>> announcer: abc 7 news starts right now with live breaking news. b.a.r.t. train service is shut down today as two of its largest services go on strike. hundreds of thousands of other workers had to find a way to work. the traffic stretched for miles coming into san francisco. and here's what it was like driving in that backup. our engineer dick epstein used cell 7 technology to show us this driver's eye view on abc news. very crowded getting to the

metering lights on the bay bridge. commuters who didn't drive faced long lines for shutless. more than 100 people were waiting for all the buses to arrive. good morning. i'm cheryl jennings. >> and i'm christ continue. it's not what commuters want to hear. there are no contract talks scheduled between b.a.r.t. and its union. >> heather and kornell and traffic reporter leyla gulen. >> any movement at all, heather? >> no, i'm he afraid not on the talks, anyway, kristen. the picketers are circling the block at 8th and oak. these are seiu and atu members in purple, both in purple out here at lake marit as they have been since the strike was called at midnight. union members are taking turns with five-hour shifts at locations all across the bay area today. negotiations were abandoned last

night at 8:30. union negotiators saying b.a.r.t.'s offer that came up slightly on wages just simply did not go far enough to keep them at the table. today b.a.r.t. says it's just waiting to hear from the state mediators about when to return to talks, resume talks, and b.a.r.t. says they have yet to make their last best final offer so there is still room for movement. the unions say they will not go back to the table, however, until they see what they believe is a good, solid offer from the district. we've heard no word from the district, not one word. apparently there are reports that we're supposed to be meeting at 2:00. as of this moment i have not heard from the district regarding any proposal, new or otherwise. >> we're not at an official impasse and both sides want to come to an agreement so let's hope and take this day by day. >> reporter: day by day, and who knows how many days that's going to be. picketers here at lake marit

apologized to commuters who arrived this morning unaware that the strike had actually started and those picketers tried to also help those unaware commuters find alternate ways to get where they needed to be. again, no talks at all planned so far today. both sides say they're willing to come back but the union is perhaps digging in their heels a little more strongly saying they're only willing to go back once they've seen an offer that they like from the district. live at the lake marit b.a.r.t. station in oakland, heather. b.a.r.t.'s unions are asking for a 4.5% raise every year for three years along with stricter safety measures for workers and passengers. b.a.r.t. says utsz' offering workers a 2% pay raise every year over the next four years along with a reduction in the expected health care increases. it's based on unreal lis stikt projections and amounts to a $1

a year increase. b.a.r.t. workers plan to hold rallies at several b.a.r.t. stations. they will be joined by oakland city workers who are staging a one-day strike over pay and benefits. we'll be streaming that live on our website at abc7news.com. leyla gulen has been following the traffic. how do the roads look? >> much better, cheryl. we've been tracking the bay area all morning since 4:00. things have certainly dissipated. i'm going to take you in a clock wise fashion starting with san rafael. especially along the 101. berkeley into emerilville, great conditions along 180 westbound. we're seeing a slowdown as you make that drive right up to 80 on a couple of different roadways. 13 is certainly slow and 580.

it is stop and go. here's a live picture. that is the bay bridge toll plaza. we're still 20 minutes to head out of emeryville and out of san francisco. let's take a look at the golden gate bridge. things are foggy but it's all moving along at top speed. four minutes will get you out of sausilito into san francisco. >> the bay bridge toll area is a huge mess all morning. kornell bernard is live at the toll plaza. kornell, you showed us chp drivers who shouldn't have been in the carpool lanes. >> reporter: it was incredible. we'll show you the video. with b.a.r.t. on strike, they had no choice. they jumped in their cars and they found themselves going nowhere fast. traffic as you can see, still very heavy here at the bay bridge toll plaza, especially in the cash lanes. metering lights are still on. it's been this way since 5:00

a.m. when the commute began. now the morning commute quickly is morphing into the afternoon commute. line of cars still converging on the bay bridge. one driver told me it took him 2 hours to get here from walnut creek. roger clark's van overheated sitting in traffic. it took him more than 90 minutes to get here just from east oakland. >> did you know there was a b. amp r.t. strike? >> oh, yeah, i did. i left two hours to get myself two hours to get into the city and i'm not going to make it. >> reporter: we saw the chp very busy today catching carpool violators. in fact, it's really been nonstop. a carpool is three or more people but some solo drivers apparently willing to risk it and found themselves with a ticket and a fine starting at $381. we have counted at least two dozen chp stops since early this morning. carpool lanes turn into cash

lanes at 10:00 a.m. they are still free and clear here. cal trans is keeping them carpool only for the time being due to the massive backups we're seeing. yes, it has caused some confusion, but it looks like a lot of drivers are figuring it out. if you are thinking about planning a trip to the bay bridge in the next hour or two, you may want to put off that trip. we're live in oakland today. kornell bernard, abc news. that commute just got worse and worse as the morning wore on, especially for people who took a bus into san francisco. katie marzulo has that part of the story from the temporary trans bay terminal. >> reporter: the early birds caught the best buses. >> the ride was fine but they used a double bus. you can see that long one over there. usually they don't have that one. it was full. >> reporter: crowded but on time. >> i think everybody was expecting the worse and it was really not as bad as anyone thought it would be. >> reporter: but as the morning wore on, the story changed.

