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Dugard's Life in Captivity; Killer Wildfire in California; Last-Minute Tips to Cover College Costs

Aired August 31, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Monday, the 31st day of August. And here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those individuals that are asked to leave, please, please leave. Don't put your lives in danger. We don't need any more victims of this fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A Los Angeles area wildfire turns into a killer. Live this hour to the front lines of a hellish inferno.

Four years and $3 billion after Hurricane Katrina, where things stand with the miles and miles of levees in New Orleans.

And this CNN exclusive, an interview with Tibet's exiled leader, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Expanding the investigation. Is the suspect in an 18-year-long kidnapping saga linked to other unsolved cases including several murders? That is the question this morning. Authorities are searching for clues as we get new details about life in captivity for Jaycee Dugard.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jaycee Dugard appeared to have settled into an unimaginable routine during her 19 years of captivity. Behind the scene, she lived in this messy backyard prison but to the outside world, she was the creative force behind Philip Garrido's printing business designing business cards for clients all over the town of Antioch. Deepal Karunaratne describes her as intelligent with an attention to detail.

DEEPAL KARUNARATNE, GARRIDO BUSINESS ASSOCIATE: She was always having a very pretty smile on the face. She comes and talking to me and always smiling. And she's a very pretty girl. Very pretty young lady. LAVANDERA: Even Dugard's daughters appeared to live a normal life. These are pictures of the young girls obtained by CNN. The 11- year-old went by the name of Angel. The 15-year-old, Starlet. We've blurred their faces to protect their privacy.

The pictures were taken two weeks ago at a birthday party for Sheyvonne Molino's daughter. Molino says Garrido called Jaycee and the daughters "my girls" and often brought them to Molino's wreck yard delivering bottles of water on hot days.

CHEYVONNE MOLINO, GARRIDO'S BUSINESS ASSOCIATE: They made it seem like these little girls were like living like wolves or jungle kids in the backyard, you know, dungeon. Perhaps that is it but they didn't give me the visual to me. They were polite. They were well- mannered.

LAVANDERA: Molino says Angel and Starlet were huge fans of Hannah Montana. She says Jaycee dreamed of becoming a model, always clean and well dressed. No hint of the tragic reality.

Investigators have expanded the crime scene at Phillip Garrido's home. They brought cadaver dogs to search the property next door. Authorities are looking into whether Garrido could be connected to a string of murders in the 1990s.

JIMMY LEE, SPOKESMAN, CONTRA COSTA SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: What we also know is that Phillip Garrido had access to that property. He used that property and it looks like he lived on that property in a shed.

LAVANDERA: As we've scoured Garrido's hometown looking for clues, we found this in a hardware store. The name Phil G. on a donation card. On August 17th, this receipt shows Garrido bought a pressure switch and then left a $2 donation to the Children's Miracle Network.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow.

And our Ed Lavandera joining us live now from Antioch, California.

And Ed, you are learning some information about Jaycee's reunion with her family. What is being done to help her adjust?

LAVANDERA: Well, first of all, her location is a tightly kept secret. We understand that she was kept at a hotel for several days, and then perhaps is being moved around.

She's with her daughters and her mother and an aunt, we understand. And she's also been surrounded by a team of law enforcement authorities and a team of psychologists, helping not only Jaycee Dugard readjust, but also questions that we suspect family members are having about how they can help Dugard readjust and reenter a more normal lifestyle. So, we know that that is going on, but her location's a tightly kept secret at this point.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, this is an amazing story.

Ed Lavandera on it for us in Antioch, California.

Ed, good to see you. Thank you.

And tonight, Phillip Garrido's previous victim speaks out on "LARRY KING LIVE." What she has to say about the man who attacked her and is accused of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard 18 years ago. Plus, Jaycee's stepfather on how she is doing right now.

That's "LARRY KING LIVE," CNN, tonight, 9:00 Eastern Time.

Scorching heat and a thick blanket of brush, and a wall of flames. Wildfire kills two firefighters and critically burns two people who tried to ride out the inferno in a hot tub.

Seven major fires burning across California today. The largest, the Station Fire, has doubled in a day to 85,000 acres.

CNN's Rob Marciano is in Lakeview Terrace, California.

