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Flames Race Across Southern California

Aired October 23, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Tony Harris is off today.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM, live on this Tuesday morning. It's October 23rd and we have breaking news this hour.

Southern California calamity. Wildfires rage on. This hour, the latest on conditions from our reporters in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. Stadium not filled with fans, but evacuees. We'll hear from the people who left their homes, some of them never to see them again. And, we'll update the property damage, and check to see if there's hope in our weather forecast.

We're covering the wildfires, all morning, right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Fires out of control. Residents out of time. More than 300,000 people have left their homes in Southern California. Now, they are wondering if they'll have homes to return to. More than 700 buildings already burned.

Earlier this morning, President Bush issued an emergency declaration for seven California counties and that clears the way for federal disaster relief, but the more immediate concerns, as close as the nearest fire line. At least 14 wildfires are now raging. San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium this morning, more than 10,000 evacuees are waking up there and CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is there, as well.

Thelma, if you could, show us a little bit about what's going on there.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Well, Heidi, I can tell you this -- that the numbers are absolutely staggering. You talk about 300,000 people who had to evacuate from their homes, some two and three times. The emotional turmoil that they're going through. We're here at Qualcomm Stadium, which is the home of the Chargers. Capacity here is about 70,000.

Now, right behind me, you can see many people who have started to gather here. Officially, people tell us that there are 6,500 folks who have actually registered and who are staying inside the stadium. Now, outside, there were thousands more -- cars, trucks, RVs, trailers -- many people had pitched tents out in the parking lot, sleeping right beside their vehicles.

We are joined now by Susan Noe. Susan had to evacuate owner hem. She lives in Poway and she's been very concerned about the outcome there.

Thank you for joining us. Tell me about your experience here at the stadium. Where have you been sleeping? What has it been like?

SUSAN NOE, POWAY EVACUEE: Well, we've been sleeping in our van -- my husband and myself. My mother, 80 years and some, and she's sleeping in the (inaudible) they're taking wonderful care of her. They -- she's got a beautiful bed and -- so we're just sleeping in the back of our van, trying to get some sleep, because we really are tired.

GUTIERREZ: What has it been like to have to evacuate your homes two, three times? You said this was the last place you actually wanted to come to and you were very pleasantly surprised.

NOE: Exactly, yes. We had to leave around 4:00 in the morning from Poway, went to some friend's, had to evacuate there, and once again picked the wrong place. Last thing we wanted to do is come here, but, I tell you, everyone has been so wonderful. The volunteer spirit, the food has been incredible. We've been able to get so many blankets, because it's a little cold out here. But everyone has been wonderful and we've noticed a really calm spirit. We feel safe, which is really nice after thinking what happened in Katrina and so forth. So we feel very safe here and hopefully it will be safe for a while.

GUTIERREZ: How is your home?

NOE: Well, we think it's standing. We heard that -- we saw on the ticker tape that there is at least one house on our street that went down. We're hoping ours is standing. We heard that it is.

GUTIERREZ: Susan, thank you very much and good luck to you.

NOE: Thank you very much.

GUTIERREZ: Out here, there are hundreds of volunteers who have gathered at Qualcomm. As a matter of fact, outside of the stadium, we ran into a couple of marines who brought in a truckload of diapers and blankets and other items that people here might have to use.

And they were telling us that they were stationed inside Iraq. They did a tour of duty there, and they had helped Iraqi people, and they felt they wanted to reach out on to their fellow Americans, and that is the reason they volunteered. And that's the kind of thing that we've run into here at the Qualcomm.

In fact, some of the folks have been telling us that it's been just a very, very kind of nice feeling here, lots of people gathering together, helping each other -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, needless to say, though, that acre just keeps burning, people sleeping in the back of their trucks, marines coming in to help. It is certainly the situation to watch today and really feel for the people out there.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez inside of Qualcomm Stadium today, where many people are seeking refuge.

Meanwhile, the fires have scorched more than 400 square miles and CNN crews are fanned out all across the area. Dan Simon is one of them. He is there now this morning to give us the latest.

Dan, tell us where you are and what you're seeing around you.

DAN SIMON, SAN DIEGO CO., CALIFORNIA: Well, Heidi, we are in the Rancho Bernardo neighborhood. We're standing, obviously, in a house that has burned down to the ground. When you drive through the neighborhood here, it is like this in -- in block after block after block. It is just absolutely incredible to see.

