this is "nightline." >> tonight, state of emergency in california. the stunning images as raging wildfires force evacuations, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses, putting entire families and their pets out on the streets. we're right there on the front lines tonight with the exhausted firefighters and what happened when one man trying to escape drove right through the heart of the inferno. plus the natural. she's far, far from home on "dancing with the stars." but that just might be bindi irwin's secret weapon. the crocodile hunter's daughter carrying on his legacy, now getting a glamorous makeover away from her natural habitat. and we there are for her big debut tonight. you're hired. arnold schwarzenegger may be best known for that one famous line from "the terminator."

>> i'll be back. >> but he's got a new job now and it involves owning a catch phrase made famous -- >> you're fired. you're fired. you're fired. >> by donald trump. >> gilbert, you're fired. first, the "nightline 5." >> do you suffer from constipation or irregularity? trust dulcalax for dependable relief. comfort coated for gentle overnight relief. hurry, try it free. designed for dependable relief. think your heartburn pill works fast? take the zantac challenge. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. when heartburn strikes take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. >> number one in just 60

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good evening. we start tonight with the breaking news. the state of emergency in california where 12 wildfires are burning right now. one in particular, the so-called valley fire, is fierce, fast-moving, and fatal. and tonight we've got the stunning images and the survivors, both human and animal. here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: the fire swept down the valley with apocalyptic fury. flames as high as skyscrapers hop-scotching the canopies. raining flaming terror. families fleeing, navigating this hellish landscape. cinders swirling in the air. 23,000 people displaced in northern california. we spent time today with a crew of firefighters from riverside county, california. exhaustion remains one of the greatest perils. >> you guys pretty tired? >> we're getting there. all our resources have been going at it about a month, month and a half. >> reporter: like others, selective about what they could save.

>> firefighters are letting this burn. they're not concerned with this kind of grass fire. their main concern right now because they're so overwhelmed is protecting homes and people. >> reporter: the valley fire, 100 miles north of san francisco, threatening napa county, fueled by dry conditions and 30-mile-per-hour winds explodeing from a small fire over the weekend to a 60,000 square acre monster. one of the fastest-vedding and most-destructive fires in california this year. up to 1,000 homes and structures destroyed. one person killed. so many unprepared for its speed, trying desperately to outrun it. this man driving through the worst of it. these time lapse videos capture the panicked exodus. watch as this driver struggles to find his way out. fire everywhere he turns. you can hear the fire's net general roar. others cornered by those ferocious flames and smoke.

>> scariest thing i've ever been through in my life. we've lost all of our homes. and some pets. we're just devastated. >> reporter: as the flames overtook an entire town, overwhelmed firefighters did what they could. >> these guys are very limited on resources. every engine has got multiple structures to try and protect. just can't save everything. >> reporter: retired rifrt todd sudmire live streaming the desperate fight to save middletown, california. >> putting water on this particular house because it's at a corner. they don't want to lose this corner. >> reporter: officials estimate nearly 40% of middletown now scorched earth. this is what one house looked like before the blaze. and this is all that is left of it today. over the weekend, four firefighters were burned. now recovering. one of them, richard rafe, giving thumbs-up from his hospital bed. >> we are really in a battle with nature, that nature is more powerful than we are. >> reporter: about 11,000

firefighters are battling the fires, putting in grueling shifts. many lasting more than 24 hours, some over 36 hours. crews so fatigued they've been flopping down in driveways or fields for just a few minutes of rest. >> block after block is devastation devastation. >> reporter: don lopez is one of california's fatigued firefighters. he retired last year. but decided to volunteer. since then it's been a parade of one fire after another. >> and then from the rag fire i went to the rocky fire to the jerusalem fire to the peterson fire to the little grade fire. that was 34 days straight on all those. >> reporter: lopez has been a firefighter for more than three decades, appearing in this heroic pulitzer prize-winning photograph. never before has a wildfire hit so close to home. while fighting that quip-moving fire he learned flames on the other side of the blaze were shifting towards his hometown of middletown.

