Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Investigators Suspect Arson in Some California Wildfires; Residents Returning to Burned Out Areas; President Visits Fire-Damaged Area; Two More Confirmed Dead in Fires
Aired October 25, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: The death and destruction in California. Wildfires catch a break -- will firefighters catch a break today?
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips, on assignment. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And here is what we know right now. President Bush is getting a close-up look at the devastation, touring hard-hit neighborhoods by helicopter and on the ground. Mr. Bush calls the situation in Southern California, quote, "sad".
The death toll directly related to the firs has climbed to at least three. Two bodies were found today in the burned-out rubble of a home in Poway, San Diego County.
At least two of the fires are believed to have started at the hands are arsonists. Investigations are underway in that. And a $70,000 reward is in place.
The flames have scorched nearly a half a million acres. That's roughly half the size of Rhode Island. And today, a break in the shrieking Santa Ana winds has offered firefighters their first hope in days, and they're reporting some progress.
WHITFIELD: The Santiago fire in Orange County has scorched 23,000 acres, and investigators say an arsonist set that blaze.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim joins us now from the city of Orange.
Keith, how's it look?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is really an amazing story, because we're hearing from the authorities here in Orange County that they're working with the FBI and ATF agents. And they are quite sure that this big fire, the Santiago Canyon fire, was set by at least one arsonist, if not more. And they believe that it happened on Sunday evening.
They've looked at three locations, outdoor locations. They've gathered evidence. And my sources are telling me that two of those locations that they have confirmed, that they believe that a fire was set there on Sunday evening. And this is a time that's critical, because it was at that point that there were already numerous fires already that were underway in Southern California. So the official who spoke to me said it was really unthinkable that somebody would do this intentionally. But somebody, they said, who really seemed to know what they were doing.
The size of this fire is pretty big at this point: 22,000 acres. Twenty-two homes -- excuse me, 22 buildings and 14 homes have gone down. And 1,000 or more firefighters are now on the line, trying to protect 3,000 homes.
The Orange County sheriff's office is offering a $70,000 reward, Fredricka, but they're also telling me that they think that that amount could very well go up. The incentive here is try to offer enough money that someone who knows something about these arsonists will come forward.
Back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Keith Oppenheim, thank you so much.
And our John King is actually in that area of Poway where those deaths have already been reported. We'll be checking in with him to get more details of exactly the cause of death, what happened to those people.
LEMON: And Rancho Bernardo in San Diego County was at the heart of the inferno. Evacuees from that area are starting to trickle back in. But in some neighborhoods there is nothing left but rubble.
CNN's Reggie Aqui is there, actually, in one of those neighborhoods -- Reggie.
REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
Yes, you know, when you first come up here and you see things like this, well, it looks like everything is all right. The house number survived. And then you start to look a little closer. There is a disaster relief card left by the American Red Cross. And we show you the bigger picture you'll see why. This house is completely demolished.
It's the same case when you go neighbor to neighbor here in this particular cul-de-sac in Rancho Bernardo, every house completely burnt down with really very little left to salvage.
Look at this car that is -- and now it's just going to have to be junked at this point. This is actually the wheel from that car, Don. Look. Fire was so hot it melted it. And then it just froze, really, frozen in time here on the driveway.
And this is what you're going to find throughout this cul-de-sac. If you go on the other side of this hill here, it's the same thing down below. After that you'll see a house that was hit, and then maybe the next-door neighbor that's OK. It all just depends on the way that the wind was blowing. Right now the wind is not blowing. That's a good sign. The Witch fire that destroyed these homes, well, it's 20 percent contained. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is a whole lot better than what we were yesterday.
When you look behind me you can see a couple of the posts that are left.
I do want to bring you up to the sky right now, just because this happens to be going on as we're talking. President Bush's helicopters have been touring this area up there for the past few minutes. They've been flying right above our heads, as he gets a look for the first time of what this looks like from the air.
We understand, Don, that he's going to be in these neighborhoods where I'm standing a little bit later on as he talks to some of the residents who are able to come back.
You did mention that some residents have been able to see their property. I know that these neighbors here got a chance to look at what happened. They say that they were able to pull out of their driveway just moments before their house was fully engulfed in flames.
And Don, really, when people are going to go through here and see what's left, I don't think they're going to find much. Not -- we're not seeing picture frames; we're not seeing scrap books. There's just very little left for them to salvage.
LEMON: And what's left, probably not even recognizable, Reggie Aqui, as you showed with that tire there.
AQUI: True.
LEMON: Thank you so much for your report.