Of the 500 or so homes that have burned in San Diego County, we are told 300 of them have actually burned down just in this one neighborhood. I spoke to a firefighter yesterday who came to the scene. He says it is such a helpless feeling to actually go through these streets and see what he's seeing. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY BABBITT, HUNTINGTON BEACH FIRE DEPT.: Every one of us out here feels like these homes are our own, you know? We know what it's like to see people's faces when they've lost everything and it's devastating to see so much of this all at once.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: What's also devastating right now is to see that the winds have returned. The winds had died down last night, but we're seeing them pick up once again. The mayor of San Diego -- he's going to be holding a press conference in just a little bit, to explain where we are in terms of damage, in terms of federal help that' coming.

Obviously, Governor Schwarzenegger has asked for federal assistance. Hopefully some of that help will start arriving today. The problem is the wind. When you have winds this strong, it's really tough to contain these fires, so all crews can basically do is put out the hot spots, put out the flames when they see them, respond to the various neighborhoods. But until these winds die down, Heidi, we're going to continue to see a lot more fire here in San Diego County.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Dan Simon, standing in the middle of a home that is just completely gutted.

Dan, thanks for that.

I want to go ahead and take a moment to up the coast a bit now. Vince Gonzalez is in Northern Los Angeles County, for us, this morning.

Vince, tell us a little bit about what you're seeing.

VINCE GONZALES, LOS ANGELES CO., CALIFORNIA: Well, behind me, Heidi, is what's called the Magic Fire. We're about one ridge away from Six Flags Magic Mountain, a major amusement park in this area.

This fire is only about 1,200 acres, it's 20 percent contained, we're told, this morning, but it could be Halloween before they get a good control on it. This is one of three fires burning here in L.A. County in the north part. The nearby Buckwheat Fire is at 35,000 acres, no containment and 25 homes were destroyed by that blaze.

The Ranch Fire, another 29,000 blaze, only 10 percent contained at this point, and firefighters tell us this all depends on the Santa Ana winds and how they behave during the day today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BROWN, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: The immediate danger right now is the winds. Firefighters on the ground right now and are contending with the high winds and gusts. Right now, we're dealing with some 50 to 60-mile-an-hour winds in areas and then we have gusts 70 to 80 miles an hour in other areas. So, just very sporadic on the winds, and until we can get a better handle and mother nature helps us out with lower winds, we'll be able to do our job and get those fires extinguished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GONZALES: Now, we have seen this fire flare up from time to time as the winds have started the gusts as we approach dawn. Up in Malibu now, that fire has grown to 3,800 acres and they seem to have lost a little bit of containment overnight -- lost some ground. It's down from 10 percent contained to just 8 percent -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Hey, Vince, obviously, that is the worst news we could hear this morning -- still zero percent contained. We look at the fires and flames on the other side of the screen now and it looks like it's obviously much worse than yesterday. In fact -- tell me if you've heard anything about this -- the possibility and the concern that perhaps these fires that we are talking about, more than a dozen of them, could actually merge together and become one major super fire, if you will. Is anybody talking about that, out there, where you are?

GONZALES: They're definitely talking about that with the three fires here in Northern L.A. County. Between them, for the most part, there's just a lot of scrub land. They're saying it could take a couple of days for that to happen, but if the winds don't cooperate, those three fires could merge and then you have what they call a catastrophic wildfire. There just would be really nothing they could do, but try and build fire lines around it and hope it burns itself out.

COLLINS: Boy, we certainly hope that's going to be the case.

All right. We thank you so much for that, coming to us this morning, out of Northern Los Angeles County, Vince Gonzalez.

Vince, we'll check in with you and our other correspondents, as we go on through the morning here. Meanwhile, though, let's take a moment to take a look at the numbers of these fires. State of emergency have been declared in seven California counties. Now more than 400 square miles have burned. 300,000 people have left their homes. Many of them, in fact, will have nothing to return to. More than 700 homes and other buildings have been destroyed. One person has been killed. Almost three dozen injured. More than 5,600 firefighters are battling the flames.

