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CNN Live Sunday
Fires Destroy Homes in Oklahoma City; Second Storm Hitting Northern California; Teenager on a Mission Back from Iraq; President Bush Defense of Domestic Spying Program; Rebirth Celebration in New Orleans
Aired January 01, 2006 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on CNN, a state of emergency. Wildfires are racing across parts of Oklahoma and Texas, as one governor appeals to President Bush for help. Meanwhile, severe weather has been pounding northern California, sparking flash floods and mudslides. And more rain is in the forecast. We're live with the latest.
And a dangerous journey comes to an end for one Florida teen who traveled to Baghdad seeking work as a reporter. These stories and a lot more next on CNN SUNDAY NIGHT.
This is Oklahoma tonight. It is dry, it is warm, and much of the state is on fire. For the better part of a week, relatively few populated areas in the plains have been affected. That's no longer the case. One shift of the wind sent the fires roaring toward Oklahoma City. Many in that state capitol of more than a million are in harm's way.
Good evening, I'm Carol Lin at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Plenty to talk about out in the West and Midwest, and none of it too good tonight.
And all of it involves people getting out of the way of Mother Nature. Monica McNeal is in the CNN Weather Center. She's got what those of you in Texas and Oklahoma do not want to hear. CNN's Kareen Wynter is in flooded California. And Sumi Das near Lake Tahoe. And KWTW reporter Alex Cameron is in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
But first, the view from the top. One on the phone now from Oklahoma City, the governor of Oklahoma, Brad Henry. Governor, you just held a news conference and you make an impassioned plea to people out there. You said that there is a perfect storm for disaster going on out there. Why did you feel the need to warn people that they have to be on their guard still?
BRAD HENRY, GOVERNOR, OKLAHOMA: Well, I -- obviously, we have wildfires that are raging all across the state, not just in Oklahoma City, but in virtually every county of the state. And most of these fires, frankly, are caused through human carelessness. And obviously, we're asking the people to use extreme caution in handling any form of fire or combustible materials and use commonsense.
We have a burn ban in place. And they certainly potentially face criminal charges, but people just need to use commonsense, not throw cigarette butts out of car windows. Don't burn trash outdoors. The conditions, as you've mentioned, are just literally perfect for fires in Oklahoma with high temperatures, low humidity, and high winds.
You're seeing it right now on TV. It's very, very dangerous situation. And we are literally at the mercy of the weather. And we have no appreciable precipitation forecast for the near future.
LIN: Well...
HENRY: So we're going to be fighting these fires for days on end.
LIN: Were you able to talk directly with the president because you did make a call to the White House tonight to ask for emergency - an emergency declaration?
HENRY: I've not had a chance yet to talk directly to President Bush, but his chief of staff Andy Card called me back tonight. And we had a very good discussion. He promised me that they were going to move as quickly as they possibly could to declare a federal emergency declaration. And I really appreciate all the help that we've gotten from the federal government and from President Bush.
You know, we're a strong people here in Oklahoma. And we've faced many challenges. And we're good at overcoming adversity. And we'll overcome this. We'll get through this.
LIN: Well, you're asking for the emergency declaration, but you're already going ahead and spending the money...
HENRY: That's right.
LIN: ...to get crews in?
HENRY: We're not - we're obviously not going to spare any state resources while we wait on federal resources. And we're moving as quickly as we can to get all of the resources necessary to the frontlines, to the firefighters who have done such a fabulous job, you know, you report that homes have been burned. And it's true. We've had a couple hundred homes destroyed, but if you could fly over the devastation and see how many were saved, you would just be amazed.
We're doing a great job, but we're moving as quickly as we can to get the appropriate resources to the frontline, so they can fight these fires as effectively and efficiently as possible.
LIN: All right, Governor Brad Henry, thank you very much. Good luck out there. I know this is a very tough time...
HENRY: Thank you, Carol.
LIN: ...for the people of Oklahoma.
HENRY: Thank you.
LIN: Well, before this fire approached the state capitol, another massive grass fire in Guthrie, Oklahoma ravaged several homes and halted interstate travel on I-35. Alex Cameron from our affiliate KWTW is in Guthrie tonight.
Alex, what's the situation right now?
ALEX CAMERON, KWTW NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, Carol, most of the fires here are contained, although we do still see firefighters zooming back and forth now and again to put out some hot spots. And there are plenty of hot spots still out here. So they will be out here all night making sure that these don't spread.
But it looks like the major damage that could be done has been done. And so, for now, it's just a matter of controlling the hot spots. But we definitely saw several structures burn to the ground today. One of the - right behind me, the homeowner who owned this place, one of the unlucky ones today, as this house went up in flames in about 20 minutes.
Well, he was just across the street trying to help out his brother-in-law. Carol?
