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Malibu Fires Continue to Rage

Aired October 21, 2007 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Emotions running high as flames burn out of control today. Dangerous wind-driven fires burning in Southern California's Malibu Hills. More than 1,200 acres in flames. A landmark castle, a church, several homes and two dozen buildings damaged or destroyed by wildfires. Hundreds more are at risk, including places that celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Dick van Dyke and Olivia Newton-John call home. Pepperdine University is also threatened and winds are becoming rougher. Erratic gusts are spreading burning embers, charring everything in sight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just said it came so fast that he couldn't -- there was no stopping. Couldn't get the cars out. Really couldn't do anything about it. So it didn't surprise him this church went down so fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And hello, everyone, I'm Tony Harris, welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get right to the scene. Now, Vince Gonzales is in Malibu with the shifting winds and smoke. Vince, good to see you. About an hour since you talked to Fred. Give us the very latest by describing, if you would, the scene around you.

VINCE GONZALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a very different scene. An hour ago the sky was black, you could hardly see the sun. Now we've got a little bit of blue sky, we've got air tankers up, we've got crews in the area hitting every hot spot they can find. If you can head up we can just see that air tanker passing above Malibu heading to the main body of the fire. They've been able to get up a lot over the last few hours all right winds now have almost completely disappeared.

We get a few gusts every now and then, a breeze, some smoke blows in your face. But for the most part the winds have died down. This burning hillside here just on the other side of the Pacific Coast Highway, about 100 yards or so from the Pacific Ocean, is actually the leading edge of the fire and it is quite frankly not doing very much at the moment.

They've gotten a real break because these winds have really died down. The danger is that later on, these hillsides could spark back up again when the winds pick back up. And we have noticed them letting these hillsides burn because it creates a natural fire break. So if the Santa Anas kick back up, if the main body of that fire up there in the canyon gets big again, it's not necessarily going to come down to this area. Because it will have nothing to burn.

Now, just south of where we are, just south of this hillside where we're showing you a second ago, is the main part of Malibu. Has helicopters flying overhead, and what they're trying to do is keep a watch, drop water right on any spot fires. Because the most populated portion of Malibu, the part that everybody thinks of when they think of Malibu and Hollywood, so far has for the most part escaped any damage. There was one house burned by the water not far from here. But the fear that is the fire gets in that area, where there's a lot of homes, a lot of dry blush, and then the problem becomes those homes burn and there's really nothing to stop this fire except the Pacific Ocean.

HARRIS: And Vince, if you would, talk about Pepperdine University. That beautiful university on a hill there. Is that university threatened at all at this point?

GONZALES: Not really. Helicopters like this were hitting the areas all around me. There goes a water drop right there. All around the university since we've been out here this morning. As soon as the winds let up, hitting those hot spots. And what that's resulted in is around Pepperdine there's very little fire activity that we saw when we were recently over there.

Students have been told to stay off campus, if they evacuated, to stay in the special buildings they were put in by administrators if they didn't leave campus. But as of right now Pepperdine seems to be out of danger. Again, these Santa Ana winds kick up at dusk. That could change the whole situation.

Pepperdine actually was not in the main path of the fire. What endangered that were embers kicked up by this fire. The winds were pushing them a mile or so out. Hitting homes, cars, everything in their path and setting them on fire.

HARRIS: And at least at this point, the firefighters are getting a bit of a break because the winds have died down. That sounds like -- well that is the best news right now. Vince Gonzales for us in Malibu, Vince, appreciate it. Thank you.

Los Angeles County Fire is battling this wildfire right now. Captain Henry Rodriguez is on the phone with us. Good to talk to you again. If you would, talk to us about this break that you're getting now in the conditions that Vince just described. The winds are settling down just a bit for you.

CAPTAIN HENRY RODRIGUEZ, L.A. FIRE: Yeah, that's definitely favorable for us, something that we always anticipate, hope that that will help us out. When the winds die down, we're able to become a lot more aggressive on the fires, especially with ground crews, battling the wind, the embers, the heat and all that affecting them. It makes them favorable for ground crews to get in there and start cutting line and create a perimeter around that fire.

HARRIS: Well, you're getting a bit of a break now. But take us back a couple of hours when the winds were really kicking up. And I understand it made it very difficult for those tanker planes trying to do drops over those flames. Pretty risky at times.

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. When you have a powerful wind like that, you've got aircraft, you know. One of the things they're trying to do is make that water drop very effective. And to do that they have to pinpoint or find a location and do it and try to get lower to the ground so they can make that drop and make that water effective. So then that definitely puts our aircraft at risk, being closer to the surface.

