might s ancient sequoias as wildfires close in. i m standing right in front of the grizzly giant and we ve got a sprinkler system set up in front of it. i m pamela brown in washington. you re live in the cnn newsroom. we want to take you right now to mariposa, california as evacuations are under way as fires threaten the ancient sequoias. our nick watt has just arrived on the scene. nick, how serious is the season there, and what are they doing to protect these incredibly special trees? reporter: well, we just have heard that the fight is going in the right direction, but it is still a huge fight. the flames are within a mile or two of mariposa grove which is home to about 500 of these giant, beautiful, ancient sequoia freeze, so the way that they are trying to contain the fireworks the way they are trying to keep those trees safe, they have 360 personnel on the ground, including hot shot cruise who are digging trenches around mariposa grove, a kind of break to try to
flowers, the portraits that were actually drawn by a local art teacher, all of this was brought here today because this area was closed off to the public for the entire week, so i ve seen a lot of hugs, a lot of tears, people who just come here to support each other, to spend a moment of silence, to really process for a lot of people it s really hard to be out here while others say, you know, that this is helpful for them, and so we re just seeing more and more people coming here. i saw recently a mom hugging her two boys, and so it s just been somber and touching and very emotional as we see that process of grieving and of what comes next for this community. i talked to one mother who was here on the fourth of july, and this is how she explained her process. what i m doing is i m evolving. i m not healing. i m evolving. it is a new me that is coming
the mom and dad, the children they brought together, and the surprise. america strong. reporter: husband and wife mike and sarah rousell from temple, texas, together five years, marrying this march. a blended family, each with two children. mike with landon and aubrey. sarah with camryn and jackson. the vacations, the baseball games, the school events. but there was one milestone still left, camryn asking if she could officially be adopted by mike, to have his last name. mike and sarah telling her, it s a long process, but camryn wanted it. years later, mom and dad surprising camryn at school. dad with the sign, i gave you my heart five years ago, and now i give you my last name. and mom holding, it s official, camryn rousell. camryn walking down that hall. dad waiting with a hug. and mom hugging her, too.
and mom hugging her, too. and right here with us tonight hello, david. reporter: mike telling us what that moment meant for mom and dad and their blended family. our adoption for me was fulfilling a promise to camryn that i was always gonna love her and just to let her know that i wasn t here by accident. and little camryn on her new last name. he has been that kind of person to always be there for me and encourage me. he has been there for five years, but it feels like he has been there my whole life. reporter: tonight, a trevor family making it even more official. what a way to end the week. i ll see you monday. good night. building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc7 news.
he comes to power as president trump pledges to build a southern border wall and add thousands of new agents to the job. one week ago mark morgan resigned as chief under pressure by the new administration. and this story will put a smile on your face. a u.s.s. soldier returning home from overseas surprises his family during the boston-celtics game. watch. please welcome home from his seven months deployment overseas staff sergeant matthew knowles. sergeant knowles receiving a standing occasion and bringing his family to tears. i think that was his mom hugging him there he has served our country in iraq, jordan, kuwait, and cu cut qata. a mom always misses her baby. ainsley: this video is insane a zookeeper is attacked by an