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CNN Live At Daybreak
California Wildfires: Death Toll Climbs to 16
Aired October 29, 2003 - 06:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The California wildfire toll keeps on rising. At least 16 people dead now and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed. At last count, a total of 13 wildfires have spread over five counties, leaving more than 600,000 acres charred.
The biggest wildfire is on the outskirts of the town of Julian in San Diego County. Tens of thousands of people have fled mountain communities in San Diego and San Bernardino. Two huge blazes there could merge into a super-inferno.
And some 1,500 people came together at a church in the hard-hit community of Scripts Ranch. Eleven people from that community have died in the fires. Three-hundred fifty homes have been destroyed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The community is the people, not so much the buildings, and we're definitely going to rebuild. Our house was completely leveled, and we'll just start from scratch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house got through unscathed, and I have extra rooms to rent out or give out to people who are in need. So, I'm here to just offer my thanks and to offer some services to the people around me that are hurting and really could use the help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house was saved, but I do know people who lost their homes. So, we're here tonight to just show support and help out in any way we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now we'd like to take you on a grim tour through fire- ravaged southern California.
Let's start in Simi Valley. Here's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the first time since the Simi Valley fire began on Saturday, fire crews here were able to go on offense, mainly because the Santa Ana winds had died down.
And the fire crews didn't waste any time, striking at the flames from two different levels. On the ground, they pushed in heavy bulldozers to begin trying to contain the blaze. And from the air, wave after wave of helicopters and planes dropped a deluge of water and flame retardant onto the fire itself, hoping to kick the flames back.
That's not to say there werent some setbacks. Stevenson Ranch (ph) late afternoon in Los Angeles County, flames there began to threaten with the shifted wind. Firefighters rushed in; the residents rushed out. The good news is firefighters were able to contain it without the loss of any homes.
The Simi Valley fire has not been particularly destructive. Fortunately, only 16 homes have been lost. It could be a lot worse, especially if the winds were to shift once more and, say, push the fire in the direction of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, where over a million people live.
Martin Savidge, CNN, at the Simi Valley fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Now we take you to San Bernardino. Two more people have died there, and tens of thousands have left their homes. As one official put it: pretty much everything has burned.
Here's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The effort here in the mountains above San Bernardino continues to be focused on Lake Arrowhead. That is a community -- a resort community, where thousands of homes are at risk. Firefighters have had some successes here protecting some structures on the ground. They've also been able to attack this fire from the air, and they've been able to set some back fires. They have so far stopped this monster fire from moving into the community of Lake Arrowhead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an incredible save. This is probably one of the best saves I've seen through this whole fire.
BUCKLEY: Meanwhile, investigators have released a composite sketch of a suspect described as a white male in his 20s, seen with one other person in a light gray colored van near the origin of the Old Waterman Canyon Road fire, seen throwing something from the van and then quickly driving away. Because four people have died as a result of the fires in this area, the suspects are wanted not only for arson, but for murder.
Frank Buckley, CNN, San Bernardino County, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: All right, now to San Diego, where firefighters are out-and-out exhausted. They're used to wildfires, but not like this.
Our Jeff Flocks takes us on a tour this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The flames are everywhere. Look at how close we can come up to it.
(voice-over): Covering wildfires, it's sometimes hard to get near the fire line. Not this time. There is just so much of it.
(on camera): We're watching this very carefully to see if these flames will shoot up into this -- into these trees.
(voice-over): The worst fire in San Diego County history and we are literally walking through it with those who know fire best.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fire is going to run uphill.
FLOCK: Nick Rich (ph) has been firefighter, fire chief, fire tanker pilot. Seeing the spectacle through his eyes opens ours to the little details of wildfires -- the animals driven up from the burrows by the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This little guy is alive.
FLOCK: How these firefighters set and use a hose to control this back fire to burn off fuel and save a house. We also learn about so- called killer trees, like this one -- a ground fire burning its roots and then right up through its heart.
(on camera): It's coming up like a chimney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is -- the tree has turned itself into a chimney now.
FLOCK (voice-over): We end our walk through fire with this first up-close look at its effects.
