News Correspondent
Appearances
20/20
American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
He sees for the first time what is left.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Taking what they could and grateful to have their lives. Aiden Khan returning to his home in the Pacific Palisades, making his way up Sunset Boulevard. This is my bedroom right here. His apartment completely destroyed.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
But with the winds, there is still so much uncertainty. Another major fire breaking out, this time in the Hollywood Hills, the Sunset Fire. The gridlock, the panic to get out. At the Eaton Fire in Altadena, fire crews using saws to cut open garage doors for their fire hoses to reach the flames inside.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
This is what's left of the auditorium at the Elliott Arts Magnet Academy Middle School, the scorched row of chairs. A satellite image over that fire showing nearly nothing was spared. back at the Palisades fire, we're learning of some familiar names who have lost their homes as well. Some well-known actors, including actor Billy Crystal.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Just moments ago, our station here in Los Angeles, KABC, up over a new flare up in the Santa Monica Mountains. These are the images coming in right now. This is part of the Palisades fire spreading tonight, three days after the first fires broke out here, extending evacuation warnings into new neighborhoods at this hour as we come on the air for this special edition of 2020.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
He and his wife Janice telling ABC News they have lived in their home since 1979, raising their children and grandchildren there, saying, quote, we pray for the safety of the firefighters and first responders. The Pacific Palisades is a resilient community of amazing people, and we know in time it will rise again. It is our home.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Less than 24 hours after those two friends, Orly and Tanner, tried to use a hose to beat back the flames in Orly's backyard.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
While back at that home in Pacific Palisades that once stood, that father, Alessandro, telling me he is grateful that he has his family. They lost everything, but they have each other. And he also believes tonight that every one of his immediate neighbors were saved too. I mean, I think it's impossible for people around the country to look at this and understand the scope of this devastation.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Everything is gone. But you've got your boys and you've got your wife.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Thank you so much. Well, I think about that father and about all of the families who we have met here, and they have all said the same thing. Even though they have lost everything, they still have each other. And I so appreciate their bravery in sharing their stories with us. And we should point out the firefighters. So many have not stopped since the first fires broke out here.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Their strength, they have not given up. They are the real heroes here. Our Matt Gutmann has been reporting on the fire lines since the first flames broke out, witnessing the firefighters and the desperate battle from the very start against the flames. An army of firefighters on the front lines here in harrowing conditions, reports of hydrants without water or with little pressure.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
There will be many questions here in the days and weeks ahead about this. Tonight, Matt Gutmann on some of those questions and on the firefighters, their bravery and the one firehouse that survived, the only building left standing in one community.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Tonight, we take you through it all from the powerful first images of the Palisades Fire, homes completely engulfed in flames, fueled by wind gusts up to 100 miles an hour. Over the last three days, several new fires. In Hollywood, the Sunset Fire erupting in the hills just north of Hollywood Boulevard, quadrupling in size in just minutes, not far from the famous Hollywood sign.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
a torrent of embers spreading the fires from house to house, a man running through those embers from his burning home after realizing it was impossible to save. In those first early hours, residents of a nursing home evacuated in the middle of the night, many wearing masks.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Matt, I'm still thinking about that moment with the safe and what they found when you were able to crack it open. I want to bring in Matt Gutmann here tonight, who's been out there reporting from the fire lines since these fires broke out.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Matt, as you know, there have been a lot of reports about firefighters running out of water in Pacific Palisades or dealing with hoses that had very little water pressure. I know authorities have been pressed on this. There's so much still to learn about this. But what have you heard from the firefighters themselves about what they faced in those early days?
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Yeah, they said they shut off the utilities because they were fearful the power lines would actually contribute to more fires. But there'll be questions about, you know, the back and forth of that decision making. A lot of questions ahead. And Matt, I know you're going to continue to follow it for us. Matt, thank you.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
When we come back here tonight amid heartbreaking loss and the hope of recovery, tonight right here, the family is sifting through the ashes. What some have discovered, and this is really moving later here, the family is hoping to rebuild their homes. And real questions now about a potential insurance crisis here. Will families be covered? And real concern tonight about the Santa Ana winds again.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
What they're now expecting in the hours and the days ahead all over again. And then later tonight right here, a remarkable effort to help. The idea that has now taken off and how you can help tonight too. Los Angeles Strong. We'll be right back.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
to protect themselves from the dangerous air evacuees driving on the pacific coast highway through malibu as the fire burned every structure along the way as the evacuation spread the chaos homeowners families stuck in traffic abandoning their cars a man helping his elderly father-in-law through the smoke right there firefighters from all over the country now stepping in but most live right here working around the clock in horrific conditions some losing their own homes while they save others they are the true heroes here
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Welcome back. And tonight, thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area have been destroyed by these fires. 180,000 people have been evacuated. Up to 200,000 more are under evacuation warnings tonight. In fact, they've been told that they must be ready to leave at a moment's notice with the threat of these strong winds returning in the forecast.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Many have lost everything already and have begun that search for anything to remember the life they had in their cherished homes. Our own Kena Whitworth is among those under evacuation orders tonight, and Kena is still reporting for us right here this evening.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
It's really something the well-known names and the families from all walks of life, everyone in this together having lost their homes. Kena Whitworth with us tonight. And Kena, I know you, like so many of our colleagues, had to evacuate your home.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
If you don't mind me asking on the air tonight, I've checked in with you off the air, but again, how are the boys doing and have you been able to check in on your home tonight?
