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CNN Saturday Morning News
Wildfires in California; World Leaders Get Together to Talk About the Global Financial Crisis; A Night-Time Launch For Space Shuttle Endeavor; Barack Obama's Cabinet: Who Could Be In For a Position?
Aired November 15, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center -- good morning, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: You're advance (ph) today.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I'm a little under the weather and a lot of this (INAUDIBLE) and it's got a little lofty I think. I think that might be it. I'll remember on Monday (ph).
I'm T.J. Holmes. Good morning to you all.
NGUYEN: It's going to be a good show, folks.
Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
All right. We are working several big stories. First up, just north of L.A., another wildfire is erupting. Several homes have already been destroyed. And look at these live pictures coming to us right now from Sylmar, California. Flames are still shooting into the air. We have live reports all morning long.
NGUYEN: And also, President Bush today having a bit of a get- together with about two dozen world leaders. They're talking about the global financial crisis. We are expecting actually to hear from the president live within this hour. When he starts talking, we will start listening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Four, three, two, one, booster ignition. And liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour, preparing our home in space for a larger international family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Something you don't see very often, a nighttime launch. And, a shuttle and seven astronauts blast into orbit for a home makeover job, if you will. We'll tell you about that.
But first...
NGUYEN: Hey, look at this, folks. Another wildfire erupting overnight -- we're talking about another one here. We've been watching a different fire since Friday night. But this one has erupted last night. Embers spread by wind gusting up to 50 miles an hour. Thousands of people have to be evacuated. Now, this is in Sylmar, California. So, this is the Sylmar fire.
That other fire, actually, the Tea fire erupted, that was Thursday night, actually, a big fire as well that firefighters are still keeping an eye on. But this is a new one. This was 20 miles north of Los Angeles. Hundreds of firefighters are fighting this as well. This is one has burned about 1,500 acres and it did that in about three hours' time. Some homes, we do know, have been destroyed. We do not have an accurate number just yet on how many homes have been destroyed.
Firefighters have also surrounded the Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar, and the hospital lost power and now its intensive care patients had to be evacuated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You can see that some of the units in there are beginning to burn. Now, the fire is bumped right up against the edge of it there, and there are some pieces of firefighting equipment down there. And it looks like once one of these units catches, they try to get in there and knock it down. But this could be a very devastating situation. You see how close together those units are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Melissa Kelly with the Los Angeles Fire Department is with us by phone.
Ma'am, thank you for being with us and thank you for being with us here, it's certainly early out there on the west coast. Can you give us an update about this hospital? The Olive View Medical Center, what is the status over there?
VOICE OF MELISSA KELLY, L.A. FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, the status of Olive View Medical Center is definitely a situation. It's actually closed due to internal disaster. Now, that situation means that the hospital itself is not accepting any new patients and they're working to assess the illnesses and injuries of their current patients and deciding then if they should be transported to other facilities. The hospital itself is not being evacuated, per se.
HOLMES: OK.
KELLY: They are, for the most part, sheltering in place; it's a very sturdy structure. And although there is fire all around it, the Olive View Medical Center itself is not being impinged by flames or, you know, on fire in any way. Los Angeles City firefighters are standing by with several ambulances at a nearby fire station to assist them should we need to evacuate any patients or move them to other facilities. But for the most part, Olive View patients are essentially sheltering in place. And we will be getting a phone number to coordinate with those that have loved ones at the hospital so that they can get updated information.
HOLMES: OK. And before I move on from the hospital here, I want to make sure and make sure we get clarity here. So, no patients, including the ICU patients, are being evacuated or are the ICU patients being evacuated?
KELLY: There -- some of the patients have been moved to other hospitals...
HOLMES: OK.
KELLY: ... based on their illnesses or injuries.
HOLMES: OK.
KELLY: But the hospital itself is not being evacuated. The whole hospital is not being evacuated, as was earlier reported.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Ms. Kelly. And tell me -- let's move on to the larger picture of this fire itself.
KELLY: Yes.
HOLMES: Is this thing still spreading and moving or is there anything close to containment?
KELLY: There is no containment being called at this time. Unfortunately, these conditions that we're experiencing here in the California area are very extreme. We've been in a red flag warning all day. We've had very low humidity and high heat during the daylight hours.
And tonight, this fire did erupt at about 10:30. It was a fast- moving fire. And it has really picked up some steam. We're calling it about 1,500 acres, as you reported at the top of the hour. We have evacuated about 5,000 people.
Within the last hour to 30 minutes, we've actually expanded our evacuation zone to reach further west as the fire moves, just trying to make sure that the citizens of Los Angeles are safe and sound. There are about 1,000 structures currently being threatened by fire. And we're reporting about 10 to 15 structures that are damaged. And that number could climb as the morning hours continue.
HOLMES: All right.
KELLY: There was one injury reported to a civilian, also, which is unfortunate.
HOLMES: Yes.
KELLY: It was a middle-aged male that has critical burns and was treated and transported immediately.
HOLMES: All right. Ms. Kelly, just finally here, any idea what started this fire?
KELLY: You know, we don't have any information on that at this time. We do, however, have arson investigators on the scene, working to get that answer for you and us, actually.
HOLMES: All right. Again, Melissa Kelly with the Los Angeles Fire Department. Ma'am, thank you so much for your time. I know it's a busy morning, it will be a busy day out there for you all. But we appreciate you giving us the update. You all take care and be safe out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Santa Barbara on fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, Santa Barbara has been on fire since Thursday night. This is the other fire we've been keeping an eye on to tell you about. This is from one of our iReporters there in Santa Barbara. This is the first, we've been following for the past couple of days now, the first fire that erupted, again, Thursday night.
You hear these winds throughout this iReport. These winds are a big part of the problem out there; they've been fanning these flames. This is amateur video from Sean, one of our iReporters. This fire has destroyed about 150 homes in this very ritzy area, the Santa Barbara County, a lot of multimillion dollar mansions out there as well. But, hey, you don't have to be a multimillion to live out there and have your home destroyed or to be devastated by this thing.
Officials say also that one death, possibly, can be contributed to this fire.
NGUYEN: Well, there's other news to tell you about today as well. And we're all feeling it, the financial fallout. The markets, they are a complete mess.
The Dow closed down 338 points on Friday. Investors backed away big time from Thursday's huge rally. And part of the reason, a scary retail sales report. October sales were down 2.8 percent. That is the worst monthly drop ever.
Meanwhile, a lot of us are losing jobs. Sun Microsystems is cutting up to 6,000 workers. And the "Wall Street Journal" reports, Citibank may layoff another 10,000 people. That is on top of the 23,000 who've already lost their jobs. Unemployment claims at the highest level right now since the weeks just after 9/11. Five hundred sixteen thousand people applied last week.
So, getting a grip on a global financial crisis, world leaders are meeting for an emergency summit today in Washington. Our Elaine Quijano is at the White House and Richard Quest is also in D.C. following this story.
