the order will go out for springerville if the flames get too close to here. the fire has been roaring aggressively through the mountains on the arizona-new mexico border, threatening towns in its way. >> the smoke covering that entire community. >> reporter: this morning the wind died down long enough for 22 water-dropping helicopters to get airborne, aiding firefighters on the ground. >> this is unprecedented in the way these fires are burning. you know, arizona is so dry that fires just burn like gasoline. >> reporter: it started nine days ago. since then it has spread rapidly day by day, growing into a monster, fueled by dry brush and rotting trees, driven by winds gusting up to 60 miles an hour. last evening law enforcement ordered people living in greer, arizona to get out of town. >> yeah, we're leaving right now. >> reporter: in the larger cities of springerville and eagar, people have been warned to get ready to evacuate. amy bigelow, her husband away with the fire crews, was loading her pickup truck and keeping an eye on her three kids. >> they're do

now, that fire has destroyed at least 6 homes in the resort town of springerville. and it threatens hundreds more. flames have scorched about 525 square miles. karen brown has more on this fight against the wildfire. >>> reporter: lighter winds and cooler temperatures are helping crews in eastern arizona battle the second largest wildfire that state has ever seen. even so, officials warn the fire will grow today. >> this is the third big fire that we have had in springerville. >> reporter: don and caroline are two of the more more than 7,000 evacuees who loaded up their cars and left last night. many residents left behind white flags, a signal to fire crews they have surrendered their homes. >> worry about my wife. [ crying ] >> we're not young anymore. and it's tough. you know, but we'll get through it, grace of god. >> reporter: these people are lucky because their insurance will pay for a hotel. many of the others are staying in shelters, all of them anxiously waiting for word about their homes. both highways leading to the towns are closed and those who decided

clayton sandell has more from springerville, arizona. >> reporter: people in springerville are breathingsigh of relief. there is still lots of hazy smoke in the air so they will not be breathing easy. this fire that has blackened 700 square miles of arizona with lightning speed is finally slowing. >> we turned a corner. every day there is a corner. we feel a lot more confident than we did two days ago. >> reporter: air and ground attacks have made enough good progress to let about 8,000 evacuees of springerville and eager come home. denise gillman and her grandson derek were two of the first. good to be home? >> yes, it is. it is wonderful. thank god for the firefighters and the police and everything they do. yeah. >> reporter: in harder-hit communities like greer, where homes were lost, residents will have to stay out for at least five more days. so how large is this fire? 443,989 acres. arizona's second largest. and what about coming home to all of that smoke-clogged air, is it safe to breathe? authorities warn, no. especially for the young, elderly and anyone with respiratory problems

we are joined by jim in the town of springerville.ign they are getting control of this massive fire? >> unfortunately, no, randi. still zero percent contained despite 2,500 firefighters here. they are hiking out to get a handle on the fire, and very few roads up in the area, and they are battling the terrible high winds which is the biggest enemy. 25-mile-an-hour sustained winds and 40-mile-an-hour gusts make it very difficult to fight, randi. >> looking at the pictures, was it difficult for you to get through the fire zone, and what did you see along the way? >> it is. there are many roads closed here and along the way, you can see the huge billows of smoke and in fact, even flying in from hundreds of miles away, you could see the huge billows of smoke. there is basically one road in and out of here as the authorities are trying to encourage people to evacuate and they will enforce that more probably come tomorrow. you see the thick timbers on the mountains going from 10 miles away from springerville is the front of the fire and wher

isn't the fire very close now to springerville? >> yes. actually command post is with the evacuation and the pre-evacuation zone and also have folks that are reorganizing in the evacuation zone. we're basically residents, packed up and ready to move if we need to. >> is this fire still zero percent contained, as they said? >> that's correct. >> so how are the winds going today? i mean, are the winds still your biggest enemy in trying to get this under control, and if so, what's being done to fight this? >> well, we've been able to handful really well, because yesterday's winds weren't as bad as there is been, but today looks like we may have gusts up to 35 miles an hour. you have that with low dose of humidity, it makes it easier for it to move around. we're expecting we'll have more movement this afternoon. until that happens we're able to have the helicopters dumping large amounts of water. >> and last we heard, only ten buildings or so had been lost. is that a testament, would you say, to the firefighters? or has the fire just so far av

