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Southern California Still Burning
Aired October 24, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
Our breaking news coverage of the California wildfires continues this hour. Almost a million people have now been forced out of their homes, many with little or no warning, and now they can only sit and worry, will their home survive? Or will they join a growing number of suddenly homeless?
Our Kyra Phillips has returned to her hometown of San Diego to get the very personal side of this story for us -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And that was my big concern, Don.
As you know, I wanted to see how my family was doing, how my friends were doing. So many of them have been displaced. So far, our home is OK, but the fires aren't that far away.
And as I was looking at the local paper today, "The Union Tribune," I was telling you there was a time when I was 13 years old that I used to deliver this paper. And I would be reading the paper always running late to my paper route.
And I find myself today looking at that same paper, but just seeing a much different headline. And this on, the toll, 500,000 evacuated, 300,000 acres charred, 1,300 building destroyed, the front lines, air fleet grows, ground reinforcements arrives, weather eases, help from above.
But still even though they have got forces out there working so hard to put these fires out, the people here that are Qualcomm Stadium are still wondering, what is going to their homes? Will their homes be burned in these fires that we're looking at on the front pages?
But I can tell you, while they worry that and they're thinking about that and they're trying to get in touch with family members and loved ones, there are so many resources here that are helping to provide for them and their children, clothes, water, food, crisis counseling.
I was telling you some of the unique things, yoga, meditation, AA meetings. It's unbelievable the resources that are here. About 15,000 people, thousands more as volunteers, and it's such an organized, orchestrated effort. I have never seen anything like this growing up in this town. I'm not surprised that the leadership has done such a good job at organizing, because I have watched them do that for so many years, but in this situation like this, they have come to the plate, and it shows.
It's calm, cool and collected and people are getting what they need.
LEMON: All right, Kyra Phillips, we will check back.
And, also, we're awaiting a press conference from there from Qualcomm Stadium, where Kyra is. We will bring that to you when it happens.
The winds are changing and the fight against the wildfires is taking a new direction, at least for now.
Let's go straight to Running Springs near Lake Arrowhead California and CNN's Ted Rowlands. That's where he is.
Hi, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don.
What a difference a day makes in terms of the winds and what Mother Nature was doing. We're in Running Springs, like you say. First let's show you the devastation. And this is the heartbreak of this fire. About 500 homes total have been lost in the Lake Arrowhead area. Two separate fires were burning here.
And this is what a lot of people unfortunately are going to come back to when they are allowed back. It's going to be a while before they're allowed back because of the inherent dangers from the fire and the aftermath. And you see this power line down in the foreground here an example. We see power lines everywhere coming up here throughout the streets. So, it's going to be a while before these people are going to come back. And when they do come back, unfortunately they are going to have this pretty much to look at.
The fight itself in this region was so intense because of the mountainous conditions. We were up with a crew last night, and we have some great video to show you, show the viewers sort of the intense nature of this fight.
To give you a sense of where we are, we're in a resort community. It's a mountainous community with homes scattered everywhere within the mountain. So, firefighters did their best to just save everything they could. Intense battles, street to street. Some streets they weren't able to save. They lost entire streets.
But other they were able to save. Other homes they were able to save, a lot of the evacuees hoping that they will be the lucky ones when they come back. Here today the winds, here is an example of the difference. Look it, there's still fire burning all around this area. You see smoke and even flames here.
Yesterday, we couldn't be here, because just this little flame and these smoldering pieces of wood would be thrown by the intense winds. And that was part of the problem with this entire fire in the region. Now you can see the flames just basically burning themselves out. Firefighters are going to attack it by the air and the ground today, hoping to make progress and hoping that these people can come at least come back to see the fate of their homes sooner than later.
LEMON: Oh, my goodness. And that video you got, did you get that yesterday when you went out with them? Or was that today?
ROWLANDS: That was shot last night. Photographer Tom Larson (ph) went out with a crew, went right along with them, and shot those amazing pictures. He's a veteran with CNN out of Los Angeles bureau, so he's been doing this for a long time. It looks dangerous, but he was safe.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Yes. It just shows you what the firefighters go through there. I mean, one person going door to door, and then reeling these hoses and stuff out of their trucks, and then getting right up on those fires and hosing them down. And you don't know how the fire is going to react. So these guys are really -- they're trained professionals, Ted, but they're taking their lives into their own hands when they are doing this.
(CROSSTALK)
ROWLANDS: You're exactly right. And people should look at that and know that while they lost a lot of homes, they sure did give it a fight and they saved a lot of homes because of that effort.
LEMON: All right, Ted Rowlands, thank you so much, reporting from Lake Arrowhead, California. We appreciate that.
