We are back live in the cnn newsroom. Im jim acosta in washington. We are tracking hurricane hilary. The system just weakened to a category 2 storm with winds of 110 miles per hour. The historic and potentially catastrophic storm is barrelling toward the southwestern United States, triggering the first ever Tropical Storm warning for millions of people in Southern California. The San Bernardino county Sheriffs Department just issued an Evacuation Warning for some areas in that part of Southern California. Thats just east of los angeles in the mountain and foothill areas. Hilary could bring a years worth of rain in a single day to parts of california, arizona, and nevada. Lets go straight to the cnn weather center, Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has been following the hurricanes path. I suppose its good news that the hurricane is weakening at some point, but that doesnt necessarily mean that people in that part of the country can let down their guards or folks in mexico as well. We should make it very clear, the folks in mexico need to be very careful about this storm as well. Yeah. We dont want to diminish the Threats Associated with this storm, even though it is weakening. Good news. We want to see that, but as with any tropical system, its got an influx of moisture thats going to dump tremendous amounts of rain that will bring a Flash Flood Threat to areas that havent seen this amount of rain in several decades. 110 miles per hour. That makes it a category 2 atlantic equivalent. It is encountering significantly cooler waters and drier air, especially in the western sections of this storm system. Regardless, lets look at the exact forecast track, because it will weaken further as it approaches. What weve noticed is two important things about this track. Not only is it speeding up, that forward speed continues to increase. Its also shifted a little further east. So, what thats going to do, just by the nature of the topography across the Baja Peninsula and into Southern California, it means it will make landfall earlier than what we had anticipated, lets say, 12 hours ago. And also, with this increase in forward speed, if youve been tuning in intermittently, this storm is more of a sunday storm for Southern California and the southwestern u. S. So, we need, as weather kmurkters, to show you that because you may have anticipated a Monday Morning Type of event but this is really sunday into monday and we have our Flash Flood Threat across this region, a level four of four. Some locations have never had this type of flood threat in all of its history. So, were working on a major flooding potential with this system. This is the latest radar. Dry along the coast, but look whats forming across the eastern sections of San Bernardino county. And i want to show you why this area is so susceptible to flooding, and jim pointed out in the opening of the show that there are some mandatory evacuations that are occurring right now. Heres San Bernardino. These are the San Bernardino mountains, and just like a sponge being pushed against a wall, it is going to extract all the available moisture out, and the water is going to run down into these villages, oak glen, forest falls, Mountain Home village. These are the areas that have the mandatory evacuations, and you can see why. Look at this mountainous terrain. All that water has go somewhere. Unfortunately, it flows quickly into the valleys and the communities below. So, jim, were concerned about these locations, but that is not the only area that were concerned about. Palm springs, the desert southwest, theyre going to be seeing maybe perhaps over a years worth of rain in the next couple of days. Yeah, and derek, the waters of the pacific, especially along the california coast, theyre notorious for being somewhat more chilly than away we experience on the east coast. Might that have something to do with why the storm is weakening as rapidly as it is . Or is it maybe were seeing other factors at play . Well, 100 . Hurricanes, typhoons, tropical cyclones, do not like cold water. You start getting into Water Temperatures that are below 80 degrees, or you get perhaps some upwelling from a stronger storm system which is what weve seen over the past 24 hours, this was a powerful cat 4 just 24 hours ago, so what its doing is taking the cold water from below, also some of the coastal currents that are just off the coast of california and the Baja Peninsula, bringing the cooler water to this area. All of these working against the storm. It will help weaken it. Thats the positive news because we want to see a weakening storm as it approaches the southwestern u. S. , and we believe it will continue to do so. As it starts to impact or kind of get exchanged with the mountain ranges across this area, it will also help degrade the storm even further. But again, we cannot diminish the flood threat because of so much moisture being associated with the system as it moves on shore. Jim . And people in that part of the country, please take all of these warnings very seriously. Derek van dam, thank you very much. As we mentioned earlier, there are already Evacuation Warnings in place for parts of Southern California. This could be the first time a storm like this has hit the state in more than 80 years. The California National garland guard is standing by ready to help. A State Emergency Official tells cnn its an all hands on deck situation. We have swift water rescue teams, highwater vehicles positioned all over Southern California. Weve also moved millions of pieces of commodities into the region, so cots, blankets, food, water, in case we need to set up shelters. We really want to be on the front foot of this and thats whats happening now. Cnns natasha chen is live in los angeles. Natasha, looks like the winds are picking up there a bit. How are things looking . Reporter picking up just a little bit, jim. And were expecting, in the next hour to three hours that north of us in antelope valley, they might see some scattered thunderstorms as the outer bands start coming in this direction. Of course, nothing really significant until tomorrow. This is something that, as weve been talking about, the people of Southern California are not used to. A Tropical Storm warning has never been issued here. Now, granted, this past winter was a very wet one, and so people are prepared for what to do in flood situations, but certainly, usually not in the month of august. So, i keep seeing cities and counties issue information about where to find sandbags, telling people to bring all their items indoors, to not go outside and drive tomorrow and monday if at all possible. Were seeing lots of events postponed or canceled. Three mlb games in Southern California scheduled for tomorrow ended up being moved to today so that they could all do double hitters, and the u. S. Navy has said that they are moving their ships and submarines temporarily out of san diego while this storm comes through. So, a lot of changes happening, a lot of preparations, including going to the encampments with loud speakers, making sure those unhoused