better news than they've had for at least a week here in springerville and eager. deb? thanks so much, and really just an honorable job by the firefighters there who have been working around it is clotho contain those fires. thanks so much. >>> jobs and company profit up or down? in a couple minutes we'll see what's in the financial forecast. membership rewards points from american express. they're a social currency. with endless possibilities. agents, let's welcome beast, an exchange student from the x-men school. - so, what do you guys study? - um-- - do you know about discounts? - do you have a cafeteria? - what about ways to save people money? - do you have taco tuesdays? - have you guys started combining policies? - i like your hair. agents, please. i don't know what the x-men do at their school, but i hope they're treating our guy better than we're treating beast. kinda looks like a target. not cool. we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ maybe you don't think you're at risk for heart attack or stroke but if you've been diagnosed with p.a

although most of springerville is evacuated they wanted to help watch over their neighbor's property.> there was key to get out and do something to protect your home. >> so far firefighters have managed to steer the flames around the town but as the high winds return, they are worried it could circle back and come straight for them. >> we will always appreciate what has been done for us. >> each day is one day closer to the end we hope. >> and now officials have another worry. extremely hazardous air quality. they say for the residents and the firefighters. the level of soot in the air is dangerously off the charts. for the community, the amount of particulate matter, smoke in the air, is a big issue. >> more than 10,000 people have evacuated as the fires consumed more than 430,000 acres. and destroyed at least 30 homes. fire mechanic howdy big low has his home in eagar, his family is evacuated, but he stayed to help keep the fire trucks running. he is working with a heavy heart. >> what has that been like for you. >> our whole mountain is destroyed. gone. >> and now, residents in new

karen brown, springerville, arizona. >>> overseas the 11 week foup rising against syrian president is turning more brutal and chaotic. at the army is moving in on protesters in a town near the turkish border. the syrian government says 120 soldiers and police killed there by armed gangs but witnesses say soldiers fired on other soldier who is with refused to shoot the demonstrators. >>> robert gates wraps up his final trip. he will deliver a speech on global security issues in brussels. yesterday he said no rush to the exits when u.s. forces begin leaving afghanistan next month. >>> the man in line to replace gates, leon panetta, currently running the cia, testified yesterday at a senate confirmation hearing. as defense secretary panetta will inherit two wars he made it very clear he'll resist pressure to end them too quickly. here's david martin. >> reporter: with americans still coming home in flag-draped caskets from iraq, cia director panetta revealed a surprising and to many, no doubt, confusing fact. now there are a thousand al qaeda still in haerk. iraq. it, too, continues to b

karen brown, springerville, arizona. >>> to some sad news now, bruce springsteen's saxophone player, clarence clemones has had a stroke. to springsteen fans, he's known as big man, the 69-year-old has been playing with springsteen since 1971 and has been in failing health the past few years. >>> and talk about short, this is 18-year-old junrey balawing from the philippines. he's not quite two feet tall. that puts him in the "guinness book of world records" as the shortest man in the world. his parents say he stopped growing two months after birth. it was a big party for the little guy at the official measuring ceremony. >>> coming up on your monday morning, we've got weather for you and in sports, getting rough, push comes to shove in the finals. dallas looks for its first nba title. we'll be right back. you're gonna want mr. fuzzyman even more now that we've discovered beneful playful life. with real, wholesome ingredients like beef, egg, and even oatmeal. extra protein for strong muscles. so you're ready for anything. you think you're getting spoiled. but it's so good for you, too.

