Brushfire in Riverside County, California, Forces Evacuations; Colorado Snow; Who's the Enemy?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You are with us in the NEWSROOM. Stay informed. I'm Tony Harris.</s>HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins. Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, October 26th. Here's what's on the rundown this hour. Fire and ice. Colorado battens down for a winter blast, the first blizzard of the season.</s>HARRIS: Meanwhile, California blazing again. Another wildfire this morning to tell you about.</s>COLLINS: And in the sizzling South, politics heats up. What folks are talking about this election year in the NEWSROOM. We've been joking it's a little bit like, you know, fire and ice...</s>HARRIS: Yes.</s>COLLINS: ... from California, to Colorado, but the situation really pretty serious in both places. We want to get to Chad Myers now in the severe weather center for more on this. This one California, obviously. This fire here is just going crazy with all the winds -- Chad.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, east of Riverside, east of Ontario, still Riverside County, out toward Palm Springs, but just south of Banning now. And the problem is the winds are picking up here, guys, up to 18 miles per hour the past hour. And I suspect we're going to get up to around 40 because we have high wind warnings and red flag warnings throughout the entire area there in southern California. You like to see the smoke go straight up. When the smoke gets blown off to the right or to the left, you know that that's a pretty significant wind. Look what happens, though. This is almost like a -- like a thunderstorm out there as the fire is going up. Clearly, that was only the beginning of the storm. The center of the heat right there in the middle of your screen now. Another problem is, the way the wind is blowing, although we're in the mountains now, in the San Bernardino National Forest, south of Banning, we do have another town south of there. That would be like San Jacinto. That area there is probably, as the crow flies, maybe seven miles away. But as you see -- as you see sparks flying from one side of the mountain to the next to the top of the mountain, then you have a problem. Let's go to the map here real quick and we'll talk about this wind threat. We'll show you how we're talking -- we're talking about. San Bernardino, the wind blowing out of the north, gusting here down to 12, but at times on up to 15 and 18. We'll put the map and we'll move it into motion and show you the I-10. This is the Inland Empire. And if you look down at the bottom, that's Banning right on here. In the mountains area, this is where the fire is. Not so much of a problem for I-10 because the wind is blowing the other way, but if I take you to the other side, literally the seven miles away, as the crow flies, over here in the valley, there's San Jacinto, right there.</s>HARRIS: Yes.</s>MYERS: So as this comes over the mountains and maybe back down the other side, if firefighters can't get a handle on it, then they're in trouble, because then you have a lot of people in the way of a fire. So just the winds, if they pick up today, a lot of folks are going to be scrambling.</s>HARRIS: Hey Chad -- Chad, stay right there. I'm going to put you together with Becky Luther. We talked to her a little bit earlier in the NEWSROOM. She's with the Riverside County Fire Department, and I want you two to sort of talk about where we are right now. Becky, are you there?</s>BECKY LUTHER, RIVERSIDE COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: Good morning.</s>HARRIS: OK. Give us an update. We talked to you, oh, about an hour or so ago. Give us an update on the fire, the size of it and what you're dealing with.</s>LUTHER: Well, we still have an 800 -- 800-plus acres at this time. We're waiting for a new update on that. The fire is headed in the southwesterly direction, 243 -- Highway 243, from Banning to Lake Fillmore is closed, and the Twin Pines Poppet Flats, Wonderview area all are under mandatory evacuations. We have two evacuation centers set up, one on the Banning side. There's a Banning Community Center, and the other one will be at the Hemet High School on the Hemet side. Anybody exiting that mountain needs to exit the south direction towards Hemet off 74.</s>MYERS: Becky, this is Chad Myers in the weather center. I want to ask you a little bit about what I was talking about earlier. Winds now are 18 to 20, but some of the forecasts, 40 to 60. I mean, is Hemet, San Jacinto -- they seem to me -- if I look the way the map goes, they're in the way if this fire continues to move in the direction of the wind, right?</s>LUTHER: Idyllwild -- it will be up in the Idyllwild area, yes.</s>MYERS: Idyllwild, of course -- of course -- right.</s>LUTHER: It will be up in that hillside, yes. That is a very big concern right now.</s>MYERS: Absolutely. Now, I did see some air tankers on some pictures earlier. What kind of crews, what kind of -- what kind of manpower do we have on this fire right now?</s>LUTHER: At our last count, which was early this morning, I have over 300 personnel. Now, that has most likely changed and gotten -- grown up more. I know we're starting aircraft going. I don't have a count on the aircraft yet.