cnn - alive air purifier

American morning escape flame October 24, 2007-
ETTHIS is a hurried transcript at 07: 00.
This copy may not be in final form and may be updated.
John Roberts, cnn anchor: breaking news. (
Start Video Editing)
Man: Let's go!
We have to go! (END VIDEO CLIP)
Roberts: A fire in Southern California closed a major interstate overnight. (
Start Video Editing)
Man: Let's start. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Nearly a million people were running this morning. (
Start Video Editing)
Unidentified male: I pray it won't smoke. (END VIDEO CLIP)
We came from the front line.
With the painful family. (
Start Video Editing)
Unidentified male: The House I watched for 10 years was swallowed up by the fire. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Roberts: On this special edition of Morning America, wait, hopefully the worst thing is over.
Good morning to you. Welcome back.
Thank you very much for joining us on Wednesday, October 24.
I'm John Roberts and live in Rancho Bernardo, California.
Good morning, Kieran.
CNN anchor: Good morning, John.
I'm about 20 miles south of your location.
We are now at Qualcomm Center, a typical location for the San Diego Charger, but now a sanctuary for the evacuation of fire fighters.
Many things have happened here.
They tried to make sure all the needs were met this morning.
A large number of activities, volunteers and evacuees are set up here, as well as many very professional units to ensure that people get the help they need, the health care they need.
This is what we are going to discuss.
But first of all, we would like to keep you up to date with the fire situation if you just joined us.
The West Coast side is 4: 00, 7: 00 in the morning. m.
On the East Coast this morning.
Many people were evacuated.
The number is now close to millions.
This is the largest peacetime movement in the United States since the civil war.
About 12,000 people were evacuated at Qualcomm Stadium this morning.
That's what officials told us.
It's hard to get the exact numbers.
You see a lot of people, but they are here.
Each of them has an incredible survival story and an incredible story about their future uncertainty.
But it's also very optimistic.
We will have more stories as the morning goes on.
We are also watching two fires now.
A camp in Pendleton, north of San Diego, has thousands of Marines.
Our Chris Lawrence is here this morning and we will bring you some amazing photos.
A cnn producer says the flames are now in the ocean.
Interstate 5 is closed in both directions due to smoke and fire flames.
Now one of them is actually a post fire.
This was deliberately set up to protect a part of the base, designed to be able to burn some scrubbing and brushes so that the fire can be controlled and not lit elsewhere.
There was also a fire not far from Camp Pendleton.
Chris Lawrence of American morning is in Sanaph)
Live from our fire line-Chris.
CNN Correspondent Chris Lawrence: Yes, Kiran, we're only a few yards from Interstate 5, the main route between Los Angeles and San Diego.
You can see some back burns behind me.
These were set up by the fire department because the main fire was on the hill behind this.
It began to sweep down the hill, the fire department came, and the firefighters began to burn these back.
There is also a mobile phone tower on the mountain, a direct station.
They tried to light some fire around here because the fire spread very, very close again.
We 've seen these fires shooting all over the place, not just here, but further down the road.
In fact, when we were traveling north on Highway 5, you could see these afterfires going straight on the highway, and we could see on the other side of Interstate 5, the fire has begun.
Now, fortunately, once you 've overcome this, it's all open seas, so there's really nowhere to go for this fire.
But again, even if it's just a little bit of wind, it just shows ---
Compared to what we saw a few days ago, the wind was calm this morning.
But again, even if there's a bit of wind, these fires really took off Interstate 5. -Kiran.
Okay, Chris Lawrence.
This morning, the flame behind you and your location were incredible.
John is also in Rancho Bernardo.
It's about 20 miles from where we are now.
John, show us the scene there too.
Hey Kiran, good morning.
What you see behind me is one of the houses, one of about 500 that was burned down by the Witch fire, it just went through the area and messed up all the real estate
Rancho Bernardo is a community of about 8,000 families, some of which are single
Family houses like the one behind me, some of which are affiliated houses.
More than 20,000 people live here.
When the fire happened, it just took everything on its road.
We're in a small place here--
If there is more light, you can see it ---
There are 8 to 10 destroyed houses.
A little further down the hill, there is still a complete house. The --
This is a very capricious thing, this wildfire we see here, took some of the houses and left the other houses intact.
