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Trump Issues New Profanity-Laced Warning To Iran; Pope Leo Urges Leaders To Choose Peace Amid War; Artemis Crew To Break Record Monday For Furthest Travel From Earth; Wind-Fueled Southern California Wildfire Now 95 Percent Contained; Daring U.S. Mission Rescues Downed Airman After He Evaded Capture For More Than A Day In High Mountains Of Iran. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired April 05, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:34]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

"We got him." President Donald Trump announcing the United States successfully rescuing the second downed crew member from behind enemy lines in Iran. Two U.S. officials describing that very risky operation to CNN. They said after the airman's fighter jet had been shot down over Iran, the officer was able to evade capture for more than a day, scaling rugged terrain and hiding alone as the U.S. carried out a massive rescue effort.

Want to talk more about that effort in just a moment. Trump taking to social media this morning to share the news and then also reiterate new threats against Iran, announcing Tehran has until Tuesday to open the critic Strait of Hormuz. He wrote, and I am quoting the president of the United States here. "Open the fucking strait or you'll be living in hell."

CNN national security reporter Haley Britzky joining me now.

Haley, let's go back to this operation for a second. Tell us more about what we're learning about this incredible rescue of this second airman from behind enemy lines.

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, it was incredible. Exactly as you're saying, this weapon systems officer who ejected from his F-15 on Friday alongside the pilot but wasn't rescued when the pilot was rescued earlier on Friday. He evaded Iranian forces, hiding in the mountains in Iran, in a crevice in the mountains for more than a day armed with only his pistol, a tracking beacon and a communications device.

Of course, balancing the communication of getting in touch with U.S. forces so that he can be rescued and exfiltrated from Iran while also avoiding Iranian forces. And we know now that this took dozens of aircraft, hundreds of military and intel personnel who were involved in this very intricate operation. The CIA, who was starting their own sort of deception campaign on the ground in Iran in order to confuse those IRGC members who were seeking out this officer and trying to find him.

We know that Iranian state media on Friday was saying there would be a reward for anyone who captured this officer. They said an enemy pilot. So this was a really intense operation, a lot of risk for the personnel going into this. But of course, having covered the military, you know, those service members are willing to put themselves in the line of fire any day of the week if it means bringing home one of their own and retrieving them from behind enemy lines.

So the president announcing this just after midnight last night saying, we got him, and again saying that this proves that the U.S. has air dominance and air superiority over Iran, something that, of course, came into question when it was learned that this F-15 was shot down, given that was such a significant step, significant escalation in this conflict -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, I just think all Americans were rejoicing to hear that that second airman had been rescued. Do we know anything about their condition, Haley?

BRITZKY: Yes, the president said in his post that the airman was injured but would be OK. We know that the pilot as well that was rescued on Friday was receiving medical attention. So something I'm sure we'll learn more about in coming days. We know the president is having a press conference tomorrow where I'm sure we'll be learning more details about this and hopefully getting an update on his condition. Absolutely.

DEAN: All right. Haley Britzky, thank you so much for that reporting. We appreciate it.

And we're joined now by CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas. He's a former Pentagon official and U.S. Army special operations veteran. He's currently the director of the Atlantic Council's counterterrorism program.

Alex, good to see you. I think all Americans can be so proud of our military and our special forces and the CIA and all this incredible rescue operation, so risky, that was successful. What was your reaction to learning about this?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: (INAUDIBLE) relief, just for a little while. The pilots, you know, was (INAUDIBLE) was unknown. It wasn't until he was able to get up on top of the location, the crevice where he was, that he was able to signal to U.S. forces that he, that he was OK. So there was a brief period of time or not brief, it was hours.

DEAN: We're having some trouble hearing Alex. We're going to try to reconnect and see if we can get him back. Sometimes technology foils our plans, though. We're going to see if we can get Alex back. In the meantime, we are going to take a break. A lot more of our breaking news coverage still ahead, as the latest from Qatar as Iran steps up attacks on its Gulf neighbors, many countries still hoping for a diplomatic end to this conflict.

[16:05:10]

The Pope delivering an urgent message of peace on Easter Sunday. Again, stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: And we're back now with CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas, who is rejoining us.