</s>MYERS: Ms. Luther, thank you very much.</s>LUTHER: Thank you.</s>MYERS: This is a very rugged area. Firefighters will have a difficult time if they're walking through this land. Obviously a lot of air power going to be needed to knock this thing down. And there aren't that many roads to be natural fire breaks through this area here -- Tony, Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Yes. Chad, you know, we want to go ahead and move from this extreme weather situation to the other extreme weather situation.</s>MYERS: Now that looks like -- that looks like a structure on fire there.</s>COLLINS: Yes, it possibly could have been. We're talking about how close those flames could be getting to homes, or at least outbuildings. We're not really sure there. We'll keep our eye on that one for you, for sure. Looking, though, to Colorado, no evacuations obviously because you can't really do that there...</s>MYERS: No, right.</s>COLLINS: ... because you get snowed in. But a lot of school closures, a lot of roads closed down that we know. About a foot of snow expected in the area, depending upon where you are, right?</s>MYERS: Already a foot on the ground at the Air Force Academy. So we're evacuating the roadways here. Stay home from Denver, all the way down to Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, all the way up I-70, up through the divide. Lots of snow coming down. In fact, our Jonathan Freed is in Colorado Springs. And you've been seeing it pile up. You've been seeing it come sideways. So maybe there's more snow on the side of the truck, or on the lens, if you will, because we can barely see you, Jonathan. How is the snow situation now?</s>JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was about to say that I'm feeling a little bit blurry there, Chad. We were going to try to take -- take advantage of that.</s>MYERS: Well, at least it's wet, not frozen.</s>FREED: Is that a little better now?</s>MYERS: Yes, there you go.</s>FREED: A little bit better. We're thankful that we're able to say that so far there are no reports of anybody being injured in this at this point. So far, it is a pretty good winter storm here. It's been -- it's been blowing and snowing for several hours. I heard you say a foot on the ground at the Air Force Academy, which is really not far from us. And it's interesting. We're not seeing that here. And just a couple of miles sometimes can make a big difference in terms of the nature of the accumulation. The academy is a little bit more exposed than we are right here. That might have something to do with it. But usual precautions are happening here today. People are being asked to stay inside. Schools are closed, libraries are closed, that kind of thing. We were hearing earlier that there was some travel possible on the interstate, but that the side roads are really a mess. Now, they're used to dealing with that here, of course. People are hoping this is going to blow through soon enough and that they'll be able to get the plows out. And we are seeing some, but hoping to get the plows up and just get life back to semi-abnormal, as it happens at this time of the year.</s>MYERS: Maybe just stay home. Not you, obviously, because you can't get home from there right now. Just stay home and enjoy the window, enjoy the look out the window. Jonathan Freed, stay warm out there. Thank you. I want to get to one of our I-reports. You can always go to cnn.com/ireport and send us what you're seeing. Obviously with a still picture here from Colorado Springs, you don't get the feeling of the 24-mile-per-hour wind, but Todd Clifton took this out his window from Colorado Springs. He's actually a union electrician there. He says he's getting his first snow day off of the year. Todd Clifton in Colorado Springs. Keep those pictures coming. I also would love to see some from the other side of the divide -- 15.5 inches in Breckenridge overnight. So if you're anywhere from Vail, Vail Pass, the other side, whatever, cnn.com/ireport, take a picture, send it to us.</s>COLLINS: I guess -- I guess, Chad, since we were talking about the Air Force Academy, the blue and silver, the golf course, probably closed by now.</s>MYERS: You know, it's a little tough to get around. The bunkers are a little deep.</s>COLLINS: Yes, they're deep. You can only navigate the snow with the elk at this point.</s>HARRIS: There you go.</s>COLLINS: All right. Chad Myers, thank you for that.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>COLLINS: Standing on the fence in the fight over illegal immigration, President Bush signs a bill designed to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants. It calls for building 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ours is a nation of immigrants. We're also a nation of law. Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades. And therefore, illegal immigration has been on the rise. We have a responsibility to address these challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have a responsibility to secure our borders.</s>COLLINS: The centerpiece of the president's immigration policy is a guest worker program. That legislation is currently stalled in Congress.