spotlight on the power of art to challenge authority. plenty more stories for you any time on our website. the address is aljazeera.com. and don't forget you can watch us by clicking on the watch now icon. aljazeera.com. # at least 23,000 people forced from their homes in northern california as wild fires tear through. now they can only hope their home is still standing. migrants still stranded as hungary closes borders and declares a state of emergency plus, the message these women want to deliver to the pope, the leader of the roman catholic church.

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. scenes of devastation today in california where raging wild fires are burning up even more land with no sign of stopping. 23,000 people slept in emergency shelters last night. 700 homes destroyed. three major fires tearing through residential areas to the north and east of san francisco at a pace firefighters have never seen before they say. >>reporter: breakfast served at an evacuation center. this one at the county fairgrounds. most residents are not allowed back into town. many people here don't know if their home survived the fire or not so they're waiting. but not donald wood who saw his business go down in flames.

>> have $10 in my wallet. put it in the tank when i got here. last money i had. other than that, my shop went down in, like, five minutes. >>reporter: our team tracked down what remained of his business, an auto body shop. absolutely nothing salvageable in this rubble. >> it's time for a new beginning. fresh start. clean slate. got to rebuild life. >>reporter: residents have shown incredible resilience. >> they say the good lord won't give us anything we can't handle but somedays i wonder. but you have your family and that's all really that is truly important. >>reporter: sterling fair also knows he lost his home because it made front page news. >> open up the paper in morning and find our home in the paper and i know i can identify things in it and looks like it's gone but, you know, you have choices

in life. we'll move on. >>reporter: his rv is now the only home he and his wife have. >> yeah, i'm laughing, cry, i cry, laugh. i'm shocked. >>reporter: this used to be an apartment complex and you can tell because every few feet is an air conditioner unit. i'm standing under what used to be the parking lot awning. witnesses say in parts of middletown the fire swept through in just 20 minutes. >> in this particular case, it was simply moving so fast that i think there was very little anticipation of how fast it would hit these residential areas and there wasn't enough time to get the orders out and get the sheriffs involved. >>reporter: this year, firefighters have responded to over 7,000 wild fires destroying 650,000 acres. they tell us that's nearly 1,600 times what is normal. middletown has become the

summer's most ravaged symbol of the state's most relentless fire season. >> we're all fighting together and it's -- everybody is just gelling. i haven't seen any bad attitudes. nobody's complained. it's not only people who need help. >> there's no one to feed the animals so we want to just make sure they're all right and provide them with feed and water and make sure that none are injured or wounded. >>reporter: everyone it seems has come together. a battered town already working towards recovery even as the valley fire continues roaring just one hill away barely contained. earlier we spoke with the chief who is the director of the california forestry and fire

protection. he described his team's strategy for fighting the fires and keeping residents safe. >>reporter: these fires are burning at explosive rates. they're spotting way ahead of the fire. residents barely have time to get out so we're encouraging everyone to heed evacuation orders quickly so we can get resources in and fight these fires. it's the nature of these fires when a fire grows 10,000 acres in an hour there's very little time for notice. four years of doubt. mean temperatures increase. these are all conditions changing and we have to respond to it both in preparing firefighters and responding but also in treating vegetation in our land use planning to assure our structures as we rebuild against wild fire. >> the chief expects the number of evacuations to increase over the next several days since the fires are nowhere near contained a search is underway in

southern utah for five people swept away by flash floods right now. crews are working with shovels and bulldozers digging their way through mud to try and find the missing. at least eight people were killed when heavy rains hit the town on the utah, arizona border. two cars filled with women and children were carried away. several others were rescued after being trapped in their cars by rising waters. >> the chairman of if european union will decide later this week whether to call an emergency meeting of eu leaders on the refugee crisis. hungary plans to charge refugees under new laws. still, several tried desperately tried to enter territory in hungary. others complain about how they're not being given food or water. a statement of emergency is now

in effect in hungary. al jazeera is there. >>reporter: hungary has now imposed a state of crisis for two counties in the country including where we are now to better deal with the influx of refugees. this is the border, the unofficial border crossing with serbia where so many thousands have been passing the past few days. the border has been sealed as the country promised to do. right here you see a railroad car that's been out fitted with razor wire. this was moved in yesterday evening to fill in this gap in the fence in which over the railroad tracks refugees crossed over. behind me is the railroad track. about 3 kilometers from here is where they were crossing. they were very concerned yesterday about if they could get into hungary before the border was sealed.