Rob, Lakeview Terrace or Terraces?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're actually specifically in Sunland, California, which is close. The problem with this fire, Tony, it is so widespread.

The Angeles National Forest, we're on the southern flank of it. It's behind me. There are still some homes in the way of that ridge, but behind that is where the mountainous, rugged terrain where this fire has been burning and spreading.

And because the winds have been fairly light, there's not one direction that it's moving. It's growing in all directions. So, you have a community north of the forest called Acton that is threatened by this. You have this community. And then paralleling the southern flank of this towards Pasadena, all those very highly populated communities are threatened by this fire, and they're trying to get in advance of it.

All morning long up and down this road there have been firefighting assets that have been passing by as to get deeper into that rugged terrain and try to spot-protect some of the buildings that are there. Mount Wilson being one of them.

So, this thing, as you mentioned, has doubled in size. The interesting thing that's been pointed out to us by the incident fire commander is that he's never seen a fire grow this rapidly without Santa Ana winds. The winds have been relatively light, but it's been so hot the past couple of weeks, so dry, humidity levels are low, and a long-term drought to boot, things have just been primed up.

And they haven't seen a major fire here in like 50, 60 years. So there's a lot of fuel to be burned. HARRIS: Right. Hey, Rob, did I hear you earlier mention that the area might get a marine layer sort of midweek that might help a bit?

MARCIANO: Yes, that's the best we can hope for at this point. There's a little front that's going to get close, but not until round about Wednesday, really in full force Thursday and Friday. So, the next two days are going to be pretty much what you've had the last two days, which is temperatures, in some cases, reaching record-breaking triple-digit numbers, very low levels of humidity. You get a light sea breeze in the afternoon, but not enough to do anything other than change the direction of the fire.

That's also doing a couple things. Usually light winds, you think, OK, that's good for the fire because it doesn't fan the flames. That's true, but it also creates this very low visibility environment.

The smoke doesn't get blown away. So, if you're dropping fire retardant from the air, your target's a little bit more obscured. If you're trying to hustle around the fire to get in position, it's more dangerous just to drive through the thing. So, every fire is different, and certainly this one has proven to be having its own characteristics.

HARRIS: Hey, Rob, air quality out there, pretty nasty?

MARCIANO: Yes, pretty bad. I've got my handy-dandy mask here. Because the winds are light, you get a constant smoke that settles down in the valleys. And if it's not smoky, the ash is falling as if there was some sort of volcano that's erupted.

And it's not just here in the immediate area. You can smell the smoke and see the smoke and breathe the smoke in downtown Los Angeles for the most part. So, there are millions of people who are at least tasting this fire at this hour.

HARRIS: Right. That's pretty nasty. All right, Rob. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Rob didn't mention it there, but we will right here. We're talking about more than just the Station Fire.

There are at least seven other fires burning throughout the state of California, threatening homes in a number of different areas. Six, and then the Station Fire making it seven.

Nicole Lapin is monitoring the video that's coming in to us right now, and she joins us live from the area of our operation that we call Epic (ph).

Nicole, what do you have for us?

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can't help but wonder, Tony, how in the world is California going to pay for fighting all of these blazes? So far, no reports that it's actually affected the firefighting efforts. But think about it, those efforts could make the state's financial issues even worse.

Here's what we're getting in live right now from KTLA.

To fight scenes like this, Tony, the governor has created an emergency $182 million fund. But that fund was already half gone a week ago, and that was the last time they tallied up those numbers. So, if that weren't scary enough, there are 10 months left in this fiscal year, and we typically have the worst in front of us. I can tell you that from growing up in California.

So, any money they are going to need to fight this -- this is coming from KABC right now -- is going to come out of the rainy day fund, which some say is simply too small to keep this fight going. But look, the money is going to have to come from somewhere. Rob was mentioning this.

Take a look at a live picture of Mount Wilson right now. This is a webcam from UCLA. It houses some really important stuff -- major antennas for the region. So, severe damage could disrupt not only cell phone service there, but television and radio programming for anybody who receives a signal over the air. It could also interrupt some important emergency law enforcement communications.

This is what it normally looks like, just to give you a perspective, without all of the smoke.

HARRIS: Whoa. That's pretty dramatic.