Want to talk about the Harris fire now. It's unlike all the others. This one is a killer. It's burning in San Diego County, and it's blamed for the one death reported so far in Southern California.
So, let's go straight to Sean Callebs. He's in Spring Valley for us.
Hey, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don, really a couple stories here.
One, because there's no real wind out here today, the firefighters are doing a good job of containing this fire. They have 800 firefighters out on these mountains behind me. Another story that's been going on here for days, this is a shelter here at the Steele Canyon High School. We're told it's the first shelter that opened up after fires began burning in this area of Southern California.
There are 160 people who are staying in here. And we have all seen the pictures from Qualcomm over the past 48 hours, the environment there with the entertainment keeping everybody amused, trying to keep people's minds off what's going on.
Well, dramatically different over here. The people that are staying here at this high school, they can't come and go as they please.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Sean, are you there? Can you hear me?
I'm sorry. I hate to cut you off. But we want to get to a press conference happening at Qualcomm Stadium now.
Senator Barbara Boxer at the microphone. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: It's not that it's cool there. It's warm.
The heat hit me in such a way that I have just frankly never really felt before in San Diego. I have been here many times. And that combination of the heat, the direction of the winds, the low humidity, this is what is causing such a problem.
But I have to say, it's still right here right now. And even though we know that doesn't necessarily mean it's still all over the area, it's a promising sign. And the FEMA director, who I was happy to meet with, said that he's hopeful, hopeful that the wind is going to die down and that we will get an onshore breeze, lowering the humidity and maybe giving us a better chance.
I saw so many touching things here today. I want to thank -- I won't restate everyone that the mayor thanked, but I join him. All the federal agencies, I want to say a special word about the National Guard.
About a month ago, I wrote to the Department of the Army and said I was very worried that we were low on National Guard and National Guard equipment because of Iraq. And what he wrote me back was not a reassuring letter.
He said, you're right. If there's a major catastrophe, we may have a problem. But Lieutenant General Blum, whom I met with yesterday, from the Guard assured me that because of the governor's swift action, we have moved the Guard up from the border. And I met some of them here today. And we have enough personnel at our disposal.
And, as far as equipment is concerned, because of a pact we have with all the other states in the union, we're getting the equipment we need. And unfortunately we weren't able to use the aircraft, the firefighting aircraft because of the conditions that the pilots would face.
So it looks like maybe today is that day. Frankly, I told the mayor this and I told the supervisor this. When I heard we were bringing so many people to a stadium, my heart said, let's make this, you know, a good experience. And I have to say that the folks behind me have done everything to do just that.
We have got kids in the shade doing arts and crafts. We have got seniors upstairs, very fragile, very frail, doing fine. I spoke to some of them. They have big smiles on their faces. It's cool up there, an air-conditioned situation.
They have done an amazing job. The private sector has pulled through. They have sent so much food and water. FEMA has brought in the cots. And we're prepared, FEMA is, for 30,000 people to sleep here, but we're certainly hopeful that will not be necessary at all.
We're certainly hopeful that we have peaked here and that people can start returning to their homes. Now, we know there's more than 1,200 homes that are gone. So, that's the next thing I want to talk about.
I will be back in 10 days. And I want you to know that Senator Feinstein sends her very best wishes and she's going to get here hopefully this weekend. And then, in about 10 more days, I will come back again, because that's the part where Congresswoman Davis (ph), we really need to get going on the federal aid.
There will be disaster area centers set up. There's already one here. I understand the mayor and the supervisor will be opening some more. And where is it going to be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rancho Bernardo.
BOXER: Rancho Bernardo today. And those are going to be one- stop shops, where people can go, they can see their insurance people there, they can find out what loans are available, what grants are available, what individual assistance is available if they have businesses, and, of course, there's the public sector, which will be doing a damage assessment.
And we will work very hard, Senator Feinstein, I and the Senate and the congressional delegation, to make sure that those funds are available for you to rebuild any public buildings that we need to do.
So, that's really what I have to say. I'm just very touched and moved by what I saw. I'm so glad I was able to do this just for a few hours, because, you know, like you -- even if you have a problem in your immediate family, it's better to be there. Don't hear about it. Just be there, and that's what I tried to do.
LEMON: California Senator Barbara Boxer really there just reiterating the support that the government is going to give the people in need in California, talking about her visit.
She's going to be back in 10 days, and also talking about what other officials are doing there.
And that's one of the things we have been discussing all afternoon about the official response there and the coordinated response. And when things started getting bad in San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium, where Barbara Boxer is, right now, it opened its gates.
And, since Monday, thousands of people have taken refuge there. What's it like living inside this instant city?
