spreading faster than before and celebrating the tough guy actor beloved for his roles on both sides of the law. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening in a summer of extreme temperatures, the worst wildfire of the year is choking the skies of northern california tonight smoke advisories posted in the bay area due to a rampaging wildfire more than 175 miles away near yosemite it s already sent thousands in the path of the fire to seek safer ground the oak fire broke out friday near the park and has destroyed several structures and breaking in texas tonight, grass fires have destroyed at least eight homes in balk springs and forced evacuations there. meantime, back in california crews doing all they can to slow that big blaze before it makes another dangerous run. drought conditions ensuring plentiful fuel for the fire. miguel almaguer is on the front lines for us tonight. reporter: this is what california s wildfire season looks and sounds
four-decade high inflation. up 9% year over year in illinois, mother of three and special ed teacher ali alvarado says it s taking a financial and emotional toll clothing up 5%, gas up nearly 60%, food prices up 10.5% forcing them to cut back and now it s back to kind of paycheck to paycheck and watching to make sure we re not going into overdraft. reporter: at a food bank in loudoun county, virginia, so many families are asking for help they ran out of food after 90 minutes today we are seeing 20 to 25 new families each week that are coming in that are new to us that have never gotten our services before. reporter: meanwhile, a new aaa poll finds 88% of those asked are cutting back on driving due to high gas prices while prices have recently dropped they re averaging $4.36 a gallon nationwide all of it adding pressure on the fed expected to raise interest rates another three-quarters of a percentage point this