LAPIN: Yes. It houses a historic solar observatory on top of this mountain. It houses multimillion-dollar astronomy projects for the likes of UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley. Georgia State, by the way, has a $20 million facility up there. So, some really powerful, important technology on top of Mount Wilson.

We are linking this page up to our blog, CNN.com/Tony, if you want to watch the fire from the Web. We are watching it as well.

HARRIS: Awesome. All right, Nicole. If you get some more fantastic pictures out of California, let us know. All right? And we'll get back to you in Epic (ph).

LAPIN: Will do.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: A family found dead. You will hear the chilling 911 emergency call next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Grab your backpack and your checkbook. Colleges and universities -- oh my goodness. Checks are opening the doors for fall semester. Your personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, has tips if you're scrambling for tuition money.

Gerri, good to see you. Good Monday to you.

Is it too late for financial aid?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: No. And a lot of people are scrambling right now.

So, first of all, if you haven't filled out that FAFSA form -- that's the application for federal student loan aid -- you've got to do it. You still have time to get it in, but don't wait any longer. Ideally, you should get this form in before the fall semester starts, or shortly thereafter.

If you qualify for the Stafford loan or a PLUS loan, you'll still get the money, although you may not get a Perkins loan or state money since those funds are pretty much depleted right now. Most scholarships are probably gone for this year as well. But start looking now for scholarships and grants so you can get a jump-start on next year's financial aid.

And don't forget to ask your employer about tuition assistance programs. Some companies have these programs in place for employees and their dependents. You know how it is, Tony. We're all looking for every single dollar we can find right now.

HARRIS: Tell me about it.

What is this about installment plans, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, a lot of people out there are getting these letters from schools. An increasing number of colleges are allowing folks to pay their tuition bill in installments rather than all at one time.

For a fee of $50 to $100, you can spread your payments out without having to pay interest. For example, let's say you owe $9,000. You pay $1,000 every month. And this is a great way of preventing the debt from piling up. Ask the bursar's office if this option is available to you.

HARRIS: How about options for people who are recently unemployed?

WILLIS: Well, look, if your family endured unusual hardship since filing your taxes -- let's say you lost your job; it's happened to a lot of people -- maybe your salary was cut, you can apply for what they call a professional judgment review. It's called a PJ, as it's known in the industry.

Your FAFSA can be changed to reflect the hardship, and you could qualify for more government aid. Keep in mind, though, that it's more likely you'll be granted a professional judgment review if you're unemployed, ,rather than if you sustained losses in your 529 plan or 401(k). So, it has to be a real live problem that you can prove. Then you might get some additional assistance.

HARRIS: And Gerri, what can you tell us about peer-to-peer lending?

WILLIS: Well, you know, this is interesting. You know, this is available online, peer-to-peer lending. This is where a stranger lends you money and you pay them with interest.

HARRIS: Right.

WILLIS: But you don't go to a bank. It's getting more popular, and you'll probably see the ads all over the Web.

But this industry is really in its infancy. In fact, less than 10 percent of borrowers get any amount of their needs fulfilled. You're really better off trying to land yourself a job to help defray the costs of college if you're a dependent, undergrad. You can also earn up to $3,500, and that will have no impact on your aid package.

Don't forget, it's never too late to save for college. In fact, if your state allows the state income tax deduction for your 529, keep saving. We're talking about a three percent to 10 percent discount on tuition.

And, of course, if you have any questions, send them to me at gerri@cnn.com. We love to hear from you, and we answer those questions right here every Friday.

HARRIS: Good tips, as always. Thanks, Gerri.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: In the news now, the British prime minister's office is again denying the release of the Lockerbie bomber was in exchange for an oil deal with Libya. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who is dying of cancer, was sent back to Libya earlier this month.

For the first time in nearly 50 years, Japan has a new ruling party. Voters yesterday decided they had finally had enough of the conservative leadership, giving the Democratic Party of Japan a big enough majority in parliament to choose the next prime minister.

All right, everybody. A little quiet, please. The crew of the Shuttle Discovery won't get its wake-up call for another two hours. Discovery docked last night with the International Space Station. Astronauts are delivering more than seven tons of supplies and new equipment.