CNN's Jacqui Jeras is watching all of this for us now over in the severe weather center. And it looked to be like it was going to be a lot more of the same today, Jackie, but as we're waking up and looking at the situation, it seems a heck of a lot worse.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, the winds are already picking up at this hour. We're certainly not expecting them to get better. In fact, winds will likely get stronger later on this morning and into this afternoon. We will see some relief down the line. Tomorrow, we think the winds will be a little bit better, kind of transitioning Thursday and Friday, and then by the weekend, we'll have what we call that onshore flow. The winds come from a different direction. That's going to bring in more humidity and provide some relief. So, in the meantime, we're going to be in the thick of it, unfortunately, again, today.

Look at the winds already at this time -- down towards San Diego, out of the northeast, in the 30s. These are sustained winds, not to mention the gusts, San Bernardino, by 25 miles per hour. A little bit calmer there in Santa Ana.

These reports that you're seeing here are just in the last two hours. The peak gusts we could find, 82 miles per hour. That was just an hour and a half ago at Laguna Peak. Near hurricane force still, at Wiley Ridge. Camp Nine at 60 miles per hour and 57 miles per hour in the Malibu hills.

The situation is still very dire. A lot of smoke out there. You want to stay indoors today if you can. This is not rain on our radar. This is smoke. All of the particles and all the ash in the air, being reflected off and showing up so it looks like rain on our Doppler radar, but that is all that smoke. And you can tell, because it doesn't move a whole heck of a lot.

Our high pressure ridge not moving a whole heck of a lot today either. So, critical and extreme fire danger, relative humidity just amazingly low down into the single digits today, and those winds will be gusting up beyond 75 miles per hour. So we have to be patient, Heidi. At least another day before we see real significant improvements.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, I can't imagine what it's like to be in the middle of it all. I talked to some friends and obviously, we've been hearing from our correspondents how painful it is to breathe, and your eyes burning and so forth, from everything that's in the air?

JERAS: Yes. I was in the Florida and Georgia fires that you might remember from this spring, and I will tell you, it's painful on your chest. It kind of feels heavy, you know, when you have a cold almost like that? It will burn your eyes. Your eyes will water. It's very difficult to see and just very short of breath, and you can even hear -- feel your heart rate picking up a little bit. So, not good on the body.

COLLINS: Absolutely not. All right, CNN's Jacqui Jeras, we're going to check in with you a little bit later on. Thanks so much.

October surprise. A spring-like storm pounded Southern Alabama. Officials confirm a tornado touched down around Irvington, flipped over a trailer and -- mobile actually, got some flooding and hundreds of people lost power. Damage also reported in several counties. At least two people were injured. All about the weather today it seems like.

In fact, school is closed and traffic at a standstill. New Orleans soaked by more than eight inches of rain. Some businesses that, in fact, had just reopened after hurricane Katrina, got flooded again. Officials say the city's pumps worked properly, but they were not designed to deal with such intense rainfall. Folks were urged not to go out and drive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY HIMMEL, KFMB REPORTER: Reporter, covering the Southern California fire story, can't leave it at work.

On any given day, I would say welcome to my home. This is what is left of my home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Wow. The story hits home, very close to home. We'll tell you all about it, coming up in just a moment.

Also, to the frontlines. Will the marines be called in now to battle the California wildfires? We'll have a live report straight from the Pentagon on that.

And, in search of clues. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta dives beneath Papua New Guinea's Carteret Islands. Why are the islands being swallowed up by the sea? Tell you about it when "Planet in Peril" reports in just a moment.

But first, the space shuttle "Discovery," live pictures now, ready to start a new mission this morning. We are watching the countdown live, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The space shuttle "Discovery" set to launch in just a couple of hours. A new mission to the international space station. But will the crew get the all-clear for launch? We ask this question every time is there's a scheduled launch.

CNN's Base Correspondent Miles O'Brien is at the Kennedy Space Center now, with the preview, in high-definition.

And boy, you look fantastic out there, Miles. What's the deal? Are they going to go?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a race against the clock, Heidi. This is the 120th space shuttle flight. CNN has covered every single launch live. The first time we're going to bring it to you in high-definition. So, you'll see it in ways that you have never seen it before at home, weather permitting.

