Firefighters Make Progress On Explosive Southern California Fire

VITAL NUTRIENTS. IT SUCH A TOUGH TIME RIGHT NOW. >> JOLENE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD TO HAVE YOU. >>> A FIERY AND DESTRUCTIVE NIGHT ALONG THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COASTLINE TURNED PRICEY HOMES TO TENDER, AS THE WEST CONTENDS WITH A FIRE SEASON LIKE NONE OTHER. MIGUEL ALMAGUER IS THERE LIVE TONIGHT. MIGUEL? >> Reporter: GOOD EVENING. THIS IS THE END RESULT OF THE SO-CALLED COASTAL FIRE. THE BLAZE STARTED JUST DOWN THE HILL BEHIND ME AND BLEW UP THE MOUNTAINSIDE AND DESTROYED A DOZEN HOMES JUST IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD ALONE. FIREFIGHTERS SAY IT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE AND A PREVIEW OF WHAT COULD COME ALL SUMMER LONG. THE FIREFIGHT HERE UNFOLDED DOOR TO DOOR. MULTIMILLION DOLLAR ESTATES IN THE GATED HILLS OUTSIDE LAGUNA BEACH, DEVOURED IN MINUTES, AS UNSTOPPABLE FLAMES TORE THROUGH TWO DOZEN HOMES. A RELATIVELY SMALL BLAZE, THE FIRE SIZE WAS NO INDICATION OF ITS FURY. >> SEEMS LIKE A WAR ZONE OUT HERE. >> Reporter: RAGING OFF CALIFORNIA'S PRISTINE COASTLINE, THE INFERNO WAS FANNED BY 30-MILE-AN-HOUR OFFSHORE WINDS AND DROUGHT CONDITIONS. FLAMES EXPLODED UP THE MOUNTAIN. >> I SAW FLASHES OF FIRES JUST COMING TO MY HOUSE. AND THAT WAS THE TIME THAT WE JUST LEFT. >> Reporter: IT WAS FAST EVACUATIONS THAT SAVED LIVES. >> LET'S GO! >> Reporter: THESE TWO ESCAPED WITH SECONDS TO SPARE. >> WE'VE GOT TO GO. >> THE SKY LOOKED LIKE A PARTIAL ECLIPSE, AND THE HEAT OF THE FIRE WAS ON OUR SKIN. SO I HAD TO LEAVE ALL OUR BELONGINGS INSIDE. >> Reporter: ONE NEIGHBORHOOD HOME TO NEARLY ALL THE DAMAGE. DESPITE THE LEVEL OF DESTRUCTION HERE, CREWS SAY THE DAMAGE COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH WORSE. THEY'RE NOW TRYING TO STOP EMBERS FROM GOING FROM ONE ROOF TOP TO ANOTHER. WITH THE WEST OFF TO A DEVASTATING FIRE SEASON, WINDS HAVE WHIPPED THIS YEAR'S MOST DESTRUCTIVE BLAZES. NEARLY 6 MILLION ARE UNDER RED FLAG WARNINGS. CONDITIONS DESTINED FOR DISASTER IN ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA, WHERE VETERAN FIREFIGHTERS SAY THESE ARE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES. >> WE'RE SEEING FIRES SPREAD IN WAYS THAT WE HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST IN THE 44 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN A FIREFIGHTER. IT'S NO LONGER THE NEW NORMAL. THIS IS OUR NORMAL. >> Reporter: TONIGHT, A SOEBERRING REALITY, WHERE MOTHER NATURE'S BEAUTY SEN TANGLED IN HER FURY. TONIGHT, THERE IS STILL NO OFFICIAL CAUSE FOR THIS FIRE, BUT OFFICIALS FEAR DOWNED POWER LINES MAY HAVE SPARKED THIS BLAZE. THAT'S SOMETHING THEY'RE INVESTIGATING TONIGHT. AS FOR THE FOLKS WHO LIVE HERE, THEY'RE NOT

Channel: NBC News

Views: 63,106

Keywords: Health, International News, Lester Holt, Making A Difference, NBC Nightly News, National News, News, Nightly News, U.S. News, breaking news, evening news, politics, world news

Id: 4bQto_H2ybc

Length: 3min 4sec (184 seconds)

Published: Fri May 13 2022