dangerously close to the highway in california. more than 1,500 people forced to evacuate, hoping their homes can be saved. abc's senior national correspondent, matt gutman, on the fire lines tonight. >> reporter: tonight an army of firefighters in utah battling a fire that has sent up walls of flame 100 feet high, torching an area the size of washington, d.c. >> i've never seen a run like what happened here. eight miles in one day. >> reporter: calling it "unprecedented" for this time of year, officials have thrown everything at it, planes, helicopters and over 1,100 firefighters. red flag warnings expected to make this fire explode. this is what firefighters have been battling all day here. that wind turning small fires into infernos like that. towering 100 feet high. just north of los angeles overnight, this brush fire racing across hill tops, jumping highway 14. >> you can feel the heat. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: motorists fleeing