[16:10:05]

Alex, thanks for hanging in there. So let's just start where we were, which is just getting your reaction to this incredible rescue operation.

PLITSAS: So I think the first thing was relief. For the first, you know, half day or so, it wasn't really clear the condition of the weapon systems officer until he was able to get to his location, where he was more secure to transmit that he was OK. So there was a brief period of uncertainty. What I do know at this point is he either broke or severely sprained his ankle and somehow still managed to traverse up to about 7,000 feet of elevation to get a signal out that he was, in fact, OK.

So missed the original operation that grabbed the pilot. And then at that point, you know, was miles away, just given the -- that the aircraft was still traveling and they ejected at different points and landed in a much different location, that required a much more intense operation to be planned with additional resources to go get him. And it was quite, quite precarious, but an amazing operation that's going to go down in U.S. special operations history.

DEAN: Truly incredible. And then there was the CIA component of this. The CIA ultimately was able to identify the officers' exact location. They also played this really key role with this deception campaign, essentially designed to make sure to give them cover to get to this person, give them time to get to this person.

How critical was that? And, and what did you think of that?

PLITSAS: I mean, remarkable. It speaks to the interagency cooperation between the Department of War and the intelligence community, particularly CIA. So in this case, you know, from what I'm hearing from sources, there was a deception designed to make the Iranians think that the pilot had already been recovered, was taken out by ground to sort of confuse everyone. And that happened at the same time that communications and command and control were taken out.

And then also avenues of approach to location were bombed to prevent people from getting there, to try to slow the response of the Iranians and the locals who were coming to look for the pilot. And I think what's really remarkable, if you think about this, the Joint Special Operations Command was, you know, was created after the Operation Eagle Claw failed to retrieve the hostages in Iran in, you know, after the hostage taking event in 1979.

So 46 years later, we find that the command now after years of interagency coordination, training, acquisition of the top equipment and making sure that there's interoperability between special operations forces from the different armed services, perfecting that and honing it over years of warfare got another opportunity to do a rescue operation deep inside of Iran, and this one turned out to be successful.

And so this is a reflection of all of that hard work and a reflection of the leadership and all of the evolution in special operations over the last 50 years.

DEAN: Yes. And just like the more details we get on this, the more remarkable I think it truly is. And the more you kind of are in awe of what they were able to do.

I do want to ask you about the president and this Tuesday deadline he appears to have set now for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He's now threatening to target power facilities if a deal isn't made.

You and I have talked about this a little bit before, but this sort of threatening of the Iranian regime, is it effective? Do they respond to that sort of threat? And how do you expect the next 48 hours to play out?

PLITSAS: So the Iranians have misread President Trump at almost every opportunity they've had since prior to the 12 day war earlier this summer, prior to Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the B-2s dropped ordnance on the Iranian nuclear facilities all the way through this, including the negotiations that led up until this point. And speaking to mediators earlier today who were in touch with Tehran, you know, they were sort of hung up on some of the phrasing that was used and what was tried -- the mediators tried to explain to them that the president is giving you an opportunity for an offramp.

Should you choose to take it in terms of opening the straits, there's an opportunity to bring this conflict to a conclusion. And so there's still, you know, opportunities to misread one another. But mediators are attempting to step in. The president has made it clear that he's not going to allow this to continue to allow the Iranians to hold that strategic waterway at risk, which is preventing you know, critical petroleum products, oil, liquid, natural gas, et cetera, from leaving in addition to commerce.

And so they've now been given that 48 hour deadline, an extension until Tuesday, and the president is threatening much more substantive military action should they choose not to heed it.

DEAN: And is targeting energy sites that provide energy for civilians, is that a fair target?

PLITSAS: I mean, that would depend on whether or not they're providing power, other things to military facilities, state institutions, that type of thing. And then that would be, you know, subject to an interpretation under the, you know, international laws that govern that. So that's something an operations law attorney would be taking a look at the validity of those targets to make sure that they're OK.