LIN: Oh, that is so sad. That's the building that you were telling us about a short time ago. And just a matter of chance...
CAMERON: That's right.
LIN: ...right, that it got his house and not his brother-in- law's?
CAMERON: That - absolutely. I mean, it's, like I said, a lot of the folks, as soon as they see smoke, they get out in their yards with their garden hoses. And they start watering down the yards, putting water on the rooftops, anything that they can do to try and keep the fire from getting to their homes.
And a lot of the people were able to do that successfully today, but the guy who owns this house didn't - went down his yard. Instead, he went down to help out his brothers. So you know, I guess you call that a mistake, helping somebody else before you help yourself.
LIN: Hope it's good karma that comes back to him.
CAMERON: In hindsight, yes, let's hope so for him.
LIN: Now I was just watching a fire burning in Prague. And it looked like firefighters were just approaching a house. And the flames were maybe 30, 50 feet away from that home. How early did the people in Guthrie get the evacuation order?
CAMERON: Well, I think that it came after they were already seeing the smoke. So that the fire had already started. And it was less than a mile from their house. And I was telling you earlier, with the winds sustained at 30 and then gusting to 40 to 50 miles an hour, that can travel very quickly.
So I mean, they certainly got advanced notice. They could have gotten out of here, gotten their cars and drove away, but you know, a lot of the folks say hey, we've seen grass fires before. We know what will happen. They'll just burn up to the house. If we can keep the yard wet, it's not going to burn my house down.
And you know, a lot of the people don't have a lot of trees right around their house. So you know, they're probably just safe - they're probably safe, but in some of the homes where you have these cedar trees and other, you know, oaks and stuff right around your house, that's a recipe for disaster if you don't get out of there, because if the fire gets into those, then there's a real problem.
LIN: Yes. Alex Cameron, thank you so much, KWTV.
All right, well, we must not forget that north central Texas is also on fire. At one point, 60 mile an hour winds fanned a wall of flames outside Lubbock. Lieutenant Mark Ethridge is spokesman for the Lubbock Fire Department. And he's on the telephone with me right now.
Lieutenant, what is the situation right now?
MARK ETHRIDGE, LUBBOCK FIRE DEPT.: Well, things are actually getting a little better here. The winds have died down somewhat. And we've gotten most of the fires out, just looking for those little spot fires.
But things are getting better for the short run anyway.
LIN: Yes. How are the firefighters doing?
ETHRIDGE: Well, vigilant as always. We're always ready. And we just try to stay on top of things and stay as ready as we can.
LIN: You know, because talking to the folks out in Oklahoma right now, I mean, they're fighting fires inside their city. They're fighting fires all around.
They are desperate to get help from other states now. And they're getting fire teams from four different states. Are you getting the help you need?
ETHRIDGE: We have some very good departments around our area. In Lubbock County, in the last - since midnight last night we've had 13 fires that were related to grass and the like. One was the one that you're showing the video of there on - now. Another fire, 250 acres or so a little bit west of town, it's stretching our firefighting resources to the limit even with the good volunteer department that we have around. It's taxing.
LIN: Anybody been hurt or killed in this fire?
ETHRIDGE: We've had no injuries to speak of. You know, a couple of firefighters that do overdo it or get a little too close to the smoke, things like that, but no injuries of consequence at all.
LIN: So lieutenant, what are you expecting for Monday? ETHRIDGE: Well, I was talking with Shane Brown, my regional fire coordinator with the Texas Forest Service a little earlier evening. And he reminded me that you know, even if we get rain in a couple of days, it's really not going to take care of the problem.
As dry as the fuels are, and since this problem is from the lack of rain that we've had over the last several months, this is probably a problem that's going to hang around with us until everything green's up in the spring.
LIN: Boy, Mark, lieutenant, we're not used to seeing fires burning at the beginning of January. I mean, this is such a bizarre sight to see.
ETHRIDGE: It is unusual, but it's been dry everywhere. And things are not going to get better. And our attention is really brought to it in the last couple of days, or the last week or two with the fires in cross plains, in East Texas, and in Oklahoma. But we've got to understand that this is a fire problem that's going to continue on with us. And we've got to be diligent to not spread sparks. Don't throw those cigarettes out and all the problems that are causing fires, because every fire, even though it's a small one, it has the potential of getting the devastation like this and seeing on the news lately.
LIN: It just takes one spark. And this is what you get. Lieutenant Mark Ethridge with the Lubbock Fire Department. Thank you very much.
ETHRIDGE: You're welcome.
LIN: Well, people in the fire zones are desperate for anything hopeful in the weather forecast. So let's see what Monica McNeal has from the CNN Weather Center.
Monica, you're hearing from the folks out of the fire zone, they need some moisture.