HARRIS: So, captain, if you would, talk to us how you can take best advantage of this break you're getting now. What do you do now with this window of opportunity?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, this is where we start getting very aggressive. We're going to continue using our aircraft to hit the hot spots. Listen to reports. Getting spot fires that jump out of our line that we're trying to set up. Get the helicopters on those spot fires immediately so that they do not grow. So work hard with the aircraft, continue the ground crews that we have on there, trying to get line around there. You know. By far are we even close to getting a good handle. Things are starting to look good. But we do not want to let our guard down. Because that's when things get worse.

HARRIS: But even now, you're still getting slight gusts and that has to make you very concerned about those flying embers. Talk to us about those embers, how they get caught up in these smoke columns. And they can be carried who knows where.

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, absolutely. That's one of the things that we always see in a wind-driven fire is when you get embers caught up in that smoke column. I was listening to reports earlier we're getting spot fires half, three-quarters of a mile in front of the fire. So we have that situation you know that you have something very dynamic. And that's when, you know, we've really got to work really hard.

So right now, they're dying down all right things we have to worry about if we get a wind shift, if we get onshore and reverse the path of the fire, we have to worry about stuff that's already burned. And if we get some embers picked up from there, could they start another fire in the opposite direction. So there's still a lot of work to be done.

HARRIS: Captain, we appreciate your information, thanks for taking the time. We know you're very busy right now. Captain Henry Rodriguez on the phone with us. Captain, thanks again. Shelters have been open for evacuated residents. Cary Van Ausdall with the American Red Cross is on the phone. Good to talk to you. Talk about the shelter operation that is going on right now.

CARY VAN AUSDALL, AMERICAN RED CROSS (on phone): Well, a lot of this is put in place in case it gets way out of control. And you know we have evening approaching in a couple of hours. That's a whole different dynamic situation. Wind directions could shift. And the whole strategy gets a little more scarier for residents. So we've located shelters at Pacific Palisades High School and Glory Hills High School. And we have other areas identified in case we need to do that as well.

HARRIS: So we're talking about in case right new. We're not talking about a situation where folks are being evacuated and need the help of your shelters. You've just opened these up just in case things take a turn for the worse and folks need a place to stay tonight.

VAN AUSDALL: There were some spot evacuations that were voluntary. And the first area to go to was literally Zuma Beach (ph), an area close to Malibu here. These more permanent shelters were taking into consideration, nighttime, temperature changes, and in case the fire escalated larger. But right now at this very moment, things look a little calmer than they were earlier today.

HARRIS: So you're ready.

VAN AUSDALL: Yes, ready, and you could never plan it enough. Because we've seen this where it looks like it lays down a little bit. And then everything breaks loose. And really nighttime is no time to be moving a lot of resources. You want it pre-positioned and ready to go. Because that makes it very unsafe as firemen and women need to be on the roads, not the Red Cross, we need to be in place.

HARRIS: That seems to be the terminology since Katrina, preposition the assets. Cary Van Ausdall with the American Red Cross. Cary, thanks for your time, appreciate it.

VAN AUSDALL: Thank you, sir.

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. A fire near San Diego has turned deadly. At least one person was killed at a 2,500 acre fire. About 40 miles south of the city. Eight people suffered burns and were taken to the hospital, including four firefighters.

At least one structure, we understand, has gone up in flames and as many as 100 homes are threatened. So let's try to drill down on this wildfire a bit more. Bonnie Schneider and Josh Levs are in the severe weather center. And Josh, I know you've been busy with I- Reports for us. Bonnie, I'm sure you can give us the latest on conditions.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Looks like the wind threat will continue straight through Tuesday, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And what we're hearing is that a lot of people are very concerned. And keep in mind, Tony, as you've been saying as well, it's not just people in the immediate path but these winds are carrying embers which means if you're in that entire area you could be in trouble. We have some astounding photos. You won't believe this. I'm going to show you in a minute. But first, Bonnie's going to talk us through where this is so we can get this in our minds.

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. Well, the wind threat will continue straight through Tuesday. And not only seeing embers spread about due to strong winds, but we're also seeing sand and dust. So this is going to be a problem for those of you planning to do driving in the area. Visibility will be hindered. Let's take a look at the winds right now.

They have died down because it's during the afternoon. And at that time of day we tend to see high pressure that's over the Great Basin weaken just a little bit. But don't get used to it because later tonight we're expecting winds to pick up once again due to that strong ridge of high pressure in the Great Basin, low pressure along the California coast, so the warm, hot dry winds come down the mountains and they heat up as they come down.

So what's happening is air is heating the vegetation that's around from the drought that California's been experiencing.