You know, the experts say the economy is turning around, but plants are still shutting down. So, we sent our Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi out on the road. We'll talk to him in just a second.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: On the road to find out what's on your mind, Ali Velshi and the CNN Express off today on another road trip to hear your views on issues important to you. Ali is traveling from Atlanta to Minneapolis, with a stop later today in Evansville, Indiana. That's where 1,100 jobs will be lost when a Whirlpool refrigerator plant closes next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people are looking for jobs that probably ain't there. I bet a lot of people won't buy Whirlpool around here. It will be a hard sell. Really hard sell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Yes, it's hard.

Ali joins us now by phone from the CNN Express.

And Ali, where are you now, and what are you looking forward to on this trip?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're just, Tony, heading out of Georgia, into Tennessee, heading toward Evansville, Indiana, where, as you said, not all of those 1,100 people will be losing their jobs in Evansville, but the plant will be shutting down there. At least 330 will be losing their jobs.

HARRIS: Oh, OK.

VELSHI: Which is a big deal for any town, especially -- here's the thing, Tony. We're having a lot of discussions in the last several weeks about whether or not this recession is coming to an end, whether it's bottoming out. And some people do think that's the case.

Home prices are stabilizing. The stock market's been moving ahead, generally speaking. But in the end, it's about jobs.

So, if you're hearing the recession's coming to an end, and all of a sudden you're in a town where a factory's shutting down, or you're losing your job, that could change your perception. And your perception is so important to this recovery, because it's when people think that they're going to be stable in their employment and their income, that they're going to start spending again, and that will help us out of the recession.

So, I'm trying to get a sense of what people are feeling.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, this is interesting, because before you left, we spent a couple of minutes together, and we were talking about the fact that exports are starting to pick up a little bit. One of the signs that economists are pointing to, to suggest that we have sort of bottomed this thing out.

This is a plant in Evansville that makes these Whirlpool refrigerators. And I'm wondering -- clearly, we're not at a place where these jobs will be saved, but things may be turning around just a bit, but clearly not in enough time to help the folks at the plant.

VELSHI: That's right. Look, the manufacturing industry in the United States has been in decline for more than 10 years right now. The issue is, will we be able to export the things that people want to buy?

When it comes to manufacturing big-ticket items, most of this manufacturing will be transferred to Mexico in this particular case, where labor costs are cheaper. And that's still something we're dealing with.

So, now when you see electronics like washing machines and refrigerators, and things like that, you're seeing a lot of them coming from the Far east. You're seeing Korea, South Korea doing that. You're seeing China manufacturing a lot more of those.

In fact, China's stimulus program, Tony, was to encourage people to buy things that were Chinese made. So...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

VELSHI: ... we're not necessarily seeing the benefit. While we are seeing some pickup in exports, it's not going to be enough to help these folks who are losing their jobs in Evansville.

HARRIS: Ali, we will see you along your journey, and we will certainly see you in Evansville. Good to talk to you. And travel safe, my friend.

VELSHI: Thanks, Tony. Good to see you.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man joining forces?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A mass murderer may be on the loose in Georgia. Eight people were killed, a ninth is in critical condition.

The massacre happened at a mobile home near the small town of Brunswick. Police say they don't have any suspects, nor are they saying how many victims were killed. But a frantic 911 caller said it looked like his family members were beaten to death.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just got home and my whole family's dead.

OPERATOR: OK. Tell me what's going on, sir. What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just got home from -- I was out last night, I got home just now, and everybody's dead.

OPERATOR: Who... UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My dad's dead. All the people are dead.

OPERATOR: How many people are there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's like six. My whole family's dead.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: The 911 caller has been arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence, lying to police, and illegal drug possession.

New details about life in captivity for Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped 18 years ago. Authorities say Dugard helped manage a printing company that her alleged captor, Phillip Garrido, ran from his California home.

They say he fathered her two daughters, 11 and 15-year-old Angel and Starlite. They attended birthday parties and loved the TV show "Hannah Montana." By all accounts, the girls and their mother showed no outward sign of lives in turmoil. Psychologists say that's not unusual.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: To these children, he's their father. You can't suddenly go from dad to Satan, to this evil person. So that's going to be very sensitive.