WHITFIELD: Well, as Reggie mentioned, with the helicopter overhead, President Bush is in Southern California to see some of the devastation firsthand. He's doing that. And on his schedule thus far, an aerial tour with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a visit to a San Diego neighborhood.
White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us from the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego County.
And are you able to kind of get an idea of what the president is able to see?
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Fred. Let me tell you exactly what the president can see and smell. When we landed here a short time before he did, there's this stench that fills your body, a burnt charred wood. You can -- it's just filled your entire body. There are plumes of smoke everywhere you can see.
And to give you an idea of just the scope of it all, when we were flying here early this morning, we were flying over Phoenix, Arizona. Pretty far from here, obviously. And I could see out the window what looked like cloud cover, maybe it was a little bit of smoke. Sure enough, the pilot said, "That's not cloud cover; that is smoke. That's residue all the way from San Diego to Phoenix."
And that is exactly why the president is here in the San Diego area. He's trying to get an up close, personal look at it. He's also trying to show that he's learned lessons from Hurricane Katrina. In fact, even before he left the White House this morning, the president tried to reinforce that very point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a sad situation out here in Southern California. I fully understand that the people have got a lot of anguish in their hearts, and they need to know a lot of folks care about them. And I'm looking forward to my trip out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, we're expecting more live comments from the president around 2:40 Eastern Time after he wraps up what he's doing now, which is a helicopter tour, as you mentioned, of the nearby area.
He's also then going to get some briefings from Governor Schwarzenegger, other state and local officials, as well as federal officials such as the FEMA director, who have been on the ground for a few days now.
I spoke to two Republican congressmen who are here with the president: Darrell Issa and Brian Bilbray. They said, from what they can see so far, the state-federal coordination has been very good.
And also I can tell you these two local congressmen told me, when I was mentioning how thick the smoke is in the air, they told me it's actually pretty clear. It's gotten better in the last couple of days as they've been able to manage these fires. So obviously amid the devastation, some signs of hope, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ed, thanks so much -- Don.
LEMON: And you heard Ed -- Ed Henry mention the magnitude of all this, just flying over it. Why don't we bring in our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf, now from the CNN weather center.
Reynolds, give us a perspective of just the expanse of all these fires, how much it covers.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK. You want perspective. Take a look at this Google image that we have behind me.
Any spot on this map that you see, where it's red, indicates areas that have been burned or are burning out of control as we speak. Other spots where you see yellow, that would be your areas of evacuation. Thankfully, there are many spots that have been evacuated. And as we zoom in, you'll notice that there are some spots that are actually right on parts of the U.S. and Mexican border that are actually crossing over as we speak.
This is the Harris fire. That is the one that's just to the east of San Diego. An enormous fire. And we've had those winds, the Santa Anas, that have been blowing the fires, the blazes going from the east to the west.
Now, what we're expecting is the Santa Ana winds pretty much nonexistent for today. We're getting more of a fetch that's going to come from the ocean, which is going to bring in higher dew points, higher humidity. And it's going to help the firefighters quite a bit, because dry air is not going to be prevalent today.
What you're going to have is a little bit more moisture moving in. Not rain, but certainly more moisture to the air, which will make a tremendous difference in spots like the Witch fire, which is much bigger, covering parts of Coronado hills, back over to Escondido.
Even on parts of Highway 101 we've got a couple of fires that have been popping up. The Wilcox and Horno fire. These are going to be some issues that they're going to deal with much through the weekend and into early next week.
Now, let's talk again about the Santa Ana winds. You want to talk about how strong they were. Take a look at this image behind me. Another Google image. We've got Google Earth.
And we have this NASA image, which shows this plume of smoke carried some 800 miles out into the Pacific Ocean.
Farther to the north we've got that cold front that's going to come through. That cold front is going to be the big mechanism that's going to shift the winds, moving instead from east to west, to west to east. And they're going to be from 5 to 15.
And that's going to bring in that moisture, but it's also going to keep that smoke stuck in many parts of the L.A. Basin and Southern California, including San Diego.
Back to you.
LEMON: All right, Reynolds. And we talked about the expanse, and you showed that area right there. My colleague Kyra Phillips, Reynolds, is embedded with the National Guard. She's going to fly over that area. And we hope to talk to you within this broadcast just as soon as we get some information from her -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.
Well, breathing uneasy. Flames aren't the only hazards from the California wildfires. Calculating the dangers in the air.