since that happened, many have come up here. we've seen dozens today. they get redirected. they walk through this field along a path about 2 kilometers down the road and try to get into an official border crossing but farce what we know today, hundreds of refugees are at that official border crossing being denied crossing. their pleas are being denied. the united nations says it needs more funding to deal with the refugee crisis. the u.n.'s world food program says it's received only 40% of the money it needs this year meaning a third of the refugees living in those countries around syria are surviving on less than $0.50 a day. another 360,000 refugees in jordan and lebanon have received no u.n. food assistance since august. they're asking for another $330 million to provide full

assistance to refugees and displaced syrians until the end of the year all this week, al jazeera america is focusing on refugees in europe and in the u.s. new jersey is home to the largest syrian-american community in the country. there are still worries far away from a war zone. >> i don't want what happened to us to happen again to anyone else. >>reporter: 11-year-old resettled in new jersey six weeks ago with her parents and two siblings. they spent two and a half years in a refugee camp in jordan after fleeing the war in syria. >> thank god after that period of time i was able to bring them back to a normal life. thank god america is a safe place. >>reporter: his wife did not want to appear on camera because she's afraid of the safety of her relatives in damascus. they're quickly building a new life in the u.s.

the children are in school. mohammed is working in construction. but the separation from family members is taking a toll if the. >> we wish we had our grandmother with us, all of our family. >> her grandmother, her aunts are still in jordan and we hope that we can bring them over together. >>reporter: mohammed says he can tell his children they don't have to be scared anymore. >> the ghost of fear that was following us in syria does not exist anymore. thank god. senate republicans will try again today to advance a resolution rejecting the iran nuclear deal but democrats are confident they have enough votes as they did last week to prevent the measure from reaching president obama's desk.

the kremlin is calling on the obama administration to work with it to end the crisis in syria but the u.s. is accusing russia of making the situation worse by sending aid to al assad. vladimir putin claims it is to help him fight isil. >>reporter: it appears russia is building a guard operating base in western syria. how does it know that? it has a lot of aerial surveillance flying over syria and they can see the russian tanks, antiaircraft missiles and artillery being put in place to protect the base. not to mention the almost nonstop flow of massive russian cargo planes flying over iraq and iran to get to the base in syria but the main way the u.s. knows is that russia is not hiding it. russian news agencies have quoted saying the build up is not just weapons and equipment

but also russian military specialists to train the syrians how to use the equipment. the state department seems willing to take him at his word. >> we have no reason to doubt what he's saying in terms of the acknowledgment that they're continuing to provide military support and equipment. so that i think we're taking on face value their claims about what they're doing. the ultimate intent and goal i think still is a little uncertai >>reporter: on capitol hill john mccaine said that russian president putin is capitalizing on u.s. inaction saying it's another example of how this administration's foreign policy has 'em bodened our adversaries and diminished our standing in the world. but the u.s. seems content with

a policy of watchful waiting and last week president obama said putin is playing a dangerous game. >> the russians are going to have to start getting a little smarter than they have been because they are threatened in many ways more than we are by isil. they've got large muslim populations that historically have caused a lot of problems inside of russia and the strategy that they're pursuing right now doubling down on assad right now is a big mistake. >>reporter: so far only the half dozen or so russian tanks and some sa 22 antiaircraft missiles have arrived at the base. the united states has warned moscow that by propping up the al assad regime, it risks making even more unstable an already unstable situation but moscow says it's not doing anything new, simply supporting its long-time ally in the region.

for a third day in a row, israeli police clashed with protesters at jerusalem's most sensitive religious site. >>reporter: it began early morning tuesday. police wanted to arrest people that stayed in the mosque overnight. rocks were thrown, gre nayeds fired. those inside the mosque built barricades inside the door. at least two dozen palestinians were injured. intense fighting in the early morning hours is a pattern and

clean up afterward and then relative calm but neither that calm there is deep, underlying tension. hard line israelis want jews to be allowed to pray on the plaza of the mosque itself. something banned since the 1967 war which saw israel capture east jerusalem. muslims say this would provoke further tension and violence. jordon has a peace treaty with israel and say it will affect the relationship between the two countries. there will be an emergency israeli security cabinet meeting late tuesday evening to discuss the latest situation. north korea says work has resumed at plants that make fuel for atomic bombs. they say they're ready to use nuclear weapons against the u.s. and other countries if they continue their, quote, reckless policy towards the north. north korean officials say they're ready to launch long

range missiles to mark the ruling party's anniversary next month. 100 women have 100 reasons for walking 100 miles. next in our news casualty, why the women are pounding the pavement to get the pope's attention. attention.