The other thing is, apparently the children have been very sheltered. They've never gone to school. They had never seen a doctor before. But our hope here is that Jaycee will be a mom and that it will help her in her care for them as she goes forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Interesting. I'll talk to a psychologist about this case in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Tonight, Phillip Garrido's previous victim speaks out on "LARRY KING LIVE." What she has to say about the man who attacked her and is accused of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard 18 years ago. Plus, Jaycee's stepfather on how she's doing now. "LARRY KING LIVE," CNN tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

And in about 30 minutes, I'll be talking to a retired FBI investigator who worked on this case in 1991.

On Wall Street, the house of mouse is adding on. A major merger announced just before the opening bell will bring Mickey and Spider- Man together under the same roof. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details. I'll tell you what -- this is a big- money merger here, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the biggest media deal of the year. And it's very well-known brands. Yes, that's right, Mickey Mouse is snaring Spider-Man. Disney buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock.

Well, Disney will acquire Marvel's 5,000 characters, including all those characters we grew up on: Iron Man, X-Men, the Hulk, the Incredible Hulk, I should say, and the Fantastic Four. And then that's added to Disney's kingdom of content, its Magic Kingdom of content, if you will.

Disney of course bought Pixar in 2006. That successful acquisition led to "Cars" and "Wall-E." So, investors, well, they're marveling. Marvel shares are up 25 percent. Disney, well, that big purchase price is bringing its shares down. And overall, the Dow and the Nasdaq under a little bit of pressure on this final day of August -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. So that is the news, the nuts and bolts of that deal. It seems like an obvious combination. Put your analyst hat on for a second here, Susan. Is it a win-win for both companies?

LISOVICZ: Well, actually, Tony, it's all about you. Because for Disney, the deal is trying to help it appeal to boys and young men like yourself.

HARRIS: There you go.

LISOVICZ: Disney's got it down for girls. I mean, think about it. Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, all those princesses. So, Disney wants to get this very important demographic, and which then it can -- they can become multimedia...

HARRIS: Sure.

LISOVICZ: Let me not tell you about this. Poppy Harlow interviewed Disney CEO Bob Iger just after the deal was announced. Let's listen to what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT IGER, CEO, DISNEY: But we think there are also other opportunities, not just in the blockbuster movie direction but in the television direction, on the video games front and theme parks, online, you name it. It's not just about blockbuster films, although clearly a successful blockbuster film is almost like a great wave that sweeps over a company or a culture or you name it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: So for Marvel, they get that big $4 billion price tag. That's why the shares are up. And you'll be able to find the full interview with Bob Iger on CNNmoney.com very shortly -- Tony.

HARRIS: Good stuff. Susan, see you next hour. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You've got it.

HARRIS: You know, mom always said you've got to take your medicine, even if it tastes bad. So it is with the recession. What do economists think of the Fed's tonic?

CNN's Christine Romans is here with a new survey. What's in that survey, Christine? First of all, good to see you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too. Two hundred fifty-six economists, the National Association for Business Economics. And this is what they said. Basically, Tony, they said that they were pleased with the Fed keeping interest rates so low. Monetary policy, that's what the Fed is in charge of, they liked that. They were OK with what's happened so far.

But they were split on what to do next, frankly, and split on whether inflation would be a problem if the Fed doesn't sort of unwind all of this stuff correctly and quickly. But unease about government spending and unease going forward, most of them do not or would not like to see another stimulus.

Thirty-five percent said too much stimulus so far. Forty-two percent expect more stimulus. And 76 percent said don't need another one.

And this is no consensus, little optimism about health care. They were asked about health care. Also cap and trade and some other things.

HARRIS: Oh, good.

ROMANS: No consensus really on how best to fix the health care system, and little optimism that they would be able to cut costs overall. Forty-nine percent said that all the different plans on the table, Tony, would expand access. I mean, but you know, half of them think it won't. And 47 percent said it will actually decrease quality and increase cost.

Interesting that these economists, these 256 economists were given sort of a list of all these major proposals and which one they would choose to try to fix the health care system. And most of them picked "other." "Other" was the top choice. Checking the "other" box instead of all the proposals that are out there.

HARRIS: "Other" doesn't help us in this debate right now. You need to come with an idea. But I guess part of the good news here, if you're looking for a bit of good news, is that they're not saying the status quo is fine, that something needs to happen here, correct?

