our reporter is on the scene. we are at the village shopping mall with the fire starting at 10:45. the video shows it and in a marsh land, a popular homeless encampment area with lots of tall grass, rather hidden from the road so it is a popular spot. they did have to escort six people out of there but no one was hurt. the fire can burn two or three acres until it was under control. they said this was one concern for fire tighters and that is the propane tanks out there, some of them did explode. that was a threat to firefighters and they had to keep their distance and try to keep this controlled. they get it out, it took an hour and a hall until though were able to get the fire out the when the sun comes up they said there was a chance to flare back up, they will watch it because it is so close to the mall.

>> developing news, several flights are already canceled going to or from bay area aiports this morning due to the hassive east coast snowstorm. our reporter is at sfo with the latest on that story. katie? >> good morning, matt, i have been inside the terminal here reading the boards. get this, all flights arriving from john f. kennedy are canceled but all flights departing are still on time. i talked with the duty manager this morning trying to get an explanation and he says we are in a wait-and-see mode at sfo so we know john f. kennedy is closed right now because of snow and it is going to be closed until at least 5:30 this morning our time so we have to wait-and-see what happens whether it re-opens. in the meantime, sfo is expecting delays, significant delays, at 45 to 60 minutes for any flight headed to the eat coast. we know that u.s. air has

canceled 20 flights to philadelphia this morning. sfo yesterday saw 52 flights canceled headed to the east coast and they expect something similar to that today with possible worsening conditions. we checked with oakland and san jose and both aiports showing some canceled flights coming and going. the bottom line, the take home message, check with the airline if you are flying this morning. especially if you are flying to the east coast you will though what is up with your flight because we know hundreds, more than a thousand flights, will be canceled on the east coast. san francisco police and the f.b.i. are accepting for two possible arsonists seen on security video best chinese consulate in san francisco was set on fire on wednesday night. this video from an apartment building show as van stopping at

the curb outside the consulate entrance at 9:35 and e months later fire breaks out, damaging the main entrance. no one was injured. a witness saw to men outside. investigators poured two buckets of gasoline on the front door before setting it on fire and chinese officials call it a terror act. the f.b.i., though, stopped short of calling it terrorism. security is tended up. >> the assessment is this appears to be most likely a criminal matter opposed to a national security matter. >> >> this is the second time the consulate has been targeted by arsonists in 2008, a group poured flammable liquid on a security gate outside the building but no one claimed responsibility. investigators believe that it may have been related to china's crackdown in tibet. a man in his 20's in is critical condition at san francisco general a car hit him while crossing the street. it happened at 5:00 p.m.

yesterday. police say the man was walking outside the crosswalk against the light weapon the car hit him. alcohol was not involved but speed may have been a factor. he is the sixth pedestrian hit in the past few days in san francisco. >> two big steps today in the battle over jahi mcmath the 13-year-old oak girl declared brain dead after a tonsillectomy. the family will urge the judge to order children's hospital oakland to insert tubes into jahi mcmath to provide air and nutrition so they can have her moved to another place. they say a facility in new york has agreed to care for jahi mcmath. children's hospital oakland refuses to insert the tube saying jahi mcmath is brain dead although she still is on a ventillator as a result of a superior court order issued on monday. it prevents the hospital from pulling the plug until tuesday. the attorneys will attend a court-ordered settlement conference to try to avoid a trial. >> a vigil was held in oakland for a 13-year-old boy who was on

way home from the boys and girls club on new year's eve when he was shot a few blocks from his home. he died on wednesday morning at the hospital. last night, dozens gathered at the spot where he was shot on 104th avenue. >> on this very street someone shoots the youngster and hits this kid. it is sad. it has to stop. >> the vigil described him as a peacemaker, and the boys and girls club will offer grief counseling for staff and members and help the family. >> investigators have concluded arson was not of involved in the dough instruction of a memorial to a thin-year-old santa rosa boy. andy lopez was shot to death in october by a sheriff deputies who mistook the pellet gun for an assault rifle.

>> i don't know what going on. it is not right. >> there is evidence on the internet which is that people are threatening to burn it down the memorial. it is disrespectful the. >> investigators believe the fire was likely caused by a candle that accidentally tipped over. community members are 2nding a better memorial. >> miss have made an arrest in the murder a northern california priest. the body of the priest was found on wednesday in the church in eureka after he failed to show for morning mass. yesterday, the police arrest the the 43-year-old for the killing. he was taken into custody about six miles south of eureka. he was in and out of police custody in the hours before he died. investigators believe he killed the least after he broke into the church. >> it looks like there was a level of struggle old in the

church. >> was this a crime of opportunity or a specifically targeted person? we are not sure. >> the priest had close ties to san francisco on the third sunday of each month he celebrated mass at st. francis in san francisco to members of the japanese niece catholic society. >> it is the town of the union to vote on the final bart contract that helped two strikes of the members of the we transit union will cast their votes. members of the service emmy-- union will vote. bart approved a bill that takes owe the family leave provision left in by mistake. ratification would bring closure after nine months of bitter negotiation and eight days of no bart service. leaders of boat crowns are recommending approval of the four year contract. the first snow pack measurement is taken, with the dipstick at lake tahoe expected

