♪ ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, breaking news. yet another monster hurricane hhe headed straight for land. we are tracking it all. >> millions on the front line bracing for a life threatening storm surge and the deadly infernos whiplashing the states on the west coast. >> the bottom line right now is stay inside. >> dozens dead and countless structured burned. >> it's the worst thing that i have seen in my life. a thousand times worse than i can imagine. >> what is at stake, as the planet is under fire. "nightline" starts right now with juju chang.

>> thank you for joining us, tonight for the first time had in 15 years, we have -- for the very latest i'm joined by abc chief meteorologist. it's strengthening ask it approaches you in alabama, where do you see it landing? >> reporter: i'm in the heart of mobile, and they have sand bags in front of that store, and that is for good reason. on the satellite. it got a lot better organized as we went through today, and that's going tong it moves really painfully slow to the west northwest, it will finally start to make the northern tick tomorrow afternoon and evening and we expect landfall around midnight or therefore, early wednesday morning. so, it's a slow storm, that means that rain is going to be a big time issue. and part of the slowdown is that stationary front, making it

almost a fence. you see we stopped the clock at about midnight. it looks like it should make land fall close to pasgagula, mississippi, if it does as a cat two, that's the strongest since katrina in 2005. >> there's always multiple threats as the storm approaches. there's dire storm surge projections, what worries you the most about sally. life and property.t loses most someplaces up to 11 in surge. we have warnings from eastern louisiana through the florida panhandle. now it breaks down and closer to the center of the storm and the northeast quadrant, the dirty side of the storm, you will pick up the heftyest, so back near biloxi and that is where we are concerned. we have rainfall, and i don't want people inland to say, it's a coastal storm. you get 15--20 inches on top of

the storm, that is not good. go up to montgomery and atlanta you can see half a foot of rain, juju. >> we are hoping the storm does not stall, once again, in the eye of the storm, thanks, ginger. for more on the wrath of mother nature, this one on another coast. here is abc's will carr. >> it's such is a mess, the fire rolled through here. >> ghostly images, soot and ash, blocking out the sun. casting everything in tones of black and white. >> so far i have not seen a structure standing. >> reporter: there's been c catastrophic damage, and the fires are burning with no end in sight. the smoke is agerousazar to millions, among the worst air quality in the world, in portland, oregon, the air quality level-s, the air is so

hazardous, people are being encouraged on to not go outside. and authorities are saying that those that have to go out, should wear an n-95. >> this could be the greatest loss due to wild fire in our state's history. >> children are particularly sensitive to smoke. their airways are still developing, so the bottom line is stay inside. >> they are warning with a mass fatality incident, with 22 people missing in the state. 27 people have been killed in three states over the past week. >> we are experiencing weather conditions the likes of which we have never experienced in our lifetime. >> reporter: in california, a record 3.3 million acres have burned this year that is 27 times the amount that burned last year. t today president trump was on the hi of t biggesty the damage. burns we haveve sn lot >> reporter: the president's message, highlights forest management, and dismissing climate change. >> if we ignore that science and

sort of put our head in the sand and think it's all about vegetation management. we are not going to succeed together. >> it will start getting cooler. you just watch. >> i wish science agreed with you. >> well, i don't think science knows, actually. >> my colleague lindsay davis spoke with wade crawford, the california secretary for natural resources about their exchange. >> i don't think science knowing actually was his response. what were you thinking in that moment, and also, in your time with him today, did the president simply ignore the impact that climate change is having across the board? >> i mean, i think the statement that he made speaks for itself. and i think we are frustrated in california and across the west coast. our communities are under threat right now from catastrophic wild fire burning likeve fueled by record shattering summer heat waves. multiple times this summer.

it's what scientists told us will happen with climate change, so it's an urgent issue and what i asked him today was, really a plea to work with us. let science be our guide to protect the forests and ultimately to protect people. >> presidential candidate joe biden tweeting a two-word message. science knows. test test test test test test tels test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test around climate change. just come to the state of california. observe it with your own eyes.

