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American Morning
California Wildfires; Stock Market Update; Wildfires Rage
Aired October 23, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. California on fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an extremely quick moving fire. One like we've never seen before.
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CHETRY: Three hundred thousand on the run from raging wildfires. Hundreds of homes destroyed. Thousands more threatened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY BABBITT, HUNTINGTON BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT: When we lose a house, it's like we're losing our own house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The house by house fight to save southern California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just impossible to stop this.
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CHETRY: And the heartbreaking stories from those who have already lost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY HIMMEL, REPORTS ON HIS BURNING HOME: This was a living hell coming over the hill, and this is what I come home to today.
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CHETRY: On this AMERICAN MORNING.
That's right. We are covering this from all angles this morning on this Tuesday, October 23rd. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
It is like looking straight into the fires of hell this morning. More than a dozen wildfires, totally out of control, chewing up prime real estate and hundreds of homes in one of this nation's most spectacular places to live. More than 20 million people are in the danger zone today. Hundreds of thousands told to get out now in the largest evacuation in San Diego County's history.
Here's the tally of destruction so far. Six hundred and fifty- five homes have burned to the ground. Four hundred and twenty-four square miles of hillside and canyon up in smoke. Three hundred thousand people have been ordered to leave immediately.
In Lake Arrowhead, California, a mountain resort community east of Los Angeles, the devastation is on a scale that's difficult to comprehend. Fire officials say 130 houses, entire neighborhoods, are destroyed. Their fate very much like this one. Right before our eyes, it erupted into a huge fireball and crumbled into pieces.
With 300,000 people evacuated in and around San Diego, the problem becomes where to put them. Thousands are spending the night at QUALCOMM Stadium. That's the home of the San Diego Chargers. And then there are those who have no home to go back to.
For one local reporter there, there will never be a harder story to cover. His name is Larry Himmel. You probably have someone like him in your town. The local neighborhood guy who tracks down interesting people. He watched and reported as his home went completely up in flames. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY HIMMEL, REPORTS ON HIS BURNING HOME: On any given day I would say welcome to my home, but this is what is left of my home just outside the Forest Ranch area. Fire crew have fought valiantly to save every house on this hill. At least took a shot at it and were nice enough to let us up here. That was our garage, the living room over there. There was a porch. Back there, the bedrooms. No pets left behind. Family out. Cars out. Safe. But you can see my hose right here valiantly trying to do something, but this is it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The fires are so intense that you can actually see the smoke and flames from space. This is a satellite photo of what it looks like over the southwest United States. Radar used by our meteorologists now even picking up the smoke as if it was a band of rain showers.
Kiran.
CHETRY: We have some late breaking updates now from up and down the fire line. Our Rob Marciano now is standing by for us in San Diego. Chris Lawrence is live in canyon country north of L.A., and Jacqui Jeras at the weather update desk. She's taking a look at whether or not we're going to see a break in these Santa Ana winds. The winds that have been fueling these fires and making them so hard to predict. First we head to Rob Marciano, who is in San Diego.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
We are at the northern fringes of San Diego, the county itself. There are five fires that are burning over 100 acres. One hundred and eighty thousand acres have burned. Most of which with this Witch Fire.
We are in a neighborhood that, well, it used to be a really nice neighborhood. Very populated. As you can see behind me, there are still some flames burning here. The fire came through this area yesterday quite quickly and homes that certainly cost hundreds of thousands, in some cases probably over $1 million, completely burned to the ground. Well structured home with multiple chimneys, cedar shakes and in some case brick, and it's just all gone.
And this is a scene that is not just along this street. This was something that we saw driving in here yesterday, street after street, seemingly neighborhood after neighborhood. We're on the west side of I-15, and this fire jumped the interstate. It started out about 35 miles east of the ocean. It has progressed about halfway to the ocean powered by the strong easterly and northeasterly Santa Ana winds and they continue to blow today.
Yesterday we spoke with Randy Babbitt. He is a firefighter from Huntington Beach, but he came down here to just help out. And here's what he had to say about the fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY BABBITT, HUNTINGTON BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT: 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)
MARCIANO: Five hundred homes completely destroyed. Five thousand homes threatened at the moment. And high wind warnings continue to be posted today until at least 3:00. Red flag warnings until tomorrow.
