>> announcer: this is a special presentation of "nightline." >> heavenly father. please help us. >> paradise lost. a california town engulfed in flames. as residents flee for their lives. the wildfires seemed to turn the golden state into a hellscape. one california city knows all too well what lies ahead. a story a year in the making. santa rosa's rebirth. after a historymaking fire of its own. a community and its residents now rising. and a private war. the gripping story of journalist marie colvin, who gave a human

face to conflict zones. >> i see it. so you don't have to. >> now brought to life in a new film. her ultimate sacrifice. also, sharing strength with our soldiers. michael strahan and sara haines taking us inside the gym serving a bigger cause. >> this is my tribe. this is what i've been looking for the whole time. >> how this fitness center provides a lifeline for military veterans. plus, super model kloss. doubling as a computer wiz. zwli would love to offer them something more meanleful than a picture backstage for a runway show. >> how she's writing her own story. >> i'm karlie kloss.

so glad you could join us. this month's brutal cycle of wildfires caught so many offguard. paradise became ground zero for the most destructive and deadliest fire in the state's history. how do survivors pick up the pieces? one california community spent the last year living that reality. the residents of santa rosa. they share their journey. >> this has been one of the most difficult years we have ever had. >> that confirmation comes in, it's a gut punch. >> one year later, i can put everything i own in a laundry basket. >> you gotta get out of here. >> i don't know where to go. >> let's go, let's go, let's go! come on! go, go, go! >> that night seems like a complete blur. i remember saying you need to evacuate and evacuate now. >> reporter: memory can be a

funny thing. sometimes it's crystal clear. other times, flashes of lights and sounds. >> i remember hearing sirens. >> reporter: we don't get to choose what we remember and what we forget. for firefighter paul lowenthal and some residents of santa rosa -- >> oh, my goodness. it's gone. everything we worked for. all gone. >> reporter: memory is all that remains from that night in october 2017. when a raging wildfire passed over the rolling hims of wine country and overtook the quiet suburb of santa rosa. >> we do have multiple structures involved. >> 10-4. multiple structures. >> i knew the house would go gone within 15 minutes. >> you have to go southbound. >> i am. i'm outta here. >> it was not something i thought i would experience. >> reporter: for some, it came with no warning. and dealt a vicious hand.

>> charcoal-size ed brick ketdse cinders start falling. >> reporter: a whole neighborhood reduced to ash. now, one year later, santa rosa's residents are still grappling through how they suffered through, until last week, the most destructive wildfires in california history. looking at what went wrong as they rebuild from the ground up. to try to make sure a disaster of this magnitude won't strike home again. >> nobody's prepared. not for what happened at the way it happened. nobody's prepared. >> reporter: october 8, 2017. started off as a warm, dry, and breezy sunday. what are known as the diablo winds are picking up steam as they move through the city. veteran firefighter paul lowenthal notices the winds. his mind is on the rhythms of

fatherhood. >> any daughter and i were in hawaii for the week. just settling in. trying to get ready for a school and a work week. >> to the valley. >> reporter: that night, around 11:00 p.m., he gets call from work. >> started to see it in the distance. then a wall of fire. fire on both sides of the road. there was no way i could get through it. i knew this was not coming to han is it a rosa. this was here. >> reporter: what is in the pit of your stomach? >> we have to get people out and get them out now. >> reporter: it's the middle of the night. most people are asleep. paul calls the police department for help. >> you have to start moving yunlts into the cross streets. >> the police officers dove in without asking questions. immediately started going door to door and getting people out of harm's way. [ pounding ] >> police! >> reporter: with body cameras rolling, police officers are deployed to areas where they

think the fire is going. but the wind has a mind of its own. the wind pushes the fire farther than first responders had anticipated. leaving some residents in the neighborhood of coffee park unaware of what is headed their way. >> i can actually feel that heat. >> it was the loudest wind i had heard in my life. it was like a -- a barrelling sound of nonstop wind. like a blowtorch. >> okay. let's get some water and candles together. put them on the table. >> i went to the front yard. seen the wind and the smoke. ash was flying. and then, within that, like, less than five seconds, i looked back. there was a wall of red. >> reporter: what is going through your mind? >> we gotta go. >> one of the neighbors walked to where there is a viewpoint of the 101. she said, it's hopped the 101.