So, let's get started with you, Richard. We have never seen anything like this before. All these leaders are getting together in crisis mode. What is expected to come out of today's meeting?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That, of course, is the big question. How much detail will we receive from the G-20? Because when all is said and done, we have 20 different governments, numerous problems, a variety of agendas, but one large problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice-over): Leaders on a mission. That's one way to look at the government heads and regulators attending the G-20 Summit this weekend, trying to put right the financial disasters facing the world. As they were welcomed one by one by President Bush, it was clear the historic nature of the event -- China, India, the Russians, Europeans galore. All at the welcome dinner at the White House. They sat at one long table, a sign, perhaps, that this wasn't a ceremonial event, but a working dinner where business was to be done.
And President Bush reminded them of the historic nature of their task.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is more work to do beyond the immediate crisis and stakes are, indeed, high. Millions of hardworking people are counting on us to strengthen our financial systems for the long term.
QUEST: Already, some ideas are emerging, putting together stimulus packages, coordinating to get maximum bang for the buck. And in the future, forming a college of supervisors. So what drove the regulators and make sure there are early warnings of looming financial crises.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And so, of course, what is likely to happen is that there will be no detail of this particular summit. There will be a communique, there'll be a statement. We won't get any detail of what they're hoping to do. But what we will get is a very good road map of the way forward, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes. Hopefully, it's a very clear one because we need it at this point. Richard Quest, he's joining us live. Thank you, Richard.
You know, President Bush, the man in charge of the summit, well, we are expecting to hear from him in about 30 minutes. He will greet the leaders when they get to the White House. And we are hearing that he will make a few comments, of course. When that does happen, we will bring to it you live.
HOLMES: All right. Barack Obama's cabinet a bit bare but he's working on it right now, trying to stock it with possibly a couple of big names here. President-elect Barack Obama talking (ph) to a couple of very big names about being the new secretary of state. Secretary of State Clinton, how does that sound to you?
Sources tell CNN Hillary Clinton, and also, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, came to Chicago over the past two days. Don't know if any offers were made at that time, however.
Well, CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins us now live from Washington this morning.
Paul, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? This thing has been out there a couple of days now. Nobody has really come out and knocked it down. Is this a real possibility?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's what sources are telling us, T.J. Our sources telling our Gloria Borger, our Jessica Yellin, our Candy Crowley and our Sam Feist, our political director, that Hillary Clinton was there Thursday in Chicago meeting with Barack Obama and talking about just that, secretary of state. We are being told that the job is not offered, that they talked about the possibility of if she was offered it, would she accept it, because that's the kind of delicate dance here between Obama and Clinton and this whole idea of secretary of state.
Listen, she talked about this yesterday at a news conference. Here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY, (D) NEW YORK: I'm not going to speculate or address anything about the president-elect's incoming administration. And I'm going to respect his process and any inquiries should be directed to his transition team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Didn't get a lot there, T.J., did we? We didn't get a lot out of that sound bite.
(LAUGHTER)
STEINHAUSER: But that's OK. Listen -- earlier in the week, though, she said that while she loves being senator for New York she would consider and she wouldn't close any doors to serving on the Obama cabinet. A lot of plusses here -- she's well-known overseas. She's got star power. Everybody remembers her as first lady, and she and Obama agree that the U.S. needs to have its image improved.
But remember in the primaries, her and Barack Obama did not see eye to eye on a lot of tough things -- the war on Iraq and meeting unconditionally with rouge leaders of rouge nations like Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
Also, T.J., another former rival from the primaries, Bill Richardson. Sources are telling us that Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, was out there in Chicago yesterday, meeting about that very same job. Now, remember, Bill Richardson dropped out of the race for the White House in January and quickly backed Barack Obama -- much to the chagrin of a lot of people from the Clinton camp.
Richardson, of course, was -- he was ambassador to the U.N. during the Clinton years and eh was a real troubleshooter, going overseas quite often, dealing with foreign crises. So, he's got a lot of resume when it comes to foreign policy, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes. He's got a thick resume, but what he does have that Hillary Clinton does have is that star power. And everybody is curious, how could that work? That is a very high-profile position for her to have in the cabinet of a guy who, frankly, they went at it pretty hard in the primary season.
We know you're going to be back and we'll talk to you a little more about this this morning. So, Paul, good to see you. We'll chat with you again here shortly.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks.
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Barack Obama will have -- excuse me -- another high-profile meeting Monday with another former rival. This time, it will be Senator John McCain coming to the transition headquarters in Chicago. The Obama team says Senator McCain is coming to discuss ways they can work together.
NGUYEN: Well, the other transition, Vice President-elect Joe Biden also putting his team together, but first, a meeting with his predecessor. And all systems go for the space shuttle Endeavour lighting up the sky, bringing much needed relief to the International Space Station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: And liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour, preparing our home in space...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, it wasn't that long ago Joe Biden called Dick Cheney "the most dangerous vice president ever." That was during the campaign. Well, this week Cheney and Biden met face to face in that meeting, and what happens on the road ahead is our focus this morning.
So we've asked White House historian and history professor, Allan Lichtman to join us.
It was really quite an incredible meeting, Allan, that we saw earlier this week where Vice President Cheney had Biden into the home and showed him the residence where he'll be staying. Again, this is the same man who called him, you know, "the most dangerous vice president ever." Is this going to be a smooth transition?
ALLAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, I think it's going to be a very smooth transition. You know, Barack Obama didn't have very nice things to say about President George W. Bush and they had a cordial meeting as well. The great American tradition is, when the campaign is over, you put all the hot rhetoric aside, you engage in what has been a great American tradition, the cordial and peaceful transfer of power.
But this is going to be a very different transition for the vice president than was the transition when Dick Cheney took over.
NGUYEN: Yes. And when we look throughout history and the role of the vice presidency, you know, people have jokingly said, exactly what does the vice president do? But I think Cheney has been proof that through the years, that position has become more powerful.
LICHTMAN: Oh, absolutely. Franklin Roosevelt's vice president, John Nance Garner, said the office isn't worth a warm bucket of spit.
NGUYEN: Lovely, wow.
LICHTMAN: A lot more than that under Dick Cheney. And it started with the transition. Dick Cheney virtually took over the transition in 2000 and 2001 (ph). He screened applicants for the cabinet, he went on television, he was a spokesperson, he set policy, and he carved out not just an advisory role during his vice presidency, but a really lead role in such critical areas of policy as foreign policy, war-making, energy, the environment, and budget- making. But I don't think we're going to see that happen with the Biden vice presidency.
NGUYEN: But, Allan, Biden has said that he wants to be in the room when every major decision is being made.
LICHTMAN: And I think he will be and I think he will have a critical advisory role. You know, he's been around for decades in Washington. He has the kind of deep-grain experience in government that Obama doesn't have. But I don't think he's going to take the independent leadership role that Dick Cheney took. After all, Dick Cheney is leaving office as one of the least popular figures in terms of his public approval in U.S. history, and much of his policy-making really is in shambles at this point.
NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about the relationship between Obama and Biden. Biden throughout the campaign has said a lot of things, some people call them gaffes when he talked about the Obama ad as, you know, being something that he was against. He went on to say Hillary Clinton may have been a better pick. But, is this also a man who Obama would trust in a sense that he's going to say what he feels, he's going to say what's on his mind?