Currently, the official weather forecast calls for a 60 percent chance that the weather will get in the way of that launch, coming up at 11:38 a.m. Eastern time, here at the Kennedy Space Center. I think if they'd launch right now, they'd be fine. The weather is great. But, they have to synchronize, ever so carefully, with the international space station, which they're docking with. It has to be pretty much overhead before they can launch. So they have to wait for that moment. That happens to be at 11:38. The hope is the weather will hold until then. It's Florida. Toward the afternoon, the clouds build up and the rain starts pouring down. And so it really will be a race against the clock.

Look at some live pictures now, coming to you from the launch pad. You're looking down from the instrument panel of the space shuttle "Discovery." This will be its 34th mission. As they strap in, right in the center of your screen, Stephanie Wilson, who is the flight engineer on this flight, she flew only last year -- a short turnaround for her --her second flight. In the right part of your screen you can see the right shoulder of the commander, Pam Melroy, only the second woman to hold that title. Her pilot George Zamka is on the left corner. His shoulder is on the left corner of your screen.

The crew has gone through all of the motions as they always do. They've strapped in according to plan. And the seven-member crew, if they get off today, has got their work cut out for them over the next 14 days. Five spacewalks are planned during their docked time with the international space station. That's the most ever anticipated on this, the 23rd repair and installation mission to the international space station. They're going to attach, Heidi -- do you ever play with tinker toys -- the big wheel.

COLLINS: Oh, yes, love tinker toys.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: That sticks together. Yes, well, they are putting in a tinker toy wheel.

COLLINS: Really?

O'BRIEN: Many millions of dollars, 31,000 pounds, it's called the Harmony Node and it's built by the Italians. And, later this year, if all goes well with this mission, they'll attach a Japanese and a European module to it --research modules. For NASA, finally, after now approaching seven years of manned operations, fulfilling the promise of making this truly an international effort. So, at this juncture, they are loaded up with fuel. 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, enough explosive force equal to a small nuclear bomb. And the goal is to make sure that's a controlled explosion, as they leave the pad here, hopefully 11:38, and if all goes well, you'll see it on -- in high- definition here on CNN -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Oh, it's so cool. I mean it looks a little bit hazy behind you. It's hard to tell from here, but so far, so good.

Hey, quickly, before I let you go, Miles, what about the wing panels? I know that there had been a little bit of discussion about the protective coating there. Everything OK with that?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I'll refer to the model here. Let me c this shuttle. And we're talking about the leading edge wing panels, there's 22 on either side, 44 in all. And you'll remember, back in "Columbia," it was a failure of one of these leading edge panels, hit by a piece of foam that caused a breach and caused a loss of "Columbia" and her crew. So it's a very hot spot. When the Space Shuttle comes back, they pay a lot of attention to it.

They developed a new test to examine them, using an infrared technology. And in that examination, found what appeared to be some imperfections in a few of the panels. NASA, after a lot of talk and one of the longest flight readiness reviews ever, decided that they -- these imperfections were not anything to be concerned about. They're going to fly with them. Remember they will inspect them very carefully in orbit. If they see a problem, we'll know about it.

COLLINS: Yes, very good.

All right, Miles, we are watching, we are waiting a couple of hours from now. It looks like a beautiful day, so we'll keep our fingers crossed. And so cool that it's in HD.

Miles, we'll check back with you a little bit later on, OK?

And be sure to joins us this morning, to watch the launch, live. CNN will be bringing you "Discovery's" liftoff in high-definition for the first time ever, coming up this morning at 11:38 a.m. Eastern time. So watch for that.

Meanwhile, though, back to the top story of the morning. Flames race across Southern California. Fire crews try desperately to save homes. For hundreds of families, that effort is too late.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and let you know a little bit more about the situation in Southern California. These massive fires that we have been telling you about and showing you incredible video for the past couple of days now. Actually, not video that we really want to be seeing at all, but that's the latest now. We want to let you know about the Department of Homeland Security. They have just released a statement that Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Administrator David Paulson are actually traveling to the area. This morning, they're going to be visiting the areas that's impacted so terribly by these wildfires.

So we will stay on top of that one, and certainly let you know what they learn, if there are any statements made, we will bring them to you but obviously they're going to go there and observe, I imagine, from above, not really sure how they will be able to do that because of the severe wind situation. But certainly, talking to local officials out there, to get the very latest on the situation.

So, again, we will stay on top of that one.