LEMON: Flames on the move: what's fueling them? The biggest accelerant may be from nature. WHITFIELD: And impact your world. Some people losing everything to the wildfires. You've seen it firsthand here. CNN's Rusty Dornin on how you can help.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: And sadly, the death toll is rising in these fires. Yesterday and today. A body found yesterday, another one found today, found in Poway in San Diego County. Let's go to John King, who's on the ground now.
And John, found right there where you are in that place.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. We are at the scene.
The remarkable story of these wildfires is that only three people so far confirmed dead, directly caused by the heat of these flames. We, sadly, are at the site of two of those deaths.
And we are told from the San Diego police report -- we're in Poway. It's an unincorporated area, just outside of San Diego. The neighbors warned two people living on this property to flee the house. It was under mandatory evacuation. The Witch fire was approaching. And these two people apparently decided they were going to stay here and wait it out.
We're at the base of the hill of the property. The residence is actually up here to my left. But from the police tape here and the police report, the bodies were found down here.
This is a garage structure you're seeing behind me. Tool chest, a safe back there. The property is scattered. Some vintage MGs and other used cars, some sort of repair work or restoration work going on on this property.
Police say they initially came here after the Witch Hill fire. A cursory view of the rubble, they found nothing. But they came back again last night after a missing persons report was filed. One of the bodies was found late last evening. The search continued. An additional body found just after midnight. The two bodies found, we were told, were taken away by the medical examiner's office.
The names have not been released by the San Diego Police Department as yet, pending notification of the next of kin. And the investigation, the police report says, is continuing.
If you walk around this site you can see the intense heat, this truck here completely burned out. The inside is completely gutted. Everything back there, except for the hard steel items like the safe, like the tool chest, completely burned. More vehicles up on the road, molten, melted into the lava. Some of the cars melted, the property completely destroyed. So when the fire came all the way down these hills it did so with intense heat. And the two people who were on this property, who had decided to ride it out, their family is now being notified that their bodies were discovered in the past 24 hours -- Don.
LEMON: Very sad. And John, hang on. Don't go anywhere, because we have some photos I want to show the viewers, and then we'll talk about them. On the left, this is before. This is during the fire. And then on the right, this is after. The structure is completely gone.
And it's the same town where John King is. And then I think we have a couple more photos that you want to see here that we want to show here. There you go. That's during the fire, and this is the home now. Not much left of it, if you can look at it.
And one more photo that we have, if we can shuttle through. It's coming. There you go. It's just -- it's really sad.
So John, I know you can't see those photographs there, but there are some during the fire where you can see the actual structure, these beautiful homes, and then afterwards literally nothing there.
And I see you standing in front of that car. I mean, you know, it's a cliche, but it looks like a war zone. I would believe that you were in Baghdad if you said that you were there today.
KING: Exactly right, Don. And in some places it looks like a war zone like this: the cars just burned so intensely, the rubber has melted off. You see the metal around the tire frames and throughout the body.
Up on that hill the house just reduced to rubble. Some bricks, a bit of the fireplace, some of the gas lines going through. But everything else simply destroyed down to rubble.
And Don, we're in a very remote area through the hills, down through. And as we drove in, you could just see it almost looks like a moonscape. I mean, the vegetation has been devastated on one side of the road. Strikingly, on the other side, untouched. You see green. There's a Christmas tree farm down there. You see the green trees. Some of them put on their side, obviously, by the owners before they evacuated.
But you see the random nature of this fire: some properties unscathed, others destroyed.
And you can also tell by looking at the ground, at the buildings, at the trees, at what is left of the shells of these vehicles, how intense the heat was when the fire worked through.
And again, we are told from the police report that the two people living on this property were warned by neighbors to get out. They did not take that advice, and they stayed here. And they are two of the three people now, Don, confirmed dead because of the intensity of these wildfires. LEMON: John King on the scene where two burned bodies were found. John, thank you for your report.
WHITFIELD: Well, not too far away, San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium has been the temporary home this week for the thousands of people who did flee their homes. But the number is dropping as more evacuees now get the green light to return to their homes to see what's left.
CNN's Dan Simon is there.
And Dimon [sic] -- Dan, this really has become kind of a camping ground, too, at this stadium.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. And really sort of a silver ling here. People here say that this place has been run extremely well. People seem to be very happy, sort of a celebratory atmosphere, if you can believe that. There have been clowns here entertaining the children.
But as you can probably tell behind me, the crowds a bit thinner today as many communities have reopened to folks. They can return back to their homes.
In fact, there are more volunteers today than there are evacuees. One official told us that just 300 people spent the night here last night. Then another official told us no, it was actually closer to 1,500 people.
