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Destroying A Nest of Murder Hornets; Providing RVs To Wildfire Victims; Changing Plans For Halloween. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired October 26, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A nest of murder hornets in Washington State has been brought to justice and that`s where we start the week here on CNN 10.
My name is Carl Azuz. I`m happy to see you.
The Asian Giant Hornets, also known as murder hornets because enough stings can kill a person, first appeared in Washington State last year. People
don`t know how they got there. These insects are not native to the U.S. They`re also not welcome, insecta non-grata.
According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a small number of murder hornets can wipe out an entire hive of honey bees in a few hours.
Entomologists have been able to trap some of these insects, the largest hornets on Earth and they use the ones they captured to find their nest.
First, they glued a tracking device to a murder hornet but it fell off and the glue gummed up its wings. Then they tried to tie a tracker to a hornet
with dental floss, but that didn`t work either.
Finally, entomologists reportedly used glue and floss to keep a tracker in place and it worked. The hornet led them to a tree on private property in
the town of Blaine. The owner said officials could remove the hornets and the tree if needed and they used a type of vacuum to clear out the first
known Asian Giant Hornet nest in the U.S. This doesn`t mean the problem is solved as far as we know.
There are probably still some Asian Giant Hornets lurking around northern Washington State. It`s Department of Agriculture says if people see one,
they shouldn`t try to trap or kill it themselves but instead report it to state officials who are now up one to nothing in their mission to eliminate
the evasive species.
From northern Washington, were moving two states south to northern California where wind speeds of 70 miles per hour were in the forecast
Sunday. That makes wildfire conditions very dangerous and that`s why Pacific Gas and Electric shut off power to at least 386,000 homes and
businesses.
It`s done this before. The company is trying to prevent its equipment from starting fires in the dry windy conditions and that can happen if power
lines blow over for instance. The winds flowing from east to west across northern California are called the Diablo Winds.
They typically blow from the direction of California`s Mount Diablo, which is where they get their name. They can be at their worst in the Fall and
what makes them so dangerous during wildfires is that they can both fan the flames and blow sparks to new areas causing the fires to spread. Officials
say the power shutoff could end Monday or Tuesday. In the western United States, millions of acres have burned in wildfires this year.
Dozens of lives have been lost and thousands of homes have been destroyed. An early winter storm is descending on some parts of the region. It could
bring record cold temperatures with it and as much of a foot of snow to the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. So that could
help firefighters. For some of those who`ve lost their homes in the blazes, a CNN Hero is continuing his work to provide shelter one RV at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOODY FAIRCLOTH, CNN HERO: When we got to northern California, you know, it`s the apocalyptic feel. It`s a tragedy as almost every home in this
community was lost. And people don`t know what they`re going to do. And just having work for the last two years with Campfire survivors, we know
what they`re in for.
My name is Woody Faircloth. I`m a 2019 CNN Hero. And my daughter and I started a non-profit called RV for Campfire Families. We delivered over 80
RVs to residents of the Paradise area who lost their homes in that fire.
And then just recently, these wildfires picked up again in the west with devastating results. And we heard about the fire in Berry Creek and how
devastating it was. Because it`s only 20 minutes from Paradise where the Campfire was located.
And unfortunately, this fire has really affected a lot of first responders. Six to seven volunteer firefighters in Berry Creek, California lost their
homes including the chief and so Luna (ph) and I do what we do. We sourced a couple of donated RVs and we headed out to California. We delivered one
to Chief Reed Rankin.
REED RANKIN, BERRY CREEK VOLUNTEER FIRE CHIEF: I just can`t say thank you enough but thank you. I -- I deeply appreciate this. One will be coming on
here in another month and a half and at least we`ve got somewhere to be.
FAIRCLOTH: He -- he loves his community.
RANKIN: It`s huge. I mean, I just don`t have much words. But it`s huge.
FAIRCLOTH: A couple thousand of his neighbors are left homeless. Fifteen people were killed in the fire and, you know, they`ve been through --
through a lot but the chief`s still up there everyday on the line fighting the fire.