It also destroyed so many lives in the area.
With more than a dozen wild fires along the Pacific coast here, from Santa Barbara all the way to the Mexican border, enter one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the United States, San Diego.
There are so many people who don't know what their future is.
The raging fire in San Diego County is expected to get worse before it gets better.
Over the next two days, city and county officials expect the fire to surpass the damage caused by the infamous 2003 Cedar Fire, the worst wildfire in California's history.
It destroyed about 3,500 houses.
So far, the series of fires has destroyed about 1,000 people.
However, there may be some good news later today.
The winds that stir up these fires are expected to weaken.
In fact, they have been quite relaxed this morning.
Will there be a turnaround?
We will discuss this with Rob Marciano in a moment.
But first of all, some amazing videos take you into the fire with the firefighters who are busy saving a house from complete destruction. Take a look. (
Start Video Editing)
Unidentified man: Christian, get more water pipes. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, this happened at Springs.
It's in San Bernardino County, Great Bear Lake in the area of Lake arrow, 400-
In addition, the house there was destroyed.
The two firefighters had just crossed the canyon, ran along the hillside and the ridge line, trying to find out where the hot spot was, driving their SUV, pulling a hose from the back and hanging it on the fire hydrant, start walking towards it.
That's how they played in Southern California.
They run around all day to find these hot spots and try to put them out.
But so far there has been little containment in these fires.
Wildfires sometimes get so strong that they actually create their own weather.
There may be tornadoes in some cases. like qualities.
Check out this incredible video.
This is a fire from Silverado Canyon, California.
The vortex is called fir "firenado" and is basically a tornado on the ground where smoke and flames rise from inside. The tornado-
Like a row of hot air rising above the fire.
You can see in some of the photos here how these flames are fired from the ground.
You see, when it is absorbed into the sky, with all the heat, it absorbs all the air so quickly.
Well, as we mentioned, the wind here is much smaller this morning compared to the last few days.
Yesterday, we will be at 40-mile-an-hour wind. (WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: I'm now with a mother and her daughter.
She's actually with her fiancee.
They all decided to seek asylum at Qualcomm.
Jessica sagant and her little Sandy were forced to leave their home.
It was in Cardiff, California.
Jessica, this is actually-
Your town is not even on the mandatory evacuation list, but you decided to come here. Tell us why.
Jessica sakint evacuated from her home in CARDIFF: First of all, the air quality seems really bad.
The sky is yellow instead of blue.
The sun is red.
It seems wrong.
And me and my fiancee, he's sick, I'm sick, my baby is sick and doesn't look right, we don't have anywhere else to go so we're here.
CHETRY: What is it like here, especially 11-month-old?
To be honest, they helped me a lot.
There are diapers, there are wipes, and you basically need to take care of whatever the baby is.
They have the formula and they will give it to you if you need it.
Also, they also have baby cots, strollers and car seats if you need car seats.
They basically have anything you need.
Little Sandy looks happy to be here.
She has had a smile on her face since we saw her and started about two hours ago. Our Dr.
Sanjay Gupta is also here.
Sanjay, one of the things she talks about is that Cardiff is not forced to evacuate, but she starts to worry when the baby is breathing. DR.
Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent: Yes, you know, it's interesting because we're talking about more than just fires, and a lot of people are focusing on fires, but smoke, air and particles-
By the way, it looks like a reporter for the future. -
The particles in the air can be very stimulating, especially the trachea of children and the elderly.
Most of the time, the gag reflex is triggered, which can cause vomiting.
You know, it's not a natural stomach disease, it's just that intense stimulus.
I look at her little eyes here too.
Kiran, you might have noticed.
But they're still watering.
It's about 4: 00 in the morning.
She didn't sleep all night.
This is part of it.
But it may also be just because of this stimulus.
So the particle size--
Especially for these children, it may be very profound.
Another thing, Jessica, she did the right thing and noticed not only breathing but some vomiting, and I felt that getting rid of the situation might be the best.
Yes, I think this is definitely the key.
You see a lot of people wearing masks and staying in this situation.
As we talked about yesterday, masks can only do so much.
I mean, the particles are getting smaller and smaller, especially when you are getting farther and farther, which is a bit counter-intuitive.
The closer you get to fire, big particles.
Further away, smaller items, these items will actually be more stimulating and destructive.
