someone else who has seen the damage up close is tanner charles, a storm chaser, who a few days ago helpd evacuate his home in the palisades area when that fire started out. thank you joining -- for joining us. i know that you and your friends found that dash from the home as it was about to be consumed by flames, running along a road where all the homes were on fire. tell us where you are now and how you are? tanner: thank you for having me. currently i'm in the palisades. brought up here by some other news agencies to do some interviews. that is why i'm in the vehicle right now. being here, my second time, it is surreal. there is literally nothing left. my friend's neighborhood is completely gone. there is maybe one house standing. it really feels like a war zone out there. mentally, i'm doing a lot better. the first two days, we didn't sleep at all. there was just too much. what we experienced was too much, so we just stayed up and talked to each other, processed with each other, and that was good for mental health, everything else in general. annita: you must have had that huge rush

this was filmed by tanner charles — who was helping defend the house when it became too dangerous toct this neighbourhood. name of jesus, protect this neighbourhood.— name of jesus, protect this neighbourhood. this tree is auoin to neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill— neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill us. _ neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill us. there - neighbourhood. this tree is going to kill us. there is . going to kill us. there is nothing _ going to kill us. there is nothing we _ going to kill us. there is nothing we can - going to kill us. there is nothing we can do - going to kill us. there is nothing we can do now, | going to kill us. there is - nothing we can do now, bro. nothing we can do now. let's get out of here! we tried, we tried, sorry. we tried our best. i'm sorry, bro. let's get out of here. tyler bridges is a resident of pasadena — and he and his fiancee chose to stay in their house despite officials recommending they leave late on wednesday evening. he told us about his experience. kind of nightmarish, a little bit, like armageddon. you know,

this was filmed by tanner charles — who was trying to help defend the house when it became too dangerousw. just let it burn. and god protect this house in the name ofjesus. protect this neighbourhood, god. injesus name, i pray. amen. this tree is going to kill us. there's nothing we can do now, bro. nothing we can do now. 0h. all right, dude. yeah. let's get out of here. we tried, we tried, bro. i'm sorry, dude. we tried our best. yeah. when this tree falls, it's over. i'm sorry, bro. got to get out of here? 0h! the moment where a local resident had to flee for his life and abandon his home. tyler bridges is a resident of pasadena — and he and his fiancee chose to stay in their house despite officials recommending they leave late on wednesday evening. he told us about his experience. kind of nightmarish, a little bit, like armageddon. you know, we had it started with really, really powerful winds. you know, we get santa ana winds here, which is pretty common, but these were, i think, far worse than normal. you know, winds, gusts, you know, coming in at 85 miles an hour. and, at first, th

. >> maurice: and his friend tanner charles knew they were in trouble. >> got to get out of here. >>osted on x. it's now amassed more than 8 million views. orly's father, david, watched it in disbelief. >> oh, my goodness. >> maurice: today, we drove with david and orly as they returned to their palisades home of 20 years for the first time since the fire. >> it was such a beautiful, beautiful curated house. >> i wanted to come back to my house and be there and see it in person and mourn it in person, and i wanted to do it with orly. >> maurice: you said mourning in person. >> yeah, i loved this house. this house was really a member of the family. and just to see the destruction is just... it's just gut-wrenching. >> maurice: hidden in the rubble, memories. >> this is crazy. it survived! >> bennington, vermont. we've had this for probably 40 years. >> maurice: the israel family has had to move to three different locations since evacuating, living essentially as nomads. what are you going to do now? >> that's a really good question, and i don't know. >> maurice: but not all is lost. >

tanner charles is a film—maker and was in los angeles to document the fires.en he and his companion had to save themselves. alarm blares. let's get out of here. we tried. wejust, you know, did everything we could do to prepare that house, to make sure it was as fireproof as possible, you know. but it proved to be too much and we had to get out of there. and we just ran out of there and drove away as fast as we could. i've never seen anything like this before. you know, we just saw on the news and everything is destroyed. it's crazy. got to get out of here. let's go back to emma now — this area is no stranger to wildfires, but nothing could have prepared them for this? wildfires are common but what makes this so different is there are so many fires burning at once and they are burning so close to residential areas. emergency crews on the ground have admitted they don't have enough people to deal with this developing situation and some of those fires are still growing in size. down here underneath pacific palisades map the hillsides are still burning behind us a

someone who has seen the damage up close is tanner charles. a few days ago helped his friend 0rly evacuate from his home in the palisades. that first fire started off. tanner joins that first fire started off. tannerjoins us now. thank you very much, and i know you and yourfriend filmed very much, and i know you and your friend filmed that dash from the burning home or come as it was about to be consumed by the flames and then running along a road where all the homes were on fire. tell us where you are now and how you are. . . ~' where you are now and how you are. . . ~ _, where you are now and how you are. . . ~ i. ., . are. yeah, thank you for having me. currently _ are. yeah, thank you for having me. currently i _ are. yeah, thank you for having me. currently i am _ are. yeah, thank you for having me. currently i am in _ are. yeah, thank you for having me. currently i am in the - me. currently i am in the palisades. i was brought up here by some other news agencies to do some interviews and that kind of thing, and so, iam in and that kind o

