white patterns we have no idea what they mean and we are seeing circular things - are they craters or something else. >> new horizons is travelling to pluto at the rate of 9 mills -- mills person. i'll be back at 11. see you then. [ ♪♪ ] on"america tonight" - the weekend edition - sparking a high alert. the plane has to be ready in half an hour. >> it could be any one of them, it happens to be 912. >> the fire season and how bad will the season be, and whether the firefighters have the right tools to stop the blazers. abbing accelerating addiction. >> is it scary for you when you

hear reports that they are cutting heroin with pento nil. >> it is scary, i grew to lo a lot of these people. >> sara hoy at ground zero of the opiate epidemic and why as bad as it is america's addiction problem may be getting worse. thank you for joining us, i'm joie chen. we know the grip is powerful and becoming deadly. there are signs that heroin is reaching into new communities, getting more people hooked. "america tonight" has closely followed the nation's surge in opiate addiction, and now a new cvc report confirms what we have seen - an explosion of death due to heroin overdoses, earlier four times higher over the last decade. on the streets sara hoy found the drug trade is luring more victims to their deaths. >> reporter: the north filly neighbourhood of kensington a

short train ride from buildings and monuments symbolizing philadelphia. the av mu was a thriving shopping district and is now an eyesore. abandoned buildings, factories and row houses attracting pushers and users. it's a neighbourhood where the people are forgotten and the forgotten go to forget. >> this is the part people choose to turn their head away from. a blinds eye. >> one woman not turning a blind eye is carol, born and raised in kensington. she note the pain of afiction her 25-year-old son used to live on the kens i'ming tonne streets when -- kensington streets when heroin took hold of his life. >> my son - i don't know the feeling, i guess it's euphoria. >> reporter: carol patrols kensic tonne handing out water,

food, toiletries and clothes to the addict. >> he doesn't know it's me yet. >> hi, michael, did you get the sneakers? >> i didn't. >> i got you 10.5. >> reporter: she plays the role of mum for many of the young addict looking to get clean and need help and guidance. >> sorry, i have to do this. god don't run from me, please. what are you doing? why are you down here? >> reporter: while many may have given up on the lost souls, carol refuses to do so. she draws inspiration from her

son's journey through addiction. >> everybody thought my son was here. i show his picture to people that are this close to entering recovery saying this is him before. "i know him" he was crazy, i know what you are thinking. and i'm this is him now. i have gotten that response "wow", crust like that. i'm like yes. if he can do it why don't you think you can. >> reporter: why do you care? >> because of my son. you don't know unless you live this. this is something i wouldn't wish on anyone. through his addiction i'm the person i am today. i'm a better person. >> reporter: sadly carol is not alone in her experience. across the country heroin use is up. in 2013 more than 8,000 people decide. -- died. many seeking a high using heroin

laced with a potent ingredient. we met dr elon a director of the center for substance abuse research. >> many people start out prescribed an opiate for their pain that they may need at the time buts for a reason they take more when they don't need it and are dependent on a prescription opiate. at that point they realise it's cheaper to get heroin unfortunately it is cut with a substance used to treat severe pain associated with cancer. why fentonnel. >> i think it is used for two reasons - one is that it gets into the brain very, very rapidly. in addition, it's to potent that

small quantities are needed to produce the high. many drug dealers push the product as being an intense high. so they use fenton ill to improve the "potency" of their product that they are selling. >> how much more potent would it be? >> so it's on the order of 20 times more potent than heroin. >> in philadelphia last year fention ill laced heroin was found in 100 people who died of overdoses. it was most likely sold on kensington avenue. is it friendly when you talk of an uptake of death or cutting heroin with fenton ill. it's potent, dangerous. >> deadly. it's scary, i have grown to love a lot of these people down here. >> this fear keeps carol

committed to bring those in the darkness into life. >> reporter: as long as the epidemic grows, carol will continue to patrol the streets of kensington. >> you deserve better. >> i deserve a lot better. >> yes you do. >> everybody deserves better. >> they do. >> reporter: instilling hope and belief in those that need it the most. >> come give me a hug, honey, come here. come here sweet cheeks. >> get the hell out of here. >> reporter: hope that they can break free of heroin's deadly grip. that's "america tonight"s sara hoy with an angel on the streets. next a warning on water. sheila macvicar in the south pacific with a die-off. and the threat it poses to all

of us. later, the firefighters arsenal. the jumbo jet air drops and questions about whether they do much good.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the sound bites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". only on al jazeera america.

