Car Explodes Behind CNN’s Anderson Cooper Amid L.A. Fires Devastation

A burning car explosion was caught live on TV just behind CNN’s Anderson Cooper as he reported on the wildfires raging in Los Angeles.

Anderson was explaining, “There's a lot of trees on this block, there's a lot of bushes, there's a lot of…” when a car burst into flames. Cooper barely registered the danger, exclaiming, “Whoa,” and then continuing with his report.

It has been 48 hours of sheer madness, heartache and jaw-dropping destruction, and reporters from around the world are continuing to risk it all to report from inside the inferno.

“Extra” spoke with ABC News Chief Meteorologist and Chief Climate Correspondent Ginger Zee, who was reporting from the Eaton Fire in Altadena, where five people have died.

“It's just that tangential heartbreak that you feel,” she said. “I've got a lot of friends around here and we have a lot of co-workers and that part is extra heavy. I do disaster all the time but to see it to this scale in such a densely populated area that's heavy.”

Ginger, who was wearing a mask, went on, “The biggest thing for us at least at this moment is air quality. This is not healthy. I only wear this,” she said referring to an N95 style mask, “when I'm talking to you. I have a full-on respirator that I go around here with.”

Zee believes there is more danger in store. “By Friday morning, we're going to be dealing with gusts upwards of 40 to 60 MPH, but when you've got six fires burning and you've got all of your resources stretched, I think that's… the concern.”

Fox 11 News reporter Matthew Seedorff went viral when he grabbed a garden hose and started putting out flames in the Pacific Palisades.

He spent two days covering the historic fires, telling “Extra’s” Melvin Robert, “The adrenaline's going, you always have an exit plan, you're trying to stay safe but you're also thinking about everyone that's impacted and you know trying to get them the most newsworthy information.”

As for the images that will stay with him from the fire, Seedorff said, “Last night, we were driving and every building is on fire.”

He recalled, “I know my wife had a candle on in the house when I got home last night and I looked at that and I was like, 'I can't do a candle right now.'"