have a serious conversation about that. obviously, there has been water resource mismanagement, forest. management mistakes, all sorts of problems. and it does come down

. >> cnn's stephanie elam is on the ground near brentwood and shows us what fire crews are doing to prepare for this new round of strong winds. >> i want to draw your attention to this ridge line up here behind us. up there where you see a vehicle parked up on top of that sandy colored area. they have been bulldozing, making that broader, making that wider. and the reason why they're doing that is because they want to have a defensible space, a place where they can battle against the flames. were the fire to come this direction. and we have gotten information that the winds will change direction and start to blow this way. right now the fire is burning out in this canyon here in brentwood, california. but what they want to make sure is that it stays away from these homes that you see right here. um, all day saturday, we've seen firefighters staged there behind these houses that are up against this ridge. and obviously a lot of people like to live here. they've got this lovely, beautiful nature backdrop behind them. but this is also the downside of that is just how close they are to this fir

i was in the location that stephanie elam is in right now. i was there about ten months ago covering a flash flood. that's how crazy this has been. from flooding to drought to fires all in one year. here's here's a picture of the palisades here. this is this is frontera right there. you ball fields are up there, the rec center up there, and talking about how some houses are still there and others aren't. and it's because of the hardening. but sometimes that doesn't mean just getting rid of the trees. that means putting different types of fencing or just sheathing on your roof vents to not let those embers in the roof. because so many houses burned from the inside out. >> jake, meteorologist chad myers, thanks so much. a helicopter from cnn affiliate kabc is flying over new danger zones today, and you can see flames there from the eaton fire burning near a neighborhood in altadena, just north of los angeles. coming up, we're going to take a look at what some of those areas look like before the wildfires, as opposed to what they look like now.

cnn's stephanie elam is in pacific palisades, where for now, the fire is not growing. stephanie, what are you seeing? and more importantly, what are people who live there and the officials in and around there telling you about their concerns about these winds coming? >> yeah, the fear here is that the winds could pick up and take some of those embers blowing deep inside the palisades fire area and spread the fire. so they're still not people here. and if you look at where i am, there's not a lot for people to come back to. i mean, just same thing with the eaton fire. you go for blocks here and you can see just devastation after devastation. in fact, cal fire reporting new data today saying that the eaton fire is now the second most destructive fire in california's history and now the fifth deadliest. so it's burned through 14,000 acres, 7000 structures. and then you look at the fact that 16 people have been lost there. according to the los angeles county medical examiner. then you look at the palisades fire where we are standing. it's the fourth most destructive and the