breaking overnight. just a tragic story. eight people killed. at least five others missing following heavy rains and flash flooding in southern utah. fire officials say the victims are mothers and small children. the youngest age is about 4. water rushing down a mountain side of hilldale. with thunderstorms moving into the area overnight, officials are warning there could be more dangerous flooding today. the valley fire still raging out of contro in northern california. it began a few days ago, but it is the most destructive wildfire of the season. hundreds of homes destroyed. thousands more threatened by smoke and flames. cnn s stephanie elam has the look of what the wildfire has left behind. reporter: good morning, christine and alison. we are getting a better look of the valley fire.
welcome back to the lead. i m john berman in for jake tapper, live from simi valley, california. the site of tomorrow s cnn debate. turning now to our national lead. flames erupting across california after years of drought have turned this state into a tinder box. some of most devastating damage coming from the valley fire, swallowing nearly 600 homes with 9,000 more threatened. that fire has grown to almost 70,000 acres. firefighters are gaining ground but slow going. only 15% of the fire has been contained. we have learned the wildfire s claimed the life of a 72-year-old woman, officials said she had multiple sclerosis and couldn t make it out of her home in time. to the border between utah and arizona arpz devastation of a different kind. heavy rains led to flash floods in this small community that straddles the border.
there s still active floodwaters and dangerous, very treachero treacherous. a more significant flood than we ve had for quite some time. reporter: back live here now. again, about a mile downstream from where the cars were swept away. the people in the foreground with their backs to us, they are members of the community that have been holing vigil here throughout the night. we are told from people who have seen them. this is a very small community, a community that is home to the flds religious sect, a very tight community and one tonight that this morning at least, is praying for a miracle. michaela? a miracle indeed. kyung, thank you for the update. meanwhi meanwhile, water would be such a blessing for the fire yews battling fires in northern california. the valley fire which began on saturday has become the most destructive wildfire of the season. it has already spread to three
100 miles per hour. people have a hard time believing that fire travels faster uphill than downhill. here s the landscape. the valley fire with .25 of rainfall. the monsoon across utah is problematic. the landscape here is mountainous. when you put down 2 to 4 inches of rainfall per hour across this region, all of this flows down stream and creates problems for the homes and neighborhoods in the lowland escape across the region. guys. pedram, thanks for that. delta state university in mississippi is closed this morning. the day after the professor found murdered in his office. a manhunt for the suspect of the killing. the police say the victim, american history professor ethan
not able to evacuate. overall, this is a situation as you look behind me, that obviously is going to take a really long time for these people to bounce back. thank you, stephanie. difficult to see. and hear the story of the woman. these fires are proven devastating and difficult to control. meteorologist pedram javaheri explains why. good morning. incredible stuff. twice the size of city of san francisco. 9,000 structures threatened by the fires. the landscape is exacerbating the fire. the rolling hills of california and wine country all of this intensifying the flames here. the fire as they develop downhill. gasses and heat are released and heating up the landscape and uphill really quickly. the pre-heating that takes place allows the fires to spark up. in 2010, we saw fires impacting a region and traveling uphill at