With the answer to that, let's go back to our Kyra Phillips live -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And just to get a sense of it, Don, if you go inside the stadium, you see military cots and blow-up mattresses and blankets kind of circling around the stadium, a stadium that I grew up going to the Padre games and the Charger games, even my first concert.
So, it's so bizarre for me to sort of see this place that used to be a place of entertainment for me turn into an -- it's been turned into an emergency shelter. Thousands of people have flooded this whole area, looking for resources, looking for help.
As you can see by the piece you're about to look at, it's pretty unbelievable how organized this effort is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): It's a smoky sunrise over San Diego, and evacuees are already feeling the effects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you feeling better?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling way better.
PHILLIPS (on camera): Who have you been most concerned about? The elderly?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elderly, yes, especially over the last day or two. It's been quite hot outside. And we're about heat stroke in the elderly. We're concerned about little babies, as well, for the same reasons, dehydration, heat stroke. We're concerned about people with chronic illnesses. There are several people here that are from nursing homes.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Dr. Shendon (ph) is talking about best friends like 81-year-old Deanna Fernandez (ph) and 92-year-old Catherine Kemp (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we're both so proud of San Diego and what they have done and how they have come through.
PHILLIPS (on camera): Never realized you could get such good care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's exciting.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really been wonderful.
PHILLIPS: You have a handsome doctor? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, several.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): The help and attitude here is overwhelming.
Travis Segura (ph) is a U.S. Marine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When our country is in need, a Marine always has to step up and make a good decision. And this is a good decision. So I took time out of my busy schedule, and I'm here and I want to help.
PHILLIPS (on camera): Just like you did in Iraq?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right, just like I did in Iraq.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): You will find it all here -- food, water, all types of supplies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some paper towels, Kleenexes, baby pacifiers, baby wipes, sunblock, baby formula, powder, cups.
PHILLIPS (on camera): You're really concerned about the babies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are, yes. We are really concerned.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Meditation and yoga, kosher food, crisis counseling, AA meetings, FEMA Q&A, even acupuncture, it's all here thanks to these volunteers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's people here that need our help. And we're going to make sure they get our help and get everything they need.
PHILLIPS: Thousands of volunteers are trying to make life easier for thousands of evacuees, evacuees like Richard Coleman (ph), who just needed T-shirts.
(on camera): Do you know what happened to your home in Ramona?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the only way we know for sure that -- we don't have any status. There's nobody to ask. But the only way we know for sure is that we called the answering machine last night and it answered. So, that means...
PHILLIPS: Could be good news?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would think so. We didn't leave it a message, because it knows we're gone.
PHILLIPS: Are you amazed by how organized it is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Yes, it's almost ridiculously embarrassing compared to what we heard about Katrina and all the lack of integration there. Here, it's phenomenal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And a lot of people have asked me about the children, too, Don. There's a whole area that was set up with games, and arts and crafts.
Meet little Tony Huang, 9 years old. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY HUANG, EVACUEE: When I saw all of Carmel Valley having to be evacuated, I'm like...
PHILLIPS: We got to go.
HUANG: So...
PHILLIPS: Well, what do you think of Qualcomm Stadium here? Are you OK here?
HUANG: Yes.
PHILLIPS: What are the highlights?
HUANG: Well, it's really like -- it's OK, not that bad. Well, I know we're safe here, but just don't know the news reports about our homes.
PHILLIPS: You worried about your home?
HUANG: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Oh, Don, it's like a sweet innocence. They're paying attention. They know what's going on.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: But I got to tell you, they're having a good time here. The resources are here to take care of the kids. And so they're just taking day by day.
LEMON: Yes. And I have to say it's very sad what's going on, but it's good that these folks at least have some degree of normalcy there.
Kyra Phillips, much appreciated. And give that little kid a hug for all of us, OK? We will see you at 3:30.
PHILLIPS: We have all hugged him at least twice.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: OK. LEMON: All right, Kyra.
Well, imagine looking out your front door and seeing this. I- Reporter Douglas Aubert (ph) did, and he shared it with us, just one of the many wildfire I-Reports pouring in. They're pouring in by the hour.
We will show you much, much more straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Earlier this afternoon, we got an e-mail complaining of price gouging at hotels in Southern California.
And our Reynolds Wolf is following up on that and brings us more I-Reports.
Reynolds, I love what you're doing back there, really bringing us these great, great stories.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the great thing about these e-mails we're getting in is, these are stories from people. These aren't things that we have written. This is what's happening out on the front lines.
And the stories that we have are -- some are disturbing, like the price-gouging story, but there's also a bit of good news in there as well.