Take a look at some of these wind gusts that were recorded yesterday afternoon. This might go down as one of the strongest Santa Ana wind events on record. In some cases winds gusting, not only just hurricane strength, but over 100 miles an hour. And that does certainly the damage that needs to be done to continue to whip these flames. Point Mugu, 101. Camp Nine, 78 mile an hour winds. Wiley Ridge, 76 mile an hour wind gusts. And it's expected to continue today.
The setup remains the same, high pressure from the inland valleys and the Great Basin with the winds blowing offshore. That compressional heating is very, very dry. This fire, you know, has been, for the most part, gone from this neighborhood for well over 12 hours, Kiran, but ash continues to blow. Smoke continues to come through this area.
It's difficult to breathe. I can't imagine being a firefighter being not on the front lines of this fire battling this blaze. And temperatures today could be record breaking, up and over 90 degrees. In some cases near 100.
Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Rob, so again, quickly, is the threat then deemed to be over for your area or are people still being told to stay away on the chance that it could come back?
MARCIANO: This is a ghost town as far as people being evacuated. They're not coming down here. As a matter of fact, most of them are held up at QUALCOMM Stadium down in downtown San Diego. Thousands of them, where the Chargers usually play, are taking refuge there. Much like Katrina victims took refuge in the Superdome. So there is nobody here right now.
But what's scary about this fire, Kiran, is that it is so spotty. Different from the Cedar Fire back in 2003. What has firefighters and officials nervous is that seemingly the fires pop up in different spots. It's not confined to one spot. Well, canyon country is certainly the most dangerous spot for winds. That's where we get the winds blowing through the area. But San Diego, if you're familiar with the area, there are multiple canyons that line the city from north to south. So at any one particular spot, the winds flare up, and with that the threat for fire continues.
CHETRY: All right, Rob, thanks a lot.
And we are talking about canyon country. That's where our Chris Lawrence is live as well with the latest on what is going on there.
Hi, Chris.
CHRIST LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Kiran.
You know, just to follow up on what Rob said, you know, just an hour ago this entire hillside was up in flames and the winds were really whipping up. It just goes to show you how quickly fires can flare up and then go down when you're talking about a wildfire.
Up here north of Los Angeles, we have three major fires and officials say there is a very strong possibility that they will merge into one super fire that could be up to 80,000 acres. A huge fire. And they're going to be looking for that to happen sometime possibly in the next day or so.
We're also looking up the road at Lake Arrowhead. We took a trip out there last night. The winds were so strong driving on the highway to Lake Arrowhead, we saw not one, but two 18-wheelers flipped over by the wind.
When we got up to Lake Arrowhead, I mean it was just -- you can take a look at the video and see how deeply the fire was burning. It consumed well over 100 homes up there. And we spoke with some of the families who were ordered to evacuate, including a teenage girl who was ordered out by the highway patrol along with her dad.
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JAMI YERKOVICH, EVACUATED WITH HER DAD: We're in the house trying to make sure we have everything. First time it actually became mandatory for us.
LAWRENCE: So where do you go from here?
YERKOVICH: We have no clue. We're just waiting for someone to tell us we can go back up. We're not sure when that is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes, nobody knows when that's going to be. That fire, as of last night, was zero percent contained. At the shelter, more than 1,000 people.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Zero percent containment. Wow, we'll see if that changes later on today.
Chris Lawrence, thank you.
John.
ROBERTS: It's eight minutes after the hour and new this morning, much of southeast Louisiana under a flood warning right now after close to 10 inches of rain fell on parts of New Orleans yesterday. And forecasters say more is on the way. The water was waist deep in some areas. Mayor Ray Nagin says a number of schools will be closed today because of flooding and leaks in drainage problems. Heavy rains forced the Army Corps of Engineers to close flood gates in Jefferson Parish. It was the first time the gates were tested since Hurricane Katrina two years ago.
Blackwater USA under fire again. The private security firm now accused of tax evasion. A congressional oversight committee is investigating whether the company classified its employees in Iraq as independent contractors to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes. Under IRS rules, independent contractors do not have to pay payroll taxes, Social Security and Medicare payments withheld. Blackwater could owe the IRS more than $30 million.
The State Department has almost no idea what happened to the $1.2 billion it paid to train the Iraqi police force. That money went to Dime Corps (ph). The poor accounting is revealed in one of two highly critical report out today criticizing the State Department's dealing with private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. The State Department's own review finds serious fault with every aspect of its security practices involving companies like Blackwater.
