Massive Dixie Fire News Today

gotten so bad that it wasnt safe to breathe. so my wife and i took me, the asthmatic, my elderly parent, and our kids straight to vegas. not because we wanted to gamble, but because it was close and there were cheap flights. now back then, it seemed like a oneself-in-a-lifetime thing. >> rescue, what is your emergency? >> reporter: but ever since, the fires in california have gotten worse. >> dixie fire. >> woolsey fire. >> are more towns burned to the ground, more forests devastated a...

california history. >> agh. lucky for us the fires hadnt made it to where my family lives in oakland, but the air had gotten so bad that it wasnt safe to breathe. so my wife and i took me, the asthmatic, my elderly parent, and our kids straight to vegas. not because we wanted to gamble, but because it was close and there were cheap flights. now back then, it seemed like a oneself-in-a-lifetime thing. >> fire rescue, what is your emergency? >> but ever since, the fires in california hav...

california history. >> ahh! lucky for us, the fires hadnt made it to where my family lives in oakland, but the air had gotten so bad that it wasnt safe to breathe. so my wife and i took me, the asthmatic, our elderly parents and kids straight to vegas. not because we wanted to gamble, but because it was close and there were cheap flights. back then, it seemed like a once in a lifetime thing, but every year since, the fires in california have gotten worse. >> the dixie fire. >> the hill...

In order to protect the land from the bad fire, more and more permits are being issued to conduct prescribed burns, aka good fire. but you got to know what youre doing to get the permit. >> so were going to take out this top little corner. were going take our time. >> today im going the hang out with some people who definitely know what theyre doing at a prescribed burn on private property. >> always try to be downhill of the fire. >> leading the way are wildfire analyst zeke lunder and don hank...

That until recently, native wisdom about how to co-exist with the fire had been suppressed. >> it said before the whites came here that people could ride horses like three side by side all through these forests around here, that it was that open. >> wow. danny is a seasoned firefighter. he helped establish a native-run fire department for the greenville rancheria. which he serves as assistant fire chief. talk about the importance of the firehouse led that was led by your tribe? >> we teach more ...

Extremely dry out. we had extreme winds, which makes it easier for the fire to move forward. its in very steep terrain. fire likes to move uphill. and then we had a lot of dead fuels because of drought. >> are there technologies being worked on or things that you feel hopeful about that were developing? >> yeah, the wharf-f fire, the forecast model we run takes all the factors, the weather, the fuel, the topography and show you an exact picture of how that fire is going to move over time. so we ...

Home. jesus. never seen anything like this. you can still smell, like, ash and burn, but also smell the trees. there is like a pine smell. there is also maybe a chemical smell, maybe because of all the plastic. it makes my stomach hurt a little bit. never seen this stuff this close up before. >> yeah. it was heartbreaking, man. >> its been four months. a lot of the stuff has just been sitting here. >> yeah. were in the midst of it. were in the midst of the fire. you can still -- it looks like a ...

Gotten so bad that it wasnt safe to breathe. so my wife and i took me, the asthmatic, my elderly parent, and our kids straight to vegas. not because we wanted to gamble, but because it was close and there were cheap flights. now back then, it seemed like a oneself-in-a-lifetime thing. >> rescue, what is your emergency? >> reporter: but ever since, the fires in california have gotten worse. >> dixie fire. >> woolsey fire. >> are more towns burned to the ground, more forests devastated and more re...

Home. and i had to be like im sorry, but everybody here is going to die if we dont get all four lanes going south. >> i saw people running on foot, carrying babies and dogs and their hair catching on fire from embers. at one point, were herding them into a walgreens to shelter them. i think we ended up with over 100 people in there. and i remember the firefighters going is this going to work? and i go i dont know. but if theyre outside when the fire front hits, its going to kill them all. it was...

>> so the idea is not that were never going to have fire here again. but when we do, it wont be hot enough to kill all these trees. >> it will stay low to the ground. >> yeah. were looking great here. >> all with pitchforks with start coming in here. >> fire is a very social thing. if you can have the family involved, it should be like second nature to have that level of comfort in the culture around fire. >> wow. look at that. look at that over there. whoa! >> i mean, if i was just walking and ...