Reduced winds help firefighters battle intense California wildfires
Officials said the growth of both major wildfires has either slowed or stopped, and reduced winds are helping firefighters begin to gain control of the infernos.
For one family, this means a sense of normalcy can slowly return.
"We're just so happy to give them normalcy because they were so so happy this morning," Cameron Dale told NBC's "TODAY" after she and her husband dropped their daughters off at school.
The family lost their home in the fire, and their children's school was reduced to rubble. They have been staying at a friend's house and their daughters were allowed to return to school at a different campus.
"It's really nice," Dale said, crying.
Music stars offer signed instruments for charity auction
A galaxy of musical stars have donated guitars for a charity auction to raise money for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
The Julien’s Auctions MusiCares Charity Relief Auction on Feb. 2, the day of the Grammys, will offer for sale items from Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Dolly Parton, Olivia Rodrigo and dozens more.
The event is designed to raise money to "help music professionals recover from crises, including the unprecedented challenges posed by the recent wildfires in Greater Los Angeles," Julien's Auctions said.
‘Finally some good news’: Winds to ease as fire crews make progress
Santa Ana winds have died down across the greater Los Angeles area, helping firefighters to bring almost 40,000 acres of ongoing wildfires under control. NBC News’ Steve Patterson reports.
Disaster recovery center in LA offers help to hundreds
A newly opened City Disaster Recovery Center in Los Angeles provided help and information to more than 360 households affected by the fires yesterday, the city said.
Its services include helping those who have lost vital documents such as birth certificates and drivers' licenses, as well as referrals to services including mental health counselling.
The center, at the UCLA Research Park at 10850 Pico Blvd, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. PT, seven days a week.
Separately, a support camp run by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks is offering free day camps for children aged 5 to 12 and for teenagers from 13 to 17 whose families have been affected by the fires.
Did city, LAFD prepare enough for Palisades Fire? Here’s what we know
New questions are being raised about whether the City of Los Angeles and its fire department did enough to prepare in the days ahead of the deadly Palisades Fire.
The fire department did not hold over its firefighters who’d worked the day before to increase staffing during the wind event that had been forecast.
Elected officials and others in city government were clearly very wary about leveling criticism this soon after what happened last week, while the Palisades Fire is still smoldering and high winds remain a threat. But they agree there are a number of decisions that will need to be scrutinized — among them, why it appears extra engines had not been positioned in the Palisades and why more firefighters hadn’t been ordered to stay on duty.
In anticipating the wind event that drove the Palisades and Eaton fires to destroy entire communities, the L.A. Fire Department began moving its equipment to areas where high winds — and brush-covered hills — could put the city in danger.
Read the full story from NBC Los Angeles here
Tennis player Taylor Fritz is donating Australian Open prize money to LA wildfire relief funds
MELBOURNE, Australia — American tennis player Taylor Fritz said Thursday he is donating the prize money he earned for his first-round victory at the Australian Open — about $82,000 — to relief funds to help people affected by the wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area.
“I mean, I feel like it’s really the least I can do,” said U.S. Open finalist Fritz, who was born in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and still is based in the state.
“Obviously ‘SoCal’ has been my home forever. I still spend a lot of time in LA, but I lived in LA for quite a while. I have friends impacted; family not so much. I had some family have to evacuate. The house that my brothers grew up in burnt down. Obviously, they’re not living there anymore,” Fritz said after reaching the third round at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 victory over qualifier Cristian Garín of Chile.
“A lot of people are affected by it,” added Fritz, the runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the U.S. Open in September and seeded No. 4 in Australia. “I feel like if you’re in a place to help, then you should.”
Altadena couple went from wondering, ‘What fire?’ to losing their family home
A couple whose Altadena home burned to the ground is still shocked at how fast the flames from the Eaton Fire moved.
Dennis and Cheryl McMurray had come home from dinner on Jan. 7 and were preparing for bed when Cheryl’s cousin called.
“She wanted to know how close we were to a fire and we were like, ‘What fire?’” Cheryl McMurray said.
Dennis McMurray said he went outside and “saw an orange glow up in the horizon” about 2½ miles away.
The couple started gathering important belongings and got out in time as flames “came down the slope,” he recalled. As they left, everything was black, the winds were howling and they could barely see through the smoke, Dennis McMurray said.
The 100-year-old house had been in the family since 1972, when Cheryl’s parents bought it, and had been a hub for big moments and memories, she said.
“The rebuild is going to be a family affair,” Dennis McMurray said.
What is the pink powder sprayed over the California wildfires?
As the wildfires in Southern California continue to burn, streaks of bright pink fire retardant have become a familiar sight.
The powdered substance being sprayed over the wildfires is called Phos-Chek. It can be dropped from the air or applied via trucks on the ground. It’s primarily made up of water, ammonium phosphate — an ingredient commonly found in fertilizer — and pink coloring, though it’s thickened with gum to improve accuracy for aerial drops.
When used in fire retardant, ammonium phosphate can change the way the cellulose in plants reacts to heat. Ordinarily, plants exposed to a fire’s heat begin to decompose and become fuel, but Phos-Chek acts as a coating, creating a barrier that consumes the heat energy. The reaction produces a nonflammable carbon material, thereby slowing a blaze to buy firefighters time.
Governor's office works to prevent post-fire water contamination
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services said yesterday it was working to prevent a secondary emergency following the wildfires: The risk of contaminated water.
"Eventually wet weather will arrive in burn scars and can push toxic material left behind into waterways. The Cal OES Watershed and Debris Flow Task Force is on the ground in Los Angeles ready to prevent that contamination," the agency said in a message on X.
This includes erecting barriers and fences to protect waterways and what the agency described as the biggest debris removal project in state history.
‘Never been anything like this’: Reporter details his visit to area ravaged by wildfire
The Los Angeles Times’ Noah Goldberg to discuss the latest developments on the destruction caused by wildfires in Southern California.