nbc's steve patterson joins us now from boueaumont, california. every policymaker's nightmare and more anxiety of the citizens of the great state of california. >> certainly anxiety when it comes to people who live in this community, also think about the firefighters they're trying to battle something that's burning, you can see it over my left shoulder, close to 30,000 acres, they have had to evacuate close to 8,000 people in this area, getting people into the shelters, they all have to do that following the same social distancing guidelines that we all do, which means those people coming into shelters have to be screened, they have to have their temperatures checked. if shelters fill up, they have to segregate people. as far as the firefighting operation overall the trucks in this area, it's nothing new, what changes is when you're back here at base camp you've got guys that are going 12 hours every single day, they've been trying to knock this thing down for 24 hours straight over the last few days, they've only gotten a 5% containment on it an

steve patterson is there. >> reporter: tonight as flames devour neighborhoods and incinerate farmland, bone tired firefighters turn to the sky for help the attack from above was crucial because the terrain is like a mine field gas tanks rage out of control, like blow torches, electric poles scorched crews fighting fire with fire. trying to choke off the spread with controlled burns desperate measures to stop the inferno from reaching more homes. >> we left, and this is what we came home to today >> reporter: at least six people have already died in an all-out battle against the blaze. in just the last week fires have scorched through more than 70,000 acres, surpassing the state's average loss for an entire year. fires across the bay area rage on with minimal containment. >> what we can say is that we can't save everything >> reporter: more than 500 structures reduced to ash, more than 100,000 evacuated. >> you can hear the swirling or swishing of air and just going crazy and explosions going off. >> reporter: blankets of thick smoke now smother the region. >> the fire ain't going to k

steve patterson looks how big of an impact boseman made on the world. chadwick boseman embodied heroics. his role as king t'challa in "black panther" revolutionary for those who watched him on the big screen >> i really liked black pan therks it represents black people also. >> reporter: he was also a fighter off-screen conscious of his role as a black leading man. >> we all know what it's like to be told that there's not a place for you to be featured, yet you're young, gifted and black we know what it's like to be the tail and not the head. we know what it's like to be beneath not above. >> reporter: the battle for representation across hollywood and almedia is being waged by a young audience demanding for change >> why is it important for roles for characters that adopt look like everybody else? t's important to have role models and sort of abolished the stereotypes. >> we interviewed students from across the country about how they feel hollywood is representing minority voices >> i would say that my first, like, ah-ha moment would be when i was litt

steve patterson, nbc news, hollywood. >> his death really e fights fo, even more so >> i think everybody was shocked when they opened up their phone or however they got the news over the weekend that happened he was so young. none of us knew. it was like kelly preston when she passed away, it was out of no wrch nowhere. only 43 years old. >> i love everybody says, rest in power, instead of the typical rest in peace. >>> let's turn now to the gulf coast where there is a long road to recovery ahead. hundreds of thousands in the path of hurricane laura are still waiting to get their power back on. morgan chessky joins us now. >> reporter: good morning from lake charles you can see behind me the power crews staying busy they were able to make their way into these hard-hit areas after the roads were cleared and they have a big task. we know that at least 200,000 people are still without power the mayor here in lake charles saying that this isn't going to be a process that will take days or weeks bu bk on and that's a real concern right now.he in louisiana. it is hot and we have spoken with a

steve patterson tonight on the front lines. >> reporter: firefighters racing to contain a ferocious whirlwind of flames, whipping into a fire tornado barrelling toward homes fast moving lake fire exploding to more than 11,000 acres, sparking 250 evacuations, devouring at least five structures, threatening 5,400 more, towering flames shooting into the air, century of overgrown vegetation is primed like a blast furnace by high temperatures at the beginning of a scorching weekend. >> the sun beating down on the brush makes it more flammable and it ignites more quickly. >> reporter: crews have made progress gaining some containment on this blaze. that may change as these temperatures keep rising and resources are pulled to battle other fires. less than 50 miles away the smaller but powerful ranch two fire burned close to homes, triggering more evacuations. firefighters setting backfires, creating a line, pushing the fire back and saving hopes back at the lake fire a show of spirit in the middle of a firestorm, crews managing to save the stars and stripes from smoke and flames tenacity they'll nee

