as thousands of evacuees return to their homes in tysonoma co. also the impeachment inquiry into president trump entee a new phaswith a key vote on pitol hill as democrats go on the offensive. and plus smoke fr the kincade fire has triggered air quality alerts for the bay area. we'll hear from an expert on how ecst to pryourself. good evening and welcome to kqed newsroom i'm sara farmer. we begin with the fire in king county. the kincade fire was roughly 70% contained, burning re than 77,00acres and destroyed

more than 300 structes sonoma county. residents began returning to their home on wednesday. many fled to evacuation centers in petaluma staying there for several days. some have lost their homes, pets, or lo income from jobs or businesses that had in close. jome now terry who was forced to leave her home in windsor and martha bodell who had to mparily close her business in santa clara and windsor because of the kincade fire. thank you both much for joining me today especially considering what's gog on in your lives. >> thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> and martha you own a business in sonoma county. you have offices in santa rosa and windsor. what was the impact of the kincade fire on your business? >> both nebues were shut down. effectively the power went out first and then rewe evacuated from our windsor slab shop, which is where we do all

the slab fabrication and installs. and it was also shut fodown three days, four day, same reason for the evacuation and no power and i would think really, it really would hitchhike on the tubbs fire. this is two years into that, so we are installing homes that have been out of their homes for two years now in the end an the moneat the end of their homes that they have beene renting to in and so th emotional impact of delaying peoples jobs now may be longer. the financial impact is huge. we have 80 people who work for to not be ableto pay for a week's worth of work and i mean that is impacting rent and impacting every kiof fine you could imagine in our payroll system because we have not been able to do any kind of

it is really a trickle down theory. one thing that is misleading is people talking on social a.me not a big deal, you don't have power for a up of days and it is not about that. people don't have money to restock their refrigerators and freezers again, the second time this has happened r us. but in terms of. >> and what is the impact like on your workers? and because workers were evacuated from their homes as well. >> and stwe had aleverybody who worked for us were evacuated. 80% evacua% d and without power. so where do they go? bs, and now they have no her money. >> and the impact, you know, just basic food that is doing bad and having to replace that is sometimes the things we take

for granted and they don't have extra money to do that. >> yeah. you had evacuated on saturday as well. and how did you find out how to evacuate? >> yeah. >> i mean what happened? >> it is all so surreal and i had coffee with friends and i went back to my place, getting ready to go to a service that i usually go to. and all of a sudden i'm standing out there in my driveway and the sheriff deputy comes flying up the iveway. you know they are new since 2017 that the county has installed, so you knnc it is an emer and the deputy came up to me and said you need to get out annothis is like at 10:00 in the morning and so i knew to take it seriously. because in 2017 we were on some sort of an alert. but when they come youp

driveway and they say to get out that you do that. >> yes, please. right, absolutely. what's the hardest thing about being evacuated? >> the hardest thing for me was just not knowing what was going to happen. i mean i had time to think unke they did in 2017 where they would have flames in their back and they just ran out their house. i hatime to think of grandma's pictures, definitely the dog d the cat. and just thinking about what e u going to go through? are we going to have a home to come back to? and how bad is that thing? >> well, you ow, with this taping, there are still parts without power. >> yes. >> without water. >> yes. when did the lights go back on for you and how is not having power affecting weur business? >> basically i mean it

shut our fabrication shop down because we have six running through th internwith power in the water because they dead caught fire last night before last. an we have no internet in our shop. and so everything, all of our machines that have been offline because of the power outage the interface with italy and minnesota. and so we can't interface to get our machines reprogrammed to run them, to cut it and so we are doing as much as we can, dragging them by ha and tryito get, you know, hobbling along, barely, but ili is impacting us. and so the amount of work that is going out is n'maybe. i know if we are getting them out to be honest. >> and what would u say the psychological effects from the tubs fire of 2017?