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Yeah, well, I know you don't want to pat on the back, but you are dedicated and you're just like everyone else from this Southern California community who are in this together, still fighting every day. Thank you, Kena. When we come back here, families facing a devastating reality now, how to rebuild their homes. And the real question tonight, will insurance actually cover this?
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
And there is concern about dangerous winds now in the forecast again. Tonight, what we're now learning about the days ahead. KABC meteorologist Leslie Lopez is standing by. Her own father, a longtime L.A. firefighter, and what she's now expecting with these winds. The new forecast is in, it's concerning, and we'll have it here in a moment.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Tonight, we're with so many families returning to their homes for the first time. I was with one dad. He raced to school amid the evacuations to get his boys, his wife staying back to save their valuable documents. They lost everything, but they have each other, he told me.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Welcome back tonight. We now know the Eaton Fire has destroyed more homes than any other wildfire in Los Angeles history. Many turning to shelters now, and long-term, there are already real questions about whether insurance will cover this for these families. Mola Lenge in Altadena tonight.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Late today, our ABC News exclusive, I flew up over the fires with Cal Fire, and while we were in the air, we witnessed not only the devastation along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, but the urgent effort. Three days into this disaster, the fire's still burning, the water being dropped to save homes as we're on the air tonight.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
A really overwhelming road ahead, Mola. Thank you. When we come back here, what started out as a random act of kindness has now turned into a major, spontaneous relief effort tonight. And this evening, how you can help as well. And just moments ago, our station KABC up above yet another new flare up in the Santa Monica Mountains tonight.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
This is between Tarzana and the Pacific Palisades, prompting evacuation warnings in new neighborhoods, including Brentwood. And the winds. We have the new forecast right after the break.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Well, tonight there is growing concern about the forecast here in the Los Angeles area. Meteorologist Leslie Lopez from our station here in LA KABC is here. I mentioned earlier her own father, a longtime LA firefighter. Leslie, you grew up learning about these Santa Ana winds. Your father knew the danger all too well. What do you expect in the hours and days ahead here?
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Our team across the fire zone tonight and KABC meteorologist Leslie Lopez and the new threat, what they're seeing with these winds and the forecast that concerns them tonight, We begin this evening with the images and a city forever changed. Tonight, it's been just over 72 hours since Los Angeles began burning. A city now forever changed. The deadly apocalyptic scenes.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
So watching closely right into next Monday and Tuesday. Leslie, thank you. And so many of you at home have been asking, how could there have been so many homes lost here? Matt Rivers tonight on the perfect storm of severe drought and these record Santa Ana winds.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Matt Rivers with us here tonight as well. Matt, thank you. When we come back tonight, a remarkable act of kindness growing quickly tonight and a major announcement from our parent company, Disney, and how you can help too. Amid the heartbreak, something else has happened here. It began with a food truck and a single video now seen by thousands.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Kevin Ozbeck from our Houston station KTRK is here in Los Angeles.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
When we come back here, how you can help at home. Before we go, the family's in need. Tonight, Disney, the parent company of ABC, donating $15 million to wildfire relief, offering support to the Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. If you'd like to help, go to redcross.org or salvationarmyusa.org.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Nine separate wildfires tearing through America's second largest city. Tonight here, the firefighters and the first responders have not stopped. Tonight, the ABC News exclusive. We take flight with Cal Fire up over the Pacific Coast Highway, headed toward the Pacific Palisades. And the first images we see here, the coastline. The homes of Malibu that once lined the ocean are gone.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
It's just stunning to look at this stretch along the Pacific Coast Highway here in Malibu. You can see it right over the shoulder here. Home after home just completely gone. They are taking us to where they say there is a firefight right now from the air. They are now dropping water.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
But before we even get there, over this ridge, the Pacific Palisades, entire communities wiped away, homes burned to the ground. This is just a devastating view as we fly over Pacific Palisades. You can see down below just how quickly these fires spread. CAL FIRE Deputy Incident Commander Justin McComb. What kind of winds were you dealing with in those first 24 hours?