to confirm what has been shown the water con it tenth is 20 percent of normal. today's measurement is in stark contrast to last january when a wet november and december left the snow pack that was 150 percent of normal. since that time, there has been record dry weather in the sierra, so far, the state can only deliver 5 percent of the water requested for 2014. >> if we could get the east coast snow over here. >> that would be nice, we are getting too little and they get too much. each day without snow it drops. 19 percent now is the statewide percent of normal because of the central and the south not getting any snow. they helped drop the percent and we down to 21 in the central including tahoe and the south is 30 and the north is 11 percent. that is how much snow we have received compared to average to today. we are at 7 percent for the entire year. that ends aprilst. now the day planner at home,

it is milder because of the high clouds and mid-to-upper 30's inland and low-to-mid 40's at bay and coast at 7:00 and a color will sunrise, unhealthy air at noon but mid-50's to low 60's and in the low-to-mid 60's during the afternoon hours with record highs likely and it will be a nice tranquil evening with low-to-mid 50's under clearing sky. tomorrow, total sunshine and near record highs, mid-to-upper 60's and we will be in the low-to-mid 60's sunday and monday with a few more clouds. that is where the change comes in, all coming up in the seven-day forecast. good morning, everyone. if you have to be up at 4:39 on friday morning, traffic is light. we have no stalled or accidents just overnight road work. a couple of lanes have been mass transit is off to a great start with no delays. we have muni buses and rails and all trains are off on time and caltrain is, also, as well, and

the first ace train from the central valley is looking like on time, as well, and here is the bay bridge toll plaza with left lane road work until 5:00 this morning, and, otherwise, no delays coming into san francisco and san francisco is light with no metering lights, at all, so far. kristen and matt? >> thank you, sue here for leyla gulen. a new twist in the frigid rescue operation off anarctica with the ship staying put in open water with new worries. >> going dry in wine country, will the lack of rain make for a less than fine

covering los altos, antioch, petaluma and all the bay area this is abc7 news. >> and the gorgeous embarcadero buildings outlineed with the lights.

>> nice picture outside from our roof camera but we have another "spare the air" day, the 26th. will the pattern change? mike nicco, our meteorologist, will tell us. >> at 52 rescue passengers from an ice bound ship to anarctica thought they were headed hope, now the chinese rescuers may need to be rescued. a helicopter for rid the stranded passengers to safety aboard australian ice breaker to take them 1,700 miles to australia but this morning, that ship is staying put. the captain is concerned about moving through the heavy ice. >> facebook has a new late over privacy concerns. according to the suit timed in federal court in san jose, the social site scans private messages to gather information on users. the lawsuit alleges that the information is used to target advertising which would violate the federal electric --

electronic privacy act. >> snap the economy has made changes after a breach that allowed hackers access to user information. the company will put out a more secure version of the application. the app would let users opt out of the find friends feature which was at the heart of 9 breach. >> statup toy company that encourages girls to be engaged in math science could suit up in the next month super bowl started by a stanford engineering graduate has made final cut in the small business competition with a professionally made 30-second commercial that will air during the super bowl. that is worth a lot of money. it makes a construction theme toy set starting goldy. >> a judge decided to block the decision to revoke city college of san francisco's accreditation rueing the commission cannot

terminate their accreditation while country lawsuits are still in the court. the city of san francisco and two teachers unions filed two separate lawsuits stating that the commission did not give the school proper due process before deciding to reveto the accreditation next july. >> if you ride the bus on the peninsula, expect big chains this month in san mateo county, and improvements are coming to every route in the bus system starting january 25th the result of a two career study known as the serviceman. agency officials say they are responding to passenger requests to make the bus system more reliable, frequent, and convenient. the hope is to increase ridership according to sam trat, the most comprehensive in a decade of the. >> the lack of significant rainfall is starting to make bay area wine growers nervous. owe reporter talks with some growers in napa county. >> a new concept. the when clear skies and good

weather become a problem if napa county the wine industry feels it. >> beautiful weather. >> is that bad weather? >> a little bit concerning. >> as humans seek balance in life, so do vines along with amy saying in the average season napa receives 25" of rain. last year, just 4" of rain with little more ahead. if we did not see a drop of rain this season, the vines would still produce grapes, it is what they dome the larger question: how a potential drought would affect quantity and quality. >> if we have early bud breaks which is common, you have a longer growing season so the tanins have a longer time to preture. >> they worry about profit and having little water to protect against it or heavy rains arriving late in the season causing rot. it is not just lack of rain, if

the rain comes at the wrong time it can hurt. that is why we love the rain new. >> tom wants that in a worst case situation with the smaller yield we could see a 5 percent or 10 percent price increase for the vintage. >> we are concerned. this is the 35th vintage coming up and the driest i have ever seen it. >> so dry that hills are bar were of mustard seed and the usual grass between blinds is barely visible and concerns how shut we home who produces millions of barrels in ten counties and depends on state allocation of water. >> we will be able to get by for another year if the drought persists, those i am not sure what will happen. >> we could see a return to normal rainfall in january or february or drought. we have seen before when the vines adapt and the growers to the vines. >> in napa county for abc7 news.

