so, you know, at some point we have to say we should do what is right, you know, rather than just what is easy. breakingover overnight, 19 informs dead. the latest in moments. the record breaking heat wave turns deadly. unbelievable temperatures in some places. will they get a break this morning? s car show mayhem. spectators sent flying when a driver loses control. the story behind this amazing video, next. good morning, welcome to early start. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. we begin with breaking news.

19 firefighters killed, battling an out of control blaze in arizona. this is the biggest loss of life since september 11, 2001. the fire has grown to 6,000 acres. it is clearly deadly and dangerous. authorities believe it began with a lightning strike. it is fueled with gusting winds. we are getting information piece by piece here. what can you tell us about the firefighters and what can you tell us about how they died? >> reporter: john, i can tell you this is an extraordinary loss for prescott and firefighters across this country, especially those who have to battle the wildfires in this extraordinary weather. this is an elite squad. they are called the hot shots.

why? because they earned that name. they go close to the fire, act as a barrier and try to stop the flames in their tracks. the fire chief came out and made the announcement to reporters. here is what he said. >> the 19 firefighters were killed in what is probably the worst disaster that has taken place in wildland history in the state of arizona. >> you can just hear the grief. it's very difficult for the firefighters who have already had an incredible year to deal with this. something else we should mention, john, these firefighters were found having deployed the fire shelters. if you cover the fires, they are deployed as a means of last resort meaning they knew the fire was coming. it was about to overtake them and they were trying to save

their lives. john? >> we toss around the term hero so easily. these people, clearly such heroes fighting the fire that seems to be exploding in size and intensity. what is driving this and what is the situation on the ground right now? >> reporter: i can tell you standing here, it is the incredible winds. i mean the winds have been ferocious for a short period of time. the phoenix airport had to be shut down because of the wind. you have incredible winds. you have this fuel out here. it is drought conditions and then you have lightning storms. it is a triple threat here, very frightening for the firefighters as well as the residents who live throughout the southwest. >> they are dealing with this fire at the same time. they are dealing with this tragedy, this tragic loss of life, 19 firefighters killed. the worst loss of life for firefighters since 9/11. do you have a sense of what the

mood is on the ground? >> reporter: well you heard it from the fire chief. the grief is really difficult for all the firefighters here. the reason why is because these are the best of the best. these fire crews, the hot shots, they are deployed, the best trained. they are deployed on their own and go out there with tact and spend days trying to create that break, that fire break, that barrier so the other fire crews can get a handle on it to create, that contain the circle we talk ability. when you lose the top tier, the very best, you can imagine what kind of impact that has on all the firefighters dealing with the wildfires. >> the best of the best. 19 lost. we'll let you get back to reporting and check back with you in a little bit. thanks for being with us. the heat is not helping that arizona firefighter record.

baking in the southwest, no end in sight. in one of the hottest places on earth, they haven't seen this kind of heat in almost a century. cnn has more. >> reporter: a deadly heat wave from texas to the western sea board. >> it's too hot. >> reporter: scorching through southern california where a hiker died and in arizona where a firefighter was taken to the hospital for dehydration. the sweltering temps may be to blame for the death of an elderly las vegas man. it's affected flights in arizona and california where dozens of small planes were grounded. >> when it's 110 to 115 degrees, the air is thinner. the thinner the air, the less lift on the airplane. >> reporter: animals are feeling the burn. at the houston zoo, monkeys turn to popsicles. in death valley, the wind is like a hair drier rather than a cool breeze.

the high sunday was -- >> 128. >> reporter: tourists are flocking at the chance to witness record breaking temps. describe how you are feeling? >> very hot. >> reporter: it's not too hot to handle. they put the phrase, hot enough to fry an egg to the test. >> it's not too bad. >> did you eat that? >> i did. it's not bad. >> reporter: the west coast t n turned into a life-like oven. >> how uncomfortable that must be. how long will it last? indra petersons is here. >> i want to explain what a dome of high pressure is. you have a dome blocking out the other weather. we have two, one in the west producing the radical fire danger. on the east, it's helping all the moisture and record rainfall in the east. let's talk about the dome of high pressure in the west.