LICHTMAN: I think Obama picked Biden even though he knew he was gaffe-prone because he thought he was one of the most qualified persons to serve as vice president of the United States, and that he trusted and relied on his political and policy-making advice. And that's the role that Biden is going to play. And I think Obama will give him a lot of credence in his new administration.
Obama has been in national office for four years. You're looking at 30-plus years for Joe Biden. And I think this -- the synchrony between the two of them is going to be very strong but he's not going to be a Dick Cheney carving out his own domains of power, and really, in (AUDIO BREAK) which should be the role of the president of the United States. That's the distinction. I think he'll be more in the Al Gore mode of vice president.
NGUYEN: Well, he's already picked what the chief of staff, the same guy, Ron Klain that Al Gore had as chief of staff.
LICHTMAN: Yes.
NGUYEN: Allan Lichtman, as always, it was a pleasure. You have such good information for us. Thank you.
LICHTMAN: Take care.
NGUYEN: And, for more political news and notes, be sure to click on to CNN.com -- still, your home for politics.
HOLMES: Well, a massive response to the California's same-sex marriage ban. We'll tell you about protests expected to happen around the world today. Josh Levs has details about the unique way that the movement is being organized -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, there, T.J. Major efforts online for today's protest. We are going to have your chance to weigh in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Again, showing you a live picture this morning, about 4:30 out there on the west coast. This is in Sylmar, California, about 20 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, where fire has erupted overnight. No exact cause of this fire, but we do know arson investigators are there. About 1,500 acres burned. Five thousand- plus people have been evacuated. We know several structures have been damaged, destroyed by this fire. And at least one injury has been attributed to it.
But right now, according to fire officials out there, we just got off the phone with Melissa Kelly with the Los Angeles Fire Department not long ago, and she says they do not have anything close to containment with this fire. We'll be checking in with them throughout the morning on this fire. Also, we need to see about weather conditions out there, if those are going to help or hurt in the firefighting efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Since California passed Proposition Eight which bans same-sex marriage in the state, there have been massive street protests but nothing like what we could see today. People in all 50 states and several other countries are expected to rally simultaneously. That will happen this afternoon at 1:30 Eastern, 10:30 Pacific Time.
Well, many same-sex couples say today's rally is about more than just being able to say they're married. For them, it's about being able to care for their sick partner, the tax breaks, and the Social Security benefits that marriage provides.
CNN's Susan Candiotti sat down with one couple planning to take a stand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM WALKER, SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE: Hello.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Jeffrey Dreiblatt and William Walker heard about today's gay marriage rallies, there was no question they'd join in.
WALKER: We need to get out there and be visible, and show the country that we're just like everyone else.
CANDIOTTI: Thousands are expected at rallies coast to coast to protest California's newly passed Proposition Eight, an amendment that stripped California's court-approved gay marriages. Several groups are already mounting legal challenges. On Election Day, similar amendments outlawing gay marriage or limiting gay rights were approved in Florida, Arizona and Arkansas.
Attorney and gay rights advocate, Evan Wolfson, admits the movement took a hit that is gaining momentum.
EVAN WOLFSON, ATTORNEY AND GAY RIGHTS ADVOCATE: Not everything should be put to a vote and the fundamental right of free speech, the fundamental right of freedom of religion, and the fundamental freedom to marry, are things that should not be put up to a vote.
CANDIOTTI: Dreiblatt and Walker met in a New York subway 15 years ago and said it was love at first sight.
Did you ever think when you met 15 years ago that you would still be together after all these years?
JEFFREY DREIBLATT, SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE: I think, I did.
WALKER: I think we did. We knew right away that...
DREIBLATT: We knew right away.
CANDIOTTI: When gay marriage was legalized in California, they flew there last summer to get married. There was more to it than love.
DREIBLATT: It's a political act and -- that is taking a stand.
CANDIOTTI: Walker and Dreiblatt's California marriage is recognized in New York but it doesn't guarantee them federal rights common to heterosexual couples, including family health coverage and death benefits. Only Connecticut and Massachusetts allow same-sex marriages. New Jersey, Vermont and New Hampshire have civil unions.
DREIBLATT: Nobody gave people the right to get married. It's a right that we should have had the whole time.
CANDIOTTI: But opposition groups claim equal benefits are one thing, the definition of marriage is another.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, in hopes of drawing huge crowds to today's rallies, organizers are using tools on the Internet including our iReports.
NGUYEN: Yes. Our Josh Levs joins us with that part of the story. What do you seeing, Josh?
LEVS: Yes, guys. We're getting tons of them. It's really interesting. One thing we got is an iReport who's now become something of a viral video that actually, the organizers today are using. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(PEOPLE SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: We got that from Joe Miale, who attended one of the protests recently. And now, this is taking off, and it's toward the end of it. They announced that these protests are coming up -- iReport has been one of the big places that people on different sides of this issue have been weighing in. And this has been one of the most viewed ones that we've seen.
Let's zoom on the board behind me. I want you to see a couple more. We're hearing from people on different sides of the debate. This one says, "I'm not gay but I do believe everyone should be allowed to marry." That comes to us from Vanessa Pratt (ph).
Also, I want to show you the other side here. This comes to us from Solomon Brown, who writes in the message underneath, this is not a video, but he says, "I'm in full support of Prop Eight and there is nothing that will make me change my mind." He voted for it in California.
Let's show you one more here. This is a family here. This comes to us from Michelle Peaze (ph) who also voted for it. And she writes, "I voted yes on Prop 8. I firmly believe marriage is something that was created long before government."
Now, there's also a point that we got from an iReporter that I think is very interesting. We're not hearing a lot. Let's take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT FRIEDRICHS, PRO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: I believe that the vast majority of those who voted in favor of the ban are not anti-gay, they're just unintentionally discriminating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: That's his point, Matt Friedrichs, who is not trying to cast everyone under one broad cloud there.
Now, if you are on either side of it, we'd love to see your videos and what you have to send us. Let me show you really quickly, some of the major tools that they're using today to drum up support for this. JoinTheImpact.com is working to get a lot of people to show up. Also, they have a Facebook page here, "No on Prop 8," that's what in the Facebook that's being used to try to drive big crowd here.
And one more sound bite I want to show you really, quickly, from the other side, ISupportMarriage.com. Now, it's not a counter- protest, but they're getting a lot of views.
Now, let's take a quick look of what they have.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK SCHUBERT, DIR., PROTECT MARRIAGE COALITION: Standing behind each and every one of them are thousands and tens of thousands of people who have walked precincts, who have phoned voters, who have prayed, who have contributed money, who have given up of their hearts, to stand up for traditional marriage and those people deserve to be respected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, you're seeing all sides all over the Web today. We're going to keep following this all morning. Also, some -- next hour, I'm going to read some e-mails from you guys today, questions today: Do you feel your job is safe? And if not, are you prepared? That's on the economy. So, over here, we've got a lot going on in interactive today. E-mail us at Weekends@CNN.com. We'll have that next hour, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: Well, some 20 miles north of Los Angeles, firefighters, hundreds of them, are scrambling right about now.