MONICA MCNEAL, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know what, I don't have moisture for them, Carol, but we do have some good news certainly looking at the temperature map for you. The temperatures have really cooled down considerably in Amarillo, back down to Lubbock and right around the Big Ben area. And the winds have subsided across parts of Texas.
But unfortunately, in Oklahoma City, the temperature right now is 58, but your winds are still pretty bad. Right now in Oklahoma City, the winds are out of the west at 25, gusting at 31 miles per hour.
So as we get into the latter part of the evening, I believe those winds will start to die down just a little bit, but not enough to help you deal with the terrible, terrible fires that you're going to be dealing with.
Here's another look at the big picture across the state of Texas and across Oklahoma, where the statewide burn ban is in effect for parts of Oklahoma. You can certainly see very little, if any, in the way of cloud cover. Just almost dry.
Oklahoma is a foot behind normal in terms of rainfall. So you certainly do need that rainfall, but looks like you're not going to get anything. Temperatures tomorrow will be warm again. In Oklahoma, you hit 77 degrees today. You hit a record, you broke a record.
Warm air continues to bubble up. And we're still dealing with some very warm temperatures. So that fire danger is an imminent threat again for tomorrow, but the good news is it does shift a little bit farther toward the east.
Tomorrow, it encompasses most of Oklahoma and into parts of Arkansas. So we'll just have to continue to monitor this situation. And we'll let you know what happens, Carol?
LIN: I can't believe I saw 81 degrees for Dallas.
MCNEAL: I know, I know.
LIN: Unbelievable.
MCNEAL: I know, it's the jet stream. And it's just so far north and this warm air has nowhere to go but to surge north. And that's what the problems are.
LIN: Monica, thank you so much. All right, from fire to floods, the West is indeed wild tonight. Rivers running over their banks and homes being toppled by mudslides. A live report from the region next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We're still following the wildfires in Oklahoma and Texas. We're going to be back to that in just a moment, but we want to take you farther west now to California. They have the exact opposite problem, too much water. Rivers are out of their banks. And it's about to get worse.
CNN's Kareen Wynter is in Napa, California. Kareen, what's happening right now?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ...here in downtown Napa for the last four hours. And you won't believe the work that's still going on, even at this hour.
You know, residents spent the day clearing away trash from their storm drenched homes, rubbish like this that you see lining the sidewalks. Well now, the city of Napa has brought out crews that are basically in full force. There are bulldozers, as well as dump trucks really just going in and out of the streets here again really late in the evening, trying to pick up all of this to get a handle on the problem.
What's also problematic, Carol, the rain. Initially, we were told that it would now be a factor, much if the water had receded in problem spots all throughout the day. Well, now we're told that overnight, some of the rivers could actually exceed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): A treasured baby grand piano, one of the few remaining items still standing in Kevin Gershewitz's Marin County home just north of San Francisco.
KEVIN GERSHEWITZ, MARIN COUNTY RESIDENT: Hope to be able to get this out of here.
WYNTER: A powerful mudslide from Saturday's storm toppled the back side of his house. The force left a crack in his son's bedroom wall. This dad, still dazed by the destruction.
GERSHEWITZ: That part of it is awesome and you have to kind of, you know, I mean water is just so powerful, isn't it?
WYNTER: Gershewitz and his seven-year old son Benjamin weren't home at the time, but neighbor Ron Curtley was and said he was frozen in fear.
RON CURTLEY, RESIDENT: I said that if Kevin and his son had been there, he could have never gotten out of the house before it hit.
WYNTER: Why? Why was that?
CURTLEY: Well, it was sudden and fast. The hill came down with the trees. And I would say it was traveling about 35 miles an hour.
WYNTER: Residents in Napa, California were also digging out. The severe flooding turned neighborhoods into disaster zones. Still, Jerry Roach considers himself lucky.
JERRY ROACH, RESIDENT: I'm up 15 feet. I feel bad for my neighbors. Their whole lives are sort of turned upside-down.
WYNTER: The owner of this antique shop says he doesn't know when he'll be back in business. For now, Peter Ross is taking it one day at a time.
PETER ROSS, RESIDENT: Nothing you can do. Can't change it, so got to live with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: And so, officials say while those rivers here in the area could crest overnight, it will be nothing, Carol, like what we saw on Saturday, that they still feel that they have a handle on the situation out here, and that even though the water levels will rise, that it won't exceed that flood threat.
Carol?
LIN: Kareen, the stuff next to you, is that actually stuff that floated out of people's homes? WYNTER: Some of it is. It's really hard to decipher. You can see some of the blankets here. A television set. Well, these are items that people physically just brought out and put on the sidewalk here because they say they have no use for them. The water levels were so high. And so, they've lost so much. And this is just from one home. So it gives you an idea of the impact of all this rain, all this water - Carol?
LIN: Amazing. All right, Kareen Wynter, thank you very much.