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
He tells me three days into this historic disaster, they are still fighting the fires here. We see bulldozers on this ridge, trapping the fire.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
you can see the flames burning over our shoulder here this is now three days into this almost impossible to get to that and then we see it choppers in the air crossing the canyon dropping water trying to protect the homes with flames moving in you can see the urgent effort here right now this is to take a canyon to try to save the homes in fernwood that helicopter just dropped water from the air three days into this
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
disaster they are still fighting fires here and they have a tool now at their disposal which is water in the air there are so many fires still burning here more than 72 hours now after the first fires began back on the ground tonight the family's returning home to see what if anything is left the father who told me his wife his two boys are safe but they lost everything
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
And while we were in that neighborhood, we learned of another family nearby. They had not been back. One of the children, 21-year-old Jacob Brown, going back today. And he showed me what he found.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Jakob's childhood home, now nothing but ashes. He rings the doorbell of a friend's home, haunting because it still rings, though behind it, there is nothing left. The alarms still ringing here in what was once a church and a school.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Just a few miles to the east, David Hansen is still waiting to get back in to see his mother's home.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
David giving a thumbs up to the firefighters. His mother, a senior, capturing video from outside her home just 30 minutes after the fire broke out nearby. Her neighbors were trying to use water from their pool to protect their home. Tonight, across Los Angeles, at least 11 lives now lost. It's believed more than 12,000 structures, homes, and businesses damaged or destroyed.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
More than 55 square miles burned. More than 150,000 under evacuation orders. Since the first fires broke out Tuesday morning around the densely populated 25 mile expanse north of downtown LA, tonight still no cause has been identified for any of the largest of these fires. The Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena is now the most destructive in LA history.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
KABC reporter Leanne Suter was live on the air just after it broke out.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
the kenneth fire erupting late yesterday afternoon near the ventura county line firefighters battling the blaze from the ground helicopters dropping water from above and tonight here an eerie new look at the wildfires a home security camera capturing the moment's flames close in on walter and yalda ceases altadena home embers flying through the air the couple had evacuated and now they're back
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Home after home here destroyed. Thousands of structures. Families returning to find it. They have nothing left.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
They and their two dogs are safe, but they have nothing. And like so many here, they tell us they will rebuild. While back in the air tonight, firefighters dropping water from above while they can, knowing dangerous winds are ahead. When you think about these firefighters who really haven't had a break since this started, and to look at this forecast and see that these winds are coming yet again.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
The first report of wildfires here, 10.30 Tuesday morning. And tonight, more than three days later, they have been unrelenting. Across Los Angeles, nine wildfires breaking out in just more than 72 hours here. All this is going to be gone. We travel with Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brent Pesquois, who says he has never seen anything like this. We're on the Pacific Coast Highway.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
We turn into one of the neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades, this small school burning.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Yeah, yeah, the fire's ripping through that school right there. The cars here charred. And then we see it, home after home, burning.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
As we drive up into the hills, the charred cars, where families simply stopped, got out, and escaped. These people who were coming down from the hills here decided to give up because the fire was encroaching?