Let's talk about the price-gouging story. Earlier, Don, we were talking about the story of some hotels and motels in Southern California. They were charging up to $2,000 a night. That's ridiculous. But the good side of that is we got an e-mail from Jackie (ph) from Chino Hills, whose parents happen to own a bed and breakfast in Southern California in the Santa Barbara area. And they have done just the opposite.
What they have done is offered a reduced price for people, up to 70 percent off, if they have been suffering from the fire, if they have lost a home or can't reach their home, because it's been blocked off by the fire. So, people are getting help. It's neighbors helping neighbors.
Something else we have been getting in, not just e-mails, but some incredible I-Reports, including this video that we have for you. Take a look at this. This is from Oto Godfrey. My gosh, if someone told me that this was video of what it looked like when you were driving into hell, I would believe it. Look at that. The hills are just covered in fire.
There's one stretch of this video where you street, and on either side flames everywhere, some of these flames very high, 50, 100 feet high reaching into the sky, and feeding off all that vegetation. And still this is just a tiny little microcosm of what's been happening all over parts of Southern California. In many places, it's getting better, but in many spots, it is certainly not a time for the firefighters to let up.
And again this is just one small sampling of the thousands of I- Reports and e-mails we have been getting in.
Abbi Tatton joins us. She's from Washington, D.C., right now.
And, Abbi, I understand you have got a few more to share with our viewers as well.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Reynolds, it's hard to keep up with the volume of images, video that we're getting in here, but it's not just the images; it's the stories behind them as well when you talk to these I-reporters.
I have just got off the phone with one of them in Lakeside, California. Andrew Huse says he's not in an evacuated area, but he has got the Witch fire to the north of him. He has got the Harris fire to the south of him, and they're just watching these evacuation orders inching towards them.
He think it's the Witch fire that is going to reach his neighborhood first if that happens. Take a look at these images here from one of the firefighters who is battling the blaze. This is the Harris fire here, sent in by Captain Mike Nash. He's from the Chula Vista Fire Department. There he is there.
Mike Nash battled the Cedar fire in 2003 in San Diego. But he says he's never seen anything like this one. We were talking to his son, Nathan Nash, who says that the firefighters there, all of them, have been called up, and some of them working shifts of 24 hours-plus.
What's this like for the residents? Well, this is what Spring Valley, California, normally looks like from the backyard of C.J. Baldwin's house. And take a look at it a couple of days ago as the Harris fire moved towards them. He said he just kept on watching it. This was the view Tuesday night.
C.J. was one of the 4,500 people evacuated from this area. He says that he's hoping to return today. Over 200 homes destroyed by the Harris fire.
This again -- this is Rancho Bernardo now. We're moving north from there, the Witch fire. Andrew Huse took these pictures of destroyed houses in this area. He said it was so random what he saw, the house here completely destroyed, the ones either side of it still standing, unscathed.
All of these pictures coming in, we're getting them from south of San Diego up to north of Los Angeles. CNN.com/ireport, that's where people are sending the images and also those e-mails as well, Reynolds.
WOLF: My goodness, it's just really mind-numbing just to see all that has happened in parts of Southern California.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about the second -- actually, the largest mass evacuation since Katrina. And still, it goes on. Abbi, thanks so much for your contribution.
TATTON: Sure.
WOLF: And we are going to be talking to you again throughout much of the evening, I'm sure.
Folks, if you happen to be out and if you have a chance, if you're not going to put yourself in harm's ways, you happen to have a digital camera, or the ability to get some video for us, it's simple. You can share it with us and we're going to share it with everyone else. Go to CNN.com/ireport.
Also, something else, more important than sending these I- Reports, if you can just send a message -- maybe you happen to have had a tough time reaching your mom, your dad. If you just want to type in something, go to the computer and type in mom, dad, I'm safe, I love you, I know that's going to mean the world to them. It will make a tremendous difference to them.
So, by all means, if you have the ability, type in. Use your BlackBerry, whatever it takes, text us with you phone. Send it to us and we will pass it on to them.
Don, it is a tremendous story. And, of course, we're getting the human side of it right here with the help of a great team, a lot of folks, and we're certainly going to get all we can and send it back to you.
LEMON: Yes. And it's certainly easy to send all of that in, Reynolds. All you have to do, as you said, on your BlackBerry, your cell phone, whatever, and just get it right in there.
WOLF: You have got plenty of options, plenty of options.
LEMON: Yes. Reynolds and Abbi, thank you both for that.
A psychologist and his family in San Diego are among hundreds of thousands of Californians driven from their homes by wildfires. He joins us live from Los Angeles coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We have this just into the CNN NEWSROOM. And literally it's just coming across the wires here. I'm going to read it.