Meanwhile, at the California wildfires, the greatest losses in San Diego County, more than 600 buildings there destroyed. CNN's Kara Finnstrom is there now with the very latest.

Kara, good morning to you.

KARA FINNSTROM, SAN DIEGO CO., CALIFORNIA: Good morning to you, Heidi. Well, we're coming to you from one of the very hard-hit blocks here. Most of the homes look like this one behind me. All that's left really just some smoldering ruins. But if you look closely, can you see like the outline of an iron board over there. Someone's chimney. The past couple of days, we have been so absorbed with just the awesomeness of these fires, and just the force of nature that -- what struck me this morning was seeing, you know, the lives that have been devastated here. These families have so much ahead of them with the rebuilding. There are about 500 homes, here in the San Diego area that remain completely lost and another 5,000 that are still threatened, as these wildfires rage on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR JERRY SANDERS, SAN DIEGO: Leave our freeways and our highways clear for emergency vehicles and for those who have to evacuate, and certainly be ready to evacuate, if you need to, and be ready to follow direction.

FINNSTROM (voice-over): Nearly 6,000 firefighters, with help from the National Guard, are now struggling to contain blazes all across Southern California. Already, officials say 300,000 people in San Diego County alone have been forced out of their homes by vicious wildfires, kept alive by Santa Ana winds.

SANDERS: We have seen the community rally around the fire victims. We have seen, in each of our shelters, whether it's at a large shelter like Qualcomm or the Del Mar Fairgrounds or the high schools, we've seen literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers bringing water, bringing food, bringing clothing, bringing blankets.

FINNSTROM: A reporter for a San Diego television station, KFMB, saw his own home burn to the ground, while covering these fires. That's it right behind him. HIMMEL: I saw a fire truck coming down my hill as I was coming up and he said do you really want to go up there? And they were turning away, because it was impossible to get near it. And I said I do. I do want to get up here. I do want to see it. So I watched it burn. And, at least I know my fate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FINNSTROM: San Diego's mayor will be holding a press conference later this morning on a much-needed federal aid package headed this way -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Kara, I'm sure we'll be hearing more about that, as well.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom. Kara, thank you so much for that.

Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. 9:30 Eastern time and the story this morning in Southern California. A glimmer of hope, lost, for firefighters, battling at least 14 ferocious California wildfires. Look at the flames. Overnight, powerful Santa Ana winds slowed down just a bit, but, unfortunately, they have picked up again, and no relief from tinder, dry conditions is expected.

The fires have burned more than 400 square miles, hundreds of homes turned to ash. President Bush declared a state of emergency for seven counties now. In San Diego County alone, 300,000 people have evacuated their homes, some of them moving to a makeshift shelter at Qualcomm stadium. 911 centers are calling residents, telling them to get out of harm's way. CNN has reporters all over Southern California this morning. We're going to continue to bring you the very latest, as it happens.

The marines -- will they be called to the frontlines now, to help battle the California wildfires? Well, CNN -- Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has been watching that portion of the story and joins us now with the very latest.

Barbara, what do you know about this?

BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, unbelievably, of course, the U.S. military both offering to help in the fire and falling victim to it. What we do know is a battalion of marines, 800 marines at Camp Pendleton, just north of San Diego, are volunteering that battalion being volunteered to go to the frontlines of the fire, to help fight it on the ground, and unbelievably, yes, many of these young marines were on the frontlines in Iraq, just a few months ago. Now they may go to the fire.

Camp Pendleton today, essential personnel only. And in addition, they are also preparing the people on base to possibly evacuate. They're not under evacuation orders yet, but we're talking about 60,000 marines, navy personnel, and their families at Camp Pendleton in housing, in and around the camp, being told to pack their personal belongings, pack water and food and be ready to go, if it comes down to that.

In fact, the base commander at Pendleton, while he has sent some firefighters into the community to help, he is keeping a reserve of firefighters on the base, out of concern that as the winds shift, the fires could come on to Camp Pendleton. Further south, in San Diego, 19,000 navy families evacuated from the areas where the fire has already hit. The military offering to help. They are sending six C- 130 aircraft, especially equipped to drop water. They are sending supplies to Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego but the military also falling victim to this, preparing for further evacuations and preparing to get out of the way of this fire, Heidi.

