LIVE: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Hold Briefing on Status of Palisades Fire

But you will see some smoke up there, some flare-ups interior, but the crews are in there and just separating the fuel from the black and the green. That's what we do. We take the fuel away so there's nothing left to burn, so that we secure that edge and limit any kind of western fire progression. And again, number one priority is always life and structure, so we're stopping it from there. The top of Dirt Maul Hauling, as we come across the top of the fire, still have those crews patrolling that area, doing work. Deeper and deeper, securing that edge as wide as we can, as we're doing around the whole perimeter of the fire. And then coming around, dropping down into Mandeville Canyon, so that's another hot part. We have a couple smokers in there. The edge is looking really good, coming down to Mandeville Canyon Road. But the resources are still diligent in there, going in between the structures, behind the structures, securing that edge. Again, pulling any kind of vegetation that might come into play and securing it and doing what we can for the communities of Mandeville. As we come around down from the bottom, all the way around to PCH to connect back, we have the communities of Westridge, Brentwood, Riviera, Palisades, Tomesco Canyon, Malibu. What we're doing in there, it's more of a structure issue that we're dealing with there. So we have crews in there, securing around all the streets, patrolling, finding any hot spots that they may have found around the structures. Concentrating on the structures that are still standing, so that we make sure that nothing comes in. So they're going all the way around using hose line, hand tools, whatever they need to do to make that safe for that structure in the home and defend. And again, number one priority is always, always a life in the structure defense. We always plan to keep the fire as small as we can, but we prepare for something bigger. We always have resources out there looking on the outside, building a contingency line, which is an extra line on a different layer on the outside all around the fire. Still utilizing an abundance amount of aircraft. We have airplanes. We have helicopters, even drones. We're dropping retardant. We're dropping water everywhere we can, again, to secure that edge all around the fire. And we also use the drones and planes that have IR capability, so we can pinpoint isolated heat sources to really get there and bring our ground resources directly to those heat sources to take everything out possible for the fire. Thank you. Next up, our incident meteorologist with a briefing on fire weather. Good afternoon, everybody. Rich Thompson, incident meteorologist with the National Weather Service assigned to the Palisades incident. On the 7th, when this fire broke out, the area was experiencing one of the strongest sand and wind events that we've experienced in several years. And that extreme sand and wind event produced some very extreme fire weather conditions. The first couple days of the fire, we had wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour across the fire, along with very low humidities, which made the atmosphere very dry. And also, we had critically dry vegetation. We haven't had any rain of note in this area since last April. So the combination of those strong winds gusting to 80 miles per hour, the low relative humidity, and the fact the brush was critically dry allowed the fire to spread very rapidly and display some very extreme fire behavior. Now, going to the forecast for the next several days, unfortunately, we're still under a sand and wind pattern. We have expectation of moderate to strong sand and winds from today through Wednesday. So there is a red flag warning in effect for this area until 6 p.m. Wednesday. We're expecting north-northeast wind gusts anywhere from 35 to 55 miles per hour. Maybe locally stronger on Tuesday. Very low humidity. And again, the vegetation is still very, very dry. So that leaves a recipe to produce some very critical fire weather conditions. And therefore, that's why we do have the red flag in effect until 6 o'clock Wednesday evening. Next up, Chief Crowley, Los Angeles Fire Department. Well, good afternoon, everyone. And I just want to take a little tactical pause is what we usually say as firefighters. And I'm looking out in the crowd over here, boots on the ground. Thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting the LEFD. We are very, very grateful for all of your help. And I'd be remiss if I didn't start with that. So thank you, everybody, for assisting us. Yesterday, I visited several of the impacted Palisade fire areas to meet with LEFD firefighters to this natural disaster. While the fire's destruction is absolutely heartbreaking, the overwhelming support from across the Los Angeles region is absolutely inspiring. Your LEFD firefighters remain steadfast with their unwavering dedication, commitment. And they are working around the clock as is everybody else who's here assigned to this incident. And this is just not for the Palisades fire, but for our entire city and region. I'm telling you, they're doing everything they can to put these fires out. Right now, at least from the LEFD side, we're focused on two things, containing the fires and saving lives and protecting property. With the impending winds, we've got to pay really, really close