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to ashes in minutes. around 20 homes in the canyon near laguna beach were quickly engulfed in flames by the fast—moving wildfire, the latest to wreak havoc and destruction along along the southern california coastline. firefighters are doing what they can to try to contain the flames, but theirjob has been complicated by coastal winds and the long—running drought, worsened by climate change, which has turned the thick brush on the hillsides into dry, brittle kindling. the local fire chief said previously manageable wildfires now quickly get out of hand. our fuel moistures right now are very low, which basically means that when a fire starts, it will get established very rapidly. throwing some wind on that and the terrain, the steepness of it, was a bad recipe. mandatory evacuations are in place for several areas along the pacific coast, while voluntary evacuation orders were also issued. an estimated 900 homes are currently under evacuation
fire officials say the blaze has scorched 199 acres since it started on wednesday. hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. will grant reports. another multimillion—dollar californian mansion reduced to ashes in minutes. around 20 homes in the canyon near laguna beach were quickly engulfed in flames by the fast—moving wildfire, the latest to wreak havoc and destruction along along the southern california coastline. firefighters are doing what they can to try to contain the flames, but theirjob has been complicated by coastal winds and the long—running drought, worsened by climate change, which has turned the thick brush on the hillsides into dry, brittle kindling. the local fire chief said previously manageable wildfires now quickly get out of hand. our fuel moistures right now are very low, which basically means that when a fire starts, it will get established very rapidly. throwing some wind on that and the terrain, the steepness
the trees and shrubs are very, very dry and so is the extent of the summer we can expect largerfire so it of the summer we can expect larger fire so it is quite challenging for the months ahead. ~ ~ , ., challenging for the months ahead. ~ ~' , ., ., ahead. we keep hearing about this bad news _ ahead. we keep hearing about this bad news and _ ahead. we keep hearing about this bad news and it _ ahead. we keep hearing about this bad news and it keeps - this bad news and it keeps getting worse and worse but how is it comparatively to other years? well, we're still early in the fire season. we are kind of getting into the court in california, august, september. ourfuel moistures are california, august, september. our fuel moistures are at record levels that they are the lowest they have been and that is a sign we can expect larger fires. it is day—to—day whether that can actually drive our father to it might fire behaviour. expect much larger fires when we get into full. the problem for firefighter seems to be that the ever so dry that much of the water dropped by the aircraft to quell the flames evaporate before it features the ground. so how can these wildfires best
reporter said. you can see where people abandon vehicles. they were shoved out of the way by bulldozers and people ran. ran for their lives. when you have to abandon your vehicle and run, you're in peril. the signs of large loss of life in this area are everywhere. i was at the feather river hospital -- >> what has made this so destructive and difficult to control? what has made it such a ravaging fire? >> wind, low humidity and low to no fuel moistures. california is in the 7th year of a drought. this was a weather driven event. i don't care how many fire engines you had in front of it, you're not going to stop it with the wind that was on it. >> thanks for spending some time with us while you try to take it in and help in any way you can. still ahead, with the future of the russia probe uncertain under matt whittaker, democrats
and the fire raced through the canyon. within minutes it gained a 32 acre foot hold on the north side of the highway and prompted more evacuations. officials expect more today it. >> low humidity and fuel moistures are critical. they are low and the aspect and ignition source and all of them come together like a perfect storm and the fire takes off on you. >> that's what we have here. >> reporter: given the rugged terrain much of the four fight is an air assault. tankers and choppers are dropping flame retardant. and that will buy time for the courthouse on the ground. they have more than 20 other active wildfires in the state.
>> reporter: firefighters called it the year of the fire storm. 2014 millions of acres were destroyed as hundreds of homes across the west went up in flames. >> go for it drop it. >> reporter: thoois year the outlook is more dire u. the forecast calling for bigger, more explosive fires fuelled by conditions not seen in decades. >> the drought is affecting rates of fire spread, fuel moistures, it's just incredible and it's just not getting any better. >> reporter: the assistant chief worked the san diego hillside when it became a blow torch last year. . we were there as fire devoured these drought-stricken hills. this is the front lines. this year the front lines will be everywhere. firefighters say what didn't burn last year is ready to go this year. scientists are also warning of a dangerous new cycle, a recent
it is moving very fast and the winds are propelling it. today they are expecting really strong winds. in the moment in the canyons anywhere from 5 to 15 miles an hour. over the tops of the ridges it will touch 40. that means we will see exponential growth in the fire. last night we were at duck wall mountain. in that area we saw one part of the forest about a half a mile stretch consumed in just 20 minutes. that was moving into the wind. there is so much dry brush on the ground that it is actually defying the natural elements. even if the wind is pushing it in one direction it is capable to go in all other directions. it is a 360-degree fight that the firefighters have. they are saying that yes indeed the winds will be the biggest enemy today. take a listen. >> with the winds, we are going to have lower temperatures, but you have to remember again critical fuel moistures, some of the dead fuels here, to give you an idea, are at about 5%. you can go to your local lumber store and by a two by 4 and it would be at 9%.
clock. >> we have put everything that we have into this, including night air attack. >> reporter: the weekend winds really complicated the efforts, as did the terrain, which is steep and rugged. >> this is an extremely old and dry fuel. 1929. that's how old that chapparel is. >> reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. >> this summer we're going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures typically don't get to critical stages until the fall, when we have santa ana wind events. but we project that those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. >> that's certainly bad news. dan simon joins us live. what's the latest on the fire right now? >> reporter: well, thankfully, crews seem to be getting the upper hand on this wildfire. it's said to be about 40% contained officially but they
that's how old that chapparel is. >> reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. >> this summer we're going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures typically don't get to critical stages until the fall, when we have santa ana wind events. but we project that those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. >> that's certainly bad news. dan simon joins us live. what's the latest on the fire right now? >> reporter: well, thankfully, crews seem to be getting the upper hand on this wildfire. it's said to be about 40% contained officially but they expect those numbers to go up tonight. a couple of reasons for that. they have been fighting this fire very aggressively on the ground and by the air, as you saw in that story and also, the wind has died down for the most part. still kicks up now and then, but seems to be looking pretty good. the main concern, though, is the summer overall, the conditions are -- >> we lost his mike there, obviously. having transmission problems. dan simon reporting. let's go to raw politics. the investigation into alleged irs abuses is heating up and getting nastier. as you know, congressional investigators are looking into the targeting of conservative
we have into this, including night air attack. >> reporter: the weekend winds really complicated the efforts, as did the terrain, which is steep and rugged. >> this is an extremely old and dry fuel. 1929. that's how old that chapparel is. >> reporter: the outlook is ominous. take a look at this map. almost the entire state of california is above normal for potential wildfire threat. >> this summer we're going to have a very volatile fire season. our fuel moistures typically don't get to critical stages until the fall, when we have santa ana wind events. but we project that those fuels will be at that critical state no later than july this summer. >> that's certainly bad news. let's go to raw politics. the investigation into alleged irs abuses is heating up and getting nastier. as you know, congressional