You have to go so far that they are no longer in the air, or into the interior, and we know it's not easy, but for some, at least they have found some shelter.
Sakint: I even went in and it was in my vent.
You can feel it.
Like I stayed in a room and I had an air purifier and a fan and all three of us were watching the news in the room-
That room is OK.
Sitting in it, you know, it's okay to lie in it.
But the other rooms look like you go out and get water or something, and when you go outside and walk into another room in my apartment, you can feel it in your lungs.
Incredible.
Gupta: What you said happened at the hospital was amazing.
We visited some hospitals.
They have something called the HEPA filter that was designed specifically for this purpose, but they tell us that because there is so much in the air that is blocked and some of them are actually still inside.
Jessica, of course you're doing the right thing.
Hope you get everything.
Back in the clear.
I know, I can't imagine, I mean, when you take care of your children, not only for those who are trying to take care of your children, you certainly won't consider yourself, I know you're not sleeping either.
Sachin: No, I didn't sleep when I got here.
As soon as I got here, I offered.
I'm distributing food.
They also need volunteers.
They also seem to need tents, they need tents.
They ran out of tents.
So if you have an extra tent and you don't use it, you should come down and donate it.
They really need tents.
CHETRY: Okay.
Well, you know, kid, you're not only here in a very difficult situation, but you're also helping out, so pay tribute to you.
We wish you good luck.
You're a lovely little girl, Sandy.
Thank you for talking to us so well.
There is no permanent effect on this kind of thing, right?
No, this is good news, usually short-term impact.
She may have looked much better than before.
OK Jessica, thank you for being with us.
We need a break.
We will also talk more about what it looks like when you have to evacuate home.
We will talk to a family about the fear, panic, and hasty decisions made at those crazy last moments.
Sanjay will join us again.
He conducted an exclusive investigation into something you will only see on CNN, at the burn center here, the burn center, where they take care of people who can't get out of the fire in time.
All this is ahead.
When the United States came back in the morning, a prison break was recorded. (
Business break)(
Start Video Editing)
Unidentified woman: on that mountain, the fire has just landed on us.
Let's get things out. there's Red (INAUDIBLE)in the sky.
And then we came back, 40-
The flame at the foot spread on that mountain. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Roberts: You can imagine the fear of seeing the flame cross the ridge like this, and with the wind blowing, it also creates a lot of sparks in front of it.
The fire jumps much faster than you think.
This is how they are in the area.
Brian Arnold's home in escondo, about five miles from where I was, was completely destroyed in the fire.
However, he evacuated with his wife and four children, including a 2-month-old baby girl.
He joins us now.
Thank you for coming.
I know it started very early and I know you have other things to do besides that.
What is the feeling?
You received an evacuation order at 2: 00 on Monday morning.
You hear the young girl talking about how it feels when the flame rises from the ridge.
What do you think, Brian?
Brian Arnold lost his home in the fire: You know, this is--
We saw smoke in Ramona on Sunday.
We watched it all night.
I left the house three or four times and drove around in order to see it.
Roberts: You want to know where it is and how it moves?
Yes, where is the wind and it.
Roberts: What did you see?
You know, when I first saw it, it was five miles away.
This is quite a long distance.
ROBERTS: . . .
Trying to figure out where it is and how it moves?
Arnold: Yes, yes, the wind. where is it.
Roberts: What did you see?
You know, when I first saw it, it was five miles away.
This is quite a long distance.
The wind blows like this, yes, we have the potential, but we don't ---no panic.
About 1: 30, I talked to one of my neighbors, and he said it was getting closer and closer,-
But he said he might not have to worry.
We really left because I don't think I can sleep well when I live there.
ROBERTS: Yes.
So we have to do that. . .
Roberts: Here are some of the pictures you took.
This is the rest of your family.
ARNOLD: Right.
Roberts: How fast does the fire happen when you evacuate?
You know what, yeah--it was still --
That's why I left.
The flames at our doorstep are not licking.
We can't even see the flame when we leave.
I know there are more pieces in the air and the wind is bigger.
As far as I know--
From the neighbor who lived for a long time, it was about 5: 30 in the morning. . .
Roberts: So it disappeared three hours after you left.
Yes, it's gone.
Roberts: I mean, it must be very difficult to go back and look at this and take these photos.
