up close. the home where she raised her two kids now gone. the washer and dryer was on the top floor and it was in the hole. the washer and the dryer was down in the hole of the basement. and then we saw a a little bunny in the rubble. which gave me hope. because i was worried abut the animals. reporter: abc news made an exclusive trek to the front lines. there we met dan malia and his team of elite hot shot firefighters from reading, california. they usually put us on, you can see, steepest, most inaccessible, hottest parts of the fire. reporter: they work 16-hour shifts smothering hot spots in 100-degree heat, the scorched ground hundreds degrees hotter. firefighters tell us this area probably hasn t burned in well over 100 years and there is twice as much fuel here as should be, douglas fir and ponderosa pine. and when they do burn, the fires are larger and far more intense. and as july 4 approaches,