I would take all the leaves off right now. Cut them off, do not pull any. The buds will be right there and too much stress on pulling will break them right off.
This is a dicy time now. I seen Morro Bay was 70 yesterday.
In the future if the leaves have not fallen by Nov. 15th. take them off manually. These trees need to rest, and a defoliation on Jan. 17th with temps that high may stall the spring flush. If you don't defoliate you may not get a good budding as the tips won't produce the correct auxins to stimulate the buds.