losing ground. rapidly spreading wildfires threaten thousands of homes but not everyone is getting out of the way. digging for clues in that california kidnapping case. what are police looking for in the neibors yard. dose of controversy. matt lauer's interview with a controversial doctor. and lost at sea. with hope all but abandoned, an amazing story of survival after more than a week on the open amazing story of survival after more than a week on the open water. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. we begin tonight with the story unfolding in the mountains above los angeles where that major wildfire we've been following all weekend has exploded in dramatic fashion over the last 24 hours. as we come on the air, officials say the fire is expanding in all directions, and firefighters are desperately trying to hold ground. already thousands of residents have had to abandon their homes to find shelter elsewhere. nbc's miguel almaguer is watching it all unfold right now in la canada, california. miguel, where do things stand? >> reporter: lester, this fire is moving in just about every direction, including towards the hillside behind me. if that goes up, so do vital communications for this entire region, and that's not the only problem tonight. for five days the la canada fire has ravaged southern california.

towering flames have ripped across more than 35,000 acres and counting. but it was overnight when the blaze took a turn, suddenly exploding, tripling in size. the inferno feeds on acre after acre of bone dry bush. firefighters call it the perfect storm. today the governor called it an emergency. >> this fire is still totally out of control. >> reporter: with the fire line stretching 110 miles long, nearly 2,000 firefighters are on the ground. they make a stand where they can, but much of the attack comes from the air. nearly 2,000 people have been forced to evacuate. more than 12,000 homes are threatened. with few structures lost, the damage has been minimal, but the threat is not. >> we're just trying to do the last little bit that we can do. >> reporter: chip was told to evacuate saturday. he won't leave yet. >> when you see the flames closer than they were before and they're just all of a sudden there, then you start -- you

look at your exit and you think, what if that happens where my exit s. >> reporter: as eight major wildfires burn across california, the la canada fire poses the most danger. triple digit temperatures and air quality of a problem, but for now the notorious wind is not. >> if it were to get a santa ana wind event occur, it could blow this fire all over the place and give challenges to firefighters we're not currently having, but we have our hands full for sure. >> reporter: still the fire marches forward sweeping towards shows. rick enjoyed a spectacular vista and now has an unbelievable view of flames closing in. >> i'm almost in tears thinking about t. >> reporter: think being what could happen next, and if come morning homes will still be standing in this neighborhood. despite the work of firefighters, this blaze is only 5% contained. it will be a sleepless night for thousands who potentially stand in the path of this monstrous fire. lester? >> miguel almaguer for us tonight. also in california this

evening, investigators have widened their investigation into the bizarre kidnapping of jaycee dugard held captive for 18 of her 29 years. the search for clues now extends beyond the home of accused kidnapper and rapist phillip garrido. the latest from george lewis in antioch. >> reporter: 20 or so officers from two local police departments and the county sheriff's office have been probing, digging, hauling debris. some working with cadaver dogs trained to find human bodies. they're looking for evidence, any signs that the couple charged with kidnapping jaycee dugard and holding her in a warren of tents and sheds in their backyard might have been involved in a string of local murders. phillip garrido and his wife nancy have pleaded not guilty to more than two dozen charges, including forceable abduction, rape, and unlawful imprisonment. now the police investigation has expanded to the property next

door to the garridos. >> phillip garrido had access to that property. he used that property. >> reporter: the man who rented the property next door says he doesn't know what phillip garrido did here, but that garrido put a mattress and a stereo in a shed behind the house. police are also interested in this industrial area near where garrido once worked. it's where the bodies of several females, including three prostitutes were dumped in the late '90s. one of the victims who was not a prostitute, 15-year-old lisa norell. her mother, minunie is happy th police are reopening the investigation. >> i have hope. this is the first thing that's happened since my daughter's murder. >> reporter: in the neighborhood where jaycee dugard was abducted 18 years ago, people have put up balloons to celebrate the fact that she's alive and reunited with her mom. but sources close to the family say they anticipate a long, painful period of readjustment for jaycee and the two daughters

