All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Sharyl Attkisson is an investigative correspondent for CBS News.

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That's me talking to the first lady on a military cargo plane on our trip to war-torn Bosnia in 1996.

Back in 1996 I was assigned to travel with the First Lady on her trip to Bosnia, Greece, Turkey and Italy.

Bosnia was the first stop. We spent nine hours there, arriving on a military cargo plane and moving around within the country on giant Chinook helicopters.

Sen. Hillary Clinton gave an account of our arrival in Bosnia during a speech last Monday at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., saying she remembers "landing under sniper fire" and that conditions on the ground were too dangerous for a planned arrival ceremony.

"There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport," Clinton said. "But instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

Watch Clinton's remarks

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John Blackstone is a CBS News correspondent based in San Francisco.

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If you have been watching the fire coverage from southern California you have undoubtedly seen most of us reporters fashionably clad in our yellow protective fire suits. I have been wearing the yellow suit myself but I have to admit I often feel a bit like a phony.

The firefighters wear the same yellow suits…but they never look like ours do. The suits the firefighters wear are darkened by smoke, soot and dirt as well as by a lot of sweat. The suits worn by the reporters are usually clean and bright yellow. The reporters’ suits don’t show any of the hard work and hard wear so obvious on the firefighters’ clothing.

That’s not to say the reporters wear the protective gear just for show. Usually wearing the suits is required to get into areas close to the fire that are closed to the public. Fire officials want to know that, if things turn bad, reporters have at least a little bit of protection. And whenever I get close enough to the flames to really feel the heat it is comforting to know that my clothes are unlikely to catch fire.

Still, in 20 years of covering wild fires in the west only once have I really needed my fire suit. I was reporting on a huge fire in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. The fire had threatened several towns but then turned and seemed to be burning well back in the wilderness. But suddenly the winds changed and the fire started burning directly toward the fire camp where firefighters kept their food, their tents and their equipment...

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If you're looking for the latest on what's happening in and around San Diego, our local affiliate, KFMB, is doing a remarkable job on their website.

Check out this link for a street-by-street, house-by-house list of homes that have been confirmed as destroyed.

The affiliate's main web page is a treasure trove of local information and resources.

And you can map it all right here.

(A tip of the newsman's fedora to Hari Sreenivasan, who unearthed these little nuggets and who is rapidly becoming a blogger's best friend.)

John Blackstone previews tonight's Evening News, with a First Look at the swath of destruction caused by the fires of Southern California.

Just click the video link for more.

Kelly Cobiella is a CBS News Correspondent based in Miami.

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When our crew arrived at John Bartlett's factory, the place was buzzing. Hundreds of gallons of his product, Barricade Fire Gel, were being poured, packaged and sent to Southern California.

"When fires are burning, that is how we do it. We’ve got pallets going to the San Diego area, we have some going to the LA City area...Everybody from the individual home owner who is panicked that they are about to lose their home to FD members that have used it before that need resupply."

His product is a polymer gel that holds water so well, its like spraying a wet blanket over your home. It blocks heat and flames. It can be applied hours before a fire strikes and can last for days.

His is not the only fire blocking gel on the market. At least half a dozen are available on-line. What's so surprising is that more people aren't using it. Firefighters attest to its remarkable effectiveness, and a handful of small departments in California are incorporating it into their fire arsenal. But it's expensive. Retrofitting a truck can cost anywhere from 12 to 20 thousand dollars, plus the cost of the gel. Bartlett's Barricade Fire Gel runs about 65 dollars a gallon, and we all know water is free- for now. What's more, it takes a half hour for a fire crew to apply it to one home, time fireifghters don't have when the flames are closing in

Still, for the average homeowner it a bargain. A gallon covers about 500 square feet. Bartlett estimates the average homeowner would have to spend $500 for a coating. And you can apply it yourself using a garden hose.

The only downside I could find aside from cost, was the mess. Bartlett says his gel is environmentally safe and it has been approved for use. Once the fire threat passes, you have to hose down your home thoroughly. But at least you'd still have a home to clean.

As the firestorm sweeps across Southern California, many have wondered what they can do to help.

CBSNews.com has compiled a list of resources for those who are interested. You'll find it featured prominently on our home page, and also at this link. It will be updated periodically.

Senior produceer Chris Dinan previews tonight's Evening News, with a First Look at our coverage of the raging wildfires in California.

Click the video link for more.

Kelly Cobiella does the First Look honors today, with a preview of her followup to yesterday's horrific fire in South Carolina.

Just click the monitor for more.

Kelly Cobeilla is a CBS News correspondent based in Miami.

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Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas walked into his firehouse with ash-coated boots and a smudge of soot on his face today. His eyes looked a little puffy and red. Chief Rusty, as everyone calls him, told me he’d just been out to see the spot where his nine firefighters died.

“I had to do it,” he told me, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it yesterday. He’s been on the job for 30 years and has never lost a firefighter in the line of duty until now.

Earlier in the morning he gave me a tour of his office to show me his fire engine red computer, painted especially for him after he told the IT department “if it isn’t red and doesn’t shoot water, I don’t have time for it.” He doesn’t use email. He knows all of the 200-plus men in his department by name. And he couldn’t stop telling me about the nine men who died…the one who always jingled his keys in his pocket, the one who begged him for a job for weeks until he relented, the one who joined the department at age 47 because “he told me, Chief I just want to help people, just let me join.”

Chief Rusty talked about these men for close to an hour. He never cried.

But I sure came close.

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Editor's note: A fund has been set up for the families of the firefighters. It's the Bank of America City of Charleston Fireman's Fund. Any Bank of America in the United States will accept donations. You can also mail donations to:

PO BOX 304
Charleston, SC 29402

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Russ Mitchell has today's First Look at the Evening News, which includes the latest on the devastating fire in South Carolina which claimed the lives of nine firefighters. Byron Pitts will also have the story of an innner city program to give kids wings. Literally.

Click the monitor for more.

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