[ ♪♪ ] a look at the endangered oceans and threats beneath the surface. coral reefs are like the rain forests of the ocean. unless carbon dioxide can be brought under control, what is known as coral bleaching. a die off of critical underwater creatures could set off a chain of environmental disasters. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar travelled to the south pacific's marshall island to get a first-happened look. >> is that the charge they'll go.

this is a dive master on the island of majero - located in the vast pacific ocean between australia and hawaii. it is the most populous of atolls making up the marshall island. the way to make a living by diving. >> reporter: this is a place you have been coming to for a long time. >> a long time. >> reporter: how many years? >> nine years. >> reporter: last year he was shocked at what he saw when he returned to this spot. >> i saw bleaching coral. accounts last year. when you say bleaching coral, what happened, the coral turned white. >> very white. very white. >> and normally it should be full of colour. >> yes, green, purple. red. but no more now. . >> we had a major bleach ing event that started in the marshall islands in last fall. it was part of an event developing over time. as warm waters moved into the area around the marshall islands it stressed the corals, and they are in bad shape.

>> reporter: mark is coordinator of reef watch at noah. the national oceanographic and atmospheric group, an expert on the complex ecology of coral. >> coral is interesting. it's animal, vegetable and mineral. >> you have an animal living in the tissues. >> when the temperatures are too high, the corals expel the algae, spit them out and goes from having nice algae and the tissues like you see here, to spitting them out into the water. a few remain. the coral is getting lighter. >> the algae gives the coral its colour. >> most corals turn pure white when they kick the algae out. they literally ripped their guts out to get rid of those in their tissues, and they are starving. it's a very stressful event

as we descend below the waves and begin to explore the reef, there's none of tell-tale patches of white this signified the stress and live coral, what was seen last october. instead, interspersed between colourful gardens of healthy coral, we see skeletal remains, devoid of life, drained the colour, covered with a thick layer of algae. others have begun to collapse and crumble to the sea floor. . >> i fish a lot as well. and one particular morning as i was going out, i saw this line of white in areas where normally there was live coral.

>> reporter: reginald white is chief meteorologist officer. >> when it's a temporary event, coral can regenerate or get back to their normal, you know, life. otherwise, you are seeing the death of the coral at certain levels, certain depths, and that is very alarming for marshall islands. most of the families in the islands in depend on a subsistent economy. this is the food source. >> reporter: so if the coral dies? >> then food sources for many people in the other islands goes with it as well. >> it's the rising ocean temperature that causes the die off to continue. experts worry the results could be disastrous. >> half a million rely on the reef as their primary source of food. >> reporter: scientists use an array of satellites to take the temperatures of the earth's

oceans. what is happening in the marshall islands appears to be growing into a global event. >> the bleaching is in kiribati in the tropical pacific area on the equator. >> reporter: in the months ahead noah predicted they'll hit closer to home. >> we'll see the stress return to hawaii. if this happens, it will be the second time they've had mass coral bleaching. >> reporter: that's twice in two years. >> twice in two years. we are seeing here that the caribbean - the northern caribbean areas, western atlantic, and gulf of mexico, we are looking at chances of bleaching in cuba, bahamas and florida.

as as the ocean's temperature rises, it's taking less and less to tip the earth's coral reefs over the edge. >> this is the third time that we have seen what looks like a global event. >> third time ever. >> third time ever. by around the mid part of the century. as much of 90% of the coral reefs may be seeing the temperatures that can cause coral bleaching every year. >> can they recover? >> when this happens every year, no. >> aiken had a glimpse into a future when he dove to inspect a coral reef during the bleaching of 2010. >> if there is anything that i >> if there is anything that i could wipe from my memory, it's what that reef looked like. you are seeing coral. it's white. everything is white all over. starting looking at the reef, watching the fish. the fish were stunned. some of the corals were dying at that point. the difference between that and a healthy reef was just so off. it was like nothing i had seen before.

and it was heart-breaking. aiken and other scientist say the fate of the earth's reef hinges on talks in paris in december, aiming to keep global warming below 2 degrees celsius. for those depending on the coral reef for livelihood and survival, that hope may be all they have. whether the bigger nations will hear the plea remains to be seen. . >> from sea to the sky. next the firefighters arsenal, the jumbo jet aircrafts and questions about whether they really do much good. and the race to space and its souvenirs next week on the programme. adam may in the atmosphere of astronomical history and the high price of moon swag - that's next week on "america tonight".

on target only on al jazeera america

[ ♪ music ♪ ] >>reporter: with no let up in the west's heatwave. it's been warned that the fire fighting seen is not only starting earlier, and is set to see more blazes and last longer than unusual. last week cal fire california's fire agency responded to over 350 fire fires in the drought strainen state. firefighters are looking skyward for help to contain the wild but there's doubt that it is a strategy that works. >> shock and awe. inside the cockpit of an air national guard c130. the ground warning sounds.