plus some of these communities are still in those red flag warnings lester >> steve patterson, thanks. >>> the postmaster general grilled today by the house oversight committee on the recent cutbacks at the post office, including delays in mail delivery and whether it may impact mail-in voting geoff bennett reports. >> reporter: postmaster general louis dejoy on defense today, facing scathing criticism over delays, argued the postal service is up to the task of handling election mail. >> the postal service is fully capable, and committed to delivering the nation's ballots securely and on time >> reporter: in his two months on the job dejoy has overseen a series of recent policy changes blamed for severe service slowdowns. he said he will not replace mail sorting machines removed on his watch. how can one person screw this up in just a few weeks? will you put the -- will you put the machines back? >> no, i will not. >> reporter: dejoy acknowledged a dip in mail service but disputed reports of widespread delivery problems but house democrats released internal postal service documents sh

kate. >> all right steve patterson, thank you. >>> there are new developments tonight in the nation's fight against covid, including a warning about just how widespread the virus now is a new suggestion that some people should wear masks even at home blayne alexander reports. >> reporter: tonight a dire warning from white house coordinator dr. deborah birx, america has entered a new phase of the pandemic. >> what we're seeing today is different from march and april it is extraordinarily widespread to everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune or protected from this virus. >> reporter: stressing it's crucial for people in all parts of the country to follow safety precautions including this guidance on masks. >> if you're in multigenerational households, and there's an outbreak in your rural area or city, you need to consider wearing a mask at home, assuming that you're positive >> in california where the death toll tops 9300, doctors are pleading, take this seriously. >> our right to not wear a mask, that bull [ bleep ] is going to kill us. a grocery clerk should not have

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steve patterson, nbc news. >>> still ahead, winged victory.he trail blazing fighter pilot paving the way for other women in the military. >>> plus, behind the scenes with the team training dogs to fight covid. this is my body of proof proof i can fight moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. proof i can fight psoriatic arthritis... ...with humira. proof of less joint pain... ...and clearer skin in psa. humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. humira is proven to help stop further join

steve patterson now with what it means for their futures. >> ready? >> reporter: high school quarterback jake retzlaf should be playing under the glare of friday night lights. instead -- >> hey! i feel good today. >> reporter: it's another day spentthrowing the around to his brother. jake was counting on his senior year to bring him an athletic scholarship to a division i school. but in california, the fall sports season won't start until next year because of covid-19. a devastating blow. your red right now? >> this whole season is what i've been focused on the whole time. for it to be pushed back and be pushed back again, i just want to get my shot, you know? >> reporter: each year, the ncaa provides over $3.6 billion in athletic scholarships to 180,000 students. for elite players in every sport, senior year is vital to showcase their worth to college recruiters. and when it comes recruitment, it's all about that on-field performance. athletes looking to recruiters in the stands, now empty. the ncaa put a freeze on in-person meetings with recruits an

let's head out west to steve patterson, california, new virus cases there, steve. they're down or slowing down. unfortunately the hospitals in some areas remain overwhelmed. what are the most urgent concerns now for authorities out there? >> reporter: for the first time in a long time there is some real sustained serious cautious optimism from health officials who are looking at what the government reported earlier this week, a 20% decline in the weekly positive rate of cases, also seeing the seven-day average positivity rate decline and hospitalizations down 8% over the last two weeks. there are some serious caveats with that as well, including the top health official in this state saying there are serious flaws with the mechanism by which these cases are reported. some serious technical issues. which is almost completely underreporting the numbers in every level. and, yeah, health officials, front line health workers in these hospitals are saying those declines are not yet translating into the hospitals, and they're having to do more with less and one of those he

>> steve patterson, thank you. >>> now to a nearly unprecedented double threat. two dangerous storms are hitting the caribbean and mexico right now and on a collision course for the u.s. gulf coast. now bracing for two possible hurricanes within hours of each other. meteorologist dylan dreyer is tracking them for us. >> good evening, jose. this is wild. let's get right to it and start with tropical storm marco which is sitting just to the west of cuba. this storm is forecast to move into the gulf of mexico, likely strengthen to a category 1 hurricane, and then make landfall on monday somewhere to the south-southeast of new orleans. that is the current track. now we get to tropical storm laura, which currently is bringing a lot of rain and wind to puerto rico. it is going to move over haiti, over the dominican, over cuba, then move into the gulf of mexico. this one is also forecast to become a category 1 hurricane perhaps making landfall just to the south-southwest of new orleans on wednesday. so this is not going to turn into one big super storm but we are going

. >> we've been following three unemployed americans, steve patterson has their stories. >> reporter:her reaches closer to her breaking point. the only currency she has in abundance right now, faith. >> i do a lot of praying, i think about my kids, this he need me. i broke down plenty of nights thinking what am i going to do. >> reporter: we first profiled her back in june when black americans were facing their highest unemployment rate in a decade. mayweather who lives in atlanta felt forced to quit her job in april, afraid of exposing her three children to covid. >> i feel sad because i can't provide for my kids like i normally would. >> reporter: her eldest daughter diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, her youngest breathing problems. >> if i don't have to take them out, i will not take them out. >> reporter: and just last week another devastating blow. >> right now i just received the email that i was getting my last check. >> reporter: that additional $600 the federal government had given to unemployed americans like mayweather, gone. >> i don't know how i'm going to continue to

nbc's steve patterson is live in california in vacaville. steve, sadly this is not the only area with this damage in california right now. >> reporter: just a slice of the destruction we are seeing in northern california. crews at this very moment as we speak are battling hundreds of wildfires all across the state. some of them are the biggest among ever recorded in state history. it has firefighters stretched incredibly thin here. overnight, the sprawl of more than 500 california wildfires surged in relentless march of flames. hardest hit is the north. the largest fires are churning through wine countries. reducing whole neighborhoods to pile of rubble and ash. >> oh, no. oh, no. >> reporter: chris lost most of her livestock. including horse and goat as the flames swept through her parents' ranch. >> the devastation is amazing. if i stop to think about it, it overwhelms me. >> reporter: so far, the fierre destroyed more than 500 structures and forcing evacuation of thousands. >> fire after fire. it is crazy. >> reporter: meanwhile, firefight

nbc's steve patterson is on the front lines in northern california. steve, good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning. firefighters have been working around the clock the last few days trying to contain as much of this as possible ahead of today, when the weather is expected to take a sharp turn for the worse, which could absolutely prime these fires to explode even further. overnight bone-tired firefighters locked in another desperate struggle to gain ground against hundreds of hungry wildfires, churning through california. a week since a cluster of lightning strikes ignited the earth and heavy winds spread flames across nearly a million acres of the state. today forecasters say those same conditions are primed ed to add more fuel to the fire. in northern california crews are battling some of the biggest fires in state history. monster flames devouring homes and forcing tens of thousands of flee. at least five people have died. this weekend, it was the first responders who needed rescuing. >> all right, guys, i'm going to get you out of here, oka

joining me now from los angeles is correspondent steve patterson. e, so i understand you're at good samaritan hospital in l.a. i see the sign behind you. what's the situation there today? what are you learning from folks? >> reporter: well, chris, not too long ago there would have been a row of registered nurses behind me, the largest -- one of the largest nursing unions in the country has a national day of action going on. and a lot of it specifically in california is what you just reported that things when you look at the numbers seem to be declining. the nurses wanted to get out ahead of that because they're saying those declines are not being reflected in the e.r.s, in icu, in covid units they are operating under. they're still very much under the gun and they want people to know that while this is happening they feel like they're not properly staffed, that the staffing ratios are way out of whack and they feel they don't have the proper ppe still months into this crisis to do their job efficiently. one nurse i spoke to said she had been wearing

nbc's steve patterson joins us from vacaville. e, such a striking issue there, the fire burning down dream houses if many. >> reporter: you can see the damage the fire has brought to this area. you said it. firefighters have really been working around the clock, trying to get as much containment on as many of these fires as possible. as you mentioned, the weather is about to take a sharp turn for the worse and that could make the fires explode even further. the battle against an outbreak of catastrophic flames prove they're trying to contain more than 500 fires. so far nearly a million acres have burned. they're larger than the state of rhode island or california. the flames are ripping through wine country, destroying homes, forcing thousands of evacuations. at least five people have died. the air quality is unhealthy. christa hayfield lost most of her livestocker horses and goats as the flames swept through her parents' ranch. >> i lost so much. if i stop to think about it too long, it overwhelms me and i try not to focus on it t

nbc's steve patterson is at good samaritan hospital in los angeles. nurses there, nurses around the country are holding what they're calling a national day of action, steve. what are the nurses there telling you? >> reporter: well, the biggest thing i've heard today that really surprised me is that months into this crisis, a lot of them simply don't feel safe walking into hospitals like the one that's behind me. specifically, i just spoke to a nurse who said she's been wearing the same n95 mask for so long that the elastic band around the mask has deteriorated and she feels unsafe about the virus. there's been a number of cases in hospitals around this region where there's been an outbreak among the nurses themselves. they feel like they're not properly staffed, not properly equipped and the hospital health systems that manage these places aren't listening to the needs that they have. to talk about that, another nurse, you see the group gathered behind me. one of the nurses is alejandra gonzalez citron, the chief nurse of the california hospital system

let's go to nbc's steve patterson. >> reporter: as flames devour neighborhoods and incinerate farmlands, bone-tired firefighters turn to the sky for help. >> the attack from above is crucial because the terrain is like a minefield. gas tanks rage out of control like blowtorches, electric poles scorched, crews fighting fire with fire trying to choke off the spread with controlled burns. desperate measures to stop the inferno from reaching more homes. >> we lost. and this is what we came home to today. >> reporter: at least six people have already died in an all-out battle against the blaze. in the last week stires have scorched more than 70,000 acres, surpassing the loss for an entire year. firefighter rage on with minimal containment. >> what we can say is we can't save everything. >> reporter: more than 500 structures reduced to ash, more than 100,000 evacuated. >> you could hear this swirling or swishing of air and just going crazy and explosions going off. >> reporter: blankets of thick smoke now smother the region. >> the fire ain't going to kill you. it's the smoke that's in the va

steve patterson, we're talking about the duality of the challenges they're facing there. you got the wildfires and you got the pandemic, what is the situation in california there this morning? >> reporter: you know, it is a lot to deal with, ayman, overall in the state. the case count still astronomic astronomical. you mentioned california crossing that 500,000 threshold. they reported the single highest daily death toll now on five separate days, five separate occasions and the majority of those in the last two weeks. but if you look overall, you look at where the highest hot spots have been, l.a. county, orange county, hospitalization rate, icu bed use, both slowing in those places, the problem is it is a game of whac-a-mole. you look at the central valley, here in riverside county, now the second worst county for the case count, you see that it is difficult for officials to get a real handle on it. and, oh, by the way, here in riverside, there is a massive wildfire. it is burning up on the cliff side off in the distance. firefighters have been working on this thing, da

steve patterson is there on the front lines. >> reporter: the desperate battle to contain california's historic fires is now a race against time crews working around the clock to get a handle on some of the largest fires in state history with a new looming threat in the forecast fresh red flag warnings and another predicted bout of dry lightning storms the same conditions were in place one week ago thousands of lightning strikes and heavy winds spread flames across the state >> they could cause havoc on this fire and fires throughout the region 15 miles away >> reporter: another grim milestone. more than 1.1 million acres in size, a fire footprint visible from space the president signing a disaster declaration releasing federal aid to help exhausted crews on the ground the national guard arriving to relieve the strain on firefighters monster flames devoured homes and killed at least five people. will cook is resorting to filling buckets of creek water in an effort to douse small fires in the neighborhood. >> driving around the neighborhood, checking properties and stuff and look for li

rur ste our steve patterson has more >> reporter: cori, this started as two small fires, joining together to one monster fire the problem firefighters have is it so tucked in these deep ravines that are treacherous and dangerous, they need an aerial assault to pair this down, because it's still raging out of control. and this in the middle of a pandemic where they're trying to keep themselves safe and the people that they were evacuating safe, as well. firefighters racing to contain a sprawling ring of flames exploding into an inferno. the fast-moving apple fire threatening hundreds of homes, sparking evacuations of nearly 8,000 residents. >> on the side of the road it was two small fires, and within half hour it was up here on this side of the road >> reporter: officials say it started friday night when two smaller fires mergedd monster. >> wow that's intense >> i just wanted to show you how close some of these homes are to the flames >> reporter: fueled by thick vej ration and triple digit temperatures, the fire ballooning to 20,000 acres the smoke plume extending to arizona, visible fr

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msnbc's steve patterson joins us now from good samaritan hospital in los angeles. are they getting their message out and what is the difference, what is the gap between what they need and obviously deserve and what they're getting? >> nicole, let's start with this. it's been almost two decades since california became one of the first states in the country to implement patient-to-nurse ratios, meaning there needs to be a minimum level of nurses to handle an influx of patients. it's particularly important in a time of crisis like right now when dealing with a pandemic crisis. several states still don't have those implemented. they also say, i spoke to several nurses today who say that even the ones that are implemented in california aren't properly being respected. also, you mention the ppe, the equipment that is so vital to them doing to work that they need to do, i spoke to several nurses today who say, despite this happening for months, some of them still don't feel safe walking into those ers and icus and covid units, where they continue to treat an influx of pat

steve patterson takes a closer look in our sunday focus. >> reporter: as the death toll of american liveshigher, president trump promoted this video as a convenient truth. >> i have personally tweeted over 250 patients with covid. you don't need masks. there's a cure. >> reporter: that's a houston area pushing hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for covid but as part of a cure. after the video went viral, the president praised her. >> she was on air along with many other doctors. they were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. i thought she was very impressive. >> reporter: in the past, she has made other questionable claims, includes gynecology cysts are caused by dreams with demons. her assertion that high droc hydroxychloroquine can cure coronavirus has been rejected. >> hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease or covid-19. >> reporter: as the u.s. crosses a grim milestone, 150,000 deaths, the highest in the world, this is the latest in a slew of highly contagious misinformation about coronavirus from hoech hoaxes alleges it's bioweapon to it spreading from c

i miss the steve patterson and all of the men and woman at the station that helped make what we do purely journalism. now we're doing the tech part and the journalism part and the directing part. we're all working together i am thankful for them and will do this as long as it takes. by staying home, i am grateful that i have the opportunity and the kind of job that lets me do that. if you're able do the same, hang in there. you will get the guys and gals back soon. i promise. >> that's true. we will hang in there as long as we can. yes. >>> the apple fire in river side county haslet us switch gears. look at the video. it's pretty intense. it continues to burn at this hours. firefighters from the bay area are helping on the front lines. ktvu is joining us live now with those details and sarah, this is the kind of situation that everybody just kind of goes where they're needed to get the fire out as quickly as possible. >> yeah, that's right. we have several bay area firefighters down in southern california helping with this fire. the apple fire did grow overnight about eight square miles.

>> steve patterson in los angeles. steve, thank you very much.o is set to speak any moment now. we're watching that sliding blue door in the briefing room. in the meantime, peter baker is with us. and peter, just quickly, how does the white house staff feel about how these past few weeks have been going for the president with these interviews with jonathan swan, with chris wallace, fox and friends this morning, where he continued to downplay the virus. do they think this strategy is working? >> well, you know, look, polls show he's in trouble and that the main issue is the coronavirus. so, they know he needs to get hold of it. they do find it better that he's out front addressing it, in a way he hadn't been until two, three weeks ago where he was trying to pretend to move on, now he's -- >> peter, i'm so sorry to interrupt you. you were ahead of me on that. the president is coming out. let's listen to see what he says today. >> i'd like to begin by providing an update on my administration's actions to protect american workers as we battle the chi

steve patterson is in northern california for us this morning beginning our coverage. steve, good morning. >> reporter: peter, good morning to you. right now those crews are battling hundreds of wild fires. including two of the biggest in state history. if you look at the total spread, the footprint of the fires is now larger than the state of rhode island, and it has firefighters stretched incredibly thin. overnight this sprawl of more than 500 california wild fires surged in a relentless march of flames. hardest hit, the north, where the state's largest fires are churning through wine country, incinerating home, reducing whole neighborhoods to piles of rubble and ash. >> oh no, oh no no no. >> reporter: she lost most of her livestock, including her horses and goats as the flames swept through her parent's ranch. >> the devastation is just amazing. if i stop to think about it too long. it overwhelms . >> reporter: the fires destroying more than 500 structures, forcing the evacuations of thousands. at least five people have died. >> just been fire after fire. i mean, it

steve patterson has the latest from the front lines. hey, steve. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you. look. firefighters across this state are bone tired. many of them have been fighting these fires for more than a week. some working 72 hour shifts. and as fire conditions continue to worsen, it is now more apparent that this is a battle with no end in sight. overnight, exhausted firefighters back on the front lines locked in a desperate week long fight. more than 14,000 firefighters working around the clock to contain some of the largest fires in state history. officials now worried about the threat of fresh red flag warnings that could promote an explosion of raging flames. how worried are you about this bad weather that is now moving in? >> we're extremely concerned about what's taking place in the next couple of days with more dry lightning. >> reporter: more than 600 fires are burning over 1.4 million acres. a footprint bigger than the size of rhode island now visible from space. in northern california, monster flames devoured

patterson, new jersey, disaster. virginia, disaster. it's a disaster what's going on. they can't count the ballots. they don't know where the ballots are. steve: mr. president? president trump: yes. steve: one follow-up to that is do you think part of this is because nancy pelosi has been unable to get her very expensive i think $3.5 trillion coronavirus bill passed but in that bill is $25 billion for the postal service to make sure they've got the resources although the postal service has put out in financial statements they've got enough money to run through next year, summer of next year, so is this just another way of trying to get that great big corona bill passed by the democrats? president trump: it's a nancy pelosi con game with, you know, her associate schumer. this is a con game by pelosi and schumer. look, the post office, there's 25 billion sitting there but they really want $1 trillion to bail out their badly-run states, like new york state, which is horribly run, like if you take a look at california, the money they lose, illinois is a disaster, just a disaster. this guy pritzker has done a horrible job in illinois, and the repu

steve patterson on the front lines in vacaville, california. >> tonight the desperate battle to contain california's historic fires is now a race against time. crews working around the clock to get a handle on some of the largest fires in state history with the new looming threat in the forecast today. fresh red flag warnings and another predicted bout of dry lightning storms. the same conditions were in place exactly one week ago. thousands of lightning strikes and heavy winds spread flames across the state. >> they can cause havoc on this fire and fires throughout the region 50 miles away. >> today another grim milestone. the fires now totalling more than 1.1 million acres in size. a fire footprint visible from space. the president signing declaration releasing federal aid to help exhausted crews on the ground. national guard and military arriving in california to relieve the strain on firefighters. in northern california where monster planes devoured homes, forced evacuation of thousands. killed at least five people. will cook is resorting to filling buckets of creek water in an effo