NGUYEN: Yes, another fire, more threats, more evacuations and more danger.
HOLMES: Also, some severe weather in the southeast. Our Karen Maginnis has a look at some deadly storms for us. She's over at the severe weather center. We'll check in with her. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: I want you to take a live look at this picture right here, intense firefight under way in California at this hour. Hundreds of people forced to evacuate, including hospital patients. We are on top of this story this morning.
In the meantime, though, we do want to welcome you back. Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: All right. So, a wildfire explodes late last night in Southern California. That fire is burning across Sylmar, which is 20 miles north of Los Angeles.
Here is what we know at this hour: 5,000 residents were told overnight to evacuate; 10 to 15 structures have burned. The Olive View Medical Center has lost power. Firefighters have surrounded this facility and some patients have been moved elsewhere. But just three hours after it was reported, the fire threatened to destroy at least 1,000 homes.
HOLMES: We're going to take a look now at some of our affiliates are up this morning, some live coverage out there. Let's take listen to what our affiliates are reporting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK. So, where were you when the mandatory evacuation went into effect?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Working.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You were working. And, how did you hear about the fire?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In news.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes. And what was your reaction?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I left at what -- 10:00 in the morning -- no, 11:00 out of here (ph). And my cousin...
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Right. So, you left just before it broke out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And your car broke down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes. So, how far did you walk to get into this area?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a couple of blocks, down the blocks (ph) from here.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Right. OK. Do you have any family that you're concerned about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, my family is out already.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They're out. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just worried about my pet.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Your pets, OK. Well, maybe you can talk to fire official and they can go in and rescue your pets because I don't think they're going to let you in there. This whole area has been evacuated. This is the command post. But...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Trust me, if you continue to walk out there, you will run into some fire officials and they might be able to help you out. But, you have a place to stay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK, great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) couple of blocks.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK, good. All right. That was Hector Pena (ph) and he's hoping to get his dog and his cat out of his house. And that's probably not going to happen because the fire officials will not let him into his neighborhood on his street.
But we are expecting an updated news conference at 5:00 a.m., in about a half hour's time. And I heard Lisa just go through this, but for anybody who missed it, again, 5,000 people have been evacuated to Sylmar High School, to San Fernando High School and, of course, people who have family and friends in the area that they can stay with.
We're looking at least -- at least -- 10 structures that have burned so far. A thousand structures are threatened. And with these winds, it's just a very serious situation. Now, this fire broke out around 10:30 last night. Right after Hector left to go to work. And it's moving up into the hills of the San Gabriel Mountains and it's moving down towards the homes and it's skipping across canyons. And it's very unpredictable because of the strong winds. As we know, we've seen it so many times, the winds can shift at a moment's notice and that changes the entire plan of attack by firefighters.
We've got county firefighters, city firefighters, U.S. Forest Service, probably about 500 personnel with more on the way. They've been doing these air assaults throughout the night which is kind of unusual. We don't always see that.
There goes a whole row of fire trucks there. It's been a very, very busy night here on Hubbard Street. We're at Hubbard and Eldridge, right where the command post is. So, we're here, so that when any new information breaks out, we're here to bring it to you. This is -- this is where all of the information comes from. So, Lisa...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE ANCHOR: Leslie...
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes, I hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE ANCHOR: We heard a report of some mobile homes maybe...
NGUYEN: All right. So, we've listening to our local affiliate there, KABC. They've been up throughout the night following the storm. And as you can see in those pictures, still, really roaring through the hillsides there in California.
HOLMES: That wind was whipping her jacket, her hair all around, getting at her face.
Karen Maginnis, that has been the big issue, the fire we saw, the Tea fire on Thursday, certainly fanned by those flames, and this that one started last night as well. So, what is the case today? I don't know if they'll get any rain necessarily, but at least, will the winds die down?
NGUYEN: Die down, yes.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is staying dry, very dry. As a matter of fact, we could see some record-setting temperatures. We're also looking at humidity down to around 10 percent to 15 percent.
Take a look at this live picture out of KCAL, our affiliate. This is the ridge top near Sylmar, California. We had a report of a sensor, just about three miles to the north-northeast of Sylmar. It was the closest sensor that we do have. There was a peak wind overnight of a gust of 59 miles an hour. That was the latest.
And right beside me, you can see what's going on from this affiliate KCAL. Yes, this has been just absolutely amazing to watch, how this fire has been jumping around. The winds are very erratic, as you can imagine, just because of the topography primarily. But you get the wind coming down over the mountains. And it warms up as it moves down the mountain. It compresses and it really starts to pick up some speed. These Santa Ana winds could gust as high as 60 to 70 miles an hour. I did see a peak wind gust unofficially on one of the mountain tops of around 74 miles an hour.
Where you see this red-shaded area, that's where we have the red flag warnings. Those areas are going to be prone to fire danger. The low humidity -- 10 percent, 15 percent. Also, the high temperatures, that's not going to help firefighters, virtually no chance for rainfall. And the wind, the wind is a big problem.
Right now, what you're looking at various locations, nothing really that stands out right now, but this is just particular hour that we're looking at. But they are shifting quite a bit. Now, we take you over towards North Carolina. I want to show you several areas. Here's Raleigh. Just to the east of Raleigh is Wilson County. And Wilson County this morning, they had thunderstorms. And it is believed that maybe a thunderstorm possibly spawned a tornado.
There are two reported fatalities. We don't know if it's associated with the possibility of a tornado, could have been high winds. We just don't know at this point. But two fatalities reported in Wilson County, North Carolina.
We've got a lot to keep you up-to-date on and we will throughout the rest of the morning. Betty, T.J., back to you.
NGUYEN: Yes. Definitely, a busy day for us. Thank you, Karen.
HOLMES: Take care.
NGUYEN: All right. So, you're looking for a financial fix? That's what world leaders are trying to do today in Washington. President Bush called the emergency summit of 20 leaders from industrialized and developing countries. They're trying to figure out what caused the global financial meltdown and how to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Now, some European leaders are pushing for more regulation, but President Bush says that could hurt the world economy, not help it. So, let's get more details about this meeting.
Our Elaine Quijano is at the White House.
Elaine, we're hearing a lot about the meeting. No details just yet. What are you expecting?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush is set to leave the White House here any moment, Betty, to head over to the National Building Museum, that is where, in fact, the summit and the plenary sessions will be taking place later this morning. We, also expect him to be speaking upon arrival just a few minutes from now.
But, President Bush, as you noted, has made his position very clear, even before the summit began, officially opening last night with a working dinner. President Bush welcomed the world leaders here to the White House for that working dinner. But he repeated what he said earlier this week, laying out his defense of free market principles, of free market capitalism, even as he acknowledged that the system needs to be fixed with some European leaders, as you noted, pushing for more global financial regulation.
The president he said does not favor reinventing the world financial system. And, instead, leaders should focus on fixing the problems within it. Now, that was his message last night as he sat down for dinner with those world leaders. That is the message we expect to hear once again today. He is slated again to speak in just a few minutes over at the National Building Museum. This is an emergency meeting, Betty, but the bottom line, President Bush trying to send the message that the world should really not expect any quick fixes to the global financial crisis -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, no quick fixes. But one thing that they are talking about is this early warning system, something that they're trying to create here.