So these dry, tender areas of vegetation that ignite quickly, the forecast calls for this situation unfortunately to get worse once again tomorrow. And maybe improve as we go towards Tuesday. And taking a look at Google Earth now as Josh Levs joins me, you can see this is the fire area we've been speaking of in Malibu.

And we've also been talking about Pepperdine as well. But our next I-Report you're going to tell us about comes to us from 25 miles to the north. And that's over here in Oxnard Shores.

LEVS: Oxnard shores, you're not going to believe these photos. Look at these amazing views from I-Report. We're going to take you to the scene. Look at this, this right here was taken by Jeffrey Dilborne. This is a photo that brings us basically right to the scene. Now as we go through this, take you through more of these. We actually have these from Jeffrey.

Hilal Helweh, this is the one who was back over at Oxnard Shores. Let's go on if we can with the Jeffrey Dilborne pictures. This man is a digital photographer. He is an expert at taking these photos. He is at Pepperdine University, which is as we've been told one of the places where people have been able to see a great deal today. I think we have more pictures from him. He is right there, showing the firefighters arriving on the scene, showing what they were doing as they arrive.

And there's one more picture here you've got to see, it's absolutely - look at that. Look at that picture. This shows what it's like for people right there at Pepperdine University. Really powerfully and you can see that arc, and what you see, if you think about it chronologically, a wall of fire, and then in some cases depending where you look steadily a little bit less with some exposed sky. Tony, Bonnie, these are really amazing photos and people are sending them in at CNN I-Reports, go to cnn.com, click I-Report. That's all there is to it. Later on this hour, we'll be back with some new photos, too.

HARRIS: Josh, appreciate it. Bonnie, appreciate it. Thank you very much both of you. And throughout this hour, Roger, let's work on some of these live pictures. I've guess we've got KABC, we've got KCAL as well, those are pictures from a bit earlier. There are some of the live pictures right there from our affiliate in Los Angeles, KTLA. We are going to continue to update this situation in Malibu, the Southern California wildfires throughout the hour. So stay with us here at CNN.

But next, there's a Republican debate tonight. And they're all there. Dana Bash joins us. We'll be talking about what each candidate has to do to prove they can win. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A new day in Louisiana where voters have elected the first nonwhite governor since reconstruction. Bobby Jindal is the son of Indian immigrants. The Republican congressman from Louisiana received 53 percent of yesterday's primary vote, avoiding a runoff. The Republican presidential candidates will face-off in a debate tonight in Florida. Eight candidates will be taking part, including former Tennessee senator and actor Fred Thompson, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

CNN's Dana Bash is following the debate and she joins us now live from Orlando. Dana, good to see you. Here's a question.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You too.

HARRIS: Will the candidates be trying to prove who is the most conservative tonight? We've heard that in recent weeks.

BASH: We certainly have heard that in recent weeks. And that is likely going to be one of the main themes that we hear on the stage tonight, when all the candidates are going to engage once again in a debate. And what we have seen over the past several weeks is that debate. Who is more conservative?

And the reason is because the front runners that we have seen, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, they have really not given conservatives, who are looking for what they consider a true conservative, a reason to be extremely excited. Each of them has flaws in their own right when it comes to that issue of conservatism. Mitt Romney, for example, he is somebody who many conservatives see as a Johnny-come- lately to social issues like being against abortion. Rudy Giuliani now says point blank that he does support abortion rights. That's the reason why you're going to see the debate over who is more conservative.

And it is sort of interesting to see the fact that the field is dissatisfying, seems to be dissatisfying, conservative and GOP primary voters so much now because, Tony, it is about two and a half months before Republicans go to the polls for the first time in Iowa and the field is so incredibly unsettled. That is why what you're going to see tonight, any time you see the Republican candidates on the stage together, it certainly means that the stakes are pretty high for them.

HARRIS: You mentioned that there really isn't a candidate so far that Christian conservatives can sort of coalesce around. I wonder, thinking ahead a bit, what happens if the party nominates, for example, a pro-choice candidate? I know there've been rumblings about maybe starting a third party candidate.

BASH: Well, there certainly have been rumblings. It's interesting. Yesterday, and on Friday back in Washington, there was a so-called value voters summit where all of the candidates came and tried to appeal to voters and to sort of the tried and true social conservative activists for whom the social issues, like abortion, is a very big, big deal. Rudy Giuliani has been somebody who has been the candidate that those social conservatives have been most afraid of. He essentially tried to appeal to them back in Washington yesterday and said, look, I understand that we don't agree on everything, but he tried to list some of the things in terms of fiscal conservatism, in terms of terrorism, things that they do agree on, so there seems certainly there's talk about trying to find a third party candidate. But there also is a lot of concern about that, because you know, social conservatives are practical as well. And what they, many of them, say is look, as soon as we do that we're going to be giving the presidency to a Democrat, perhaps Hillary Clinton.