in springerville. >> vallejo firefighters preparing for the season with controlled bushes. tomorrow morning they will burn grass and vegetation. they are aimed to reduce the possibility of the loss of home and properties in the future. this is a picture of the area they will be working on. it has been prone to fires. people who live in the area are asked to keep all windows and doors closed. >> san carlos is looking to hire more than a dozen firefighters. they will start taking applications tomorrow for firefighters and captains. the new one ones will work for a hybrid agency. san car agency. >> comingup,, rebels in syria release videos of a violent crack down by soldiers. >> and the wildfire around congressman weiner gets hotter. those calling for him to resign. >> alameda residents gather to protest and call for a federal investigation into the deaths of a suicidal, man on memorial day. . >>> the first lady expected to visit the bay area this week. she is scheduled to speak at two democratic fundraisers on tuesday. the first is at a breakfast. tickets range from one thous

the biggest is the wallow fire near the town of springerville. with 180,000 acres now turned to smouldering ashes. it's already on record is at third largest in state history. more than 2,100 fire fighters are deployed for battle just that one fire. that includes 20 helicopters to hit the flames from the air, but so far there's zero containment. fire officials warn there is still a lot of potential for this one blaze to get even bigger and more dangerous. >> the conditions are so dry and the fire advances so fast, the fire will build a large plume and move ahead three to five miles in a short time, couple of hours. >> well, the resort down of greer is in the path of the wallow fire, and joining us by phone is kristi spellman, still in her home but prepared to evacuate if that order comes. thanks for joining us tonight. why are you still there when everyone else has left? >> well, we pre-evacuated most of our stuff to the shelter in sholo from the american red cross and decided to come back and wait it out and see if woe would actually have to eva

. >> jim spellman is live in springerville, arizona, this morning. jim, the national weather service has issued a red flag warning because of the possibility of rapid and erratic fire growth. tell us what that means. >> yeah. that's red flag warning. low humidity, high winds and that's what's been feeding this storm. yesterday a firefighter described it to me as a monster. there's been a good side to this monster fire, so far it's hit mostly unpopulated areas and a huge national forest. that could change in springerville and eager a community of 7,000 fipeople. residents have been told leave if you can, be ready to go, they wa last thing they want to do is evacuate people in the middle of the night. here's what the incident commander told us about that yesterday. >> the further ear vac wayses will come from if this does not hold tonight and we get something started down in -- down lower or we have a run that starts up in here and hits our original trigger point. and it hits it hard or it's running real hard when it gets there. >> reporter: so this is

people here in springerville have definitely breathing a sigh of relief tonight. with so much nasty, smoky air still hanging around here, they are not breathing easy. this fire that has blackened nearly 700 square miles of arizona with lightning speed is finally slowing. >> we turned a corner. every day there's a corner, but we feel a lot more confident than we did two days ago. >> reporter: air and ground attacks have made enough good progress to let about 8,000 evacuees of springerville and eager come home. denise and her grandson derek were two of the first. so, good to be home? >> yes, it is. it is wonderful. and thank god for the firefighters and the police and everything they did. yeah. >> reporter: in harder-hit communities like greer, where homes were lost, residents will have to stay out for at least five more days. so, how large is this fire? as of today, 443,989 acres, arizona's second-largest. and what about coming home to all that smoke-clogged air? is it safe to breathe? authorities today warned no. especially for the young, elderly and anybody with

cisterna y 16 helicopteros rociaron con agua las llamas, que amenazan a las ciudades de "eagar" y "springervillen brewer", declaro "estado de emergencia" en toda la zona afectada por el siniestro. ---el senado estatal aprobo una iniciativa de ley que da a los condados, distritos escolares y colegios comunitarios la facultad de convocar a elecciones para que sean los votantes quienes decidan si imponen impuestos a productos como los cigarrillos y el alcohol.---la propuesta "sb-23" tiene como objetivo aumentar los ingresos del estado, al mismo tiempo que busca ejercer presÓn sobre los republicanos para que reconsideren una medida solicitada por el gobernador "jerry brown" de llevar a una eleccÓn especial la extension de ciertos impuestos. ---la medida paso a la asamblea para su votacion. ---un supeÁvit de 35 millones de dolares permitira a la agencia de transporte "bart" realizar mejoras en sus trenes e instalaciones.---los administradores del "bart" recien aprobaron un presupuesto de mas de 600 millones de dolares, con un excedente en las ganancias que servira para instalar asientos nuevos en los