>> i didn't know if i had a house to come to. i heard it was hitting middletown hard. you start hearing all kinds of rumors. but you don't really know what to believe. i kept borg and hoping for the best. there's nothing i can do at that point. >> reporter: he called his wife heidi with whom we caught up later. >> when i talked to my husband, i've never heard him raise his voice, and he was knocking on doors to tell people to get out. and he told one person, you've got three minutes or the sheriff's coming for you. >> reporter: heidi evacuated minutes before the fire hit town. fortunately those flames stopped right here on lopez's property. >> if the fire had moved ten feet closer to the house, this wouldn't be standing? >> i don't know how it's still here. i really don't know. everything is gone. >> reporter: lopez's house was spared. his daughter's wasn't. >> everything is gone. our house is gone. we only moved in there in november. all we have is gone. we don't know what to do. it's just devastating. >> reporter: still tonight her

father is going pack to the fire. >> you're going back on the fire line? >> back on the fire line up in the cobb area. that's what i do. i'm a fireman. that's all i know how to do is help whoever else is out there that i can help. >> reporter: tonight thousands of people like lopez on the fire lines but behind him scientists trying to better understand the fires. my colleague clayton sandell visited this federal fire science laboratory in missoula, montana, where wildfires are studied. >> look into the flame zone. there's a little trough. that's the air pushing those little parcels forward. >> reporter: scientists here warn that stopping destructive fires is getting tougher. more people are building homes in wildfire-prone areas. and more flames are being put out before they naturally burn off dry trees and brush, fuel for mega fires. in this experiment we see how dry send it pushes the flames forward. >> they're like waves in water.

and they are pushing forward. they exit the flame zone at the head. and they splash into the fuels at the top. and that's what lights the new particles on fire. >> that's how your wildfires get big? >> that's how they get big, that's how they spread. >> reporter: today as the fires continue to burn, hundreds of evacuees from that fast-moving valley fire find temporary shelter in tents while others take refuge in this shopping center parking lot. tonight, don lopez's family, not fighting fires, but fighting to keep its spirit up. >> i think we've eaten maybe one meal. in the past two days. it's like -- >> still you keep a smile on your face. >> you have to. because you go to the campground and there are people that have lost their houses. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in middletown, california. up next on "nightline," the young star hitting the dance floor tonight on "dancing with the stars."

the daughter of the late crocodile hunter steve irwin. her moves, her message, and her attempt to get our reporter to share her affection for snakes. hey! let me help with that. oh, thank you! [ laughing ] [ music continues ] introducing the one-and-only volkswagen golf sportwagen. the sportier utility vehicle. if you struggle with type 2 diabetes, you're certainly not alone. fortunately, many have found a different kind of medicine that lowers blood sugar. imagine what it would be like to love your numbers. discover once-daily invokana . it's the #1 prescribed in the newest class of medicines that work with the kidneys to lower a1c.

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one of the new stars on "dancing with the stars" tonight distinguishes herself not only by her dexterity and grace but also by her avowed hatred of high heels and a backstory that is both fascinating and tragic. she is bindi irwin, daw of the famous crocodile hunter steve irwin. she sat down with abc's nick watt. crocodile rock >> reporter: bindi irwin never danced before. after a few weeks' training looks like she knows what she's doing. >> you are a god, a god! >> reporter: why is a 17-year-old aussie, outback animal lover, high heel hater, dancing with derek, risking a turned ankle and a bruised ego on "dancing with the stars"? she's here because of her dad. >> dad always said, i don't care

if people remember me, i care if theme rememberpeople remember my message. as a family that is what we've tried to focus on. standing up and speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. so as a family, i think that it's probably two weeks after dad passed away that i said to mom, when are we going to start filming again? >> reporter: dad was cultural icon steve irwin. >> oh, crikey! >> reporter: host of the smash national hit "the crocodile hunter." >> he's constricting my head. >> reporter: steve was a human hurricane. >> whoo-hoo! >> reporter: killed by a stingray in 2006 when bindi was 8 years old. >> is it ever in the back of your mind when you're wrestling a crocodile that something similar might happen to you? >> it's never really been a thought to me. we're always careful. and it's just what we love. >> reporter: bindi posted this photo on australia's father's day saying in part, no matter

where i am in the world, this day means such a lot to me. my heart forever lives at australia zoo. just like dad's always did. >> you instagramed what for me dad. hair. >> yeah. and salt water crocodiles. >> is that who he still is for you? >> that is dad. honestly, that was -- that was dad, completely. i mean, what you saw is who he was. these guys are so cute because they get all puffy when you're trying to save them and move them. >> reporter: many of us, me included, bumble through life unclear of our calling. not bindi irwin. >> i think i'm able to use all these different avenues to spread my message. even if it's just a couple of people along the way, then i've done my job. >> reporter: on camera when she was just a few weeks old on her dad's show. "the crocodile hunter." >> since the day i was hatched i've been around so many animals. so i think that when you grow up like that, that's the normal thing.