she bore by phillip garrido. >> they will need psychotherapy. they will need debriefing. they will need deprogramming because in many ways they have been brainwashed. >> reporter: and the man charged with masterminding that is now the focus of an intense investigation. george lewis, nbc news, antioch, california. we want to tell you now about a remarkable story of survival at sea. for more than a week three boaters from texas were missing miles from shore in the gulf of mexico. hopes of finding them alive dwindled day by day. but then something happened. we get the story from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: exhausted but safe, the three rescued fishermen took their first steps on dry land saturday night. >> our equilibrium, it was just way up. it took a while for us to stand up straight. >> reporter: tressel hawkins and two close friends from south texas left ma that gorda, texas.

they were seen 75 miles off the coast. that night a disastrous turn. hawkins woke up to a boat full of water. >> i'm running around frantically trying to get everybody up. we're trying to get the water out as fast as we can, and within a minute, five seconds, the boat just tumbled over. it capsized right there. >> reporter: for the next eight days in punishing heat the men sat and slept on the hull of the 23-foot boat surviving only on crackers and chewing gum and whatever water they could suck out of the boat's fresh water tank. as the days passed, the men relied on prayer and one another. >> we're going to have to live. we have too much to live for. and our life is really not over with yet. i mean, this is just a calling card to wake us up. >> reporter: the coast guard launched a massive search covering more than 86,000 square miles. roughly the size of minnesota, before calling off the effort last friday. >> you get to a point where a decision has to be made. it's an agonizing choice, but we informed the families that we

were suspending the search, and it's a difficult thing to do, but you get to a point where you have to look at all the factors. >> reporter: the next day a sport fisherman came upon the missing crew 180 miles from the coast. >> he said that he just spotted something real small in the water, and grabbed his binoculars and there we were. looked like three midgets standing on the boat waving flags and jumping around. >> they looked good and they took really good care of themselves the eight days they were out there. >> reporter: an unforgettable fishing tales and one one of the men's wives call a miracle. peter alexander, nbc news, new york. we turn to politics now. former vice president dick cheney today accused the justice department of making what he called a political move in its decision to review detainee interrogation practices by the cia. asked on the program "fox news sunday" whether he would agree to speak to the prosecutor in the case if called, cheney said, quote, it will depend on the circumstances. today marked the end of president obama's summer

vacation. the president and his family are back at the white house tonight, and his focus now shifts from relaxed days on martha's vineyard back to a long list of issues awaiting him at the white house. our report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> how are you? >> reporter: hours before president obama's vacation ended, he treated his girls to ice cream and candy. >> you decided to get some gum after all. >> reporter: the kind of family time the president said he had in mind for the week on martha's vineyard. a chance, friends say, to renew himself. >> it's a very tough time. he's a very tired person, even at 48 years old. >> reporter: while the president attendeded fun ralg of senator edward kennedy who had called health care the cause of his life, opponents already were launching fresh attacks on the president's health care plan. in a weekly radio and internet address, a key republican senator showed little hint of compromise. >> the democrats are trying to rush a bill through the process that will actually make our nation's finances sicker without

saving you money. >> reporter: the president leaves martha's vineyard to continue the health care fight at a time when his approval rating is at its lowest point of his presidency, and falling faster than most of his predecessors. >> he has failed to articulate a strong message about what he wants in the final bills. he's left it to the congress and he hasn't had his own cohesive message what he can promise would be in that bill. >> reporter: it's also unclear what impact the passing and absence of senator kennedy will have on congress. >> we're looking at a congress that's never been more polarized, more ideological, and less interested in actually getting -- doing the hard work it takes to reach a compromise on such a signature piece of legislation. >> reporter: while on vacation the first family took in the sights, they were out on the town. at times it looked like the candidate back on the campaign trail. a president now trying to replicate some of that past success. ron allen, nbc news.