QUIJANO: Well, that's exactly right. And part of the problem as President Bush has noted is that, certainly, the financial crisis seems to have erupted. There has been some talk of some kind of early warning system. At the same time, President Bush is very mindful of perhaps going too far with any kind of larger government role. The president, again, has staunchly defended the idea that the markets are, in fact -- they should, in fact, be unfettered.
And the president -- even earlier this week, Betty, talking about how his own administration has intervened with the bailout bill in this country. The president is saying, "Look, that was a situation where the markets were essentially out of whack." He defended that government intervention. But it has been a little bit of a delicate balance here as the European leaders are really looking for some sort of worldwide regulation -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And as you mentioned, the president should be speaking in about a couple of minutes now, if everything is running on time, from the National Building Museum there in Washington. And when that does happen, we'll take it live. Thank you -- Elaine Quijano joining us from the White House.
Well, the NASCAR season ends, can you believe it, already -- this weekend
HOLMES: Are you going to be watching, Betty?
NGUYEN: I know you're a big fan. You'll be watching.
HOLMES: I'm a NASCAR fan.
The economy, though, may overshadow the celebration -- tough times for some of the sports biggest names. One big name in sports hasn't been fazed at all by the economic turnout. Look at him. He just keeps getting richer and richer, Betty.
NGUYEN: He looks like he is under the weather, too, just as you are, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, I need to (INAUDIBLE).
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Now, I've got some cough drops for you. These are for you and you'll feel better.
HOLMES: I appreciate it. Thank you. All right, Rick, we'll talk to you in just a sec.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: Breaking news this morning. Fires are still burning out in California. This is Sylmar, California. Look at that. Flames are still shooting into the air.
Here's what we know: Some 5,000 people have already been told to evacuate in Sylmar; 1,000 homes have been threatened by the fire. At least one person has been hurt. This fire is so large and the flames are just really spreading that it is even closed down the 210 Freeway. We're on top of this story for you this morning following all the developments. And we'll bring you the latest.
HOLMES: All right. We'll turn to the sports now. The final race of NASCAR season is this weekend. It's supposed to be a really exciting time. But there's kind of a cloud of concern over the track.
Sports and business analyst, Rick Horrow, joins us this morning.
Rick, the future of the race, the future of Ford, the future of G.M., Dodge, a lot of things up in the air, and it's certainly surrounding NASCAR.
HORROW: Well, let's remember that the auto industry spends over is $1 billion in sports advertising every year. And a lot of that is with NASCAR. And clearly, NASCAR is synonymous with the auto industry. Down with the auto industry affects NASCAR just at their Super Bowl, basically, which is at Homestead just down the road from here.
HOLMES: Yes. Well, another thing -- let me ask you this: Not a lot of drama surrounding what's going to happen with the race and who is going to win it this weekend, to be quite honest. Is that -- that certainly can't help. Does that hurt as well, not something they're happy over at NASCAR?
HORROW: A few years ago, they started the playoff system called "Chase for the Championship" and now they're tweaking it. And, of course, every time you tweak something, there are some people that don't like what's happening. If the driver finishes 36th or better, he wins the championship for the third year in a row, they'll keep tweaking it. But the bottom line is, it's a much better system than it was a few years ago.
HOLMES: All right. Let's turn to America's favorite past time, we're talking baseball. This is some fans would like to hear, I suppose, a bit of a break. You know, it's expensive to go to games these days.
HORROW: Yes, it's expensive but there are over three teams -- and frankly, 1/3 of all the teams in all of the team sports are looking to give the fans a break -- cutting ticket prices, the Red Sox stabilizing them. At that level, it's great because you do get a break. Giveaways, free gas coupons and the like.
At the other end, the Super Bowl ticket price, by the way, $1,000 face value for some of them for the first time in history. So, at the lower levels, middle levels, it's great. At the top level, you're still paying the pretty penny.
HOLMES: Still paying the premium. Does this eventually -- it's going to be great for the sports fans, maybe save you a buck or two, but is it going to hurt the bottom line for the teams in the long run?
HORROW: Listen -- the bottom line for the teams is an ongoing challenge. We used to say, the $750 billion business of sports was recession-proof? Not so much.
HOLMES: Yes. All right. Last thing here, and quickly -- Barack Obama has now become president-elect, putting his city of Chicago, his hometown, in a very big spotlight here. Well, that could help in a lot of ways but Chicago is going for the Olympics in a few years. That could actually help them out in their bidding?
HORROW: A couple of big things. Yes, he not only lives there but it's going to improve the standing of the U.S. in the world, most predict. So, by next October, the IOC, the Olympic committee looks at a different U.S. to choose thing. He takes the bowling alley, by the way, turns it into a basketball court.
Now, you and I, we're going to play one-on-one for the right to play him. What do you think? Are you up for it?
HOLMES: It's not fair really. (INAUDIBLE).
HORROW: Yes, it is fair.
HOLMES: It's not fair at all really.
HORROW: Yes, it is.
HOLMES: Oh, let's do this challenge on the air, you and me, we can play live on any CNN SATURDAY MORNING you want to.
HORROW: You and me live any CNN SATURDAY MORNING, but I call the fouls.
HOLMES: That's not a problem. I'll give you that. I'll give you points (ph).
HORROW: All right. You're on.
HOLMES: Rick, always good to see you.
HORROW: Yes, all right.
HOLMES: We're going to take this challenge up.
NGUYEN: I'm afraid of both of you -- I mean, really, to get you live on the air playing there.
HOLMES: Playing ball.
NGUYEN: I think you might hurt him.
HOLMES: That would be the point of the game.
NGUYEN: Yes. Well, we might as well call this off right now, folks.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: All right. Let's keep it up with sports for just a second because baseball fans, you better listen up. There is a major auction offering up some of the game's greatest artifacts, everything from Lou Gehrig's glove to Joe DiMaggio's jersey, so let the bidding begin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. A live picture here of -- nothing just yet -- but we are awaiting President Bush, he's expected to arrive here soon at the National Building Museum. This is where he's kicking off a summit of the financial markets with about 20 other world leaders to talk about the economy. Not expecting, to be quite frank, a whole lot to come out of it necessarily, not a whole lot of policy, if you will, to come out of it. But still, an important gathering of some of the world's big dogs, if you will, in the global economy.
But when President Bush steps up to the podium, we're expecting him to make a few comments, we will take those live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Booster ignition. And liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour, preparing our home in space for a larger international family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: As we took a look at the space shuttle, let's take a look and listen right now to President Bush.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BUSH: Pleased that we're discussing a way forward to make sure that such a crisis is unlikely to occur again and I am pleased that the leaders reaffirm the principals behind open markets and free trade. One of the dangers during a crisis such as this is that people will start implementing protectionist policies.