Can you get everything you want from home? -
I mean, you can never take everything you want because you will take it all.
ARNOLD: Yes.
But do you know what is most important to you?
No, we don't. We didn't --
We left because we wanted to be completely sure we would be safe, but no, we left ---
In fact, the most irreplaceable thing we leave behind is that we have-about a four-
An inch thick genetic binder. . .
Roberts: Track the family.
ARNOLD: . . . 1400s.
Oh, my God.
Yes, that's--
We haven't transferred it to the disc yet.
So, that's it.
This is incredible.
Arnold: all--
We did not take any family photos.
We didn't take it--all that stuff.
Oh, my God.
Brian, what about the place you live in, the insurance, the rebuilding, etc?
Arnold: State Farm. So, I --actually . . .
Roberts: Will you go back?
Arnold: What is that?
Roberts: are you going back to escondo?
Yes, oh, yes.
We live on 12 acres and we have a nice property.
Although it is a little darker than before, it is still beautiful.
There is a small motorcycle track for children.
The place where we live is our home.
We will rebuild.
The policy was updated about six months ago just because.
So you should be okay?
We're fine. we--
My mom lives here, so I live with her, and my wife and our children sleep in St Clement next to Camp Pendleton.
We will rent a house for a few years and rebuild it.
Listen to me, we. . .
What are you doing?
ROBERTS: . . .
We wish you all the best.
Thank you for coming.
Sorry for your loss. . .
Thank you. no, thank you.
ROBERTS: . . .
But thank God everyone is safe. All right.
We will be back in one minute in this special edition of the American morning to cover more fires in Southern California. Stay with us. (
Business break)(
Start Video Editing)
Unidentified male: It's a bit difficult to see everyone's house burned down.
This is the real clothes that firefighters wear.
But we're outside. -
Some firefighters also burned their own houses. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of wildfire in Southern California.
We are at Qualcomm Center in San Diego.
It is a temporary home for thousands of people who have lost their homes or have been forced to evacuate.
Some people are really facing an uncertain future and whether they have anything to go back.
But with me now, Ben and Billy (ph)
They fled with two sons, Griffin and Al, and four cats.
Unfortunately, they already know the fate of their situation.
Their house was burned down in Ramona, about 35 miles northwest of our place in San Diego.
Billy took the crazy moments when they were evacuated.
They are discussing it with me now.
Thank you for being with us.
After finishing what you have to deal with, is there any shock relief now?
Billy Xerox lost his home in the fire: no, the situation got worse.
What is this? -
When you have a camera and you know your home is lost, what are those moments like?
Ben schlotte lost his home in the fire: This is the most terrible thing in the world because we lost about 50 good pets.
Yes, we can't save them.
You saved four cats.
What pets do you have?
Ben schlotte: We have about 30-
We ate a chipmunk, a rabbit, a toad and a leopard gecko.
CHETRY: So, the animals are almost like a part of the family and then lose them, can you get something else from the home before it gets destroyed?
Billy schlotte: we collected a few pairs of clothes for ourselves, my family portrait we tried to pack until we had to leave.
CHETRY: What does the notification look like?
I know a lot of these fire lines are jumping too fast and people don't pay that much attention.
Did you know in advance?
Ben schlotte: we were able to keep an eye on it all day, but no one officially came to our door and said you had to evacuate, and it was more of our own will to come and go with the brain watching the fire.
You know, we had a chance to look at it while we were flying here, and you could see a flame ridge, then a community, and then another flame ridge a few miles away.
It seems like a terrible situation.
What is your future plan when you rebuild here or what are you going to do?
We're not sure yet.
We don't have any insurance at home so we don't know where we will live or where we will live from time to time.
Do you have family in this area?
Ben schlotte: I have no family in this state.
My only family is my wife and her family.
My parents also live in Ramona.
We pray that their house will pass through this fire.
They lost their homes in the Cedar fire, so we hope to stay with them for the time being.
Wow, how's your baby?
Ben schlotte: they seem to do a good job.
They were very upset the first night.
I got some of their personal items like the coin collection and some plush toys that really made their mood even more enjoyable. Now video games keep their attention out of focus.
Is anyone here good for you?
Man: Yes.
Man: Yes.
CHETRY: Yes?
Okay, that's good news.