attention to this. This wind event is approaching us, and it's approaching us very, very quickly. I want to reassure you that your LEFD, all of our regional partners, every single agency that has come from up and down this state and outside of the state, we are ready. Mayor Bass, Chief McDonald, myself, our city leaders are fully, fully committed to ensure that we're ready for this next event. Now, what do we need from the community? And I tell you, we need your help as much as you need our help. We need you to stay informed. Please stay informed with trusted news and official updates. Be prepared to evacuate and keep going back to that. But with this next wind event, you've got to stay informed. Follow all evacuation warnings and orders. And the key here is without delay. Also, we ask the public to stay off the roadways and away from any of the impacted areas. I tell you, I'm so extremely grateful. I started with that, but that was purposeful. We're grateful for everybody who's here to support us in one of the most challenging natural events in the history of the city. And with that, it's not over. So we need everybody to stay safe. We need to stay informed. And I tell you, from the first responders that are here, we're going to keep fighting this fight. We're going to get this fire out, and we're going to rebuild. Thank you, everyone. I'd like to invite all the speakers now to go ahead and come on stage. Our next speaker is going to be L.A. County Fire Department Chief. So thank you and good afternoon. Elevated critical fire weather conditions will continue through Wednesday. Please rest assured that your County of Los Angeles Fire Department will be prepared. These winds, combined with low humidities and low fuel moistures, will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County very high. I ask all Los Angeles County residents in the wildfire-prone areas to understand that the necessary public safety power shutoffs are important for our collective fire safety in preventing the next wildfire natural disaster. I would like to express my gratitude to Los Angeles County 3rd District Supervisor Lindsay Horvath for her leadership and unwavering support of our residents in these communities, my fire department, and me as fire chief. To our first responders battling these fires, thank you for your relentless and fearless dedication and bravery in protecting residents and property throughout this great county. And finally, to all residents, please be assured that we will continue to be here for you until the last fire is completely extinguished. We stand alongside all of you as we begin to plan for the repopulation of evacuated areas, establishment of disaster recovery centers, and the rebuilding of your homes, your communities, and your lives. Before I end, I just wanted to talk a little bit about the repopulation of areas that were under evacuation order or evacuation warning. This is a priority for the Unified Incident Command, not only for the Palisades Fire, but also the Eaton Fire. Unfortunately, those conversations are not going to begin until the next predicted red flag ends on Wednesday. So please rest assured that first thing Thursday, we will start talking about repopulation in evacuation order and warning areas. Thank you. Next up, Los Angeles County Sheriff. Thank you and good afternoon. Just wanted to reiterate that we have over 1,200 personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, along with many of our law enforcement partners, which they're doing amazing work from the get-go. I do want to thank Nancy Ward from the Office of Emergency Services, who you'll hear from. We've been talking for days before this event started. And from the very beginning, it was, what do you need and what can we get you? Sean Dury from the California Highway Patrol, who you'll hear from. Same thing. We have 60 CHP officers assigned to various areas in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department area. They have been instrumental in helping. And then Major General Beavers, who you'll see or hear from as well. 400 guardsmen. And the minute I saw him out here, he's like, what else do you need? And I told him, we need more. This isn't over. The fires may be closer to being over. You hear that from our fire chiefs, if it goes that way. But we do have this pending weather event. We are not going to de-escalate the number of people that we have out from a law enforcement perspective. That'll stay the same. A couple of other factors. I want to reemphasize that we do have a curfew still in effect for the impacted areas. That goes from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. What does that mean? You can simply stay out of the areas if you are not a first responder or have emergency business there. I know there's a lot of folks trying to get back to their houses. We are very empathetic and sensitive to those needs. But your safety comes first. A lot of these areas still look like they were hit by a bomb. There are live electrical wires, gas lines, and other hazards. We want to make sure you're safe, not to mention the health hazards that come with that information. I also just want to quickly reiterate something I said this morning. In both fire locations, we have current search and rescue recovery operations going. With the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, our Los Angeles County Fire Department using cadaver dogs doing grid searches. I don't