ROMANS: That's right. But it shows that the big economists are just as divided on what to do as the rest of us appear to be on what to do for health care. So, an interesting snapshot there. I thought it was interesting that most of them also thought we don't need another stimulus. They're concerned about government spending and think that that's something that needs to be starting -- you start reining that in over the next couple of years.

HARRIS: Good stuff. Christine, thank you.

ROMANS: All right. HARRIS: Out of unemployment benefits and still don't have a job? Read how five people are making ends meet. It is all at CNNmoney.com.

Firefighters just north of Los Angeles are facing a brutal week. Hot temps and mature brush are fueling a killer wildfire. The station fire, the largest of seven infernos in California, doubled in size in just the last 24 hours, if you can believe that.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom is in northern Los Angeles County. And Kara, I understand you've got some updated numbers on the acreage burned.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We sure do, Tony. Actually, within the last hour, the numbers have more than doubled -- 85,760 acres charred. You know, earlier this morning we were reporting more than 40,000. It gives you a feel for just how quickly this fire has been growing.

And Tony, actually joining us on the line now, we want to bring in Captain Mark Savage. We really appreciate you taking a break to join us, Captain Savage. Can you give us a feel for where this fire is growing and what the top concern is right now?

CAPTAIN MARK SAVAGE, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Well, we have many challenges, of course. With the fire doubling in size in the last 12 hours from 40,000 to 80,000 acres, that's really unprecedented with no wind to speak of.

We were in red flag conditions, which means we have super low humidities and high temperatures, extremely dry brush and also fuel that has not burned in over 40 years. Our incident commander is calling it the perfect storm. Unfortunately, it's just making it very, very difficult to try to contain this fire.

Our challenges are all the structures that are around this fire in the foothills of the different communities. And then of course we've got other concerns as well. So, it's very challenging. We continue to order additional resources as needed. And we certainly have our hands full here.

FINNSTROM: You know, one of the concerns, one of the biggest concerns is for the safety of your firefighters and that two of them were lost. Can you tell us anything about the conditions out there for them and what these two firefighters faced?

SAVAGE: Yes. We did -- it is certainly a sad incident not only for Los Angeles County firefighters but for the entire fire service, having two of our firefighters killed tragically yesterday in an automobile over-the-side accident during the firefight. Certainly, when the sun rises and you've just had two of your -- you've lost two great individuals in the fire department, it's certainly a very sad day here. So, we're dealing with obviously a loss of life.

And it -- as terrible as that is, we still have to do our job. And our job is to try to contain this fire that is just burning out of control and threatening many things, including houses. And it is difficult, but we still have a job to do.

FINNSTROM: All right. Mark Savage, Captain Mark Savage, we thank you so much for taking a few moments out of your very busy day to join us.

And Tony, back here live, you can see that the smoke is very thick where I am. This is on one end of this fire. We're in Sunland. You can -- there's actually supposed to be a hillside behind us here. We could see the fire burning earlier this morning, but the smoke is so thick right now that we can't even see that hillside there -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Kara, appreciate it. Good work on that story. Thank you. Kara Finnstrom for us.

CNN iReporters who are in the middle of the wildfire in California have been sending us some amazing images. CNN.com's iReporter desk producer Tyson Wheatley joins us now. Tyson, what do you see?

TYSON WHEATLEY, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Hey, Tony. Well, obviously, this wildfire and certainly parts of Los Angeles County affecting a lot of people, including many of our iReporters. I want to get you caught up with some of these amazing images we've been getting this weekend.

Let's start with some video from Marie Sager. And this is some video that she took just this weekend. She says that the smoke looked like an atom bomb from where she was filming near her home. She wanted to go out and shoot some more video, but this area now is currently under an advisory not to go outside, and so she's not doing it, and that's good. She hasn't been evacuated at this time.

We've also got some images I want to share from Tammy Alsterlind. She captured this incredible shot of fires creeping up. This is very near the Rose Bowl, Tony. She's a freelance photographer. She shot this I guess 1:00 a.m. local time, that would have been Sunday morning.

Again another photo I want to show you. This one from Don Q. Hannah. And he shot actually a lot of photos of California wildfires moving over the mountains in Glendale this weekend. Those are really some stunning, also some scary images there.

