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American Morning
California Wildfires: State of Destruction
Aired October 27, 2003 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Lets get the latest on those deadly wildfires in California, where at least 10 blazes are raging in the southern part of the state.
Miguel Marquez is in Devore, east of Los Angeles, for us this morning.
Miguel -- good morning. And give us a sense of just how bad it is where you are.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, where we are, the Santa Ana winds are now kicking up, and you can see the fire behind me. That is the Old Fire burning that's behind us that has destroyed hundreds of homes in San Bernardino and, as you said, 10 fires. Hundreds of homes across southern California now no longer exist.
Tens of thousands of people are displaced and hundreds of thousands of acres have literally gone up in flames over the last week or so -- the last few days to the last week.
We are at sort of the nexus of two different fires: The Grand Prix fire -- which started on the 21st, smoldered for a couple days, and then took off on Friday, destroying several homes in the suburbs of Los Angeles -- and the Old Fire, which have now grown together to sort of create this super structure of a fire between San Bernardino and the suburbs of Los Angeles.
The Santa Ana winds are expected to last through about 2:00 Pacific time today. They are kicking up pretty hard right now, 30 to 35 miles an hour. When we came out this morning, we didn't see a lot of fire on the ridge lines as we had in the last few days. But as soon we got out here and these winds started kicking up, the flames returned with them. It's a pretty amazing sight to see.
The other thing I can tell you is that arson was suspected in the Grand Prix fire. Investigators are still investigating that.
And now, on the Old Fire, arson is also suspected, and investigators are actually looking for two people who were seen throwing something that may have started the fire. And those people wouldn't only be charged with arson, they would be charged with murder as well, because two people, unfortunately, have died in the San Bernardino area because of stress-related problems.
Governor Gray Davis, the governor of California, has declared several counties here a disaster area. He also says this is one of the worst fires they've had in a long time. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: This is a terrible situation. These are the worst fires we've faced in California in 10 years, and I want you to know that I'm mobilizing every available resource to combat these fires.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Firefighters, Soledad, right now are still doing structural protection in the neighborhood behind me and in the neighborhoods surrounding us. A short time ago, we saw a flare-up on the other side of I-15, which is the major freeway that goes between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. And they will continue doing this until the fires are out -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Miguel Marquez for us this morning in Devore, California. Thanks, Miguel, and please stay safe while you're out there.
Let's turn now to Jeff Flock, who is in Escondido, California this morning, which is just north of San Diego.
Jeff -- good morning. And how is it where you are?
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, it's not good anywhere this morning. We indeed are in Escondido along Valley Center Road. Maybe you can see the flames that are up here.
And I don't know how much you can see in the darkness, how well you can see the firefighters that are right up on this ridge trying to knock this down. They just brought a pumper truck in. What they're trying to do is keep these flames from coming on down the mountain and cutting off this road. There are also structures.
If you look, we're really surrounded by flames, Soledad. Off to the left, continue off to the left, if you would, and give some sense of it. This is the hottest spot right here now, but, as you see, flames all along here.
In San Diego County, according to the sheriff's police, 11 so far confirmed dead, 150,000-plus acres are now burning, including the acreage that you're seeing right here in Escondido right now. Six thousand people have been evacuated out of San Diego to Qualcomm Stadium alone. They tell us, so far, 450 structures have been burned in this county.
As you see maybe in silhouette, the one up here, maybe you see a satellite dish on this house, they've been trying to save this one, trying to keep the flames from coming on down the mountain.
The real key is this, Soledad: It's 4:10 or so in the morning Pacific time. And, of course, it is calm now. You don't see a lot of wind. But they expect that once the sun comes up, there is going to be wind, and then these flames begin to really get beaten and whipped. So, of course, we'll be watching this throughout the day. It is not a good situation now and not expected to get better anytime soon.
Soledad -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: I know. It doesn't look like it. All right, Jeff Flock for us in Escondido, California, this morning. Jeff, thank you for that update. We'll check in with you throughout the morning.
For more now on the firefighting efforts, let's go with Greg Cleveland. He is with the Southern California Intra-Agency Management Team, and he is in Devore this morning.
I'm not sure if you can hear me, Greg. Can you hear me this morning?
GREG CLEVELAND, FIRE INFORMATION OFFICER: Yes, I can.
O'BRIEN: Terrific.
Huge fires, were talking about thousands of firefighters who are out there right now, tens of thousands of people who are displaced. How are you managing to manage all of the different agencies that are involved in this?
CLEVELAND: We do have resources from throughout the state, part of the Master Mutual Aid Agreement. And that's just part of what the firefighters train for and the teams that we have to bring together these resources on large incidents. But we coordinate them. We place them out in the areas, which we feel are going to be most advantageous to protect the homes and protect the lives of the people.
