on the broadcast tonight, getting out. new evacuations ordered as new fires explode across seven states, threatening thousands of homes. tonight, flames getting dangerously close to some famous cities and towns. warning signs, amid a staggering new look at lyme disease. far more people have it than previously thought. tonight, what's behind the big rise and what you should be on the lookout for. the survivor. a 12-year-old girl talks about the moment she was attacked by a bear and how she got away. the latest in an alarming string of attacks. and fatherhood. prince william opens up about being a new dad, diaper duty and high anxiety over this moment

with the whole world watching. nightly news begins now. good evening, i'm lester holt, sitting in for brian. reinforcements are on the way tonight for the army of firefighters trying to save thousands of homes from a massive inferno still burning in central idaho. it is the biggest and most dangerous of more than three dozen wildfires. late word, they are now burning in eight western states. for those on the fire lines, the conditions couldn't be worse and the stakes couldn't be much higher. that fire in idaho is tonight threatening at least three communities and thousands have had to leave their homes. nbc's miguel almaguer was with firefighters on the front lines for part of the day. he has pulled back now to safer grour ground in nearby haley, idaho to join us. miguel? >> reporter: lester, good evening. all the fires in the west are

feeding on drought-like conditions and is the perfect fuel. fire loves the deep terrains, it explodes out of control when it hits a hill like this. so much of this hill was covered with waist-high debris and brush. when it hit this fire, it took off. tonight, idaho's beer creek fire is the most dangerous, most explosive blaze in the nation, with no sign of slowing down. it's moving in multiple directions, 160 square miles swallowed by flames so far. >> this fire has been very active and very aggressive. it's a perfect firestorm. >> reporter: the inferno, just a mile away from 5,000 homes. >> just an extended drought. it's been hot, it's been dry. >> reporter: firefighters call this an erratic and aggressive blaze, whipped by 30-mile-an-hour winds. 1200 firefighters are on the ground. more resources on the way. crews on the front lines have had little sleep.

this back-breaking work is going around the clock. across the west, 41 uncontained wildfires are raging, 32 of them sparked by lightning, like this one in central california, threatening 400 homes. in the last 24 hours, 600 lightning strikes in this region have crews on their heels. >> the concerns are certainly just the erratic conditions out here and the erratic fire behavior. >> reporter: with drought conditions burning fires hotter and faster than ever before, crews face new challenges, protecting homes encroaching on dense forest land. >> a lot of narrow gulches in this area with homes built right to the middle of them, just incredible fire behavior with crews trying to protect the structures. >> reporter: tonight in idaho and beyond, many fear this fire season is not only heating up but just beginning. firefighters are making progress. this blaze is nearly 10% contained. the bad news, the winds are picking up and so much of this

mountainside has been scorched and those that haven't been is ripe to burn. lester? >> miguel, thank you. now to another big story we are following tonight, the out-of-control situation in egypt. word of two awful massacres there and an increasingly precarious situation for the united states. forcing defense secretary chuck haig toll admit today there is not much the u.s. can do. our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, joins us once again tonight from cairo. richard? >> reporter: good evening, lester. secretary hagel says this is, after all, a sovereign nation and it's up to egyptians to sort this out. egyptian officials we spoke to today say they don't believe washington has an accurate picture of what's going on here. egypt's government says this tragic scene is what the world doesn't understand about its controversial crackdown. the remains flown to cairo tonight of 25 policemen, executed in the sinai this morning. the government says they were unarmed and off duty, victims of

suspected islamic extremists. >> it's a very mean act of terror. it's something that happens every day. worst part about it that it's incomprehensible for an egyptian. >> reporter: a presidential adviser says the muslim brotherhood has unleashed terrorists under the guise of defending democracy. >> they are trying to portray to people that this is a political dispute. this is the result of having ousted the president and those are people defending their own political views. >> reporter: in cairo, there's now detention and mistrust. most shops closed even before the night time curfew. we have lost the joy of life. we are afraid. we are all depressed, said one woman. even so, one of the few cafes still open, egyptians told us they agreed with the military's actions. >> not the best situation in egypt, but i think we are going through a transitional period.