In any case there is universal agreement that the organization here has been exceptional.
We spoke to one woman. She's got a baby boy. That can't be easy. And she's been here since Monday. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MARTIN, EVACUEE: I think everything that we've been offered since we've gotten here has been wonderful. Everything. I came here with no shoes, no clothes, no nothing, no diapers, no bottles, nothing and I have everything that I need today.
SIMON: When do you think you'll leave?
MARTIN: We're in High Valley, so I'm not sure. Not today.
SIMON: You don't feel -- I mean, you feel everything has gone really smoothly?
MARTIN: As best as can be expected in such a situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: A number of services here for the folks here, including this medical tent. The people working in the medical tent, they are actually students at a local pharmacy school. We talked to them. We asked what people are asking for, what the needs are. And we're told most are asking for cough drops. Not surprising when you consider the air quality here, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And it seems, Dan, that most of the folks there are represented just in the way that young lady was, I mean, fairly light- hearted about it. Just happy to have their lives and feeling like all the services are there, everything is in place to bring some creature comforts?
SIMON: That clearly is the perception we're getting. You know, when this place opened, inevitably there were getting the comparisons to Hurricane Katrina and the Superdome, but really, there are no comparisons to be made.
When you walk around here, it's clean. In fact, I went into the bathrooms because I was curious. I wanted to see what they looked like. And they're clean. It looks just like they would look if you were to come to a football game here on Sunday.
Of course, this is where the San Diego Chargers play their home games.
WHITFIELD: Right. Well, that's good, some good news, some comfort to folks who have been through so much already. Thanks so much, Dan.
LEMON: Lighting up Southern California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The general rule of thumb is, if you can smell it, it's going to fire up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What's feeding the flames? We've got the anatomy of a wildfire, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, the winds in Southern California have died down, but the damage estimates, well, they are still mounting. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest numbers.
Big numbers, I'm sure, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Big numbers. And that -- the number is very well likely to climb, Don.
Losses from the wildfires have now reached the $1-billion mark. And that's just around San Diego. This is according to emergency services in San Diego County, where at least 1,200 homes have been destroyed and half the commerce ground to a halt.
The damage estimate expected to grow, but one economist says the losses may actually be a lot less than what people have lost through foreclosures this year related to the housing recession. And the rebuilding efforts that will follow the fires will help to stimulate the lagging construction industry, which has lost nearly 30,000 jobs because of the housing slump. So there will be activity.
There is very little activity right now in terms of business; so many businesses are closed. But that should pick up considerably, given all the rebuilding that will have to be done, Don.
LEMON: Yes. We heard about a lot of people, individuals stepping in, a lot of Hollywood stars, someone opening up their hotel or bed and breakfast. But what about big business? Are they stepping up in all of this?
LISOVICZ: Well, we're starting to see a lot more of that, Don. Wal-Mart, Target, Wells Fargo, Sprint, Verizon, donating to groups like the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
Wal-Mart and Target are also sending goods like water, clothing and blankets to Southern California. Verizon is donating hundreds of cell phones to government agencies and evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium.
Meanwhile, the government has started a disaster food stamp program. Any resident of San Diego County who spent money protecting, repairing or evacuating their home is eligible to receive the one- month benefit.
Some California hotels, such as Loews and Marriott, are also doing their part by taking in a wide variety of pets with no additional fee. Hotels are even lifting their pet restrictions altogether. Evacuees are not only bringing in dogs and cats, Don, but rabbits, pot-bellied pigs, bunnies, goats, and even chinchillas, because in many cases they are considered part of the family. So the hotels are starting to look like Noah's ark.
LEMON: Yes. A chinchilla. What else? You know, I had a friend that had a pot-bellied pig once, and I had to...
LISOVICZ: A few of them sighted.
LEMON: I know. But I'd have to house sit the pig when she went on vacation, and the thing didn't like me. It would just squeal at me. I just thought I'd tell you that.
LISOVICZ: That's -- that's a problem.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: In the next hour of NEWSROOM, would you pay $100,000 for one plane ticket? It's a big price for a big plane. Mr. Lemon, that is a big clue.
LEMON: Yes, I know it is.
LISOVICZ: You might always guess (ph)...
LEMON: You have to have the money to pay for it first, so my answer would be no.
LISOVICZ: Yes. Well, this one is a special, you know, a special flight.
LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: OK. So, maybe I don't think the fares are always going to be quite that expensive.
LEMON: I'll wait for the sale. When it goes on, you know, the cheap weekend fares.
LISOVICZ: Keep waiting, with oil prices where they are.
