assistance from the u.s. fire service in nevada. that, as we learned tonight that there is 0% containment on all the major fires here in northern california, david. matt gutman leading us off tod ast.gh you c an see at hottme her, e tonight, the devastation, it s apocalyptic here in this neighborhood. so many families here racing to get out. some telling me about the gridlock, the cars backed up in the streets. but as that fire swept in, some of those cars catching fire, families inside them. sheriff s deputies huddled with some families on dirt patches, surrounded on all sides by the flames. tonight, the scope of the devastation here is overwhelming. this is dogwood drive in the coffee park neighborhood of santa rosa. the fires swept through here so quickly, families were jolted from their beds by the smell of thick smoke in the middle of the night. you can see just home after home incinerated by this fire. and the cars that just in an instant, you can see the melted aluminum. and t
and angelina jolie breaking their silence. president trump tonight, after reports his secretary of state called him a moron, today, the president appearing to challenge rex tillerson to an iq test. the university police officer killed by a student. the urgent hunt that followed. and the bomb squad at an american airport. the suspect s own words tonight. good evening from a stunned and grieving california tonight. this state now declared a major disaster, after more than a dozen wildfires exploded here, taking lives and livelihoods. and you can see behind me, this is the coffee park neighborhood, right here in santa rosa. not a home left standing. and as you can also see, the charred frames of cars now sit in the driveways, as you move along the streets of this neighborhood. it was right here in santa rosa, a massive fire erupted in the middle of the night. people running for their lives,
windows are completely gone. the glass, if you co over here, you can see the glass is just melted right over. and now sits on the seats of the car. everywhere you look, signs of the heat, the intensity of this fire. the melted aluminum puddling under the car. one of the most stunning things in this neighborhood is, everywhere you look, the only thing you see left standing are the chimneys, in every direction. just dozens of chimneys, nothing left of the homes. everything has just been wiped out. and you can now hear the choppers flying above, though in the haze from the smoke, you can t even really see them. we walked through what once were front yards, the backyards of so many families here, to make our way to this family, sifting through what s left. was this your house? no, it s my son s. reporter: the sign, bearing the family s name, the rinkers, still intact. what room are we standing in right now? this is kind of the dining room area.
leaving everything behind. before the fire, this suburban neighborhood looked like any other. tonight, just look at the image after. the rows of charred lots where homes once stood. this evening here in california, the wildfires are still burning. the death toll rising. and there are hundreds missing. abc s senior national correspondent matt gutman on the fierce battle at this hour to save lives and homes here in california. reporter: tonight, firefighters stretched to the brink, hoping to get an upper hand on some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in california history. we have folks on the fire lines starting their third shift right now that have not been relieved. reporter: the fires out of control, now twice the size of washington, d.c. and still growing. at least 2,000 structures destroyed, including entire neighborhoods. shopping centers, restaurants and hotels. this was a hilton hotel complex. you can feel the intensity of the heat coming off of it. now firef
sifting through with the pitchfork for any of great-grandma s stuff. reporter: they were home when they started smelling that smoke at 1:30 in the morning. brent left the house to drive around the neighborhood and he could see that wall of fire moving in and quickly. came home and told my wife that we better pack up a few things just in case and we packed some stuff up, went and put it in the car and when we came out to the car, the whole sky was red. reporter: his wife, janelle, a fifth grade teacher here, stepping into what was once that dining room. come on in, babe. reporter: she takes off her mask and points to where the table once stood. this is where great-grandma s cabinet was. reporter: they describe the gridlock surrounding the neighborhood, so many families trying to get out in the middle of the night. we got our dog, i made sure he had his bed and his dog food and all his supplies. put a suitcase in the car and we took off. reporter: not far from their hom