The U.S. military would not be engaging in striking targets that are illegal or unlawful. That would be a violation of the oath of the officers that were there. And, you know, the lawyers would be reviewing those targeting packets before they were hit so hard to see the U.S. military striking something that's not legal. The president is calling for targeting and in fact, gets done. That means it's going to have to go through legal review.

DEAN: And then where do the Iranian people sit in all of this? Because at the beginning, you know, we've certainly heard from the Israelis that regime change and the Iranian people rising up was a top priority for them.

[16:15:08]

President Trump and his administration didn't list it as a strategic objective or their military objective, but he certainly talked about it and has gone back and forth over if he believes that is something he thinks should be happening as a result of all of this. But when we started, there was a real effort, I think, you know, as president said it's time for the Iranian people to rise up, if the U.S. does start targeting infrastructure and that sort of thing, it is going to affect the civilians.

Where are they in all of this?

PLITSAS: So the Iranians are said to have, you know, murdered somewhere around 30,000 people over the course of 48 hours. And if you talk to the locals, they'll tell you that the time window is in that 48 hours were even less. This was a wholescale -- wholesale, industrial scale slaughter at this point of protesters that were out on the streets, which is why the president initially responded in January that help was on the way.

You know, these are people who are looking forward to transition to democracy, very similar to what happened in Venezuela, except for as in Venezuela the president has said that he's not wanting to engage in state building or having to rebuild a government, and would prefer to find a partner in the existing power structure to work with, who could meet him on policy and sort of open up the government.

It's a question of whether that such person exists and whether that can actually happen. The problem is in Iran, the civilian populace is largely disarmed. There's about a million men at arms total between the Basij, the IRGC, the army, the local police forces. And even though we hit the buildings and the headquarters, as we saw during this rescue operation, you know, Iranian police were still firing on U.S. military helicopters coming in.

So until the security forces get to a point where they're no longer able to pose a threat to the civilians, it will be difficult for them to rise up. And the last piece on this, which I think you mentioned that was important, it wasn't included in the military objectives, transitioned to protesters or to protest movement or a negotiated settlement is not a military objective. The military can set the conditions for that, but that's a political objective.

So it will be up to President Trump to decide if he wants to try to continue to work with the existing government, or to attempt to transition to a new form of governance.

DEAN: Yes. And the president earlier today told FOX News that the U.S., to your point, had sent weapons to Kurdish forces with the intent of arming the Iranian protesters. We did report on this last month. But what do you think is the significance of the president saying this now and where -- what kind of impact might it have?

PLITSAS: So perhaps to encourage folks on the ground to let them know that the U.S. is there to support, you know, overall, the Kurds make up about 10 million total of the population out of 90 million people in the country. How many of those are of military age and be capable of fighting? That number is smaller, but Iran has a number of minority sects across the country, both religious as well as ethnic.

And so I believe at one point there may have been an intention to try to foment some sort of groundswell to get this, you know, people's revolution started to overthrow the existing government. And the president said in his opening five-minute speech at the beginning of the war, you know, you need to hunker down. At the end of this we'll tell you when it's OK and time to come out and time to rise up.

And so far, he hasn't done that, and neither has some of the outside influential figures. So I think, you know, as Central Command said we've got about two to three weeks left of strikes about 3,000 targets. At that point when it's done, it will become a question of whether or not there's someone to transition to in the existing power structure, or the president is going to get back on the air and tell the people that it's time to rise up. That remains unclear at this point.

DEAN: All right, Alex, great to see you. Thank you so much.

PLITSAS: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Also new tonight, a Pakistani official telling CNN Pakistan and Egypt are helping channel communications between U.S. and Iranian officials. Pakistan confirming the foreign minister has spoken with his Iranian counterpart and assured him of Pakistan's support at de- escalation efforts and, quote, "resolving issues through dialogue and diplomacy."

CNN chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance has the latest now from Doha.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, tonight, Jessica, there are growing concerns in this region because Iran has again vowed to step up its retaliation against its Gulf Arab neighbors if President Trump eventually carries out his threat to strike Iranian civilian infrastructure. One Iranian official warning tonight that the region will burn.

