>> that breaking news is in lake county. cal fire says forward progress has been stopped on a wildfire in the upper lake area. the 150 acre grass fire had prompted an evacuation warning near manzanita circle after it

sparked this afternoon. this is time lapse video of the flames spreading. officials say firefighters will remain on the scene throughout tonight and again tomorrow, just to be safe. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley and i'm ama daetz. >> cal fire says crews are working to mop up and build containment lines in the steep and rugged terrain. let's get right to abc seven news weather anchor spencer christian, who is tracking the hot, dry conditions at the acorn fire. spencer. that's right. >> it certainly is good news that the forward progress of the fire has been stopped because the three main fire weather factors are at play here and are likely present a challenge to the to the firefighting effort. so the temperature right now is 97 degrees. it is obviously hot relative humidity dangerously low, under 20%. right now the current reading is 17%. it's likely to increase a little bit going into the evening hours, but not significantly. wind has been pretty much steady out of the west at about ten miles per hour, but there have been occasional gusts up around 20mph. and i should remind you that when a fire is growing like this, a massive fire, it

generates its own gusts near closer to the fire. so even though at the reporting station, the gusts may be only 20mph, they're likely to be much stronger and varying in the direction of the winds, which of course is also challenging for the firefighters. but right now, we see low humidity, hot air and gusty wind. and again, those are the factors that present a challenge in firefighting. dan and emma. >> all right spencer, thank you so much. now to developing news of another fire. we are tracking this one in butte county already more than 71,000 acres have burned since the fire started yesterday afternoon. >> and evacuation orders are in effect. and judging by some of the video that we're seeing, the flames have wiped out at least one house this is happening in butte county near chico, and tonight one man is under arrest, accused of starting the fire. abc news reporter kayna whitworth has more from the fire lines tonight. >> homes exploding in flames as firefighters north of sacramento desperately battle a monster

inferno. >> the park fire not cut off yet for good, but the heat is insane. outside the town of cohasset, terrifying scenes on the tiny town's main road. >> i'm completely surrounded right now, so i'm gonna. i'm actually gonna bone out of here and see if i can get ahead of this thing, because i'm gonna. i'm gonna end up getting caught. >> multiple large homes and structures engulfed, gas tanks violently flaring as high as the trees. nearly 4000 fleeing their homes. but some were trapped, forced to shelter in place. >> we've got approximately 100 vehicles that are sheltering at the radio towers on cohasset road with the fire department personnel. >> flames breaking out wednesday afternoon in a park outside of chico, california, burning 4000 acres an hour by daybreak, scorching more than 70,000 acres and an unknown number of homes. >> this fire grew very, very quickly. it got it got really big, really fast.

>> how hard is that on your firefighters? when something goes like that? >> it is. it presents a lot of different challenges. >> the fire deliberately set according to authorities who are aware of this video posted to tiktok by someone who says they saw it happen. >> i watched the guy blow up his car and then put it in neutral and roll it down the hill and take off like nothing happened. >> police arresting a 42 year old man and say, this is the vehicle pushed down the embankment that started the fire. and dan and ama, you can see here by how dark the sky is behind me. really how scary this is incredibly ominous as the wind is sort of pushing this fire through. there's actually flames right on the other side of those trees. and so dan and ama, oh there you can see them popping up there right behind the trees. the concern now for firefighters is to try to cut line, because now we are in a red flag warning and temperatures in this area have been exceeding 100 degrees. and this fire moved so fast. initially dan and ama, they had to open up logging roads just to allow people to escape. >> wow, wow, that is intense.

don't forget that you can track the wildfires that are burning across the state with an interactive map on our website. it also gives you an idea of fire warnings and air quality. all you have to do is go to abc seven news.com/fire map to find it. our thanks to kayna whitworth indeed. >> all right, let's move on now. we'll stay on top of the wildfires. of course, during the height of the pandemic, many bay area schoolchildren and children took part in what families say was advertised as free covid 19 testing at schools covered by the cares act. but now, three years later, some families say they're still receiving bills from the lab that conducted those tests. that lab is now suing health insurance companies for reimbursements that they say they're owed. seven on your side is digging in, and i-team reporter melanie woodrow is here with the latest. melanie. >> dan, for the two families i spoke with, their children were having multiple covid tests because they played high school or club sports. >> they say the lab sent them a letter saying they wouldn't be billed under any circumstance. but the lab bills haven't stopped coming as covid 19 raged during the early pandemic, covid