expect good news from those. We will keep people updated. I'll get my next update when they're complete at sunset with what they come up with. The death toll stands at 14. Those were our numbers we received earlier today. We will not get updates about that until tonight. And I'll end with saying this. Regarding any illegal activity that may be occurring in these areas, don't do it. The fact that anyone takes advantage of any money who's been victimized already, whether it is burglary, looting, or any other crime, whether it's a scam of some kind that you're conjuring up to make money off of the poor people that have been involved in this. As a matter of fact, I'm set for a press conference tomorrow with Chief Jim McDonald, where we'll be with the district attorney, and we will be with probably the U.S. attorney. They are very eager to prosecute anybody involved, and anyone who thinks they're going to take advantage of the people who have been through this tragedy. Thank you very much, and I appreciate all of your support. Next up, LAPD Chief McDonald. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for much of the same information each time. That's good. We're moving in the right direction. Thank you for the cooperation from so many people, and we received something that was very humbling. Our job remains to be the same. Evacuation, and that may happen again in the next couple of days, traffic control and crime suppression, all of those things that are ongoing efforts, and we're getting feedback. We're trying to adapt what we do to meet the needs of the community that we're serving. You've heard over and over again about looting and about the efforts we're making to try and prevent that, and then to try and hold people. We have an awful lot of police officers out there from LAPD. As Sheriff Luna mentioned, the curfew is still very much in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The access that was provided on a limited basis is completed. We will no longer be doing the curfew, the closed areas for those areas that have been so designated. The new phase that was mentioned earlier that we're moving into, again, search, recovery of remains, and dealing with the downings and gas lines that are in there, and again, with the room dangerous environment. I want to thank everyone for their patience, the resilience that we've seen, the teamwork, everyone looking out for their neighbors. Those people who can't get around that well, reach out to them and see if they're okay, particularly in the next couple of days as things pick up again. And Sheriff Luna mentioned the scams. Educate yourself before you give. Everybody wants to be helpful, wants to donate, and wants to be part of the solution. But before you do that, do some homework. I mentioned earlier the task force that has been assembled with our federal partners, led by the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco, and brings in tremendous expertise and resources from across the nation. And they work very closely with the only crime section, the Sheriff's Arson and Explosives folks, and then others who bring expertise to the table as well. That will continue, and we will continue to keep you updated. Thanks, Cal Fire Director Tyler. Good afternoon. My name is Joe Tyler. I am the Director and Fire Chief of Cal Fire. Cal Fire is also referred to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. First, let me start by putting my thoughts to the constituents and community members of the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, Pasadena. You have gone through a tremendous natural disaster. I am proud, as I drove around today, to see the community helping each other, neighbor helping neighbor. I'm proud of our response fire, fire departments, Cal Fire, law enforcement, EMS, the public works, and our nonprofit organizations coming together. The women and men, not only of the California Fire Service, but those who have come to support us as well. Support us from other countries like Mexico and Canada. Support us across the West and the Midwest, whether it be Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Montana, Texas, just to name a few, have all come to California to support the efforts occurring here. And prior to the beginning of this siege, both Cal OES, our local government fire departments, were pre-positioning resources across Southern California. As a statewide fire department, we recognize the fire conditions diminished in Northern California, so we moved our fire engines, we moved our aircraft to Southern California. We were here to start the fight on the first night. Together, as the California Fire Service continues that fight, putting out every hot spot, every smoldering ember, and removing the hazards that are occurring in the neighborhoods and the communities, as part of the work of our law enforcement entities being able to create a repopulation plan. At the same time, we have 53 damage inspection teams across the Eaton and the Palisades fire who are working to assess every structure that's occurring, and eight more of those teams are on their way. But we can't just think about today. We have to think down the road. We have to think what's going to come next as part of recovery that Director Ward and others will do. So as part of that, as part of our natural resource protection mission, we brought our watershed emergency response team together, we call it a WERT, to start evaluating