Kiran. CHETRY: She was once sworn to silence. Her blown cover became a national scandal surrounding the war in Iraq and her husband's criticism of it. Well now a former covert CIA agent is speaking out. Valerie Plame gave her first primetime interview on "Larry King Live" last night, along with her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIE PLAME-WILSON, FORMER CIA AGENT: When this all started, we had, at that time, three-and-a-half-year-old twins. And, you know, there's nothing like children to keep you from toxic self-absorption.
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you bear the bitterness -- and I guess that's the only word for it -- that your wife bears toward this White House?
JOE WILSON, FORMER FOREIGN SERVICE DIPLOMAT: Well, I think bitterness is probably the wrong word. I think it's disappointment and, frankly, anger that this administration would actually betray the national security of our country for a purely political vendetta. I think it's -- they're trying to scare Americans from doing what one does in a democracy, hold your government, hold your administration to account for its words and deeds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Plame's new book, "Fair Game," talks about her life in the CIA and what she believes was retaliation by the Bush administration for her husband's accusation that it misled the American people. Wilson will be our guest live on AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow.
The space shuttle Discovery is ready for liftoff. The question is, will the weather cooperate today? For the first time, CNN and NASA will be broadcasting the 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time launch in high definition. NASA keeping a close eye on the weather forecast because there is a 60 percent chance of low clouds and rain, which could scrub up the launch.
Well, some scary moments on last night's "Dancing with the Stars." Marie Osmond collapsed after performing the night's first dance, the samba.
There she was collapsing. You hear a few people in the audience laughing. I don't know if at first they thought it was a joke. But as they were wait to go get their scores judged, she just passed out. The live TV series then went to commercial. After the break, Osmond was back. She was on her feet. She was saying that this happens once in a while when she gets winded. The 48-year-old mother of eight refused to see a doctor until she heard the results back from the judges. She scored 21 out of 30 for her samba.
How about that for dedication?
ROBERTS: If I threw my head around like that, I'd probably pass out too. Twelve minutes after the hour.
Technology shares lift stock markets out of their slump. Ali Velshi at the business update desk. It was looking bad yesterday morning, Ali, and all of a sudden it turned pretty good.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I skipped the day so I didn't have to tell you it was going to be bad yesterday morning, but here I've got good news for you. In fact, markets looking like they're going to have a positive open this morning, John, helped out by the technology sector.
As you know, the Nasdaq is the exchange that is heavy with tech stocks. Take a look at the performance of the major indices yesterday. The Dow and the S&P 500 were both up a fraction of a percent. The Nasdaq was up one full percent yesterday. It was led higher by shares of Apple, Texas Instruments, even Netflix. So a lot of technology stocks doing better.
Today we've got earnings again. We've got AT&T, UPS, Amazon. Now we're in this earnings season, which is the report card season for businesses, but we're also a week away from that Fed meeting where we don't know what's going to happen but a whole lot of people are hoping the Fed will cut interest rates again.
We've got oil running lower today. We've got gold lower. So all in all, the ingredients for a strong market. But you must never really concentrate too heavily on what happens the week before a Fed meeting because many investors are just sitting pat.
I'm going to tell you a little bit more about technology and the roll it can play in your 401(k) a little later in the show.
John.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks so much. We'll see you soon.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, a so-called preppie killer back behind bars this morning. Robert Chambers and his girlfriend arrested last night at their New York City apartment. He was charged with first degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, as well as resisting arrest. Police say he sold cocaine to undercover cops at least six times. Chambers served 15 years in prison for strangling Jennifer Levin in Central Park back in 1986. This is his second arrest since he was released back in 2003.
Fighting the flames in southern California costs a lot of money and it could cost some lives. Firefighters say that resources are spread thin as the hot, dry Santa Ana winds feed the infernos. We are live from the fire lines ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes now after the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.
And some of the best shots of the morning come from you, i- Reporters in the middle of the California firestorm. This comes in from Brian Ortiz. He's in canyon country, about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The fire, he says, burned the entire hill, but Brian observed the firefighters did a great job of saving homes and businesses there.
Brenda Waller, also of canyon country, shot pictures of her family and neighbors battling the flames with garden hoses right on their doorsteps. You can see how close that fire is to the front of the home and that intense, not only orange, but going to red color right in front. How frightening would that be?
And these shots are from Mark Brooks. The view is from the window of a commercial airliner. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't looking at a low hanging cloud, but a massive plume of gray smoke.