(on camera): Rubber melted and literally turned to ash and has left the steel belts from the radial tires.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 29, 2003 - 06:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The California wildfire toll keeps on rising. At least 16 people dead now and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed. At last count, a total of 13 wildfires have spread over five counties, leaving more than 600,000 acres charred.
The biggest wildfire is on the outskirts of the town of Julian in San Diego County. Tens of thousands of people have fled mountain communities in San Diego and San Bernardino. Two huge blazes there could merge into a super-inferno.
And some 1,500 people came together at a church in the hard-hit community of Scripts Ranch. Eleven people from that community have died in the fires. Three-hundred fifty homes have been destroyed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The community is the people, not so much the buildings, and we're definitely going to rebuild. Our house was completely leveled, and we'll just start from scratch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house got through unscathed, and I have extra rooms to rent out or give out to people who are in need. So, I'm here to just offer my thanks and to offer some services to the people around me that are hurting and really could use the help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house was saved, but I do know people who lost their homes. So, we're here tonight to just show support and help out in any way we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Now we'd like to take you on a grim tour through fire- ravaged southern California.
Let's start in Simi Valley. Here's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the first time since the Simi Valley fire began on Saturday, fire crews here were able to go on offense, mainly because the Santa Ana winds had died down.
And the fire crews didn't waste any time, striking at the flames from two different levels. On the ground, they pushed in heavy bulldozers to begin trying to contain the blaze. And from the air, wave after wave of helicopters and planes dropped a deluge of water and flame retardant onto the fire itself, hoping to kick the flames back.
That's not to say there werent some setbacks. Stevenson Ranch (ph) late afternoon in Los Angeles County, flames there began to threaten with the shifted wind. Firefighters rushed in; the residents rushed out. The good news is firefighters were able to contain it without the loss of any homes.
The Simi Valley fire has not been particularly destructive. Fortunately, only 16 homes have been lost. It could be a lot worse, especially if the winds were to shift once more and, say, push the fire in the direction of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, where over a million people live.
Martin Savidge, CNN, at the Simi Valley fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Now we take you to San Bernardino. Two more people have died there, and tens of thousands have left their homes. As one official put it: pretty much everything has burned.
Here's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The effort here in the mountains above San Bernardino continues to be focused on Lake Arrowhead. That is a community -- a resort community, where thousands of homes are at risk. Firefighters have had some successes here protecting some structures on the ground. They've also been able to attack this fire from the air, and they've been able to set some back fires. They have so far stopped this monster fire from moving into the community of Lake Arrowhead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an incredible save. This is probably one of the best saves I've seen through this whole fire.
BUCKLEY: Meanwhile, investigators have released a composite sketch of a suspect described as a white male in his 20s, seen with one other person in a light gray colored van near the origin of the Old Waterman Canyon Road fire, seen throwing something from the van and then quickly driving away. Because four people have died as a result of the fires in this area, the suspects are wanted not only for arson, but for murder.
Frank Buckley, CNN, San Bernardino County, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: All right, now to San Diego, where firefighters are out-and-out exhausted. They're used to wildfires, but not like this.
Our Jeff Flocks takes us on a tour this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The flames are everywhere. Look at how close we can come up to it.
(voice-over): Covering wildfires, it's sometimes hard to get near the fire line. Not this time. There is just so much of it.
(on camera): We're watching this very carefully to see if these flames will shoot up into this -- into these trees.
(voice-over): The worst fire in San Diego County history and we are literally walking through it with those who know fire best.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fire is going to run uphill.
FLOCK: Nick Rich (ph) has been firefighter, fire chief, fire tanker pilot. Seeing the spectacle through his eyes opens ours to the little details of wildfires -- the animals driven up from the burrows by the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This little guy is alive.
FLOCK: How these firefighters set and use a hose to control this back fire to burn off fuel and save a house. We also learn about so- called killer trees, like this one -- a ground fire burning its roots and then right up through its heart.
(on camera): It's coming up like a chimney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is -- the tree has turned itself into a chimney now.
FLOCK (voice-over): We end our walk through fire with this first up-close look at its effects.
(on camera): Rubber melted and literally turned to ash and has left the steel belts from the radial tires.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