O'BRIEN: While we look at some shots of Simi Valley, a live picture from there this morning from our affiliate KCAL, KCBS this morning, give me a sense of what the biggest challenge is for you at this point?
CLEVELAND: So far at this point, this point has been the Santa Ana winds. With the strong northeasterly winds, it has pushed these fires down onto the communities of San Bernardino, Devore, and then also back up, running up canyon. It has been a big challenge for the firefighters, because a lot of the homes are built right into the foothills. So, as the fire pushes down with these winds, it just lays the fire and the smoke right down into these communities.
O'BRIEN: I know that you've been at the Old Fire there for a little bit, and you have said that it's just devastating. Give me a sense of what you've seen.
CLEVELAND: These fires are probably some of the worst fires that some firefighters have seen in over their 30-year careers, is what I've been told from some firefighters. For myself, I've seen a lot of fires, and this one ranks right up there as some of the worst I've ever seen.
Our concerns here, again as I stressed, is the areas of the communities in San Bernardino, as well as the mountain communities up above these. We have Crest Line (ph), Lake Gregory, Twin Peaks, Blue Jay (ph), Lake Arrowhead, which have all been evacuated. These are the communities that are up above the on the mountains above San Bernardino. So, as these winds shift, which we expect them to today to transition from this northeasterly to an onshore, which is our normal flow, we're really worried that this fire could progress up the canyon into those communities.
O'BRIEN: So then, how do you battle that? You're talking about a fire that's hop-scotching across the different sort of roads that are going through these areas. You're talking about the Santa Ana winds, which are going to be growing even more strong this morning as the sun starts to rise. How are you possibly going to be able to battle this fire on all of the different fronts that we can see in these different shots?
CLEVELAND: I don't know that we can battle on all of the fronts, but we're going to do the best we can. Firefighters are strategically placed in those communities where we feel that the fire is going to make a run. And you mentioned hop-scotching. I think what you're talking about is the fire jumping from house to house. We see that with strong winds. We'll have embers go as far as a half-mile ahead, land in back yards, land in trees, in gutters, along the roof where there are leaves -- anyplace where these fires can get started. And the wind will just automatically just kind of whip those fires, and we end up with fires in multiple locations.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, Greg Cleveland, thanks for joining us with that update this morning. We certainly appreciate your time. We obviously know how busy you are, so thanks a lot.
CLEVELAND: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 27, 2003 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Lets get the latest on those deadly wildfires in California, where at least 10 blazes are raging in the southern part of the state.
Miguel Marquez is in Devore, east of Los Angeles, for us this morning.
Miguel -- good morning. And give us a sense of just how bad it is where you are.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, where we are, the Santa Ana winds are now kicking up, and you can see the fire behind me. That is the Old Fire burning that's behind us that has destroyed hundreds of homes in San Bernardino and, as you said, 10 fires. Hundreds of homes across southern California now no longer exist.
Tens of thousands of people are displaced and hundreds of thousands of acres have literally gone up in flames over the last week or so -- the last few days to the last week.
We are at sort of the nexus of two different fires: The Grand Prix fire -- which started on the 21st, smoldered for a couple days, and then took off on Friday, destroying several homes in the suburbs of Los Angeles -- and the Old Fire, which have now grown together to sort of create this super structure of a fire between San Bernardino and the suburbs of Los Angeles.
The Santa Ana winds are expected to last through about 2:00 Pacific time today. They are kicking up pretty hard right now, 30 to 35 miles an hour. When we came out this morning, we didn't see a lot of fire on the ridge lines as we had in the last few days. But as soon we got out here and these winds started kicking up, the flames returned with them. It's a pretty amazing sight to see.
The other thing I can tell you is that arson was suspected in the Grand Prix fire. Investigators are still investigating that.
And now, on the Old Fire, arson is also suspected, and investigators are actually looking for two people who were seen throwing something that may have started the fire. And those people wouldn't only be charged with arson, they would be charged with murder as well, because two people, unfortunately, have died in the San Bernardino area because of stress-related problems.
Governor Gray Davis, the governor of California, has declared several counties here a disaster area. He also says this is one of the worst fires they've had in a long time. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: This is a terrible situation. These are the worst fires we've faced in California in 10 years, and I want you to know that I'm mobilizing every available resource to combat these fires.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Firefighters, Soledad, right now are still doing structural protection in the neighborhood behind me and in the neighborhoods surrounding us. A short time ago, we saw a flare-up on the other side of I-15, which is the major freeway that goes between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. And they will continue doing this until the fires are out -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Miguel Marquez for us this morning in Devore, California. Thanks, Miguel, and please stay safe while you're out there.
Let's turn now to Jeff Flock, who is in Escondido, California this morning, which is just north of San Diego.