The organization they work here seems pretty good.
Have you got all the resources you need?
Billy schleter: Not yet.
We came yesterday but haven't set up FEMA yet.
We signed up for the Red Cross.
They have our phone number.
We're just waiting for news.
CHETRY: OK, hope to get into some temporary housing at that time?
Billy SCHLOTTE: Yes.
Ben schlotte: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, of course we wish you all the best, glad you did, sorry the pets didn't work, I know you have four cats too.
Does anyone take care of them here?
Ben schlotte: Unfortunately I need to find the carrier of the cat for them.
Right now, they're in my truck, kind of jumping around.
Okay, I know they do have this type of resource here.
They are trying to take everything and pets into account, and this is one of the things they are trying to make sure the homeowner is taken care.
Thank you all. good luck.
Again, they are talking about trying to get a response from FEMA.
But they 've been trying to connect people to the status of temporary housing, people sign up, and then they get the news whether they can move to those temporary locations when rebuilding or figuring out what to do next.
We have to take a break.
By the time we got back, more than 7,000 firefighters were already fighting on the fire line.
They are faced with situations that cannot be described.
We will see what this looks like from the front line of the shootout.
US morning live report. (
Business break)
Kiran chetry, cnn anchor: Welcome back.
It's Wednesday, October 24.
Welcome to the American morning special in Southern California.
I'm Ji Lan Chetry.
We are at Qualcomm Center in San Diego.
It turned into temporary housing for thousands of people, actually a small part of thousands of people, John, and nearly a million people had to evacuate because of the fire.
CNN anchor John Roberts: I'm John Roberts from Rancho Bernardo, California, and this is the scene of the intense destruction caused by the Witch Fire.
As you can see in those pictures, we just started there with the fire floating in the fire.
Thankfully, as the wind slows down, those people don't blow a torrent before the main part of the fire, which may make it jump beyond you before you know it.
Let's start directly.
We want to keep you up to date now on what's going on in Southern California.
Now, more than 1,000 houses have been destroyed by the Southern California fire like the one behind me.
About 900,000 people were evacuated and moved to safer areas.
There are still 18 active fires this morning, including two at Camp Pendleton, which have been closed I-
Two-way 5.
Only three fires have been put out so far.
In Southern California, nearly half a million acres of land were burned.
A fire currently burning near Camp I-Pendleton5.
This is the main highway connecting San Diego and Los Angeles.
It runs along the coast of the area.
Chris Lawrence of American morning is there now.
Good morning, Chris.
What's going on?
Chris Lawrence, cnn correspondent: Good morning, John.
Yes, the fire is still burning behind me.
These fires are deliberately set up by firefighters to stop fires that you can't see.
Because of the smoke, because of the Ashes burning in the fire, you can't see a mountain behind it, and the danger is that the fire will come out of the mountain.
What they are doing is trying to peel off this part of the fuel so that if the fire continues down the hill, it won't have anything to burn.
Over the past day or so, we 've been spending a lot of time here with some firefighters, really getting to know some of the hard decisions they have to make every minute, and some of the incredible pressures they face. (Start Video)
Unidentified man: Christian, get more water pipes.
A firefighter is deploying on the California front.
Open it up. Here we go.
Lawrence: 7,000 people from Arizona, Oregon and even North Carolina.
RICK LINDSEY (ph)
Fireman: at the end of the day, we need to save 100 houses.
Lawrence: strike captain Rick Lindsay (ph)
Set goals and rules.
LINDSEY (ph)
Don't block the street.
Let the house burn before you block the street.
But his people are not used to this.
They are from Compton and Vernon.
These are the departments of the city center.
We are used to getting in and catching fire in one or two hours, maybe three hours.
They have been working for two or three days.
LINDSEY (ph)
I'm exhausted.
How do you fight exhaustion?
We have no chance to rest.
The alarm rang and they jumped on the engine and they went to Malibu and they went to magic fire in Magic Mountain and now we are here.
City firefighters tried to save everything. Lindsey (ph)
They must be taught to burn the house.
LINDSEY (ph)
: The goal is to lose some, save 100, not anchor, can save 10 of course, but may lose 80.
Firefighters can't all go.
Always outside.
LINDSEY (ph)
: The situation will get worse.
The wind will blow up at night.