Obviously, you know, this crisis has not ended. There's some progress being made, but there's still a lot more work to be done. And so, we had a good, frank discussion last night. I look forward to the discussions today. And we'll see you after the meetings have ended. Thank you.
NGUYEN: And there you have it. President Bush speaking this morning at the National Building Museum as he gets ready for the meeting of the G-20 leaders, these are leaders from the world's most industrialized and developing countries. They have come together to try to hash out some kind of a warning system, some kind of a plan that will help ease the financial situation that we're in.
And as we heard the president speak there about some protectionist policies, those that he's talking about, is an action plan that they're trying to develop for openness. They're also trying to figure out some kind of an early warning system to prevent this situation from happening again. So, we'll follow that for you today.
And, also this, though. We've been talking about it all morning long. The pictures are just really incredible. Emergency evacuations in Southern California.
HOLMES: Now, there's a new wildfire, that's the new one to tell you about. And that is a live picture, folks. That is happening right now, as we speak, out there on the west coast, a new wildfire. It has gained a lot of ground overnight. Also, a hospital full of patients right now is in the thick of things. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
We need to take a live picture of what's happening out west right now. At this hour, a wildfire spreading fast in just north of Los Angeles. It's called the Sylmar fire. Thousands of people have been forced from their homes. But, of course, as we always see in these fires, a lot of people stay behind. They don't heed the warnings, and they're trying to save their homes.
We expect a news conference any minute now. When it happens, we'll take you there live.
NGUYEN: Also, the talk on Capitol Hill of Senator Hillary Clinton and her meeting with President-elect Barack Obama, apparently, about a key cabinet post.
HOLMES: Also, the economy on the brain of a lot of folks and a lot of world leaders, talking about how to fix it, the world economy, but also the economy here in the U.S. This morning, President Bush hosting world leaders in closed door meetings. We'll let you know what you can expect.
NGUYEN: Yes and while those leaders tackle the big picture in this financial crisis, we're going to talk about an option for credit stressed consumers. It used to be very popular, but now it is making a comeback. We'll have details on that.
But we do want to start with this, the fire out in Los Angeles, look at this live picture. Those flames still shooting into the air. You sire fire retardant is being doused onto those flames, at this point though, not making a whole lot of inroads in cutting this thing off. This fire erupted overnight about 6 1/2 hours ago and it's being whipped by warm gusting winds not helping the situation. It has spread incredibly fast. Here's what we know, 5,000 people in Sylmar have been told to evacuate. One thousands homes are threatened. A hospital has even lost power, but it's not believed to be immediately threatened by that fire, so that's a little bit of good news for you. But the Sylmar fire already has destroyed 10 to 15 structures. One person has been burned and Melissa Kelly of the Los Angeles fire department talked with us last hour about this fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY: We've actually expanded our evacuation zone to reach further west as the fire moves, just trying to make sure that the citizens of Los Angeles are safe and sound. There are about 1,000 structures currently being threatened by fire and we're reporting about 10 to 15 structures that are damaged as that number could climb as the morning hours continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right, so this fire is still burning. I want to give you a live look now at our local affiliate there in Los Angeles, KABC. They've been following this fire very closely.
Let's just take a listen to their coverage right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CORRESPONDENT: ... to the other side of the (INAUDIBLE) thruway. We know that the 210 (INAUDIBLE) closed is both directions, 210 (INAUDIBLE) Avenue off ramp closed in both directions and the 210 Osbourne (ph) off ramp closed in both directions. The (INAUDIBLE) freeway is shut down as you mentioned John. They're having vehicles exit south at San Fernando. They're taking vehicles off the 14 at San Fernando Road and (INAUDIBLE) is setting up closure northbound 5 to the 118. So that is the latest on your traffic update, but...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CORRESPONDENT: You mentioned the (INAUDIBLE) fire earlier and then we had the (INAUDIBLE). This fire is basically burning between the two.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, right...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CORRESPONDENT: So whatever brush didn't burn from those two fires is now burning unfortunately as we were saying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CORRESPONDENT: So much brush and the wind definitely driving this fire. It's spotting all over the place and how do you get in front of something that keeps spotting over and over.
NGUYEN: So that's a quick listen at our local affiliate KABC as they are following the latest developments in this fire and as you can see, still burning very brightly as the early morning hours taking place there in California.
HOLMES: As we told you this morning, thousands of people have been evacuated, fleeing their homes. All the people need somewhere to go. Oftentimes this is when the Red Cross jumps in, excuse me, to help people out. Lisa Bialac-Jehle is with the Red Cross out there in California. She's at one of the evacuation centers in Sylmar. Ma'am, thank you for being with us. Tell us, are you seeing people come in and are they coming in in pretty big numbers?
VOICE OF LISA BIALAC-JEHLE, AMERICAN RED CROSS: yes they are. We've had about 150 to 200 people coming in and out of the Sylmar High School all day. That's at 13050 Borden (ph) Avenue in Sylmar. We have cots set up. We have food right now. We got pizza and soda, you name it. We'll be (INAUDIBLE) today until further notice.
HOLMES: And you said people are coming in and out. Do they need to -- a lot of these people need to make a quick pit stop if you will and get replenished, get a quick supply, maybe a bite to eat, some water and then they're heading back out to find other things. Are you finding people that really need -- you're going to be servicing overnight if you will?
BIALAC-JEHLE: We're sitting (ph) overnight. We have 100 cots set up right now. We do have people sleeping. We're providing blankets, cots, information. We have televisions set up here. We have information coming in from the fire department, the mayor's office, the governor's office as well, has been in contact with us.
HOLMES: And do you expect this to continue, I guess? Are the numbers starting to increase? I guess this one just about broke out overnight, I guess if you will, but do you expect -- you need to be up and running for a little while.
BIALAC-JEHLE: yes, we have plans to be up and running until we're no longer needed. The Red Cross will provide services until we are no longer needed and we also have the capability of opening other shelters if need be. We have San Fernando High School and I believe Kennedy High School as well.
HOLMES: OK, so those the only two places right now and say those two to me again if you can.
BIALAC-JEHLE: Well right now the Sylmar High School and San Fernando High School I have confirmed.
NGUYEN: All right, Lisa, we want to thank you for that information. Right now though, we want to take you live to this news conference that's taking place right now. This is Los Angeles County fire chief. Let's take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: Los Angeles fire department (INAUDIBLE) then from there we will move to Deputy Chief John Tripp, the Los Angeles County fire department and then we will speak with Deputy Chief John Moore (ph) of the U.S. Forest Service and last and certainly not least, it'll be Deputy Chief Mike Moore, who will speak about evacuation for the Los Angeles police department. So as soon as we get there, we'll be getting started.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you willing to give us an update right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: Stand by, as soon as I get one other person, we're coming in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Leslie, can you hear me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all live, yes, I can hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we're waiting for them to get their...
NGUYEN: All right, apparently, this thing is wrapping up or getting under way. A lot of this is very fluid right now as they're dealing with this massive fire, so we are going to be dipping into local coverage there throughout the morning. But in the meantime, let's get a check of the weather situation because the wind conditions are causing a major problem for that fire.
Meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us now with the latest on that. Any relief in sight?
