Addicted series continues with a look at the devastating rise of one powerful synthetic opioid and how it is driving overdose deaths. If anything can be likened to a weapon of mass destruction and what it does to a community, its fentanyl. Woodruff all that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Collette. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The lemelson foundation. Committed to improving lives through invention, in the u. S. And developing countries. On the web at lemelson. Org. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff nearly 8,000 firefighters are struggling against wildfires across Northern California tonight, as winds kick up again. Officials report more than 20 fires have left at least 21 people dead and consumed at least 3,500 homes and businesses. We begin with a report from mina kim of pbs member station kqed. Reporter as the sun rose today, sylvia parkinsons, surveyed the ash and burned metal that was once her home in santa rosa. Nothing left. Theres my steps coming right through my front patio. You can see my fireplace. Its just amazing. Theres nothing left. You know what i did save . I saved our wedding rings. Its the one thing i grabbed. Reporter dozens of homes in parkinsons coffey park neighborhood were swallowed by the fast approaching fires that broke out sunday night. And today, Sonoma County officials ordered new evacuations. If you have a place to go, go. The less people here, the less we will have to evacuate. Reporter yesterday, winds from the south spread the flames north, but the winds shifted today and turned gusty again, pushing the fires south. In nearby napa county, officials ordered evacuations for nearly half of calistoga, a town of 5,000 people. Firefighters there say they, too, are bracing for windy, low humidity conditions that fuel fires. We are expecting some extreme fire behavior and growth of our incidents, currently. And that is going to lead us to challenges. Reporter all told, more than 20 fires are burning across Northern California. None are close to being contained, and most, if not all, are still spreading. Back in coffey park there had been this pile of drop cloths, because my son was going to paint the house, over there, thats no longer there. Reporter steve smith and his wife also evacuated sunday night, after waking to the smell of smoke. They came back today to find their home spared, only because a passerby had stopped to hose it down. Ten minutes down the road, at the benovia winery, coowner Mike Sullivan was trying to keep things running. Thats your home . Yeah. Reporter oh my gosh. Its not even recognizable, as a home . No, its not. Reporter hes staying at the vineyard, after their home just up the hill was burned to the ground. Just this incredible noise that was nothing it had to be fire. And so i ran back to the house, i woke up the kids and we left. We left within three minutes. Reporter many others among santa rosas 175,000 residents are now staying with friends and family, or at shelters. I dont know how long im going to be here or whats happening at home. Thats what im starting to think about now is, am i going to have a home to go back to . Reporter desperate family members and friends are also searching for loved ones with hundreds reported missing. We think some of those 670 are just new evacuations and relatives trying to find people, and our information line is working. Reporter in southern california, another big fire has been burning near anaheim since monday, but improved conditions have allowed 1,600 firefighters to contain just under half of the blaze. Governor jerry brown surveyed the overall situation today from the states fire operations center. This will be tens of billions. So weve got to get ready to deal with this situation, and then prepare for others that will follow in the years to come. Reporter and in washington, california congressman kevin mccarthy, the House Majority leader, promised action on additional disaster funding. Tomorrow well take up the itll take time to control these fires. But well begin to rebuild. Reporter meanwhile, as the fires continue to burn, there are growing health concerns. Officials warn that heavy smoke and ash could trigger asthma, bronchitis and other breathing problems. Theyre advising people in affected areas to stay inside when possible. Woodruff i spoke to mina kim a short time ago, and began by asking about concerns over the number of people who are missing. Sheriff giodano said there are about 380 people unaccounted for after they were able to locate 150. But there seems to be some confusion with the numbers because earlier this year the sheriff reported 670 were missing. So the sheriff acknowledgd the discrepancy in the numbers and said that he was going to try to clear that up at the next briefing. He does remain hopeful that a significant number of those who are missing, its because they are unable to communicate with loved ones that they are safe because of the limited Cell Phone Service here and thousands still remain without power. Woodruff we know the toll is very serious and you were telling us you were there when they discovered someone who had not made it. Reporter yeah, so we were at a Mobile Home Park here in santa rosa called journeys end and police started cord upping off one of the burned mobile homes and it was because they told us they believe a body was in the rubble. So while, you know, Law Enforcement officials are optimistic that its related to communication problems, there will definitely be some who are missing because they were unable to survive this fire, judy. Woodruff