things such as soil burn, burn soil severity, identifying the values at risk, modeling and developing emergency protective procedures. It's not if we will get rain at some point, it is when. And certainly we have not had enough rain thus far. In preparing for the next event that you've heard about already, starting today through Wednesday, not only in Los Angeles County, but the affected portions of Riverside, Orange County, and San Diego. If you look at the wind models, the winds are picking up in those areas as well, so we all need to be prepared. As part of that preparedness, Cal OES, our local government fire departments, our whole of government together are preparing ourselves for this next event, including the creation of a mobilization center that is currently located in Beaumont, California, outside of the fire impacted area, so it is able to send resources north, south, east, or west. Finally, I will reiterate that everyone should remain vigilant. Listen to firefighter and law enforcement officers commands and directions regarding evacuations. You can find many near real-time updates by going to fire.ca.gov, which will also link you to many of the local government, governmental organizations, and the information that they are putting out as well. Additionally, in preparation of this next event in California as a whole, Next up, California Office of Emergency Services Director Ward. Good afternoon. I am Nancy Ward, the Director of the Office of Emergency Services, and I too want to say that my heart goes out to all of the Southern California residents who have been affected by these fires, who may have lost loved ones, have lost their homes, or who are displaced as we speak. I'm here in Los Angeles along with the highest level of state government where we have established the structure and the support needed for the ongoing fires and the recovery ahead. Cal OES is in lockstep with FEMA for assistance for the people in the communities affected in Los Angeles County. Assistance workers from FEMA are on the ground as we speak to help with your applications and getting assistance to you quickly. We've also stood up robust operations and expertise in anticipation of the massive recovery ahead to include watershed protection, debris removal, housing, public infrastructure restoration, and support to businesses. As you've heard, though, we're not out of the woods yet. We have some very significant fire weather ahead of us, and we need to provide the people and the first responders in Southern California the support that they need. We've prepositioned additional engines, fire crews, helicopters, bulldozers, water tenders across all of Southern California in Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura, to assist and support the additional fire crew. The whole of government remains in place in the existing fires, including firefighters, Cal Guard service members, CHP officers, fire dispatchers, pilots, Cal transport crews, shelter operations, and more recovery support personnel pouring into the county. We have a force right now of more than 14,000 people. I, too, urge the people of Southern California to be vigilant. Be aware. Follow your local emergency officials. Know that we're here in Los Angeles to support you, and we'll be here for the long haul. If you need to apply for disaster assistance, you can go to www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-621-T. Next up, CHP Commissioner Durie. Good afternoon. My name is Sean Durie. I'm the commissioner of the California Highway. Let me add my voice to those that have gone before me and just offer our sympathy and condolences to those impacted by this tragedy. This morning, Director Ward, Chief Tyler, and I accompanied the governor, and we toured some of the damaged area. It's devastating, and our heart goes out to you. For the Highway Patrol, this is personal. We are members of this community as well. Some of our officers, some of the members of our department have lost their homes and have also been displaced. To all of you, our thoughts go out to you and keep you in our prayers. At the onset of this event, the California Highway Patrol went on tactical alert in Los Angeles County. That means 750 officers, 12-hour shifts, days off canceled. Right now, we have 74 uniformed members dedicated to fire assignments, and the others remain able and willing to respond. We're supporting the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with general law enforcement, with road closures, with traffic direction, with enforcement of the curfew, and also enforcement of looters. I want to recognize our partners with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. We're lucky in L.A. County to have two of the finest law enforcement agencies in the country, right here in L.A. County, under the leadership of the chief and the sheriff. They both know. They have my phone number. They know any asset that CHP has is at their disclosure. In closing, I'll just reassure the members and the people that are impacted by this, the citizens. We're in this for the long haul. CHP will be here with our other state partners. We'll remain dedicated to this, not just through the fires being put out, but through the cleanup and also through the looting. Thank you. Next up, California National Guard Major General Beavers. Good afternoon. I'm Matt Beavers. I'm the Adjutant General of California. On behalf of the 18,000 service members, civilian employees, and families that serve in the California National Guard, I thought some prayers were with those that are affected by this fire emergency that we're talking about today. That said, we have 1,800 boots on the ground right now from the California National Guard. About 1,054 of those are supporting law enforcement agencies across this area to ensure that law enforcement officers can do that work, ensure that they can do counter-looting operations, ensure that they can continue to do law enforcement operations while we man traffic control points and checkpoints across the area. On the firefighting front, we have 529 service members currently supporting CAL FIRE. 355 of those are currently employed with CAL FIRE. That's from our task force. 