itis sinking air. the stagnant air making the temperatures soar. the next several days we are talking the record heat. a good 15 degrees above average in many places. we are not seeing much in the way of relief. by the second half of the week, the temperatures should come down. on the east, record rainfall for the month of june. we are talking ten inches of rain in many places. what's going on there? i'll show you, very easy to see. the other dome of high pressure is hanging out around bermuda. it fuels all the moisture up the eastern sea board and continues to do so. as long as it stays there and doesn't allow the low to move in, we continue to see the pattern. flooding is still a threat here. both weather patterns are stagnant, not moving. >> we have to get through the first half of this week for relief. >> thanks so much. nelson mandela still in

critical, but stable condition in a hospital in pretoria this morning. he's alert and does recognize visitors. he's still on life support. president obama spent and emotional weekend in south africa. he did meet with mandela's family and visited robben island where he was held prisoner for so many jere years. president obama is on his way to visit tanzania. >> reporter: as you said, we are ready and waiting for president obama here. he is expected to land a little later in the afternoon and he will be heading into a joint press conference with the tanzania president. what this trip has really been about. from there, he will host a business forum bringing together

local partners with the u.s. businessmen have come along with him on this trip. president obama has made very clear this trip, for him, is about expanding those investment opportunities for u.s. business. he needs to do that. three years ago, in 2009, china surpassed the u.s. as china's individual trading partner. since then, the u.s. has been playing catch up and given the demographics, the consumer orr yen at a timed class. president obama wants america to step up its game in africa and not be left out when it comes to taking advantage of the opportunities this continent presents. >> there are two u.s. president's visits. george w. bush and his wife. michelle obama and laura bush will take part in an event. will the presidents, george w.

bush and president obama meet there? >> reporter: at the moment, we don't have any expectation of that. they have been having very different schedules. george w. bush is heading to east africa. it's interesting they are here at the same time. when you speak to the people in tanzania and across the continent, you would expect the people would be a lot more optimistic and enthusiastic speaking of president obama. actually, a lot of people here feel that george w. bush has done a lot more for that continent. it's interesting timing they are here at the same time. >> thank you. appreciate it. new allegations about the nsas spying program. a german news magazine reporting the u.s. bugged european government offices and infiltrated eu networks in

washington and at the u.n. those revelations in nsa documents leaked. the parliament asking for a full clarification from the obama administration. snowden is hold up in moscow and may not be leaving anytime soon. ecuador will not take action until snowden arrives on soil or at one of their embassies. the president of ecuador says it's up to russia to decide what happens next. vladimir putin called for snowden to leave the country. his american passport has been revoked. he has not asked for a travel visa elsewhere. a new future in politics for wikileaks founder julian assange. he's planning a run for the australian senate. the wrinkle? he's not in australia. he spent the last year living in

ecuador trying to avoid going to sweden. he grew up in australia but hasn't been back since 2010. scary moments at a car show in poland. look at this. >> oh, my. >> awful. that swedish luxury car skidded into the crowd that was lined up to watch. some 17 people hurt. none of the injuries are said to be life threatening which is amazing. the accident is under investigation. that is so scary. the people were so close to that track. it seems like an epically bad idea. again, no life threatening injuries. 12 minutes after the hour. coming up, a huge morning in court. george zimmerman, in his own words, telling police what happened the day he was shot and killed. sorry, the day he shot and killed trayvon martin. will the jury get to hear it? it's coming up next. [ male announcer ] zzzquil.

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>> welcome back, everyone. a crucial moment in stanford, florida. george zimmerman, in his own words. a judge is set to decide whether the jury can hear statements he gave to police. this may shed light over what happened the night trayvon martin died. >> all i could think about is when he was hitting my head, it felt like it was going explode. >> reporter: it's george zimmerman walking investigators through the incident less than 24 hours after shooting and killing trayvon martin. this video, along with two audio and a written statement given to police. if the judge allows it in court, the jury could examine zimmerman's demeanor and inconsistencies in his statements.