Thanks to all of you who sent in the i-Reports. Keep them coming. You can go to cnn.com. We'll tell you how to upload your video. We caution you, don't take any chances in taking that video.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, more than 250,000 people have been told to evacuate in San Diego County, where dry conditions and high winds are making a bad situation even worse. John Buchanan is with the North County Fire Protection District. They're fighting fires in the northern part of San Diego County. And he joins us from the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego County.
John, thanks for being with us this morning.
JOHN BUCHANAN, NORTH COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT: Thank you for having me.
CHETRY: Our reporter who was there, Rob Marciano, described it almost as a ghost town because you've had so many people leave. And, in fact, the largest evacuation in San Diego County history. Are enough people heeding the warnings and getting out?
BUCHANAN: In our area in Fallbrook, our residents are doing a really good job about evacuating when they are told to because we have experienced something similar to this, not to this magnitude. But in 2002, in February, we had Santa Ana winds kick up to where we actually burned -- 43 homes were lost in about eight hours. And it also burned approximately 5,300 acres.
CHETRY: And what about this morning? What are the losses, if you have a tally, of how many homes destroyed in this one?
BUCHANAN: That's one thing I'm not able to really give at this point just because, when this fire started at 4:00 this morning, we were only able to send seven fire trucks to initial response, and then we weren't able to give any other resources because of there weren't any resources to get. So by the time lunchtime came around, we actually got six more fire trucks to make our total of 13. So I do know our guys did a great job with the only -- the minimal resources that we had.
And also the residents in our area did great defensible spaces of keeping 100 foot of clearance around their homes. That really helped us to, a, save their property and also to save life. That was our number one concern was saving life. And so we actually started evacuations a lot earlier than most places did just because we wanted to make sure that we were able to get them out because of the limited resources that we had.
CHETRY: Right. Now you're focusing on the Rice Fire north of San Diego. What is the status right now? How much containment are we looking at?
BUCHANAN: Right now we don't have any containment at this point. We have over 1,000 acres at this point. I do know that we have lost some condos at the Palo Mesa Village (ph). We also, I have heard reports to where we lost 100 mobile homes or even the whole, complete mobile home park was lost, which are 148 mobile homes.
And then there's other homes that were sporadic. So our number is going to go up considerably come morning when we actually send a recon unit out to basically find out what -- how much has been lost. So with the limited resources that we have, we haven't been able to keep up on a tally just because our focus isn't on what's happened, we're trying to keep up with what's going on.
CHETRY: Hopefully that will change. The president did declare a state of emergency in seven of those counties. Hopefully, you will be getting more help where you need it. But, once again, you guys have been doing an incredible job risking your own lives to try to save people and their homes.
John Buchanan, the North County Fire Department Protection District.
Thanks for being with us.
BUCHANAN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour. Time for your "Quick Hits" now.
New information coming out about those nine people who died at a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina. Under court order, the coroner released autopsy reports that showed that he never listed a cause of death. An outside investigation showed the patients had been killed, but this summer a grand jury declined to indict the doctor and two nurses believed to be involved.
Investigators say pilot error caused the crash of an Indonesian jet back in March. The pilot ignored repeated warnings that he was coming in too fast and too steep and he ignored his co-pilot who pleaded for him to abort the landing and go around. Twenty-one people died in that crash.
A new round of diplomatic efforts aimed at defusing tensions along the Turkish/Iraqi border. Will it be enough to prevent Turkish troops from retaliating against rebel Kurds? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, you'd better vote for Mike Huckabee for president or Chuck Norris is going to come after you. The kung fu fighting Texas ranger says that he's backing the Republican for president in 2008. He compared Huckabee to King David given his current underdog status. He also said Huckabee is not afraid to stand up for a creator and against secular beliefs.
ROBERTS: Huckabee rising, you know.
CHETRY: Maybe he needs a little bit of Chuck Norris' money, however.
ROBERTS: He's gaining a little bit of traction there.
Some amazing pictures coming in this morning, taking us right into the fight against those wildfires in California. It's just incredible. Look at this. A firefighter on the front lines. This is up near Majeska Canyon in eastern Orange County. That's south of Los Angeles.
And here's an amazing one. A hillside home engulfed in flames. A firefighter running out of his truck to battle them. This is east Los Angeles, near Lake Arrowhead.
We've just been getting unbelievable pictures out of there. Entire mountainsides covered in flames.
CHETRY: That's right.