Now up to the higher elevations near Lake Tahoe right now. Similar misery along the rampaging Truckee River. CNN's Sumi Das is live there - Sumi?
SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Snow fell for only a few hours here in downtown Truckee today before turning to this rain that you're seeing right now.
But residents and visitors to the Sierra, Nevada aren't out of the woods just yet. Snow is falling at higher elevations. And the National Weather Service predicts that this storm will be intense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAS (voice-over): A week of holiday cheer ended on a down note for many, as a winter storm unleashed snow on the Sierra Nevada. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Sunday afternoon that remains in effect.
Up to a foot of snow is predicted in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Heavier snowfall is expected at higher elevations, up to 24 inches above 7,000 feet.
Some made the best of the weather, taking advantage of the first snow after much rain. Others boarded trains for their journey home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you happy you're not driving?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, very happy I'm not driving.
DAS: And happy to avoid interstate 80, a notoriously slow drive as snow falls, roads become slick, and chains are required.
With possible white out conditions caused by gusting winds, the National Weather Service strongly discouraged traveling during the storm, but the warning was disregarded by many who after celebrating the holidays in the mountains, slowly began the long drive home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAS: Once this current storm passes, the Sierra Nevada will enjoy a respite. The National Weather Service forecasts that quieter weather will bring drier air to the region. That break is likely to last for the remainder of the week - Carol?
LIN: All right, they need a break. Thank you very much, Sumi Das.
Now the storm pounding northern California is the second of two back to back systems. And there's just no drying out just yet. Monica McNeal back at the CNN Weather Center.
Monica, we're keeping you very busy with two completely differently stories.
MCNEAL: You're absolutely right. I mean, we've got some major weather across the nation tonight. And as we take a look at the satellite map to show you what's going on with this California storm, the current storm system is moving through San Francisco and right around the Monterrey Bay area. The storm is kind of split up in two. Bigger part of the storm is lifted off toward the northeast. And the southern part of the storm is really going to hammer parts of Los Angeles County.
There have been wind reports and wind gusts in Los Angeles County, up to 55 miles per hour. So we're factoring a whole lot of rainfall. Take a look at the rain from Santa Maria, down to Santa Barbara, right around the Oxenart area, back into Bakersfield. All of these general areas are seeing some very heavy rainfall.
These periods of heavy rain will last all night into tomorrow. At times, we could see rain coming down an inch, an inch and a half per hour.
We're talking about along the coast and inland, three to five inches of rainfall, Carol. So a lot of rain. And when you factor in the very gusty winds, we could see power lines down. We could see trees down and other headaches. We could certainly see mudslides.
So here's a look at the forecast for you there in Los Angeles on Monday. A high temperature of 63 degrees. Possible plans for the Rose Parade, ah, doesn't look good for them at all. And a high temperature on Tuesday of 63 degrees. So a whole lot of rain.
And even more problems for northern California as well, with more rain for them - Carol?
LIN: Wow, it hasn't rained on the Rose Parade...
MCNEAL: In over 50 years.
LIN: In 50 years.
MCNEAL: Exactly, exactly. It will be the first. And unfortunately, I'm the one forecasting it.
LIN: Oh, dear. All right, Monica, the bearer of good news.
MCNEAL: Yes.
LIN: All right. Well, thank you very much. Well, news around the nation tonight. In Oklahoma, the FAA is trying to figure out why a single engine plane went down. The Cessna Sky Hawk crashed while approaching the Tulsa Airport. Neither person on board was seriously hurt.
In Virginia's Chesapeake Bay, divers searched for at least one person after an SUV went off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Police don't hold much hope out for any survivors.
Some new hope for the Iraqi child known as Baby Noor. An Atlanta hospital official says she is in good condition and should have surgery in about a week. American troops found her in dire need of an operation on her spine and worked to get her to the United States.
A Florida teenager is also back home from a solo trip to Iraq. Farris Hassan landed at Miami International Airport three weeks after traveling to the Middle East without telling his family.
CNN's Christopher King has been following the 16-year old's adventure. And he joins us now with the final chapter. And let's hope that includes, I don't know, a big time out or privileges taken away, as his mother said.
CHRISTOPHER KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a definite loss of privileges, Carol. People are comparing Farris Hassan with Ferris Buehler, who skipped a day of school for an adventure in Chicago. Hassan went all the way to Baghdad without telling his parents he's home in Florida tonight.
His family says they're just glad he's back home in one piece.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Farris Hassan, the 16-year old with a yen for adventure, is back in Florida after traveling to Iraq unbeknownst to this parents. He flew into perhaps the world's most dangerous city, unaware of the perils that could have awaited an uninitiated American teen like himself.
His family says they're planning a happy reunion after a long, tiring and bizarre odyssey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's just tired. He wants to rest.
