Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Deadly California Mudslides

Aired December 26, 2003 - 11:03   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Chip Patterson, who is a PIO with San Bernardino County, I know he's there with you. He just came and saw firsthand exactly what this canyon looks like, now that the rain has washed away, the mud has settled.
And, Chip, if you're hooked up now, you can give me an idea of exactly what we're able to see. We're looking at some of these boulders that the fire marshal described earlier, some Volkswagen- sized boulders that just seemed to wash down the hillside -- Chip.

CHIP PATTERSON, SAN BERNARDINO CO. SHERIFF: Very impressive, a lot of damage. We saw what you saw up close, although I didn't go into the whole debris field, but a lot of big rocks, a lot of mud, trees. We saw actually a piece of k-rail, the guardrail, concrete guardrail from a highway, that somehow washed down there, sticking out of the debris, and it's a big area that's been covered by this stuff.

WHITFIELD: And just looking at these pictures, it's evident that it just all happened so fast. People, once they were able to realize what was getting ready to happen, some of those folks who were in that mountainside certainly just couldn't get away.

PATTERSON: I would imagine that very few of these people had a chance. I understand we did find a couple victims that are dead just recently, just before we came on with you, and we have a lot of personnel in that area looking. We have search dogs. We just unloaded a whole truckload of search dogs that are going to go through that area.

But you're right, I would imagine there's very little chance for those people. That canyon, as you can see, is very narrow. And if the water came down all at once, there's no vegetation from the recent fires that we had; there's nothing to hold that water back.

WHITFIELD: And give me your best assessment. Did no one seem to realize that there was a pretty good propensity that something like this could happen, given the fact that so much vegetation had been destroyed from the fires? And if so, why were there so many people, in this case, who were even subjected to this area, living in that this area, camping in this area?

PATTERSON: It's a very good question. We have been talking about that possibility. In fact, it's been widely publicized ever since the fires came through, that there was extreme danger from flooding, flash floods included. The county has been putting hydroseed on the hillsides in an attempt to grow grass quickly, and get the vegetation to come back. But the problem is that rain came so fast and so hard. I don't think anyone can predict that. That's the whole problem.

WHITFIELD: Yes, the focus now, of course, for rescue, and the continued search. How are teams able to get into these areas that we're looking via aerials right now? Obviously a lot of these roads impassable. What's the most realistic route in which many of the search teams are able to take?

PATTERSON: It's all being done on foot. There's no other way to do it. We have a lot of -- many personnel, as your reporter mentioned. We have dozens of people, many dogs being used, and the only way is to really go in there and look under rocks, and in the mud and try to find somebody alive. That's what our main purpose right now, is to see if there's any survivors.

WHITFIELD: What size area are we talking about that has to be traversed via foot?

PATTERSON: Well, it's probably at least a quarter mile long, and -- or maybe more. I couldn't even see the end of it really. It's -- and of course, that canyon is filled with rock and mud, and at different parts of it, you don't know how deep it is.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and obviously, with any kind of rescue helicopters, the ground too unstable for any of them to land, I understand. There's quicksand in some areas, and in some cases just several feet deep of debris, of logs, of mud, period, right?

PATTERSON: The road has been undercut in a lot of places. There's a gas leak. We saw about a four, five-inch gas line just shooting gas into the air right now. You have problems like that that crop up in these type of things. The biggest fear is that we have more rain. If we have more rain, we're going to be in big trouble, not only in this location, but in other parts of the county. The wet ground's already saturated, and if we have another rain coming in, we're going to be in big trouble.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chip Patterson, PIO of San Bernardino County, thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

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 December 26, 2003 - 11:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Chip Patterson, who is a PIO with San Bernardino County, I know he's there with you. He just came and saw firsthand exactly what this canyon looks like, now that the rain has washed away, the mud has settled.
And, Chip, if you're hooked up now, you can give me an idea of exactly what we're able to see. We're looking at some of these boulders that the fire marshal described earlier, some Volkswagen- sized boulders that just seemed to wash down the hillside -- Chip.

CHIP PATTERSON, SAN BERNARDINO CO. SHERIFF: Very impressive, a lot of damage. We saw what you saw up close, although I didn't go into the whole debris field, but a lot of big rocks, a lot of mud, trees. We saw actually a piece of k-rail, the guardrail, concrete guardrail from a highway, that somehow washed down there, sticking out of the debris, and it's a big area that's been covered by this stuff.

WHITFIELD: And just looking at these pictures, it's evident that it just all happened so fast. People, once they were able to realize what was getting ready to happen, some of those folks who were in that mountainside certainly just couldn't get away.

PATTERSON: I would imagine that very few of these people had a chance. I understand we did find a couple victims that are dead just recently, just before we came on with you, and we have a lot of personnel in that area looking. We have search dogs. We just unloaded a whole truckload of search dogs that are going to go through that area.

But you're right, I would imagine there's very little chance for those people. That canyon, as you can see, is very narrow. And if the water came down all at once, there's no vegetation from the recent fires that we had; there's nothing to hold that water back.

WHITFIELD: And give me your best assessment. Did no one seem to realize that there was a pretty good propensity that something like this could happen, given the fact that so much vegetation had been destroyed from the fires? And if so, why were there so many people, in this case, who were even subjected to this area, living in that this area, camping in this area?

PATTERSON: It's a very good question. We have been talking about that possibility. In fact, it's been widely publicized ever since the fires came through, that there was extreme danger from flooding, flash floods included. The county has been putting hydroseed on the hillsides in an attempt to grow grass quickly, and get the vegetation to come back. But the problem is that rain came so fast and so hard. I don't think anyone can predict that. That's the whole problem.

WHITFIELD: Yes, the focus now, of course, for rescue, and the continued search. How are teams able to get into these areas that we're looking via aerials right now? Obviously a lot of these roads impassable. What's the most realistic route in which many of the search teams are able to take?

PATTERSON: It's all being done on foot. There's no other way to do it. We have a lot of -- many personnel, as your reporter mentioned. We have dozens of people, many dogs being used, and the only way is to really go in there and look under rocks, and in the mud and try to find somebody alive. That's what our main purpose right now, is to see if there's any survivors.

WHITFIELD: What size area are we talking about that has to be traversed via foot?

PATTERSON: Well, it's probably at least a quarter mile long, and -- or maybe more. I couldn't even see the end of it really. It's -- and of course, that canyon is filled with rock and mud, and at different parts of it, you don't know how deep it is.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and obviously, with any kind of rescue helicopters, the ground too unstable for any of them to land, I understand. There's quicksand in some areas, and in some cases just several feet deep of debris, of logs, of mud, period, right?

PATTERSON: The road has been undercut in a lot of places. There's a gas leak. We saw about a four, five-inch gas line just shooting gas into the air right now. You have problems like that that crop up in these type of things. The biggest fear is that we have more rain. If we have more rain, we're going to be in big trouble, not only in this location, but in other parts of the county. The wet ground's already saturated, and if we have another rain coming in, we're going to be in big trouble.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chip Patterson, PIO of San Bernardino County, thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com