MAGINNIS: None. It looks like it may start to taper off later on in the afternoon, but we're still looking at brisk winds, very unpredictable, very erratic, especially backed up towards the mountains. Then we're looking at the air coming down off the mountains, heating up, compressing and then they start to really escalate between 60 and 70 miles an hour.
Here's some of the peak wind gusts that we've seen over the last 12 hours or so. This particular one, Camp Nine, that's what we've seen, the closest sensor and they have peak wind gusts to 59 miles an hour, wouldn't surprise me if we saw winds even higher than that.
I just wanted to show you where Sylmar is. Here is the coast of California. We'll zoom in and show you what's happening right around Los Angeles, but they're still seeing gusty winds in Burbank, all around the southern California area. We zoom in closer towards Sylmar. They are backed up against the mountains.
That's why they are especially vulnerable to the wind conditions. Red flag warnings, what does that mean? Well, generally speaking, the relative humidity is going to be around 10 to 15 percent and what we'll see are those winds come over the mountains, compress.
You can see these little valleys in the canyons here. They're saying the winds could gust between 60 and 70 miles an hour. And if you've watched any of our coverage throughout the morning, you've seen those live pictures from our affiliate there, southern California and the inland, Imperial Valley, just like you're looking at right to the next (ph).
These fires are just jumping these ridge tops and it becomes very erratic, very unpredictable. We had one unofficial report of a mobile home park where it just looked like the fire was just dropping on top of some of those mobile homes. But it's just been fierce across this area.
We'll keep you updated. Back to you, Betty, T.J..
HOLMES: All right. We're going to head back out, thank you Karen, to KABC, that news conference we were keeping an eye on. It is under way now. Let's take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: You can see how the winds are unpredictable and it's very important that residents in the city, when they're ordered to evacuate, listen to those orders because it is for their safety. And with that, I'd like to turn it over to Deputy Chief Mario Rueda.
QUESTION: Quick question, how (INAUDIBLE) power lines (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: Let me just do this. I want to bring the other incident commanders up and then we'll go ahead and take questions and answers. Right now this is Deputy Chief Mario Rueda who is handling all the resources for the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles fire department.
DEPUTY CHIEF MARIO RUEDA, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPT: Good morning. As Captain Hogan mentioned, shortly after 10:30, all three agencies, the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County fire and Los Angeles city fire, all mutually responded to this area where we have agreements for response. Fire fighters encountered the winds you're seeing right now, near hurricane winds and made it very difficult fire fighting here. When fire fighters arrived, the fire was very well developed in the forest, moving into the residential areas here in Sylmar.
We have over 600 fire fighters here, really doing everything possible to make sure that these homes are protected, people are safe. The fire has progressed all the way to the 5 freeway. We are doing structure protection all along the 210 corridor here. But as you can see, these are very, very difficult conditions and fire fighters are just doing a heroic job there. And as far as injuries at this point, two minor injuries, none that we're aware of to the public. We did assess some people for smoke inhalation, but really, that's really a marvel at this point, given the conditions we have. And I want to turn it over to my counterparts from Los Angeles County, John Tripp.
JOHN TRIPP, LOS ANGELES CO. FIRE DEPT: Thanks chief, good morning, John Tripp, Los Angeles County fire department. We came on a mutual aid request from the city of Los Angeles. We deployed our dozers, our hand crews and our water dropping helicopters. Los Angeles fire department and LA County have been utilizing our helicopters as much as we can. With these gusts, it's caused us to have to ground a couple of helicopters. We've got our heavy helicopters that are still dropping in these conditions.
This fire has progressed basically going straight west from where it started. We also have the fire kind of as that fire progressing is going very rapidly and we've got resources trying to get out in front of it, trying to protect structures. At the same time, it's progressing a little bit to the north and it's burning against the fire or against the wind. We've put resources up on the top end of this so that we can try to get some control lines on the north side so it doesn't present a threat to the city of Santa Farrita (ph). We've put in resource requests throughout, through the region and into the OES (ph) (INAUDIBLE) system. We've got 25 strike teams, which is the equivalent of 125 engines that are either here or in route and we're going to continue as the fire continues to grow, we're going to continue to put in those requests. Tomorrow morning at first light, we anticipate to have six fixed wing aircraft, six type one helicopters, heavy helicopters and six medium helicopters, so we'll have a total of 12 helicopters. That's our minimum order right now with the conditions we have.
So with that, I'm going to turn it over now to the deputy fire management officer of the Angeles National Forest, John Thomas.
JOHN THOMAS: Good morning, shortly after the fire started late last night, it burned onto the Angeles National Forest. Unfortunately, at this time in southern California, as you all know, the fuels (ph) are at their driest state and when the fire started, the relative humidity was down to 9 percent. That is also some of the most rugged country and inaccessible in some way that you'll ever run into. We're very grateful to have our cooperatives that we have with us to help us contain this. That's all I got.
DEPUTY CHIEF MICHAEL MOORE: Good morning and we have expanded the evacuated areas, what's been earlier announced has been expanded with the movement of the fire. Our expanded ordered evacuations are as follows: west of the 5 freeway. Residents in those areas bordering the Grenada hills border (ph) ranch area, if they are east of Balboa Boulevard, I'm sorry, if they're west of Balboa Boulevard and they are east of Ricita (ph) Boulevard and along that apron of the city interface with the (INAUDIBLE) with the mountains there, that is an ordered evacuation area.
There's a lot of small streets up in those areas. It's very hilly terrain. For residents in the Grenada hills, again border ranch area, Ricita Boulevard on the west, Balboa on the east, north of the Robert Frost middle school, those neighborhoods up in those hills there. That is an ordered evacuation. We presently have uniformed LAPD officers as well as (INAUDIBLE) school district police officers, LA County police and LA County sheriffs that are assisting us in this ordered evacuation.
In addition, the freeway, the interstate 5 freeway is shut down on the north at the 126 freeway or highway interchange, as well as the 14 freeway southbound at San Fernando Road, northbound 5 freeway is shut down at the 118 freeway interchange and northbound 405 freeway is shut down at the 118 interchange. The 210 is shut down at the 118 interchange.
So, the interstate highway system in the northern San Fernando Valley is presently closed due to the proximity of the fire to these freeways, asking again for residents to understand that city, county and state resources are all being brought to bear on this very fast- moving and heavy fire that our emergency personnel need residents that when ordered to evacuate, that they move from their residence well in advance of seeing this fire.
We've had residents that are waiting until they see the flames. This fire is moving so quickly that they cannot evacuate if they wait that long. So if they're ordered to evacuate, we're asking residents, despite their inability to see the open flames, is that they move from their area and they do so expediently.
Secondly, we have a great deal of apparatus, emergency equipment moving through the streets. We need residents to stay off of the streets and leave this area. Our evacuation centers remain with the San Fernando Valley High School, Sylmar High School and Kennedy High School, Pierce (ph) College and (INAUDIBLE) are the equestrian centers for evacuations of horses as well as other animals. The city remains on (INAUDIBLE) alert with our police personnel. We are transitioning into our day watch resources and we will continue to support fire (ph) in this endeavor.