a bustling trans bay term nal and anxious commuters running late and hurrying to work. >> we got up for the bus at 7:15 and he would just made to san francisco now and it's -- >> 9:04. >> 9:04. so it's been traffic nkts we've been on the bus since 6:30. it's 8:00 right now so figure that out. i hope everything works out with b.a.r.t. >> reporter: the worst commute might belong to people on a bus that caught fire on the bay bridge. it was no picnic for riders on the bus that stopped to help. >> i fell asleep because i knew it would be a long ride. i wake up. i'm scared. why are we stopped? we're on the bridge and there's people standing there on the road, cars passing by. then they start loading people on my bus. >> reporter: that woman was run 30g minutes early. an important lesson to learn about giving yourself enough time as long as the b.a.r.t. strike lasts. ac transit is still running this morning despite its union

contract expiring at midnight. abc 7 union reporter mikell ler continues our team coverage, matt. >> reporter: no problem. san francisco to downtown oakland a problem, but for some it was the best option. >> based on what the ferry line looked like, the carpool and the bay bridge toll plaza, i decided to take the bus this morning. better off that way. >> reporter: the longest lines formed between 7:00 to 9:00 this morning with waits lasting 45 minutes. >> if you had to do this all week, all month? >> no, i don't want to do it today but i have to. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. workers showed up to protest but they weren't the only ones prepared for strike. >> does your boss know that you may be coming in late? >> my boss is pretty flexible. so, you know, we -- we work -- we've worked that out before. >> reporter: many people told me they woke up an hour or more earlier because of the b.a.r.t. strike. for the most part, everyone was

polite despite the strike. >> you seem very polite. >> you've got to. they went on strike. you have to get to work. what's the use of being mad. >> reporter: one man told me he knew what to expect for the morningxd commute but he's most concerned about how he's going to get home tonight. in oakland, matt keller, abc 7 news. the frisco bay ferry is adding service. a ferry is packed with people heading into the city from the east bay. the wait for san francisco-bound ferries and oakland is improving. people can hop on. earlier this morning the wait weighs close to an hour. that left a lot of passengers frustrated. >> i don't have too much sympathy for b.a.r.t. employees right now. i don't know. i'll deal with it as long as i can, i guess. >> reporter: and some important advice. there is no free parking for the ferries during the duration of the b.a.r.t. strike and be sure to buy your ticket before you

get in line to board the boat. >> we've put together a full range of resources for you on our website. abc 7 news.com. for the latest on b.a.r.t. talk and commute options and help downloading our abc waz traffic app go to abc7news.com. our coverage of the b.a.r.t. strike continues. >> here's a live look of the bay bridge toll plaza where we saw a long backup and kornell showed us the cash paying lane very jammed. you can see that. in ten minutes, how one group of telecommuters relied on the kindness of a stranger. >> plus, the deadliest day for

we're continuing to follow developing news out of arizona where 19 firefighters have died while battling a wild fire northwest of phoenix. more crews are being sent in today to battle the yarnell fire which has burned more than 8300 akers. brandy has news on the elite crew of firefighters who lost their lives. >> reporter: firefighters quickly found themselves surrounded by flames. with nowhere to run, 19 men were killed sunday. they're part of an elite

firefighting team known as the granite mountain hot shots. >> they were the best, the best that we had. all i can say is it had to be a perfect circumstances for something like this to happen. >> reporter: it was the deadliest day for u.s. firefighters since 9/11. with triple digit heat and strong winds, time lapse video shows the yarnell fire quickly spreading across 6,000 acres and hot shots are known for working the front line. for the first time the team was forced to deploy their fire shelters, a last-ditch method of protection from the heat and flames that also trapped breathable air, but in this inferno the tents weren't enough. firefighters say half of the 500 structures in the small town of yarnell have now been destroyed. >> reporter: investigators are also looking into what went wrong with this highly skilled team to see if changes are needed in firefighter training. brandy hit, abc news, congress, arizona. >> sad situation there. >> thunderstorm created the

fire. it was a thunderstorm that created the outflow bound of cold air pushing the wind in the air that they were going. it's hard to guess that. >> we've got a heat wave. >> we do have a heat wave. same one they have. we don't have the storms. we have high clouds rolling in. you can see the haze over the bay. it's not a spare the air day. we will reach over 100. i'll tell you when it finally ends. >> mike, thank you. our coverage of the b.a.r.t. strike continues. commuters turn to