senator edward kennedy was buried near his brothers at arlington national cemetery last night culminating a ritual of mourning that began with the news of his death last week. but as kennedy was laid to rest, we learned of an extraordinary correspondence between the senator and the pope. nbc's mike viqueira reports. >> reporter: today hundreds lined up to pay their respects at the final resting place of ted kennedy. his grave marked by a plaque and a simple oak cross, one of only two at arlington national cemetery, the nation's most hallowed ground. the other belonging to his brother, robert. but it was yesterday, the end of a week of solemnity and tribute, of sadness and of celebration, that there came one last poignant moment. >> i am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines. >> reporter: ted kennedy by his own hand and in his own words in a letter to pope benedict read aloud in the gathering darkness bied cardinal. >> i know that i have been an

imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith i have tried to right my path. >> reporter: written in the weeks preceding his death, kennedy tells the pope of his life in public service. >> i have worked to welcome the immigrants, to fight discrimination, and expand access to health care and education. i have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. >> reporter: senator kennedy gave his letter to president obama asking him to personally deliver it to the holy father. the president did so and the hope offered ted kennedy his blessing. yesterday's burial took place as the sun set over the grounds becoming the first nighttime burial in 41 years when his brother was interred just steps away. both burials delayed by hours following a long, slow procession as thousands in washington turned out to bid

good-bye to ted. so, too, did they line the route of robert's funeral train from new york delaying that ceremony past night fall. today the kennedy family says the public have responded to the character of the man they call their center. >> he knew all of the things that pained a human being. he was always the first person to reach out. >> reporter: mike viqueira, nbc news, arlington national cemetery. when "nightly news" continues this sunday night, a key figure in the debate over childhood vaccines and autism. his first in depth interview. and off the coast of maine, a fight over lobsters comes to a boil. and lower both your numbers. ve taken steps to try but how close are you to your goals? there may be more you can do. only caduet combines two proven medicines... in a single pill to significantly lower... high blood pressure and high cholesterol. in a clinical study of patients... with slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, caduet helped 48% reach both goals in just 4 weeks.

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vaccine and autism? a developmental disorder affecting an estimated 300,000 children in this country. the belief that there is a possible link started with one man, and he has never given an in-depth interview on the subject until now. here is nbc's matt lauer. >> reporter: dr. andrew wakefield's controversial theory that raised a possible link between the childhood vaccine and autism has had an impact the world over. >> then something happened, their children fell apart. >> reporter: it was his theory that caused many parents to question a vaccine meant to save their children's lives. and gave parents of children with autism a possible answer to the question why. >> dr. wakefield is a hero. i don't know where we would be without him because no one would listen to us before him. >> reporter: but others see him differently. do you think he's done a lot of damage? >> i think this man has done a tremendous amount of harm and it amazes me he doesn't accept the responsibility for that harm.

>> reporter: for the very first time dr. andrew wakefield sits down to address the conflict head-on after a decade of debate. >> i knew there was going to be controversy and it was going to challenge people's opinions. >> reporter: it's more than controversy though. this has exploded, doctor. his theory laid the groundwork for a worldwide movement questioning the safety of vaccines. despite tremendous opposition from the medical establishment, which points to numerous studies in hundreds of thousands of children that seem to have disproved him. >> despite this amazing wealth of data that has shown his hypothesis to be incorrect, he still walks staunchly ahead, his head held high, and he is unwilling to accept all the data that's shown him to be incorrect. >> reporter: while dr. wakefield may be considered an outlier by most of the established medical community, there is someone who believes he should be heard. dr. bernadine heely says there could be a very small number of children affected by vaccines

that the large studies might be missing. >> i don't think it's terribly humble to say we have all the answers, stop, shurt down the research, don't ask any questions. all the questions have by no means been answered. >> reporter: as for dr. wakefield, the controversy continues. i wasn't sure whether i was going to see a halo pof your head or horns coming out of your head. how do you feel about the controversy you have generated over this last decade? >> well, i think if you make an observation which challenges policy or profit, then there is going to be a reaction. i don't know whether vaccines cause autism. i know it's a legitimate question that needs to be asked and i'm not going to walk away from it. >> reporter: matt lauer, nbc news, new york. you can see more of matt's interview on a special "dateline." a dose of controversy tonight at 7:00/6:00 central here on nbc. when we come back, what happens when a skydiver takes a