President Trump now appears to have extended his self-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, but there's no sign of any negotiations between Washington and Tehran or any public word of compromise by either side. In fact, Iran is suggesting that it will only reopen the strait, which it effectively closed to most shipping at the start of the war once war reparations are paid, doubling down on its defiant rhetoric.

Now, there have been other talks underway, including between Iran and the Gulf Arab state of Oman aimed at striking a deal to open up the strait through which, of course, some 20 percent of the world's oil and gas supply is normally shipped. An Omani source tells CNN tonight that the discussions have been underway for two weeks and are focused on tankers agreeing to register with Iran before being allowed to pass.

[16:20:06]

But, I mean, that would effectively formalize Iranian control of the global energy supply route, something the U.S. and many other countries in this region do not want to see. But trouble is the alternative at the moment seems to be escalation. More risks for the region, more risk potentially to U.S. military personnel and more risks for the global economy.

Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: All right, Matthew Chance, thank you so much for that.

And joining us now to discuss former State Department Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller. He's also the senior fellow for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Aaron, it's great to have you here. Let's start with these escalating threats from the president that we heard from him today. What does that do and what kind of impact, if any, does it have on these negotiations?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: You know, Jess, thanks for having me. I don't doubt the tactical brilliance of the American military. It's extraordinary operation that they pulled off a retrieval to get that downed airmen. What concerns me is strategic capacity. The way the administration, what, we're beginning the sixth week of this war.

It seems to me that the only possibility of escalation having an impact, if it fundamentally changed Iran's risk calculation, and that is to say, make them more compliant, willing to engage in a negotiation. But there's absolutely, at least from my understanding, not a shred of empirical evidence that almost six weeks into this war the amount of escalation in military power, which is extraordinary, that the American military has brought to bear, has been doing that.

In fact, of the three or four core objectives, retrieval of the highly enriched uranium, hasn't been retrieved. The regime has not only survived, it seems to be relatively coherent and able to repress and suppress any prospective punitive demonstrations. And finally, it has now set up a toll booth, Matthew Chance was referring to it, to negotiate a new sovereignty arrangement over the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before February 28th. It's not closed. It's just the Iranians are granting preferential access.

So if the war ended tomorrow, Jess, I think it would be, even with an extraordinary degree of spinning by the administration, you'd have to conclude even to the most interminably obtuse individual that this has been a strategic defeat for the United States. And I just don't see how in the next several weeks the administration finds a way to turn that around. It would be great if they did. I just don't see how it works.

DEAN: And to be clear, what I hear from you, you're really separating out the strategic objectives and what's strategically been achieved and what the military objectives and what the military has been able to achieve. And I think everybody can agree they've been able to do an incredible amount, and they've been incredibly successful with their military targets.

You're talking about strategically what's the outcome here. And so to that end, if you're with these talks that are ongoing, they're not direct talks, obviously, but the mediators are going back and forth, is there a diplomatic offramp here that works for the United States?

MILLER: Right. And I think, I mean, you broke the code here. I mean, negotiations work when you have two parties willing and able, right? And two parties that share a mutual sense of urgency. That is to say, they're both under a sufficient amount of pain on one hand, and negotiations offer them a pathway to realize gain. I think what you have now are basically two immovable objects.

The Iranians think they're winning. And frankly, objectively, I think that's probably correct. The president and I think the tweet this morning is deeply concerning. Having worked and voted for Republicans and Democrats, I find it extraordinary that the president would use this kind of language that almost relish the prospect of striking civilian infrastructure, not to mention the slamming of Islam.

And I just wonder, it makes me question the reality that military power is an instrument to achieve a set of realistic, feasible goals. And I just don't see the relationship between the two right now. It's almost as if the president believes that at some point, a week from now, two weeks from now, three weeks from now, a month from now, that the Iranians are simply going to either capitulate or come to the negotiating table and to do what? Open the straits that were essentially open before February 28th? That's not what I would consider a major strategic victory for the United States.

DEAN: Yes. And you highlighted one part of that post from the president. There's obviously the language which everyone has rightfully been focused on. But where he says, and I'm paraphrasing here, but something to the effect of glory to Allah or glory be to Allah.