prosecutors are expected to call on more witnesses including the investigators from the sanford police department. they found george zimmerman acted in self-defense. jurors ended the week on day five hearing from the only eyewitness to the struggle between zimmerman and martin. he saw two people on the ground. the person on top was wearing darker clothes. the man under seemed to have a lighter complexion like george zimmerman. >> what you saw was the person on top in an mma straddle type position, correct? >> correct. >> good's testimony is important to the defense because it contradicts the testimony of two key witnesses for the state. selma moor heard yelling, stepped out of the home and saw a man, who appeared to be george zimmerman on top. >> the person on top did not respond to the first two times that you called to him, correct?

and the third time he said, just call the police? >> correct. >> another important witness for prosecutors, rachel jeantel on the phone with martin moments before he was killed. over four hours of questioning, she maintained it was george zimmerman who was the aggressor. >> i thought you said it could have been, for all you know, trayvon martin smashing george zimmerman in the face is what you heard? >> what? >> yeah, just earlier today. >> by who? >> by you. >> you were get thag from me? >> reporter: george howell, cnn, sanford, florida. aaron hernandez has been a model inmate since his arrest since orchestrating the execution style killing of odin lloyd. three other people are in custody as possible accomplices. his former team, new england

patriots can turn in their jerseys for a new patriots jersey. >> i know a lot of families doing that. police in florida in -- called 911 to say he was being followed by a man with a gun. they heard a series of shots. it's not clear what may have provoked the shooting. coming up, student loan rates doubled. what it will cost students struggling with tuition to go college. >> a lot. >> a lot more. have a good night. here you go. you, too. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? oh, yeah. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ wife ] sorry.

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welcome back, everyone. a hot, steamy, overcast morning in new york city where it's been sticky and rainy the last few days. >> it is the first day of the second half of the year. >> welcome. >> half of it is over. welcome back to "early start." it's money time. stocks futures higher despite a weakness in china. weaker than expected growth in the second quarter. as i said, it's the first day of the second half of the year. the dow had the best half since 1999. up, 13%. the dow last week rose shy of

1%. the nasdaq was up 1.4%, s&p 500 up.9%. the best first half of the year for the dow since 1999. students this morning are being told to prepare for worst, hope for the best. the rate on student loans doubles today from 3.4% to 6.8%. congress unable to reach a compromise. after the july 4th recess, lawmakers could come up with a plan retroactive to july 1st. there are 7 million students it affects. it would add $4,500 to the cost of a four-year degree. this is a time when students are struggling. the average student now owes $27,000 in loans when they have finished college. one in eight has more than 50 grand. one in eight. >> what could go wrong here? >> this is congress not being

able to fix it. this is going to affect 7 million students when they take out new loans. to housing news, this week, hundreds of thousands of struggling borrowers who are at least 90 days behind will look at lowering their payments. first time, this is really important. that part of the fixing that part of the mortgage problem. now, this is another part of the housing story to tell you ability. first time home buyers are not participating as home sales are rising. in may, fers time buyers are 28% of home purchase, down 34% from a year ago and 36% from two years ago. i keep telling you about the happy housing news, but first time home buyers are not part of it. you would like to see more first time home buyers take advantage

of it. >> thank you so much. coming up, this is a terrifying story, a child kidnapped, snatched from her mothers cart inside a walmart, then held at knife point. it is all caught on camera. we'll tell you the story, next. the first time i saw a sony 4k tv, it was like opening my eyes. it's four times the detail of hd. colors become richer. details beme clearer. which for a filmmaker, changes everything. because now there are no more barriers between the world that i see and the ones i can show you. the sony 4k ultra hd tv. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting

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breaking news overnight. deadly fire fight. 19 firefighters killed. 19, battling an arizona wildfire. this morning, the flames still

out of control. we are live on the scene. a child snatched from her mothers shopping cart, then held at knife point as this plays out on surveillance video. a cirque du soleil performer plummets to her death. this morning, the big question, how on earth did this happen? welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. we would like to welcome viewers on cnn international as well as the viewers here in the u.s. 30 minutes after the hour. breaking news this morning. tragedy on the fire lines in arizona. 19 members of an elite fire crew died. it destroyed dozens of structures. the fast spreading blaze was started by a lightning strike. kim is live in prescott,