Jeff -- good morning. And how is it where you are?
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, it's not good anywhere this morning. We indeed are in Escondido along Valley Center Road. Maybe you can see the flames that are up here.
And I don't know how much you can see in the darkness, how well you can see the firefighters that are right up on this ridge trying to knock this down. They just brought a pumper truck in. What they're trying to do is keep these flames from coming on down the mountain and cutting off this road. There are also structures.
If you look, we're really surrounded by flames, Soledad. Off to the left, continue off to the left, if you would, and give some sense of it. This is the hottest spot right here now, but, as you see, flames all along here.
In San Diego County, according to the sheriff's police, 11 so far confirmed dead, 150,000-plus acres are now burning, including the acreage that you're seeing right here in Escondido right now. Six thousand people have been evacuated out of San Diego to Qualcomm Stadium alone. They tell us, so far, 450 structures have been burned in this county.
As you see maybe in silhouette, the one up here, maybe you see a satellite dish on this house, they've been trying to save this one, trying to keep the flames from coming on down the mountain.
The real key is this, Soledad: It's 4:10 or so in the morning Pacific time. And, of course, it is calm now. You don't see a lot of wind. But they expect that once the sun comes up, there is going to be wind, and then these flames begin to really get beaten and whipped. So, of course, we'll be watching this throughout the day. It is not a good situation now and not expected to get better anytime soon.
Soledad -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: I know. It doesn't look like it. All right, Jeff Flock for us in Escondido, California, this morning. Jeff, thank you for that update. We'll check in with you throughout the morning.
For more now on the firefighting efforts, let's go with Greg Cleveland. He is with the Southern California Intra-Agency Management Team, and he is in Devore this morning.
I'm not sure if you can hear me, Greg. Can you hear me this morning?
GREG CLEVELAND, FIRE INFORMATION OFFICER: Yes, I can.
O'BRIEN: Terrific.
Huge fires, were talking about thousands of firefighters who are out there right now, tens of thousands of people who are displaced. How are you managing to manage all of the different agencies that are involved in this?
CLEVELAND: We do have resources from throughout the state, part of the Master Mutual Aid Agreement. And that's just part of what the firefighters train for and the teams that we have to bring together these resources on large incidents. But we coordinate them. We place them out in the areas, which we feel are going to be most advantageous to protect the homes and protect the lives of the people.
O'BRIEN: While we look at some shots of Simi Valley, a live picture from there this morning from our affiliate KCAL, KCBS this morning, give me a sense of what the biggest challenge is for you at this point?
CLEVELAND: So far at this point, this point has been the Santa Ana winds. With the strong northeasterly winds, it has pushed these fires down onto the communities of San Bernardino, Devore, and then also back up, running up canyon. It has been a big challenge for the firefighters, because a lot of the homes are built right into the foothills. So, as the fire pushes down with these winds, it just lays the fire and the smoke right down into these communities.
O'BRIEN: I know that you've been at the Old Fire there for a little bit, and you have said that it's just devastating. Give me a sense of what you've seen.
CLEVELAND: These fires are probably some of the worst fires that some firefighters have seen in over their 30-year careers, is what I've been told from some firefighters. For myself, I've seen a lot of fires, and this one ranks right up there as some of the worst I've ever seen.
Our concerns here, again as I stressed, is the areas of the communities in San Bernardino, as well as the mountain communities up above these. We have Crest Line (ph), Lake Gregory, Twin Peaks, Blue Jay (ph), Lake Arrowhead, which have all been evacuated. These are the communities that are up above the on the mountains above San Bernardino. So, as these winds shift, which we expect them to today to transition from this northeasterly to an onshore, which is our normal flow, we're really worried that this fire could progress up the canyon into those communities.
O'BRIEN: So then, how do you battle that? You're talking about a fire that's hop-scotching across the different sort of roads that are going through these areas. You're talking about the Santa Ana winds, which are going to be growing even more strong this morning as the sun starts to rise. How are you possibly going to be able to battle this fire on all of the different fronts that we can see in these different shots?
CLEVELAND: I don't know that we can battle on all of the fronts, but we're going to do the best we can. Firefighters are strategically placed in those communities where we feel that the fire is going to make a run. And you mentioned hop-scotching. I think what you're talking about is the fire jumping from house to house. We see that with strong winds. We'll have embers go as far as a half-mile ahead, land in back yards, land in trees, in gutters, along the roof where there are leaves -- anyplace where these fires can get started. And the wind will just automatically just kind of whip those fires, and we end up with fires in multiple locations.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, Greg Cleveland, thanks for joining us with that update this morning. We certainly appreciate your time. We obviously know how busy you are, so thanks a lot.
CLEVELAND: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