COLLINS: It is just incredible. Isn't it, Barbara? And I wonder, you know, sort of the last major federal disaster, obviously, Katrina. Any lessons that are being employed in how this is going to be handled?

STARR: Yes. I think we are already seeing that. You know, before Katrina, there was a very bureaucratic precise process for any requests for military assistance. Of course, the military only moves into these emergencies when they are asked to. And there was a lot of paper work, a lot of bureaucracy but that lesson was learned in Katrina that when these disasters happen, these massive fires, hurricanes, civil emergencies, you simply can't wait.

So the military already is preparing to move and the minute the word comes that the state wants them, that they will be in place and then the worry, you know, frankly about getting all of the paper work and the signatures done. There are preparations being made. They are ready to move. And the first real sign may be, if and when that battalion of 800 marines moves out of Pendleton and goes to the frontlines of the fire, Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow, all right, boy. Oh boy, we'll be watching this story as well. CNN's pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, thank you.

STARR: Sure.

COLLINS: We want to get directly to some of the I-reports that we have been getting in. In fact, this one now. The first time that we have seen it. Take a look. This is video that was shot by Rick Walker. As you can see on the screen there apparently near San Diego. It was shot yesterday afternoon just before 5:00 eastern time. Obviously, before 2:00 local. Look at that. I mean, this is, you see up in the right-hand side of the screen, right underneath the CNN I- report. Just for a moment there, they have seen the little bright dot that was actually the sun. There you see it coming into view again. There you go and all around it, just this incredible glow and haze of the fires that is put up into the sky.

Apparently, Rick was traveling on highway 101, if you happen to know the area, headed south on to San Diego from Encinitas, California. Again, you can just see how the smoke is heading out over the ocean in that direction. Unbelievable. It looks like the sunset of a lifetime but, unfortunately, it is not. Those are reflections of the flames.

Well, if you are in Southern California, you can always share your pictures of what is happening. Just send it in to cnnireport. You can show us the flames. How are you protecting your home or what you and your family are doing to escape the danger? Of course, a lot of people already in shelters today. There are two ways though to send in these I-reports. You can go to your computer. Just go to the cnn.com and click on I-report or type ireport@cnn.com into your cell phone. You can share your photos or videos with us. Of course, it goes without saying, please be careful and obviously do not put yourself in harm's way. Jacqui Jeras joining us now. Jackie, did you see those pictures?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Fire on the horizon but still so hard to leave home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here 36 years. And I think I'm going to stay until this right there. Then I'm on that. My quad, down the highway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Some watch the skies and wait to go. Our California wildfire coverage continues this morning. Along with this story. Reporter covering the Southern California fire story just can't leave it at work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On any given day, I would say welcome to my home. This is what is left of my home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Talking about a story hitting home. We'll show you that one in just a moment.

Meanwhile, also we want to give you this news. Opening bell just a few moments ago for this Tuesday morning. We are looking at the DOW Jones Industrials averages to the positive at the open about 7316, (INAUDIBLE) 13640. NASDAQ also up 23 points. Pretty good considering things have sort of been all over the map as of late. We'll watch those stories for you. Checking in with Susan Lisovicz in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to get you back to some of these live pictures. We will be doing this all morning long for you to stay updated on the situation in Southern California. And that is a scene in new hall. California now coming in from our affiliate KABC. Boy, just to give you sort of an overview quickly. We know at this point, anyway, about 300,000 people have been evacuated in San Diego County alone. More than 5,600 firefighters battling these flames all across Southern California and according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, approximately 271,000 acres have already burned.

To give you a little bit better idea, that is about 424 square miles of territory there. And as we continue to look at those pictures, just absolutely heartbreaking. About 696 homes have been destroyed according to this. About 500 of them in the witch fire, which is the one we've been talking about in San Diego County. A whole lot going on this morning. Unfortunately, very little of it any good news. So, we'll continue to watch it. We'll be checking in with our correspondents all across the area. Also, looking forward to a press conference coming up in about 20 minutes or so. We're going to be hearing from the San Diego mayor firsthand about the situation and what is being done. This is just Mother Nature at this point. And people are really doing their best to stay safe and fight those flames.