arizona. what can you tell us about this elite crew, 19 firefighters, caught, trapped and killed. what can you tell us about what happened? >> caller: this was something that simply overtook this squad. this is an elite squad. they are called the hot shots. this is a squad that is based here in prescott. prescott is their home. what they are doing is trying to get close to the fire that's what hot shot crews do. they get up and next to the fire to try to create a barrier to save lives. here is what the fire chief told reporters a short time ago. >> the families are in terrible shock. fire departments are like families and so the entire fire department, the entire area, the entire state is being devastated by the magnitude of this incident. >> caller: the reason why they feel that so fiercely is because these are the best of the best.

they are trained to do this. they are the ones you send off and expect them to come back. one other thing, christine, is we have heard that they deployed the fire shelters. they were found under their individual fire shelters. firefighters carry the shelters. the reason they deploy them is they fear it will overtake them. they were deployed and they just didn't make it. we heard from the incident commander saying, basically, what they were going through throughout the night, this is an incredible monsoon wind conditions with an area that is not burned in 40 years. extremely tough conditions and very, very tough for firefighters. >> every one of the worst ingredients for a deadly fire. every one of those ingredients right now. it seems to be exploding in size and intensity. what is happening now in terms of fighting this fire? >> caller: what they are trying

to do is, the word is now try to make sure that their firefighters are paying attention to the conditions. that people are paying attention to the conditions because they are simply deadly out here. in the words of the xander, every single person does come home. they are trying to build a containment line, trying to build a circle around it. fire crews are still out here and going to be fighting this fire because that's what firefighters do. >> and they are grieving at the same time. overnight, we have been reaching out and talking to officials there, all of them are shaken by what's happened. real hard to try to do this job. they are doing it at the same time you have lost 19 firefighters, the worst loss of life in fire fighting since september 11, 2001. thank you so much. so sad, john. >> meanwhile, president obama issued a statement calling the firefighters heroes who

self-lessly put their lives in harms way for people they will never meet. we join americans in sending thoughts and prayers to families of the brave firefighters and all whose lives have been up d ended by this terrible tragedy. >> the heat is expected to last until midweek. >> whoa. >> las vegas hit 117 degrees sunday. 119 in phoenix over the weekend. that's the highest in years. >> death valley, california hit 128 degrees for a second straight day sunday. they could sure use some of this water out west. in north carolina, emergency responders had to help people from flooded out cars. nearly half that state under a flash flood watch. >> floods there and deadly heat out west.

indra petersons is here tracking the deadly weather. >> these two huge domes of high pressure, which you are watching are the domes blocking out the weather that is trying to move in as long as the pattern stays, we are going to deal with the two patterns, one being the heat out west and the rain on the east coast. the dome of high pressure means sinking air. that stagnant, high heat. we are looking at low humidity and drought conditions. the fueling to the fire danger. temperatures above normal. the huge dome of high pressure really meaning the temperatures are record breaking. no relief for several days. the end of the week for relief as far as the temperatures. east coast, record rain for june. well over ten inches up and down the eastern sea board. the dome of high pressure continues to pull in all the moisture up and down the east coast. flooding threats continue. more rain expected on the east

coast as well. >> thanks so much. appreciate it. the thought of this next story will terrify any parent. you are shopping at the local supermarket when your child is snatched out of your shopping cart. it plays out in dramatic surveillance video. pamela brown reports, it unfolded at an oklahoma city walmart. >> reporter: store surveillance shows a mom wearing a white shirt shopping with two daughters. seconds later, this stranger reaches in and grabs her 2-year-old little girl from the shopping cart. her stunned 12-year-old sister watches in horror. the man hands his cell phone to the girl's mother and demands she call a police officer he knows in dallas, texas. all holding a knife to the little girl's stomach. frightened shoppers call 911. >> he took a kid and we need police here immediately. >> there's someone with a knife