It says, a law enforcement official has said California authorities and the FBI have executed a search warrant as part of an arson investigation into one of the wildfires in the state. Again, this is according to the Associated Press. A law enforcement official has said California authorities and the FBI have executed a search warrant as part of an arson investigation into one of the wildfires in that state.
Not exactly sure which fire it is, but we will check on that as well, but that's some very serious stuff, considering all that's going on, $1 billion-plus in damage, and now they're looking to federal arson charges for someone or some people in one of the fires in California.
Let's talk now with Keith Kanner. He and his family are among almost a million Californians who fled the flames. Kanner is a family psychologist in San Diego and he joins me now from Los Angeles.
KEITH KANNER, EVACUEE: Hi, Don.
LEMON: Considering what you're going through, sir, we thank you very much for joining us here today.
KANNER: Oh, it's my pleasure.
LEMON: My question is -- my colleague, Kyra Phillips, had a little boy on a short time ago and we saw some of the kids there at Qualcomm Stadium.
How do you talk to your kids about this, first off?
KANNER: You know, it's really important, Don, that the first thing you've got to do is you've got to calm yourself down first as an adult and secure yourself that you're going to get through a trauma like this. Because kids are really going to look to their parents and the adults to determine how it's going to be.
Once you know what's going on and you have some information, you have to be really sensitive that what you tell them isn't going to make things worse rather than better. So it depends on their age. You have to be very, very concrete, very specific. Don't over sensationalize things. But you've got to be honest. If they lost their house, you have to say that -- something along the lines that a tragedy has happened and we've lost our house. But we're OK and we're going to be OK. And really emphasize to kids that material objects are replaceable.
LEMON: And probably kids are much more resilient than we might think in all this.
Now here I'm reading -- I've just been reading this about you. You were evacuated from your home. You spent, what, fire hours out on the frontline helping to fight fires for your home and your neighbors' home. And you're also a psychologist. You're going through this.
How do you help people get through it, as well?
KANNER: Well, it's one of those things, Don, where you -- you take your professional training and you try to apply it to yourself. But it's hard. I found myself losing track of time, what day it is, just like everybody else. It's one of these things that when you go through a trauma, you've got to do everything you can to really settle on the reality of what's going on and then do your best to really handle those things that you've got to take care of. And in my particular case, also help your friends. You've got to help your neighbors and be safe.
So it's really very cumulative of the kinds of things you have to do.
But it's been a tough experience for everybody in San Diego.
LEMON: OK.
How long have you lived in that area?
KANNER: We've been in San Diego -- in this particular area where we are, which is Rancho Santa Fe, for about six years.
LEMON: So you're very aware of the dangers of living there -- because there are often -- and you're a psychologist. Some would -- some would wonder about why folks might want to live and build there, considering the danger of mudslides and the fires and what have you.
KANNER: Well, it's one of those things, Don, that Southern California -- people love this area, for all the weather and everything thing else. What people don't realize is just like other states, we've got types of natural potential disasters -- Santa Ana winds. We've got earthquakes. All of which you have to take into consideration when you move somewhere.
But Southern California, with the beaches and the weather, it's hard not to live there.
But you're right, Don. People have to look -- really plan ahead. We talk so much about earthquakes in Southern California. Maybe we don't talk enough about fires and really preparing ahead of time with a list of what you have to get out of the house and what you have to do to safeguard that you're going to preserve human life in something like this.
LEMON: All right, Keith Kanner, a psychologist there.
We're glad -- you're back in your home -- is that correct?
KANNER: No, we're displaced.
LEMON: You're not?
KANNER: We're displaced.
LEMON: OK, you're still displaced. Sorry...
KANNER: We're up in Orange County.
LEMON: Oh, goodness. All right, well, we certainly wish you the best -- you and your family and your kids.
KANNER: Hey, thanks, Don.
LEMON: And we appreciate your efforts, too, you being on the front lines of the fire and trying to save your home, as well as your neighbors' homes.
Best of luck to you. Now imagine this -- imagine living in San Diego. Now imagine that you don't speak English and you don't know what to do or where to go as fires erupt around you.
Well, coming up, our Kyra Phillips reports on bridging a language barrier in the midst of this crisis -- hi, guys.
And a natural disaster evacuation, a sports stadium, FEMA -- sound familiar, all of it?
Well, the comparisons with Hurricane Katrina -- they are starting already.
And our Bill Schneider -- he joins me in THE NEWSROOM. He is live in the house. He's going to tell us about all those Hurricane Katrina comparisons, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here we go. Live pictures from Los Alamitos, California. The governor held a press conference there just a short time ago and updated the public on the emergency response.