hopper's on fire. >> it hopped a six-lane freeway? >> yes. now it's on our side. we didn't say anything to the neighbors. we'll talk to you soon. go get your family. we looked, ran back to our houses. grab the dogs. grab some clothes. i mean, we grabbed some of our son's stuff. put it in a duffel bag. i get if the car, turn the corner. somebody's lawn is on fire pip see flames over the roof tops. that rej stoerd me. this is bad. this is real bad. >> there was ash and embers coming down as we're getting in the car. >> reporter: literally fire is raining down on you. >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: and you're fleeing for your lives. >> i had a hose. i couldn't save my house. just the ferociousness of the wind and the embers from the field and everything else ploeg across. >> reporter: in another area of coffey park, officers reach the home of nancy and ken. >> hello?

what's your lan? >> staying here with a hose. >> you going the fight it out? >> i'm going to fight it out. me and my wife are the only ones here. >> do you want us to get her out? >> it's chaos. >> this is ken's wife, nancy. she says her husband is having a hard time talking about that night. and she struggles to do so, too. >> reporter: ken seemed pretty adamant he was going to stay. >> oh, we were staying. fire department had to be coming. they've got this. it's a matter of, we're going to help them out. >> reporter: what nancy and her husband didn't know was that the fire was already destroying the area around them. it just hadn't reached their home. >> you're going to put a lot of people in danger. the fire is a few houses over. it's coming at us. >> it's huge. one of the biggest i have ever seen. >> sir, please. >> it's not worth it. >> please get in the car and leave. you have two officers here now.

>> which way should i go? >> that way. you gotta get out of here. it's one field. >> like i'm leaving now because i have to save myself and save other people. >> reporter: yo can hear the urgency in the police officers' voice. ken just didn't want to hear it? didn't want to believe it? >> he couldn't grasp it. we were in shock. >> reporter: not long after the officers leave, terror sets in. >> i remember jumping down. and i had the house -- and ken said, quick, we gotta go. we gotta go. we're going to come right back. and -- i got to the front of the house. and the fire -- everything was on flames. the house across the street was -- all you saw you saw you w >> reporter: with only seconds to spare, nancy and ken joined

the multitude of others fleeing for their lives. >> fire! >> reporter: but some are finding thelss stranded, like mario. >> a police officer knocked on the door. i said, i can't evacuate. i have five ladies with me in the house. i need help. >> reporter: he's the sole care taiker on duty at this assisted living center. >> i had irene with me. >> reporter: mario passes 87-year-old irene lopez to andy adams, the officer who wheels her out of the house. and struggles to load her in the back of his car. >> okay. ma'am. >> i cannot walk. >> okay. i'll help you. >> reporter: embers are range down upon them. the fire is right there. ♪

>> my feet. >> obviously, i was putting her in pain. helping her get in the car. >> oh, god, please help me. ay-yi-yi, my legs. >> i'm sorry. you gotta sit up. >> okay. >> reporter: once the cars are loaded up, the officers make the escape. >> let's get out of here. >> let's get her in, dude. >> get in the car. >> reporter: and safely drive the women to an evacuation center. >> you're about two inches from the ground. >> reporter: where they're waumd by first responders. volunteers. and a group of mass evacuees. so many afraid of what their morning holds. when we come back -- [ sobbing ] >> reporter: dawn sheds light on the painful path that lays ahead. >> oh, look at that. gone.

[ bleep ]. >> reporter: paved with hard lessons for us all. and a second chance fornlgd by the heroes of that night.

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>> announcer: this special presentation of "nightline" continues. juju chang reports. >> reporter: the author toni morrison once wrote about a loneliness that roams. alive on its own. the kind you can't tuck away. [ sobbing ] >> there's nothing here.