And finally a shot in Malibu, where a firefighter's getting a bird's eye view of the Malibu canyon fire. About 700 firefighters working this one in the upscale neighborhood nestled in the hills there. And, you know, we were hearing throughout the night last night that in some cases they're not even able to do as much firefighting as they would like to, to try to get containment because they're so busy rescuing people who waited too long to evacuate. So we'll talk a little bit more when we come back about just how hard it is to get people to move. And then once they do move, how do you shelter thousands of people in crisis?
ROBERTS: Yes, well more than 250,000 people in San Diego County alone. Alina Cho is going to help explain just what they are facing there. That and the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, as we cover breaking news on this Tuesday, October the 23rd. I'm John Roberts. CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
And it looks like we're in hell. That's what one father said as he took his wife, two children and fled to a shelter in southern California. Right now more than a dozen massive fires, zero containment, and they are spreading. Stretching from Santa Barbara down to the Mexico border. More than 400 square miles smoldering and thousands of homes in their path, hundreds of them already burned to the ground.
There is a virtual ring of fire surrounding San Diego. More than 250,000 people have been told to evacuate the area. It's being described as a ghost town this morning. The largest evacuation in the county's history. Thousands spent the night in their local high schools, fairgrounds, even an NFL stadium and their cars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
H.T. LINKE, RED CROSS: It's one of the five shelters that we have open in San Diego County right now. This one is called the Mira Mesa Shelter (ph). It's at a high school here. A very large, indoor gymnasium, which right now is filled wall to wall with people on cots and air mattresses and some who have brought their own -- their own bedding.
What I should also tell you is that there are another several hundred people outside the shelter. They set up their own tents or they're in their recreational vehicles or they're even in their cars. That they have come into the shelter, they're getting food and water from us, but they are either staying outside. Many of them with pets or in their cars or somewhere else.
CHETRY: President Bush has authorized FEMA to help Governor Schwarzenegger calling 1500 national guardsman help with the fires. 200 of them are actually coming off border patrol and another 100 firefighters are coming in from neighboring Nevada. So, they will be getting reinforcements today as they continue to deal with not only the evacuations but the actual firefighting on the front lines.
In Stevenson Ranch, it's about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The fire is 20% contained. It broke out near Magic Mountain and quickly grew to 1,200 acres yesterday coming right into people's backyards. People in the immediate path of the fire were ordered to leave. So far, no buildings have burned.
And here's a shot of Ramona. This is northeast of San Diego. The entire town evacuated 36,000 people. There is no word yet on the exact number of homes destroyed. This is one of those areas that were also hit back in 2003 by the Cedar fire.
John?
ROBERTS: Well, we want to explain just what firefighters and residents are facing. How do you move hundreds of thousands of people out of the way, and where do you put them? San Diego's mayor has been briefing the public late into the night. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY SANDER, MAYOR SAN DIEGO: If you can, please stay at home again tomorrow. 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is with us here today. And Alina, where exactly are these fires burning, and where they are going to move people out?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we've been reporting all morning long, we've been saying more than a dozen, John, you know. By our count at CNN, at least 15 fires are burning right now, as far north as Santa Barbara, south to the Mexican border. And the scary part is that many of those fires are reported to be zero percent contained. You don't see that very often. The weather certainly is not helping. We've been hearing that all morning. The Santa Ana winds and high temperatures aren't expected to go down until late today or tomorrow. And still, there is no rain in the immediate forecast. Now, schools are closed.
Even some evacuation centers have been evacuated. And get this, the "Washington Post" is reporting this morning reverse 911 calls. That's where emergency centers are actually calling residents to tell them to leave their homes immediately. Now, the largest fires are burning in San Diego County. We've been hearing this. According to "Los Angeles Times," that's where 500,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. A half million. That's the largest evacuation in that county's history and the largest in the country since hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Now, many in the San Diego area are seeking refuge at Qualcomm Stadium. Home of the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers have actually moved their practice to Tempe, Arizona. Meanwhile, at the Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, military planes, not people are being flown out, including f-18s and c-130s. Now, San Diego's only hospital burn unit reportedly full and now, John, the big fear is that if the winds don't die down, those fires could burn all the way through San Diego to the pacific ocean. Of course, Governor Schwarzenegger has declared seven counties disaster areas. He's calling it a tragic time for the state.
ROBERTS: And with the number of homes that we've seen burned to the ground like this one here as well. There's a lot of people who are going to need shelter for some time until they can get those homes rebuilt.
