today, lester, the u.s. federal response is one that will be there throughout. it will not be short-term aid in spite of the $700 that s immediately been provided. it will be a federal response that he says will be there for years. lester? all right. peter alexander, thank you. and that concludes this nbc news special report. breaking news tonight. president biden in the burn zone in hawaii, seeing firsthand the devastation from the catastrophic wildres. the president and the first lady touring the damage from the deadliest wildfire in u.s. history. meeting with victims and thanking first responders. his new message to maui as more than 850 people remain unaccounted for. also tonight, the trail of destruction in california from tropical storm hilary. a masvesi mudslide
barreling down as people runor fsafety. crews of firefighters trapped. a bulldozer rescuing people from their mud-covered homes. the historic rain. more than a foot in some areas. palm springs cut off by floods. and now the new threat. a tropical storm warning for the texas coast. we re tracking it all. the wildfires burning out of control in washington state. thousands evacuated. hundreds of buildings destroyed. our team is there. in georgia donald trump s bond set at $200,000 before his deadline to surrender on friday. the terms he must agree to. and ahead of this week s first gop presidential debate our brand new poll and what it reveals in a key battttleground.. > and the b beloved actor w who won two emmys for his work on nbc s this is us. remembering ron cephas jones. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening, everyone.
california tonight. reporter: tonight across the southwest they re doing their best with the destruction tropical storm hilary left behind. in san bernardino national forest panic and devastation. a massive mudslide barreling down the highway sunday evening. firefighters stranded. the debris narrowly missing resident vicky ross s house. all the way across and all the way down the street. reporter: what did it sound like? wse than thunder. i didn t know if it was going to come over the top of this hill or into the house. reporter: now the race is on to clear the roads and free a town trapped by the mud. residents say the mountain just gave way and came pouring down this road. what s left of six feet of mud. you can see just this is like quicksand. and officials say that until this is clear an entire town is cut off. across the southwest officials assess the damage. in the mojave desert an 18-wheeler up its windows in mud. with rainfall records set across the region