finally, mina, this hits close to home. You have your own home in nappa county, and the fire, you were telling us, has gotten very close to you. Last night was a tough night for nappa county especially in the area west to have the city of napa, they had to expand the evacuation zone there significantly because the winds have shifted. As you can probably tell now, the winds are picking up in Sonoma County and it underscores the volatility of the situation here. This fire is very far from being under control and in fact the Sheriffs Department has stopped limited escorts they were doing earlier today to allow people to retrieve medicines and other critical provisions because theyre just too worried its getting too dangerous now with this wind. Woodruff clearly a long way to go before this is resolved in any way. Mina kim, thank you very much. Reporter youre welcome, judy. Woodruff in the days other news, the white house announced President Trump is nominating Kirstjen Nielsen for secretary of homeland security. She is currently deputy chief of staff in the white house. Nielsen worked for then secretary john kelly at homeland security, and moved with him when he became white house chief of staff. North korea fired off a new verbal assault against President Trump. The countrys foreign minister charged that the president has lit the wick of war. Ri yong ho told a russian news agency, we need to settle the final score, only with a hail of fire, not words. Meanwhile, u. S. B1 bombers flew new drills with south korean warplanes, over the korean peninsula. China is vowing to protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea, after a u. S. Warship sailed near disputed islands. The destroyer u. S. S. Chafee passed close to the Paracel Islands yesterday, to assert freedomofnavigation rights. In beijing, the Foreign Ministry dnounced the move as a violation of chinas sovereignty. The relevant u. S. Warships actions violated chinese laws and related international laws, seriously undermined chinas security interest, and endangered the lives and safety of the personnel of both countries on the front line. The Chinese Government will continue to defend its interest with firm measures. Woodruff china claims almost all of the South China Sea and the islands there as its territory. A scandal engulfing japans kobe steel deepened today. The company has admitted falsifying data about the quality of its aluminum and copper products. Now, the japanese government is urging kobe to clarify just how far the problem went. General motors, nissan, toyota and boeing, among others, say theyre investigating if the materials pose a safety risk. The Prime Minister of spain demanded today to know if the region of catalonia has proclaimed its independence. Last night, catalan officials signed what they called a declaration of independence, but the catalan president said that it wont take effect for several weeks. Today, addressing spains parliament, Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy again rejected any talk of secession. translated ladies and gentlemen, on october 1, the government of catalonia wanted to carry out an illegal referendum. It was the last chapter in a political strategy devised to impose on Catalan Society and all spaniards, an independence that few want and is good for nobody. Woodruff rajoy went on to say, theres no constitution in the world that recognizes the right to selfdetermination. In kenya, new confusion, and protests, over a rerun of the president ial election. Police in nairobi fired tear gas today to disperse more than a thousand opposition supporters. They were demanding election reforms. Opposition leader raila odinga is boycotting the election unless he is guaranteed a fair count. But Parliament Today declared president Uhuru Kenyatta the winner. Back in this country, police in baton rouge have arrested ten people in a Fraternity Death at Louisiana State university. 18yearold Maxwell Gruver died last month after a night of drinking. His bloodalcohol level was more than six times the legal limit. Eight of the suspects are l. S. U. Students. All of them face misdemeanor hazing charges. One is also charged with negligent homicide. President trump today threatened tv broadcast networks over their news coverage. It came as he denied an nbc report that hed wanted a nearly tenfold increase in the u. S. Nuclear arsenal. Defense secretary jim mattis also denied the report. The president condemned what he called fake news and suggested it is time to challenge the networks licenses for broadcast stations. On wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 42 points to close near 22,873. The nasdaq rose 16, and the s p 500 added four. Still to come on the newshour the boy scouts opens its doors to girls. The e. U. s Foreign Policy chief on the Iran Nuclear Deal that President Trump could scrap. An opioid linked to thousands of overdoses. And, much more. Woodruff big changes are coming to an american tradition the boy scouts. The scouting board voted unanimously today to admit girls into the centuryold program, and to permit them to earn the coveted rank of eagle scout. John yang has more. Yang thanks, judy. Beginning next year, the boy scouts will allow young girls to become cub scouts. And then in 2019, theyll begin a program for older girls that will allow them to earn the rank of eagle scout. Here to help explain whats behind this historic change and what it might mean for the girl scouts were joined by Associated PressNational Writer david crary. David, thanks for joining us. A pleasure to be here. Yang why are the boy scouts