174 are continuing their training down at Camp Roberts, and they'll be available to CAL FIRE on the 16th of this month. On the aviation side, we continue to man 11 Type 1 bucket-equipped UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. And on top of that, we maintain five today, eight tomorrow. Five today, modular airborne firefighting system-equipped C-130s from the California Air National Guard and from Air National Guards across the country. It's important to note, every MAPS-equipped aircraft in the United States is currently in California supporting this emergency. I can't say enough about our DOD Department of Defense partners. They've been extraordinarily helpful and supportive throughout this. I'd like to just reach out one time to the Sheriff and let him know that if he needs additional folks, we'll have them there tonight. Cheers. Next up, Palisades Fire Incident Commander, Chief Hudson. Well, good afternoon. I'm Jim Hudson. On behalf of the Unified Incident Commanders for the Palisades incident, I'll provide you a brief overview of what has occurred and our actions moving forward as standard this afternoon. Obviously, since the ignition of this fire Tuesday morning, it's been a very dynamic situation. Resources were surged in, but anybody that was here in the first few hours or the first 24 hours will tell you that the event was something that they've probably not experienced before. And the firefighters were extraordinary. It's been, when I say it's been dynamic, along with permanent control, we have been fighting or working on the situation of new structural emissions in the area. So our priorities will continue to be life and safety, property and permanent control. And that message forward and how we're able to accomplish that is as the weather shifts, we are moving resources around this fire. The best of our crews have been working and will continue to work 24 hours a day. Many of them have been working over 36 and 48 hours at a time. And our aircraft has been working 24 hours. We did have some periods where the wind died. It's important to note that even though if you look at the acreage growth on this fire, the majority of it was ahead of Friday morning. But we have seen growth with the wind shifts in the last two days. And as we move forward in the last couple of days, we are prepared for those. Everything that has been within our primary plan, if necessary, will also. It does look very impressive on the news. We are able to surge firefighters into those areas rapidly. And we do have a plan. We are planning two, three ridges away. We are planning well ahead of any communities that land fires possibly occur that we are not considering. And we have a plan. So as we move forward, I just wanted to leave you with that. I assure you that we have full dedication to our Unified Incident Commanders, represented by all the agencies on this stage, who are aligned in our priorities and objectives. And we'll continue to provide you updates. Thank you. Next up, Los Angeles County Supervisory Board. Good afternoon. At this stage of the event, I have two messages. First, one of gratitude. The people on the front lines fighting this fire are nothing short of excellent. They are not here by choice. They are here by calling. They are strong. They are sophisticated. And they will get this job done. We are grateful to them and to their families who are sacrificing time with their loved ones in order to ensure our safety. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Second is vigilance. We are not out of danger yet. As you just saw, we are entering yet another red flag event through the end of day Wednesday. It is essential that every resident in an evacuation zone evacuates immediately. And if you are in an evacuation warning zone, be prepared to evacuate. The best thing that we can do to support those on the front lines is to be prepared, to move swiftly, and to listen to instruction. Those who are on the front lines are giving it their all. The thing that will determine their success is whether we are partners or whether we are in their way. It is essential that we follow instructions to get this job done. Thank you once again to all who are fighting this fire. We are grateful to you. Next up, City of Los Angeles, Council Member Parker. Good afternoon. I am, of course, joining us this afternoon with a heavy heart. And I'm profoundly saddened by the unimaginable devastation that has swept across Los Angeles. Obviously, raging fires have claimed more than a dozen lives, destroyed thousands of homes and beloved businesses, and scorched more than 60 square miles. Thousands of families have been displaced, their lives turned upside