fire including an update on potential public health concerns. anne? >> reporter: that is the worry for a lot of people smelling the smoke right now. and inspectors with the bay area air quality management department are investigationing. in the meantime they're telling people if you smell the smoke, keep the doors and your windows closed. there is a lot of smoke in the air. it's died down significantly though. this is all coming from the fire at sims metal recycling plant going on since 3:00 this afternoon. and by steel and iron and they help demolish large equipment in vehicles. so who really knows what is in all that smoke that could be of a concern. people have been describing it as smelling like plastic. and the metal recycling plant is on seaport boulevard in redwood city. it's close to the shore of the bay there on the peninsula. here is a look about the sims recycling plant from earlier this afternoon when things were really raging and the smoke was

thick and black. firefighters pouring water on that fire from several directions. but it's really been very stubborn. they're likely going to be on scene for the next several hours, making sure the fire does not rear up again. and then the investigation into the cause can begin so far. no word on what that might be. and like you mentioned at the top, we are getting notifications from the fire department to the south, telling people about that smoke. first alert chief meteorologist paul heggen joining us with a closer look at where it is all drifting. it's nasty, paul? >> it is some nasty stuff, whenever that stuff come busts, getting into the atmosphere. the wind is going to carry it. our virtual map here, we'll show you how it's been drifting away at my feet. just look at the wind era that are moving from the course of the bay, just drifting down through the south bay. we are seeing that reflect on the air quality map as well. the official map has not showed any deteriorated

air quality just yet. we looked at the air sensors, giving us the sense of what that air quality is like. you can see the floor map drifting down around sunnyvale and drifting down towards cupertino. the air quality will be a concern. keep the windows and doors closed. we will keep monitoring it throughout the rest of the evening. >> paul, thank you. some major political news today. the former top cop is officially running for city council. the oakland native filed for candidacy this morning, which the seat is held by the vice mayor. armstrong says his unmatched knowledge and experience will serve the public. >> if people know anything about me, they know i've been working with other people, willing to come out to solve problems together. that's no different as a council member

hopefully. >> armstrong served more than two decades with the oakland police department and became the police chief in 2021. he was fired by mayor sheng thao last year that found armstrong had allegedly mishandled two police misconduct cases. an arbitrator later cleared him of any wrong doing. meanwhile oakland's new police chief, floyd mitchell, has officially taken over the department. he previously served as the police chief of lubbock, texas, and temple texas before that. chief mitchell's first day on the job was last monday. a routine training session of the san francisco county jail takes a wrong turn after chemicals leaked into the air, exposing students and staff at a nearby elementary school in san bruno. the sheriff's office says tear gas and pepper spray drifted from a building yesterday. the jail and school are about a mile from each other. the sheriff's office

says teachers, students reported having burning sensations in their eyes, nose, throat. firefighters treated about 20 children and one adult. the department is pausing future training exercises with chemical agents as they would review their practices. and the sheriff's office will tell us in a statement, they take this situation seriously. they say, "we sincerely apologize to portola elementary school. its faculty, students, and families for this unforeseen event, which must have been especially scary for children." if you're hoping to get away, we are just hours away from the travel rush with tomorrow expected to be the busiest day at the nation's airport. according to the faa, tomorrow will be the busiest day for air travel since before the pandemic with more than 53,000 scheduled flights. adding to the potential problems tomorrow, most of the eastern half of the u.s. is on the lookout for severe weather. that same storm and system has spawned powerful tornadoes that ripped through the midwest over the last 24 hours. if you are driving, expect

plenty of traffic. aaa says road trips are expected to set a new record. more than 38 million people are projected to travel by car over memorial day weekend. well swimming from the golden gate bridge to the island sounds tough enough, pretty insane. now imagine doing it with no wet suit, in the freezing cold water. our vern glenn sat down with one bay area grandmother who did just that. >> amy, you're my hero. >> do you see that? [ laughter ] we haven't even started and your fans rolled by on a bike. i love it. >> and she is popular. coming up at 5:30, we will hear about her inspiration and pushing through some of those tough moments all in pursuit of history. still ahead, passengers are describing the terrifying moments when the plane plunged 6,000 feet in just a matter of minutes, killing one person on board. i worked on the floor. i

didn't realize what happened. i must have hit my head somewhere. a lot of people hit their heads. everyone is bleeding. >> a controversy proposal to crack down on speeding drivers in california, now gaining momentum. the plan from a bay area lawmaker. how a man brings his community together through art and what he's going to do with these flowers coming up.