doing this . You know, they have been looking at their membership numbers for quite a while. They have been going down over the last couple of decades. Theyve stabilized the last year or two, but they have been looking for ways to grow and its not an easy task in this day and age where these youth organizations are all struggling to keep their ranks full. So i think the idea was if we want to grow lets let girls in. This could be a huge increase, hundreds of thousands of girls over the next few years, it would help them get more revenue and really change the way the demographics of the boy scouts work. Yang in their announcement, they also talked about demographic changes in society overall. Well, its been tough for all of these youth groups, the boy scouts and the girl scouts, because there are so many there are singleparent families now, families where both parents are working. Its tough for the parents to find the time to take their kids to and from these meetings and activities. I think the boy scouts are hoping that parents will see this kind of onestop shopping now where they can have the girls and boys in the same organization maybe make things more efficient for themselves. Yang the boy scouts have already had coed programs for older girls now. Whats the significance of this new program for olders girls that will start in 2019. Yeah, theyre pretty fa fascinating. That one they say will still be single sex, will be the boy scouts, and then a mirror program for girls of that age, 1114 years old. It will be fascinating how much they interact with each other. Coed camping is not on the cards still. So its almost like two parallel groups and the odd entity out is the girl scouts who think their mission has been encroached on. Yang have the girl scouts had anything to say today . I asked girl scouts for comment midday when the story broke. Five hours later, no comment. Im guessing they are upset. Im sure they are. It will be interesting perhaps tomorrow to see how they phrase their announce with this and their idea for how to go forward. Yang they had been talking about their annoyance with this earlier in the year when they heard about the plans for this, didnt they . They have been very outspoken. They said this was covert recruiting of girls. Theyve implied that the boy scouts are doing this out of financial distress. Theyve hackerrenned back to decades ago, these sex abuse cases of the boy scouts implying that this is the last thing the boy scouts should be doing is bringing in girls. Its been pretty nasty and i think a lot of people have been surprised these two organizations that have been kind of buddies for so long are now at odds with each other. Yang in the recenyears, weve seen the boy scouts open up to first gay scout leaders then gay scouts then transgender scouts. What does this say about the scouts and how theyre trying to change or keep up with the times . Well, i think it shows that they take their livelihood, their viability seriously. The other three changes you mentioned were all the result of a lot of pressure big business, gay rights activists were saying, hey, youve got to be more tolerant, youve got to let these people in. Eventually the boy scouts did acquiesce. This one, they havent been getting outside pressure, so its a little different in the sense that theyve figured out for themselves i think in a very entrepreneurial way this is what weve got to do to be viable financially. Yang david crary of the associate press, thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff a new deadline looms this weekend for President Trump to certify whether the 2015 Nuclear Agreement with iran is in the interests of the United States, and if iran is or is not complying with it. But how do iranians see this deal, and President Trumps tough words for the Islamic Republic . From tehran, and in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on crisis reporting, special correspondent reza sayah reports. Reporter ashura in tehran. One of the holiest days in shia islam. Thousands mourn the death of imam hussain, the prophet muhammads grandson, a seventh century figure who stood against injustice and oppression. Many here say its time to stand against what they see as the injustice of u. S. President donald trump. translated hes insane. Hes an insane person. We have to stand up to him. Reporter but iranians are not just religious conservatives. Millions of young liberals live here too. Many, shaped by american culture. They too have an opinion on President Trump. translated trump just forces his way on everyone. translated hes a crazy person. laughs translated now were going to get ourselves assassinated tomorrow. Reporter liberal and conservative iranians alike dont care much for President Trump these days, because he says he wants to scrap the nuclear deal. The agreement, signed in 2015 under thenpresident barak obama, was a rare occasion where diplomacy appeared to resolve a crisis in a region plagued by war. The u. S. And world powers agreed to lift economic sanctions against iran. In return, iran rolled back its nuclear program, deemed a threat by the west. Like many iranians, artist Mariam Mikhatami hoped the deal would help irans struggling economy and improve relations with the u. S. Now, shes worried again. translated of course, everyone gets worried. It feels like Something Big is about to happen again. Things could get worse. We have to be ready for it. Reporter ready for the possibility of change. The Iran Nuclear Deal has been in effect for nearly two years. During that time the i. A. E. A. , the u. N. s nuclear wat