we are fighting, but not against islam. >> reporter: many say washington, before it cuts aid you can should remember that millions took to the streets last june to call on the army to expel the elected president, mohamed morsi for trying to impose an islamic agenda. but human rights group say the army has taken what it considers to be a green light too far. in refrigerated trucks today were the bodies of 36 prisoners, suffocated by tear gas police fired into a locked vehicle. the government says these muslim brotherhood supporters were trying to escape. and in another twist, a cairo court today ordered the release of egypt's former president hosni mubarak. his lawyer says he could be out this week, but it seems unlikely. >> richard engel who has been on the ground from the start of this current crisis in cairo. richard, thanks. back here at home, the city of chicago is coming off yet another awful weekend under deadly fire. six people were killed, 28

others, including a 7-year-old boy, were injured in gunfire across the city. at last count, there have been 249 murders in chicago so far this year, down from last year, and still a serious problem. and it's being felt beyond city limits. tonight, we take our cameras to the front lines, a hospital e.r. where the doctors and other care givers are making a difference between life and death for some of the victims of violence. john yang has our report. >> 1205. how do you copy? >> 38-year-old male, stabbing. >> room one. >> reporter: saturday night at advocate christ medical center's e.r. in suburban oak lawn, seven trauma cases in two hours. most involve violence on chicago's south side. two shootings, a stabbing and an assault. >> put the tourniquet on him. just relax. >> reporter: dr. james doherty is head of the trauma department on hour 13 of a 24-hour shift.

he is worried about a teenager who was shot in the head. >> the bullet fragment is still in there? >> the bullet fragment is gone. i don't see the bullet fragment at all. i think what happened it came in and hit you cracked the skull and then probably bounced out. >> reporter: the number of doas here has quadrupled in three years, but if they reach the doors alive, the survival rate is 97%. >> a lot of injuries. >> when you do something a lot, you get good at it. >> reporter: but it's getting harder. >> he is still pouring stuff out of there. >> amazing. throw the kitchen sink at him and see what happens. >> reporter: trauma sur jent ellen olney is caring for 45 patients, including one from neighboring indiana with 28 bullet wounds. >> we definitely see more people covered in bullets. i mean, 28? i would have to be as close the highest i have seen but i think 32 was the highest that i saw. and it's really chance to what it hits or what it doesn't hit.

>> reporter: last year, the staff saw nearly 1100 gunshot and stabbing victims. >> strong team work and we will get through it, okay? have a good night, guys. >> reporter: every night, they witness the changing nature of the violence. >> there's no rules anymore it seems like, with the pattern of violence. it is 5-year-olds getting shot. that really hits you hard. >> reporter: for some on the staff, it's been life changing. >> it's unforgettable, what i have seen in this e.r.. >> reporter: medical technician la wanna hudson grew up on chicago's south side and raised two son there is. >> when i wake up in the morning, i just thank god i have waken up and nothing has happened to me or my loved ones. >> reporter: cherishing life as they save the lives of others. john yang, nbc news, oak lawn, illinois. we have just learned new details about that horrific limousine fire in california that killed five women, friends who were celebrating a wedding

and got trapped in the back. officials say the deadly fire was sparked by a mechanical problem, a failure of the rear suspension system. four other friends and the limo driver survived. you will remember the driver at first thought one of the women who knocked on the partition window was asking if she could smoke. he will pay a fine for having too many passengers in the car but won't face any other charges. in san diego tonight, it looks like the situation involving embattled mayor bob filner may be nearing a tipping point. he is out of therapy but there's been no sign of him at city hall amid a flurry of sexual harassment accusations and an effort to recall him from office. instead, our station in san diego, knsd, reports that filner spent date in a closed-door meeting with city leaders and an attorney for one of his accusers, among others. no word yet on the outcome of that meeting. important health news tonight about lyme disease. turns out it is way more common than even the experts knew. tonight, the cdc says 300,000

