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CNN Live Today

Fires Destroy Homes in Texas, Oklahoma; Storms Hit California; Baby Boomers Turning 60; Music Lovers Await Instrument Repairs

Aired January 02, 2006 - 10:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, HOST: Officials say it could be four days until they're all under control. One death is being blamed on those bush fires.
Fire and rain, that's the storyline across much of what's happening here in the U.S. Ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, Texas, Oklahoma and now New Mexico. Dry conditions are fueling deadly and destructive flames. We are live from the fire lines.

And further west. Under water, towns and cities up and down the California coast are drenched today. Some more than others. And cleanup is underway in some places. A survey of the damage when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

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KAGAN: Firefighters in Oklahoma may get a little break in the weather today, but wildfire danger remains high across the state. More than a dozen homes were destroyed yesterday, including a few on the outskirts of Oklahoma City.

Our Ed Lavandera is there. He has a look at the tinder dry conditions.

Ed, good morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

We're here on the edge of Oklahoma City. This is one of the four homes destroyed by Sunday's grass fire. We have more on this in a second, but we want to give you a sense of just how widespread this problem is. The wildfires stretching across Oklahoma, Texas, even New Mexico now.

In fact, some of the most incredible pictures yesterday are coming from the town of Ringgold, which is just along the Texas- Oklahoma border near Wichita Falls, a town of about a hundred people. Essentially, or virtually every building in that town scorched by the flames yesterday. Eastland County to south of there, these are all communities to the west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, battling intense flames.

And of course, here on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, where yesterday residents here were -- kind of frightening reminder of just how quickly these flames can move. The fire at this particular location came raging from just over the hill right over here toward the home.

This is the home of Howard Lusk. And Howard joins me now. Howard, walk me through. You only had a few minutes to react to this fire. You said in less than 10 minutes from the moment you smelled it. Right?

HOWARD LUSK, LOST HOME: Yes. In less than 10 minutes from the time that we smelled smoke. And I actually got up from the sleep and went to investigate and put on some jeans and went to the front we you could see the crest glowing, you know, over the horizon. So I knew it was coming off the hill -- up the hilltop there.

And so I said I wanted to go see my sister and make sure she's safe, ran down the road a little bit to talk to my sister and make sure she's ready to get out of here, because we know the wind was blowing 40 miles an hour and -- we knew what could happen here.

LAVANDERA: You didn't have time to save anything?

LUSK: I didn't have time to say anything. I ran back -- by the time I ran back up here, you know, only a few minutes I could see the flame coming off the trees, the cedars, the flame over. We had ash kind of dropping on us, and by the time I made it to the front of my house there were embers, flaming embers coming at us.

And we turned around and she wanted to get a grass -- a water hose to put out to the grass, but the embers had burned -- had started a fire right on the house. So we actually jumped in the truck, and we took off. You know, we drove through the fire.

LAVANDERA: Just want to let people know you spent eight years. Much of this home you built with your own hands.

LUSK: Yes, this is a home that my brother, who has since been deceased, Joe, we built this with our own hands. Every nail we put in here. So it's -- I don't know whether to be rejoiced or just grateful that we got out alive. And I'm somewhat still devastated over this, but we'll rebuild, and we'll see another day.

LAVANDERA: Hang in there. And a lot of people are rooting for you, Howard. So distraught by what had happened yesterday that he actually slept in his truck out here on the driveway of his home. Still, he says, he's still not coming to full terms with what has happened here in the last 24 hours.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Ed Lavandera live. Thank you, Ed.

Let's go from the fires and the flames to the storms pounding California. That's where misery can also be measured by degree and inches. The contrast may be best illustrated in the mountain town of Truckee. Floodwaters and mudslides there have cut off some of the roads while colder temperatures in higher elevations have drawn plenty of ski traffic to the fresh slopes.

CNN's Sumi Das joins us with a closer look from near the Nevada border.

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SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last night it was raining here in Truckee, but temperatures dropped overnight. and this morning we woke up to snow on the ground. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning that will remain in effect until 4 p.m. local time this afternoon. They have predicted that rain and snow will continue in the Sierra and it will be heavy at times on Monday.

Now, Caltrans, the department of transportation here in California, has been really busy with these storms. They were out here at 3 a.m. this morning, plowing the streets of downtown Truckee.

And they have had a huge task of cleaning up an enormous mudslide over the weekend. That shut down a stretch of Interstate 80 about five miles east of where we are here in Truckee. They tracked six tractor trailer rigs and it was so strong that they it pushed 350 feet of the center divider to one side of the road.