HARRIS: There she is, following the debate tonight, Dana Bash, part of the best political team on television. Dana, great to see you, thanks.

BASH: You too.

HARRIS: Vice President Cheney talks tough about Iran. But what he's not saying might be the most intriguing.

And then, we are unleashing the bloggers on Republican candidates.

And also, Steve Colbert. Or is it Colbert? Which is it these days? How does Colbert - Colbert for president sound? We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Vice President Dick Cheney talking tough on Iran during a speech today in Virginia. Cheney accused Iran of blatantly pursuing a nuclear weapons program. He insists the U.S. and the rest of the world won't tolerate it. The vice president also said the regime has played a direct role in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and gave Tehran a warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Given the nature of Iran's rulers, the declarations of the Iranian president and the trouble the regime is causing throughout the region, including direct involvement in the killing of Americans, our country and the entire international community cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ambitions.

The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences. The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message -- we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, the vice president didn't specify what those consequences would be, and he did not make any reference to military action against Iran. Now more on that mystery in Syria. Today the top republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Peter Hoekstra, called on the white house to come clean about last month's Israeli air strike into northern Syria. More from White House correspondent Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the one topic President Bush would not discuss in his latest news conference.

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not going to comment on the subject that you're trying to get me to comment on.

QUIJANO: But the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee says the Bush administration's silence about an Israeli air strike against Syria last month is deafening.

PETER HOEKSTRA, (R) NY: I think the American people should know what is going on.

QUIJANO: On September 6, an Israeli air strike hit a military target inside Syria. Published reports have indicated that target was a nuclear facility being built with the help of North Korea. CNN has not independently verified those reports.

Congressman Pete Hoekstra and fellow Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen have been briefed. But they say the administration has ignored numerous letters from congress asking that all members be briefed. In a weekend "Wall Street Journal" piece, they accuse the administration of selectively leaking parts of the story, saying that, "failing to disclose the details of this incident to the legislative branch, preventing due diligence and oversight, but talking to the press about it is not the way to win support for complex and difficult diplomatic efforts to combat proliferation by rogue nations."

HOEKSTRA: A number of countries that may be on our radar screen, Iran, North Korea, other countries, we should know what their role in this activity or what was going on in Syria.

(on camera): White House spokeswoman Dana Perino tells CNN the White House did not authorize any leaks and insists nothing could make that more clear than the president twice declining to comment on the issue when asked by the media.

Based on that Perino said the White House would also decline to comment on Congressman Hoekstra's remarks. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Well, the latest on the story we've been covering all day here in the CNN NEWSROOM, fires that have consumed parts of Southern California. And later, fishermen bait hooks. Follow me here. Cops bait Hondas or any car they want. Their bait car in Seattle pulled in a big one that couldn't get away.

You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A church, several homes, a Malibu landmark, victims of the flames just raging through the hills and canyons in Los Angeles County, California, today. Crews are giving it their all against these brush fires, wildfires on the ground and in the air. But as one official says, they're totally at the mercy of the gusty Santa Ana winds. Joining us live with the very latest, Vince Gonzales. Vince good to talk to you again.

Now, it looks like at least for the moment, the firefighters are getting a bit of a break from the winds.

GONZALES: Definitely getting a bit of a break. Where we are the winds have died down, we're getting a few gusts now and then. But for a while, it was actually calm, which is great. They were able to get the helicopters in the air, able to get the air tankers up to fight this fire. You'll see here firefighters are staging at these businesses here at the Pacific Coast Highway, up on the rooftops, moving among the brush. Some of them are hitting the different hot spots of the fire with small hoses. This is really what the fire here has been reduced to.

We're still seeing some air drops. What they've done is a magnificent job of stopping this fire at the Pacific Coast Highway here in the northern part of Malibu. And earlier today, we looked down the Pacific Coast Highway. It burned right down to the highway, right down to small apartment buildings and homes and hotels, right on the Pacific Coast Highway. But again, air drop after air drop was able to stop it and crews standing guard and knocking out any hot spot, they were able to prevent it from burning down to the Pacific Ocean.

The reason they were able to do that, the reason those air was in the air, was that break in the wind. The concern is what happens at dusk, what happens when the Santa Ana's kick back up. And that's what they usually do. So the fear is they've got to be careful about these winds. They're staging units all over. They're moving them from actually this area where we had 25, 30 engines in about a quarter mile area just an hour ago, they're pulling them out, sending them to other areas, sending them to areas closer in to Central Malibu to be ready in case the fight starts up there.

Tony?