people get lyme disease each year from deer ticks. that's ten times more than the cdc had previously counted, partly because not all cases are reported. nearly all those 300,000 cases are in the northeast and upper midwest. nbc's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman, is here with more on what you need to know about lyme disease. first, help us understand this big jump. >> i think for a lot of us, it wasn't that surprising, because for years, we have recognized that we probably underdiagnosed this and the cdc today said they are looking at new ways of trying to figure out how many cases are in this country and this does give credence and credibility to parents wtients, over the years, had symptoms and frankly, doctors haven't known,put that into any bucket or category. when doctors can't do that well, they don't diagnose well. >> we will talk about the symptoms. some mimic other illnesses but what are the they? >> the classic is a bull's eye rash, the central point with a

bull's eye and that happen 2s 4 to 36 hours after a bite. and then, flu-like symptoms, fever, aches, pain, headache. then some times, joint aches and muscle aches and when it can be misdiagnosed as arthritis. the tick bite doesn't mean you're going to get lyme disease. the black-legged tick has to be on you for 244 to 346 hours for it to really infect you. you can't infect another person. but if do you see a tick, the most important thing is to get it out with fine-nose tweezers. if you're out and about make sure you do a service, self-body tick check and if you do have symptoms, it's time to talk to your doctor about antibiotics. just because you get a tick bite doesn't mean you need antibiotics. if you have symptoms, then you get antibiotics. > how do you prevent the exposure to the ticks, so plentiful in this part of the country? >> one of the things is just the basics we have always talked about wear light clothing, pull your socks up over your legs and for kids playing out this time of year, cut the grass, separate

your backyard from longer grass or the woods with gravel or wood chips. the whole thing is to minimize exposure ahead of time and when your kids come in from playing outside, kids or grandkids, have them strip and look over their entire body. ticks like warm areas and it's important to get those ticks off within a day. >> important information. nancy, thank you. more information about recognizing and treating lyme disease on our website, nbcnightlynews.com. still here tonight, an alarming number of bear attacks a 124-year-old girl, the seventh victim in a week tonight. how she survived and why so many attacks are happening now. and later, prince william talks about the first few weeks as new dad and who stays up when prince george isn't in the mood to sleep. there, i said it. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t.

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a 12-year-old michigan girl is telling nbc news tonight she thought she was a goner when she went out for a jog and out of no where was mauled by a black bear. she is just one of seven people in five states who have been attacked by bears in the past week. why so many close encounters between humans and bears? here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it was a heart-stopping discovery in naples, florida, a black bear who had torn into a screened-in porch, sleeping on the tile floor. >> i couldn't believe my eyes. lining i never seen a bear that big. >> reporter: fortunately, the bear woke up and left, but across the country, bears have

attacked at least seven people over the past week. in northern alaska, a national guard hell couldn't her to rescue a hunter on saturday who survived 36 hours after being mauled by a bear n wyoming two high suffered minor injuries after being attacked by a grizzly and her cub. a camper in colorado was slightly injured last week n idaho, two researchers were attacked by a grizzly, one bitten on the leg. and in cadillac, michigan, thursday, a 12-year-old girl was attacked by a black bear while jogging. she thought she was going to die. >> this is it. i'm not gonna see my family ever again. not going to see my soccer team or any of my friends. i'm gone per. >> reporter: she tried run away, but the be caught her. but then she says she played dead and the bear walked awaty. 2011 university of calgary study you in 488% of the attacks, the bear was acting as a predator,

viewing humans as food. bears have grown up near humans, they are far less likely to attack, researchers say. this bear recently showed up near the nbc news offices here in washington. increasingly, urban sprawl and remote recreation are bringing humans and bears together. >> time the of year that they are going to have cubs and also going to be out actively foraging and looking for food, all preparing for wintertime to come and hibernate. >> reporter: in colorado this bear walked right into a bar, while another literally tried to walk off with a restaurant's dumpster. close encounters a little too close for comfort. tom costello, nbc news, washington. the national park service has some recommendations what to do and whatnot to do if you encounter a bear. we have put that information on our website. 4 we are back in a moment with a pair of new twists in the a-rod saga that played out on live tv. purchase eraser? e i need to redeem some venture miles before my demise. okay. it's easy to erase any recent travel expense i want.