and how did that affect you and how does that relate towhat's going on right now? >> i feel like sonoma county is e a different plsince 2017. people are already psychologically, you know, they haven't even dealt with 2017. a lot of people are in post- traumatic stress disorder and then to put that on top of it and for myself. well, i didn't have a home burned down, but many friends mbd family s that have had and now arthey being evacuated. everybody is traumatized in some way. it has affected erybody in that community. when you throw, you know, other evacuation wer outages, we are all wondering if that is the new norm. do we need to go through it? we could do it one time maybe, but that's ough. it is too hard to psychologically go through this. >> i actually lived in napa in 2017 and soi wasn't under that leave my home. tion, but i had

when you wake up in the morning and that sky is gold, you know, it makes me think about communication, right? how you both feel about how pg&e officials and other first responders have communicated in the evacuation process? el>> well, i that there were a lot of lessons learned from 2017. and that the county, they really were prepared. they've had two years to put ki als of an alert system and everybody has tten on a text alert that we all get that we all learn after the fire anda wanted to be connected because we weren't before. and that was a really good communication tool that we were given alerts, every day, of course, we woulmolike and everybody wants one every hour, but we got them with the important information that was coming down, so i felt confident ththat. as far as pg&e, i feel they

really tried to inform people and they were pretty transparent. i was really impressed with them when they s actually said eir fault. the transmission line. i think they learned some lessons too. >> yeah, i think they are trying to step up their game. but martha, for you, i mean, you know, how do you ve forward from '17 and '18 we had another fire. i mean theyjust keep coming. how do we all move forward with you and with your business and your workers? >>t is just like kerry was saying, it is just so emotional for people that i think really just understanding everyone has a story and understanding to be super patient with people. we have, you know, a lot of people lose their temper, they lose, they are upset, crying. th elderly community especially is affected. i think with pg&e going out, you know, many, we have huge

senior communities that are sitting there in the dark and the cold and e madon't have cell phones. i mean it has been a lot for our community financially, otionally on every level. >> yes, it sure is. i truly eciate you both and i wish you the best in moving forward. t i'm ad you're safe. >> thank you so much. >> great to be with you. >> thanks for having us. thank you. on thursday house democrats passed a resoluon laying out thrules and procedures to guide the impeachment process of esident trump. it also lays out due process rights for the white house and marks a turning point in the probe with public gshearin into president trp's request that ukraine investigate his political rivals. earlier this week army officer and you crane expert, alexander d vindman testif capitol hill. vindman is the first white house official to testify who listene in on the phcall president trump made to ukraine's leader veasking him t

igate joe biden. government corresponmaria d nt lagos and ron elving, joining d.c. hello. ton, >> hello. >> good to be with you. >> hello to you both. thank you. ron, let's start with you. been an intense week in er has politics and the case for impeachment. what are two of the biggest obstacles democrats face with the impeachment process moving forward? >> well two big obstacles, it's complicated and takes them tra concion and a little attention and people may need to read things and things might need to be explained. people don't necessarily always that. lot of patients for they haver things to think about in their lives. the second biggest challenge is getting over what will be a ferocious resistance from the republicans in the republic hearings and the people who are suppose to be in that room and people who are not suppose to be in that room will trying

in one way or another to distract from the preedings and they will be trying to fill the air waves and the social media, the twitter verse with r thnunciation of the entire process and that will ac very disng. >> and marisa your thoughts in >> yeah, i think ron has it in. this is one of the reasons why i think democrats waited until this point. they feel like the ukraine issue is easy to understand. that this is clear cut, that it is something that any eraverage an whether they understand the intricacies of the institution constitution can get why it is troublesome for them to ask a foreign leader for help getting around the political oppone. but i think there's a lot of anger on the left that this didn't come sooner. on the right that it is happening at all. so one of the reasons they are doing it now, of course, to bring it out into the open and to really bring back some of those folks who have d, you know, who have been behind closed doors to make clthat cas r. i think to ron's point whether they will pay attention is the

other question we wi continue to ask. >> right, absolutely. >> and ron, president trump and other republicans, they had really hah words for army colonel alexander vindman. he's a decorated purple heart recipient. a militaryero. eney spoke up for him and against his defamation arof ter calling it shameful. what do you think is the f significancer defense of vindman and the risks that conservatives willqurun by tioning the patriotism of someone like him? >> well the significance is you have to coast them before you get them to speak ill of the other republican or even to chastise the other republican. she's a highly partisan loyal person. she's, of course, the daughter of former vicepresident dick cheney. a member of congress and a member of the leadership in at is significant and a warning, i think, to owher fe republican and fellow conservatives not to go there. don't queson the patriotism