>> reporter: perhaps that was the feeling on this morning, october 9, 2017. >> it's like a freaking train coming through here. >> reporter: when residents returned to slowly find what they once knew. now alien. >> it was hard to take in. >> reporter: this is what jeff came home to. a pile of runs where his house once stood. not everyone suffered the same outcome. the fire dangled people between two fates. >> look. look at this. >> reporter: those who were spared. >> it didn't get touched. >> reporter: and those who lost everything. >> look at that. >> we're so lucky. >> reporter: when you first laid sight on your house. what was left of it. what went through your mind? >> i want to be sick. it's just all gone. everything we worked for. all gone. >> in the days after, you hear a lot of people say, at least everybody is safe. they're just things. it's just stuff. if your mind, you're like, you

want to cuss them out because, it's not just stuff. it's the memorial flag from my wife's father. she lost her dad in iraq in 2004. that's all we have left. that's my son's blanky. his favorite toys. those are remnants of our lives and other people's lives that we don't have anymore. >> reporter: the fire killed 22. and laid waste to 3,000-plus residences. some, the homes of first responders who worked to evacuate others. like firefighter paul lowenthal. >> when it hit me, it was day five. our fire chief and the battalion chief said, you're done. you need a time-out. you need a break. i looked at him and said, i don't know -- what do you want me to do? i don't have anything to go to. >> reporter: when you went home? what was that like? >> not as hard as trying to explain to my daughter that our home is -- was destroyed in the fire. she wants to get back what she

had before. i get it. at the same time, it's an opportunity for us to start over. and start a new chapter. >> reporter: charlie and kate higgins marked the start of their new chapter by hanging this symbol. one that for them, meant perseverance. >> i'm coming back. i'll be back. >> reporter: in the days that followed -- the cleanup began. >> a couple of things. we managed to save. >> reporter: the most common place items now personal treasures. >> this is our house number that blew off of our house. >> reporter: incredible. oh, my gosh. it looks like a surreal piece of artwork. >> oh, yeah. oh, yeah. >> reporter: that is just -- >> how we found it. >> reporter: as time passed, so many were still displaced. still mourning. longing to be home for the holidays. >> it was the only place i felt i belonged.

>> reporter: her present, ronny, wanted her to know that she still did. >> we drove over there one night. and there's ronny. and he put a big 15-foot christmas tree on my lawn. >> reporter: as more trees were trimmed. ♪ rudolph the red-nose e edddd rks r ♪ >> reporter: and a simple truth discovered. that home is in the heart. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> reporter: with the new year, new hope. >> this is the living room? >> yeah. our fireplace will go there. >> reporter: now nancy proudly shows us the makings of her new home. >> this is one of the bedrooms. the mather bath. >> reporter: she's hoping to move back in by the end of this year. as is kate higgins. >> every time we come, it's a little more done, we're closer to being back home.

feels like a piece of you is being put back together. >> reporter: both nancy and kate who owned their homes say they were well insured. >> two things in our policy made a difference. one was we had extended coverage. so that meant if we went over our policy limits, another portion of the policy dmikd and gave us at 50%. and inflation guard. every year, our policy went up based upon the cost of living. >> reporter: roughly 27% of the homes lost are now under construction. or have completely rebuilt. >> people don't understand why we're letting people rebuild in the areas that have burned. the reality is a loot of those homes were older home. built before the standards went into effect. the idea is now that that construction will protect those homes. through the construction. with the fuel reduction, it will make those homes successful and survive a wildfire. >> reporter: so many live in constant fear that disaster

could strike again. climate science found that longer, dryer periods have created tinderbox conditions. that when sparked and mixed with coastal winds are leading to high-speed infernos. like the ones we saw last week throughout california. >> we're seeing them time and time again. it's becoming the new norm. >> reporter: now, perhaps the community of paradise, just hours away, will look to santa rosa for lessons in their own recovery. >> the only good thing out of this disaster is the neighborhood coming together. we're stronger together now than we were a year ago. >> reporter: on this night, the first anniversary of the fire. >> i want to invite you to stand here together in community. >> reporter: close to 500 people have gathered together in coffey park. >> you can burn a neighborhood to the ground. but you can't take our community spirit. you're finding the strength, the hope, the life, it's back. >> reporter: a community that