HARRIS: OK. Vince Gonzalez for us in Malibu. Vince, I appreciate it, thank you. As the flames shift with the winds, different parts of Malibu are threatened. Joining us with more on the areas at risk, right now reporter Chris Sedens of KFWB News Radio 980. Chris, good to talk to you. Give us a sense of what areas might be impacted with just a little bit of a shift in the winds in this direction or that direction?

CHRIS SEDENS, KFWB NEWS RADIO 980: Well, Tony, there are so many different areas. I'm at Bluff Park right now where Sheriff Lee Baca has just showed up and will likely be speaking with the media in just a moment or two. There are so many different areas. Now, we've got mandatory evacuations called for Monte Nido, Malibu Colony. Let see here, Sweetwater Canyon, voluntary evacuations in the Coral Canyon, Carbon Canyon, Carbon Mesa, and Ramble Pacifica. Those areas, the voluntary evacuations obviously any shift in the weather, in the winds which are swirling, could really impact them as well. So, this fire is connected to other fires.

We have 11 fires right now burning here in Southern California's area. Agua Dulce, a 2000 acre blaze burning there. That's near Santa Clarita. So, really Tony, it's really so hard to say right now. What's going to happen with the winds, which have died down a little bit. You know, just as I say that they'll pick up again. You really never know what to expect with these winds. The problem we have, it's very, very dry here in Southern California. No humidity and with these gusting, swirling winds it is very, very dangerous.

HARRIS: Chris, we appreciate it, thank you so much.

SEDENS: You bet.

HARRIS: And to find out how the weather is going to affect firefighting efforts over the next few hours, next few days, let's turn to meteorologist Bonnie Schneider and the CNN severe weather center.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Tony. I'm also joined by Josh Levinson and he's going to be showing us some great I-reports coming up.

JOSH LEVINSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We got some really amazing new ones that people would not have a chance to see yet. What it really does, Bonnie, is it puts you right in the middle of everything. And what I like here, we're going to give you the aerial view, pretty much understand the geography. Then, I'll hop back in and we'll show you what it's like to be a person surrounded by these fires.

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. And what we're looking at right now is some aerial pictures that are just coming in to us. This is live from KABC in Malibu, California. You can see the mountains, you can see the ocean. And unfortunately, you can see this heavy, heavy smoke as we have this hot, dry air coming in down from the mountain.

And the Malibu Castle, a famous area landmark where many big parties were held and charity fundraisers, well unfortunately it perished in the fire. And you can see the relation, because we've had over 11 fires as the official mentioned earlier, kind of a u-shaped or round Malibu. So, on either side of Malibu Canyon Road, this is Google earth image.

Here's Pepperdine University. And the winds have been coming steadily from the northeast. And with that northeast gusty flow of wind, unfortunately we're going to continue to see the wind spread. Right now, the winds are a little bit better. But don't expect that to continue. Because the Santa Ana winds will pick up once again in the overnight hours as high pressure strengthens and we'll start to see that wind pick up. And unfortunately, I think we're going to also see low relative humidity straight through Tuesday. Josh, the forecast really does call for not much of an improvement.

LEVINSON: Right, we're hearing at least a couple more days with this which means the gust keep pushing the fire and the Embers as well. So, if you're anywhere in that area, be especially careful. Right, the whole region could be affected.

SCHNEIDER: Yes and it is interesting that the pictures are coming from around the region.

LEVINSON: All over the region. Let's take a look right now at this first one. Make it out of the way because these pictures are really powerful. Take a look at this. This is from 7-year-old Talvin Lewis. He took this picture from behind his home. He spoke with his mother, by the way, we always do before taking pictures from kids. Amazing photo right there. That's over an area of Malibu Canyon.

Now, let's get on to Pepperdine University, where only now students are being allowed back in. This picture is from Kevin Park who took it from across the street from campus. He went across the street. Look at that fire ball. You can feel it when you see that picture. And that's what we often hear. When fires are spreading quickly, it's like a fireball rushing through the sky.

Two more here from a digital photography student that I want you to see if you can. Take a look at this. It's really some astounding stuff, and it puts you in the middle of it. It makes you feel like you know where you are. Obviously, we've got a lot more of these coming. You can go to cnn.com and you can see a lot of these pictures throughout the night. And, Tony, you know what; we're going to keep getting more all night long. Look at that, some embers over that brush fire, boom, starting yet another fire. And this is the kind of thing, Bonnie and I were talking about. That sometimes these little embers can start new fires. More pictures coming throughout the night, cnn.com. We obviously keep it right here.

