Thousands seek mortgage relief

In a scene that put thousands of faces on California's persistent mortgage crisis, a line of struggling homeowners wrapped around two sides of the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Thursday morning, eager to get into an event meant to help them deal with stubborn lenders. Kevin Moodedsti in Daily News.

Organizers estimated 200 people camped overnight, 5,000 more waited as the doors opened, and 100,000 people will file through the arena in the 11 days of the Save-the-Dream Tour, put on by the non-profit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

The event, called the largest-ever event of its kind, began a week after a RealtyTrac report showed that California accounts for one-fifth of the nation's 2.8 million foreclosure filings in 2010.