stands firm in its resolve that loneliness will roam no longer. and now a chance to thank a special hero. >> hello. >> hello. >> how are you? >> oh, i'm great. i'm alive thanks to you. >> reporter: remember that harrowing rescue from a senior care home? that was 87-year-old irene lopez. she's meeting the police officer that rescued her. >> what is your name? >> andy adams. >> andy adams. i'm not going to forget that name ever. you're a handsome guy. i wish i was young. >> back off. i'm married. >> reporter: bonds forged in the fire illustrated here and across santa rosa. that out of the darkness, comes the light. our thanks to all the folks we met in santa rosa. our thoughts go out to all those

who have lost so much in california's fires. the personal sacrifice marie colvin made to tell the stories few others could.

>> announcer: this special presentation of "nightline" continues with juju chang in new york. journalist marie colvin ventured to places few others

dared. her work exposing atrocities ultimately cost her everything. here's dan harris on why her legacy is so very important today. >> we just -- we were just sniped. there's a bullet -- the gadhafi's forces are right in front of us. they're sniping from the side. there's mortars coming in and going out. we're in the middle of a fire fooigt. >> reporter: in the middle of a fire fight is where "sunday times" reporter marie colvin all too often found herself. >> she was fearless. brilliant. >> marie colvin was a reporter aches reporter. >> not a lot of food. it's a rapidly deteriorated situation. >> reporter: to her final dispatches days before her death in syria. >> every house on the street hit. >> reporter: her personal mission to bear witness to the horrors of war. >> she always wrote about human beings. tried to humanize the conflicts. >> reporter: giving voice to the

voiceless despite the undeniable risk. >> she didn't die working. she died living. this is what she did. >> i'm not armed. journalist! american! >> reporter: now, her life and her work the subject of the new film, "a private war." >> the film is imagihomage to marie and to journalism. >> reporter: in his first narrative feature, matt lineman felt a great responsibility to tell her story. >> i wanted to explore what drives somebody to go to these places. to -- explore the sort of ravages of war. and attempt to put a human face to it. and also explore the deep cost that marie paid for doing that. >> the pain of war is really beyond telling. >> reporter: she was given the counsel in journalism award for

her unrelenting pursuit of human truth. >> i feel we fail if we don't face what war does. face the human horrors. rather than just record who won and who lost. >> reporter: but a year later, while covering the conflict in sri lanka, she was blinded in one eye by shrapnel from a grenade. >> i think her mortality and vul neblt changed. >> reporter: it didn't keep her from seeking the truth and come pelg her raersd to care. >> she was a 12-year-old palestinian girl killed by a stray bullet that pierced her heart. i watched her parents hold her as she bled out. she was wearing pearl earrings. she probably thought she looked pretty that day. i see it. so you don't have to. >> reporter: actress rosamund

pike, who is already garnering critical acclaim, says she fought for the chance to embody colvin and collaborate with heineman. >> i don't think either of us deviated from the idea that we were going to get as damn close to marie as she was. she fought and loved and smoked and worked for the story. >> reporter: they took a journalistic approach from replicating her voice and mannerisms. >> i hate being in a war zone. but i also feel compelled -- compelled to see it for myself. >> reporter: to doing extensive research and interviews with people who knew her. >> any good? >> the best. >> reporter: portrayed by jamie dornin in the film, photo journalist paul con roy worked to capture her words in pictures. >> please, listen to me next

time. >> reporter: these stirring images from the arab spring uprising in libya. colvin's drive to get the story and get it first was well known. >> we were very fiercely committed to getting the story first. and getting the scoop first. but -- in one of the most important, you know, scoops of the last, you know -- decade. the two of us pooled our resources to get the last ever interview with moammar >> they say you aired air attacks against civilians. i think marie, my generation, showed that having a female perspective was really important. but most importantly, when we came to the field, war was changing. it was becoming a war against civilians. >> reporter: it was this kind of war being waged in syria that colvin could not stay away from. in 2012, she and con roy got

