it sounds like something crashing through the forest. reporter: this is the view from underneath the intense skies created by the bootleg fire. just as firefighter eric west was pulled back for safety. is there any fear in it or adrenaline kicks in? adrenaline sure, yeah. if you have fear of this, this isn t the job for you. reporter: more humid air and wind shifts are helping firefighters up the containment levels. but the ground is so dry, the fire is still not under control. you can see and hear this little fire behind me. it s one of the many challenges firefighters are dealing with. conditions are so incredibly dry, there is just all of this fuel on the ground. this stump is on fire. then this fire migrated over. it s going to burn this tree, but firefighters aren t concerned because it s already burned so much of this area, there s really not that much more left for it to burn. overnight, the fire jumping the containment line. more evacuations issued. firefighters still wor
from underneath the intense skies created by the bootleg fire. justice as firefighter eric west was pulled back for safety. is there any fear or adrienne r adrenaline kicking in? if you have fear, this isn t the job for you. reporter: the ground is so dry, the fire is still not under control. you can see and hear this little fire behind me. it s one of the many challenges firefighters are dealing with. conditions are so incredibly dry, there is just all of this fuel on the ground. this stump is on fire, and then this fire migrated over. it s going to burn this tree, but firefighters aren t concerned because it s already burned so much of this area there s really not that much more left for it to burn. overnight, the fire jumping the containment line. more evacuations issued firefighters still working to secure the outbreak. in the line of fire, this is part of the defense.
will firefighters get help from the weather, that is the big question this morning. i want to bring in meteorologist karen ma gbeginess. as they keep off to the east in huge blazes we still have enhanced and critical fire danger across much of this region. why? because we re still looking at low relative humidity, temperatures running a good 10 to 15 degrees above where they should be for this time of year. and it s still windy. now, firefighters aren t going to be battling blazes with 60 or 70-mile-per-hour winds. we might expect gusts up around 35 miles an hour. and, wow, winter making a return visit. you may expect flight delays if you re traveling around the rege friend minneapolis to chicago towards buffalo. as a weather system sweeps across this region could produce
reporter: to the north in minnesota looks like it s roping out there. reporter: the earliest calendar year tornado on record. this is all that s left of this home. the tornado ripping nearly a 12-mile long path of destruction. david? just a stunning scene tonight. alex, our thanks to you. in the meantime, fierce winds from that same storm front fueling a deadly string of wildfires in four states tonight. flames burning in the texas panhandle, threatening hundreds of homes, but firefighters losing the battle to save some homes in colorado, and some family members losing their lives while trying to save their property. abc s clayton sandell from colorado tonight. reporter: across the plains tonight, firefighters aren t just battling flames. they are against dry, powerful winds. supercharged wildfires are tearing through hundreds of square miles in parts of kansas, oklahoma, colorado and texas. in gray county, texas, ranch
as the sunrises over california, we re getting a clearer picture of the dangerous wildfire burning out of control. the fire exploded in size yesterday reaching a massive 25,000 acres taking six homes with it and threatening thousands more. what s worse, firefighters aren t even close to getting it under control. it s only 20% contained. meaning it could rage on for another week. stephanie elam is live in palmdale. good morning. reporter: good morning, carol. yeah, they re estimating they will be able to get full containment a week from today because as you can see there is a lot of wind out here. and the crews are still coming in as you can see right here trying to get a hold of this angle of the fire which is still very active. two, one reporter: by air and land, a full scale assault ons massi ma wildfires raging out west. more than 1,000 are battling the