>> i think we have to start thinking there are more climate fires. they are climate fires because that's what creates the conditions that makes them so explosive. >> devastation cannot be over stated. from portland to los angeles. communities are in a state of emergency. those fighting the fires completely drained. >> we have been working nonstop, sleeping on the ground and on top of that, you know, all the guys up here, they have families and property that are part of the community and the emotional toll for everyone is, it's, i mean, that just adds to the tired, to the exhaustion. >> in berry creek, california, it's the west complex they are battling. >> the fire came through quickly and burned cars and homes to the ground in minutes, behind a toxic smoke that is choking. i had to keep my mask on. a veteran years tells me it's the worst conditions he has seen.

>> that was the front of the house there. >> reporter: here, six of the firefighters have lost their own homes. >> i was out evacuating people, we were getting them out you know, and the next day i found out that my home burned and lost everything that i had. >> reporter: reed rankin is the captain of his fire department, we went with him to where his home once stood, and now it's a vacant lot of ruble and ash. >> everything that you collect in your life is right there. it's heartbreaking. >> they lost their station to the blaze. >> trees were like space ships taking off. every tree was like, whoa, whoa. it just makes you sick to your stomach. >> reporter: just 40 miles west, he has lived in orville, california, for 58 years. you experienced the campfire and this fire. this area has been battered in recent years by fires. >> yes, we have not had a fire this close though.

i think this close for a long time. >> reporter: do you want to stay here? >> well, where am i going to go? everything is gone. no housing, no nothing. >> reporter: my colleague matt gutman was in oregon last week as the fires started spreading. >> reporter: i have been covering fire force half a dozen years or month, i have never seen anything like this. the sky completely orange at 11:00 in the morning. >> reporter: here, retard ant could not stop the force of the fire. >> i want to show you the world of pink laid down, and it still did nothing to stop the progress of that fire which burned entire neighborhoods and developments here. so many with nowhere to live. this couple took refuge in a red cross shelter in salem, oregon. >> we had a neighbor that called us and screamed and said, get out, you guys need to leave.

>> reporter: the single mom grabbed her sister's dogs and fled in to the night. >> i still have my swimsuit on. >> you had left in a swimsuit. >> yes, and the kids had pjs. >> reporter: they think their house is save, but they are not for sure. the upheaval of fleeing and homelessness being possible, they are tearing up about. >> we have not been able to start school and now we can't start school. and so, it's been hard. >> in another neighborhoodengle searched for his home. as land marks are gone, the unr. >> a friend of ours had a house here. a couple of friends. and it's so destroyed, i can't find where it was. >> reporter: he was with his daughters and grandson picking through the wreckage.

>> i'm spruzed that people got out of here alive. >> reporter: they found a prized possession. a light up keyboard he earned himself. >> this -- >> it was a special gift, personal gift that he got for learning to ride his bike. >> yeah, it's gone. >> but guess what, remember, it's what? replaceable. right? >> yeah. >> right, so hang on to it and we will make something cool with it. all right? >> yes. >> reporter: after the flames wiped out six towns in oregon, search crews and k-9s have taken on the grim task or searching for thediai the worsthi that i have ever seen in my life. i have seen videos, but it's a thousand times worse than i could have ever imagined. >> reporter: a grim warning, fire season in california has just started the most destructive blazes tend to occur

in november and december. for "nightline," i'm will carr in berry creek california. >> and dire warnings of climate change, what will happen if we don't act now. knowing who we are is hard. it's hard. eliminate who you are not first, and you're going to find yourself where you need to be. ♪ the race is never over. the journey has no port. the adventure never ends, because we are always on the way. ♪ discover what's good - ♪