people, of which there are so many here in Southern California, typically enjoying the dry outdoor weather, letting them know it is time to find a place inside, jim. All right, natasha chen, please stay safe. Hope everybody does the same. Thank you so much. And we are monitoring yet another wildfire burning out of control. This one, just outside of spokane, washington. Officials say at least one person is dead and nearly 200 structures damaged so far. The fire has not been contained. The county has declared a state of emergency, and some residents have been asked to evacuate their homes. Well stay on top of that as that develops. And the death toll from the maui wildfires has climbed to 114. The governor says 60 of the Disaster Zone has been searched. At least 1,000 people are still unaccounted for at this hour, and thousands more have already lost everything that they own. Amid all of this, theres growing concern about predatory outsiders swooping in to buy property at a fraction of its value, and native hawaiian and former legislator joins us now. Great to talk to you. I know you have had an upclose view of the disaster there in maui. And you write about it in a Time Magazine essay titled the Climate Crisis and colonialism destroyed my maui home. Where we must go from here. Lets begin with that essay. What did you write . Why did you write it . And what message do you want to get across . Thank you, jim. Yeah, ive been in lahaina throughout the week. Ill be back this afternoon, and as i stand talking to survivors and intaking their needs, there are dozens of cadaver dogs sniffing through the rubble in search of our loved ones. Utility workers in orange vests are picking up miles of electrical lines, tangled up between the fissures of asphalt. Those sacred monuments and reminders of Colonial Arms have been reduced to ashes, and the response from the usual government and institutional players have been well meaning but woefully inadequate, so Community Leaders have immediately filled the gaps with dozens of relief hubs, peopleled, were fielding and distributing the outpouring of donations that were seeing across the islands. Theres a new leadership among a generation of Native Hawaiians emerging as beacons of hope throughout the chaos. Just yesterday, native hawaiian leaders banded together to create the families of the ancient name of lahaina to demand that governor josh green pause redevelopment, allow the community to grieve and feel State Government transparency and the sunshine law. So, right now, theres just a lot of land grabbers, disaster capitalists kind of hovering above the wreckage like vultures, and we got to build longterm power to fend them off. We know this isnt going to be a sprint but a marathon, and its going to take us years to rebuild, so you know, ive been busy. Ive finally wept the other day. It was brutal sadness, but its also tears of joy for the uprising that our people are leading today to rebuild maui ourselves, and the leadership of our generation, especially, is really something to behold. Its such a beautiful space. Ive been to maui, been to lahaina, and i still cant believe what im seeing when i see whats taken place there. You know, this and i know hawaii well enough to know that this is a constant fear for people who have been there for generations, that greedy Land Developers are going to exploit the people there, and i guess, how do you see this unfolding . As you know, the developers have a knack for winning a lot of these battles there in hawaii. How do you stop that from happening this time around when it comes to the rebuilding of lahaina . Yeah, thats right. Local people, especially Native Hawaiians, have been suffering from injustices for generations now. My mom lost our home, forced to sell it without a fire. She couldnt keep up with the rising costs of a gentrified community, so today, there are more Native Hawaiians living outside of hawaii than on our ancestral lands, so this acute trauma is just a punctuation mark, an acceleration of decades of injustices that weve faced. Native folks, black, brown, immigrants are generally the first and worst hit by climate disasters, but the cruel irony is that we tend to be the keepers of the knowledge of how to build a society that doesnt lead to ecological collapse. So, as we look forward, we need to be Resourcing Efforts like, you know, lahaina strong, which is a group of volunteers that are leading our own doortodoor efforts to help insurance claims and fema applications in order to grow power, because two years down the line, when redevelopment is happening in earnest, we need to show up as a community to rebuild schools and maybe the next day take those same 200 people and testify at city council. Thats really the path forward here. We need to be looking at direct relief, a just recovery, and longterm power for the rebuilding of lahaina that will cost at least 6 billion. Yeah. Its going to be a massive undertaking. Youre going to have a lot of folks around the country in the other 49 states, the mainlanders, pulling for you all the way. Kaniela ing, thank you very much for your time. Best of luck to you. Thank you so much. All right, hang in there. Coming up, the impact of Donald Trumps fourth indictment that is having on his poll numbers. Well talk about that next. Youre live in the cnn newsroom. Ess unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. So, no matter what, im running this kitchen. vo make the s switch. Its your business. Its your vererizon. My cpa told me i wouldnt qualify for the erc tax refund, so i called innovation refunds. Their team of Indepeent Tax Attorneys will work with your cpa to determine if your company is eligible. [whip sound] take the first step to see if your Small Business qualifies. With wet amd, sometimes i worry my world is getting smaller because of my sight. But now, i can open up my world with vabysmo. 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The republican front runner is expected to skip his partys first president ial primary debate wednesday night in milwaukee. Trump is among eight candidates who have qualified with others scrambling to meet a monday night deadline. Is that indictment in georgia having any effect on the voters . Cnn senior data reporter harry enten joins us now with the answer. Weve talked about this several times. This week, trump was indicted for the fourth time. Do four indictments matter any more than the previous three . Not really, no. You know, its like deja vu all over again. Weve had four indictments. You look at the polling amongst the gop base. Do they think trump should have been indicted . Look at the consistency here. 14 for the new york one. 15 for the efforts related to january 6th. The newest one, georgia, the Georgia Election case, 15 . The classified docs handling, 16 . I guess you could say thats the highest percentage, but the fact is, theyre all within the margin of error of each other. The gop base has made up its mind when it comes to these indictments. They dont believe that trump should have been charged with a crime. The vast majority believe that,