Those pictures courtesy of our affiliate, KCAL. And we certainly appreciate them for those pictures.
She knew that big thick cloud meant trouble, but she couldn't understand the local news and Spanish language stations weren't reporting the story. Police knocked at her door Sunday evening, and luckily one officer spoke Spanish and was able to tell her she needed to flee.
Unfortunately, that woman's story is not at all unique.
And our Kyra Phillips has been talking to other families facing very similar situations -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: That's true.
Growing up here in San Diego, Don, you know, it's right close to the Tijuana border. And there's a tremendous Hispanic community here in San Diego. They're a huge part of the working force, the living force here in the city.
And once again, a part of my amazing family. We talked about my mom. She's a teacher for the deaf. And we talked about the deaf community and how important translators have been in telling the deaf community about the dangers of the fires.
My dad, a professor in Spanish, has been here volunteering his time, translating for the Hispanic families. And that's how we came across the Miramonte family here.
And I'm just going to ask my dad to translate for Jorge so we can get a sense for what he went through when the fire started burning. He needed information and he needed information fast. And it was tough, because not everything is in Spanish and in English.
So, Jorge, tell us, when did you find out about the fires?
JORGE MIRAMONTES, EVACUEE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Last Sunday, around 2:00, we saw the smoke coming from San Ysabel and many people came through at night. And we decided to wait until Monday. And Monday when we saw the smoke coming in closer, we saw it on television. And even though the police didn't say anything, the news said we had to leave because the brightness of the fire was very close.
PHILLIPS: And, Don, for the first time we saw Spanish updates on the English speaking newscasts, which I thought was very interesting. I've never seen that before growing up here in San Diego.
How did that help, Jorge?
JORGE MIRAMONTES (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): They were saying in Spanish and English and we were going from channel to channel. And that way we found out.
PHILLIPS: And, Don, the Miramontes family -- specifically Jorge -- you know, supports a very large family. They're the laborers here in San Diego. They work construction. They pick fruit. They work for a lot of families here -- a lot of yard work. And this -- every day that they have to be here, they're obviously missing out on an opportunity to pay for the family and support the family.
And we talked about Jorge's work ethic.
How tough is this on his family?
JORGE MIRAMONTES (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It's a lot, because we work on a daily basis. And if -- if we don't work, we can't pay the rent.
PHILLIPS: And, Junior, you have helped so much. You speak Spanish and English. Let's talk about how you've helped, you know, the family, with regard to telling them what's going on.
JUNIOR MIRAMONTES: Well, I've helped them -- like kept them busy. Like my mom, she doesn't get busy a lot, so I tell her like, oh, mom, we need pans or something. That way she doesn't start worrying about the house. Because I don't want to see her sad and all or crying. It doesn't look right.
PHILLIPS: So you've been trying to tell her it's going to be OK?
JUNIOR MIRAMONTES: Yes.
PHILLIPS: OK. Good. I'm glad you're here to help support the family.
A final question.
Jorge, what's next? JORGE MIRAMONTES (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Wait until -- wait until we can get back to the house. If we can't go back to the house, we're sort of lost. We want to see what condition the area is in and our house.
PHILLIPS: And, Pop, I know you're going to help with that.
Thanks for translating.
And Isaac is very shy. We've decided that he was just going to hang out, Don.
You can see the -- actually, the blue paint on his fingers there. He's been working over in the play area, keeping busy, like Junior said. It's been great for the kids.
But this is the reality that San Diegans are having to deal with, families like the Miramonte family, and that is getting information, finding out what's happening on the fire lines.
And I have a great father to help them through that.
LEMON: Yes.
And tell pop I said, ola, pop, como estas?
PHILLIPS: Don says ola, pop, como estas?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Muy bien.
LEMON: Muy bien.
PHILLIPS: Very good.
LEMON: Got you.
OK. Thank you to Kyra and to the Miramonte family.
Thank you for all your covering throughout the day, Kyra.
Don't know if you're coming back yet?
Do you have any idea?
PHILLIPS: I don't know yet. I'm going to have to find out the next assignment, if there is one. Otherwise, I'll see you back in the studio. It's been great to be home and just see how everybody is coming together in this city. It makes me really proud to be from San Diego.
LEMON: Absolutely.
Hit me up on the Blackberry. Let me know what's up.
PHILLIPS: OK.
LEMON: All right, Kyra.
Take care.
PHILLIPS: I will.
Say good-bye -- bye -- say bye, Isaac.
OK.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Bye, Isaac.
OK, let's talk about the federal response now to Hurricane Katrina. It was, in a word, very problematic.
But that was then and this is now.