bill whitaker is in springerville, arizona with the latest on the situation for us.ing. >> good morning, chris. this wildfire now is about 10% contained. the fact that i'm standing here in the center of springerville, arizona is a good sign. this is one of several towns that were right in the path of the fire. thousands of people were evacuated, now many of them are starting to come home. >> that's great. >> no fire? >> no fire, no smoke. >> reporter: sherri had been forced out of her house for a week. >> i've seen tornadoes and this is the scariest thing i've ever seen, like it's a living, breathing thing. >> reporter: so the relief in knowing all is well. >> oh, yes. >> reporter: is palpable. fire officials feel it, too. >> we feel a lot more confident than we did two days ago. >> reporter: it's now been 16 days since the wallow fire first exploded into the monster that's become arizona's second worst fire ever. the winds picked up again this past weekend as feared but instead of spreading the flames, the winds pushed the fire back onto itself. >> we don't like to

nbc's george lewis is live in springerville, arizona with more. good morning. >> good morning to you. we are on the scene of the wallow fire. it's approaching the 200,000 acre mark. they have 2300 people on the fire lines today and thousands of homes are threatened. >> we got the lineup through the break. >> firefighters spent the weekend attacking the fast-moving blaze from the air. the dense and rugged forest made it difficult to get development into the area. officials say this particular wildfire near the border has been hard to get a handle on. >> it's mostly in the way it's made. you can't get anywhere near it. we need people on the ground even with the air resources we have. >>>. >> the fire jumped highway 180 in the town. >> escadilla is a wilderness. there is no treatment on the area. it will be a hot fire. >> it swept through beaver creek ranch. daytime looked like night in alpine. >> it feels surreal. >> worry mandatory evacuations ordered over the weekend throughout the area, police escorted residents back home on sunday, allowing them

swim spellman is live from springerville. some of the people there chose to stay put. they never left. they didn't evacuate. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. to start with, i just want to tell you, these firefighters have made unbelievable progress here. nobody thought people would be able to return to their homes this early. we were hearing estimates of the end of this week at best. we're at the home of rick law. he's one of the folks who decided to stay. the sheriffs came and visited, said, hey, you may want to leave. he said, i'm staying. he had a plan. he has sprinkler systems around his house to douse any embers that might make their way here from the front of the fire which was only a mile away. metal roof on his house he felt made it a little more defendable. deb, i want to show you this. these are embers that flew from the front of the fire here to rick's yard that they were able to put out. so he's really glad he stayed. he also used this 4 x 4 and this water tank to fight the fire. this is rick here himself. he's lu

towns of springerville and eger are fully evacuated on sheriff's orders. the fire burned almost 400,000 acres, an area bigger than new york city and chicago combined. thousands of people are out of their homes. >> we're going to get out of here, since they want us out of here, we don't want to go, no. >> we saw it rip through places, that's what i worry about. >>> u.s. drones and fighter jets have resumed attacks in yemen, and the military believes an air strike has kill aid top al queda insurgent there. a u.s. military official tells cnn that air operations were halted for several months, because the u.s. didn't have faith in the information available to conduct targeted strikes against suspected militants. >>> planning is under way for a libya without moammar gadhafi in charge. secretary of state, hillary clinton and other members of the international community are meeting today in abu dhabi. their aim is to build support for libya's transitional government, even though gadhafi is bowing to fight for the death. >> groups say hackers breach computer syste