CHO: That's right. And some of those shelters are reportedly running out of cots. It's a big problem. You know, where do you put more than 500,000 people? Some people are being flown out. Celebrities are lucky enough of course to go to their other homes. But a lot of residents, including elderly people in nursing homes, that's a real big problem. They don't know where to go. ROBERTS: A lot of stress on all the systems there. Alina Cho, thanks very much.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, thanks a lot. Well, President Bush is going to lay out his strategy for the war on terror in a speech this morning. He'll be talking about military operations as well as the patriot act, terror surveillance, and the missile defense plan.
Also new this morning, Turkey's foreign minister is in Baghdad right now for crisis talks. He's trying to get the Iraqis to crack down on Kurdish rebels who ambushed and killed 12 Turkish troops over the weekend.
Meanwhile, a French press report says the foreign minister has rejected a conditional ceasefire offer from the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, saying they won't deal with a terror group.
An audit conducted on the Iraq war is coming down hard on the State Department. It says that it had severely mismanaged a billion dollar deal with independent contractor Dime Corp. The firm was supposed to train and equip their Iraqi police but the report says the State Department does not know where most of the cash went. The Federal watchdog said it even had to suspend its investigation because the State Department's books were in such quote "Disarray."
ROBERTS: Education affects Alzheimer's. That tops your "Quick Hits". New research shows the more education you have, the longer you can hold off memory loss from Alzheimer's disease. But once it begins the disease progresses more quickly in better educated people.
A surprising number of women with breast cancer are deciding on double mastectomies; removing healthy breasts at the same time as the cancerous one. The number of cases up 150 percent from nine years ago. A new study out of the University Of Minnesota finds that more women are choosing double mastectomies even though doctors are not sure that it improves a woman's chance for survival.
Carbon credits. What are they? We'll tell you how you can offset some of the damage that you do to the environment. We'll going to be checking in with Veronica De La Cruz. She'll explain just what a carbon credit is and where you can get it.
And some of the most powerful people in Hollywood are stuck in the middle of these raging wildfires in California. Some amazing stories of them coming in and opening their homes and hearts to help others. How Hollywood is helping? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now. The San Diego Chargers displaced because of the massive California wildfires. It's because about 10,000 evacuees are now spending the night in their home, Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers said that they're going to be flying to Phoenix today and they'll be practicing at the Cardinals Facility all week. The team could host Houston there on Sunday since the Cardinals do have a bye week.
Inmates are now being transferred out of the line of fire. In Orange County, the Sheriff says that a jail holding more than 1,000 inmates has to be evacuated because of heavy smoke. They're now being bussed to another facility in Irvine. All San Diego Police Department officers and all off-duty detectives are being ordered to return to work to help keep track and work with these evacuations that are taking place.
And a helping hand from Hollywood. One of the most powerful men in the business, David Geffen, has opened up his Malibu Beach Inn, a hotel to evacuees and firefighters at no charge. He has taken in two dozen people who were put out of their homes. He has also put up 80 firefighters who are taking a break, trying to catch a little bit of sleep between those long shifts.
Also, more hot, dry, and windy weather is expected today in the California fire zone from San Diego to Malibu. CNN's Rob Marciano is live in San Diego County with more on that and also a look at the national weather picture. Good morning, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Coming up on 43 minutes after the hour. Time now to take a look at the "Political Ticker". President Bush is asking Congress for another $46 billion to quote, "Get the job done" in Iraq and Afghanistan. President urging lawmakers to put aside partisan disagreements and quote "Make sure that our troops have what it takes to succeed." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, the president should not expect a rubber stamp on his request.
Later today, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is expected to announce that he backing Barack Obama for president. The endorsement could give Obama a much needed boost in New Hampshire, where he is trailing Hillary Clinton by double digits. Patrick held the top civil rights post under President Bill Clinton and Clinton's campaign for him when he run for governor but still throwing his luck with Barack Obama.
Republican Fred Thompson is defending his laid back campaign style. He hasn't been seen a lot lately in the early voting stage in South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Florida. Thompson says his strategy is working, and he's going to quote "Do it his way" but critics say, hey it's called running for the presidency not ambling. Republican Party leaders have recommended punishing five states for shifting their nomination contests earlier. They're moving to strip Michigan, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming of half of their delegates. The party's rules ban holding votes before February the 5th. The proposal now goes to the full RNC, which will vote on a recommendation. But its chairman has the final say.
Find all the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.
CHETRY: Well, there's a new twist on smoke detectors topping our "Quick Hits". Researchers say that a device that's used to detect carbon monoxide levels in the bloodstream can also determine whether or not a person smokes. They say it's a good tool for educating young people who often won't admit they smoke. The study found patients with carbon monoxide levels in their blood of more than 6 percent were smokers.