Now I did speak to a California Highway Patrol officer earlier this morning and he told me that there have been no major accidents as a result of this current storm. Many folks actually left on Sunday morning because of the rain. So they missed out on the snow that we're experiencing right now, but this isn't the kind of snow that forces people to make a mad dash to the slopes for those great runs. This is really wet snow, and I heard one local describe it as Sierra cement.

Sumi Das, CNN, Truckee, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Thank you, Sumi. Well, the heavy rains caught some Californians by surprise and put some people into some very tight spots. Look at this woman. The video shows why motorists should be wary of driving into standing water.

A woman found in Ukiah -- that's north of San Francisco -- found herself trapped in a nearly submerged vehicle. Luckily a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rushed her to the -- to her rescue and pulled her out of harm's way.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

KAGAN: No lack of interest for an intrepid weather girl today. Bonnie Schneider has plenty to talk about.

Hi, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: You would think it was April by the way the map looks. We'll be back with you many times. Sixty years ago the veterans of world War II came marching home, started making babies and now some of these babies are turning 60. The very first Baby Boomer joins me to talk about this milestone and the events that marked her generation. That's next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A serious situation dealing with the building collapse in southern Germany today. This just in to CNN, the roof of an ice skating rink that was under the weight of heavy snow collapsed, and there were a number of people inside on that skating rink. This is in the town of Bad Reichenhall. And the officials there are telling local television they are dealing with deaths and a number of injuries.

So once again in southern Germany, Bad Reichenhall is the town, and the heavy weight of the snow on a roof of a skating rink causes that roof to cave in and the rescue situation ongoing right now in Germany. We'll bring you the latest on that in a little bit.

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KAGAN: From -- try that one again. From tie dyes and bell bottoms to grandchildren and Social Security, they lived through overwhelming political and civil rights changes and on New Year's day, the first official Baby Boomer reached the milestone and turned 60.

Kathleen Casey Kirschling joins us today from her hometown in Philadelphia to talk about where she's been, what she's doing and where she might be headed.

Kathy, happy birthday.

KATHLEEN CASEY KIRSCHLING, OFFICIAL FIRST BABY BOOMER: Thank you.

KAGAN: What did you do to ring in 60?

KIRSCHLING: Well, it was really a quiet birthday. It was with my children and grandchildren and maybe it was one of the best.

KAGAN: That's nice. That's good.

KIRSCHLING: It is.

KAGAN: So you're embracing 60?

KIRSCHLING: I am embracing 60. It's a fun time in my life and I think in many of the Baby Boomers' lives.

KAGAN: Now explain to us how you get the tag of first Baby Boomer ever.

KIRSCHLING: I think I was written up years ago in a book called "America: Great Expectations, the Baby Boom Generation." And I was researched by an author, Landon Jones. And he did all his research in archives and found out I was born one second after midnight January 1 in Philadelphia and in 1946. So that's -- the research led to me being the first line and the first paragraph of his book, and here I am 20 years later.

KAGAN: And here you are. What do you think defines the Baby Boomer generation?

KIRSCHLING: I think that one of the things that defines it is most probably diversity and change and growth, because I think we embraced diversity over the last 40 years and I think that's a real great legacy. I think there was lots of changes and we brought a lot of good, but also brought a lot of negative, but that's changing right now.

KAGAN: I've got to tell you, on a personal note, this Baby Boomer stuff, it bugs me. And this is why. Because it goes from the year of your birth to 1963, the end of the year, 1963 which is the year of my birth. And it talks that all these things that Baby Boomers went through, the Beatles and the assassination of JFK and all these things, Woodstock. I don't even remember. And yet, we get lumped in with you guys.

KIRSCHLING: I know. It's just because post-war, you know, from 1946 on that segment of the population, 76 -- or 78 million Baby Boomers were born. And you're at the low end of the boom. That's it.

KAGAN: You're talking grandchildren and I haven't had a baby yet.

KIRSCHLING: Right.

KAGAN: The exact opposite here. Well, what's ahead for you?

KIRSCHLING: What's ahead for me is at this point I'm trying to reinvent myself with -- I'm doing some consulting, because I'm in the health education area with one of my former companies that I used to work for, Nutrisystem, with their 60 and over program, which I think is kind of ironic.

And then I'm also really into volunteering at this point in my life. I was in Katrina. So I want to make sure they get an opportunity to work with the American Red Cross again. So I'm going become a disaster instructor, hopefully for the future.

KAGAN: Well, good for you. And I'm sure we're not the first to wish you happy birthday, but add us to the list.

KIRSCHLING: Oh, I will. I will. It's been a fun time.

KAGAN: I'll bet it has.