there's some relief for evacuees in the towns of springerville and egar. home, but they're going home at their own risk. >>> along the missouri river and its tributaries, extensive flooding, record rains fill reservoirs from montana to missouri. the army corps of engineers releasing massive amounts of water to relieve pressure on those lakes. let's bring in meteorologist alexandra steele with a look at what's happening with the fires, floods, weather, weather, weather. >> that's right. we've talked about this. i think extreme is the new normal. of course, global climate change. it doesn't mean global warming, everything's getting hotter. everything's getting more extreme. hots are hotter. colds are colder. tornadoes more severe. that's just what we're seeinging with right? every month it seems like another weather element is headlining the news. not just the weather section of the news. we're talking about the fires today. also the tornadoes. we do have and have had a tornado warning in northern baltimore. just north of baltimore earlier. that has expired.

mandatory evacuations were ordered for eagar and springerville.gress which is right now zero percent contained. >>> rotc cadets were struck by lightning in mississippi. they're all responsive and in stable condition this morning. the rotc uses camp shelby in mississippi as its summer training site. >>> the entire east coast is broiling. dangerous heat from texas to new england. rob marciano tracking that weather from stone mountain, georgia. hey, rob, we'll set more records today you think, right? >> yeah for sure. some folks will cool down today. not here in atlanta. we're just outside of atlanta at stone mountain which is a huge tourist attraction. behind me is the largest exposed piece of granite in the world. three highly ranked generals, jeff davis, robert e. lee and stonewall jackson. they come out here and try to exercise, a lot or doing it earlier to do it because of the heat. check out these numbers for record highs. over 99 degrees in some spots. newark, 99, laguardia seeing 97. these temperatures in the shade without any humidity. if yo

some of those who fled springerville took to nearby shelters. >> and i still smell smoke. i still smell that smoke. my eyes are still itchy and burny, but not as bad. >> suarez: high winds full of burning embers also carried the threat of flames and smoke far from the main body of the fire. crews worked overtime to smother flare-ups near high-voltage power lines. officials said the lines were in no immediate danger. and the fire information officer voiced hope. >> in terms of optimism, today, the best thing i can say is that the weather's going to be a little bit more moderated than what we've seen over the life of this fire, and it's going to give us an opportunity to get some work done on that top corner. and we're going to work really hard to pull that off today. >> suarez: at this point, no serious injuries from the wallow fire or two smaller fires have been reported, but farther east... >> it's blazing! i'm sweating bullets! >> suarez: much of the eastern half of the country was suffering under roasting heat again today. temperatures usually reserved for august-- in t

of the largest is in state history is the wallow fire in northeastern arizona near the town of springervilleze which has scorched 180,000 acres under investigation tonight. >>> crews are working to repair the breach of a levee along the missouri river. the breach is forcing the evacuation of 600 residents in hamberg, iowa. it the breach is less than two inches in diameter but engineers aren't certain it can be repaired. if the levee does fail interstate 29 in parts of ham berg would likely be floo flooded. >>> yemen is celebrating the departure of its president at least tempt prarl and possibly of a truce. a spokesman says a tribal leader that is agreed with the vice-president to stop the fighting. the president is in saudi arabia getting medical treatment after being wounded in an attack on the palace. but the government insists he will return. >>> israel says its soldiers fired on an angered mobbed to trying to cross the border between syria and the occupied go lawn heights. syria claims 25 people were killed an more than 300 wounded. protesters stormed across the border to protest israel'