we are now hearing from the passengers on board the singapore airlines flight that hit a deadly bit of turbulence that led to the death of one man and injured dozens of other people. about ten hours in on the trip from london to singapore, the plane encountered storms in the thailand area. that's when the flight experienced a sudden turbulent event lasting about

one minute. a 73-year-old british man died of a possible heart attack. >> and i never bought airplane wi-fi before, i bought wi-fi and texted my mom. i said i love you. i was scared of flying before, i'm even more scared now, but the pilots did well. >> and again while the faa data says injuries from turbulence are rare, aviation experts say the best way to protect yourself is to wear that seat belt. now to a developing story. a search is underway for a missing oakland woman after getting lost during a height. the sheriff's office says she was last heard from yesterday morning. the woman was walking near the road north of fort bragg, identified as 70-year-old elizabeth schneck. she was visiting the area from oakland. and schneck has a preexisting medical condition and at risk. she was last seen

wearing a white sweater, vest, and white jeans. in santa barbara, folks by the harbor seeing more sea lions than ever, sleeping on boats, sunbathing on the pier or just hanging out with their friends. they're used to seeing a couple of sea lions every now and then. more than a dozen of them are hanging out many some spots. they're worried the massive weight of these 6,000 to 1,000 pound mammals could do damage to boats and docks. >> what we're seeing is congregation of upwards of 10 to 15 of these animals in one particular area. you'll see the swim steps that will be in danger of getting really low and possibly taking on water. >> and they have been cruising along the harbor to clear them out without trying to annoy them. but they say they just keep coming right back. and officials say fisherman's wharves docks could be reaching their max sea lion capacity as more than a

thousand of these mammals have taken route for now. also along the coast. a wildlife crisis now playing out as thousands are starving to death. they don't seem to know why. volunteers at the national bird rescue center in fairfield say they have been overwhelmed with the number of those pelicans coming in at half their body weight as they fear many more have died in the wild. and meanwhile as recent fire seasons across california have only gotten smokier, scientists at uc davis say they need to do more research on how the rise in smoke impacts the state's lakes and their ecosystems. they found the smoke does impact the water temperatures at these lakes, but they need to take in more data and how they will impact the future. >> i still remember that day

when the skies turn orange. >> it really was. it has become the sort of dealing with it and knowing you've got to put on your air filter and it's a part of life. >> it is something you need to be prepared for. and the wildfire burning in canada, sending them down into the middle of the country on the regular basis. and it was warm yesterday and one more mild day near those changes where they will miss us. but it will be close enough to send more clouds into the bay area and significantly cooler temperatures. hardly any fog on futurecast by early tomorrow morning, but we'll start to see the return. additional cloud cover and that means cooler temperatures that will be well below average as we

would start memorial day weekend on saturday. and this forecast will try to clear them out, but the cloud cover may be more persistent by the time sunday and monday rolls around. while we're waiting for the weekend to arrive and where they stand and they are all over the place as you would expect in late may. 84 degrees in santa rosa. temperatures mostly running into the low to mid-70s. only 62 degrees in san francisco. 66 across the bay in oakland. in the east bay, it's 81 in concord and antioch. 60s for fremont and redwood city. and only in the upper 50s for half moon bay and another day with those temperatures running short of 60 degrees. the mid-70s for most of the santa clara valley. and that is in the middle of the indicator. our temperatures, we're mild. they won't be all that mild in oakland and take a look at the forecast for the a's game as they continue their series