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
I mean, it's an apocalyptic scene.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
The bulldozers moving the cars so that fire trucks could get through. So we're now 24 hours into this disaster, and we've got another multiple homes in a row here in flames.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
We walk through the darkened neighborhoods here, smoke hovering over the homes, many still crackling from the flames. Overnight, Joshua Oppheim and his dog trying to escape the fires surrounding them on Sunset Boulevard.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Good evening and welcome to this special edition of 2020 Tonight from Los Angeles, where an American catastrophe is unfolding. Wildfires ripping through this iconic city known around the world, from the movies to the glamour, from the beauty of the coastline to the homes in the hills. home to 18 million people from all walks of life.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
Thousands of firefighters spanning out, racing to contain the flames. The new fires jumping from home to home. And residents here doing whatever they can. This young man, Orly Israel, trying to use a fire hose to beat back the flames in his own backyard. You can hear the intense fire crackling. The fire alarm going off.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
His friend there, Tanner Schaaf, wearing a mask, trying to help him, trying to save the home. We tried our best. They both escaped through the front door, running to safety. The homes, the trees all around them, on fire.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
The biggest fire, the Palisades Fire, entire streets engulfed. One firefighter with a hose trained at the front door, though every home there on fire. Some 40 miles away, the Eaton Fire in Pasadena. The Pasadena Preschool Academy on fire. The residents at this senior living facility, the terraces at Park Marino, rushed out of their bedrooms, wearing masks to protect them from the air.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
They were rescued. A heroic effort by the L.A. Fire Department and emergency response teams across the region tonight. They are saving lives amidst the horror. The scope of the loss here, though, is unimaginable.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
The sun blow in the sky over Los Angeles, reflecting a new reality for this city. shining through the heavy smoke as some of the most destructive wildfires in the history of Los Angeles rage on tonight. The devastation for miles. We saw firsthand what is left and the sounds of the fire alarms ringing out. Everywhere you go, you can hear sort of the alarms still going off long after the fires here.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
And it's not just the neighborhoods where you see home after home. This used to be the grocery store right here. completely hollowed out. And then over my shoulder here, if you look right up, you can see nothing left but the tattered American flag there, covered in soot and torn, but still hanging.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
And tonight, Los Angeles is a city shaken and suffering after devastating loss here. At least 11 dead now, more than 10,000 homes and structures have been lost, more than 150,000 still under evacuation orders tonight. The first fire is still burning tonight, and this evening, the stunning images.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
In this neighborhood, we are told about the first home that caught fire and how it then spread, one neighbor alerting the others. This was the house here on the corner.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
that began to burn, and then they alerted everyone down the street to get out of their homes because they knew it was just a matter of time before the flames jumped from house to house, which is exactly what it did, not only on this block, but on every block you can see, the one off in the distance. The next block here you can see the fire ripped through here as well.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
As far as the eye can see, really not a home left standing. The damage here is difficult to put into words. The cars here in the streets incinerated what's left of sort of the burned out, charred metal frame here, just sitting on the street here. And if you look across the street, there's still some embers burning here. But you can see right in this yard here, the washer and dryer sitting.
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American Catastrophe: LA Burning -- Special Edition of 20/20
That's just about all you can make out. and we met families returning to their homes for the first time. This husband and father of two, Alessandro Vigilante, had not been home yet. Have you seen your house yet? No. The father had raced to school to pick up his boys under evacuation orders, his wife staying behind to grab their most important documents. I'm sorry.
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Manhunt: Luigi Mangione and the CEO Murder - A Special Edition of 20/20
The manhunt in New York City at this hour for the man who murdered a CEO right in front of a hotel.
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Manhunt: Luigi Mangione and the CEO Murder - A Special Edition of 20/20
The shooter appears to be a light-skinned male. He's wearing a light brown or cream-colored jacket, a black face mask, black and white sneakers, and a very distinctive gray backpack.
Honestly with Bari Weiss
Trump’s Second Week: DeepSeek, DEI in the Military and . . . Baby Chickens?
Look, there is a lot of confusion this morning about what exactly this directive means, but it may be the most far-reaching executive action this White House has taken yet. It could potentially halt hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending on everything from assistance to farmers to Head Start programs
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Trump's Tariff Boredom, Hegseth Goes Diet Woke, Sports War: Super Bowl | Jesse Eisenberg
As soon as Donald Trump was elected, Adams began a campaign for a reprieve. Flying down to Florida to meet with Trump, driving overnight to attend Trump's inauguration, the Democratic mayor declining to criticize Trump.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Trump's Tariff Boredom, Hegseth Goes Diet Woke, Sports War: Super Bowl | Jesse Eisenberg
The Justice Department memo said it reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence. The memo also said the case needed to go so Adams could devote his full attention to Trump's immigration policies.
The Journal.
An Eggspensive Dilemma
Bird flu cases soaring once again in the U.S. To make matters worse, a new strain of the virus has been detected in California. According to the USDA, avian flu has been confirmed in 146 flocks in the past month, affecting more than 20 million birds.
The Journal.
An Eggspensive Dilemma
Five more possible cases of the bird flu in cats. The contagious virus has infected hundreds of dairy herds this year.
The Journal.
An Eggspensive Dilemma
And tonight, there's a new approach to fight the bird flu, and it's being considered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Agriculture Department has issued a conditional license to a company to produce a vaccine for chickens.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Trump puts U.S. at risk with increasing reliance on Musk
Do you care lefty or righty?
The Rachel Maddow Show
Trump puts U.S. at risk with increasing reliance on Musk
Defend Democracy organizers use the rally as a lightning rod, aiming to express their opposition to state leaders on a variety of topics.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Trump puts U.S. at risk with increasing reliance on Musk
Arguing that the job cuts by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency are only hurting Kansans.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Trump puts U.S. at risk with increasing reliance on Musk
We intended to speak to Ron Estes, but he left the rally before addressing the media present. Here for you, Peyton Snyder, KSN News 3.