Wildfires Scorch Yosemite; Filner Expected to Step Down Today
MALVEAUX: In California there's been a troubling new development now. This is in the fight against that raging wildfire, the so-called Rim fire has crossed now into Yosemite National Park just a week before Labor Day weekend kicks off. Chad Myers is keeping a close eye on the situation there. And tell us what kind of danger are people facing inside the park now?</s>CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Suzanne, you have got 63 new acres, square miles burned last night alone, 63 square miles. Now we're up to 130 square miles of burnt. It's not creeping into the valley. This is kind of blowing to the north, on up toward Kitty Ridge (ph) and up in where it's a little bit more rocky. So i don't think we're going to get a lot more burn today and tomorrow. But you really have to watch out. The Strawberry Music Festival has already been cancelled. That's a big bluegrass festival that they were going to do there in Yosemite National Park for the Labor Day weekend. And so if you have plans, you may want to keep abreast. You may want to watch these websites, because they are very good at keeping you up to date on what's going on. There's the Rim fire. There's San Francisco. There's Yosemite National Park, right there, Lake Mono (ph). I try to take lake pictures of Mono (ph) like Ansel Adams did. I never got really good pictures there, just didn't work out. Here is the Rim fire right through here. The valley down through here, here is 120. There's some fire along 120. So this road is closed into the park at this point in time. Here is what I'm calling this ridge. This is all granite up here. So although we're burning a lot of trees through here, as soon as this gets by Lake Cherry (ph) and Lake Eleanor (ph), we're going to get into a lot less vegetation here. And I believe the fire will slow down. Let me show you how much this has exploded in just five days. Back you up to the boundary of the fire Monday, right here. Now we go to Tuesday here, Wednesday here and, last night, 63 square miles of forest burned right there on the west of Yosemite, this green line right there, that's Yosemite National Park, this part right through, that's now the part of the park that is burning. All visitors, everybody you talk about, everybody that goes somewhere goes down to Half Dome. Half Dome is down here. Let me show you how the smoke is going because this will tell you how the wind is blowing and which way the fire is going to. The fire is going that way. smoke going that way. When you have the wind blowing across the fire this way, this is the advancing fire line here, not down toward the park treatment, at least the park that we know of. You know, 94 percent of Yosemite is wild land. Only 6 percent do people actually visit. Now I know people go hiking and all that wild man stuff, but what we think of as Yosemite is a very small part of the park.</s>MALVEAUX: It's a beautiful place. I've been there a couple of times. Chad, do we think that there is any chance that by Labor Day weekend that they could close sections of this because of the fire?</s>MYERS: Well, let me tell you what could happen -- in a really bad way. We're only 2 percent contained and the fire line miles around, maybe 100 miles around. If only 2 percent of that is contained, if we begin to get a wind out of the west or from the northwest blowing into that area here where people to visit, then, yes, there could be a lot more going on here with cancellations into Yosemite. That would be a shame for Labor Day weekend.</s>MALVEAUX: All right. We're going to be watching, keep a close eye on that fire to make sure that if people have got plans there, obviously got to take a look at that. Thank you, Chad. Appreciate it.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>MALVEAUX: Well, the San Diego mayor caught up in a sexual harassment scandal, he's expected to step down today. Our affiliate, KFMB, got these pictures of Bob Filner leaving his office by a rear gate -- you see there. Filner's resignation -- it depends really on whether or not the city council approves a mediation agreement. The council is going to meet in just a couple of hours. Casey Wian is watching the developments from San Diego. Casey, tell us first of all what's been going on today? Is he meeting behind closed doors with folks? And when do we expect that he's actually going to step down?</s>CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, the meeting is going to take place behind closed doors sometimes after 1 o'clock local time, 4 o'clock Eastern time. Before they go behind closed doors there is going to be some period of public comment. Then the city council will go and consider this mediated negotiated settlement that was reached on Wednesday night that would provide for the mayor to step down, resign from his office. The big question that the city council is going to have to concern itself with what is the impact going to be on San Diego taxpayers. There's been some concern that the city council will be asked to approve some sort of a financing of any legal settlement against Bob Filner. There's been a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by his former spokeswoman. She's represented by attorney Gloria Allred, Gloria Allred saying yesterday that she wants no taxpayer money going toward that settlement. But one of the city council who was involved in those negotiations, Kevin Faulkner (ph), saying just yesterday that throughout this mediation process he's been trying to reach the best deal for San Diego taxpayers while at the same time trying to end this horrible period of dysfunction, Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: Casey, do we have any idea what's inside the settlement, this agreement here on both sides? What are they offering the mayor to step down?</s>WIAN: We can't say at this point because the federal judge who mediated those discussions asked all parties to keep details of the settlement private until the city council has a chance to consider it behind closed doors. So far they are adhering to that request. We do have some more details we can provide you as to what's been going on the last couple of days behind closed doors here at city hall. A high ranking city hall employee saying that Mayor Filner had what he termed an awkward staff meeting on Wednesday, where he did not apologize for letting the city hall employees down but said he would see them today. So we're now anticipating that Mayor Filner will, in fact, be here today and may even speak, Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: Do we have any idea -- it might be a little too soon to know -- whether or not the settlement would cover women who perhaps would come forward with allegations of sexual harassment outside the group of 18, if there were any others who would present the same complaint?</s>WIAN: Again, we don't know that. We know that 18 women have come forward publicly. Only one has actually filed a lawsuit. There could be other lawsuits going forward. We just don't flow. We do know the sheriff's department has a hot line for alleged victims to report what has happened to them and their experiences. That continues to be open. Also we should point out that the recall effort against Mayor Filner, the effort to try to get him out of office, they're continuing to gather signatures. They say they will continue to do so until Mayor Filner actually steps down and a new election is called, Suzanne. All right. Casey, thanks. We'll be watching closely this afternoon. There are reports that a Department of Homeland Security employee is doing a little side work. One group claims that he's actually running a hate website which offers preparations for a coming race war. That's up next.