>> announcer: this is abc 7 news. continuing our coverage of the b.a.r.t. strike, lots of commuters headed to walnut creek this morning where b.a.r.t. was providing buses into san francisco. abc news reporter amy holyfield said it proved confusing. >> reporter: the main issue was uncertainty. that's what motivated some people to get here at 2:45 in

the morning. they wanted to make sure they had a seat on the free shuttle b.a.r.t. provided. there was no need to worry. commuters were walking up climbing on buses without waiting in ryan. >> definitely surprised. i didn't know what to expect. following all the people at this point. >> actually, i was expecting a long line. actually, i'm quite happy. hopefully this doesn't last too long. >> reporter: the longest wait time was waiting for the bus to fill up so it could take off. b. amp r.t. had a total of 58 buses picking people up from four east bay locations. passengers were given a ticket so they could catch the same ride home this afternoon. in walnut creek, amy holyfield, abc 7 news. some commuters say the only reason they made it in was because of casual car pooling. we caught up with some workers. they say a driver gave them a ride after every bus kept passing them because they

>> two guys in an suv asked if anybody needed to go to the city. three of us got in and it was awesome. they had been in north berkeley. it was a mad house. >> that was really nice. san francisco parking and traffic officials are blocking off extra casual carpool pickup locations for the afternoon commute. the regular location is on biel street at freemonth. now there are car pools between folsome and biel. >> leyla gul len has been following the traffic. >> it's a total transformation. they had some place comfortable to sit while they were sitting in extremely heavy traffic. we were looking at commute times in all areas of the bay that was taking up to 1:40, 2-hour transportation. looking very busy but it's completely day and night.

as we continue that clockwise journey across the bay area. this is where we're seeing most of the traffic. if you are traveling along the bay bridge you are going to be at diminished speeds as you head away from emeryville and over towards san francisco. we have a crest as you head into walnut creek eastbound along 24 along pleasant hill road. that was causing slowing blocking two lanes. that appears to clear up. as you take it through the south, your drive through castro valley, that is full. really good conditions along san mateo. outside we go. here's a peek at walnut creek. looking nice and clear. wide open there. as you make your way away from highway 4 to 24. >> walnut creek, one of those areas that hit 109 saturday was the hot spot. we have excessive heat once again but it's not in red. bay shore and the coast. highway 132 and northward up towards san francisco, you are not in the excessive heat areas.

santa cruz mountains, extended until wednesday. 119 possible. i wouldn't be surprised if we see 100s hang on for the east bay areas. it is clearing as we speak except for this one finger fog rolling across the golden gate making for a postcard look at what's going on. hazy sunshine, more heat today, dangerous heat for thursday. the weekend is more comfortable for all of us. san jose, hazy sunshine over the city this morning. your temperature is going to be 95 today. 12 degrees warmer than average. look at livermore, 105. that's not close to record high. 20 degrees close to average. 95 in san jose, pretty indicative to san jose valley. kilroy, 102 and 103. upper 60s along the coast. 78 in downtown, 80 in south san francisco. mid to upper 90s through the northbound valleys. the east bay shore in the 90s.

the farther away from the water, the warmer you'll be. the 100s in east bay valley. we could possibly see that hang on until thursday. independence day around the bay and back in the 60s there. saturday and sunday finally temperatures back to average. >> mike, thank you. >> you bet. all right. you know you can keep up with the latest information on the b.a.r.t. strike with the watch abc which is now available in the bay area. we'll tell you about it. abc 7 is the first broadcast network to bring you a live stream, of course, of your local news and all of your favorite tv shows on abc. now you never have to miss a minute of the news and shows you love. watch abc allows you to bring abc 7 around with you wherever you are going to be. it's a special new benefit brought to you by abc, comcast, chart injuries cumulative -- charter kmcommunications. go to abc 7 to figure out how to

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and back to our breaking news coverage on the b.a.r.t. strike and its effects on the commute. >> you can see the cash paying lanes are still quite packed up. all the new folks coming in that may not have their fast track, may not have carpool. it's definitely been a mess most of the morning after b.a.r.t. unions went on striet strike in a contract dispute. >> no talks are scheduled. >> they'll have to find a way to get back home. >> we'll keep you updated on abc7news.com. >> t

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