KING: Did you have a chance to go over what happened and...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not (INAUDIBLE). I just want to make sure he's OK. We're happy he's fine. He's home. He's safe. And that's it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's been through a lot. And his whole family's been through a lot.
KING: The prep school junior is fascinated by war and sympathizes with the plight of Iraqis. He studies journalism in high school and decided he had to go to see the war torn country first hand.
So on December 11th, he embarks on a trip, winding his way through Miami, Amsterdam, and Kuwait. From Kuwait City, Hassan takes a taxi to the Iraqi border on December 13th. But it's closed ahead of elections. So he goes back to Kuwait City, where he finally tells his parents of his plans.
His father encourages his son to fly to Beirut instead, where the boy stays more than a week with family friends. And on Christmas Day, he flies to Baghdad.
The friends in Beirut arrange for a driver to pick him up. And together, he and the driver safely navigate the notoriously dangerous highway from the airport into town.
Hassan checks into the Palestine Hotel, largely populated by Westerners. His parents were born in Iraq, but left for the U.S. decades ago. On first glance, he looks like he could blend in, but then the teen doesn't speak Arabic. And with his sneakers and jeans, he's better suited for the mall than the streets of the war ravaged Iraqi capitol.
On his second day there, Hassan walks into the offices of the Associated Press, stunning the journalists who work there. The AP calls the U.S. Embassy, which makes arrangements to get the boy out of Baghdad, much to the relief of his very worried family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not the anticipation thing. It's just the whole thing is very overwhelming. We just want to go home and relax.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now Heider Hassan says his brother Farris is tired and weak. He says the 16-year old's voice sounds a bit dry, but he's OK. As for any tough talk, Heider says he's just going to be a big brother to Farris. He'll leave the punishment to their parents - Carol?
LIN: I get the feeling there's going to be a follow-up to this story, Christopher. Thank you.
Well, back to business. President Bush returns to Washington as a new report surfaces about his domestic intelligence program.
And starting the new year much like they ended in 2005. An update on the violence in Iraq next.
But we aren't straying far from the breaking news out of Oklahoma City. Next, I'm going to talk with the sheriff of Oklahoma County to see how the evacuations are going.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Taking a look at the headlines tonight and tomorrow. An already waterlogged Northern California is bracing for another storm. Floods and mudslides have damaged or destroyed 1,000 homes.
In Oklahoma and north central Texas, wildfires fueled by high winds have killed four people, scorched tens of thousands of acres, and destroyed dozens of homes. In Iraq, another insurgent onslaught. At least 13 car bombs went off across the country, eight of them in Baghdad. No one was killed in the Baghdad blasts, but 13 people were injured.
An actor who became something of a cult figure for his role as Lou in the movie "Old School" has died. Patrick Cranshaw's agent says he died of natural causes at his Texas home. Cranshaw was 86.
All right, let's go back now to Oklahoma, where fires have forced dozens of people from their homes in northeastern Oklahoma City. Joining me now by phone is Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel.
Sheriff Whetsel, are there evacuations going on right now?
JOHN WHETSEL, SHERIFF, OKLAHOMA COUNTY: Well, most of the evacuees are being allowed to go back in their house. There's still some open grass fire area where the people are being kept out. Probably 15-to-20 homes were evacuated as the fire began.
LIN: Are you talking about the fire that was near Sooner Road?
WHETSEL: Yes, a fire near Sooner Road.
LIN: The one in the city itself.
WHETSEL: Yes. Since midnight, we have been involved in working with 19 fires.
LIN: Nineteen fires? So how many people does that mean, who've been evacuated?
WHETSEL: Well, most of the fires today were in -- in open areas, most of them were -- there were very few homes that were even threatened in most of the fires today. And thank goodness the fire departments were able to put out those fires pretty quickly.
The fire near Sooner Road has been going since about 5:00 Oklahoma time, so they've been working on it close to 4.5 hours, and will continue. There's a lot of hot spots, a lot of -- a lot of small fires that are contained within that area. But they've got it stopped at Sooner Road. It didn't cross Sooner Road, so that fire basically is contained.
LIN: Just to tell folks, the reason why we're talking about the Sooner Road fire is because that was the big neighborhood fire we've been showing you for the last three hours, that was about 10 miles from downtown Oklahoma City.
Sheriff Whetsel, were you surprised that these grass fires started spreading into the city?
WHETSEL: Well, not really, given the conditions that we've been facing. We've put, you know, Tuesday is another bad day for us, by what the weathermen had to say. We're putting additional personnel on the streets on those days. We have our command post on standby. We have prisoner transport buses in order to evacuate people on standby. And with the weather, the dry conditions, this was kind of an open area that had houses in it, but it is more of a rural house area.