down in an instant. The Palisades Fire alone, the most destructive fire in our city's history, has engulfed over 23,600 acres since it erupted on Tuesday. Even now, it's only about 11% contained. The destruction is staggering, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and ash. Yesterday, I was with Chief Crowley on the front lines in Mandeville Canyon as our firefighters strategically pre-positioned for that fire. Thanks to their heroic efforts throughout the night, Mandeville Canyon has been spared so far. These brave men and women from the LAFD and supporting departments from all over California and beyond deserve our deepest gratitude. Currently, more than 150,000 people in Los Angeles County are under evacuation orders, and we continue to receive new arrivals at our nine emergency shelters. Curfews remain in place for Palisades and Brentwood, a measure that is necessary to ensure public safety, as high winds are expected to pick up again tomorrow, which could potentially fan the flames and lead to further spread. This fire remains active, and as others have said, this situation is far from over. Pacific Palisades still faces dangerous conditions, including downed power lines, broken gas and water pipes, and now slide conditions because of water activity. Today, our LAPD had to suspend operations, escorting residents back into evacuation zones to receive essential items. These are hard decisions, and I know that many of my constituents are disappointed and frustrated, but safety must remain our top priority. Another important piece of information that I want to share is that effective tomorrow, January 13th, parcel and postal pickup for Palisades residents will be available at Rancho Park Post Office, located at 11270 Exposition Boulevard in West L.A. To my constituents here in the Pacific Palisades in particular who have lost so much, I see your pain and I feel your heartbreak. And I want to assure you that we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that you have the resources you need to rebuild your community and your lives. We can't replace what has been lost, but I am going to fight like hell to help you recover and move forward. And to our fearless firefighters and law enforcement and emergency personnel, including the men and women of the National Guard, your courage and determination inspire us all. To the countless crews from around California, across the U.S., and even Canada and Mexico, thank you for standing with us in this time of need. Once these fires are contained, and they will be, we're going to hold community meetings to ensure that residents have the answers they need and a voice in the path forward. Together, we're going to rebuild, and together, we are going to ensure that no community in Los Angeles has to ensure this devastation again. Also to President Biden, Governor Newsom, and all of our partners in leadership, thank you for your commitment to seeing us through this disaster. In the weeks and months and days to come, we are going to need more than commitment. We're going to need action. I'm determined to fight for the resources our community needs and deserves, and I know that we are going to rise from this tragedy stronger, more resilient, and more united than ever. Thank you, stay safe, and stay strong. Thank you very much. That concludes our presentation portion. We'd now like to open it up to questions. If you do have a question, if you could just throw your hand up and I ask your question, we'll find the best person to answer it. Yeah, Chase Beach, Spectrum News. My first question is, I think it was Chief Maroney who said that all of L.A. County needs to be on standby over the next few days as this new wind event comes through. I mean, can you clarify that? I mean, are you saying that everyone across, or I can't remember if you said city or county, but everyone needs to have a go bag ready? I mean, obviously people are concerned. Yeah, I think I said that anybody in L.A. County that's going to be under the red flag conditions needs to be ready and prepared. It puts the entire region at risk, and although wildland brush fires are not normal for January, I think the situation will improve. So, for me, I speak on behalf of all the residents that are in the L.A. County, those 59 cities and all of the unpopulated areas. Just be watching carefully, be ready to go. Yeah, make sure that you haven't silenced your emergency alerts on your telephones. Make sure that you have your own individualized wildfire action program. Make sure that you have your own individualized plan. Go to www.lacounty.gov forward slash rsg. Ready, set, go. Thank you. Gary Johnson, KCAL News. Can you clarify the concept of curfew? Because don't we effectively have a 24-hour curfew right now, at least until Thursday, as you were saying? Because civilians cannot go into areas now at all. So, in regards to curfew in the impacted areas, that does go from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. There are other areas that are under evacuation order, which means that nobody who is unauthorized should be in those areas. They are covered by different portions of the penal code. Technically speaking, if you are there during the day and you have no business there and you are confronted by law enforcement, and we've been doing a great job at it, you can be subject to arrest under a misdemeanor. I don't know of any cases where we've done that, but that is a tool in