LEMON: All right. Thanks, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well, straight ahead we're going to talk a little international news. Why is the United States coming down hard on Iran? New sanctions today. Why the U.S. is taking such action, and what it means for Tehran, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips who's on assignment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I want to update you on two reported deaths involving these wildfires in Southern California. In Poway, in San Diego County, reports are indicating that the bodies of two people were found at this location in the house, apparently neighbors had communicated to them to leave because these fires were raging. These two folks in the house chose to wait it out, and they perished along with all of the belongings there. You can see the debris of the home, what appeared to be a warehouse, or maybe even a location where they worked on a number of cars because you see these burned out vehicles.
This is kind of a wider view of where Poway is there in San Diego County, a tragedy there in Southern California. We continue to watch the development throughout Southern California on these wildfires.
LEMON: Absolutely, a tragedy, and Fredricka, some new video in. The president, we said he was touring the devastation and the damage there in Southern California. You're looking at new video just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. This is Marine One, the president went up in Marine One today and toured that damage. Just want to show you that.
This is from moments ago, I guess about 12:20, 12:25 Eastern time, he flew into Miramar Airbase aboard Air Force One, and then took Marine One on a tour around, and this is just that new video. That's the president there. You see the mountainous regions above. Most likely San Diego County, Los Angeles County, all of these Southern California counties that have been so devastated by these fires that started on Sunday, as a matter of fact, when you were here (INAUDIBLE), Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it's remarkable how it is just taken off. But you know, there were warnings from our meteorologist and many others who were saying these Santa Ana winds were fierce, and they really could pack a punch. But no one expected this, that it would fuel these kinds of fires that caused this kind of devastation in such a wide scale.
LEMON: Absolutely, we'll continue to update you on what the president is seeing while he's there.
Thousands of people are on the run from those California wildfires, sometimes it's not easy. And our Randi Kaye reports on one family trapped by the flames in a minivan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For two-and-a-half hours, they watched and waited as a raging wildfire inched closer.
(on camera): So, there was a big circle of fire around you?
PAUL HOWELL, TRAPPED BY WILDFIRE: Yes, it was coming up the bank on both sides of us. And so, then we're in the back and the deck starts catching on fire because it's wood. So, the embers were flying up and we're getting like shot by 100,000 fire balls coming at us. And it was swooping up, and rolling up and just slamming.
KAYE (voice-over): Paul Howell had been celebrating his girlfriend's birthday with her parents when the fire started sweeping through the valley, climbing up and over the ridge.
HOWELL: We have these barrage of bullets that were like the size of brickettes (ph) just being fired at you coming across this valley.
KAYE (on camera): They were balls of fire?
HOWELL: Balls of fire, about the size of brickettes.
KAYE: With no warning from authorities, it was too late to evacuate. As you can see, their escape route had been cut off by flames, their homes threatened.
HOWELL: How could you call for help, we have fire all the way around us. Who's going to help us? It was -- we were on our own.
KAYE (voice-over): So, they quickly took shelter in the family's minivan. Paul showed me where they parked it: a dirt patch on the property between their two homes. Good advice from a fire marshal years ago.
HOWELL: He told us that if there was ever any kind of fire in this -- on this property, the safest place to be would be in the center field.
KAYE (on camera): In a car?
HOWELL: In any kind of vehicle at all.
KAYE (voice-over): So, here they sat, watching the trees burn and their property turn to smoke. Paul and Henry Tinker (ph) took turns fighting the flames. Their only weapon: this scorched garden hose.
HOWELL: Very difficult, but you don't think about it at the time. We had flames that were shooting as high as 40 feet or higher in the air. Just like tornadoes coming up the back side of the bank.
KAYE (on camera): And you were using a garden hose?
HOWELL: And we're using a garden hose. You couldn't see a lot of times more than 10 feet in front of you. The embers are flying through like crazy. You can't breathe real well.
KAYE (voice-over): The wind shook the car, the heat was unbearable. The family blasted the air conditioning to try and stay cool.
(on camera): This van saved your life.
HOWELL: Correct.
KAYE: Did you ever think your van's going to save your life?
HOWELL: No, didn't even enter my mind.
KAYE (voice-over): In the end, not everything survived. The fire took its toll on wildlife and homes around the neighborhood. Yet, the flames were no match for this minivan and the determination of the family huddled inside it.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Escondido, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, these images have evoked a lot of thought. A lot of folks are trying to figure out how do they help, how do they get a better picture of what they can do for the people there. So CNN.com has provided the link for families to actually stay in touch. And they can actually exchange video and pictures, as well, and it'll tell you how you can get involved in the California fire relief.