from a professional storm chaser tanner charles. iend orly israel, are going to join us in just a few minutes. >> george: let's go first to our chief national correspondent matt gutman on the scene near the palisades fire. hello, matt. >> reporter: hey, george. this is obviously a state of emergency here in southern california. the worst wind here in over a decade. i want you to hear something. that hissing sound just happened a few seconds ago. gas, i think, pipe, that has exploded in that house behind us that just burst into flames within the past five or six minutes. hundreds of homes in pacific palisades, the epicenter of the worst fire, have burned, including much of the downtown area. i want you to notice how the embers are being cast by this fire being blown down range by this, i don't know, 20, 30 mile per hour wind. that's causing additional fire. this is completely out of control at this point. firefighters cannot get a grip on this fire. the wind is set to persist for many hours, even until tomorrow morning. it's not going

then you ran into a friend of yours who's also a storm chaser, tanner charles, you went back to your house to try the fight this off before realizing it wasn't going to work. the reason i bring all this up is because the winds now going to kick up again, is and it's expected to get pretty bad in the next couple of days. when you hear that and you know there are folks out there who might try to do the same thing, they might try to stay in their home, they might resist the evacuation orders, given your experience, what do you recommend to them? what would you say? >> well, if the hoses don't work, don't stay. i think there's so much confusion going on, is and i've been back to the palisades and seen that there are neighborhoods where one out of twenty houses is burned down and neighborhoods where 19 out of 20 the houses are burned down. and so i'd say this is a little bit reckless, but if you have an escape route and you know it's secure, then don't let the fire take your house. you know, we left only because we were keeping track of the escape route and once it seemed compromised, we

. >> and pray that this neighborhood god tanner charles and his friend orly israel barely made it outisrael's burning home alive. the two friends tried to save orly's home, but finally had to flee. >> you can see the sparks in the air. it's like a snowstorm, but the snow hurts your skin. every time i watch this video, i got to watch myself running away from the battle of a lifetime. we stayed there way longer than anyone should have. and still lost. >> many los angeles residents armed with garden hoses, pool pumps and buckets, tried heroically to save their homes. but getting out with the fires close wasn't easy. it's time to get out of the house. >> where are the car keys? oh. mom. turn around. no! turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around. >> oh my god. turn around. mom! >> people just abandon their cars. >> and people running down the streets with their babies and their dogs and running towards the ocean. >> there's only one road to get out. but at the time that we needed to evacuate, there was more fires on that road. >> for natalie mitchell and her family, we got to get

tanner, charles and his friend orly israel spoke to our anderson cooper earlier about their final escape. >> you know, every time i watch this video, i got to watch myself running away from the battle of a lifetime. >> you know, the the sound of these fire alarms going off everywhere in the house. every time this video plays is just crazy. and then we fought the fire until we, you know, my eyes are burnt. my face is burnt. we gave it our all. and also we stayed there way longer than anyone should have. and still lost. so yeah, you know, i feel like we fought a losing battle, but we fought it and i'm glad we made it out alive. >> were you able to get things out? i mean, things that were important to you. >> only the most important things. you know, this was a great experience. and going, like, i guess i don't need those suit jackets. you know, those basketballs or signed shoes. we got what we needed. and i don't think we'll need the rest i have what was it like? >> i mean, running out like that. what was it like getting out? because, i mean, some of the stories of people, you know, having

all right, let's go now to tanner charles. he is actually a storm chaser who was working to save a friend's house from the palisades fire. he joins us live from los angeles. tanner, thank you very much for taking the time to share your story. you went over to help a friend fight the fire until you both had to retreat for your own safety, which is obviously the right decision here. talk me through the moment when you decided to, rather than evacuate and leave the scene, to stick around and help somebody who needed that help. >> yeah. so actually, i was on my way to just to document the fire and just to see if i could help anyone. i knew i had some friends in the palace. um. uh, palisade area but, uh, the person i ended up meeting was my friend, uh, orderly. and so orderly came up, and he was just he was in his car and he was, um, preparing to evacuate and that kind of thing. and i was like, hey, man, um, would you want to help me? kind of just like, document what's going on and like, just, you know, keep tabs on the fire. and so

let's go now to tanner charles. he is actually a storm chaser who was working to save a friend's house from the palisades fire. he joins us live from los angeles. tanner, thank you very much for taking the time to share your story. you went over to help a friend fight the fire until you both had to retreat for your own safety, which is obviously the right decision here. talk me cided to, rather than n you evacuate and leave the scene, to stick around and help somebody who needed that help. >> yeah. so actually, i was on my way to just to document the fire and just to see if i could help anyone. i knew i had some friends in the palace. um. palisade area, but, uh, the person i ended up meeting was my friend. uh orderly. and so orderly came up, and he was just he was in his car, and he was, um, preparing to evacuate and that kind of thing. and i was like, hey, man, um, would you want to help me? kind of just like, document what's going on and like, just, you know, keep tabs on the fire. and so he said, yes. and so we we