LIN: You probably heard the news conference by the governor of Oklahoma. He made a very specific special appeal to people to not be careless, to not throw those cigarette butts out the car window, or to strike a match and throw it on the ground, because the situation is so tinder dry and dangerous there. What's the penalty if you find somebody doing that?
WHETSEL: Well, the penalty can be -- of course, it depends upon what the damage is. It could be either a misdemeanor crime, or it can be a felony crime. And that can carry from three to five years in prison.
It also depends upon if there's any injuries involved with it.
LIN: So in general, are people cooperating, do you think?
WHETSEL: In general, I think they are. We had one of the fires this morning that was set by -- there was a young boy outside, father was inside, the young boy was outside playing with matches.
LIN: Oh, good grief! That's a parent's worst nightmare!
WHETSEL: That is a parent's worst nightmare. Our deputy happened to drive up on the fire just as it began. We got fire crews out there and put it out in just a short amount of time, but it's just kind of, you know, people not thinking about what their kids are doing outside. That could have been -- that could have been a disastrous fire.
LIN: It could have been, especially in the conditions that are -- that exist in Oklahoma right now.
Sheriff John Whetsel, good luck. I know it's going to be a pretty tough week.
WHETSEL: It is, and you know, we just -- well, we hope and pray for the best.
LIN: As do we. Sheriff John Whetsel, thank you, Oklahoma County.
WHETSEL: Thank you.
LIN: Well, in the meantime, President Bush starts the new year on the defensive, continuing to justify secret domestic surveillance. Elaine Quijano has more on why the president believes it protects the U.S., even as new revelations come to light.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh off a week at his Crawford ranch, President Bush began the new year visiting privately in San Antonio with 51 wounded U.S. troops, and awarding nine Purple Hearts.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can't think of a better way to start 2006 than here at this fantastic hospital.
QUIJANO: Afterwards, the president reprised his staunch defense of the secret domestic surveillance program he authorized after 9/11. Mr. Bush reiterated his argument that the use of the program is legal and necessary.
BUSH: If somebody from al Qaeda's calling you, we'd like to know why. In the meantime, this program is conscious of people's civil liberties, as am I. This is a limited program, designed to prevent attacks on the United States of America -- and I repeat, limited.
QUIJANO: Limited, the White House says, to international communications to and from the United States. But critics say the use of electronic surveillance on Americans without a court-issued warrant threatens privacy rights and civil liberties.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, plans to hold hearings on the issue. And a Democratic committee member says he wants to hear a full discussion about the administration's actions.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I hope the White House won't hide behind saying, oh, executive privilege, we can't discuss this. That's the wrong attitude. A discussion, perhaps a change in the law, those are all legitimate.
QUIJANO (on camera): President Bush says the disclosure of the classified program's existence has hurt national security. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into how information about the program was leaked to the media.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: In news around the world now, Russia's natural gas monopoly began cutting off supplies to Ukraine today. Ukrainian officials balked at hikes that quadrupled prices. Many in Western Europe worry that a dispute could disrupt their natural gas supply.
And several European hostages regained their freedom in Yemen. A former German diplomat and his family returned to Germany, and three Italian women kidnapped today have been freed. But tribesmen continue to hold two Italian men hostage.
A somber message from Pope Benedict, as Roman Catholics observe their world day of peace. He urges people and governments to fight terrorism and fanatic fundamentalism.
All right, we are in breaking news coverage tonight on the fires in Oklahoma City and in Texas. We are going to have much more on the situation on the ground as fires are still burning tonight.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. BRAD HENRY, OKLAHOMA: To all those who have been affected by the fires, to the firefighters and first responders on the frontlines who have done such a great job, I make this pledge to you: We will provide every form of assistance available. I'm asking President Bush to expedite approval of a federal emergency declaration. We are currently in contact with the White House. I talked with Congressman Cole and others in the congressional delegation, and we're asking the president to expedite that process.
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LIN: That was Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma, and I spoke with him a short time ago on the telephone, and he says that when he called the White House, he wasn't able to speak directly with the president, but he did speak with the president's chief of staff, Andrew Card, who gave him some assurances that Oklahoma would get the help it needs to fight fires in 24 different counties.
You're looking at videotape of the fires still brining in Oklahoma right now. In fact, those grass fires which have been burning for the last week actually made their way into the city proper, burning down houses in an Oklahoma City neighborhood, just 10 miles from downtown Oklahoma City.
Talking with a lot of these different crews around the area who have been covering the fire. They've been describing how quickly these flames have moved, how people have had to evacuate their homes at the very last second. And even people who stayed behind to save their homes ended up losing their homes.
Rob Hedrick, Rob Hedrick on the telephone with me right now, with affiliate -- he's a photographer at KOCO. Rob, forgive me, this information just coming in to my ear right now. Can you tell me where you are?