KIRSCHLING: And it really has, and I think there are so many millions of great Baby Boomers out there. I met them down at Katrina, and I think that's really the greatest part of our generation. And most probably we're all giving back right now.

KAGAN: I've got to say, if this is 60, 60 is the new 35.

KIRSCHLING: Yes.

KAGAN: You look great.

KIRSCHLING: Oh, you're wonderful. Thank you.

KAGAN: Kathy, thank you.

KIRSCHLING: And take care and happy new year.

KAGAN: Thank you, to you, too.

Well, we want to go to the breaking news story again. This is coming out of southern Germany, the news of a roof collapse at a skating rink in southern Germany. Our Chris Burns joins us on the phone. He is in Berlin with the latest -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, it's a small town near the Austrian board near the alps of Germany. And what we heard from police there is -- it was the roof of the skating hall that partially collapsed under heavy snow.

There's been a lot of heavy snow here in Europe in the last few days, and apparently that's what caused the thing to collapse. The police spokesman I talked to said that about 50 people were skating on that rink at the time, and he says we are reckoning that there are deaths, but they don't have any numbers at that point, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. You'll be tracking it for us. Chris Burns on the phone from Berlin. Thank you.

Ahead, it was the day the music died in New Orleans but it is not silenced forever. Saving the soul of the city when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

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(MUSIC)

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KAGAN: You're listening to the sounds of rebirth and renewal. They could be heard loud and clear in New Orleans on New Year's Day. Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco joined some 300 people for a special celebration outside the Superdome, where thousands took shelter from Hurricane Katrina.

Religiously, their stress that the city will only achieve rebirth in 2006 through strength and unity.

And while rebuilding the city's levees and housing stock is clearly the priority this year, some of the cities smaller but more soulful objects were also in need of some rehab. Hundreds of instruments were silenced day that Hurricane Katrina blew through.

Our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Maryanne Bullock (ph) finally got into her flooded home in New Orleans the thing she most wanted to find out was what happened to her pianos. She had not one, but two Steinways.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just couldn't believe my eyes. It looked like two -- the first thing I thought was two wounded big animals, like two pachyderms or something with their arms up in the air like help me, you know, and I couldn't help them, you know.

ROESGEN: Bullock (ph) is the pianist for the Louisiana Philharmonic. She took pictures of her two crippled Steinways, but the worst thing was watching the garbage crew haul them away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They lifted it up in the air and let them go and they went down into this iron dumpster and the sound was amazing. It was this huge echoey boing, like that. You know?

ROESGEN: Who knows how many pianos wound up like hers, chopped up in a pile beside the curb? But now hundreds of damaged pianos are in need of repair.

Stacked end to end in storage, these are pianos rescued from the flood. They're high end instruments worth $50,000 or more each. The average cost of repair, $15,000.

STEVE KINCHEN, HALL PIANO COMPANY: They are pianos here that we will probably rebuild against our better judgment, because the costs associated with the rebuilding related to the value of the piano after the rebuilding. It wouldn't make economical sense.

ROESGEN: A wooden instrument is no match for high water. Wood and felt and glue, that's about all about there is to a piano, but putting those parts back together requires a master craftsman.

It takes two years to learn how to repair a piano. That's a hard sell when there's a lot more money to be made in New Orleans ripping out sheetrock. Piano repairmen are in sort supply. Since Hall Piano Company has just four trained repairman, getting a piano fixed could take up to a year. Repair wasn't possible for Maryanne Bullock's (ph) Steinways, but she did manage to say something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These were two of the posts -- at the pedals of the older one, the 1903.

ROESGEN: She also pulled a few of the keys out of the trash heap, just enough to make a couple of octaves, something she says she'll put under glass, maybe, and hang on a wall. A reminder of how the hurricane silenced the music.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We are one day into 2006 and one day into your New Year's resolutions. For those of you trying to quit smoking and already struggling, we have some tips ahead for you.

Also ahead we'll meet an enterprising young man from England. You're going to find out about the fortune he's building, pixel by pixel, on the Internet. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here's a look at what's happening now in the news. It's looking like another tough week for firefighters in Texas and Oklahoma. Wildfires are still on the move in both states. The fires have destroyed dozens of homes and scorched tens of thousands of acres.

In Texas, the flames have virtually wiped out two small communities, Ringgold and Kokomo.

While, parts of Texas and Oklahoma are bone dry, the Pacific Coast is waterlogged. Flood waters in Northern California have caused millions of dollars of damage. Much of the flooding is centered in the region's wine country. Pacific storms have also brought heavy rains to parts of southern California. Live report straight ahead.

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