whereas coming here to l.a., i find that i'm having a bit of difficulty adjusting. >> you've seen the movie "crocodile dundee." >> crocodile dundee from australia, how are you? >> that's kind of how i feel. >> reporter: we brought snakes to make her and mom feel more at home. >> do you worry about bindi? particularly in light of what happened to steve. she's putting herself in similar positions. >> not really with wildlife. but it's more strangers and cars and things laic that that make me nervous, really. >> reporter: steve did die because of an interaction with wild-. >> about once every 75 years, someone is killed from a stingray in first of all. so, i mean, what a freak accident. >> you keep waiting for him to come home, ha ha, i've just been away for this long, gotcha! that was probably one of the hardest things. now we've reached this point

where we're able to look back and revel in all the good times we had. our lives were captured on camera. >> reporter: steve did create a little controversy with stunts like this 2004 incident at their zoo. crocs and bindi's baby brother robert. >> is your brother the same? >> robert is the same. robert's really interesting. he's the scientist of the family. and many people don't know that dad was quite science-minded as well. and he was so clever. >> so he gets that from your dad, and you get this from your dad? >> the passion! it's true. i think that it's like -- i am a living hurricane. just like dad. >> reporter: at 17, she's helping mom keep steve's memory and the now 1,500-acre australia zoo alive. >> we're the busiest wildlife hospital on planet earth. >> reporter: rescued and rehabbed 58,000 animals in the past 11 years. >> when steve and i first married he said to me, if anything ever happens to me,

would you please keep the zoo going? i really -- i felt fear with the grief. can i do this? for me, it took a lot of courage. but i couldn't imagine doing anything else. >> we have conservation projects globally. helping animals like rhinos in ken de, tigers in sumatra. we work with elephants in cambodia cambodia. it's a phenomenal, phenomenal project. >> we actually have friends with this little guy because they're found in australia. >> reporter: seems like everyone they meet they try to win over to the conservation cause. bindi taking time here at the grove in l.a. to chat to passersby and cure my hatred of snakes. >> everything loves you. >> they're trying to win me over. >> hilarious. >> they realize i don't really like them. >> that is really special. >> they're trying to win me over. >> that is really special. >> the animals seem to love you. >> reporter: she's trying to flatter me into caring. >> he really likes you. >> he genuinely -- look at that. >> sincerely.

>> every time we lose an animal species it's like losing a brick from the house. soon the house just falls down. >> reporter: you're always going to be fighting a battle. you're never going to win. is there going to be a day you declare victory? >> yeah, that is true, and i always think that. kind of one of those things that you're never going to wake and up say, well, that's it, i've saved the world, i'm done, now i'm going to be an astronaut. >> or a pro dancer. >> or a pro dancer, exactly. i think that i'm able to use all these different avenues to spread my message. >> i don't have been starting from ground zero dancing-wise. we've got some work to do here. but it doesn't feel like work because it's just so enjoyable. crocodile rock >> reporter: judging by her first night, bindi has more than just enthusiasm. it's the spirit of steve on the dance floor. >> that was the best performance of the night. >> oh my god! >> reporter: i'm nick watt for "nightline," los angeles. >> our thanks to nick watt.

you can watch part two of "dancing with the stars" season premiere tomorrow at 9:00 eastern on abc. coming up next on "nightline," at schwarzenegger has a that you job and a new catch phrase to master. here's your hint -- donald trump. what if one piece of kale could protect you from diabetes? what if one sit-up could prevent heart disease? one. wishful thinking, right? but there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease. pneumococcal pneumonia. if you are 50 or older, one dose of the prevnar 13 vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. even if you have already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, prevnar 13 may help provide additional protection. prevnar 13 is used in adults 50 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia.

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arnold schwarzenegger will always be associated with one very famous movie line. we all know what it is, i don't need to say it. today, though, we learn that arnold is taking a new job with an equally famous but very different catch phrase.

>> brandi, you're fired. >> reporter: donald trump's famous line will forever be links with "the apprentice." >> you're fired. you're fired. you're fired. >> reporter: there's a new boss getting in on the action. arnold schwarzenegger. the movie star and former governor of california hired as the new host of nbc's "celebrity apprentice." he is no stranger to that catch phrase. >> you're fired. >> reporter: he said it in the movie "true lies" back in 1994. schwarzenegger will be in charge of evaluating the famous faces as they compete to win money for a charity of their choice. the now-former politician taking over board room duties for the now-current politician, donald trump. >> you like that? >> reporter: who, of course, has set his sights on a different oval-shaped office. >> make america great again! >> reporter: trump congratulate his rally. >> arnold schwarzenegger. good, right? i think it's a good choice. he's a friend of mine. >> reporter: he also apologized to his fans tweeting, sorry i couldn't do "the apprentice" any