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the latest now on hurricane jimena. now a category 4 storm packing winds of 135 miles an hour as it heads north toward the baja peninsula. the storm poses a threat, but it could also help relieve the region's severe drought. it has been four years since the disastrous landfall of hurricane katrina which left so much of the gulf coast in tatters. although katrina's floodwaters have long since retreated, much of the damage remains. ron mott reports from new orleans. >> reporter: it was a day to remember, a day never to forget. on katrina's fourth anniversary they honored the more than 1,600 who died while celebrating those who survived and returned like charles, a church pastor in the hard hit lower ninth ward. >> h-o-m-e, home, this is home.

and if you have a sense of home and what a home is, then you desire to come back there. >> reporter: few of his neighbors though have turned their desire into reality. but across town in the lake view section, a milestone for craig and cindy. it's the first night home in their new house. >> we're real excited to be back home and looking forward to being here. i think we're also still a little -- we're still a little angry, i think, about the situation. >> reporter: what happened here was unprecedented and extraordinary. 80% of the city was under water. 150,000 homes were damaged or destroyed leaving blighted neighborhoods like this one where even today a full third of all the houses here are either vacant or abandoned. and, of course, there's crime, but positive news abounds as well. the population is steadily climbing as are test scores in the overall public school system. >> 77% of the population of the

city of new orleans have returned. nearly 90% of the population of the metropolitan area have returned. >> back in lake fall, they're happy for their good fortune. they'll wonder about the future every time they stare into the backyard and the reblilt levee that let them down. >> i'm not confident at all. we did what we had to do to get back. >> reporter: back still uncertain. ron mott, nbc news, new orleans. we to show you some extraordinary pictures of a man in england who is lucky to be alive. paul lewis, a skydiver who fell to earth from 10,000 feet without a working parachute. he frantically tried to open his reserve chute, but it came out tangled and lewis crashed into a metal roof that helped break his fall. he survived with bruises, nerve damage, and a dislocated neck and guess what? lewis says he'll never sky dive again.

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industry is in a boil over sinking prices and reduced dae mand. it's being felt up and down the maine coastline but perhaps no more visibly than on a tiny island out in the atlantic. that's where janet shamlian filed this report. >> reporter: it's the picture of tranquility. accessible only by small plane or a weekly ferry. matinicus island is 20 miles off the coast of maine and seemingly a lifetime from its pressure. >> i love living out here. it's not for everyone. it isn't. >> reporter: smaller than new york central park, there's just a couple of gravel roads and fewer than 50 full-time residents. no gas station, no restaurant, no cell service. but what it does have isn't on matinicus island itself but in the waters just off the island, an abundance of the region's bread and butter, lobsters. with prices at a 20-year low and the industry struggling, a clash over tradition and territory.

one lobsterman shot another this month in a dispute over who can fish here. >> this is my office. how can you beat it? >> reporter: clayton philbrook is a fifth generation lobsterman. he's among residents asking maine for an extraordinary step, to declare robstering around the island only for those who live on it. people might look at this situation and say you're trying to keep competition out. >> we are. it isn't the competition that we're worried about. it's the people who aren't going to put anything back. >> reporter: lobstermen can set traps almost anywhere in state waters. with more mainlanders venturing here, matinicus fears for its future. >> sustain a society or community out here, we have to have the territories around the island for the lobsters. that's the life blood of the community. >> reporter: dependent on a fragile livelihood, a legacy on the line. >> i don't want to think that my