I can't eat zombies at 2: 00 in the morning.
You have to have a reserve when the fire exceeds you and give it 100% at that time.
Lawrence: they passed through exhaustion the next day after 90 degrees without real rewards.
Woman: Thank you for your help.
Lawrence: It's all worth it, except for a few words from the homeowner. (END VIDEOTAPE)
Lawrence: Unfortunately, in these fires, they didn't hear as much as they wanted to hear.
Again, now back to the scene, you can see that some of the back burns are still going on.
If you hear pop, pop, pop in the background, that's the explosive ammo from Camp Pendleton.
Again, many of the fire engines behind me had to take off because of the afterfire that had already been blown, even with a slight wind, set fire on the other side of the highway.
They had to take these out and try to control it. John.
Roberts: You don't usually hear the rise of ammunition in a wild fire.
Chris, I was going to ask you, it was a very intense Post fire when they went there.
I think they are taking advantage of the intermission in the wind, however, back fire can often prove to be very dangerous.
When I was working in Florida, I knew that in many cases fish and wildlife would light the post-fire and suddenly it would become the main fire.
Lawrence: Yes, you think, why did firefighters set fire?
They do this in order to clear the area of any fuel to prevent the main fire from moving forward.
A fireman told me about 30 minutes ago that he said we could have the fire do what we wanted, but again, the danger always existed.
This is not the case with winds like this, but you know how these gusts appear.
Where are you standing, I'm sure, it's still--
You hear a gust of wind.
For these firefighters, a gust of wind can really turn the rear fire into a major problem.
ROBERTS: Yes, you can let the fire do what you want before the wind catches it.
Chris Lawrence, thank you this morning, Chris.
We will check in with you soon.
Later today, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency will inform President Bush of the situation.
It was the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina two years ago.
Earlier in the morning in the United States, we talked to the director of the federal emergency response administration, David Paulson, about the lessons learned from that. (
Start Video Editing)
FEMA Administrator david paulison: Katrina is a wake-up-
Across the country, including California, calls for emergency management.
Even in 2003, the fire that we had here, Santiago learned a few lessons from it. We have also.
We have been implementing these measures for the past two years.
Exercise, train, change the philosophy of how we deal with it.
This is a different organization.
This is a new FEMA. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Roberts: The federal emergency response authority believes it will be better this time, and we will look at it.
Let's go back to Iran at the Qualcomm Center in San Diego. Kiran.
CHETRY: You know, from the anecdotes we 've heard from the volunteers and the people that Qualcomm evacuated, about 12,000 of them are at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, which is certainly better.
In fact, they seem to have made a very organized effort here to try to get people to know all the resources they can get.
They can go online, e-
Mail Access, login to the website to tell--
See if their family is successful.
You'll see firefighters being able to report this back, all in a large database so people can see if their home is on this list.
Of course, they want their home not on the list.
Information is available from the Salvation Army to caring for pets, to crisis management, and even Jewish food, acupuncture and massage kiosks.
Thanks to the help of these volunteers, this is a pretty good organization.
But you know, these people are definitely not at home.
In fact, it is difficult, especially those who face some injury or illness because of what they have experienced.
At least 70 people are reported to have been injured in the fire.
Now 34 of them are firefighters.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr.
Sanjay Gupta is the exclusive head of the burn center at the University of California, San Diego.
You can look inside and see how they take care of these people. DR.
Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent: Yes, you know it's amazing, because it's the only burn center in the county, so all the patients in the other hospitals are here, there, they were either burned or badly sucked in by smoke and also passed through this hospital.
It is quite adequate.
You have 18 beds in ICU.
They were full when we went.
Nine of them were seriously injured and, as you said, several of them were firefighters. Dr.
The Chembria you saw there, he's the head of burn.
He has been very busy.
His own home had to be evacuated, another thing they dealt with as staff and doctors.
But, as the story of the person most directly affected, we found it there because the family was sitting in the waiting room.
I had a chance to talk to a mother who was actually the daughter of a fireman.
She told me the story of her daughter.
Woman: she told me--
She was in the truck when the fire exceeded them and had to leave the truck.
So, this is--
Everything was protected, but her face was still a bit--
Another interesting thing you said, you know, was that once she didn't even know if her daughter was still alive.