[16:25:02]

And it is, it is a swipe. It reads as a swipe at Islam. MILLER: It does. The whole notion of the Americans mixing religion,

and the secretary of defense has done this, too, mixing religion with politics and military strategy strikes me as gratuitous at a minimum. And completely not only unnecessary but harmful on the other.

So again, I -- again, I'm hoping and praying for the success of Operation Epic Fury. I just don't see the judgment, the prudence, the wisdom of the strategy that's being undertaken in order to achieve goals. A bad regime, brutal authoritarian, repressing, torturing, imprisoning its citizens. But how do you use military power to bring about? It seems to me just the only real answer, which is a new Iranian government, and we are a long way from producing that.

DEAN: All right. Aaron David Miller, good to see you. Thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks, Jess. I appreciate it.

DEAN: Still ahead, the message Pope Leo shared to millions of Catholics on this Easter Sunday amid the war in Iran.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:31]

DEAN: As the war with Iran continues, Pope Leo using his first easter mass as head of the Catholic Church to call for peace. Thousands gathering in Saint Peter's Square to hear that message.

And CNN's Christopher Lamb was there. He joins us now with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, thousands turned out in Saint Peter's Square to listen to Pope Leo's first Easter Sunday message and the First American pope underlined once again the need to end the conflict taking place around the world.

He insisted that the Easter message is one of nonviolence, and this is what he had to say from the balcony of Saint Peter's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace, not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue, not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them. We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent, indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people, indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflict sow.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAMB: So, now, we've seen during these last few days, probably a really step into the role of being pope. He's been very outspoken during this holy week and easter about the war going on in Iran. He said to me that President Trump needs to find an off ramp to end the conflict, and also saying on Palm Sunday that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. Very pointed remarks, which some took as responding to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has sought to frame the U.S. intervention in Iran as divinely supported.

Now, Pope Leo is pushing back against that. We also saw Leo carry the cross for the first time for the entirety of the stations of the cross. That's the first time that's happened in decades. And that was also a powerful symbol.

Leo, on Easter Sunday, celebrating a mass. Then, of course, delivering his Easter Sunday message. And then circulating around the square. We saw him just drive by us. And, you know, there was cheers and people waving at the pope. There's a sense that Leo can offer some hope during difficult and turbulent times.

There was a banner raised up that said, Pope Leo, we are with you, guide our future.

Leo, the first American Pope celebrating his first easter since election with a message of peace and hope at Easter.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Christopher, thank you for that.

And still to come here, we're going to speak with a pilot who's conducted a successful rescue mission behind enemy lines about what it takes, the risks involved. That's coming up here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:38:14]

DEAN: Okay, this is a live picture of the Artemis II crew putting on their space suits. By this time tomorrow, astronauts on Artemis II mission will travel further into space than any human has ever gone. And again, this is a live look inside the Orion capsule, where they're really putting those space suits on and getting ready for all of this.

They're now less than 60,000 miles away from reaching the far side of the moon.

And NASA administrator Jared Isaacman told CNN earlier today, talked a little bit, joined us and talked a little bit about the historic mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED ISAACMAN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: This is an incredibly exciting mission. Right now, the astronauts have been on a go for some time. Actually, in fact, the moment we committed them to the translunar injection where we were to send them farther into space than humans ever have gone before. They were committed around the path around the moon, and then starting their journey back safely to earth.

So, essentially, in the next 24 hours, they will be on the far side of the moon. They will eclipse that record. And we're going to learn an awful lot about the spacecraft, which is pretty paramount to set up for subsequent missions like Artemis III in 2027. And, of course, the lunar landing itself on Artemis IV in 2028.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So, in the coming hours, the crew will enter the lunar sphere of influence. That's the point in space where the pull of the moon's gravity is stronger than the earth's. We are also expecting NASA to give an update on the mission later this evening. We'll, of course, keep you updated on that.

And the historic element of this mission is capturing the attention of so many Americans. CNN's Harry Enten is here to run the numbers on that -- Harry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Jessica. Happy Sunday to you.

Look, with Artemis up and away, a lot of folks are wondering, when are we finally going to go back to the moon?

[16:40:01]

And there's a lot of interest in doing so, in part thanks to Artemis.