themselves smuggled inside to report on the destruction firsthand. this shot from their last assignment for "the sunday times" was taken in a makeshift shelter in homes. while the city was under siege. that image gave life to this stirring scene in the movie. >> these were women who had lost all their husbands, their sons. anyone who didn't have anyone to look after them was in that basement. >> i want people to know your story. >> reporter: heineman re-created the widow's basement. and aseemabled people with a real story to tell. [ speaking foreign language ] >> i -- as marie put my hand on her. and she looked at me and said, i don't want this to just be words on paper. my goodness. she's speaking to me as if i'm a journalist. this is not a woman in a movie

speaking to an actress. >> reporter: it was their unwaivering determination that compelled colvin and conroy to remain in syria. >> stop. >> what are you doing? >> i have to go back. >> she thought that by bringing the story to the world that the world would intervene and stop the killing. the slaughter that was about to happen. that was happening. that we were in nild of. >> reporter: in february 2012, as two of the last western journalists inside, they witnessed the death of a little boy killed by shelling. colvin speaking to cnn's anderson cooper. >> we just watched this little boy, you know, his little tummy heaving and heaving as he tried to breathe. it was horrific. my heart broke. >> reporter: that decision to broadcast a great risk. bringing attention to the suffering would bring asad's attention to them. >> we had this conversation that went along the lines of, marie,

it's tuesday. we're not going to be alive to file a story by friday. >> reporter: the following day, colvin was kyilled by an air strike. conroy was injured. >> they were saying, get out and tell the world. i felt a sense of obligation and a duty of honor for marie. >> reporter: and to tell the story that ultimately killed colvin could not be as important right now. it's not common that we see feature films about conflicts that are ongoing. usually, it's got a retro retrospective element. >> that's one of the tragedies. that her life ends and this tragedy of syria persists today. 500,000-plus people have been killed since she was killed. >> her story is important. reminding us through this film

is important. we journalists standing up for what is right. for the truth. for being the eyes and ears of the people is really important to crystalize right now. >> reporter: no one said it better. our mission so to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice. >> our thanks to dan. up next, michael strahan and sara haines take us to a hot spot for the rich and famous. it's creating lifelines for our nation's heroes.

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>> announcer: this special presentation of "nightline" continues. here again, juju chang. the unbreakable performance center is a workout site for many of l.a.'s rich and famous. their most valued clientele are the nation's everyday heroes. here is sara haines on unbreakable bonds formed within the gym's walls. >> reporter: 36-year-old david and 33-year-old a.j. are more than just sparring partners. nay are brothers. not biological. but the type borne through service to the country. a.j. certained in the navy. david spent 12 years in the army. two of them in iraq and they pretcredit this gym for sa their lives. unbreakable gym in l.a. chris pratt.

wiz khalifa. and sylvester stallone. according to the gym's owner and sports commentator jay >> they're the smartest group of people you'll be around. i'll call family and friends and say, you have to hear what this vet said or that vet said. two minutes left and we're switching. >> reporter: jay created mvp, merging vets and players to provide a new squad. >> we're trying to take excombat vets and started with nfl players and expanding to new sports. need a new team. the uniform doesn't define you. >> reporter: our very own former new york giants defensive end michael strahan is a board member and a volunteer here. >> guys have a loss. they don't have that group to go to because your life is always so structured and regimented. all of a sudden, you're released in the world without the structure and the guys to back it up and talk to and

communicate with. that is the challenge for most athletes and most soldiers. >> reporter: jay recognized they were struggling to reacclimate. >> they have the same statement that our vets to. i'm alone. you're not alone. >> reporter: once a week, these elite men and women descend on the gym for a workout. >> someone needs help. to share something. >> i myself have attempted suicide three times. went from the bottom now i'm here. >> the ultimate mission number one was 22 vets a day commit suicide. i'm going to try to do whatever i can, use this big mouth to let member know it's not okay. it's not okay. we're out here for you. >> reporter: for many of the vets in the room this is their lifeline. >> cow can't do it alone. it doesn't mean you're weak to ask for help. that's strength. >> a beautiful day. no clouds either. >> reporter: david credits it with saving his life. >> i like coming up here.

it remind mes of when i was depressed. dealing with anxiety. this tunnel represents the dark period of time i went through. >> reporter: after 12 years in the army, david was forced to retire. he was no longer deploibl after being injured in an accident. >> you see stuff that -- things that stay with you. one day, i just broke. all my symptoms just came. the sleepless night. the nightmares. the cold sweats. the cramping. i didn't understand what was going on. i lost myself. >> reporter: david was suffering from severe ptsd and withdrawals from pain pills. >> i started to think, what is the point of living like this? >> i was afraid it was going to take his life. >> reporter: it was his brother who took him to the v.a. too get treatment. his troubles didn't end there. slowly, the depression crept back in. he began hiking. he couldn't keep the bad thoughts at bay.