testing at schools was critical and welcomed. the testing was supposed to be free testing that we got that was performed by a laboratory that came to the school sites. debbie, who asked that we not use her last name, says her son had multiple covid tests at school, facilitated by pmh laboratory. she says she received this letter stating, quote, pm's sole compensation will be through insurance reimbursement or through the cares act. no student, staff and or family member will receive a bill from pmh from the services provided under any circumstance. >> the bill started coming probably about, i would say, eight months to a year later, she says. >> she ignored them at first, but they kept on coming. >> here's it's very frustrating to be getting these bills at least once a month. >> debbie sons bill was for more than $300. seven on your side reviewed another student's pmh bill for more than $1,000. >> we just wanted to get it resolved. >> both families had blue shield of california insurance. i

reached out to blue shield and pmh in an emailed statement. pmh tells seven on your side. its general practice is not to invoice patients for covid 19 testing during the public health emergency. if patients provided insurance information at the time of testing, but that certain insurers improperly issued payments for the tests directly to the patient instead of issuing the payment directly to pmh, the lab claims this practice violated the cares act, which specified the insurer shall reimburse the provider, not the patient, the lawsuit states. defendants intent was to profit by issuing only partial payments to patients and by forcing out-of-network providers like pmh to chase recovery of such lower payments from the patients. in its statement to abc seven news, pmh says this practice placed an undue burden on patients to identify why they received the payment and to deliver the insurers payment to pmh. also that it placed an undue burden on pmh to obtain the issued payment from the patient, according to the lawsuit, as of december first, 2022, blue shield owes pmh no less than $38 million for covid

testing and services in its statement to seven on your side, blue shield of california said it acted no differently with respect to pmh laboratory, writing in part, quote, we can state that we follow all applicable regulations and laws, including the cares act, as it relates to covid testing, payment practices. debbie says she did receive payments from blue shield for the covid tests, and that she followed instructions to send those payments to pmh laboratory. >> the lab basically said that they are working on the bills, but i've never saw anything much resolved from it. it's not clear why a balance remained, and her son kept getting bills. >> after seven on your side contacted pmh, the attorney who filed the lawsuit against blue shield, spoke with debbie and said her bill would be resolved. it's possible other families also received direct payments from an insurer, but didn't understand what those checks were for, or that they needed to pay pmh in return, pmh tells abc seven news it's committed to working with patients and that anyone receiving covid 19 testing bills who is unsure y can contact pmh billing vendor

to resolve their account in the newsroom for seven on your side, melanie woodrow, abc seven news. >> all right. melanie, very goo. thank you. if you have a consumer issue seven on your side wants to hear from you. send us your stories online at abc seven news.com/7 on your side. >> governor newsom has ordered state officials to begin the work of dismantling thousands of homeless encampments. the governor's executive order requires state agencies to prioritize clearing encampments that pose safety risks, according to the order. encampment residents will get reasonable advance notice about cleanup efforts and offer to connect them to local services. local cities and counties are urged to adopt similar protocols. abc seven news reporter zach fuentes is live now with reaction from mayors of the bay area's biggest cities. zach. >> yeah, so we've heard from the mayors of san francisco, san jose, oakland, each of them essentially saying they've already been doing the work that the governor has called for. and while they're appreciative of the order, advocates of the unhoused say that they're

troubled. reaction to governor gavin newsom's executive order has been pouring in from local leaders and jurisdictions throughout the state. >> i do believe that what the governor has done today is a step forward in the right direction. >> i think it's very helpful. >> those same leaders quick to add, though, that the order is in line with work that's already underway. >> we cleared the largest encampment in northern california and that is wood street right here where we stand. there were hundreds of people here. now, what you're seeing is that not only is this space clean, but we see that there's 100% affordable housing in the back. san jose mayor matt mehan, who is not available for an interview, said in a statement. >> here in san jose, we're working around the clock to stand up safe managed placements and require they be used. we appreciate governor newsom's order signaling the state is also ready to solve this crisis with both compassion and urgency, the mayor say. responding to that crisis hasn't been easy. >> the goal is not to criminalize homelessness. we have offered people shelter and space, and many people are uh- declining the offer. >> jennifer friedenbach with the

coalition on homelessness san francisco called the order troubling. >> the governor is making a statement that he's going to crack down on folks and where are they going to go? they have nowhere to go. arresting them is not going to solve the issue. >> breed insists that shelter capacity is increased in san francisco, along with supportive services. she said that the governor's order can help drive more people into them work. she says they'll double down on early august. >> we're excited about what this is going to do and we're hopeful we make it so uncomfortable for people that they accept our offer. that's what this is about. this is not just about cleaning and clearing because these are people and they got to go somewhere, but we are going to make them so uncomfortable on the streets of san francisco that they have to take our offe. that really is the goal of what we're trying to accomplish. >> newsom is encouraging local governments to apply for funding from proposition one, which set aside $3.3 billion in funding to address mental health and substance abuse issues. still, advocates say prop one hasn't done enough to make an impact