repeatedly. the plane is flying low, and slow. at the aircraft flies head-on into a plume of smoke, ready to unleash a pink cloud of flame retardants. the historic rim fire began in an unremarkable way. in august of 2013, near california's yosemite national park. the pilot eric henderson was in the air that morning, on his way home no groveland california. >> i was at an event in lake tahoe. i saw the fire from the air. 7 o'clock in the morning. it was small. >> but unpredictable. powerful winds. combined with rugged, bone-dry terrain, ignited with a disaster. few of us witnessed the power of a wildfire up close. it's an angry war that is

unmistakable. it's merciless heat unstoppable. >> less heat. >> the rim fire engulfed 100,000 acres. in a matter of days. henderson was forced to flee. >> i packed up my things and thought maybe that's the last time i see her house. i pulled back to my friends roof which we are standing on. >> perched atop a roof, they were helpless to do anything. >> serious business. you can see flames. oh, no. it's less than a mile. very scary, realising that the fire was about to overrun the house. when you are sitting a block away and watching this happen. it's close, within half a mile. hopefully they bring the heavies in to dump this thing.

>> reporter: those big heavies are the largest fixed firefighters in the ordinarily. old dc-10 passenger jets converted into air tankers. >> it's over my house. it will be red. >> oh, my gosh. here it goes. >> it will dump on the house. it will dump on the house. >> what have you condition? >> wow. it's a good thing, honey. >> thank you. >> appreciate your help, honey. >> see you later. >> saving homes one at a time. >> during the rim fire, help came to groveland from 10,000 feet up. we got a closer look at albuquerque, new mexico, home base of the world's only firefighting dc10s.

that plane has to be ready to go in half an hour. >> it could be anyone one, it happens to be number two. i have a crew pre-flighted, we are waiting for a call. >> reporter: this craft is called a game changer. how does it change the game for firefighters? >> primarily it's quantity. this is a four or more times any other tanker flying, and therefore gets there with more sooner, and that's a good thing. i've never had an incident commander running a fire, tell me that we got in too soon, and we brought too much. >> what about a home owner. >> they say that had the tool or weapon not been available, the outcome would have been worse. >> go, baby. >> when the d.c. 10 comes in. >> it comes in once every hour and a half or so to drop the pay load. >> taking it back. >> yes. >> like that. we like our big friend. >> in groveland the big friend gets the credit. after decades of air drops, some experts doubt aerial

firefighting works. >> they are having researchers with trained firefighters going out after the drops occurred, to see how effective they are. honestly, people are not sure, even though they have done this for 20, 30, 40 years. >> reporter: at the university calve consider berkeley, researcher bill stuart said we should look at firefighting, tv friendly cnn drops, to see if it is worth it. >> when things are hot, there'll be an updraft of hot air, it will be hard for light material, retardant or water to get on to put out the flames. >> it's an expensive fight. aerial assaults cost nearly $11 million, more than 10%. of the $95 million spent on nine week long firefight. stewart says not only are there questions about the effectiveness of the tankers,

but a better investment may be made in more and better equipped boots on the ground. >> maintaining fire safety is the number one priority. there's a question of whether when we invest the next 10 million, how much of that will go to aerial suppression, how much will go to fuel management, and ground pressure. >> in the aftermath of the fire, the forest fire spent $134 million on rehabilitation, and trying to clampdown on fuel before the next fire. it estimates it will have to double the figure to restore the vulnerable woodland. bill says his goal is no to ground the firefighters, but make sure resources are available to protect against future fires. >> there's a choice of where we invest. we'll have big fires for a long time in the west. it's not during the weather to say no, you can't nigh the air

plane, but over a decade, where should be able to put the best investments. >> this fire season the first study of evidence is being launched that aerial firefighting is or is not effective. on board the d.c. 10 tanker the pilot says for communities in the path of a raging wildfire, there's no better protection. people say there's a more cost effective way to do this. >> i say to those people, show us what is cost effective. i don't know any other way of putting out the amount of retardant that aircraft do. >> the evidence is here. in the fast-moving rim fire, walls of flames went through, over the canyon, that was scarred, blackened and buried. >> under two minutes. 300 feet flames. i don't know how we stop that.

with a ground crew without killing the ground crew. >> the giant dc-10 danger, filled with 10 times retardant brought badly needed help in, fast. to home owners in the path of the flames, there's no doubt. >> if the dc-10 wouldn't have come in here. they would have been lit. i don't know how they would have stap stopped that, it would have been an aftermath, an afterthought. a clean-up. we'll see ma what this season brings. that's "america tonight". tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight talk to us on twitter and come back for more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

>> this is techknow, a show about innovations that can change lives. >> the science of fighting a wild fire. >> we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity but we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. tonight: trash. it's everywhere. >> what's the out put of this facility? >> landfills overflowing. >> it just smells so bad. >> but some of our trash ... ... could be recycled. >> why isn't it being done more? >> now techknow investigates: