thanks to alex perez.ore information on how to help father pfleger and ralph and his family, go to our website, abcnews.com. that's all from us tonight. be sure and tune into "gma" in the morning and diane sawyer right back here tomorrow night. thank you for watching. good night. >> next at 6:00. how close we are to a b.a.r.t. strike and what is being down avert it. >> why a terror warning that shut down u.s. embassies overseas has authorities on alert. >> what police know about a man suspected of driving into a crowd of people in venice beach. abc7 news at 6:00 starts right now. >> ama: we are now six hours and counting. another devastating b.a.r.t. strike looms, though talks continue in an attempt to avert the strike. good evening, i'm ama daetz. let's go right to cornell settlement yet but there are encouraging signs talks are going well. both sides decided to work through dinner break and have cancelled today's news briefings, this as a midnight strike dead willline closes in. >> thousands of b.a.r.t.

here is abc's alex perez. >> reporter: he is perhaps one of the most evil men in america, but beforesent away to serve his life plus a thousand years, one of his victims had a chance to confront her tormenter in court. >> from this moment on, i will not let you define me or affect who i am. >> reporter: michelle knight spoke directly to her captor about her 11 years of living hell. as she spoke, his eyes never left her. but this is the moment it registered. >> you said you didn't kill me, but you took 11 years of my life away. and i have got it back. i spent 11 years in hell. now your hell is just beginning. >> reporter: knight said she is no longer afraid of ariel castro. >> as you think about the 11 years and the hurt you inflicted on us, what does god think of you hypocritally going to church every sunday, coming home to torture us. you don't deserve that. you deserve life in prison. i can forgive you, but i will never forget. >> reporter: this could be the last time we'll ever hear from castro who pled guilty to 937 counts to avoid the death penalty for kidnapping, rape and assau

alex perez, abc news, cleveland. >>> among those still awaiting their punishment are the players in baseball's doping scandal. particularly, alex rodriguez of the yankees. his representatives and major league baseball officials have been trying to reach a settlement on a long suspension that would avoid a lifetime ban. they aren't anywhere close, to making sure a-rod could cash in on some of the $100 million he is owed under his current contract. >>> a trader at goldman sachs has been found liable on a fraud case. fabri fabri fabrice tourre known as fabulous fab, has been found accused of misleading big investors about subprime mortgage securities. those contributed to the mortgage crisis in 2007, which helped drive the country into recession. he faces fines and could be banned from the industry. >>> transit workers in california's bay area are threatening to walk off the job again if they don't get a new contract. they paralyzed the b.a.r.t. system for four days last month. if there's no deal, b.a.r.t.'s two largest unions say they will strike sunday evening. that means the monday morning com

here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: it was a dramatic scene that had two tennessee parents in a panic. little lauren, rescued from her family's attic by firefighters. her father, in shock. >> next thing you know, we're in the attic, trying to get the baby upstairs. and it's hard. it's scary. you don't know what the water's going to do. so -- lose a home. >> reporter: firefighters wading through that chest-high water, clutching on to baby lauren's carrier to get her to safety. >> it was emotional. you know, you see your baby. and she's a newborn. how are you going to do this? what are you going to do to get us out? >> reporter: across the nashville area, swollen creeks caused flash flooding, forcing some to the safety of their roofs. and leaving cars floating on streets. rescue teams fanned out, fighting the fast-moving waters, to get people out. not just tennessee. from arkansas, to missouri, the heavy rain is hammering the heartland. over six inches of rain in madison, tennessee, double what they see in a month. in wallace, kansas, eight inches. and the worst, richland, missouri, 17

here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: it was a dramatic scene that had two tennessee parents in a panic. little lauren, rescued from her family's attic by firefighters. her father, in shock. >> next thing you know, we're in the attic, trying to get the baby upstairs. and it's hard. it's scary. you don't know what the water's going to do. so -- lose a home. >> reporter: firefighters wading through that chest-high water, clutching on to baby lauren's carrier to get her to safety. >> it was emotional. you know, you see your baby. and she's a newborn. how are you going to do this? what are you going to do to get us out? >> reporter: across the nashville area, swollen creeks caused flash flooding, forcing some to the safety of their roofs. and leaving cars floating on streets. rescue teams fanned out, fighting the fast-moving waters, to get people out. not just tennessee. from arkansas, to missouri, the heavy rain is hammering the heartland. over six inches of rain in madison, tennessee, double what they see in a month. in wallace, kansas, eight inches. and the worst, richland, missouri, 17

alex perez, abc news, indianapolis. >>> and coming up next here, a mysterious piece of wood sparkingheadlines. is this a remnant of the cross where jesus died, inside a stone chest? it's in our "instant index." a stone chest? in our "instant index." [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. ♪ hands, for holding. ♪ feet, kicking. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, thought to play a role in the inflammation that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't st

alex perez, abc news, chicago. >>> and still ahead tonight, whoever would have thought that the hotdog at the baseball game would lead to one of the sweetest possible stories? sweetest possible stories? here's some information that may be worth looking into. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. getting to goal is important, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. and that's why when diet and exercise alone aren't enough to lower cholesterol i prescribe crestor. [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. is your cholesterol

>> alex perez reporting from the flood zone. thank you, alex. >>> from the downpour in the heartland now to the raging fires out west. hundreds of families evacuated there. homes threatened. abc's cecilia vega on the fire lines for us. >> reporter: the flames came right up to steve chittenden's face torching even the gate. all he could do was fight back with a garden hose. >> you can imagine 100-foot flames right there and it just roared. it was loud. >> reporter: in just seconds the raging inferno ripped through his 9 acres but somehow spared his home of more than 40 years. >> i thank my stars it didn't come any closer. >> reporter: many neighbors were not as lucky. in a matter of hours overnight the fire burned more than 15.5 square miles of land about 90 miles east of los angeles. drought conditions and hot temperatures have made for a dangerous fire season in the western u.s. the flames spread so quickly here residents say they had just minutes to evacuate. the fire even blocked an evacuation road, trapping rescuers for a ti

abc's alex perez shows us what happened next. >> reporter: the flames moved in within minutes, giving those living in this community just west of salt lake city little time to get out. >> by the time i got home, it had spread up to my canyon, and my son is at home by himself, so i had to go home and get him. and they wouldn't let me up. >> reporter: a lightning strike is believed to have ignited the fast-moving blaze, torching through 1,500 acres. about 250 evacuated families still don't know when they'll be allowed back home. crews have been working around the clock to douse the fire, now about 25% contained. making their job harder, these fire tornadoes. the fire whirls whip around, creating twists that can help the flames spread. those twists in the atmosphere form when cooler air meets that intense heat. the difference in pressure between the two air masses accelerates and tightens into a tornado-like structure made up of fire. and fire teams can usually do nothing but wait for these fire whirls to put themselves out. the blaze spread so quickly here in wanship, utah, more than a

>> alex perez once again on the story for us. thank you, alex. >>> and next we move to the big news tonight about the snub heard around the world. president obama has cancelled an upcoming summit, a meeting with president of russia, vladimir putin. it was to be next month. he did it right after russia gave nsa leaker edward snowden asylum and tonight two of the most powerful leaders on the planet are shadow boxing as the world watches. here's abc's white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: the last time these two got together the body language spoke louder than their words, sometimes grimacing, never agreeing on much of anything. now a new low, not just for putin and obama, but for russia and the u.s. for the first time since the cold war, a u.s. president is cancelling a publicly announced meeting in russia. it's not just putin's decision to grant asylum to fugitive nsa leaker edward snowden. he has also defied the u.s. by selling heavy weapons to the syrian government as its accused of slaughtering its own people. t

alex perez, abc news, cleveland. >>> and there are new call this is morning for the mayor of san diegofilner of inappropriate behavior, two veterans both of whom had been sexually assaulted in the military. one of the women says filner left her a suggestive voice mail. the other woman claims filner touched her. the mayor is undergoing a self imposed rehab stint. >>> a dangerous defect is forcing toyota to recall hundreds of thousands of its trucks. the front seatbelts may malfunction in the toyota tacoma cab pickup trucks. 2004-2011. seatbelt mechanisms may come loose from the rear doors. 342,000 trucks are being recalled. toyota is notifying owners and promising free repairs. >>> researchers may have identified a brand new brain food. for most of us not going to take a whole lot of convincing to indulge in this. a new harvard study shows chocolate helps keep the brain healthy and sharp in old age. when older adults were given two cups of hot cocoa a day for a month, their bloodflow was better and their memory improved by 30%. >> a diet i can live with. >> where's my cup of hot cocoa?

alex perez, abc news, nashville. >> let's get to the friday forecast.th flash flooding across southern missouri once again. showers and thunderstorms from new england down to florida. heavy downpours from wyoming all the way to new mexico. scattered showers in northern california and the pacific northwest. >> 80s from seattle, san francisco and much of the rockies and midwest. scorching 104 in dallas. mostly 90s in the southeast. >>> strong wind are a challenge for crews battling the wildfire east of los angeles. at least 26 homes have burned and officials say that number could quickly increase. 14,000 acres have been scorched and the fire is only 20% contained. hundred of people are spending a second night away from their homes as evacuation orders remain in effect. >> now to a bizarre murder playing out on social media. miami man charged with killing his wife after posting a picture of her bloody body on facebook. derek medina turned himself into police yesterday telling them he shot his wife. earlier a picture of a woman slumped on the floor appeared

abc's alex perez starts us off with the story of firefighters and a baby girl tenderly carried to dry land. >> reporter: it was a dramatic scene that had two tennessee parents in a panic. little lauren marlin, just five weeks old, rescued from her family's attic by firefighters, her father in shock. >> next thing you know we are in the attic trying to get the babies upstairs . it's hard. it's scary. you don't know what the water is going to do. >> reporter: firefighters wading though that chest-high water, clutching onto baby lauren's car seat to get her to safety. >> it was emotional. you see your baby and she's a new born and what are you going to do to get us out. >> reporter: across the area swollen creeks forcing some to the safety of their roofs and leaving cars floating on streets. rescue teams fanned out fighting the fast moving waters to get people out, not just tennessee, from arkansas to missouri, the heavy rain is hammering the heartland. over six inches of rain in madison, tennessee this morning, double what they see in a month. in wallace, kansas, the past 24 hours, 8 in

god bless you. >> that was alex perez reporting.rning tonight from the fd a.they take taking this rare but potentially skin reaction in some people. this of course the active ingredient in tylenol. health officials say they don't want to scare people away from the pain reliever but they say people need to be aware that skin conditions can be a side effect and if they develop, people need to stop taking the drug and see a doctor medley. >> you have a chance to participate in nationwide cancer study that takes place just every 30 years. screening now under way at ucsf mount zion medical center. cancer society study done twice since the 1950s. previous version creditd with fine ago link between smoking and kearns and obese if i and cancer. new study will track 300,000 people nationwide and look at genetic and environmental causes of cancer. >> ability to track individuals to understand something about them biologically to determine whether or not somebody gets cancer gives us a lot of information that can be used in research. >>reporte

abc's alex perez takes us through the stunning showdown. >> reporter: she was his first victim, enduring 11 long years of abuse and torture. today michelle knight stood tall hugged those around her and faced down the man who held her captive. >> day turned into night, night turned into day. years turned into eternity. i knew nobody cared about me. he told me that my family didn't care. >> reporter: knight was 21 years old when castro lured her in with promises of a puppy for her son. amanda berry 16 when she was abducted. today she's 27. gina dejesus was 14. now 23. >> gina was my teammate. she never let me fall. i never let her fall. she nursed me back to health when i was dying from his abuse. >> reporter: michelle was the only victim who came to court. he's 32 years old but so small her rescuers thought she was a child. today she was a tiny tower of strength. as she spoke, ariel astro's eyes never left her. this is the moment he registered emotion. >> i spent 11 years in hell. your hell is just beginning. i will overcome all this that happened but you will face hell for eternity. >> r

alex perez stat down with the siblings now suing the hospital.erview. >> reporter: when sarah fudacz was wheeled in the operating room at toledo medical center, she thought she was given the gift of life. instead, she awakened to a nightmare. her ordeal began last mohr. she was diagnosed with chronic kidney fail your. to live, she would need a transplant. and doctors found a perfect match, her brother, paul. >> when he said yes, it was the most amazing feeling in my life. >> reporter: that relief had turned to disbelief. >> i knew that something had gone wrong. i lifted up my shirt and realized i didn't have a an incision. >> reporter: and the startling truth. a nurse had accidentally thrown away paul's donor kidney, apparently thinking it was medical waste. >> what made it clear to me, was seeing my sister walking around fine. and then, laying in bed, in a lot of pain. >> somebody wasted part of my brother. >> reporter: for three months, she was forced to return to dialysis. >> i just cried because i couldn't believe that i was back where i star

and god moved that day. >> reporter: for "good morning america," alex perez, abc news, chicago. >> for his daughter to hear him be pronounced dead. and then, that lone heartbeat. i mean, what a miracle. >> i've never heard of anything like that before. >> no. >> chills the whole time. >> so did i. >> welcome back, tony. >> yeah. >>> let's go, now, to ginger zee for some weather. and it's a real mixed bag. >> right. we're going to go international, i told you, first. that's typhoon in taiwan. they opened the floodgates after almost a foot of rainfall in 24 hours. that's what it looks like. i told you about both portions in the west and the southeast. right in the middle, you're squeezed into heat. that's what i want to tell you now. dallas, close to 100. as we start the weekend in oklahoma city, 95. kansas city, 91. rapid city going to be right there in the low 90s. and you have a cold front. this is the fire weather. you want to pay attention if you're in the north and west. this is not good. it kicks off some of the wind. an >> this weather report, brought to you by cottonelle. and i'

>> alex perez, in cleveland.hat's so good to hear. >>> we want to bring in now our abc chief legal affairs anchor, dan abrams. michelle knight, the power and the strength to get to that microphone and say what she said was remarkable yesterday, and yet, equally transfixing was this nearly 20-minute-long rather diatribe really from ariel castro. could the judge at any point have stopped that? >> sure. theoretically, he could have. but let's be very careful here. castro has a right to make a statement. and the statement can be about anything that could lead the judge to give him a more lenient sentence. that means he has a lot of leeway. the last thing the court wants is to create an issue on appeal. now, with that said, when he started attacking the victims, could he have stepped in? yeah, he could have. he could have said enough, let's stick to the issues in the case, let's stick to the mitigation questions. but i think the judge was erring on the side of caution here. >> what happens to castro now? >> so, the fi

abc's alex perez has more on this life and death struggle. sflr modern medicine versus amish values. this morning, this children's hospital in akron, ohio, is battling an amish family's decision to treat leukemia with natural remedies instead. >> our belief is the natural stuff will do just as much as what that does, if it's god's will. >> reporter: though the amish typically shy away from modern technology, sarah hershberger's father agreed to do a phone interview. her parents initially agreed to chemo. after a month, the tumors shrunk. but the side effects became too much for her to handle. >> if we do chemotherapy and she would happen to die, she would probably suffer more than if we would do it this way. and she would happen to die. >> reporter: so, in june, they stopped the treatment. with chemotherapy, her doctors say she has an 85% chance of survival. without it, she could die within a year. in july, the hospital took the family to court, seeking temporary guardianship. in a statement to abc news, the hospital attorney, lobbying to tak

abc's alex perez starts us off with the story of firefighters and a baby girl tenderly carried to drynd. >> reporter: it was a dramatic scene that had two tennessee parents in a panic. little lauren marlin, just five weeks old, rescued from her family's attic by firefighters, her father in shock. >> next thing you know we are in the attic trying to get the babies upstairs . it's hard. it's scary. you don't know what the water is going to do. >> reporter: firefighters wading though that chest-high water, clutching onto baby lauren's car seat to get her to safety. >> it was emotional. you see your baby and she's a new born and what are you going to do to get us out. >> reporter: across the area swollen creeks forcing some to the safety of their roofs and leaving cars floating on streets. rescue teams fanned out fighting the fast moving waters to get people out, not just tennessee, from arkansas to missouri, the heavy rain is hammering the heartland. over six inches of rain in madison, tennessee this morning, double what they see in a month. in wallace, kansas, the past 24 hours, 8 inche

abc's alex perez has the shocking details. >> reporter: this morning, three oklahoma teenagers, agesare to be charged with first-degree murder, after investigators say they gunned down a college student in broad daylight. police say one of the suspects claimed, we were bored and had nothing to do. >> they witnessed the young man run by on the street. chose him as a target. >> reporter: a random target. police say 22-year-old christopher lane was jogging in duncan, oklahoma, friday, when the teenage suspects allegedly drove by and opened fire, creating a panic in this tight-knit town. >> there were some people who saw him stagger across the road, go to a kneeling position and then collapse. >> reporter: the police chief describes the teenagers as loose canons on a mission to kill. authorities say they intended to kill at least one other person, even allegedly posting this cryptic message on social media. bang. two drops in two hours. but quick-thinking nearby business owners were able to help police nab the suspects. the star athlete, born in australia, was attending east central univ

and alex perez has his story. >> reporter: this morning, noah graham is counting his blessings afterng trip he'll never forget. the 16-year-old was lying in a sleeping bag outside his tent saturday in rural, minnesota, when he was mauled by this gray wolf. >> i didn't hear the wolf coming. i didn't see it. no sense that it was there until it was on my head. >> reporter: graham reached back and used his bare hands to pull his head out of the wolf's jaws, leaving a four-inch gash and deep scratches. >> i thought for sure it would come back at me, and that's the scary part. >> reporter: authorities track down the wolf they believe attacked graham. it's been put to sleep and is being tested for rabies. the wolf had an unusual jaw, possibly making it hard for the animal to hunt. >> it basically kept it from acting as a normal wolf would. >> reporter: wolf attacks on humans are incredibly rare. this is the first documented wolf attack ever in the state of minnesota. and in all of north america, there have only been two documented deaths caused by wolf attacks. but even with those slim chan

alex perez.bc news. >>> president obama addressing the thrifts that caused evacuation from americans from the embassy in yemen. jonathan karl has more. >> reporter: good morning, robin. it was the first time the president has said anything at all about that worldwide terror threat and it came in an appearance with jay leno. the ongoing terror warning issued by the state department is ominous. americans traveling virtually anywhere in the world told to be on high alert for a possible terrorist attack. talking with jay leno, the president sought to downplay the threat. >> the odds of people dying in a terrorist attack, obviously, are still a lot lower than in a car accident, unfortunately. >> reporter: still, he said -- >> violent extremism is still out there. you know, we've got to stay on top of it. >> reporter: the president also addressed russia's decision to grant political asylum to nsa leaker edward snowden, despite the white house's repeated pleas to turn him over. >> there's been time wher

alex perez has the story.teenagers ages 15, 16 and 17 are to be charged with first degree murder. after investigators say they gunned down a college student in broad daylight. >> police say one of the suspects claimed we were bored and had nothing to do. >> theyxd witnessed the young mp run by on the street. chose him as the target. >>reporter: random target. police say 22-year-old christopher lane was jogging in duncan oklahoma friday when the teenager suspects drove by and opened fire. creating a panic in this tight knit town. >> there was some people that saw him stagger across the road. go to kneeling position and collapse. >> police chief describe the teenagers as loose cannon on mission to kill. authorities say they intended to kill at least one other person even alledgedly posting this cryptic message on social media. bangçó 2 drop in two hours. quick thinking business owner able to help police nab the suspect. star athlete born in australia was attending east central university in oklahoma on baseball

abc's alex perez was there. >> reporter: she was his first victim enduring 11 long years of abuse andive. >> days turned into nights. nights turned into days. years turned into eternity. i knew nobody cared about me. he told me that my family didn't care. >> reporter: knight was 21 years old when castro lured her in. with promises of a puppy for her son. amanda berry 16 when she was abducted. today she is 27. gina dejesus, just 14 when the ordeal began, now 23. >> gina was my teammate. she never let me fall. i never let her fall. she nursed me back to health. when i was dying from his abuse. >> reporter: michelle was the only victim who came to court. she is 32 years old but so small her rescuers thought she was a child. she was a tiny tower of strength. as she spoke, ariel castro's eyes never left her. but this is the moment he registered emotion. >> i spent 11 years in hell. now your hell is just beginning. i will overcome all this that happened, but you will face hell for eternity. >> reporter: a new glimpse into what the women endured, the rusty chains, ariel castro used to restra

abc's alex perez has the latest. >> reporter: the flames moved in within minutes, giving those living. a lightning strike is believed to have ignited the fast-moving blaze. about 250 evacuated families still don't know when they'll be allowed back home. crews have been working around the clock to douse the fire now about 25% contained. >> we have got two blackhawk helicopters dropping about 700 gallons every probably six minutes. >> making their job harder, these fire tornadoes. the fire whirls whip around, creating twists that can help the flames spread. those twists in the atmosphere form when cooler air meets that intense heat. the difference in pressure between the two air masses accelerates and tightens into a tornadolike structure made up of fire. and fire teams can usually do nothing but wait for these fire whirls to put themselves out. the blaze grew so quickly, more than a dozen homes were damaged within hours. this massive fire whirl outside l.a. in 2009, lit up the sky as more than 100,000 acres were scorched. this one in australia. flames shooting more than 100 feet high.

abc's alex perez, in cleveland this morning. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, george. that court hearing got under way just a few moments ago. this morning, 53-year-old ariel castro is expected to be sentenced to life in prison, plus 1,000 years. but before he does, he will reportedly have to face one of his victims. michelle knight, one of the three women castro held captive, will reportedly make an impact statement in court this morning. the two other victims, gina dejesus and amanda berry, will reportedly not be in court, but will have representatives speak on their behalf. >> so, you understand, you will be in prison for life. you don't have the expectations or the hope of getting out. >> i do understand that, your honor. >> reporter: castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping. >> help me. i'm amanda berry. >> reporter: in the sentencing memo released overnight, prosecutors laid out gruesome details of castro's crimes. saying much of their evidence and timeline came from a diary, kept by one of the women. it detailed how the women were cha

abc's alex perez is in chicago and was at the game last night. it was quite a scene there, alex.d morning. >> reporter: good morning, robin. a-rod will be back here today for game two of that three-game series. his big return from hip surgery was completely eclipsed by his suspension. >> alex rodriguez. >> reporter: booed by angry fans, a-rod stepped to the plate overnight in chicago under a cloud of suspicion and with a 211-game suspension hanging over his head. >> a-rod gets a single in his first at bat. >> reporter: the highest paid player in baseball struggled in the locker room attempting to deflect questions about the controversy. >> it was a hard day today. you know, from this moment on i want to focus on baseball and play every game like it's do or die. >> reporter: after days of speculation, the three-time mvp was finally suspended by the league late monday, benched through the end of the 2014 season. a potentially career-ending punishment, which came after allegations he used performance-enhancing drugs and then lied to baseball during the investigation. >> the last sev

abc's alex perez is joining us with the story. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, lara.d that suspect less than two hours after the 12-year-old girl disappeared. the problem now is, they can't find her. this morning, 34-year-old bobby bourne jr. is behind bars, in the disappearance of adriaunna hort horton. but despite a frantic search, the 12-year-old girl is nowhere to be found. overnight, 400 volunteers, loved ones and law enforcement, in golden city, missouri, used flashlight, atvs, and a helicopter to search for horton. >> we're going to exhaust every lead that comes in. >> reporter: the always-smiling tween disappeared late monday afternoon. she was wearing a pink t-shirt with hearts on it and was celebrating the end of her first day of school, at a park about half a block away from home with her sister and friends. that's when witnesses reported seeing her get into an suv. adriaunna's father said the driver of that suv was asking children at the park for help. >> saying he couldn't find his daughter. he had a missing child. he asked the girls in the park to help h

abc's alex perez is on the ground for us there. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, lara. this fire is about 25% contained. authorities say at one point, it was so fast, it was moving 50 feet to 80 feet per minute. this morning, utah firefighters battling this fire near park city, utah, home to the famed sundance film festival, are finally gaining ground on the flames. the fire has destroyed more than a dozen homes and threatened hundreds of others. >> there's a lot of people in tears, a lot of people scared. >> reporter: including the 250 families forced to evacuate in a panic. >> it had burned pretty much all the way down the street to our house. >> reporter: the blaze has already torched more than 2,000 acres. black hawk helicopters, dousing the fire from above. it's believed lightning from a storm tuesday sparked the inferno. when the lightning struck, how quickly did this fire move? >> faster than a person could run. >> reporter: complicating the situation, these twister-like flames, rarely caught on camera. they're

and abc's alex perez has our story. >> reporter: he was the man from behind the miracle. >> i was coming from 8:30 mass. i saw this line of cars. >> reporter: this morning, reverend patrick dowling revealing himself, after his seemingly divine intervention at a crash site on sunday. >> one of the rescuers said to me, we need all the help we can get. >> reporter: struck by a drunk driver, 19-year-old katie lentz was barely clinging to life. she asked first responders to pray with her. that's when the mysterious priest seemed to appear out of thin air. >> i think this time, i've actually witnessed a guardian angel at work. >> reporter: adding to the air of mystery, father dowling's sudden disappearance, once lentz was rescued and air-lifted to the hospital. it wasn't long before the town was searching for this hero. even prompting this sketch. uncanny? perhaps not. >> i said i hope i'm not as hungry looking. >> reporter: as for lentz, father dowling had a chance to meet with her in the icu. >> she started to cry. i'm not sure why. she explained to me she wasn't disappointed. >> reporter: w

and abc's alex perez has our story. >> reporter: he was the man from behind the miracle. >> i was coming from 8:30 mass. saw this line of cars. >> reporter: reverend patrick dowling revealing himself, after his seemingly devine intervention. >> one of the rescuers said to me, we need all the help we can get. >> reporter: struck by a drunk driver, 19-year-old katie lentz was barely clinging to life. that's when the mysterious priest teamed to appear out of thin air. >> i think this time, i've actually witnessed a guardian angel at work. >> reporter: adding to the air of mystery, father dowling's disappearance, when lentz was air-lifted to the hospital. it wasn't long before the town was searching for this hero. even prompting this sketch. uncanny? probably not. >> i hope i'm not as hungry looking. >> reporter: as for lentz, father dowling had a chance to meet with her in the icu. >> she started to dry. i'm not sure why. she wasn't disappointed. >> reporter: while her savior may have salt and pepper hair than a halo, those closest to lentz, says he is. >> he is an angel. >> i love that gen