against the rockies. temperatures are about where they are right now in the mid-60s, but cooling down. and maybe we could look for hundreds of the fans attending the game this evening. it will be on the cool side. temperatures will be a mix of a low of low 50s dipping down into the upper 40s, especially in the valleys. temperatures will bounce back to normal for thursday afternoon within a degree or two of what is average. and 70s and the 80s. the upper 50s along the coast. mixing the upper 50s down the peninsula with mostly mid to upper 70s. we'll find some of those warmer spots there, but farther east into solano and eastern contra costa county, we will find temperatures reaching into the low 80s for one more day. temperatures in the mid-60s. and low to mid-70s for the north bay. temperatures

warm up to a greater extent, making it up close to 80 degrees with a better chance of getting into the low 80s for windsor and st. helena as well, but mostly mid to upper 70s and for lake county. winds are going to be a factor over the next couple of days. picking up in intensity tomorrow. 20 to 30 miles an hour gust for the most part. definitely the onshore breeze with us. but the blustery conditions are going to kick in on friday, where we could have 30 to 40 miles an hour gusts, especially closer to the coast. not strong enough, but noticeable. the winds should die down as we head into memorial day weekend, which is carnival weekend in san francisco. only upper 50s for the high temperatures, then back into the low 60s on sunday. the city should return to the mid-60s for memorial day. a look at your seven-day forecast as we will start with inland parts of the bay area where the temperatures will have a bit of a roller coaster ride for us. the be bottom of the high in the lower 60s. close to 10 to 12 degrees below

normal. by the time monday, tuesday rolls around, we're back into familiar territory in the mid to upper 70s. temperatures around the bay, also will bottom out on saturday with highs only in the low 60s, then getting back up closer to what's typical for this time of the year. a lot more cloud cover by friday and saturday. the best chance for registering any drizzle is going to be right along the coast. that will also be mainly friday night into saturday. maybe just enough moisture in the air to make you fiddle with the intermitten setting on the windshield wipers, back up to around 60 by the middle of next week. >> thank you, paul. in oakland today, major developments in the year's long saga over the coliseum site. the mayor has announced an agreement aimed at bringing new affordable housing and an outdoor space to the prime piece of land. it's been a long road to get here. back it in 2014, the a's owner signed a 10-year lease extension to keep the team at the coliseum. four years later, the team announced plans to build a new ballpark at howard terminal. in

2019 alameda county sold their half of the coliseum, which gave him a say in any potential development. and then last year, they moved the team to vegas, bringing us to today. the city announced it is selling its half of the coliseum site to a development group, while fisher still owns the other half as the a's prepare to leave town. our wilson walker spoke to community members about why this gives them new hope for the future. >> yeah, yeah, i would like to see that. and will they have jobs or people here? >> and he has heard the talk about the $5 billion redevelopment of the oakland coliseum site. mike admits to being skeptical. i don't see

any master plan here. >> and they created policies without displacement. >> and they were a part of the city's announcement that it is selling its half of the land to the sports and entertainment group, completing the process announced to much fanfare in 2023. declining to speak on how this might help their budget deficit, but promised larger returns beyond the $110 million. >> and once we finish that off, it will not just be that, but the strong community benefits. >> reporter: a part of that will be a 25% affordable housing requirement, but many hurdles will remain first among them. the oakland a's, they still own half of the site. >> and with respect to our negotiations with the athletics, so i can't expand on that too much. i can say that we are in healthy

negotiations and that they have continued. >> one by one, places are closing around here, you know. and denny's, the restaurant over here has closed. >> reporter: mike has watched this area fall on hard times, and he would love to see some improvements. >> the housing low is the biggest problem. >> reporter: the reality of the time and cost involved. does he think that there might be any kind of progress here say in ten years? >> ten years, i don't know, it's possible, but i don't know. >> reporter: plenty of uncertainty surrounding all of this and a lot of complexities as well. the city has to finish paying off their share of the 90s renovation of this complex before any sale could be finalized. and that is expected to happen some time next year. >> we also reached out to the a's for comments on the talk about the potential sale, but we have not heard back.