</s>HARRIS: It's been said know your enemy. That can sometimes be difficult in Iraq. There are groups within groups, but all are bent on one goal. CNN's Michael Ware has that story.</s>MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Facing an enemy that must be defeated, but first you have to know who the enemy is. Here, a U.S. Bradley armored fighting vehicle hit by a roadside bomb. Here, another bomb, this time triggered by remote. So who is the enemy? Like their bombs, there are many. Nothing unites the insurgents, but they share a common mindset, a readiness to kill Americans until they leave Iraq. As U.S. commander in Iraq General George Casey says, the situation is difficult and complex.</s>GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER IN IRAQ: And I'm sure for the folks back in the United States trying to look at this, it looks very confusing and very hard to understand.</s>WARE: America's enemies in Iraq can be divided into two main groups, Sunni and Shia. But there are groups within groups, factions within factions. Shia militias attack British and American troops, according to coalition intelligence officers, not to defeat them but to keep them in a defensive mode, so they worry about survival instead of the militias' political control and their Iranian backing. But the insurgents most Americans recognize as the enemy are Iraqi-Sunnis. They are mainly former military from Saddam's regime and account for most U.S. casualties. They are divided into two large categories, nationalists and Islamists, each comprised of smaller groups. As for the nationalists, their agenda is secular, anti-Iranian, and focused on liberating Iraq from foreign occupation. The Islamists, meanwhile, are more moderate than al Qaeda. They don't offer a religious state. They tolerate other Muslim sects, and also vow to fight until U.S. forces leave. Both of these large insurgent blocs are willing to talk peace with the United States, but there are still those America cannot reach, the darkest heart of the Sunni insurgency, al Qaeda and the many groups aligned with it. This is the group that sends out suicide bombers and who once cut off westerners' heads. For them, there will be no end until Osama bin Laden's plans for an international Islamic state are fulfilled. And most troubling, the longer this war goes, the more Sunni groups drift toward al Qaeda and the more Shia embrace Iran. Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.</s>HARRIS: And just another reminder. We will hear from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld later today. He is holding a Pentagon briefing just after 1:00 Eastern Time. We will bring it in to the</s>NEWSROOM. COLLINS: Want to get you back to California quickly now, the wildfire that we have been following for you all morning. We have a little bit of sound that has come in to us from a television station there, KTTV. This is the helicopter pilot flying overhead with a little bit of detail.</s>RICK DICKERT, KTTV HELICOPTER PILOT: We do have a structure that is burning. This is the first one that we've seen. And that is just on the ridgeline above the 10 Freeway between Cabazon and the Banning area. We'll widen out a little bit here, but that's our first structure that we have seen. Cabazon, bottom lower left of your screen, and this structure up in the hills just to the south of the 10 Freeway and of Cabazon. And clearly you can see that is burning. Now, we did see a tanker come in. They're dropping that faz (ph) check, that fire retardant all over this, and they trying to get at least some sort of containment. You're going to start to hear that word. What it is is just a line. They're trying to get a line surrounding the fire. The firefighters want to surround it and starve it. They want to starve that fire. Fires only die off when it's deprived of the fuel, heat, and oxygen which burns -- look at that structure go up there. See, we don't know if it's a residence or some sort of camp at this time, but definitely at least one structure burning.</s>COLLINS: So, again, as you can see, we at least have some aircraft flying overhead. These are usually the -- well, it's a little bit smaller than -- anyway, the ones that drop the slurry. There you go. And that helps, along with the fire lines as well. But according to Chad Myers here, the wind is the real situation. About 800-plus acres have already burned, and that was a sound from one of the helicopter pilots overhead, because now we are seeing the fire getting closer to structures.</s>HARRIS: Yes. Yes.</s>COLLINS: Very unclear at this time whether or not those were homes or some sort of, as he mentioned, a camp. But we're going to continue to watch this one for you. A live shot now. And you see that smoke just wafting off to the side, which means the winds are still pretty rough.</s>HARRIS: Still ahead, an actor with Parkinson's Disease makes a political pitch. The latest on the ad controversy and the battle over stem cell research just ahead.</s>COLLINS: And the weather cools off but the political races heat up in the South. A look at which candidates and what issues are attracting attention. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.