And today we're seeing a new FEMA responding to the disaster.
Let's bring in our Bill Schneider for more on this.
He is our senior political analyst -- and, Bill, everyone is saying this is much, much different -- much different than Hurricane Katrina and the civic center, Qualcomm is now.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, thank goodness it is, because that was a horror and it was an embarrassment for the United States before the entire world that people were living in those conditions in New Orleans. One has to hope that we learned some lessons from the Katrina catastrophe. California appears to be much better organized. It's a wealthier state. It has less of a history of corruption. Those levee boards in New Orleans, of course, had been infused with corruption for many, many years.
More of the people here in California -- not all, but more of them were middle class people. Remember in New Orleans, they told people to evacuate. But they didn't have cars.
LEMON: Right.
SCHNEIDER: They couldn't drive. Well, here when they told people to evacuate, more of them had cars, they had trucks. They could get out. And that made a difference.
LEMON: Yes, and I -- you know, I asked Kyra that earlier, if it -- because, you know, the average home, I think, in San Diego is something like that. It's like $600,000. Not everyone lives that way, obviously.
SCHNEIDER: That's right.
LEMON: But these people have much better means than the folks did down in New Orleans.
How much of a difference did that make? And then one of our I-Reporters who lived there said the difference is that -- one big difference is that they had electricity. There was no power to tell people -- to get to people in New Orleans, for people to even watch television, to know that they were supposed to get out of the city.
SCHNEIDER: That's exactly right. And they even had a system where they could do a reverse 911 and notify people that they had a mandatory evacuation order. They actually called people. The government -- the city government called people and told them to get out of their homes.
But one more difference -- and this may -- this is really crucial -- leadership.
LEMON: Right. Absolutely.
SCHNEIDER: In New Orleans -- the people in Louisiana and New Orleans saw nobody in charge. The federal government wasn't in charge, FEMA seemed hopeless, the state and municipal authorities didn't seem to know what to do. It's very frightening to people to be in that kind of situation and to perceive that no one is in control.
Now, of course, in California, no one is in control. Many people out there said this is being controlled by the wind, not by any human beings.
LEMON: Right.
SCHNEIDER: But Governor Schwarzenegger and the local authorities were there. Being there makes a difference. Remember after 9/11, Rudy Giuliani was out on the streets of New York.
LEMON: Right.
SCHNEIDER: He certainly wasn't in control, but he tried to reassure terrified New Yorkers that somebody was trying to take control of the situation.
LEMON: There was a presence there.
SCHNEIDER: A presence makes a lot of difference. He's running for president on that.
LEMON: Yes. Yes. And, also, the federal government -- there has been a bit of difference here, because the president is now declaring -- you know, giving disaster money. And we learned just in our last hour that FEMA already registering people for disaster aid online. You can go to www.fema.gov. And I you need assistance, they're on it. So they learned their lesson.
SCHNEIDER: We hope they've learned their lesson and that they're going to be able to show a difference between this response and the one to Katrina.
LEMON: Senior political analyst Bill Schneider. You know what?
Did you ride down here on the Election Express?
SCHNEIDER: No. I actually flew down. The Election...
LEMON: But it's -- it's outside.
SCHNEIDER: The bus is right here outside.
LEMON: We wanted a tour of it today, but, you know, it's pouring rain here in Atlanta. And we cannot complain about that, because we have been in the middle of a drought. So we didn't get to go on the Election Express today, Bill Schneider. But we have you here in the studio and we're getting some much needed rain.
Always appreciate it, having you here.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
LEMON: All right, thank you, sir.
Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, Chad Myers has another view of the California fires from a predator drone. And he'll tell us about that. It's coming up next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Meteorologist Chad Myers is on top of this story -- Chad, I have a question for you.
I'm being told by our producers you're going to talk about the predator drone?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
LEMON: How does this play into all of this?
MYERS: Yes. Well, just so you know that Osama bin Laden is not in the mountains east of San Diego. But the predator drone is -- the same one, or a similar model, that they use in Afghanistan and also in Iraq.
Here's some video of it taking off. It left Edwards Air Force Base for a 10-hour mission.
Are you seeing that?
There it goes. A 10-hour mission. It's not loaded with anything except a camera -- a camera that can see through the smoke and look for the infrared hot spots where the fire right now is the strongest.
It left Edwards, flew all the way down to the Mexican border and now it's making some loops. And I'll show you those loops on Flight Explorer. We'll go back to the maps. Here's where the smoke is, from L.A. through San Diego, right on down here to the Mexican border. Flatten the map to give you your bearing.