HARRIS: Well, Josh and Bonnie, you can talk to this as well. We're talking about those embers getting caught up in those -- how did the chief, the captain, refer to it? These smoke columns and just being blown away. You just don't know where they're going to end up. So, you take a look at the smoke there. And in that smoke are these embers, and who knows where the winds can take those.

SCHNEIDER: Well, you have to remember, Tony, that the wind as it comes down the mountain is not only moving at hurricane force in terms of speed, it's also acting as a heating mechanism. So it's heating all of the debris. There's been a record drought in the region. So, all that tender vegetation and tinder ignites very quickly as the flames do spark from one ember to the other. You can see some of the firefighting efforts right now as we look at these live pictures.

HARRIS: Wow, great stuff from our affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC. Josh, I appreciate it. Bonnie, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: You're welcome.

HARRIS: You know, it is almost that time. The bloggers are in the house so to speak. We'll talk about the so-called values voter. They'll get together at Washington, D.C. this weekend. Who's up and who's down. There is a debate coming up soon. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Wal-Mart, the world's largest discounter wants you to get your holiday gifts right now. They're trying to make it worth your while. To 15,000 items are on sale already, including some of the most popular toys. For more financial news now, here's Ali Velshi with "Getting Down To Business".

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a speech last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said, he expects the weak housing market will continue into next year. New numbers suggest the slump in the housing market could be worse than expected as the number of homes being built fell to the lowest level in 14 years last month. For more insight into the battered housing sector we'll get a report on Wednesday telling us how many Americans applied for mortgages.

And keep an eye out for earnings reports from Apple and Boeing this week too. Apple has sold more than 100 million ipods since the music player's introduction in October of 2001. The company's already sold more than 1 million of its newest must have gadget, the iphone. And while Boeing recently announced another six-month delay of its new plane, the 787 Dreamliner, the company's biggest competitor, Europe's Airbus just delivered the world's largest passenger jet to the Singapore Airline. The 471 seat, seven-story tall A-380 is scheduled to take its first commercial flight on Thursday. If you want more of this sort of thing, watch me on "Minding Your Business" each weekday on "American Morning." That's it from New York, I'm Ali Velshi.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More than a half dozen wildfires blazing across Southern California at this hour. One is scorching Malibu, threatening to engulf hundreds of multimillion dollar homes. Several homes and a church have already burned down. A fire near San Diego. First pictures now, new video in to CNN of the fire in San Diego County has killed at least one person. And hurt eight others we understand. The fires are being fuelled by those strong Santa Ana winds. And again, new pictures from San Diego County of that wildfire there. Again, one person killed that we know of so far. And as many as eight injured.

Well, some less than thrilled values voters selected popular comment on the House Floor and more commitment than expect from a funny man threatening to run for president. It was all in the political stew this past week. And as usual, we have got a liberal blogger and a conservative blogger here to chew it all of that stuff. On the left, Morra Aarons. Morra, good to see you.

MORRA AARONS, POLITICAL DIRECTOR, BLOGHER.ORG: Hey, Tony. I'm a progressive by the way.

HARRIS: You're the progressive, OK. The political director at BlogHer.org. On the right, E.M. Zanotti -- do you want to change your title at all here, E.M.? Are you who you profess to be, editor and lead writer of the American Princess site?

E.M. ZANOTTI, EDITOR AND LEAD WRITER OF AMERICAN PRINCESS SITE: I will, I will take claim for that.

HARRIS: OK. All right, I'll be back to both of you in a moment. But first, you'll recall yesterday, we told you about a straw poll of Republican voters in Washington. In the poll of conservatives, Mitt Romney impressed the greatest number of so-called values voters. But just by a finely styled hair over second place finisher, Mike Huckabee. Ron Paul came in third with 15 percent. Then, Fred Thompson with 10 percent. All right, let's unleash the bloggers. Are you ready, E.M.? What are you hearing from values voters?

HARRIS: What are you hearing from these values voters?

ZANOTTI: I am hearing that they are pretty disappointed with their basic slate of candidates. And so, you know, this is amazing to me, that Mitt Romney really took the top. Because I was hearing that Huckabee was going to take the top. I was hearing Ron Paul was going to take the top.

HARRIS: Well, didn't Huckabee actually win the room? It was just that the (INAUDIBLE).

ZANOTTI: Yes. He did. He won the room. He lit it on fire, basically.

HARRIS: And, Mora, what do you think of this? Boy, conservatives, Christian conservatives are not happy with their choices right now.

AARONS: Well, you know, I have to tell you one thing though. When I look at those segments, all I see are white men. So, I don't know whose values these people represent. (CROSSTALK). I'm sorry, I think it's true. And I think that's why, you know, most of these people don't have a chance. Huckabee definitely won the room. The reason why Romney won is because he did a very impressive online outreach campaign starting way before this week's conference to win the official vote. He's very good at expending resources to win votes. I don't think it's going to get him that far.

