neighborhoods and power outages. new orleans and louisiana in recovery mode. >> we really didn't have time to react. the ceiling came crashing down. >> we are live in new orleans with the latest. >> and the troops are gone. the u.s. officially ended its 20-year war in afghanistan today. what happens to the americans still there? also, he expected a trip to hawaii, then covid hit. so then he expected a full refund. if i'm standing here talking about it you know it didn't happen. nbc bay area responds, next. the news at 5:30 starts right now. good monday, thanks so much for joining us, i'm janelle wang. >> i'm raj mathai. we are tracking two natural disasters causing a lot of destruction and evacuations. the caldor fire is five or six miles away from south lake tahoe.

about 22,000 people are scrambling to leave town. that includes the casinos on the south shore. and hurricane ida trapping people in floodwaters in coastal louisiana shattering the power grid there. let's start with the destruction in the wake of that hurricane. search and rescue efforts continue after this powerful category 4 storm roared across the coast. right now more than a million people are without power. so far, one person is confirmed dead. sadly, that death toll is expected to rise. let's bring in liz mclaughlin who joins us in new orleans. what's happening around you this evening? >> reporter: raj, officials are only beginning to assess the impact of hurricane ida. here in new orleans we've got debris lining the strees. a massive tree behind us in jackson square, a famous part of new orleans, just snapped in half like a twig. and that's just a fraction of the damage that could be seen

across the state from this deadly storm. a massive search and rescue operation is under way, a day after hurricane ida slammed into the coast of louisiana. >> i think the damage is catastrophic. it's the worst that i've seen in the 20 years that i've been in the parish, and we've seen several hurricanes. >> reporter: the deadly category 4 storm packing 150 mile-per-hour sustained winds. >> it was pretty scary. it was pretty scary. >> reporter: across the strike zone, the damage is massive. chaos, as trees crashed into homes. >> i really didn't have anytime to react. just the ceiling came crashing down. >> reporter: those in low-lying areas retreating to upper floors and attics to escape the rising water. >> it progressively got deeper, ankles, knees, chest level.

we put the dogs on the counters and climbed into the attic. >> reporter: ida's destructive wind and rain hovered over the state. >> not only was this a category 4 storm but stayed a category 4 storm for hours over louisiana. >> reporter: a sudden rush of water stranding people in their cars overnight as rescuers rushed in. >> it was hectic. you had people crying, fainting out there. some people hadn't seen nothing like that before. >> reporter: dangerous and destructive. ida's impact being felt across the region. and the sun is setting here as you can see, and the city will be dark tonight for a second night. the entirety of new orleans without power. half of the state of louisiana, that's more than a million customers without power, and it's unclear when that power will be restored. officials telling folks who evacuated from new orleans not to come back, that they may not have power again for weeks.

three weeks or more in some of the hardest-hit areas. now they're actually getting workers from across the nation, 25,000 workers, from 32 states, to help restore power. prioritizing places like hospitals, which some in the region are operating on generators currently. i'm liz mclaughlin, raj, back to you. >> amazing what's happening in one of the most iconic cities in the united states. nightly news has crews fanned across this region. we're talking to people who say ida wasn't as bad as what they experienced 16 years ago with katrina. why they're so grateful and what the local mayor there says he plans to do. that's ahead on nightly news at 6:30. back here at home, we're going to go to the breaking news regarding the caldor fire. mandatory evacuations as the fire moves closer. these are the areas under

mandatory evacuation orders. basically, everyone living in the red areas. that's south lake tahoe to the nevada state line and everyone east of highway 50. cal fire made this decision after the caldor fire spread rapidly overnight. more than 177,000 acres have already burned with containment dropping back down to 14% from 19% yesterday. a live look at highway 50 right now. this is cal trans camera at ski run highway 50. the street, the highway basically deserted. not a lot of cars right now. it's looking more like a ghost town. earlier today, we want to show you this morning. it was packed. a line of cars trying to get out and evacuate on highway 50. this is south lake tahoe, and they're trying to go east to the nevada state launch. right now crews are giving an update on their progress and evacuation orders. we're listening to that news conference. and if there's anything urgent, we will bring it to you live