And desperately seeking some sleep. Ever wonder why your emotions seem to go haywire when you don't get enough of it? Researchers at Cal Berkeley and Harvard Medical School found that people who were sleep deprived have 60 percent more activity in the emotional centers of their brain. The study suggests that a lack of sleep triggers brain activity that's more closely associated with psychiatric disorders like depression.
Well, how can you offset all the damage you do to the environment? Veronica De La Cruz has one option. Carbon credits. How do they work? And really, do they make a difference? We're going to talk about it ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: 47 minutes past the hour. And if you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headlines this morning.
And of course, the big story is the devastation in California. A line of fire extending hundreds of miles along the coastline. 300,000 people forced to leave everything behind. Thousands could come home and find everything they have burned to the ground. Fire officials say that close to 700 homes have been destroyed. More than 10,000 people are living in shelters right now.
Well, a painful and familiar sight in southeast Louisiana. People in New Orleans dealing with waist deep water with severe gulf storms dumping as much as eight inches of rain on the city in nearby Jefferson Parish. The city says that pumps are working properly even though Mayor Ray Nagin was forced to shut down city hall. Several schools and businesses are also closed. And one hospital was forced to turn away some ambulances because the streets were too flooded.
Turkey's foreign minister in Baghdad for crisis talks. He's trying to get the Iraqis to crack down on Kurdish rebels, who ambushed and killed 12 Turkish troops over the weekend. The foreign minister has reportedly rejected a conditional cease fire from the PKK rebels, saying that Turkish government won't deal with terrorists.
More than $1 billion already approved for Iraq may have gone down the drain. A new federal audit slams the State Department for loosing track of a huge contract to train and equip Iraqi police. Auditor says that government is trying to recoup that money that it paid to the contractor Dime Corp International to do that job.
John?
ROBERTS: It's coming up now to 11 minutes to the top of the hour. Part one of "Planet in Peril". CNN's year long investigation into the environment and the effects and causes of global warming airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. And in honor of that, CNN is going green all this week. We're hoping that you want to join us. Veronica de la Cruz joins us now to talk about how you can reduce your carbon footprint. Yes, we're learning about all of these new terms, carbon footprint, carbon credits, carbon offset. Help us to understand.
VERONICA DELA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you want to reduce all of that by purchasing carbon offsets or you know carbon credits. And you remember last week, we measured our own carbon footprints. You do remember that.
ROBERTS: Yes, quite large feet.
DELA CRUZ: Yes, you do. We're able to calculate how much carbon dioxide we are emitting by heading to a website. We filled out a form. We answered a few simple questions like how often we travel, the distance we travel, whether or not we own a car. And these are the results. Take a look. Kiran, John like you said, had the smallest carbon footprint. She weighed in at about 27.7. That was actually me. Kiran weighed in at 9.44. I weighed in at 27.7. And like you just said, you have the biggest one. You weighed in at 86.6 metric tons.
ROBERTS: Because I fly a lot.
DELA CRUZ: Because you fly a lot. But you are doing something that is better than flying or taking the train.
ROBERTS: I take the train on occasion. Yes, I do.
DELA CRUZ: You're taking the train, which is good. Another thing you can do too, neutralize your footprint is by purchasing these offsets or credits. You want to think of a carbon offset like a trade. You can offset your emissions by contributing to organizations that reverse the damage you've done to the earth by planting trees maybe or investing in renewable energy sources. Now, the website, carbonfund.org has calculator that shows you how you can offset your house, maybe your car. Your airline trips, John, even your wedding. If you're out there planning a wedding.
Their website says that the average person can go carbon neutral for as low as $99 a year, which breaks down to less than $8 a month. Also, websites now like Travelocity are offering customer the option of offsetting their emissions associated with their trip for a few extra dollars. And these bring us a question in the morning. Why would you do all of this? Why would you reduce your energy spending if you can now buy these carbon credits? Why would you do something like that? You can e-mail us at cnn.com. Because that truly is the question. I mean, people would still purchase hummers and stuff if they knew they could save their environment by doing something as simple as buying these credits. Right?
ROBERTS: Yes. It's a real feel good type of thing. And you also wonder, are all of these carbon offset programs legitimate?
