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CNN Live At Daybreak
California Fires Nearly Contained
Aired November 03, 2003 - 06:08 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: Just some great news out of California this morning. Firefighters are heading home because they have managed to get the upper hand. The fire is now nearly contained.
Let's go live to Crest, California, and Adrian Baschuk.
Where exactly is Crest, California?
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, Crest is just east of San Diego. It's a town where over 200 homes have been destroyed.
You know, standing in this rubble, where you can see a bed and what remains of a bike and a fireplace standing behind me, you have to ask yourself: How can residents rebuild? You can see just across the street where the local church has set up a shelter, where residents can get a hot meal and some clothes.
President Bush is expected to tour San Diego County tomorrow to see this firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASCHUK (voice-over): Southern California finally got its big break this weekend. In San Bernardino County, the Old Fire is 72- percent contained. One hundred miles south in San Diego County, the Cedar Fire, the largest in state history, is 98-percent contained. And in Simi Valley, the fires are 100-percent contained.
Volunteer firefighter David Southcott, who lost his home fighting the Cedar blaze, can now reflect.
DAVID SOUTHCOTT, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER: I'd rather have my dad's house standing and my friend's house standing than having my own, even though it hurts.
BASCHUK: The weekend's weather let up, giving firefighters a break; 3,000 were called off the lines Sunday after working 16-hour shifts since October 21. But thousands more residents in shelters, like expectant mom Christina Cardenas (ph), now have nowhere to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to be too upset, because the baby will feel it. I don't want my kid (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know.
BASCHUK: The owners of 3,400 homes destroyed statewide will get huge tax breaks. Property assessors say they will revalue taxes, and rates will not rise if homeowners rebuild.
Meanwhile, amidst the destruction, tiny moments of joy. Lori Maville (ph) found her wedding ring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Man, it's a miracle that it didn't fall out of there or anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't in a box. It was just in there. It was just -- I just grabbed a shovel and there it was!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASCHUK: Now, Southern California is not out of the woods just yet. Snow and rain fell in parts over the weekend, and more is forecast during the week. Governor Davis now turns his concerns to mudslides, fearing that barren mountainsides could be a target -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Adrian Baschuk reporting live from Crest, California, near San Diego this morning.
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 November 3, 2003 - 06:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just some great news out of California this morning. Firefighters are heading home because they have managed to get the upper hand. The fire is now nearly contained.
Let's go live to Crest, California, and Adrian Baschuk.
Where exactly is Crest, California?
ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, Crest is just east of San Diego. It's a town where over 200 homes have been destroyed.
You know, standing in this rubble, where you can see a bed and what remains of a bike and a fireplace standing behind me, you have to ask yourself: How can residents rebuild? You can see just across the street where the local church has set up a shelter, where residents can get a hot meal and some clothes.
President Bush is expected to tour San Diego County tomorrow to see this firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASCHUK (voice-over): Southern California finally got its big break this weekend. In San Bernardino County, the Old Fire is 72- percent contained. One hundred miles south in San Diego County, the Cedar Fire, the largest in state history, is 98-percent contained. And in Simi Valley, the fires are 100-percent contained.
Volunteer firefighter David Southcott, who lost his home fighting the Cedar blaze, can now reflect.
DAVID SOUTHCOTT, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER: I'd rather have my dad's house standing and my friend's house standing than having my own, even though it hurts.
BASCHUK: The weekend's weather let up, giving firefighters a break; 3,000 were called off the lines Sunday after working 16-hour shifts since October 21. But thousands more residents in shelters, like expectant mom Christina Cardenas (ph), now have nowhere to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to be too upset, because the baby will feel it. I don't want my kid (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know.
BASCHUK: The owners of 3,400 homes destroyed statewide will get huge tax breaks. Property assessors say they will revalue taxes, and rates will not rise if homeowners rebuild.
Meanwhile, amidst the destruction, tiny moments of joy. Lori Maville (ph) found her wedding ring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Man, it's a miracle that it didn't fall out of there or anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't in a box. It was just in there. It was just -- I just grabbed a shovel and there it was!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASCHUK: Now, Southern California is not out of the woods just yet. Snow and rain fell in parts over the weekend, and more is forecast during the week. Governor Davis now turns his concerns to mudslides, fearing that barren mountainsides could be a target -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Adrian Baschuk reporting live from Crest, California, near San Diego this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