for those living on the streets from the south bay bureau. zach fuentes, abc seven news. >> okay, zach, thanks very much. and housing experts say this homelessness crisis has been decades in the making. prop 13, which limits property taxes, is one challenge in california. then there are competing local, state and federal laws, and it all comes at a time when wider economic forces are putting pressure on people struggling to get by. abc seven news reporter anser hassan takes a deeper look into what got us here. >> you can think about homelessness as being a math problem. where, you know, people have an income and then there's a rent and it doesn't quite add up. >> jennifer friedenbach is the executive director of the coalition on homelessness, based in san francisco. she says most recently, inflation, the pandemic and layoffs have all had an impact. >> you have large swaths of our community that are barely getting by, and so any kind of hit and that knocks them into homelessness, they're also more complicated problems linked to gentrification and corporate landlords. >> friedenbach says. 30 years

ago, there was just more housing options. she uses community housing in san francisco as an example. >> there was the, you know, the classic cd flat in the mission where you rent a room, and, you know, you have pretty low rent. it was pretty easy for low income people to get by. >> she says those options turned into private homes over time, driven by real estate speculation, where people buy low and sell high. >> and because of the state uh- prohibition from being able to have, rent controls on vacant units, there's a huge incentive for corporate landlords and corporate landowners to push long term tenants out in order to really jack up the rents, she adds. >> there are actually fewer protections for renters than people think. for example, concord has been a city for almost 120 years, but only passed rent control laws this year. then comes the math around the politics of getting housing built like prop 13 passed in 1978, it limits property tax increases, the cause of the

affordability crisis is proposition 13. >> there is no incentive for people to dispose of their property or sell their homes, or build new homes because they have such a good deal locked in. >> kelly snider is a professor of urban planning at san jose state university. she says prop 13 is hugely popular and there's little incentive for lawmakers to change it, she adds. new housing, especially high density housing, isn't getting built. while the more recent push for affordable housing over the past ten years has come from initiatives and pressure from the state, what we're doing is digging out of a 50 year hole more and more laws from the state level overriding local officials. >> and if we can get to federal laws that override state and local officials, that's when we're going to start to see it loosen up. >> but she says those solutions are another 5 to 10 years away. anser hassan abc seven news. >> the city of richmond is playing chicken with its golden goose. >> one of the bay area's largest refineries is making it clear it

is against a tax measure. on the november ballot, which could force it to pay more in taxes. details w

officials at the chevron refinery argue the proposed tax hike would hurt consumers and employees at richmond's biggest employer. >> abc seven news reporter cornell bernard has the details. >> this tax is the wrong approach. >> the director of chevron richmond refinery making it clear the company is against a refinery tax dubbed the polluters pay initiative. >> in november, voters will decide whether or not to tax one of the state's largest refineries. $1 for each barrel of oil processed in city limits. company officials say a yes vote could raise prices at the pump. >> at chevron, our objective is always to provide reliable,

affordable and ever cleaner energy to our customers, and this tax puts all three of those things at risk. >> graves spoke in the parking lot of a chevron gas station. he says chevron is one of richmond's largest employers and already pays its fair share in taxes. the city of richmond is playing chicken with its golden goose. supporters of the tax argue that pollution from the refinery has impacted residents health. >> the local air district traces the particulate matter emissions from the refinery here in town, with 5 to 11 premature deaths in richmond each year. >> the measure doesn't earmark the estimated $90 million in revenue the tax could generate for any specific purpose, but environmental justice groups say the money could be spent to invest in clean air and water programs. >> residents here in richmond have been organizing for years for a healthier, safer community. they want to see their city well funded and providing the services that all the residents here in town deserve. >> the mayor's office in richmond says hopefully these

tax dollars will be able to address the harms done in the name of corporate profit and improve the quality of life for the front line communities that now only receive the fallout from chemical releases. chevron says. in the months to come, it plans to inform the richmond community about why the tax is not good for the bay area economy. >> so i'm here today to tell drivers, to tell airline passengers and to tell consumers that we're going to fight for them. we oppose this tax not because it's unfair and out of line, not just because it's unwise, but because it's a direct attack on our customers in richmond. >> cornell, bernard. abc seven news. >> all right, moving on. after a heat wave for our inland cities, temperatures are back to normal. we'll check back in with weather anchor spencer