RANKIN: If I can (ph) start over somehow. I`ve just got to get everything done up here and get the fire completely out, get people back in if we
stopped it (ph). Then I`ll start to trying to figure out what I`m going to do. But I`m definitely staying in Berry Creek. I`m definitely going to
somehow rebuild. Hopefully (inaudible) will help us out.
FAIRCLOTH: One of his firefighters we helped, Katherine (ph), she told me that they drove by her house and it was fully engulfed in flames.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were driving through trying to get people evacuated. Drove by my house, I said bye house and kept going.
FAIRCLOTH: She had moved into a shed as temporary housing after losing her home and just we don`t think that should happen to people who are out there
putting on the line for us everyday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is so wonderful. More than words can say -- this is just awesome.
FAIRCLOTH: We changed our name to EmergencyRV.org and we kind of opened it up to anywhere that`s someone`s effected by a natural disaster where
emergency and temporary housing is needed. Our biggest need is for RVs. You can donate those to EmergencyRV.org and -- and we`ll get them deployed
right away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these Halloween themed movies was released first? The Nightmare Before Christmas, It`s The Great Pumpkin Charlie
Brown, Ghostbusters, or Hocus Pocus. It`s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown was released in 1966 making it the oldest movie on this list.
To trick or treat or not to trick or treat, that is the question in some communities across America this year. In some neighborhoods, Halloween will
look a lot like it usually does with kids out and about, ringing doorbells and stocking up on candy.
But there more be more protective masks than usual and there maybe more adults leaving out a bowl of candy rather than handing out treats
individually. Some places like Los Angeles County, California have considered outlawing trick or treating all together out of concerns it
would spread coronavirus.
But the county changed it`s mind on that saying it would be allowed, just not recommended. And in New York City where CNN Contributor Chris James is
based, outdoor activities like trick or treating are encouraged. Indoor activities like parties are not. Chris has more on suggestions and
approaches for Halloween 2020.
CHRIS JAMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey Carl. COVID-19 is making it hard for all of us to enjoy doing some of our favorite things. I miss being able to go
to a crowded concert or check out a brand new movie inside a theater. And now one of the most fun holidays of the year is going to look a whole lot
different. I`m talking about Halloween. I love dressing up on Halloween.
Check out my last costume. I put on pinstripes and picked up a baseball bat for my impersonation of New York Yankee Aaron Judge. A real homerun, if I
do say so myself. But this year, Halloween is going to look very different especially for all the young kids out there who are used to doing trick or
treating.
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Halloween safety guidelines and labeled traditional trick or treating as a quote
"high risk" activity. Instead, they`re recommending one way trick or treating.
Dropping individually wrapped goody bags off at neighbor`s or friend`s houses which would help eliminate human contact. And get this, the small
town of Mountain City, Tennessee is encouraging drive-by Halloween events at their local community center. Which is an idea that other cities are
going to try as well.
And companies like CVS and Target will be offering "Boo Bags", get it? Individually wrapped bags of candy to give out to people and the Spirit
Halloween stores are recommending socially distant costume parties, graveyard scavenger hunts and virtual ghost story telling of course.
So, while we may not be able to go to a packed event and some will avoid door to door trick or treating, we can still celebrate Halloween even
though it will be different than we`ve ever done it before. Back to you Carl.
AZUZ: Well here`s one way to do a Halloween costume that fit`s a common theme of 2020. Behold a walking Zoom meeting, creatively titled "A Zoom and
Gloom Meeting" that features a bunch of photo shopped images of the 12- year-old who will be wearing it.
The girl herself is visible through a cut-out in the middle and the screen above her will reflect a person who`s giving her candy. This was created by
a dad who`s company designs office buildings and museums, and he`s made a name for himself with creative costumes in the past.
Of course, you might call it a little "Pyscho" but it took a "Draculot" of ingenuity and maybe some "Werewolthall" to take the "Frankenstime" to
"Monstir" up such creativity. The dad of "Jekyll" of all trades with nothing to "Hyde" ya`ll. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
Today`s shout out school sounds a little bit like a football play. It`s U32, as in U32 "hut hut". It`s in East Montpelier, Vermont, the middle and
high school there. Thank you for subscribing and leaving a comment at YouTube.com/CNN10.
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