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rush to work, grab a drink, hurry home. - [cell phone beeps] - stop! don't be on your phone. let someone else take the wheel. make a little eye contact. make a plan. it's a busy world out there. we're all in it together. go safely, california. ♪ if i could, baby i'd ♪ how can i, when you won't take it from me ♪ ♪ you can go your own way ♪ ♪ go your own way r your wirelesules. only with xfinity mobile. we've learned a lot more about the covid-19 virus. it's real. and it's dangerous. so, on behalf of all of us working on the front lines, please take it seriously. and while we don't yet have a cure or a vaccine,

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go safely, california. ♪ from ice to fire, to wind, a trinity of natural disasters shaking up the planet. the alarm on climate change intensifying. earlier today i spoke to dr. duffy, of the climate research center. so, tell us how does climate change, everything from to heat waves to lightning strikes lead to these kind of wildfires that are becoming more and more explosive every year? >> well the basic science is very simple. and that that climate change means more hot, dry weather and that creates what we call fuel conditions, mainly dried out forests that are conducive to fire. and we have seen enormous

increases over the last several decades in fire activity in the western u.s., the way it has manifested itself, actually, is not actually in more fires but in these very, very large fires. fires which, if they had started 30 years ago would have been easily extinguished, but now because of the fuel conditions and the forests are so dry, rapidly grow and become impossible to control. >> well, let's talk about land management then, after firing fire ravaged zones,president trump doubled down and blamed poor forest management and said that it would get cooler and when challenged said he wished science knows. >> it's no question that the planet is getting warmer.

we know it from satellite measurements, indicators like loss of sea ice, shrinking ice caps and so forth. there's no question that the planet is warming and there's really no question that, that warming is what's driving the increasing risk that we face from wild fire and from other forms of extreme weather as well. and in terms of forest management, removing what we call fine fuel, that is dead wood and brush and so forth, near structures, it is one of several things we can do to help control the risk. but the main thing that we need to do, is to stop making the problem worse. and that is we need to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphe atmosphere. >> i want to point you to the atlantic now, that is five

storms churching at once. hurricane sally is now bearing down on the gulf. why is it that the climate change plays a roll in both of the types of phenomenon, hurricanes and wildfires? >> climate change affects weather everywhere. the science of hurricanes and climate change is fairly straight forward and warmer ocean temperatures lead, not necessarily to more hurricanes but we believe to more destructive hurricanes. well, we think also that certain other properties of hurricanes are also related to climate change. one is higher precipitation and that's, very, very basic science of a warmer atmosphere holds more water. the other thing that we have seen, which has a lot of significance is that, her had contains tend to slow down and park and just dump and dump and dump and dump. and that results in enormous

accumulations of precipitation. and we think that is a consequence of climate change as well. and we saw it in the case of, for example, hurricane harvey. >> right. >> dumped up to 50 inches of precipitation on the city of houston. and that happened because of the storm basically, you know, it came to a stop and just sat there and stalled over the city, fingers crossed that it hwill nt happen to the southern u.s. this time. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> rising from the ashes, one of the smallest survivors of the wildfires. got it. it's slippery. nooooo... noooo... nooooo... yeeeesss... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty picks up messes quicker and each sheet is 2x more absorbent, so you can use less.

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we will see you back here tomorrow at the same time. thanks for staying up with us, goodnight, america. >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live," with guest host, john legend. tonight, dj khaled, and now, here's john legend. >> hello, welcome to "jimmy kimmel live!" my name is john legend. this is a fun change of pace for me. normally at this time of night, i'd be in a tuxedo, sipping a

glass of champagne, and staring wistfully out of a window. just kidding, i'm usually in my sweatpants making dinner with my wife, watching real housewives. but here i am. this is actually the first time i've been in a quiet, empty house in years. it's crazy at my place right now. we've been homeschooling our kids. this is our set up. designed by chrissy. we started a pod. you know what a pod is? i did not know before this year. it's weird to go from parent to teacher. i have to keep reminding my kids, "it's not 'i hate you, daddy,' it's 'i hate you, mr. john.'" and on top of everything else, my wife and i are expecting our third child. that's right. we took a look at 2020 and thought "you know what might