swept away cars with mothers and children inside. officials are warning there could be more dangerous flooding today. there are still people missing. the valley fire still raging out of control in northern california. it began a few days ago, but already the most destructive wildfire of the season. thousands more homes threatened by smoke and flames. a middletown, california firefighter said somehow his house was spared. the fire got into the middletown area and my wife told me they are leaving. i hear people s houses are being burned and i figure mine will be gone. i m driving around and i m in shock. i m a firefighter. you have to keep working. i spoke to my wife. i said there is no reason for you to not keep working. fire crews may get help today from the weather. cnn s stephanie elam is getting a first hand look at what the wildfire has left behind.
to burn and able to alert a fire crew that this house was about to light up. we were able to help out there. that s just how raw and tender the situation is here. for many people able to evacuate, they are still living in tent cities across the area. evacuated to fairgrounds like the napa county fairgrounds. we met people wondering what their houses looked like. we learned an elderly woman got a call in requesting for help. they were not able to rescue this woman because the flames got too big and she was not able to self evacuate. overall, this is a situation as you look behind me that obviously will take a really long time for the people to bounce back. thanks, stephanie. the fires are devastating and hard to control. meteorologist pedram javaheri explain ys this is. pedram. alison and christine, good morning.
reporter: good morning, christine and alison. as we are getting a better look of the devastation from the valley fire, you can see how hot and scary this fire was as it raged through the community. as we are driving around today, you come across many places where the telephone poles are still burning. wires in the trees or across the roadway. at one point, a home was burning and we alerted a fire crew that this house was about to light up and we were able to help out there. that is how raw and tender the situation is here. for many people who were able to evacuate. they are still living in tent cities across the area. evacuated to fairgrounds like the napa county fairgrounds. we met people who wonder what the houses look like. we also know there s one person who did not make it. an elderly woman who they say they got a call in requesting for help, but they were not able to rescue this woman because the flames got too big and she was
for those who ve served and the families who ve supported them, we offer our best service in return. usaa. we know what it means to serve. get an insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. breaking overnight. eight people killed and five others missing this morning following heavy rains and flash flooding in southern utah. water rushing down a mountain side in the town of hilldale swept away two vehicles with 16 people inside. with thunderstorms moving into the area overnight, officials are warning there could be more dangerous flooding today. the valley fire still raging out of control in northern california. this started a few days ago, but
i found out today. today. i got somebody who stayed in hidden valley sent me a picture of my house and it is no longer there. martha: claudia cowan joins us live from the seen in middletown, california. claudia, what can you tell us about today there? reporter: well, martha, it is just so heart breaking to see block after block of what had been people s homes, we are at what was the middletown manor, 50 apartment units here. as you can see a number of cars, all of it rubble. you can see how the metal just melted off the wheel of this car. these are just among the 585 homes that were destroyed by the valley fire. which at 67,000-acres is now about twice the size of san francisco. the fire turned deadly when a 72-year-old woman became trapped in her home saturday night. the retired teacher was disabled and couldn t get out. officials say several other