13 countries, 14 continents, and an eye-opening experience you won't want to miss. Our "Planet in Peril" special premieres tonight here on CNN. Examining our environment and our changing world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us inside a crisis in New Guinea's Carteret Island where the people are losing their homeland because it is just plain sinking. Sanjay, good morning to you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Yes, it's remarkable. The places that are so affected by climate change right now. In fact, part of the reason we went to this chain of islands called the Carteret is because they now have what are called the first environmental refugees in the world. People actually being forced to flee their homes now. Today, because of what is happening to our planet. Here is what we saw.

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CNN REPORTER: We're flying back to the Carteret Islands in the South Pacific to try to solve the mystery. Why the islands here are disappearing? Is it rising sea level? Harvesting of coral? Or something else entirely? After two days here, there was only one place left to explore. Underwater. Chief Bernard takes us out by boat to the coral reef. He tells us we're the first journalists to dive the reef.

With dive gear and tanks, we head down, 60 feet. What we see is startling. A gray landscape with little marine life. Healthy coral reefs act as protective barriers to islands, helping slow destructive storm surges, while providing food and shelter for marine life.

This reef is dying, which means less protection from storms and fewer fish to eat. So, from the air, we could look down at the coral and it certainly looked like a lot of it was dead. We actually just dove down and when we got down there, we saw evidence of what seemed to be bleaching. We could actually see entire shapes of coral that seemed to be completely dead and washed out. Now, there was some evidence of live coral, but what's interesting is that some of that appeared to be dying in the process as well.

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GUPTA: You look at that chain of islands there, Heidi. They estimate by 2015, that chain of islands will be completely gone and completely submerged. A lot of things at play here, obviously, the coral as you there, Heidi. But, just, they are trying to grow crops, for example, on the island. But the sea keeps washing over them and putting salt in it. Salting it, so ruining the crops. Also, Malaria is now the number one killer in this area. Just because, it has created some swamp land on this beautiful islands. So, that's just the sense of what we saw out there, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, obviously. Then, it sounds like these rising sea levels are not the only factor in the sinking of the islands?

GUPTA: Well, you know, there seems to be a lot of factors. Things that maybe non-intuitive. For example, they used to dynamite fish in this area according to some reports. They had a lot of mouths to feed. The quickest way to get a lot of fish was to throw dynamite into the water. That probably damaged the coral. But, also this idea that the stealing of the coral, taking of the coral for purposes just to put on the island. That prior, ruined some of the actual protective barrier as well and finally, as you look at that area, I could tell this, because we studied it. That is a natural volcano reef. The history of volcanoes is to rise and then they subsequently subside back into the ocean. This may be part cyclical and part climate change at the same time.

COLLINS: And hey, Sanjay, just what we have it here. We don't want to confuse anybody at home. On the other side of the screen, we are actually looking at the very latest coming in on the fires new hall California. I didn't want people to think you were talking about that at that moment. Quickly, though, you did mention that these were some of the very first environmental refugees of today.

GUPTA: Yes. It's remarkable. You know, I think when we started entering into this project, Heidi, we thought this is a theoretical thing. This climate change is going to affect our kids or our kids' kids. I kept reading and hearing about these people who are environmental refugees today. Happening right now, it's estimated over the next 50 to a hundred years, there could be 150 million environmental refugees. People forced to flee their homes because of what is happening to our planet right now. And, Heidi, I'll add as well, I'm going to be flying out to those wildfires as well to cover some of this. Something else that is happening to our planet as you can see right there as well.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy. It certainly is, isn't it? It will be interesting to see what people have to say about the environmental impact obviously, of what we are watching this morning. All right, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, thanks so much. I'd like to say happy birthday to you, but I know the timing is not so great. Tonight is the night in fact though for our environmental special. Dr. Sanjay Gupta teams up with CNN's Anderson Cooper and "Animal Planet" Jeff Corwin for "Planet in Peril".

National Guardsmen and Marines ready to join the firefight in California this morning. Live pictures once again coming into us. New hall, California there. Representative Duncan Hunter asked the Defense Secretary to send in the troops. We're going to be talking to the congressman live in San Diego in just a moment.

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COLLINS: In an effort to keep you updated on everything that is happening in Southern California, we want to speak now with Sam Padilla. He is with the L.A. County Fire Department. He is the inspector there and talks a little bit about specifically the Malibu area. Sam, if you can hear me, update us a little bit, if you would. I have in front of me about 81,000 acres lost in L.A. County.