ROB HEDRICK, KOCO PHOTOGRAPHER: I'm at Penn and Memorial, which is a major intersection here in Oklahoma City. Earlier this afternoon, we had a major brushfire that happened just right here in the city, caused lots of -- it burned quite a bit of brush off to the south of this major intersection.
The fire department got out here, responded real, real fast, got the fire contained. And I don't know if you can see my picture here...
LIN: Right, I just want to explain to our viewers, on the left side of our screen, that's Rob's shot. He's holding his camera, and he's giving us a tour of this neighborhood where he's been covering this fire story. Go ahead, Rob.
HEDRICK: The fire was over here. It's a little dark, can't see it very well, but the fire was over here in this brush, came along this road, hopped this highway right here, which is Pennsylvania Avenue, came very close to this restaurant right here. And firefighters stopped it right here. You can see the line right there where... LIN: That was a close call. A close call. What did that look like when the flames were burning? I mean, was it a pretty bad situation?
HEDRICK: It was amazing to see how quickly the firefighters responded, how quickly they got the fire out. And like you said, that was a close call. I mean, we're talking, you know, inches from burning this building right here. And the fire department came out, responded, got it out.
They actually had the lawn sprinklers on, trying to assist and help to put the fire out.
LIN: Well, that might have helped. Absolutely, that might have helped. I mean, try anything you can.
HEDRICK: Absolutely.
LIN: And you wonder, you know, you think that a bed of concrete like that parking lot would protect the building from a grass fire?
HEDRICK: Well, it did a good job of keeping it out, but you know, those embers, with the winds we've had that have been so intense, 40 mile-an-hour winds, that will push a small ember hundreds and hundreds of yards. And if that ember hits this grass and dry vegetation that we have right here, it will just rekindle instantly.
LIN: Rob, I don't know if you're in a position to show us, but we keep hearing how dry it is out there, and the emergency management folks were describing it if you were to pick up some grass, it would just crumple in your hand it's so dry. It would just turn to dust.
HEDRICK: Oh, absolutely. I can show you here, if you see the grass below my feet, it just -- it crumbles as I move my foot across the grass. And the burned grass over here shows -- I mean, like the governor of Texas said, this place is a tinderbox ready to go up. It takes nothing short of a spark, and it will cause a huge grassfire. I mean, this burned 50 acres here in Oklahoma City proper, which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I don't know how well this is going to show up, but there's an apartment building right there.
LIN: Uh-huh.
HEDRICK: And that's the burned grass right there.
LIN: Wow.
HEDRICK: So...
LIN: Were those people evacuated? Because it looks like there are some lights on.
HEDRICK: No, they were evacuated earlier. The fire was actually pushing north, but the fire department took precautions. And a big problem we're having today and still continue to have is people coming out to watch these grass fires, and just getting in the way of rescue efforts, in the way of people -- in the way of people trying to stop these fires, and we just need to keep people home. Don't come out and look at these.
LIN: Right, right, oh, yes. The Oklahoma City Fire Department was complaining about that, saying, you don't need to be -- if you don't have business out there, you don't need to be out there, because people are trying to evacuate, firefighters are trying to get in, and they have no idea -- they can't predict where the fire is going to go next.
HEDRICK: Right. And the problem is, like we said, with the wind blowing at 40 miles an hour, I mean, that's -- that will hold a flag out straight, so that's kind of an indication of how strong that amount of wind is. It can carry an ember half a mile away and start another grass fire.
LIN: Right. Now, it looks fine out there now. It doesn't look windy.
HEDRICK: It's a little bit windy. I'll show you on the tree. It's probably -- it's probably 10 miles an hour, maybe gusts to 20 at times, and thank goodness for (INAUDIBLE), because we were out here earlier, and we had winds gusting 40, and it just drives those fires as fast as -- I mean, that's 40 miles an hour, that's a city street. That's how fast you're driving there.
LIN: Yes, and you had a grass fire burning between an apartment building and a restaurant.
HEDRICK: Right, and driving it faster than firefighters could respond and get it, and -- but they did a fantastic job. The Oklahoma City Fire Department has been on top of this. We've been anticipating it. They got out here quickly. They got it extinguished, and moved on to the next one.
LIN: Those guys must be exhausted.
HEDRICK: Oh, I can't even imagine. I, you know, covering fires is exhausting enough. I can't imagine actually having to extinguish the fire also.
LIN: Yeah. And what an odd picture that you're showing us here. I mean, it looks like a combination of fire and ice. That grass looks so dry, it looks like snow.
HEDRICK: It does. It does give -- it gives kind of the false sense of it may be moist enough that it's not going to cause a fire, but something as simple as a hot catalytic converter on a vehicle, an exhaust pipe on a vehicle can just -- I mean, you can see kind of what can happen here.