of these people. question their interpretation. question their information. say maybe they are a secret democrat. but don't question their patriotism when they are wearing their decorations on their uniforms sitting before you and they have served so honorably for their country. >> right. do you feel she drew hethat lin insand for the other republicans to say hey, maybe we s shouldn't crthis line here moving forward in >> and there are many ways to try to undermine the veracity or the credibility of her particular witness. this is just not the avenue that will be most fruitful for them. >> right, do you think impeachment will happen before the the year or in 2020? >> i think the house is trying very hard to get public hearings going in ofthe month november to have that house judiciary commite act in the month of december and possibly even have a house vote before christmas. but it will get increasinglyas difficulthe holidays will approach, so it is probably

more likely that will happin january and certainly the senate trial within following and what do you think, marisa, about e risks of taking an impeachment into january in 2020? and how could that weigh negatively against democrats? >> i mean it's an interesting question, right? on the one hand they opwant focused on the primaries and the caucuses and the ndidates. the othehand you could argue that the worse it is for president trump. the's not a hugeexpectation that he would get convicted in the senate. so if you're in that mome, you know, as we will continue to approach in november of 2020 where this isstill in the headlines, you know, i think it could go either way. i also think from the democrats perspective, they do need and they shouldn't sort of hold themselves to that artificial timeline. i mean the last thing that they nts for independence particularly, moderate democrats, even some republicans to feel this is being rushed through for political partisan reasons. so i think thatdothey eed to let themselves sort of take the

facts where they lead themwh >> and do you think speaker pelosi was hesitant to bring a vote the floor up to this point any way is many and what do you think her strategy was in that? >> i think partly she was, she didn't have to, so she didn't want to give the republicans that win. i think now in a certain point she's essentially saying hey, like let's call your bluff. ifysyou are so concerned about the process, let's figure out the process and you could do it. it is the moment where they made that sense and if they do want to have these hearings out in the open. and if they do want to draft those articles of impeachment, they were going to have to take some sort of a vote eventually. d guess you coargue whether they could take it right now and sort of a dual onpurpose herecalling the republicans a bluff because it's not like they changed their tune here and that it has been taken. but also that they will see this is sort of a turn in that

process that was going to happen in se point and as we were just talking about in some ways that may be better. >> all right, ron, what do you think fellow house minority leader, you know, yesterday he was sayithey were trying to impeach the president because they are scared they can't deinat him the ballot box. how do you think the messaging will play into the vote the election coming up in 2020? >> well thicrepus don't really want to defend what the prest ent did. they doreally want to defend that telephone call. and they are going to say that is not impeachable. but the president will prefer to call it a perfect phone call and says you may go on viradio teon and to read it all, the transcript, and maybe that you will do that. but generally speaking people say it isbea er place than to say this is politics as usual. you don't really want to get

into the guof the whole thing and let's just move on to that election in november and to let that dynamic play out and let that be the judgment on donald trump. >> so are we seeing blchange in opinion towards this one way or another? >> e country is perfectly split on this question and almost 49 to 47, 51 to 49. we are back and forthrht around that 50-yard line and on probably be a huge break at any point. but ththen e really wasn't with richard nixon either before he resigned and not til he was actually able to resign in support for his impeachment go over 50%. with bill clinton, it never went abe 30%. and so public opinion is a factor here. no question and the democrats have risks in terms of what this does to their political process in november of 2020, t you can't wait for the public opinion to lead on this. you have to follow the facts

úresponsibility are. >> do both of you feel like this could backfireand hurt democrats in the election i mean i would say after 2020 6 or 2ther, who knows, right? i mean trump has done a very good job of whipping up the base and continuing to plant these and sow these seeds of doubt. what you have now, republicans, even their . are not happy and in theory, t ey would suppimpeachment if this were, of course, the democrat. and they are still lllooking at those and they know how strong of a surrogate he and how many senators and congress people have lost when they came out against them on the republican side. so you know it's one ofthose things where like we are in a new moment here under trump that will make it really hard to predict. >> ron, do you think it will backfire? >> democrats have a lot at risk here. not only do they have