SAM PADILLA, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR: That could possibly be true, if not more. We've had, last night, before we try to get some sleep, we've had two more incidents, one on Soledad Canyon on the 14th Free Way which turned out to be about ten more acres and another one which flared up this morning at 4:00 pacific standard time which is about 20 acres and growing right now.

COLLINS: Sam, for people who don't understand it and has never lived in an area like this that is so dry and prone to fires. Tell us a little bit about how that happens when, you know, there is just a spark that jumps from one place to another and the whole thing ignites because of these winds.

PADILLA: Well, any time you live in an urban interface and I believe most of the country can relate to homes being near trees and brush and what not. And then the weather turning totally dry, everything in the air, including the air, and the fuel, the grass, the plants, everything is dry. Then, you have this hot blast of wind coming from the north which is nothing but dry weather. So, in top of that, add fire. If this is a winter storm with fire. That is why they call it a firestorm. Once the fire starts, it gives it that ignition and it's on everything around. It is dry and ready to go. The wind pushes it. It's a blow torch.

COLLINS: Wow that is a very, very good description. Is there anything that can be done? Obviously, you know, I hate to say it's too late now, but preventively? Anything that can be done when you know that the area is prone to this? There was the other Cedar fire that took massive amounts of acreage, 280,000 acreage, I believe, when that was finished, if you will. Anything preventively that can be done?

PADILLA: Well, Los Angeles County fighter since most of our area is -- is prone to these conditions, we are constantly manning extra man power. We have what we call red flag conditions here. We have post positions, extra pieces of equipment. We have pre-deployed strike teams which consist of five engines, a Battalion Chief in certain areas. And you can see how that works, is when -- that the houses on Malibu burned on the beach several months back. We had a pre-deployed strike team and we're in red flag conditions then. We have the pre-deployed strike team just over the hill in the station in the (INAUDIBLE) hills. They were able to respond to that with the local jurisdictional station within 12 minutes and we are able to save houses. You know, we lost them. We would have lost more if that pre- deployed strike team wasn't there. So, we are always prepared, always ready, but in this type of magnitude of conditions and fire, you will never have enough individuals and equipment ready for this. You just -- it's impossible.

COLLINS: Wow. That's certainly a frightening thing to hear. Quickly, before we let you go. How much are we contained right at all? Any percentage at all?

PADILLA: What fire are you speaking of?

COLLINS: Well, I mean, anywhere. Can you give us any good news?

PADILLA: We have 8 percent and the canyon incident which is in the city of Malibu. Our Buckwheat Fire which was the biggest fire we had in our county is 35,000 acres. That is only 20 percent contained. We have a magic fire that started right near Magic Mountain.

COLLINS: Six flags, right?

PADILLA: Yes. That is 20 percent contained. That's over 1,500 acres and moving towards Ventura County.

COLLINS: All right. We'll thank you so much for that. Sam Padilla, we certainly appreciate your time this morning. And I hear those phones going crazy in the background for you and we want to let you get back to your work. L.A. County Fire Department Inspector Sam Padilla. I appreciate your time this morning. Now, flames are racing across Southern California as you can see in that live shot there. Fire crews are trying desperately to save homes for hundreds of families. That effort is just too late.

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COLLINS: Quickly, we want to give you an idea of what we are watching now this morning in Southern California. These massive flames and fires that are just consuming a major portion of this state. So many different names have been given to these fires. I couldn't begin to list them all for you, but, overall, we're looking at about 700 homes that have been destroyed. We are looking at about 275,000 acres that have been lost. 300,000 people evacuated. And that is just in San Diego County alone.

We know that, roughly, about 5,600 firefighters are battling these flames and the work is nowhere near done. A little bit of containment in certain parts of the state, but nothing major to really be able to share with you so far this morning. You can watch continuing coverage of the wildfires that are just ravaging the state of California all day on CNN and when you're not in front of the television, you can always check out our online network, cnn.com live. Just log on to cnn.com/video for live feeds from the fire scene. Also, want to let you know in just a couple of minutes, we are expecting a press conference coming our way from the San Diego mayor. He will be going to give us the very latest situation there.

So stick around for that. We're back in a moment. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com