tanner charles and orly, israel also has a house in the palisades.re's some video of, i believe it showed. i haven't seen it myself of orly. uh, just trying to do what he can to. to save the house, to water things down. let's take a look and then we'll talk to them. bro, i don't. >> oh, all right, dude. yeah. let's get out of here. we tried, we tried, bro. i'm sorry, i'm sorry. we tried our best. >> yeah. when this tree falls over. >> i'm sorry, bro, i'll get out of here. >> oh. holy. >> if that tree falls with it, no, just let it burn. and god protect this house in the name of jesus protect this neighborhood, god. in jesus name i pray. amen. this tree is going to kill us. i. there's nothing we can do now, bro. nothing we can do now. >> orly and tanner joining us now. how are you? how are you guys doing? i'm so sorry. we're talking under these circumstances. >> you know, every time i watch this video, i got to watch myself running away from the battle of a lifetime. you know, the the sound of these fire alarms going off everywhere in the house. every

i want to check in with two folks, tanner charles and orly, israel.rly is a house in the palisades. there's some video of. i believe it shows i haven't seen it myself. of orly. uh, just trying to do what he can to. to save the house, to water things down. let's take a look and then we'll talk to them. bro, i don't know, all right, dude. >> yeah. let's get out of here. we tried, we tried, bro. i'm sorry. sorry. um, we tried our best. >> yeah, and when this tree falls over. >> i'm sorry, bro. i'll get out of here. >> oh, holy if that tree falls with it, no. >> just let it burn. and god protect this house in the name of jesus. protect this neighborhood, god. in jesus name i pray. amen. >> this tree is going to kill us. >> i there's nothing we can do now, bro. nothing we can do now. >> orly and tanner joining us now. how are you? how are you guys doing? i'm so sorry. we're talking under these circumstances. >> you know, every time i watch this video, i got to watch myself running away from the battle of a lifetime. you know, the the sound of these fire al

. >> capture the moments when tanner charles and his friend orly israel made their escape from israel's burning home. >> you know, i feel like we fought a losing battle, but we fought it. >> and i'm glad we made it out alive right now. >> frankly, we don't know yet. we eventually will. >> but worry is growing across the region. at least five deaths have been confirmed, but officials stress those numbers may rise. >> at one point, we'll be able to do a more thorough search of these impacted areas. some of them look like a bomb was dropped in them, where we will be able to bring in canines and other things to help us. um, hopefully not discover too many fatalities. that's our prayer. but this is a crisis and we don't know what to expect. >> we don't know. back here, live in altadena. what is happening here? but it looks like some of the residents in this neighborhood who are returning home. they found an injured dog. um, you know, so as people come back into altadena and into the pahome. t injured dog. um, you know, so as people come back into altadena and into the palisades to try to fig

tanner charles and california resident... thank you all for coming on. you all had a story and we want to get to those. you are a storm chaser by trade. i talk to your friend earlier today, his parents own a home in the pacific palisades and he was bound and determined to save it and he brought you with him. we're gonna play the video that right now while you were talking. what was the story? >> i was going up to document the fires so as i was walking up i see... he's like tanner what's up and i'm just walking at the time. i'm like i'm going to document the fires a couple other friends i was like would you want to come up and help me document what's going on and he's like sure and i'm like okay i know -- i hope you know what you are getting yourself into. i went up there on top of the canyon and we were watching the flames and as they got close i was like your houses down the road. this is getting too close, it's not good. we went down the air -- there. >> you live in berlin half the year, you live in the pacific palisades. your family lost two of their

charles is a storm chase. so you are joining us from santa monica and california. so tanner, you've been chasing, not just the winds that are fueling the flames, but therefore also the fire to. busy us what you've been up to and what you saw. yeah, so i'll just sit here for the holidays. i'm actually from minnesota. but when the fire broke out, i immediately took action to try and documented and see if i could help people in need and not kind of thing. i have some history with the rescue and that kind of thing. and so i kind of like jumped into action, and so i made my way up towards rustic canyon in the policies there. and so as i was growing up, met a friend of mine uh, named arly. and he was just uh, he was evacuated and i didn't know he even lived up there. and i was like, hey man, would you wanna come up and help me scout the fire and just see what's going on and documenting. he said yes. and so we went to the top, it took a canyon just looking over everything. and as the fire was raging and getting closer and i, i realized it was getting close to his house as well. so

tanner charles and — best we could, i guess. tanner charles and orly _ best we could, i guess.ner charles and orly israel who - charles and 0rly israel who asked safe now, but a really stressful difficult time for them, they are really worried about their community. them, they