>> bill whitacre in springerville. also in springerville is fire information officer peter frenzen.morning to you. >> good morning, russ. >> as we speak this morning, what is job one for firefighters? >> well, job one for us on this incident and any wildfire is safety. we are really focused on this fire. and we're focused on the safety of our firefighters and, of course, the safety of the people in the adjacent communities. >> this is a fire that many people have said is simply out of control. you've contained about 6% of it. does the firefighting force remain optimistic at this point? >> well, the firefighters are professionals. they keep their mind in the game. so optimism, i would say it's more realism. firefighting is one day at a time based on current conditions. we adapt our tactics to meet the situation at hand. we have plans in place. so these firefighters are out there focused on the immediate situation. >> bill mentioned some of the tactics you're using to try to get this blaze under control including literally fighting fire with fire. what other things are you doing this

pushing thick smoke and heavy flames closer to springerville. >> outside the fire perimeter, that causes a lot of problems. >> reporter: that weighs heavy on the minds of people like cheryl tisdale, who owns java blues in a garden shop in spring dale. >> everything we own to developing this. it's a lot to absorb. >> reporter: as of late tuesday afternoon, the flames were less than six miles from tisdale's shop and all she holds deal. the winds have begun to pick up now. a firefighter's worst nightmare. now, it's a race against the clock to put those flames out before they reach town. more than 2,000 firefighters on the ground. and now, these helicopters, sky cranes from oregon, that are taking water from the lakes and dumping it on the plains. hoping to slow the spread of the wind-propelled fires. >>> and we've had a team on the front lines overnight. they'll have live updates, coming up later on "good morning america." >>> a major part of the u.s. mission in afghanistan is put in question by a congressional report being released today. it says that american nation-building efforts in ar

for an update on the situation on the ground, joining me on the phone from springerville, arizona, is fire information team. how many people have been evacuated at this point? >> we don't have an actual number of how many people have been evacuated at this time, but it includes the communities of sunrise, greer, blue river, alpine, nutrioso and we have preevacuation orders in effect for springerville, salad fork, eager, and luna, new mexico. >> the firefighters out there are dealing with high winds and lightning and those dry conditions. how much of this blaze has been conta contained? last i read it was zero contained. >> as of today it still is 0%. the weather has been something that's been a major concern and factor for this fire. we have incredibly high winds. yesterday we had winds of 40 miles per hour. today we may have gusts again to 35 miles per hour and the fuels that are in this fire area are incredibly dry. so if the winds come up, carry a spark, chances are if it hits another kind of fuel, there will be some ignition. >> about 2500 firefighters out there. the smoke was so

being warned of potential health hazards, but authorities say the threat to the communities of springerville have passed. roughly 7,000 people were cleared to go home. >> we didn't know what to expect. >> we were thankful it was still here and didn't look like it had been in the fire at all. >> but about 2700 people and several resort communities are still waiting to go home. fire officials expect to reach 10% containment today. >>> the start of fire season begins in parts of the bay area today. the unit will declare the start of fire season in several counties. as a result, staffing will be increased and burn permits will be suspended because of the fire danger. people living near the jail will likely see some smoke and fire today and today. the county fire department is conducting a controlled vegetation management and training burn. that burn will increase the defensible space for people living near the jail. and it will be from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. >>> and firefighters are also planning some controlled burns. they'll burn grass and vegetation just below the reservoirs today, that's

nbc's tom llamas has more tonight from springerville, arizona. tom, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. earlier this week this was a ghost town. the entire town was evacuated. but as you can see behind me, traffic has returned and that evacuation order has been lifted. but as one arizona community returns, others are still in limbo while residents in new mexico watch that wildfire move dangerously close. dealing with nearly half a million blackened acres across arizona, firefighters are now battling a monster fire in two states. the wallow wildfire jumped the border this weekend, now burning parts of new mexico. with a fire this size, a dc-10 comes in handy. the massive aircraft can drop a fire retardant 100 feet wide, a mile long. the help from above is appreciated by the boots on the ground. >> it is very, very physical work. and absolutely these folks are tired. >> reporter: the hard work has paid off. incident commanders feel controlled burns in the north and east have given them the upper hand. >> we've turned a corner. we feel