confused field of candidates running against donald trump next year and people who don't really want to rest on e impeachment hearings, but als a number of vulnerable, let us say, democrats, something like donald trump in 2016, so you are really asking those people to not only vote against that man they voted for in 2016, but to vote for a democrat. and so there is a real risk here as they need to turn up solid substantial stuff if the democrats are going prevail. >> and ron from mpr and kqed, thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. on thursday the bay area air quality management district issued a fourth consecutive spare the air day alert this week due to smoke from the kincade fire. wildfire smoke will contain the particular air waves, especially for children with

illnesses and asthma. and while they could help filter particles, it's important to know the right one and how to use it joining me now is dr. john baum, a professor of medicine at uc san franciscothank you fo >> it's my pleasure. s , there is a lot of smoke right now coming from the wilefires. will you walk us through what is in wildfire smoke that could be harmful to our lungs and to our air waves? >> yes. and so wildfire smoke, i would like to say it is somewhat similar already to tobacco smoke without the nicotine. and so there are fine particles that we would call soot. and some of which are highly irritating to the air waves. and then there are irritant gases as well. >> and so wildfire smoke could trigger these respiratory is there a new research then that we're inhaling and dealing

with a lot of fires right now. are we going to see increasing numbers and ople with asthma and her problems? >> yes. we have very strong literature about the health ldeffects of re smoke and so we will lifoly see hospitalizations people with asthma and other lung disease. what we have been learning moreu recently the last few years, there is also a risk for peop with preexisting heart disease and so there is evidenfrom california. it was a joint study and california department of public health and stinators that would show increased visits for problems like heart attacks and strokes. and that was not even as bad as the current problem. things that i find fascinating

that there are differences, right? and you have forest fires and then home all the different materials and plastics thatare super toxic. i mean they have higher rates evof cancer. but foy day people who are inhaling these rest fires that seem to come everyear. what is the difference really between being out where we are right now and verses one of your homes? >> and if it is a forest fire and no structures burn, then it is wood smoke and they have taken out neighborhoods ntin rosa or the town of heparadise and sowhen the homes and cars would rn, then there are even nastier toxic materials than regular wood smoke. and the firefighters have to h deal wthis all the time,

but in and out public is people are down and santa rosa from pthe coffk neighborhood probably inhaled some nasty synthetic material smoke. >> and whcan people do to tdoors? themselves if they are >> and they could wear that 95 mask. i have one here. they could be put on, so they er the mouth and nose and there is actually a metal piece forming around yournose. and the protection depends on fitting well. so you know i have a beard and sothere will be a little leakage around my face. >> what about kids though? you have little ones and i always feel for them and because things don't fit them th all time. what do we do about our kids and what can we do? for these to be effective, they have to fit well.

so unfortunately th are made for adults. even the small version doesn't really fit kids properly. so it is not officially approved, the use of 95 for kids, so they should stay inside. >> yes, for somebody like me with a beard, it fits pretty well. and gedon't that same protection as you would wearing one of these, but i gewould some protection, so it is not weird to see at. >> and where do you get those? >> you can get them at most hardware stores because people will use them for consuction work. and you can also get them off internet , another siteand they are often distribu for free by local jurisdictions. >> sir, it seems like wildfires are here to stay. what concerns do you have as a thphysician about long-term effects these fires on our environment now and for future

generations to come? >> iwill be a problem. and with regards to the long- term health effects, we just don't have the data. but we're trying lrn about st the firefighters ects by - because they have the most exposure. >> do you think we will see re cases of asthma in the future? >> and with the exacerbations of asthma related to d these wildfires whether the fire smoke can cause asthma is susceptible people. d that also needs to be studied. >> dr. baums, thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> really appreciate you coming in today. that'll do usit for as always you can find more of our coverage on kqed.org/newsroom. thank you for joining us.

robert:ongress, and a nation divided. >> it's a sad day because nobody comes to congress to impeach a president. no one. robert: an historic house week formalizes impeachmentag proceedingainst president trump. as evidence mounts aut a possible quid o quo and as more officialsrealled to testify. the president and republicans respond with fury. president trump: you can't impeach a phosident did nothingg wrong. you can't impeach a president the history of nation.economy in >> trying to put a bow on a sham doesn't make it any o lessf a sham. >> this is "washington week." funding is providedy