holding a little girl hostage. >> you could see the knife and the baby and the momma. >> reporter: this pastor watched the scene unfold and blocked him with his cart until police arrived. >> if he came by direction, he had to come through me. >> reporter: s.w.a.t. teams evacuated the building and two police officers begin to negotiate. it's not working. wallace was not responding coherently. he was acting unstable and making unreasonable demands. afraid for the child's safety, they moved the mother and older daughter to the front of the store. wallace starts counting down from 60 threatening to harm the child, moving the knife to her neck as she starts to squirm. while one negotiator distracts him, another goes up and shoots him point-blank. >> he knew, if he was going to take the shot, he had one chance. he made sure he was at

point-blank distance. >> what a story. in washington, the focus is on the house of representatives as they look at an immigration bill. they plan a closed door meeting next week. john boehner said he won't call for a vote unless the majority of republicans can support it. at least one top ranking gop said they plan to write their own version of the bill. chuck schumer thinks the plan that will legalize undocumented workers will pass both houses by the end of the year. the u.s. and great britain issuing travel warnings against going to egypt. this is amid an antigovernment protest. hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated on the first anniversary of morsi's inauguration. officials say at least three

people were killed, 174 injured in clashes on sunday. the protesters giving morsi until tomorrow to step down or they will begin a campaign of civil disobedience. morsi says he's staying in office. this is an extremely tense situation there. in brazil, police clash with protesters at a soccer match. the demonstrators more than 5,000 strong are venting their anger over the billions being spent on sporting events rather than public services. they will host the world cup, then the olympics. >> they did win and they are protesting. a terrific game. 39 minutes after the hour. we all marvels at cirque du soleil. this weekend, something went terribly wrong and a performer is dead. now that show has been put on hold. dan simon reports, there are still many questions.

>> reporter: it's an edge of your seat show that features an array of acrobatics, pyrotechniques and larger than life sets. they are highly skilled and trained. an accident on saturday night claimed the life of a 39-year-old performer. she was featured in this cabaret show died at the performance of ka in las vegas. she was being hoisted above a vertical stage like this one when the acrobat fell into the hollow pit. some thought it was part of the show until they heard screams from the stage. >> you could hear people crying and all the actors were basically looking down. a mother of two pictured here taught physical fitness to kids.

in a statement, cirque du soleil said i am heart broken. we are all completely devastated with this news. the accident is an unfortunate reminder of the dangers of performing in high flying shows. just last week, a performer in the michael jackson one suffered a concussion after falling from a rope. in 2010, a stunt man fell 30 feet off the stage in the broadway production of "spiderman." he suffered numerous injuries, a fractured skull, broken ribs and broken vertebra. dan simon, cnn, las vegas. coming up, a form eer cirqu du soleil will be on. how the pilot pulled this off. >> they didn't get wet.

they didn't get wet after landing in there. this had to be a future olympian. a 16-month-old baby swimming across the pool. look at that. >> that's the next michael phelps. >> 16 months old. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock?

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so, this was not the trip that a group of tourists visiting new york city was expecting. their helicopter made an emergency landing in the hudson river. they were on a sightseeing tour when they lost power to the engine. he sat it down in the river with the pontoons inflated. everyone is said to be okay with minor injuries. they didn't even get wet. all right, what do you make of this? this little baby did get wet. 16-month-old baby swimming across the pool? >> that's crazy. >> as a former life guard and a mother of babies, i want to jump

in and get that baby out of there. she was trained by professional instructors and insists you should not put your child in the pool unless they are trained to swim. this is a way to ensure they do not drown. this baby can swim across the pool. if she gets tired or distressed, she rolls over and takes a breath. look at her go. >> amazings to see, but it's still terrifies me. let's see what's coming up on new day. >> busy, tragic morning. >> it is. good morning to both of you. >> it's a tough day. we are going to look at what's happening with the fires. 2,000 acres. 19 firefighters lost. it's the worst we have had since the '20s or '30s. what went wrong. who the hot shots are, what their task is and what happened in this fire. of course, barely under control. we'll be there live on the scene with the latest.