but springerville police say residents shouldn't worry about their homes. >> the town is safe.e have no looting going on. we do have rampant rumors going everywhere and i'm here to try to squash those rumors. >> the blazing has rekindled the blame game over the environment pine forests have become dangerously overgrown after a century of fire suppression. some blame environmentalists for lawsuits against logging. >> conditions for this morning, patchy fog we are expecting cooler temperatures as a series of lows work their way over the region. upper 40s into the mid-50s this morning. the bay seeing breezy conditions, mostly sunny to partly cloudy. low clouds at the coast and breezy conditions, as well. here's a look at the two lows i mention. we can see they are working their way into the region so that's going to keep us cooler but we are going to have a dry weekend on tap. daily see if high today 59 degrees, 72 redwood city and los altos. walnut creek 76, 69 for san leandro and alameda a little cooler there, 65 degrees. we are going to see partly to mostly cloudy skies as that

half of the town of eagar is empty and flames are threatening nearby springerville. >>> coming up -- >> it's a war on the home front and a war against our own people. for america, this is as iraq as it gets, period. >>> a veteran soldier survives gunfire in iraq while his father dies in a shooting right outside his east bay home. this morning prayers for peace in an east bay neighborhood known as the killing field. >>> and baggage fees, cramp ed seats, lost luggage. is there anything to be happy about when it comes to airline travel? it turns out there is. we'll tell you about that coming up. >>> and a live look at the bay bridge on this early wednesday morning. it is 4:42. we're going to check your forecast and see if mother nature will provide us with another nice day with christina in just a few minutes, stay with us. >>> welcome back at 4:45 now. most frequent flyers are happy with just about everything associated with air travel except rising costs and fees. for the second consecutive year, air travelers are most satisfied with airlines in general, but according to the results o

already almost 3,000 people have been evacuated, 7,000 people in springerville and eagar, arizona, were on standby until tuesday evening. >> the fire is moving quickly, winds are erratic, swirling and getting into heavy fuels and crossed that line where we feel it's safe and asked the folks from eagar to move on out. >> reporter: five structures have burned and firefighters are trying to save more. >> other night we're doing another night burn and we are literally our backs are to two buildings, people's homes, and i think one of those, you know, had gone down. >> reporter: winds were strong tuesday afternoon but not harsh as predicted. fire perimeters appear to be holding. >> last night we went in burnt out maybe about four miles of line and every night's different. >> reporter: the fire has grown the most on the north side which is burning national forests. no serious injuries have been reported. sandra hughes, cbs news. >>> a huge eight alarm fire at a former rhode island rubber plant is out this morning, but the century old building is destroyed. the fire started last night at what

. >> reporter: the air near springerville, arizona, was a sickly yellow color today, thick with acrid smoke from the second largest fire in the state's history. the so-called "wallow" blaze is now the size of phoenix, and spreading fast. more than 600 square miles of ponderosa pine forest have burned since the fire burst to life on may 29, likely from an unattended campfire. high winds and high temperatures have fanned the flames. more than 2,500 firefighters from as far away as new york are struggling just to keep it away from small towns. >> the priority right now are the communities-- alpine, nutriosos, all the little communities out there. so that's our priority. we want to check the spread to the northeast. whatever we can do to do that, if we have to find an anchor point and pinch around sides, that's what we'll do. >> reporter: today, the fire was just two miles outside springerville and neighboring eagar, where at least half the 4,000 residents had to flee. the fire also forced evacuations and warnings in towns just across the border in new mexico. >> i'm only getting what's i

miles of line which is phenomenal, but that is mostly around the area to try to protect greer and springerville. >> reporter: but that could change like the wind. >> it's still a very risky situation. >> that was donna rossi reporting this morning. >>> in the northern plains, residents are bracing for more flooding. about 600 residents in southeast iowa have been forced to evacuate because of a levee breach. they've been weakened following days of high water. engineers opened dams to relieve pressure. >>> to the gop field now for president. it will have a new entry today. meanwhile a noncandidate tries to explain a somewhat shaky take on american history. joel brown in washington with more on that. >> reporter: good morning. let's start with rick santorum. not long ago, he was the number three republican in the senate. but he lost his seat after just two terms. now he wants back in washington. this time at the white house. former senator rick santorum kicks off his run for the white house this morning with an announcement in pennsylvania. >> americans have now realized that what they need is no