Rusty Dornin is gathering all this kind of information for you. She joins us now on some great guideposts available.
Hi, Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, people just sending e- mails about everything. You know, even that one man said that he'd be willing -- he heard a couple had lost their wedding ring in the fire. He'd be willing to replace it, we just got that one.
Now, Lynn Kazinski's (ph) been checking out the e-mails lately. What are you really seeing now, Lynn?
LYNN KAZINSKI: As of this moment, there's been a couple viewers that have written in with concern that due to the president's officicious (ph) visit between Pacific hours nine to three, transportation's been grounded and they can't really fight the fires at the moment.
DORNIN: That's right, so some of our viewers, because of course they are grounding all aircraft because he will be taking a tour of that area. Also, a few people being concerned about the air quality. It's so bad in so many areas.
So, we ended up calling the California American Lung Association who told us that there are a couple of Web sites here, California fires, tips to protect your lungs. Now, there's some great things in there just about, you know, keeping your windows closed, that sort of thing. Also, people are asking us about air purifiers. They are saying not -- don't rush out to buy an air purifier because some of those actually may have ozone in them, and may be contributing pollution to the air quality.
So, basically, keep your windows shut when you go outside, put some kind of air mask on and that kind of thing.
Also, Frank Armstrong (ph), who is one of our i-Reporters, he's been sending us a lot of material over the past few days. You can see the ring of fire coming perilously close to so many neighborhoods in the Southern California area. This is the Foothill Ranch area of California, then again you can see the flames, again, coming right down. And of course, people were returning to their homes but there still are flames.
Hot shot crew returning from a horrendous day on the firelines, guys that probably have been working 12-hour days, and that's thanks to Frank Armstrong, one of our great i-Reporters.
We are still looking for material, folks, so please do not be unsafe when you do this, but we'd be happy to receive any information, any pictures you have of when you return to your neighborhoods, what's going on, be able to send your photos and ideas, also to other people to let them know you're all right.
So, we're open for business right now, Don. So, happy to receive information from everyone there.
LEMON: All right, Rusty. Thank you. Well, she said Don.
WHITFIELD: Hi. Yes, well, that's OK.
LEMON: A little both of us.
WHITFIELD: Thanks, Rusty. And you know, these images, they're not gratuitous, there really is a great function in all of this because this gives folks an idea of exactly where the needs are and when they want to kick in and help, they can use these as tools to figure out what the needs are and get into action, and that's what we're seeing.
LEMON: Yes, we always talk about impacting your world ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: ...and that's exactly how we're doing it. And you know, Rusty mentioned the air quality.
So let's talk about that smoke, that soot and the haze. There are huge health risks from the wild fires, and our Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So, how bad is the air in Southern California? This filter paper started out pristine white. And now look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This filter ran for 24 hours at one of our (INAUDIBLE) stations.
COHEN: So, what's in the air? Soot at levels four times higher than usual. Carbon monoxide levels at some points have been 13 times higher than usual. And particulates, those tiny pieces that can get lodged in the lungs, ten times higher. If you've been breathing in this air every day ...
KIM PRATHER, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO: Your lungs are basically filters. So, they'd be blackish or brownish in color.
COHEN: Kim Prather is an environmental chemist at the University of California-San Diego. She's been monitoring the air ever since the wildfires started. Her data shows it's an airborne toxic soup.
COHEN (on camera): It's not just trees that are burning.
PRATHER: Right.
COHEN: There's some other stuff that's burning.
PRATHER: Right, you'd worry about plastics, you know, metals, cars, rubber.
COHEN (voice-over): Breathing in tiny particles affects more than just the lungs.
PRATHER: They end up in your liver. They're shown to appear in every organ in your body, including your brain.
COHEN: And the long term effects of breathing in this every day? Prather says no one really knows. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, San Diego, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And President Bush touring the damage and meeting the first responders. And about an hour from now, we'll hear from him live in Southern California about his thoughts. And you can see there, I believe that might be part of the fleet of Marine One that is actually surveying the damage there in Southern California. We'll keep you updated here from the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It is about 15 minutes before the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announces new U.S. sanctions against Iran designed to sever links between Iranian military and banking institutions and the American financial system. The U.S. is trying to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear program and allege terror-related activities.
And a footnote to history today. After the "Discovery" shuttle docked with the International Space Station, "Discovery" commander Pamela Melroy hugged the space station commander Peggy Whitson. This is the first time two women have been in command in space simultaneously, a new day.