Gupta: Yes, you know this is some of the initial media coverage.
This is an interesting point because, as you think, these burn patients come in and look terrible.
The daughter has a 7 year old daughter who thinks her mother's face is completely dirty but her face is burned.
The only part she exposed.
What they have to do is put a breathing tube, because the airway will swell, so they put the breathing tube in, and then they basically give people paralysis drugs and let them calm down, save them from pain, which can basically make them chemical coma, so they look either dead or dead.
That's why, I think, some of the initial reports came in.
According to the doctor, she will actually be fine. Chembria (ph)
In fact, she can also go out and put out the fire again, which is what her mother said, which is what she wants to do and she will do it again.
CHETRY: in terms of the burn unit, what range of injuries are we looking?
Gupta: I think the worst damage we see in the hospital is 15-year-
It is reported that an old boy, who has actually been trying to escape, has escaped from the fire, which is a little more than him.
60% of his body is covered.
He basically fell, so it could be the back of his back and the back of his leg.
But apparently he's in a serious situation.
From that to the people who are mostly hand burns, from the people who pick things up, you know they are ten percent of their body burns.
But they all get the same treatment.
They need skin grafting.
They will need a lot of operations in the next few days, which will start now.
I spoke to one of the surgeons who planned to have a continuous operation for the next week or so.
CHETRY: Wow.
It was a long process, a painful process, but thankfully they got the best care here.
Gupta: they look really well equipped and are able to handle this under the current circumstances.
In terms of numbers, it seems to have been gradually reduced to about the last day.
This is also good news.
Thank you so much, Sanjay.
We have to take a break.
When we come back, really when you look at it, it looks like you're looking at the mouth of a huge volcanic eruption, it's from Southern California, A huge smoke covered up all the damage on the ground.
We will have more.
You saw it.
It does look like a volcanic eruption, the latest is a volcanic eruption on the FireWire, and the latest is the effort to help evacuate people in Southern California on a special edition in the morning of the United States. (
Business break)
Roberts: Welcome back to our special report in Southern California.
California fire in the morning
Take a look at this, a large cloud on Running Springs, California, a huge cloud of smoke, an amazing bird view map that shows the thick dark smoke that rises from the flames.
It stretches for miles.
It's like this from the air.
Below is what the running spring looks like from the ground.
Several firefighters tried their best to attack a fire there before.
Look at the intensity and when they try to pour some water on the fire, they are just surrounded by a flame wall.
As more fires break out, that's what we see today in Southern California.
We are now learning about some new evacuations in the town of Deluz, which is located in the north and east of Camp Pendleton, which is the main naval base here.
Chris Lawrence, of course, has been showing us the fire there.
How long will all this last because these Santa Ana winds appear every fall?
Rob Marciano, our meteorologist and weather expert, was with us this morning to try to help decipher some of these messages.
They are looking for a turnaround in the next 24 hours.
Can you come early?
Rob marciano, cnn meteorologist: that's great.
We are in a quiet position now.
Not the same as yesterday.
John, now is a day of transition, and when we go through it tomorrow, maybe things will get a little better and work for the firefighters.
Yesterday, big-
In many cases, the time is high and recorded. Take a look.
99 degrees, Santa Ana;
Fuller, California, 99 degrees; Oxnard at 96;
Even in Auckland, north of the bay, there are 87 degrees.
We may not see record highs today.
It will be a small fridge, but the good news is that the wind has gradually weakened.
This is the wind peak last night.
Laguna Peak is 50 miles per hour and Camp 9 is 45 miles per hour.
Almost half of it two days ago.
Where are they now?
Significantly reduced in many cases.
17 miles an hour, 11-year-old Glendale Oxnard is windy. Ocean side, 15.
Generally they are still east/northeast so they are still offshore and still dry and technically Santa Ana will still cause problems today.
Because of this, the Storm Prediction Center still released a serious fire hazard today, and the temperature will warm up and there may not be a record
48%, but the humidity is very low.
These humidity levels will increase tomorrow, and then again on Friday, possibly over the weekend, bringing the cool ocean air here as we move from the Pacific, this will be of great help.
The wind is lighter today, but still a serious fire hazard, so it will be a fight again and again.
Roberts: can't come soon. Rob, thanks.
Let's check with you again. Kiran.
CHETRY: Okay.