bill whittaker, cbs news, springerville, arizona. >> and crews here in the bay area are getting readyy's start of fire season. the wet spring has helped spur the growth of fire fuel. sharon chin on how homeowners are getting the familiar message to get ready. >> just clean out some of the vegetation on this lower side of the structure. >> reporter: when firefighters walked around gordon's home, they could tell he's serious about presenting his prom from wildfire -- protecting his property if wildfire. a -- from wildfire. >> that fire gave everyone a real heads-up and the reality of it. right. >> reporter: the marin county fire crews are patrolling each neighborhood to see if it's ready for monday. >> this is a good example of somebody taking some time and really doing some clearance. >> reporter: captain pierce said this home has done a good job clearing out a defensible space of 100 feet away from the space and trimming branches 10 feet from the ground. but not everyone is as prepared. >> where this becomes a neighborhood is he may do a great job of this. but his neighbor down the ro

clayton sandell, abc news, springerville, arizona. >>> it's a cooler day across much of the country. but parts of detroit remain out electricity after a major power outage. days of scorching heat caused the city's aging power system to partially fail. crews deliberately cut power to city hall and other downtown buildings in order to keep the system from crashing. many buildings will remain closed today, including those at wayne state university. >>> a new york tv reporter nearly was blown away covering thunderstorms, which whipped through the region last night. >> so, if your apartment does not have -- if your apartment does not have air conditioning -- reporting live in the mt. eden section of the bronx, darla miles, channel 7, eyewitness news. >> decided to just throw in the towel, understandably. that's darla miles of our new york station, wabc, reporting from an overpass in the bronx. winds were gusting up to 40 miles per hour at the time. that's impressive. she hung in that long. pretty tough weather out there. it was incredible out there yesterday. >> it was. >> canceled a conc

nbc's george lewis is in springerville, arizona. >> lester, the firefighters are awfully worried about the forecast, calling for a return of the high winds that fanned the flames and caused so much devastation. tonight, they're trying to get ready. by night, it's a monster inferno, lighting up the new mexico and arizona skies. by day, a path of destruction in its wake. 22 houses have burned in greer, arizona. >> this is hard to watch. >> reporter: harder to watch if you see your destroyed home on tv. >> ours was the first home that we saw that was burned. rrtd at a meeting for people forced out of the fire zone, connie tried to count her blessings. >> we're thankful no lives were lost. our prayers are for the firefighters. >> reporter: those firefighters face a difficult weekend ahead. if the wind picks up as expected, it could drive the flames into the communities that have been calm so far. firefighters have been busy building backfires and barriers to protect the homes. they have been lucky today, but tomorrow will be a battle. >> it will have all of the conditions for a fire growth

clayton sandell has more now from springerville, arizona. >> reporter: this fire that has blackened several thousands square miles with lightning speed is slowly. >> we turned a corner. every day there is a corner. we feel a lot more confident than he we did two days ago. >> reporter: air and ground attacks have made enough good progress to let 8,000 evacuees to come home. denise and her grandson were two of the first. >> it felt good to be home. >> it is wonderful. thank god for the firefighters and the police. and everything they did. yeah. >> reporter: in harder hit communities, like greer, residents will have to stay out for at least five more days. how large is this fire? as of today, 443,989 acres, arizona's second largest. and what about coming home to all of that smoke-clogged air? is it safe to breathe? authorities today warned no, especially for the young, elderly and anyone with respiratory problems. >> it would best not to return to their homes until the concentration of smoke diminishes. >> reporter: robert and his family have been living at an evacuation center, is not taking