up next, meet the north bay man with a whole lot of nicknames including the heart guy and the fork guy. how he's bringing his neighbors together through their unique art projects. it is easy to find darkness if you look for it. i'm trying to be that good in the world that i want to see. >> and plus meet the woman who would avenge the death of her mother through performance art by helping

a man answers to several names and the ferry door guy, a great name. >> yeah, i don't know which one is my favorite. he's known for art projects that will bring his neighbors together. sharon chin airs us to this week's jefferson award winner. sharon? >> reporter: now you may have

seen his art project throughout the bay area as they know him best for bringing art from the heart. >> reporter: the vibrant flowers don't need water. they're rooted in the community spirit. >> and it is just joy, simply joy. that's why i do it. >> reporter: tim tries to create joy and healing through the public art. >> you knock out the two nails. >> reporter: during covid, he wanted to unite people. >> it is easy to find darkness if you look for it. i'm trying to be that good in the world that i want to see. and there is the point of the heart. >> reporter: he took metal rings from wine barrels and bent them into heart shapes. then he left eight hearts outside his home with a note attached. to give them away to folks who are struggling. >> this is the view. >> reporter: people snatched up the hearts. one woman came back. >> she said i want you to know i didn't give it away. my dog

died that morning when i found the heart, and i have kept it, and i look at it every day. i thought well, i need to make more. >> reporter: so he bought more metal rings to shape more art and touch hundreds more hearts. it's emotional for volunteer christine del castillo. >> it's the hearts. i've made a lot, and i have given away so many of them. people cry when i've given them. i've mostly given them to people whose husbands have passed away or their wives or their dads, their moms. and so they mean things to people. >> reporter: these days dozens of volunteers meet on weekends to work on another project. tim's annual float in the mill valley memorial day parade. painting hundreds of cardboard, wooden, and 3d flowers. that is the glue that will bind people

together. and strangers become friends >> he is such a treasure. >> reporter: tim's volunteers have lent a hand to decorate water drop shapes to highlight the drought. they felt their spirits soar through his wings project, and now he's giving away ferry doors that are finding homes all over the bay area. >> when a kid interacts with the ferry door, their response is it's magic, it's real. i want to be the adult that i wish i had as my life as a kid. >> reporter: for bringing his community together through art, this week's jefferson award in the bay area will go to tim ryan. >> okay, so here is one of the hearts as you can see it will come with a note to share with someone. his goal is to give away 2,000 of them. right now they have given away 1,800. i mean this one to you and you can feel it and it is heavy. >> it is bent out of there and

that is so special. >> isn't it great? his day job, he actually worked at the san rafael city school and runs the bond program. on this weekend, it's a great time. just thinking about it. >> what a gift. it is so simple and so powerful at the same time, right? >> absolutely. >> all right. >> and exactly, i love this. thanks, sharon. well, you can nominate your local hero online at kpix.com/hero. when we come back, meet the grandmother who became the first person to swim from the golden gate bridge to the islands. how she physically and mentally finished the 30-mile journey. a stupid thought in your head to derail you from achieving your dreams. so i just entertained real silly thoughts to keep myself going. >> and as for taking the rights of trans, gay, binary students from getting outed by school districts. a new law making its way through the state capitol. it was incredible to have a

partner that can relate to the same topics we were talking about. >> meet the bay area

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right now at 5:30, history for a california woman who made the punishing swim for the golden gate bridge to the fair lawns. >> yeah, she made the journey through the freezing cold. shark infested waters. all without a wet suit. >> yeah, vern glenn got a

chance to chat with amy. she must be part fish? >> i can't imagine. >> reporter: well, we go back a long time and it was nice she chose me to grant her first television interview. you've heard of the marvel character, ironman. well as we would like to call her, gubie is iron woman. safe to say we put in long hours. but imagine a 10-hour shift and then jumping into the water to swim 17 hours. wait until you get a load or the gallon of her story, which is five years in the making. >> amy, you're my hero. >> oh, you see that? [ laughter ] we haven't even started and your fans rolled by on the bike. >> i love it. >> reporter: amy has a view more people recognizing her these days. >> and did this all start off as kind of a joke, like yeah, i think i could do that? >>