Just take a look here. Look at these Google searches literally up like a rocket. Hello. You know, I had to say it.

Look at this, up 669 percent versus last month. That is the highest ever. The highest ever for a month. We are in it right now higher than at any point since 2004, since we were doing Google searches.

And I think that the interest level we're seeing right now in google will translate over to the actual polling data, because if we look at the polling data before Artemis I up in the sky, look at this should -- should be going to the moon, should go into the moon, be a priority 57 percent. The majority of Americans said yes, but look at this, a very sizable portion, 41 percent said no.

Now I will note one of the things that is so interesting about going to the moon and basically all of this travel up into space is its bipartisan, it's bipartisan in an era in which we really don't have much bipartisanship.

So, what we see is majorities of Democrats and Republicans actually said that going to the moon should, in fact, be a priority. And I got to admit, that's not so much of a surprise to me necessarily, because, again, in this era in which we have such deep polarization, my goodness gracious. I mean, we talk about it all the time here. You and I talk about it.

Look at this. What is the event that created the most America pride, the most pride in being an American? CBS News pulled this back at the end of the last decade. And you know what? Even 50 years after we went up and we went to the moon, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, the event that was number one was the moon landing. The moon landing was still number 150 years after the fact.

And again, I think we need national pride so much. Levels of pride or so low going back to the moon may in fact be just that anecdote. In order to recreate that pride that we had back in 1969.

Of course, there is that question of who will actually go to the moon. And many Americans, including myself, kind of want to pass the buck a little bit because take a look here. Do you yourself want to go to the moon? Just 32 percent. One in three Americans say, yes, they are the ones they themselves want to go to the moon compared to.

Look at this two and three who say, you know what, no, we're good. We'll stay on terra firma. And you know what? I kind of feel that as well. I kind of like terra firma.

And I'll note that majority is just as we were looking at the majorities of both Republicans and Democrats say it should be a priority to go to the moon. Majorities of Democrats and Republicans say, nah, we're good here on terra firma. But look, artemis is creating a lot of national pride. A lot of folks are asking themselves, when are we going to the moon next?

And I think that is a question that is going to be asked as we continue to watch those astronauts be up there way beyond the clouds.

Back to you, Jessica.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: I love watching them go. I don't know that I need to go, but I love watching them go.

All right. Harry Enten, thanks so much for that.

Going behind enemy lines. Up next, we're going to talk to a former military pilot who rescued another back in the '90s.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:47:47]

DEAN: CalFire says the wildfire that torched parts of southern California is now 95 percent contained, fueled by Santa Ana winds. The fire started Friday near Moreno Valley and exploded to more than 4,000 acres, but thankfully, no casualties have been reported.

California, though still facing a potential record breaking wildfire season after an historically dry, wet season.

CNN's Stephanie Elam reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I trekked up to the Sierra Nevada mountains outside of Lake Tahoe to see California's snowpack. Problem is, there was no snow. In fact, the measurement for this one place where I was zero. Over the wet months, California measures once a month just to see how much the snowpack has accumulated. And then on April 1st, that's the crucial measurement because that's what they use to decide how much water they have to allocate throughout the state throughout the dry summer months.

Statewide, the April 1st number was just 18 percent of average, the state says. And that means where we were standing was way below where we should be standing if there was snow. Take a look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here at this station, we -- a typical April 1st. We expect about five feet of depth, so we would be standing this high off the ground. And if you melted that down, it would end in about two feet of liquid water.

ELAM: California's wet season was all over the place. Starting off looking promising. But then most of January was dry. Then there was a powerful multi-day blizzard that hit the mountain range, even spurring that deadly avalanche.

But then after that, there was a climate induced heat dome that just lingered and melted away. A lot of the snow up there. However, it is worth noting that the state's reservoirs are in good shape above average for this time of the year.

But one thing is for sure, and this is what the officials kept driving home, is that there's no guarantee that next year will be a wet year. And so, this is why they say Californians need to remember to conserve water as we are dealing with more of these fluctuations in our snowy, snowy periods.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. Stephanie, thank you for that.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:54:38]

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MAJ. THOMAS HANFORD, U.S. AIR FORCE: Basher Five Two, this is Basher One One. You're loud and clear.