>> there's a line of police advancing toward the crowd here. >> ferguson: city under siege. >> it isn't easy to talk openly on this base. >> and america's war workers. >> it's human trafficking. >> watch these and other episodes online now at aljazeera.com/faultlines.

a tentative deal has been reached to end the week-long teacher's strike in seattle. teachers plan to stay on the picket lines until the agreement is approved. teachers have been at odds with the district over pay and evaluations. the district hopes to reopen schools by thursday. 100 women are now on a walk they say will take them to washington d.c. just as the pope arrives for his u.s. visit. the women set off a short time ago from a detention center in york, pennsylvania. they will end their journey on tuesday near the white house. the group wants to get the pope's attention over immigration reform. >>reporter: this is a pretty ambitious march. 100 women walking 100 miles in a week all for immigration reform. it's called the women's pilgrimage for migrant justice. they're timing their march to coincide with the pope's historic visit to the united

states next week. they hope to arrive in washington d.c. the day before the pope visits and with them, they hope to find a sympathetic ear and a much larger voice. the pope is already one to embrace these types of causes all over the world and the united states. he's going to be addressing congress, the first time a pope has ever spoken to a u.s. congress and immigration is one of the many issues he's expected to address. so these women are now marching. they began at a detention center here in rural pennsylvania a place where a lot of undocumented workers are sent before they are deported. some women have loved ones in this jail and some of these women are undocumented. for many, this is a symbolish journey, one -- symbolic journey that represents how far they've

gone and how far they need to go >> when the pope makes his trip to the u.s. next week, he'll deliver most of his speeches in spanish. he says he's been practicing english all summer but will only deliver four of his 18 addresses in english. the pope finds it easier to communicate in spanish. the pope has replaced a missouri bishop convicted of failing to report a suspected child abuser. robert fynn had been overs overseeing -- prosecutors say fynn did not notify police until six months after concerns were raised over his conduct. it has been almost three weeks since a tv reporter in virginia murdered two former colleagues on live tv. on monday, the boyfriend of the murdered wdbj reporter returned

to the anchor chair. she and i fell in love here in the news room as we fondly watched each other care about our communities and make them better and safer. that's what drove her as she came into your home every morning. don't forget their love. >> that was chris hurst. allison parker's father remains vigilant about using the deaths of his daughter as a catalyst to change gun control laws. he told al jazeera he is in it for the long haul. >> this is what keeps me going. it's what keeps me focused because when i have those quiet moments by myself, i find myself just slipping into a dark place because my daughter that i talked to every single day, i can't talk to anymore and this is what keeps me going and she really had it all. i always said that she got her brains and beauty and poise from her mom and she got that

competitive spirit from me and i know that, you know, she knows that i don't like to lose and i'm not going to lose this fight because she's right here saying, dad, you go, you do it, you do it for me and that's what i'm doing. >> parker says since thousands saw the killing live on television and millions more watched the video afterwards, he is hopeful the deaths will have an impact on the gun control debate. fighting to stop climate change. next on al jazeera america, what two world powers are doing to reduce the world's green house gases. gases.

>> four brands of cigarettes are being ordered off the shelves today by the fda. they're all made by rj reynolds. they all require more testing for safety. new evidence today of the climate issues affecting california. the sierra nevada snow pack is believed to be at its lowest level in 500 years. usually it's 5.5 feet high this time of year. it helps refill aquafers underground instead of rain which refills lakes and rivers.

climate change is a global issue, local issues are the focus of the climate change summit. >>reporter: from wild fires whipping across the state to bone dry river beds, california has seen the extreme effects of global warming this summer. in los angeles, long considered the smog capital of the u.s., matt peterson says there's new urgency to combat climate change. >> we need to be the leaders here in california on the phone how we're going to fight climate change. >>reporter: he stands on the front lines of that fight. he's part of los angeles's aggressive push to slash emissions by 80% over the next 85 years. >> it's an ambitious goal. >> it is but we really have to set ambitious targets and figure out how to hit those marks along

the path along the way. >>reporter: the mayor will help lead that discussion at the first u.s.-china climate summit. local leaders will gather here to spell out their city's plans to reduce green house gas emissions. combined, the u.s. and china are responsible for half the world's carb carbon dioxide emissions. peterson says this summit will be the first step in making good on president obama and the chinese president's promise. >> why is it so important for city leaders to be involved in the process? >> we know cities are responsible for up to 70% of green house gas emissions in the world. cities are where the solutions to climate change are happening. we'll see from this summit that mayors and cities are setting targets ahead of their national

governments. >>reporter: los angeles has reduced water usage by roughly a quarter and reduced reliance on coal fired power plants. all efforts peterson hopes will inspire chinese cities to step up their commitments to climate change. the u.s. navy is changing procedures used in training exercises to try and protect whales and dolphins. in an agreement, the navy says it will limit the use of sonar and explosives explosives around california and hawaii. thanks for joining us. the news continues next live from london. and, remember, for the latest headlines, you can go to our website at al jazeera.com. l jazeera.com.

>> the crack down on the finlandle construction group. partly blaming the firm for friday's crane collapse in mecca. >> this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. >> stopped at the border, hundreds of refugees stuck in serbia. as hungary closing the crossing into the european union. dozens injured as israeli forces storm the mosque in jerusalem. and could this be the foundation for a drug free treatment for motion sickness?