But you know what, I really see Giuliani's chickens coming home to roost here. He is in terrible, terrible flip-flopper. He's going back on everything he stood for in his entire political career, and I just really hope he doesn't get away with it.

HARRIS: Do you think he'll get away with that?

ZANOTTI: You know, I definitely think that when you're talking about values voters you're not talking about demographics or men and women, you're --

HARRIS: Shouldn't we talk about demographics?

AARONS: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: E.M where were any black votes in the room. Any Hispanics in the room?

ZANOTTI: I'm sure there were. You know, when we're talking about values voters we're talking pro-life. We're talking about pro- family. They're looking at people who are going to represent their values in the White House. I mean, we can't just look at these candidates and say, they're my candidate because they're a woman. We have to look at these candidates and say, they're my candidate because they represent what I believe. And when they get into the White House or when they get into Congress, they're going to fight for what these values voters believe.

AARONS: They don't stand for that. They have to flip-flop to tell your values voters that they do stand for it. Because, in real life they don't appear to.

HARRIS: Ladies, may I move on, please.

ZANOTTI: All right.

HARRIS: All right. How about this. This controversial comment made on the floor of the House. I know you have thoughts on this. Democratic Congressman Pete Stark of California criticized President Bush and the war in Iraq.

AARONS: Amen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE STARK, DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN OF CALIFORNIA: You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we could get enough kids to go over for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, you say amen but the House Speaker slapped him over that comment.

AARONS: Yes, you know, I have to say that I'm so disappointed in the Congress and apparently the rest of the American voter too. If you look at their approval ratings. First on the moveon ad. Then, there was (INAUDIBLE). I mean, what is happening? Why can't these people do their job and leave blow hard punditry to people like Stephen Colbert? Stephen Colbert is now running for president because I guess he has decided he can do a better job and let Nancy Pelosi and her ilk be blow-hard pundits and you know make fun of people speaking out.

HARRIS: OK, E.M. C'mon.

ZANOTTI: Well, you know, I mean, I have to agree with Nancy Pelosi. I mean, this guy basically insinuated that Bush sits in front of his television with a bowl of popcorn and laughs hilariously as people die. I mean, all you needed to do is say he kicked puppies and we'll be complete. I have to thank him for giving the Republicans the 2008 clip...

HARRIS: A little billboard language, a little bumper sticker material.

ZANOTTI: That is going to be. That is going to be every time someone asks what the Democrats think of the troops over in Iraq, that's going to be the answer. So you know...

AARONS: That's pathetic. That sounds like politics at its worst. If that's what we're left with them, I will vote for Stephen Colbert (INAUDIBLE).

HARRIS: May I ladies please? You mentioned Colbert, a couple of times. All right, let's talk about comedian Stephen Colbert. Famed for his political satire but could he be getting serious about politics? He told Tim Russert on "Meet The Press". He might run as both a Republican and a Democrat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: I don't want to be president. I want to run for president. There's a difference. I'm running in South Carolina.

TIM RUSSERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You'd like to lose?

COLBERT: I'd like to lose twice. I'd like to lose as both a Republican and a Democrat.

RUSSERT: And what statement would that make?

COLBERT: I think that statement would make that I was able to get on the ballot in South Carolina. And if I can do it, so can you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Morra, you want to start?

AARONS: I want to do it.

HARRIS: OK. Go ahead.

AARONS: You know what, I have to say that I think Stephen Colbert is a better candidate than most of the candidates. And he has the best media training. Look at him, he is flawless with Tim Russert.

HARRIS: All right, E.M., what do you think?

ZANOTTI: I can't disagree. I love the idea. I know he's mocking it from the inside. I know he's trying to sell a book. But I'd gladly be his campaign blogger. So, you know, I agree with Morra.

HARRIS: You know, I love to end on a note, even if it's a slightly discordant note of agreement. Let's end it there. E.M. and Morra, great to see you.

ZANOTTI: Thanks.

AARONS: Thanks. I hope the wildfires get under control.

ZANOTTI: Yes, me too.

HARRIS: Yes. We're going to continue to watch that story throughout the evening. But ladies, thank you both, appreciate it.

Blackwater, the private security firm accused of having an itchy trigger finger in Iraq. CNN gets an inside look at Blackwater's training facilities. And some surprising answers from owner Erik Prince, here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Iraq has ordered Kurdish rebels to lay down their weapons and leave. Washington is urging Turkey to keep its cool and not send troops into Iraq. Tensions have gotten more intense after Kurdish rebels called the PKK attacked Turkish troops near the border with Iraq today. Turkey says 17 of its soldiers were killed. But Turkish military then attacked PKK rebels in southern Turkey. Officials say at least 32 rebels were killed. The State Department has condemned the PKK attack.

And the Iraqi capital news strained a relationship between United States and Iraqi government. A U.S. raid in Baghdad's Sadr City prompted a meeting between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and General David Petraeus. Iraqi officials say as many as 15 civilians were killed. U.S. military officials say forces killed nearly 50 criminals in the attack and that ground forces were unaware of any civilian deaths.

A top priority of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Blackwater controversy. She'll get a briefing from a State Department team that spent two weeks in Iraq reviewing Blackwater's practices. FBI agents are still in Iraq investigating a deadly shooting last month in Baghdad that involved guards with the private security company. CNN's Suzanne Simons talked to the founder of Blackwater about his company's past and future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUZANNE SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Blackwater owner Erik Prince is navigating his 10-year-old company through its most turbulent times. All because of what happened here, in Baghdad's Nisour Square on September 16th. The Iraqi government says Blackwater guards opened fire unprovoked, killing 17 civilians. But Prince defends his men. Who say they were responding to hostile fire. But it's the State Department findings that could have the greatest impact on his company's future.

ERIK PRINCE, BLACKWATER OWNER: They thanked us for having the stomach to stay there in the most dangerous city in the world. I hope they have the confidence and strength and stomach to stand with us now.

SIMON: At Blackwater headquarters in Moyock, North Carolina, Prince remains fixed on his long-term goals.

PRINCE: Helicopters is here to be modified to go to work in the Middle East. For the U.S. government for some reconstruction support.

SIMON: There was little doubt, he approaches war like a business. He privately funded the development of an on-site assembly line for an armored vehicle he says can withstand the blast of an improvised explosive device. A surveillance air shift with the capability of flying unmanned over dangerous territory around the world. All without a single contract. But looking ahead for Blackwater will be hard. Without looking at where it's been. Prince admits the company's operations in Iraq have not been perfect.

PRINCE: Mistakes can be made. There's an accidental death that Blackwater's been involved in. Traffic accident, ricochets, absolutely. This is war. We don't get to choose when we get attacked.

SIMON: Now as Iraq insists Blackwater be banned from operating there, the State Department considers its next move and Prince considers the possibility of life without his biggest client. Suzanne Simons, CNN, Moyock, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And still to come in the CNN NEWSROOM, justice comes standard on this ride. A car thief takes the bait. And a bullet to boot. The dash cam truth still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Our top story. Southern California in flames at this hour. At least eight wildfires are burning across the region, scorching thousands of acres. All the way from north of Los Angeles to south of San Diego in San Diego county. At least one person has been killed, eight others injured, and dozens of homes and buildings have been destroyed. In the celebrity studded town of Malibu, hundreds of multimillion dollar houses are threatened. The fires being driven by those powerful Santa Ana winds. The winds have died down in the last few hours or so but they're expected to pick up again later tonight.

Stealing a car, bad idea. Stealing a bait car, a really, really bad idea. More Police Departments are busting crooks with cars that are basically booby trooped. Dennis Bounds of affiliate KING in Seattle takes us on one wild ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENNIS BOUNDS, KING 5 NEWS: This was the scene back in March after a thief stole a car from Bellevue Community College. Police chased the man down as he made his get-away in a police bait car. A camera hid in the bait car's ashtray captures video of a thief at work. He finds the keys of the unlock car on the seat and takes off thinking he's made a clean get-away.

GREG GRANNIES, BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON POLICE: The bait car starts talking to us as soon as somebody opens the door.

BOUNDS: His every move, even a celebratory fist pump in the mirror is being tracked.

GRANNIES: What he doesn't know is they're already vectoring in the officers to come and get him.

BOUNDS: GPS technology tracks the suspects every move, including his bad decision to drive down a dead-end road and is forced to turn around. Police open fire when the man drives the car right at them.

GRANNIES: Right there. You can see the bullet bounce off the windshield. Obviously, aware now that things have gone horribly wrong.

BOUNDS: And about to get worse. Realizing he's not seriously hurt, the suspect is back on the run. But his car is designed to be remotely shut down and the doors sealed.

GRANNIES: He goes for the car door, which is of course locked. Right about now, he sees the officers coming out with weapons drawn.

BOUNDS: Dennis Bounds KING 5 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we we'll be back later tonight at 10:00 eastern with the latest live reports on the California wildfires. But right now, you are in for real treat. A double play of "Larry King Live." Donald Trump joins Larry at 9:00 eastern. But First, mega preacher Joel Osteen delivery his message of hope. Larry King Live starts right now.

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