DELA CRUZ: Exactly. So that's another big question. We're asking you what you think. E-mail us at am.cnn.com. ROBERTS: All right and don't forget "Planet in Peril" part one, tonight, the 23rd, Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. eastern. We're also going to be airing another two hours tomorrow night. We're going to be talking with Dr. Sanjay Gupta coming up at the top of the hour. Anderson Copper and Jeff Corwin from "The Animal Planet", they joins us in our 8:00 hour. So stick around.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, thank a lot, John. Well, there's more alarming news about global warming. Your "Quick Hits" now. The rate of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere increased in the last seven years. Researcher says that emissions of the main greenhouse gas were 35 percent higher in 2006 than they were in 1990.
The government's plan for a flu pandemic is out today. They're recommending it for pregnant women, for babies, toddlers, doctors, emergency workers, and soldiers. They should all be the first in line to get the vaccine. The elderly and healthy younger adults will get vaccinated last.
Well, just in from London, our own Christiane Amanpour with the queen. Christiane has been honored a commander of the British Empire. We're going to be talking with her about that honor coming up in our next half hour.
Well, do you think your electricity bills are going up? Last year's prices saw their biggest jump in a quarter century. But now they're saying that perhaps this year could be worse. We're going to get the details ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: 56 minutes past the hour. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business". You're back and you have at least a little bit of good news when it comes to heating your home.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Definitely half full, half empty story. Last year and you probably felt this, was the biggest increase in electricity prices in 25 years. The Energy Information administration, which is part of the Department of Energy, just released that information. Kind of wonder why it took them until October to release that information when most of you paying for electricity knew this. There was a 9 percent increase on average in the price of electricity.
Now, 30 percent of American homes heat with electricity. But most of you have light bulbs like this, use electricity in your home. The reason for this is that a number of states went to this whole market energy electricity program. So, it increased their rates. Now, here's the half full part of the story. This year we're only expecting about a 4 percent increase in the cost of electricity, which isn't that much higher than inflation and is by some standards entirely manageable. So, there's my half full. You're going to get an increase in your electricity prices this year. It's not going to be likely as high as last year's 9 percent increase. Is that a good? CHETRY: Yes. We were scratching our heads wondering how you can live in an apartment the size of a shoebox and get a $500 bill.
VELSHI: I'm fascinated by it. I mean, electricity is very expensive. And more than half of the electricity in this country, by the way, is still generated by coal plants. But we've seen an increase -- it takes fuel to make electricity, and all of that fuel is more expensive. So, if your electricity is generated by natural gas or by coal, all of that has gone up. And it is fascinating how much electricity I'm always looking at my bill thinking, that's remarkable. So, it's going to get more expensive. There's no discount.
CHETRY: All right, not as bad as last year. There's a silver lining.
VELSHI: That's right. That's right.
CHETRY: Ali, thank you.
ROBERTS: Looking at a story coming up in our next half hour now that you just can't miss. CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour can add a new award to her collection.
CHETRY: Yes, there she is. This is video just from a few moments ago. She was in Buckingham Palace. She was getting an award from the queen of England. She's going to join us live to tell us all about it.
ROBERTS: We'll have to ask her about that hat too.
CHETRY: And the suit. She looks beautiful. I mean, we're used to seeing her in the khaki reporter outfit of course because she's always out in the field. But, yes, she looks great. And we're going to hear about her honor. Coming up, the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
CHETRY: Breaking news. A race against time.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just impossible to stop this.
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CHETRY: Hundreds of homes already burned to the ground across southern California.
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CHETRY: When we lose a house, it's like we're losing our own house.
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CHETRY: Facing another day of fighting nature along with the flames. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Arnold Schwarzenegger: What we need is the weather to change.
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CHETRY: On the ground with live reports, I-reports, and the unforgettable stories.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was our garage. The living room over there. This was a living hell coming over the hill. This is what I come home to today.
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CHETRY: On this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. It's Tuesday, October 23rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
President Bush has declared an emergency in Southern California. More than a dozen uncontained fires are spreading from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border and getting more dangerous by the minute. It's an area that's home to more than 20 million people. Among them, some of the world's most famous. Right now the largest evacuation in San Diego County's history is under way. Here's the tally of destruction so far.
655 homes have burned to the ground, 424 square miles of hillside and canyon up in smoke. 300,000 people have been ordered to leave immediately. In Lake Arrowhead, California, a mountain resort community east of Los Angeles, the devastation is on a level that's hard to comprehend. Fire officials say 130 houses entire neighborhoods are ruined. The demise of one of those homes was caught on camera right before our eyes interrupted into a huge fireball.
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