>> i didn't know where else to go. what else to do. i was feeling lonely. i needed that camaraderie. >> reporter: that's where mvp came in. >> i can't describe it. this place has done so much for my personal growth. mental health. >> reporter: here, david met a.j. a.j. joined the navy straight out of high school. when he left four years later. >> that's i think when it hit me. i no longer have access to base. my entire world disappeared. >> reporter: having never interviewed for a job and not knowing how to write a resume, he struggled. spent the next few years bouncing between jobs. depending on the kindness of friends to feed and house him. >> it felt like quick sand. each branch snaps. you're sinking lower and lower. >> reporter: when we come back, a.j. finds that branch. how an introduction to mvp changed his life.

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>> announcer: this special presentation of "nightline" continues. sara haines reports. >> reporter: like many vets, a.j. was struggling but found a new band of brothers. when a friend introduced him to mvp. >> i checked it out. i fell in love with it immediately. i immediately recognized, this is my tribe. i finally found that branch. that -- um -- that one branch that i had been looking for for so long. i finally found it. not only did i grab it. but it -- it pulled me up. >> reporter: he's now the program coordinator at mvp. here, you'll find the story of a changed life. over and over again. >> one of the guys that i was deployed with in iraq had committed suicide. and -- it really hit close to home for me because i had been

in that place less than a year before. >> i'm struggling to get my wife through what has been by far the hardest year in some of her life. >> just got eight months sober. and -- [ applause ] >> reporter: what allows people to open up, though. because on its face, you see a bunch of mostly men. women, too. working out. why do the walls fall down the second you guys all fall down together. >> after working out. you go through something. you sweat with somebody. you cheer each other on. you're more perceptive. you say, thank you, i needed add that today. it's like a ripple effect. >> reporter: that extends far beyond the vets. >> you see each other. it's family. something about the commitment that you know you have had to make that not everybody is cut out to do. we're all brothers. you did it unselfishly so guys like me and the rest of us could

go out and run around in tight-ass panlts and hit each other. [ laughter ] i'm just happy and honored that we could be here to witness this. thank you for letting us be a part of it. >> reporter: humbled. overwhelmed. and filled with a great debt of gratitude. >> all: mvp! >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm sara haines in los angeles. from the cat walk to the computer lab. how karlie kloss is empowering young girls.

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>> announcer: this special presentation of "nightline" continues. once again, juju chang. supermodel karlie kloss beyond do gloss. taking followers from fashion to computer coding. the surprising way kloss empowers young girls. >> reporter: from the moment she is up -- >> should i do a sideways? >> reporter: and sharing it on her own terms. >> this was my best work. >> there we go. i'm on my way to the global adidas statement collection launch. >> reporter: and wherever the 26-year-old goes, she takes her millions of followers along for the ride. and now, when the 40-time "vogue" cover girl is not shooting international campaigns like for carolina hererra or

hanging with taylor swift in their girl squad. >> we have amazing brilliant ladies working on projects. >> reporter: she's working to empower young women by doing manager that might surprise you. >> there's a lot of aspects to what you're going to build. >> reporter: she's teaking them to code. she founded kode with klossy after she discovered her own love of coding. >> i have an audience of women. i care about the message i'm sending them. i felt like i would like to offer them something more meaningful. >> reporter: she got her start as a model at just 13 years old. discovered at a charity fashion show in st. louis, where she grew up. how quickly did it go from being normal in st. louis to supermodel? >> very quickly. when i started my freshman year of high school, i got an

opportunity to walk in new york fashion week for calvin klein. i was 15 years old. literally started high school two days before. and it just put me on the map. >> reporter: since then, she's become one of the most recognizable faces in the fashion world. >> i was going back and forth like between sitting in chemistry class. getting on plane that night after school, going to paris. walking dior couture. going back home. needing to still turn in my five-paragraph essay. >> reporter: and i bet you did, too, by the way. >> oh, yeah. it was this yalely ll lly -- rey amazing life and dual world. >> reporter: it had been a busy week. >> i got married on a thursday. went on a honeymoon. two days. went straight into production on "project runway." that's kind of my life.