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formally charged with premeditated murder for allegedly shooting and killing his girlfriend on valentine's day. and now, there's a date for the trial, march 3rd. there was new drama tonight in the showdown between yankees' star, alex rodriguez, and major league baseball, and it all played out before millions this morning on the "today" show. tonight, stephanie gosk joins us with the latest. stephanie? >> reporter: alex rodriguez ghettos keep playing while he appeals major league baseball's decision to suspend him 211 games for doping, but while everyone waits for the appeal to end, there is an ongoing and sometimes nasty back and forth among rodriguez, major league baseball, and the new york yankees. in an interview with matt lauer this morning, a-rod's attorney couldn't say whether rodriguez took performance-enhancing trucks because of a confidentiality agreement with the league. when matt handed him a letter from major league baseball saying he would waive the

confidentiality reading, there was no response. he called the letter a publicity stunt, a trap and a breach of the players association agreement, this, a day after the a-rod was hit by a pitch during his first at-bat with the red sox at fenway,n incident announcers said looked deliberate. his thirds at-bat, a-rod hit it out of the park, drama on and off the field. lester? >> stephanie, thank you. meanwhile, as that zbag tops with a-rod at war with the yankees and management no longer talking to him, an attempt to instill honesty while players are young and in a place where the game is so much simpler. all players and all teams in the little league world series are wearing shoulder patches that say "i won't cheat." they have been around for a few years, but needless to say, they are attracting a bit more attention these days. when we come back, prince william opens up about being a new dad and how kate and baby george are doing now. for pain and swelling?

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that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breast-feeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal.

talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. finally tonight, just because you're second in line to the british throne doesn't mean you get out of diaper duty, just one of the things we learn today as prince william opened up in his first interview since

becoming a new dad. we get more now from nbc's michelle kosinski in london. >> reporter: tomorrow's front pages already out tonight in london. just like any family photo, questionable lighting and the dog n true william and kate do-it-yourself style, these new pictures of baby george were taken at kate's parents' place by her father. >> we have all grown up differently to other generation and i very much feel if i can do it myself, i want to do it myself. >> reporter: and he has. the little prince's first for ray outside the mat tirnt ward straight into the public eye. >> i was on such a high anyway, really, we were happy to show him about whoever wanted to see him. >> reporter: he admits that masterfully smooth installation into the car seat, the driving off, yes, he practiced. >> i was terrified that i was gonna do some, you know, gonna fall off or what, door wasn't going to close properly. >> reporter: william says the global spotlight is a place he does not enjoy being but that he

knows what's required of him no wonder the royal couple still relishes getting away from all of this into the cozy privacy of kate's hometown. prince william, whose mother, diana, made sure his childhood was as normal as possible, full of outings, games and opportunities for him and his brother to just be boys, says he and katherine want the same for george. for william, that includes changing diapers. >> i did the first nappy, yeah. i wasn't allowed to get away with it. i had every midwife staring at me, you do it you do it. >> reporter: the long night. >> doesn't sleep that much, a little bit of a problem. >> reporter: but says kate is handling it like a pro. >> a fantastic job. other fellas might know, i'm actually looking forward to going back. >> reporter: a picture of a family, for the future king prince william calls -- >> a little bit of a rascal. >> reporter: michelle kosinski, nbc news, london. that's our broadcast for this monday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night, everyone.