we are looking at week two of the george zimmerman trial kicking off in a few hours. we are going to dig deeper on what to expect this week. what witnesses the prosecution will be calling and more about this, what you are seeing here. this is a re-enactment from george zimmerman. will it be made evidence in court and what role will it play? a critical week we are entering from the george zimmerman trial. we will talk to our legal experts about this. george w. bush is in africa to help fight cancer. we spoke with him and got exclusive information from him about what he thinks about our nsa leak situation and our national security situation. so, we'll be having that from him this morning coming up on "new day." >> we are not heard from him on those subjects so that should be fascinating and the breaking news about the fires. chris, kate, thanks so much. >> thanks, guys.

coming up here, scramble in the nba. free agents being courted left and right and all eyes, for some reason, on all-star center, dwight howard. will he leave the lakers? this mornings bleacher report, next. ♪ oh. ♪ [ female announcer ] stress sweat smells the worst. and secret clinical strength gives you four times the protection against it. secret clinical strength.

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so let the bidding begin. nba free agency kicked off a few hours ago. teams are lining up to make their pitch to dwight howard. a lot of teams seem to want him. andy is here with more in the bleacher report. what's up? >> good morning. it looks like the sweep stakes is going to be a five-team race. the rockets are the first team out of the gate. hakeem and james harden met with howard last night in l.a. when

free agency began. howard is expected to meet with warriors and lakers. lakers are going last, per their request. they put up billboards that he stay d-12. the who he signs with will be based on the team's ability to win championships. golf may have their own version of tiger woods. park won the 68th women's open over the weekend becoming the second woman's golfer ever to win the first three championships of the season. park will try to do what only mickey right and tiger did is win four consecutive majors. next up is the open in august. we saw a major crash at the second stage of the tour de france. a little dog ran on to the street. this guy is going to try to save him, luckily before this group

of riders come in, the dog saw what was coming and ran to safety. the atlanta braves hosted members of the military as part of the tribute. first lieutenant castro just got back from afghanistan nine days ago. his girlfriend thought they were the lucky ones to be interviewed in the stands, but he surprised her with the old marriage propos proposal. got down on one knee and of course she said yes. congratulations to them. he gets the punch in the chest, but a yes. a good combination. anything for love. >> no problem. jennifer lopez saying i'm sorry. why a happy birthday performance is sparking controversy. ♪ (annoucer) new beneful medley's, in tuscan, romana, and mediterranean style varieties.

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>> it's one of the most regimes ott world. she realized the country had human rights issues, she would not have attended. that's why we have google. >> she was tweeting saying, hey, follow me. hit me up. the twitter is not there. it's a totally closed society. the magic is still real for a group of movie monsters.

it was at the top for the second week. it has earned $300 million worldwide. the comedy, "the heat" was second raking in 40 million. third place, "world war z" earned just under $30 million. >> fantastic. hope you are enjoying your week so far. let's bring in chris and kate. we have a big news day here. what's going on, guys? >> good morning to you. we are covering the wildfires. we are going to tell you what they are doing and why they are so important and how it went wrong. >> that's right. so, clearly at the top of the hour. that means it's time for the top news. >> our entire crew was lost. we lost 19 people. >> breaking overnight, 19

firefighters are lost battling wildfires in arizona. the worst loss of life for fire crews since 9/11. we are on the scene. >> cnn exclusive, former president, george w. bush speaking out for the first time onnedward snowden and the controversial nsa program he put in place. horror at the circus. a cirque du soleil acrobat falls 50 feet from the air in front of a shocked audience. what went wrong? >> . this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan. >> good morning, welcome to "new day". it is monday, july 1, 6:00 in the east. >> we want to welcome our international viewers, as well. the governor of arizona may have said it best.

today is truly a dark day. 19 firefighters were killed late yesterday trapped while battling a fast moving wildfire that suddenly turned on them. >> they were called the hot shots, the best of the best, sent into the most dangerous situations. the president traveling in africa released a statement this morning saying they were heros who put themselves in harm's way to protect the lives and property of fellow citizens they would never meet. the community of prescott, arizona waking up to the devastating news this morning, 19 of their own gone. >> the crew was digging barriers around the yarnell hill fire in central arizona which has burned through 6,000 acres just since friday. cnn is in arizona with more. >> reporter: the yarnell hill fire began moving at a ferocious pace on sunday, suddenly changing direction, claiming the most firefighter lives since 9/11, trapping 19 firefi