i love what i do. >> reporter: the couture-clad superbeauty might not fit the stereo type for that hoodie-wearing coder, the daughter of a doctor, math and science have always been in her dna. for charlie clakarlie kloss to coding and science and technology and math, was it scary in the beginning? >> it was. because nobody expected me to do that. everybody expected me to be one thing. on the cat walks or in magazines. me standing up and identifying my nerdy passions has ignited that for so many other girls. >> reporter: they have expanded to 50 camps in 25 cities across the country. and today, these campers are learning swift. the same language used by developers to create apps for apple. >> last monday, most anybody didn't have swift experience. you learn the a to z of now build something.

we give the last 2 1/2 days to figure out what kind of app you want to build and they build it. >> reporter: each group collaborating to solve real world problems. >> an app for sustainability. >> i have a personal project i work on for a program in school trying to detect sink holes before they collapse. >> reporter: as young female coders, they say this camp provides a supportive place to grow and thrive. what are the coding classes in school like? >> three girls in the front row. and the rest is all guys. it feels like a guys' club. >> we have this network of girls that are in the program. i can hit up my girlfriends any time i want to and be like, hey, help me out here. that was great. >> reporter: valeria started coding her sophomore year of high school. >> it's been a rejuvenated experience, having amazing girls to work with and talk web code with. >> reporter: why all women?

what is the importance of having a camp dedicated to them and coding? >> there are so many barriers to why young women don't get into computer science. it starts with having access to the education. but girls have coding class at school. they're hesitant to take it for a number of reasons. because they're the only girl in the class. they feel dumb asking the question in the computer science class. so they drop out. >> reporter: in fact, today, while women make up more than half of all college-educated workers. they make up just 25% of those in the science and technology industries. >> that affects the overall pipeline of women in -- the industry. with the skills to be able to code. to be able to get an engineering job. >> reporter: you're going to show us some code today. after learning basics at camp, i sat down with kloss and her teacher, avi, for a private lesson. our goal so make it rain emoji hearts. >> this is what the code looks

like to power the emoji rain. >> reporter: the code directs each heart. >> we have the function called moveemoji. the function is the engine what we want each to do. >> reporter: how many lines of code is that to get this? >> 73. >> look. 73. >> there's a lot of ways to simplify the same thing. the more beautiful and elegant the code is written, the somewhere simple it is. that's how you make it rain. >> reporter: as i spend more time with kloss, it's hard not to notice an exuding send of gratitu gratitude. >> i want to use any voice or power that i have to help other young women. not because i'm a goody two shoes girl trying to be a role model. i just sincerely care about helping other young women. that's always been the case. >> thank you for joining us for this special presentation of

"nhtline." catch us every weeknight after "jimmy kimmel live." enjoy the rest of your weekend, america.

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-wow. -there it is. oh, my god. can i, like, just -- just, like -- just a little bit? [ metal clanging ] this is always the tricky part, is trying to get the whole piece onto the platter. what kind of fish is that? this is a gray snapper. drum roll. oh. ooh. hold on. assist, assist. hold on. i'm gonna get -- no, no, i'm gonna get the support. we're gonna get some leaves with this, but it's gonna be okay. tu: you -- you should take the whole leaf with it. -i'm gonna get the... -that's how. -...the support right there. -there you go. now pick it up together. one, two -- two with the support! -whoooa! melissa, where are you? -[ laughs ] -we needed one more hand. -what happened? -you left us! -it's beautiful. -oh, no. [ laughs ] hey, check this out. check this out. [ laughter ] -it's perfect, guys. -voilà!