You can see the ominous glow of the flames against the setting sun, against the night sky. He lives about five miles from the flames. We've also got some photos of some helicopters and planes, of course, are attempting to fight blazes in many parts.

Some images from Trisha Maas. She lives very near Los Angeles. She says this -- large firefighting planes have been constantly circling the skies over her home, at times descending so low that they drop below the tree lines.

And we've also got a really great photo from Mary Beth Trama. She got an amazing photo of the fires' glow looming above the town -- outside the town of La Canada Flintridge. This is in Los Angeles County. Mary Beth tells CNN that many of her neighbors have packed up and left. That's a good thing because parts of that city are now under mandatory evacuation.

Incredible photos. As always, these images help CNN tell this big story.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WHEATLEY: We want to stress, please take caution out there. We absolutely appreciate your stories, but we don't want you to take any risks.

HARRIS: Because you can't outrun this. I heard that -- I can't tell you how many times I heard that this morning that you cannot outrun this fire. So, you've got to keep at a safe distance. And who knows what a safe distance is at this point? That's a good reminder there.

Tyson, appreciate it. Thank you.

WHEATLEY: Take care.

HARRIS: His Holiness the Dalai Lama is in Taiwan, and CNN has the exclusive interview. Hear what he says about honesty, truthfulness and transparency.

And we will also get you an update of our top stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Returning home to Myanmar, police say tens of thousands of Burmese refugees are leaving China, where they had gone to escape clashes last week between government troops and rebel militia. The fighting now said to be over.

Three Texas men are glad to be on solid ground after eight days sitting atop their overturned boat. The three fishermen were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico Saturday night, one day after the Coast Guard called off its search.

CNN's Fredricka Whitfield asked one of them about the private boater who found them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRESSEL HAWKINS, RESCUED BOATER: He was bringing his boat back to the house, and we were actually on the last oil rig that was out -- I believe he told me it was 220 miles south. So, we were an extra 120 miles south of where we should have been. And we kind of flagged him down. It took us a while for us to catch his attention.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm sure you couldn't believe your eyes when you saw him.

HAWKINS: Oh, yes. We were all crying, celebrating. And I mean, if the TV was right there when he pulled up in front of us, it was just amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Boy.

The Emmy awards honor the long-running soap opera "Guiding Light." The soap goes off the air next month after 72 years on television and radio. There we go. The show was recognized at the daytime Emmys last night. "Guiding Light" also tied for -- well, that's disconcerting. Also tied for the best supporting actor award.

Despite promises to make the levees bigger and better, they still may not protect New Orleans from a 100-year flood.

CNN's Sean Callebs is keeping them honest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Four years after Hurricane Katrina swamped much of New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers says the city is safer now. But despite rebuilding levees and other changes, some people aren't so sure.

Here's CNN's Sean Callebs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In New Orleans, water everywhere. Rivers, canals, lakes. It can be beautiful. But after the storm, everyone here knows that in a heartbeat, that water can turn into a monster.

GWEN ADAMS, KATRINA VICTIM: I don't know that I'll ever feel as safe as I did pre-Katrina.

CALLEBS: Gwen and Henry Adams. She's a teacher, he drives a taxi. They've lived their entire lives here in the Lower Ninth Ward. It was only about 50 yards from a flood wall that broke. The storm wiped them out and killed their neighbor.

And yet as hard as it is to believe, they're rebuilding in exactly the same place and moving back.

(on camera): Do people ask you why are you moving back into the area that's so close to the...

G. ADAMS: To the levy?

CALLEBS: Flood wall, levy? Let's go in and take a look.

G. ADAMS: People ask us that all the time. And I'll tell them like I'll tell you, because it's my home.

CALLEBS (voice-over): In the four years since the storm, the Army Corps of Engineers has spent $3 billion to repair and upgrade levees and install other flood protection. By 2013, four years from now, it says it will have spent more than $14 billion.

Colonel Robert Sinkler runs the Corps' project here.

COL. ROBERT SINKLER, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: I'm not going to say that folks here will have nothing to worry about, but we are reducing hurricane risk. And there's always the risk of a bigger, larger storm.