And a closely watched meeting today between pro-democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi and a Myanmar government official. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years. Myanmar is under heavy pressure from the West ever since a violent crackdown on pro- democracy demonstrators.
LEMON: Lives lost and 1600 homes damaged in the wild fires happening in Southern California. And the president is taking an aerial tour today. These are new pictures into the CNN NEWSROOM of Marine One, flying over the damage in Southern California.
Just to give you an idea of what the president's going to do today, he's going to make a statement at Escondido, California. That will happen in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, and when it happens, we'll bring it to you live. He's also going to have lunch with some of the responders in Escondido as well. So, the president spending a full day touring that damage by helicopter in Southern California, meeting with the folks there on the ground who have been helping to fight those fires and will probably meet some of the people who have lost their homes in all of this. President Bush in Southern California as we speak.
What is fueling these wildfires? CNN's Rob Marciano has that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): You can see them from space and on the ground. But what's fueling the fires can easily be missed.
SEAN GRIFFIS, FIRE FUELS EXPERT: This is the grass, all it burns, and it burns well, and it'll all burn pretty good.
MARCIANO: Sean Griffis's expertise is critical to both firefighting and keeping crews safe. Sean knows what burns.
GRIFFIS: Having this knowledge of the fuels, of how the fuels burn, how the fire's going to burn due to those fuels, how it's going to move is integral in part of your developing a plan.
MARCIANO: Dead and dry brush are obvious fuels. So are houses.
LARRY HIMMEL, KFMB REPORTER: That was our garage.
MARCIANO: But here, the native plants act like lighter fluid.
(on camera): The hills around San Diego are full of low lying, oily brush, like Mount Mahaghony, chemise, sage. And the oil in these plants explodes. The general rule of thumb is if you can smell it, it's going to fire up.
(voice-over): Extreme drought and record heat have primed the landscape. The ground is easily hotter than the air.
ROB BALFOUR, FIRE WEATHER EXPERT: The fuel temperatures down on the surface are going to be probably 10, maybe 20 degrees higher. So, we're looking at 120 degrees for the grasses and things like that. So, an ember lands in there, it's just going to ignite it immediately.
GRIFFIS: Many of the brush species of Southern California are pyro-adaptive, they grew up in a fire ecosystem. They burn fast, they burn hot. That's what allows their seeds to spread and have bare mineral soil to grow and come back again in the following years.
MARCIANO (on camera): They need to burn.
GRIFFIS: They need to burn, it's just part of their habitat.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Fire may be a big problem for people living here, but it's all part of nature's grand plan.
Rob Marciano, CNN, Valley Center, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: But you're in one of those homes and you're forced to evacuate, and this is where you end up, a sports arena in San Diego. So what is it like living there these days? We'll talk to one California family which is now calling the Qualcomm Stadium home. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Thousands of families chased from their homes now living in Qualcomm Stadium. One family has been there since Tuesday. And they join us now from the stadium, not sure if their home is even OK.
I understand you guys had to leave so fast you're not sure if your house is even still there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's right. We don't know what's going on.
LEMON: Yes. Mona, I have to ask you -- I should say your name's Mona Rojas, and her mother, Irene. Mona is in the red shirt in the middle. Irene is there to the right. And of course the kids there on the bottom, and they're really cute, Jessica, Rihanna (ph), Joe and Mark.
Nice to have you today. How have the last couple days been for you?
MONA ROJAS, FIRE EVACUEE: Nice to be here. They've been great since we've been here, because the donations, they provide everything we eat. We sleep, we take showers, it's great. The kids have things to do all day long. So, it's been pretty good.
LEMON: Yes, but I imagine you're concerned about your house. Because You left -- this was on Tuesday. Take me back to that day or that evening. Did you leave during the day, or was it at night?
ROJAS: It was in the morning.
LEMON: Tell me what happened.
ROJAS: It was in the morning, yes.
Actually, I was at work and my mom was home with the kids, and they just went down the neighborhood and said you have to mandatory evacuate. And so I got called at work, and she said you can't even come home. You got to come straight here to stadium.
LEMON: You mentioned that you guys are doing OK. You've been able to shower and all that. But know, four kids, how do the kids deal with this? I would imagine it's a bit traumatizing for them and a bit unnerving as well.
ROJAS: Yes, it is. But they have lots of things for them to do, and they don't really you know, know what's going on. They just know that, you know, that the house might be on fire.
LEMON: Mona, you laugh but I imagine that's the only way to get through it, right?
ROJAS: Right. Right.
LEMON: What do you think you're going to see when you get back to where you live?