when they come into the newsroom. let's bring in jeff ranieri. he's tracking the fire and the conditions. >> the worsening conditions for folks who could be living up here that's why evacuation warnings were put into place. glad to see a lot of people heeding that warning. the map illustrates everything we're tracking. most of the fire growth has been on the eastern side today. now the way the wind's blowing, it's continuing to push any flames and embers toward south lake tahoe. that's why we had the evacuations. wind gusts tonight, 20-50 miles per hour. same wind forecast as we roll through tomorrow. let's get you a closer view of this, it's six miles to the south of south lake tahoe. the next city in jeopardy is unfortunately, myers. not only red flag warnings in place for the caldor fire but

for the dixie and antelope fire as well. really tough next 48 hours with the red flag warnings in effect until 11:00 p.m. wednesday. >> the evacuations are changing by the hour. to get a detailed look at who has to evacuate, go to our website, nbcbayarea.com. the day has come. america's longest war is over. and you're looking at a photo tonight of the last soldier to leave afghanistan. today the last u.s. military forces left the country, lifting off just ahead of tomorrow's deadline. the war might be over, but the problems and danger remain. nbc's alice barr has the latest from washington, d.c. >> reporter: tonight, an ending to america's longest war. >> i'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate american citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable afghans.

>> reporter: in the treacherous final hours on the grountd, the window closed for evacuating afghan civilians as the focus shifted to getting u.s. troops and critical equipment out, all under the looming threat of more terror strikes. the u.s. military says its anti-missile system thwarted an attack. isis militants believed to have launched at least five rockets. no reported casualties, after the u.s. military says its own drone strike hit an isis car bomb heading to the airport. >> no military works harder to avoid civilian mistakes than the u.s. military. >> reporter: it comes after an isis bombing killed roughly 200 afghans and 13 u.s. service member. president biden paying his respects to the fallen at dover

air force base over the weekend as 13 families grieve a devastating loss. >> it's going to be hard to go on without him. but we know he died doing exactly what he wanted to do. he went out husband way. the biden administration says more than 122,000 people have been evacuated from afghanistan. u.s. officials vowing to help keep getting people out by land even after all troops have gone. alice barr, nbc news. >> there are new developments in the coronavirus. europe might be a no-fly zone for american tourists. today the european union recommended that americans coming into europe might be blocked because of the surge in covid infections. keep in mind this is a recommendation. countries in the eu can still set their own restrictions.

the actual rules will be different depending on where you want to go. last week the united states averaged 152,000 new cases daily. cases haven't been that high since early february. >> because the pandemic we've responded to a lot of tricky travel complaints each week. >> it's a $300 problem, and we're talking about hawaii here. >> a lot of people want to go. >> this one, it's the money, but also the time. it took months for jeff to try to figure this out. he had the trip to maui for the early days of the pandemic, but he postponed it twice and eventually canceled. jeff expected after all that to get his money back. his travel agent at the travel centers near clear lake got close, but jeff says he was still short a $340 airline voucher. after four months of trying to get that money back himself he called us, and we contacted the travel agency which says it had to work with the tour company,

pleasant holidays. then the owner wrote and said after much back and forth along with you, pleasant holidays issued a travel voucher to him. she explained the process took a little extra time because it was originally processed internally on paper, not electronically, in 2021. in the end, a $340 win for jeff. speaking of airline vouchers. many vouchers that people got during the early days of the pandemic may expire soon. so we made a how-to video to ensure you don't lose a single penny. can you watch that on our channels, our website and youtube page. look for the how-to playlist. boy, hawaii does sound good right now. >> it sure does. >> thanks, chris. those how-to videos are helpful. >> the new ad featuring bernie sanders and what larry gerston thinks is the most important thing to know two weeks before

election day. and still hazy across the bay area. you can see it here in walnut creek. but we'll take a look at the air quality for tomorrow. and cooler weather moving in, in about eight minutes.