Here's Oceanside, San Diego. And now I'm going to flip from that to -- right on top of that -- Flight Explorer of this drone flying around -- literally, almost lost. An unmanned drone being remotely controlled from Edwards Air Force Base. It flew all the way down to the Mexican border, flew around some of the fires down here -- the Harris Fire, where our Rick Sanchez was last night -- back and forth, across, back and forth. Here's Escondido. Looking for the -- it looks like the Rancho Bernardo Fire there. Then back and forth again. And it's still flying around. It's flying at 23,000 feet, going 157 miles per hour right now, taking pictures -- or taking images, if you will, because it can look through the smoke. Looking through the smoke, looking down at the surface, looking for the hottest spots.
And here where the hottest spots were -- and I'm going to go back one more time -- and that's when he was flying around. So all of these images were sent back there. Those images are going to be taken back into the studio, going to be looked at and said, OK, here's where we need to fight the fire now. Here's where the flames are the hottest.
Santa Ana has one more chance today to make problems. It's a little breathing thing, almost. When the sun comes up, the air rises and it warms. And then it sinks as it cools back down. It's going to do it one more tonight -- huff and puff and I'll blow your house down. That's what it's been doing. Today is the last day. It is over -- one more puff -- and that happens about 6:00 or 7:00 tonight.
Right now, the winds aren't too bad -- 15, 16, 20 miles per hour. We were looking for this red area. The red area is where the winds are over 30. Only some small areas over 30 here -- the Santa Monica Mountains there.
7:30 tonight, that's the last puff of this final Santa Ana event -- of this event, anyway. There'll be more high pressures. There'll be more events that will come in. But at least this one is done.
Now, obviously, big fire lines, Don.
This isn't going to go out just because the wind stops. There's a lot of fire to put out yet.
LEMON: Chad, you're the best.
I mean, really, you are.
MYERS: Thanks, bud.
LEMON: Very good.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I've really enjoyed that.
MYERS: Oh, good.
LEMON: Always a good explanation there.
We're going to go to our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon when we come back.
She has a breaking news story coming from there.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's go straight to the Pentagon now.
Barbara Starr with some breaking news -- Barbara, what do you have?
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, while the Pentagon and the military certainly is watching the fire situation in California, other news does go on.
CNN is learning some details this afternoon. The Pentagon is, as part of that war supplemental that we talked about earlier in the week, guess what?
They are asking for $88 million to developed a 30,000-pound bunker busting bomb that could go on board the B-2 Stealth bomber. The Pentagon says now, today, there is an urgent operational need -- that is their words -- for this 30,000-pound bomb.
What might it be used for, you might ask?
No one is saying it publicly, but behind-the-scenes, officials are saying the most likely scenario this new weapons development program would be for targets in Iran -- if it ever came to that.
Iran's nuclear weapon is located, to some extent, deeply buried underground in hardened targets. The U.S. military has long said it does not have the weapons capability to strike those targets. So now $88 million being requested this week from Congress to build that 30,000-pound bomb and develop the capability to put it on a B-2 Stealth bomber and possibly -- possibly use it against Iran, or at least have that capability, if it ever came to that -- Don.
LEMON: Barbara Starr with the breaking news from the Pentagon.
Thank you so much, Barbara.
Susan Lisovicz will tell us about the sports world, how they're changing plans due to the fires. You know, the Chargers play in the stadium, so it's got a domino effect on all of the games. We'll tell you what's happening with that.
Plus, a wrap of the closing bell on Wall Street, straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Oh, it's about that time -- the closing bell about to ring on Wall Street.
Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- hello, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a lot of other info.
Let's start on the West Coast, though. That's where the focus of our coverage has been all afternoon.
The latest estimate we have from the Insurance Information Institute is that losses will exceed $500 million. That is half a billion dollars. The Institute saying given losses to date, the largely uncontrolled nature of the fire and experience with past events, that's the estimate that they're giving at this point. That would including not only homes that are damaged or destroyed, but, also, all of the extra payments for people who are inconvenienced, their businesses that might have been interrupted or, obviously, out of pocket living expenses.
In terms of the business of sports, we still don't know the nature of Sunday's game at Qualcomm Stadium, the San Diego Chargers. We do know other -- college sports and other professional sports are making changes. For instance, tomorrow night's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah "Jazz" is being canceled. That's a preseason exhibition game. That's canceled.
Lakers' coach Phil Jackson says, you know, it's a city that's obviously depressed and recovering. He was in support of just canceling this game. It was supposed to take place in San Diego.
In terms of college sports, San Diego State women -- the women's soccer match against New Mexico moved to Provo, Utah. Saturday's football game at Qualcomm -- that was supposed to be in Qualcomm -- has been postponed to December 1st.
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