CAPT. SCOTT O'GRADY, U.S. AIR FORCE: I'm alive. I'm alive.

HANFORD: Copy that. What was your squadron in Korea?

O'GRADY: Juvats. Juvats.

HANFORD: Copy that. You're alive.

O'GRADY: (INAUDIBLE).

HANFORD: Good to hear your voice.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

[16:55:00]

DEAN: That audio is from when Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady first made contact with the U.S. forces after being shot down over Bosnia. O'Grady's fighter jet was down while on a NATO patrol mission in 1995. He spent six days in hiding while the U.S. worked to rescue him.

And the other voice on that tape was then Captain Thomas Hanford. CNN reported. Hanford was 30,000 feet over O'Grady's hiding spot when they made contact.

Now retired Major Thomas "T.O." Hanford joining us now.

It's great to have you here with us. Thank you so much.

Listening back to that tape again on this day after we saw this incredible rescue mission of this downed airmen, behind enemy lines in Iran, walk us through what it was like in that moment and what you remember.

HANFORD: Well, I tell you, that was, it was a life-changing event for sure. You know, when he got shot down, obviously, we were all crushed. We had no word of his disposition. In fact, we thought for sure that he hadn't made it or others did -- his flight leader told us that he had seen the fireball go into the clouds and they had already started planning a memorial service for him.

And after a few days, we still had nothing. They didn't do a memorial service. Five days later, I was flying another type of mission is a deny flight mission. And it wasn't about the rescue. It was about keeping the Bosnian Serbs from Bosnia -- from bombing the Bosnian Muslims. So, rescue wasn't really on our mind.

But before we stepped to fly that night, I ensured my wingman got ahold of the frequency on his search and rescue radio in case we had time. Maybe we could call it up and look for him. So, in that mission, when they decided to send us home early, which I couldn't understand because we had been doing 24-hour operations. I told them that I'd like to stay on and try to look for Basher Five Two.

So, reluctantly, they allowed us to do that, and we -- I started making radio calls for about 45 minutes until he came up on the radio magically. And it was -- it was pretty life-changing for both of us. So, pretty exciting times.

DEAN: Yeah. I'm sure to hear that voice out there. Just amazing.

And so, I am curious, what went through your mind when you first heard that the U.S. was attempting to retrieve these two airmen who had been shot down?

HANFORD: Well, it's kind of like what we just experienced with the shootdown in Iran for the -- for seemed like too long. We had no word on -- is he alive? Is he running, you know, on the run? Has have they captured him?

And I've learned that (AUDIO GAP) captured him, I surmised that they would put him in front of a TV camera and used for some political game. But since five days had passed, just like here, we had a couple day passed where we had no word.

Well, then he's probably on one. Even if he is, if he was dead, they would have bragged about it and shown his body and drag it through the streets.

DEAN: Yeah. So big black -- oh, I think we might have lost him there. Unfortunately, again, technology has not been our friend this hour.

Oh, there he is. He's back.

Okay, you were just saying no news is good news when it comes to this. And now to get were hearing these details of how this played out. The communication between the CIA, the military and just -- it was just an incredible rescue operation. What did you think about these details we're learning?

HANFORD: Well, I tell you, it is fantastic because while we're all sitting waiting for word on our, you know, downed airmen over Iran and wondering why we're not being told anything, I promise you, our government and all its technology and all its entities are planning. They know exactly where it is.

And they had been doing all this planning and getting ready to do this. So, we started hearing some rumors that maybe they were going in, but you can never believe rumors. I wasn't going to believe until I saw it on the news. And yeah, we're just overjoyed to turn this way.

DEAN: And we are certainly fortunate. I think everybody is so proud and glad. Thank you so much, retired Major Thomas "T.O." Hanford, thank you so much for being here with us. We appreciate it.

HANFORD: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Yeah.

All right. A new hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. DEAN: And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean

here in New York. We're following breaking news out of the Middle East as President Trump announcing U.S. forces have successfully rescued that second airman from behind enemy lines in Iran.

Two U.S. officials describing that risky operation to CNN.