From Gulf Coast to Great Salt Lake: Katrina evacuees’ fresh start in Utah

When Hurricane Katrina ravaged his hometown of New Orleans, Ernest Timmons prepared for the worst. But he never imagined he’d end up nearly 1,500 miles away from the flood ravaged Bayou – in the arid desert of Salt Lake City, where he lives today. In the days after the storm, more than 600 people were flown from New Orleans to Utah. Many, like Timmons, were evacuated against their will. In this excerpt from America Tonight, special correspondent Soledad O’Brien visits one Katrina evacuee who turned devastation into a fresh start.