We want you to have a quick look at some of the resources at Qualcomm.
This is a temporary residence for many people who have to evacuate.
When they first came to the big stadium here, this was where they signed up.
We have some volunteers David and Ruth who help people.
A lot of information is ready.
Here is a temporary bulletin board that will tell people where to go, when to eat food, in part B, here, if you wish.
They say go here if you need to carry the case for the animals.
So a lot of information about crisis counseling, hotlines, and then some other notes about what needs and where you can go for help.
Then here, there is some more information about The Salvation Army, where you can find information about housing.
Another interesting thing is the emergence of this temporary online community. SanDiegofires.
Information, they have small pieces of paper so that people can take them and know where to log in.
They also have free Internet and e-commerce.
The email says Best Buy outside.
Our Internet correspondent in New York, Veronica De La Cruz, is also tracking the ability of the network to help rebuild.
Unite people and provide them with information on volunteering, where they will go if they can help, and where you can donate. Veronica.
Veronica De La Cruz, CNN network Reporter: Yes.
Kiran, I know you 've been referring to all the computers set up for people to collect information.
I would like to point out several very important websites. San Diego.
Gov is a great choice.
They don't know if their home is still there, standing, so San Diego.
Gov is updating a list of houses damaged or destroyed by fire.
This list is made from door to door, from door to door, and in some cases it will even tell you about the condition of the house and whether it has only suffered partial damage.
Also found in San Diego. gov, Kiran.
I would like to tell you the official page of another website, L. A.
Fire Department. That's lafd. org.
It will give you information about every fire burning, containment, road closure, evacuation shelter.
They were linked to Twitter, the microblogging site.
This is another way for you to receive instant updates.
This address is lafd. org.
We have made it easy for you to find all of these URLs.
We have compiled all emergency contacts for each affected city, county.
You can get the whole list on CNN. com/wildfires. CNN.
On the main page, scroll down to the emergency contact. Kiran.
CHETRY: Okay.
It sounds good.
Many people are looking for information. The internet has proved to be a vital resource.
We have to take a break.
Our report of the California wildfire continues.
Next, the cost of recovery has destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
Insurance companies are dealing with the biggest disaster since Hurricane Katrina.
Take a closer look at the special edition of American Morning. (
Business break)
Roberts: We're back in Rancho Bernardo, north of San Diego.
This is a community of about 20,000 people.
The average price of a single home is about $500,000.
It may take a few weeks for us to fully understand the damage caused by these fires.
You can see some behind me.
But there is no doubt that this will be a big blow for insurance companies.
Gerri Willis, CNN's Personal Finance Editor, will share more information with us on this.
Obviously, it will be a huge blow.
Gerri willis, CNN's personal financial editor: of course.
Roberts: It's been four years since the last Cedar Fire.
Willis: $1991 is the biggest fire in California.
Insurance Loss 5 billion
The fire you said happened four years ago, about $2 billion.
The current estimate may be half a billion, but the number will certainly be higher.
Big questions about how insurance companies will respond, and questions about whether they will do the right thing.
Just in July, all states said that because of these huge losses, we will not cover the insurance policies of California homeowners, and we will be hit by these huge impacts almost every year. John.
Roberts: So, what can people do to make sure their claims are paid and how can they make sure they have insurance next time instead of getting a cancellation notice?
Willis: Call your agent, call your agent and call your agent right away.
Thousands of people will do so.
You need to stand in front of the team and get some help right away.
If you have a copy of the insurance policy now, look at your insurance policy.
This can also apply to those who see this kind of damage, and they will think, holy cow, what would I do if this happened to me?
Look at your statement page and it will tell you how many reports you have on the first line.
Most people, John. I have to tell you. -
Many Americans are under insurance.
You need to know that you have enough coverage to rebuild.
Be sure to contact that agent.
Be sure to make a list of the contents so you can tell your insurance company, hey, I deserve it.
I know the whole list.
Buy insurance. ca. gov.
That website is the website of the California insurance commissioner.
It will help you build this list so you can get some money back.
Roberts: keep updating the list while you get more items, right?
Willis: That's right.
This is absolutely right, John.
Roberts: good advice.
Nice to meet you.
My pleasure.
Roberts: The United States will be back in the morning. after that, the fire in Southern California is up to date.
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