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and i want to give you a look at the alignment of systems

generating the current weather pattern. we have. you see that high pressure system over the southwest there? that was the one that brought us the heat wave. that low is now more of a controlling factor generating a cool onshore flow, which we're feeling right now and reestablishing the marine layer. so right now we have surface wind speeds between oh 14 and about 21mph, generally across the bay area. and as you can see, it's a few degrees cooler in some locations than at this time yesterday. although a couple of other spots are 1 or 2 degrees warmer. so let's take a look at exactly what our current temperature readings are. 67 here in san francisco right now. oakland 7585. hayward 90 at san jose, redwood city 8361 at half moon bay. a nice view from mount tam looking down at the advancing fog layer, moving through the golden gate and out over the bay. it's 87 santa rosa right now. petaluma 7982 at napa and we have 96 at both. not both, but all three fairfield, concord and livermore. and of course, we have fog at the golden gate. these are our forecast headlines. cooler air continues to arrive tomorrow and saturday. the weekend outlook

pretty good. we'll have below average temperatures for this time of the year, but it will be comfortable and skies will be mainly sunny, especially in the afternoon hours. and next week we can expect a minor warm up, but it's not going to be a big it's not going to be a heat wave, that's for sure. it's not even going to be hot, just mild to warm overnight. we'll see again, the fog advancing from the coast across the bay locally inland overnight, low temperatures will be mainly in the mid to upper 50s, so a comfortable range of overnight lows. tomorrow's highs under sunny afternoon skies, low to mid 80s in most inland areas. up to about 86. in concord 84 fairfield, but most other inland spots will have low 80s right around the bay shoreline. look for highs in the upper 60s to low 70s. we haven't seen that kind of cool weather for a while, and on the coast up to about 60 degrees, and that's about as warm as as it's going to get. here's the accuweather seven day forecast check out saturday. we'll have below average temperatures with inland highs, mainly in the 70s. actually very few locations will reach or certainly not exceed 80 degrees. then it starts to get a

little bit milder on sunday. still though, cool for july and even on monday cool for july. minor warming continues into the middle of next week. by wednesday and thursday, once again, we'll see low temperatures, low temperatures, high temperatures inland getting into the low 90s, which is mild to warm but not hot. >> it's just okay, we deserve this forecast. yeah, we do indeed. >> we've earned it. yeah. >> thank you spencer. >> well, it's now been more than two months since a fire burned through a senior housing facility in san francisco, forcing more than 100 residents to evacuate. happened at the jones senior homes apartment building on fillmore street. since then, residents haven't been able to return home, so community organizations have stepped in to help. today the groups asians are strong and the korean community center of the east bay coordinated a food giveaway for the displaced families. another event planned for this week will include the giveaway of rice cookers, hot water boilers and bags of rice. >> all right, still ahead here. it's a milestone year for the santa clara county fair. we're going to show you today's grand

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stadium in san jose. >> live in oakland. >> yeah, you're watching abc seven news live anytime, anywhere. we are, we are, we are we are, we are, we are where you are. >> never miss a moment of the news that matters to you. download our abc seven bay area streaming app. join us and start watching. >> it's welcoming day and the 80th anniversary of the santa clara county fair. >> big deal. >> a ribbon cutting ceremony kicked off the day for attendees. this year's fair theme is from the fields to the future, referencing the history of the region, talking about where our roots came here in the valley of the heart's delight, and how we've gone to the tech mecca that we are here of the silicon valley. >> we are thrilled to commemorate the eight decades of santa clara county fairgrounds, a cherished landmark that has continuously brought joy and unity to our communities.

>> attractions, new and old are there today through sunday and again next thursday through sunday. you can enjoy pig races, bmx stunt shows, a mini circus, bungee jumps and pony rides. tickets for adults cost 1750 and there are discounts for youth, seniors and veterans. >> the fair is always fun. all right. well, that is this edition of abc seven news at five world news tonight with david muir is next. >> for spencer, christian and all of us here, i'm dan ashley. we appreciate your time and i'm ama daetz. >> we'll see you again at six.

have you been injured on a job site? call the barnes firm n we handleyou been injured construction accident ca if i was injured on a job site i'd call the bar wei wasn't sure what to do. coi called the barnet ca ibest call i could have madite i'd call the bar wei had a serious fall. do. coi called the barnet ca ibestthey got me theave madite i'd cbest result po weinjured on a job site?do. cocall the barnes firmca ibestt♪ the barnes firm,madite i'd cbinjury attorneys ♪ ♪ call 1-800 eight million >> david: tonight, several breaking stories as we come on the air. homes burned to the ground, the evacuations, the raging wildfire. did someone push a flaming vehicle down an embankment to start the fire? a suspect under arrest at this hour. also tonight, the images just coming in. vice president kamala harris meeting with benmi