the toolbox. Bottom line is, you don't live there, you don't belong there, stay away from them. Matthew Bigler, KNX. Hi, thank you. This is probably a question for a step back. For some of the electives, we've been getting questions from LA County residents who have heeded the evacuation orders. They've left their homes, and now they're incurring lots of expenses, food, clothing, especially shelter. Can they expect to be compensated by insurance companies, by the government? What is being put forth to help those folks who are now paying a lot of money because they can't go back home? You know, I'll address the repopulation because I said it at the end of my remarks. They can't go home simply because it's not safe. We've all spoke up here about the evacuation order areas and the evacuation warning areas. The minute it's safe, it's our collective priority, whether you're elected or appointed, to be able to get residents back in their home just as quickly as possible. That conversation is not going to occur until the end of the predicted red flag event that's on its way. The last thing we want is for Sheriff Luna or the police chief, McDonald, to be reporting on more fatalities. Homes and communities can be rebuilt, but we cannot allow any other fire fatalities that would be terrible. So thank you for your understanding. It is our priority, and we're going to do the very best that we can. Thank you. Jackie Irwin, the assembly member who heads this general area of the 42nd Assembly District. We've had five fires here in the last six weeks or so, so we are quite familiar with what the residents are facing. The first thing that we would say, insurance-wise, is you have to get in touch with your insurance company. You have to put together lists of what your costs are. And on our website, our assembly website, we have a list of everything you need to do and some tips for insurance companies. Secondly, residents have an ability to apply for FEMA funding. And again, there's a process to go through. The website has been pretty bogged down. But I would say contact us in our office. We will do everything we can to help you connect with FEMA. In the next week, we are going to start working with our other partners, Tracy Park and Lindsay Horvath's office. And I think right now at the libraries, we're going to be having resource centers that residents can go to. Last thing, not exactly along the lines of what you're talking about, but we're already hearing about price gouging. And I urge anybody that suspects price gouging as they're trying to rent housing to contact the Attorney General's office. This is absolutely unacceptable and illegal to do in the face of this horrible tragedy. So any of our residents that have questions, please contact our office. Unfortunately, our Pacific Palisades office burned down. Our district office in Thousand Oaks, because of the fires, doesn't have phone service right now. So we urge you to contact our capital office or look at our website. Next question is in reference to fire cause investigation. Morgan Windsor, ABC News, Nashville. I was hoping someone could expand on the status of the ongoing investigation. Specifically, I'm wondering, has the LAFD considered the New Year's Eve fire in Palisades in the investigation? Yeah, thank you. I can't speak for LAFD, but I can speak for general practice. LAFD, LA County Fire, LAPD can find source and origin of this fire. As they go through this, we won't speak as to where the investigation is. Briefly talk about your question from a previous fire that had occurred seven days prior. We do not have any information that there's any connections. But that's the good thing when you bring in an outside resource that is going to look into every single detail. To make sure that fire service knows, the community knows exactly where and how and when all of this occurred. And that's across the region in regard to all the other fires that occurred even outside of the Palisades. Thank you. Next question is a reference to our air support. Jeremy Lee, NBC University. Hi. What contingencies are there if air support has to be suspended? And how are you prepared for this wind event? Yeah, so with aircraft being able to fly, that can be weather dependent, obviously. It has to be safe and it has to be effective. They are, as I spoke earlier, about contingency lines. We, with the aircraft, obviously the rudder wing, are dropping hot spots and extinguishing fire. With our fixed wing, we drop fire retardant. As well as our helicopters, we have set up a mobile retardant base in which the helicopters actually drop retardant as well. We are pre-treating with fire retardant well ahead of the fire. And if they get grounded, we have actually built ourselves a little bit of a barrier on top of crews to get in there and make as possible and extinguish the fire. So it's important to remember the retardant might not extinguish it. It is a barrier. It does provide us some time. So it really comes to that planning piece like I talked about earlier. That concludes the questions from reporters. That concludes this briefing. We'd like to remind folks that we are holding a virtual community meeting every night at 6.30pm. 6.30pm. Thanks to everybody who joined us last night in person. We're going to have virtual tonight and tomorrow. So please jump online. LA County Fire or calfirefire.ca.gov. And go to the Palisades Fire page and you'll see the link there. Thank you.