. the recall election, two weeks from tomorrow, and governor newsom is bringing in more supporters to campaign for him. >> the last thing we need is to have some right-wing republican governor in california. >> senator bernie sanders, the latest big name to show support for the governor, urging people to vote no. the new ad will be televised statewide as well as online. election day, tuesday, september 14. >> not just national politicians. there are plenty of organizations and newspapers endorsing governor newsom or recommending he be removed from office, recalled. do political endorsements matter anymore? back in the day they were a big deal, are they still? >> you're right, back in the

day. before social media, before so many of us dropped out of these groups that we belonged to once upon a time. not so much now. if you belong to the party that's being endorsed, sure, that might encourage you any way, but independents, no go. it has a marginal utility on the edges you might say, but not really in terms of moving large groups. >> here's something surprising. the california republican party obviously wants governor newsom out, but they haven't endorsed any of the 24 republican candidates. why not? is there no one to rise up here? >> that's part of it. butt republican party, like the democratic party has a threshold. you've got to get 60% of the votes for any one particular candidate. nobody with 24 candidates got close. perhaps somebody might have gotten 20%, 25%. so unable to secure 60%, what

the state republican party said, we love them all, we just need to make sure to vote yes on the recall. >> behind the lines, behind closed doors, do they have one candidate they like, the republican party? >> party's pretty fractured. a number like elder. the conservatives are pretty organized behind him. then you've got someone like kevin faulconer, the former mayor of san diego who picks up not only some minor republicans but also independents. if i were handicapping this thing, that's a dangerous thing to do, one of those two is probably going to be near the top if not at the top. >> what if they ignore the replacement question all together. if you vote in favor of the governor why would you put someone else's name. >> vote no if you want to keep the governor in power. newsom says that's all you have to do. in a way that could be

dangerous. if for some reason newsom gets recalled, then you've got no real democrat of stature able to pick up the banner and become governor, it's a likelihood that the republicans have more known candidates. the newsom folks are taking a calculated risk. they remember what happened with gray davis, when his lieutenant governor said vote no on the recall but vote yes on bu sta monte. >> that's very interesting. thanks for your insight. if you have questions about this recall election we have answers for you. our scott mcgrew's put together an explainer on how to complete your ballot at nbcbayarea.com/recall or click on newsom recall atop our home page. >> let's get back to the caldor

fire. >> horrible conditions through the mountains this evening and tomorrow. the biggest challenge firefighters are going to have is the wind. wind gusts of 20-50 miles per hour tonight. also that same forecast as we roll through tomorrow. and can you see on this map that i've created here. most of the fire growth represented by these fire icons has been from kyburz to twin bridges. the way the wind is blowing, it's coming out of the southwest. that's why the evacuations are in place for parts here of tahoe. because that southwesterly wind is pushing any kind of smoke and embers right there off to the north. and it's just six miles away there from south lake tahoe. not only tough tonight but also through tomorrow evening into wednesday, we'll likely see some of these gusty winds continue. we'll have more on this coming up at 6:00 and more at nbc bay area.com.

it still was hazy today but overall the air quality was starting to get a little bit better, but the other thing, it's been hot. livermore right now, 97 degrees. here's the thing this evening. we get the cooler ocean breeze coming in, and we're down to 68 by 10:00 p.m. i think the weather forecast is definitely going to be right into a really nice stride as we head through the next two days, at least bay area speaking. the system off to the north is going to keep temperatures cooler the next two days and continue to push the smoke out of the bay. let's get you set up, ready to go for your tuesday morning forecast and you might need a light jacket. temperatures in the 50s all throughout the south bay, peninsula and tri valley. also beginning with 57 for the east bay, san francisco 56 and the north bay 54. with that system moving across, it's going to drop temperatures 5-10 degrees. look how much better it's going to be throughout the east bay.