ROJAS: I have no idea. We don't even know what's going on down there or anything.
LEMON: Have you been able to see any of the reports on television?
ROJAS: No, we haven't seen any reports.
LEMON: Yes. What's your concern? Obviously that your home won't be there?
ROJAS: Yes. The house and the belongings, you know. But we got all the kids out. We're here, so that's really all that matters.
LEMON: You know, I have to ask you this, because a number of people didn't have this, but were you insured?
ROJAS: I don't think so.
LEMON:So you're not...
ROJAS: Not fire.
LEMON: You don't have fire insurance. So when you get home, if it's not there, then there will be nothing left for you. You'll have to start over.
ROJAS: Right. Right.
LEMON: Well, listen, we certainly wish the best for you. We hope that your home is there once you get back, whenever that is. Mona Rojas, Irene Flores (ph), and I have to get the kids correct, Jessica, Rihanna, Joe and Mark, thanks.
ROJAS: Yes. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Wish them all the best.
Well, the wildfires, when they are finally out, will produce two main groups of people, and we heard the scenarios from that family. Those who will stay and rebuild and those who will leave and start anew somewhere else. Well, there are thousands of families who don't know which group they are in just yet.
Well, CNN's Randi Kaye and Anderson Cooper talked about them last night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You were here today when the woman who lived here came back. I was on the air, you talked to her. She -- I mean, just everything's gone.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. I don't know if you could see on the air reporting, but she walked up and was just immediately in tears. This was the first time that Marilyn and Gordon Wood had come back to their home. They were only allowed up here for a couple of minutes. They were escorted by police. And at look what they saw, Anderson. I mean, obviously this was one of the cars they left behind. They were in and out of here in about 10 or 15 minutes. She described what's here in the house, the washer-drier is back there in the middle somewhere. It was all glass behind there. They had a beautiful view of the valley below.
They lived here for seven years. I spoke to her for a few minutes, and him, and this is what they had to say.
KAYE: What is it like for you to come back here and see this today?
MARILYN WOOD, LOST EVERYTHING IN FIRE: It's awful. It's scary because it reminds me of what happened, how we left.
KAYE: What did it look like when you left here?
WOOD: It was raining fire when I left. It was awful.
KAYE: And were you told to leave, or did you evacuate on your own?
WOOD: We got a call, a reverse 911 call, and 10 minutes later, 15 minutes later, we were out of here and we didn't have time to pack. We didn't have time to do anything.
KAYE: It was you who saw the flames first. Can you tell me what you saw and what you did?
GORDON WOOD, LOST EVERYTHING IN FIRE: Well, we got the 911 call. I looked out the window. There were flames at the bottom of our hill. Our hill is three acres in property. It was right at the bottom of the hill. I put on my pants, and when I next looked out the window the flames were on the house.
KAYE: So all of your personal belongings are in there, all your pictures.
M. WOOD: Everything is in there, my wedding rings, everything is in there. Maybe I'll find something. I don't know.
COOPER: Unbelievable.
KAYE: It really is, and they weren't, sadly, even able to walk back on their property. They're not allowed to do that right now, but the really sad part about it that Gordon told me that his wife is still having nightmares ever since they left the home. She's been waking up, he said, about every 10 minutes each night waking him up, believing that the house is on fire.
COOPER: To lose all of the photographs, to lose, you know, your wedding ring, yes, just horrific.
And amazing that by the time he put on his pants the fire had advanced that much. It was already licking at the house.
KAYE: Right, and it's a three-acre property. So, in that short time it moved three acres and already on the house.
COOPER: Just so many stories like that we're hearing, Randi. Thanks for that. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Extraordinary. And they're not alone. The Wood family is just one of hundreds in a very similar situation. California officials believe the cost of homes lost in San Diego county alone will top $1 billion -- Don.
LEMON: Goodness. We have some updated information on the arsons there. There's been a reward offered for the fires in at least two counties there. But the Santiago Fire, there's a reward, it has increased to $120,000 now. That combines the existing $70,000 with $50,000 from the governor's office. So the governor must be adding some money on top of that.
But we have confirmed, CNN, that the arson reward has increased from the Santiago Fire to $120,000. They are investigating two possible arsons in two separate counties. And so with people dying -- at least three people have died in all of this -- those arson charges could possibly go up to murder charges.
WHITFIELD: Yes, the outrage to think this could be caused by man. That is hurtful. Well, from the air and on the ground, President Bush is getting a firsthand look at some of the wildfire damage in Southern California. A report on the president's visit, that's coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