CALLEBS (on camera): The Corps of Engineers insists New Orleans has never been safer. The work going on here is scheduled to be done in 2011 and designed to provide 100-year storm surge protection. That means each year, there's a 1 in 100 chance this system could be put to the ultimate test.

IVOR VAN HEERDEN, DIRECTOR OF HURRICANE PUBLIC HEALTH, LSU: It's the water going underneath.

CALLEBS (voice-over): This man, Ivor Van Heerden, is a longtime critic of the Army Corps of Engineers and its safety claims regarding New Orleans. He's the director of Hurricane Public Health at Louisiana State University. Ask him, is the city safer, and you get a definite yes and no.

VAN HEERDEN: What is better is that where it broke is being fixed, but there's still some old weak spots in the system.

So, a category two on the right track, slow moving, could flood parts of the city. Another Katrina would definitely put water all over the levees in many, many different locations.

CALLEBS: As he takes us to a place to show us what he's talking about, Van Heerden tells us he's losing his job. LSU is eliminating his position. He says it's punishment for speaking out. LSU says it can't comment on personnel matters.

VAN HEERDEN: Before Katrina, we were saying get out with a category two or above. We haven't changed that message. Get out. It's still (INAUDIBLE) unsafe.

CALLEBS (on camera): This is the weakest of the wink links surrounding New Orleans. This is the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, or MRGO, built by the Army Corps of Engineers about a half century ago to provide a shorter route from ships from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans ports. Katrina's winds forced a wall of water down this waterway. The city didn't stand a chance.

Some engineers now say about 80 percent of the flooding in New Orleans can be traced to MRGO.

(voice-over): Many critics blame the Corps. After all, they built it, and that's one reason the Corps is rushing to close it, building a 24-foot wall that spans two miles and will close the funnel.

SINKLER: A project like this historically would take decades, or over a decade to construct. And we're doing it in just a few years. CALLEBS: The tremendous damage caused when MRGO became overburdened also prompted a massive class-action lawsuit against the Corps. And if the Corps loses, it could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

And that brings us back to Gwen and Henry Adams. They're plaintiffs in the suit.

G. ADAMS: One day you're a viable human being, working, contributing to society, and the next day, you're wondering if you're homeless.

CALLEBS: Water everywhere and about 350 miles of levees, stretching about the distance from Washington, D.C., to Boston. But the Corps says it's safer now than ever before.

G. ADAMS: I say prove it, because we can't endure another Hurricane Katrina. We can't endure another disaster like that.

CALLEBS: She hopes the rebuilding works, but she's skeptical. After all, the way she and so many others here see it, the Army Corps built this system in the first place.

Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And here is what we are working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Taken from her family at the impressionable age of 11 and held for 18 years, just how is Jaycee Dugard going to leave behind the life of a kidnap victim and start over? I will be talking about that with noted clinical psychologist Judy Kuriansky.

Plus, losing homes. The government's plan to prevent foreclosures. Are lenders giving homeowners the runaround, or is the lending industry just having growing pains? It's all in the next hour right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Prayers from the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader is on a visit to Taiwan. He says he's there to comfort victims of a recent typhoon that killed more than 500 people. But China says his visit is political.

CNN's Sara Sidner discussed the controversy in an exclusive interview with His Holiness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So many people see you as a spiritual leader, but China sees you as a political troublemaker, even a separatist.

DALIA LAMA, TIBETAN SPIRITUAL LEADER: Oh, yes.

SIDNER: Which one are you? Did you come here to stir up trouble?

DALAI LAMA: Sometimes I really feel, as I think many of my friends (ph) know, I always am described as a simple Buddhist monk. I always tell other people, my friends, we should be honest, truthful, transparent. So while I'm telling other people, I myself must implement these things.

So, my position is clear. Transparent. Whole world -- most of the world (INAUDIBLE) who notices about Tibet, who paying more attention about Tibet, everybody knows, you see, I am not seeking independence. But then -- and the Chinese government also knows my sort of real thinking.

But they accuse -- accusations as to just more, for them, suitable for their basic policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Dalai Lama says he will not meet with Taiwan's president to avoid politicizing the trip. Our Sara Sidner will join me later in the NEWSROOM with more of her exclusive interview.