we're down to 83 in concord, 86 in livermore. 77 in palo alto and 60s from oakland to san francisco. the air quality, the blue is the haze. tomorrow morning we still have some of this haze, but with that weather system, it's going to take that smoke and carry it out. tomorrow could be some of the best air quality we have had in days. san francisco has 60s as we roll through the next seven days. we like to see that this time of the year. by wednesday, 79 degrees. we go up warmer this weekend but not too hot. low 90s sunday and monday. raj and janel, 79 wednesday. that's pretty much perfect weather for us this time of year. >> yeah. helps the firefighters on the lines. up next, if you're going to go 20 miles per hour, you will be considered speeding. yes, more than 19 miles per hour is speeding. the reason paris is enforcing

this new speed limit. but first, nbc bay area and telemundo 48 are honoring local heroes for the pawsitively good award. back in a moment.

another tesla crash, and the driver is blaming tesla's autopilot feature. it happened in orlando. it hit a mercedes and an officer. the driver was using the autopilot feature when she crashed. an investigation is under way to determine if it contributed to the accident. the city of paris is trying to slow do you climate change. so beginning today. the speed limit in most of the

city is 19 miles per hour. officials say it will reduce pollution and prevent accidents. a lot of people disagree. they say it's going to hurt their businesses. paris' mayor wants people to use cars for essential travel only. that means they are encouraging bikes or public transportation to go anywhere. most parisians support the change. thousands of meals have been thrown away during the olympics and paralympics. since the first opening ceremony on july 23rd, about 130,000 meals have been tossed out. organizers have made changes for the rest of the paralympics. they change the way volunteers order their food and leftovers now go to local food banks. the amount of food thrown away has already decreased by 10%. we have late news from the 49ers. their prized rookie quarterback, trey lance, is out. we'll tell you why.

every time nacho fries came back, that bold seasoning was drawing something closer. and once they taste that warm nacho cheese sauce... they won't stop till there's nothing left. taco bell's fry force. now serving at a taco bell near you. well, yesterday was a good day for the 49ers, as they beat the raiders in the preseason finale. today not so much. their prized rookie is hurting. >> this was announced late today. kyle shan-said trey lance injured his hand. you could see him holding his throwing hand after he accidentally hit the helmet of one of the raiders' helmet.

he has a small chip in the finger that prevents him from taking snaps. he'll be out for seven days, and the hope is he will be healthy for the season opener in detroit. coach shanahan saying, noncommittal, when asked who his starting quarterback will be. perhaps we'll see a combo situation. the giants are back after their trip to the east coast. they lost two of three to the braves but didn't lose any ground to the dodgers. they started another big series tonight against the brewers. milwaukee has the third-best record in the national league. the a's are off tonight, currently two and a half games out of the final wildcard spot. a huge week for the giants, the dodgers come to town, and you can watch here at 6:30.

this is a possible playoff preview. they have never met in the post season. >> this is kind of a big deal. friday night on nbc bay area. jessica joins with us a look at what's coming up right now at 6:00. >> yeah, all of south lake tahoe ordered to evacuate. flames creeping closer, forcing thousands to leave their homes and crowd one way out. >> i wish i would have started packing earlier. >> next at 6:00 live near the state line where traffic was backed up for miles. >> and i'm tracking warnings not only for the caldor fire but lots of northern california. and if you have plans to go to lake tahoe for labor day weekend, our consumer team has tips about airbnbs and possible refunds. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening.

and thanks for being with us on this monday. i'm raj mathai. >> our breaking news coverage of the caldor fire continues. it was a long, slow-moving line of cars for most of the day as people tried getting out of town. you can see the map right now. this is how big an area it is that's been told to evacuate. it's significant. everyone being told to head east toward nevada, since westbound highway 50 is closed. now cal fire had a news conference about 30 minutes ago. we were listening intently. the fire has made its way to christmas valley area. but as of now, no structures have been damaged. they brought in additional resources that just arrived in order to protect lake tahoe. it took more than three hours for everyone to get out of town on highway 50. but officials are appreciative that everyone worked together to get out safely. thom jensen joins us in south lake tahoe. we saw how slow that was, really

going. but we're