The Story

One man in Slidell, La. re-built his house on an 11-foot platform after a hurricane wiped it out.

A producer sends an audio postcard from Newfoundland.

Erich and Karl Bley were born and raised in East Germany, but separated when the iron curtain was lowered. Erich, the older brother, escaped with his fiancé. Karl was just a boy and was left behind with his mother. But Karl never gave up the idea of fleeing Communist East Germany. As a young man, he began sending coded letters to his brother Erich in the U.S., laying out a mission you might see in a James Bond movie. It was a bold, daring escape, and the brothers' lives were forever changed that Thanksgiving.

As western forests continue to burn every summer, new technology is helping fight them. But Rick Cowell, a veteran firefighter, says the work has remained the same.