QUESTION: Your name sir?
MOORE: Deputy Chief Michael Moore.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: OK, we'll open it up to questions. I can bring you gentlemen up to date.
QUESTION: Let me ask you very quickly, for clarity, the strategy you are employing right now, where this is burning, it is not burning anywhere near the Burton (ph) area from the previous fire, the Merritt (ph) fire. So you don't have a fire break.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: It's blowing away from that area and it's blowing towards where the fire was at the (INAUDIBLE) fire. So we're using that as a contingency possibly to try to hold it there if it goes that far. We've got one strategy on that side of the fire, which is on the west side of the fire.
On the north side, we're trying to make sure that we're putting a perimeter line on the north side of the fire so it doesn't go up over the ridge against the wind. Right now, the fire is moving very rapidly with the wind, but we do not have any containment. So we have to at the same time, be trying to put in control lines so that if the wind stops, the fire doesn't take another direction.
QUESTION: What is the acreage right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: The acreage, I don't have an acreage, chief.
RUEDA: We estimate fires at about 2600 acres. It's moving about one half to one mile an hour, so just like Deputy Chief Moore indicated, the fire will move much quicker than people think.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) heading toward the California aqueduct. What do we know about that?
RUEDA: I don't know about the movement towards the California aqueduct. I do know that it has spotted over the 5 and we do have resources in that area and as Chief Tripp pointed out, that is one of our contingency lines on the west side of the fire is the previous burn at Sesna (ph).
QUESTION: What about the structures? How many structures have burned?
RUEDA: We do have a spot weather report. We work very closely with the National Weather Service. The Los Angeles County fire department has a fire behavior analyst and we do know that the winds will start to subside sometime midmorning so that is a gradual, that is a gradual process and we'll be looking forward to that subsiding of the winds. But as you can see right now, we're going to have these winds for the next several hours.
QUESTION: Can you talk about structures? How many structures?
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: When we talk about priorities, Chief Moore, Chief Rueda, Chief Thomas and myself, our number one priority right now is life and people have to get out of the path of the fire. We've put in mandatory evacuations. We're trying to get people out of harm's way. Second to that is trying to protect peoples' structures but where we're putting fire fighters and with these high winds, they are definitely in harm's way.
So, those are our priorities. When we're talking about aqueducts or we're talking about the high-tension power lines, of course, we have concern about those. But we have citizens that are in harm's ways right now and that's our number one priority. We are telling everybody, Chief Moore and his officers are out in front of this telling people to get out, so that's the word we want out there.
QUESTION: What about structures? How many structures?
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: We don't, we've got (INAUDIBLE) that are trying to get out there and find that, but right now, we are actively just trying to put out the fire. So we are not going to be able to count structures yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: Last question.
QUESTION: One quick question, what about power outages? What do you say to people if there are power outages? DWP is ready to deal with major power outages.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: DWP is -- all of our supporting agencies and cooperators are deploying in, but right now the fire is moving very dynamically. That is our priority, so people need to evacuate and get out of harm's way.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRE FIGHTER: OK, thank you very much. Let me give you a couple more phone numbers if I may.
NGUYEN: And you've been listening to fire officials out in Los Angeles this morning, closer to Sylmar, California I should say and just look at the picture. That really tells the story. The winds are whipping. It's causing a lot of problems for those trying to put down this fire. As we heard, the winds are at near hurricane force speeds around 70 miles per hour, some 200 or some 2,600 acres has been charred at this point and because of the winds, the fire is moving at about a mile per hour. Now they are doing the best they can to fight it. They're using water dropping helicopters. In fact, they should have some six fixed wing aircraft as well as 12 helicopters available a little bit later today. But because of this fire, they have expanded the ordered evacuation area to west of interstate 5 and at this point, some 1,000 homes have been threatened so far.
We're going to talk with a spokesperson at a nearby hospital which we understand has lost some power because of these fires as well. Stay tuned, we are following this breaking news.
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NGUYEN: Breaking news out of California today, still marks the exact (ph), look at those flames on the right hand side of your screen. This fire is burning out of control at this hour, some 2600 acres on fire and it's moving fast. We want to speak with now Carla Nino. She is a spokesperson at Olive View Medical Center there, near the fire lines.
And Carla, we have gotten reports that you have lost power there at the hospital due to these fires. What can you tell us?
VOICE OF CARLA NINO, OLIVE VIEW, UCLA MEDICAL CTR: OK, well, actually the fire was on our campus. We weren't, we were directly in the fire and the hospital building itself has been not any particular danger of the fire, but because we lost total power, we have a co- generation plant. We had self fire, potential, but the fire was so intense and our plant was right in the middle of it. So it was a complete outage for about 3 1/2 to four hours.
NGUYEN: OK, let's take this apart one by one. So the fire was on the campus where the hospital is, although the hospital wasn't on fire. What was on fire?
NINO: I don't have the exact assessment of which ones of our external buildings. We have staff who obviously were not there. These are non-patient focused staff. They're our finance staff. They're out financial services staff, that type of thing.
NGUYEN: OK, but no one was injured. And just to be clear, the hospital lost complete power. Are you running on generators?
NINO: No, it lost complete power. Our power is back up. DPW was out here working tirelessly with our facilities people to get back on electrical power. But we were completely off power for about 3 1/2 to four hours.
NGUYEN: Was anyone in danger or injured because of that, because I know the hospital does care for those in need of medical attention.
NINO: Absolutely. Nobody was injured. We had a very coordinated effort with the city fire and the county fire, our county police, all of them in our command center. We had -- we did move 18 neo-natal babies, some on ventilators, some not. We moved 18 of them out of the hospital to other hospitals throughout LA County. We moved five adults, ICU patients on ventilators and about two or three others. We are no longer moving patients.
NGUYEN: That is very good news and to be clear, the fire that was on campus, has that been contained? Has that been put out?
NINO: That's gone. It sort of blew in. It was hugely -- very, very dense smoke in the entire area and there was some smell of smoke in the building, but...
NGUYEN: But no injuries thank goodness.
NINO: No.
NGUYEN: OK, Carla Nino, spokesperson with Olive View Medical Center there in California. We do appreciate your information this morning, just another result of what this fire has done throughout the night since it started. Over 1,000 homes have been threatened. This point, no word on the exact structure loss, but we know that the fire has charred at least 2600 acres and it's moving at about a mile per hour as they work feverishly to contain it. We'll stay on top of this for you. You're watching CNN.
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HOLMES: We continue to follow this massive fire, called a dynamically moving fire by fire officials out there. This is a 2600 acre fire, the Sylmar fire is happening about 20 plus miles north of downtown Los Angeles. We do know there have only been a couple of injuries, but we have thousands of structures that are being threatened and several that have been already damaged or destroyed, but we do not have an accurate count of that just yet. The winds have been fanning this -- flames of this fire and it is moving and there is no containment at this point.
We'll continue to follow this massive moving fire right here on CNN. Don't you go anywhere. But we do need to take "House Call," Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
HOLMES: It is about to come up after we take a quick commercial break. Don't go anywhere.
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