LIN: Well, Rob, thanks very much for showing us the pictures. You gave a sense of reality to the dry situation out there, and how close these flames have come to businesses and to homes. Rob Hedrick, photographer with KOCO, holding the camera there, giving you a live picture of that black area there, where that fire burned right up to the road, practically up to the restaurant and the apartment complex across the way.
All right, we're talking about dry. Monica, you and I were talking about how stuff could just snap in your fingers like matchsticks, and Rob gave us a pretty good demonstration of that.
MCNEAL: He sure did, and to chime in on something that he said about running cars, that's a thing you don't want to have. You don't want to have running cars around this extremely dry vegetation, because like he said, it could just spark. It could ignite. So that's why, folks, if you don't have to be out, stay at home.
Let's take a look at some of these temperatures, because the temperature has been one of the biggest ingredients in creating the problems that we've had today. Right now, the temperature in Oklahoma is 58 degrees, but the winds are still quite gusty. Winds are still gusting at about 30 miles per hour. We are expecting the gusty winds to taper off just a little bit later on tonight as we get into the early part of the morning.
A lot of the winds have tremendously subsided across the panhandle of Texas and across parts of the Big Ben (ph) area, so certainly some good news with the cooler temperatures (INAUDIBLE), Carol.
LIN: Yeah, they need some rest out there. They need some...
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LIN: They need rain, but they obviously are not going to get that for a while, Monica.
MCNEAL: Right.
LIN: Boy, oh, boy, those brave firefighters out there working so hard tonight. Thanks very much.
We have much more continuing coverage of the fires burning across Texas and Oklahoma City and a whole lot more. Stay right there.
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LIN: We have seen so much damage done to the Gulf Coast this year, and that includes damage to New Orleans' musical heritage. In this story that you will only see on CNN, our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen looks at the effort to find the keys to recovery.
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SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Mary Ann Bulla finally got into her flooded home in New Orleans, the thing she most wanted to find out was what happened to her pianos? She had not one but two Steinways.
MARY ANN BULLA, ORCHESTRA PIANIST: I just couldn't believe my eyes. They looked like two -- the first thing I thought was two wounded big animals, like two pachyderms or something, with their arms up in the air, like help me, you know, and I couldn't help them, you know.
ROESGEN: Bulla is the pianist for the Louisiana Philharmonic. She took pictures of her two crippled Steinways, but the worst thing was watching the garbage crew haul them away.
BULLA: They lifted them up in the air and let them go, and they went down in this iron dumpster, and the sound was amazing. It was this huge echoy boing, like that, you know?
ROESGEN: Who knows how many pianos wound up like hers, chopped up in a pile beside the curb. But now hundreds of damaged pianos are in need of repair.
Stacked end to end in storage, these are pianos rescued from the flood. They're high-end instruments, worth $50,000 or more each. The average cost of repair: $15,000.
STEVE KINCHEN, HALL PIANO COMPANY: There are pianos here that we will probably rebuild against our better judgment, because the costs associated with the rebuilding related to the value of the piano after the rebuilding -- it wouldn't make economical sense.
ROESGEN: A wooden instrument is no match for high water. Wood and felt and glue -- that's about all there is to a piano. But putting those parts back together requires a master craftsman. It takes two years to learn how to repair a piano. That's a hard sell when there's a lot more money to be made in New Orleans ripping out sheet rock. Piano repairmen are in short supply.
Since Hall Piano Company has just four trained repairmen, getting a piano fixed could take up to a year. Repair wasn't possible for Mary Ann Bulla's Steinways, but she did manage to save something.
BULLA: These were two of the post -- of the pedals. Of the older one, the 1903.
ROESGEN: She also pulled a few of the keys out of the trash heap, just enough to make a couple of octaves, something she says she'll put under glass maybe and hang on the wall -- a reminder of how the hurricane silenced the music.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Another sign of the efforts to bring New Orleans back.
This one was in the shadow of the hurricane -- of the hurricane- damaged Superdome downtown. Organizers say it was to celebrate the enduring strength of the people dedicated to the rebirth of Louisiana.
Nice to have some good news on a night of breaking news, as we continue to follow those fires in Oklahoma City. The fires that we've been covering for the last week reached the city center, a neighborhood on fire close to downtown Oklahoma City, and fires across Texas. It is a dry, dry and dangerous situation, with the governor of Oklahoma pleading with the public to be ever so careful. The danger is just in the wind. One spark, and another fire would be on its way.
We're going to have the latest weather conditions for you up next. We'll be right back.
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LIN: Fires are still burning in Oklahoma City, and the governor of the Oklahoma is asking the White House to declare the state, a state of emergency. More help on the way from four different states, as fires continue to burn in Oklahoma, and especially tonight in the city of Oklahoma City.
I'm Carol Lin. Up next, a check of the headlines, and then "CNN PRESENTS: Voices From the Tsunami."
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