NBA postpones this weekend's L.A. games
The NBA postponed games between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers, both scheduled to be held tomorrow in L.A.
The rescheduled dates will be announced at a later time.
The decision was made in part to not divert resources from fighting the fires plaguing Los Angeles area the NBA said in a statement.
It also said the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are donating $1 million to the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen and other organizations to support those impacted by the fires.
Altadena residents rally together amid fire devastation
The working-class neighborhood of Altadena was hit especially hard by a devastating wildfire, with more than 7,000 structures lost.
But people rallied to help each other.
Officials warn civilians drones can interfere with firefighting operations
Officials warned tonight against civilians flying drones, which might interfere with firefighting operations.
Operations Chief Kristian Litz said drones are useful for officials to help spot areas to mitigate, but the addition of civilian drones creates "a very dangerous situation for us."
"Because anytime a civilian is out there flying a drone, we have to pull back operational aircraft," Litz said at a news conference tonight. "So we want to make it very important that we stop flying private drones so that we can keep our operational aircraft engaged at all time."
Yesterday, a drone collided with an aircraft performing water drops in an effort to fight the blazes. The collision left a hole in the wing of the aircraft. It has not been determined whether a civilian was flying that drone.
From above, Altadena looks like it had 'bomb dropped on it'
NBC Los Angeles chopper pilot Roland Sprewell describes the Eaton Fire’s devastation from his view at 10,000 feet above Altadena, California.
A brief reprieve from powerful winds will be followed by a return of fire weather
The forecast for Southern California calls for diminishing winds tonight as the weather system that helped to produce the dry, offshore gusts moves east into the Southern Plains, the National Weather Service said today.
Red flag warnings from the top of the Ventura County coastline to Mexican border expired at 6 p.m. local time. Others, particularly in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, were downgraded today to fire weather watches.
Red flag warnings state fire danger is occurring under winds of 20 mph or greater and relative humidity of 24 percent or less. A fire weather watch states such conditions are likely in the next few days.
The weather service office in Oxnard, California, said those fire weather watches would likely be returned to red flag warnings tomorrow for parts of L.A. and Ventura counties.
Overnight Saturday into Sunday, it called for 50 to 70 mph gusts in the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Susana Mountains, and western Santa Monica Mountains, location of the Palisades Fire.
A set of weather systems, one off the coast and one over the Great Basin, will churn air in concert and push winds from north to south — offshore, or countering prevailing Pacific breezes in Southern California — starting Saturday and peaking Sunday, the weather service office in San Diego said.
Temperatures would remain in the normal range, accompanied by bright days and frigid nights, forecasters said.
Another offshore event was likely Monday and Tuesday and possibly through Wednesday. "This will bring another round of elevated to near critical fire weather conditions as dry weather persists," the San Diego office said in its forecast discussion today.
This event would see winds come from a more easterly direction; these are still typical offshore, or Santa Ana, winds. They push dry air from the desert through mountain peaks and down into canyons and the coastal plains, compressing the molecules along the way. This typically warms the air.
A cut-off low pressure system might arrive later in the week with a chance of rain, the weather service said, but the possibility comes with "high uncertainty," the San Diego office said in its forecast discussion.
Special NBC News coverage of wildfires tonight on ‘Fire & Ash’
For special coverage on the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area, tune in to "Fire & Ash" at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT tonight on NBC.
Wildfires complicate California Democrats’ plans to lead Trump defiance
California was getting ready to fight President-elect Donald Trump. Instead, it’s fighting raging wildfires and a crisis that risks tarnishing the state’s image just as its leaders were positioning it to be a shining example of progressive governance.
A special session of the state Legislature that Gov. Gavin Newsom called shortly after the November election to position California to counter Trump has been overshadowed by the wildfires, the speed of which seemed to catch many officials off guard.
Newsom and other California Democrats have long held the state up as a national leader in addressing environmental issues, social inequality and economic innovation. But the wildfire crisis has exposed vulnerabilities in the state’s infrastructure and governance that critics argue undermine this narrative.
U.S. Rep Ted Lieu joins calls for investigation into water
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, whose district includes the coastal Los Angeles area, today joined calls for an investigation into water issues that faced firefighters trying to combat the devastating Palisades Fire.
More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed in the fires in the Los Angeles region, which occurred amid very dry conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds, Lieu, D-Calif., said.
“We absolutely should have an investigation of what happened with the water system,” Lieu said.
“Now, at the same time, I think it’s also true that no water system was designed to fight so many large, simultaneous wildfires,” he said. “But we do need to have an investigation to see what can be done better.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has also called for an investigation into water system issues.
Trump makes misguided accusations about California water management amid wildfires
President-elect Donald Trump has used the devastating wildfires to revisit a policy disagreement with California Gov. Newsom, pushing a series of complaints that experts say are false or misleading.
Trump this week blamed Newsom for the fires, which have killed at least 11 people, forced 180,000 to evacuate and burned more than 10,000 structures.
The availability of water has been a particular concern after some fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades temporarily dried up as firefighters attempted to contain a massive blaze there.
But three water policy experts said the problem wasn’t the water supply — the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power filled all available water facility storage tanks ahead of the fires.
Rather, the city’s water infrastructure wasn’t equipped to fight major wildfires, they said.
Organizers postpone Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5K
Organizers of the Los Angeles Marathon today announced they're postponing the Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5K, which was scheduled for Jan. 19 in Pasadena, not far from the deadly Eaton Fire.
The McCourt Foundation, a nonprofit that produces the event, cited the region's ongoing fires, air quality and possible resources that might need to be diverted if the event went on as scheduled.
Some participants, speaking via social media, also urged organizers to pause the event as Southern Californians face the loss of loved ones and family homes.