it is usually, too early, to judge a whole season, right, by what has happened in december. >> we had so much rain in december and thenning in. it i don't turn around but right now it is looking iffy the next, say, 16 days or so. we have possibility of light rain next week but again, it is just light rain. >> what i have noticed, this dry snap is going to kill me over the last four weeks i have hit four deer coming from the deer, to the street i use to drive to the highway and a 6-point buck stare at me. >> related to the conditions? >> i think they are looking for food and wall street. absolutely. that is the most i have ever seen in seven years. it is scary. >> santa rosa, nearly 13-" deficit. we have had four inches of rain last year in napa and we are used to get 22" so that shows how dry it has been.

the high clouds will hang around for the better part of the morning and afternoon and beautiful picture from mount tamalpais. air is cleaner this morning than yesterday but it is another pair spare with record warmth coinciding with that and warm and dry through the weekend. the brief pattern change next week that, hopefully, brings us climber air and a little bit of rain. today, oakland, san rafael, kentfield possible record highs, san rafael, 66, everyone in the mid-to-upper 60's again. if we push 70 anywhere, it would be down around gilroy. lows are cooler tonight because of the lack of high clouds. we will be freezing inland with low-to-upper 30's and you can see san mateo, half moon bay and san francisco, milder in the mid-to-upper 40's. there are two areas of high

pressure dominating our weather again and there is a low passing to the north and that is going to slide into nevada and not have much of an effect on us, other than trying to public the high clouds out of the way by tomorrow. the next big storm is going to turn to the north and of run the ridge. as you look at the seven-day forecast, a chunk of it could break off monday into tuesday and slide toward us on wednesday so wednesday into thursday is our best chance of any light rain and it is a slight chance. ness the temperatures drop into the mid-50's to near 60 and closer to average, at least we get rid of the "spare the air" days but not guaranteeing a lot of rain. have a good one. sue? >> good morning, everyone, not a bad ride if you have to be on the roads this early friday morning. we have continuing road work but we will look from the central valley speeds at or above 9 limit up and over the pass into live more a nice drive if you are coming from tracy and the central valley. san jose, north 280 the ranch to

highway 17, that is shut down until a few more minutes, ten more minutes until action -- 5:00 this morning. and southbound 680 to crow canyon until five o'clock. outside, there is walnut creek, southbound 680, the tail lights headed to the 24 junction, everyone is at the limit from leften hill through to walnut creek. >> coming up, brace yourself for the ride of the future, the new line of self driving cars you will be seeing more of. >> another cool ride, and a canadian company tricks out a truck.

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good morning, a look from our roof camera, on the broadcast center. a shot of the embarcadero and the bay bridge. the fourth "spare the air" day in a row, the 26th of the

season. mike nicco will have the forecast but we will let you know if there are changes ahead. >> more driverless cars in the coming years of the analysts expect close to 54 million without drivers to be on the roads by 2035 and in the next 35 years all vehicles in use personal and commercial will be self driving. analysts say accidents will decline along with traffic and air pollution because of specially programmed driving patterns. >> this could be the coolest truck ever. it is mostly made of ice. canadian tire wanted to prove the new battery could stand up to the cold. this is the video of the company provided worker stripped the cab and body from gmc truck and replaced it with skull wered blocks of ice and drove the company for a mile. the truck melted after filming a commercial. >> ford will unveil the first

solo powered car in las vegas, and this is what the concept car looks like. the solar energy car is a hybrid with a gas engine and has a solar panel with a close up look to take in the sun's energy on the roof. the combination gives the car a range of 100 miles per gallon and it is estimated 5 percent of the trips can be powered by the sun. engineers will test the vehicle soon to see if it can be mass produced. >> toyota shows up with a new fuel cell concept car. they signaling they have nut given up on the technology which combines hydrogen and air to create water which plows electricity which powers the car. when a cell runs out of fuel it takes three minutes only to refill. >> cool stuff. we will check with mike nicco. if we had the ice truck here it would not do well in the afternoon. >> it would not last. it would last forever in green

bay. look the at forecast: the arctic chill, the temperature will be two below when the game starts and 8 below by the end of game. fur -- if you are hanging around it will be 8 below on monday morning with a high of minus 13. that is some kind of cold air. the high is 2 in st. louis. atlanta has a high of 29. they will be freaking out! at home, though, we have clouds. low-to-mid 70's around san diego and los angeles. near 70 through the central veal. lake tahoe, tuesday, wednesday, and thursday, snow showers. a possibility. not a great amount. >> we will take it. any amount is a good amount. we are looking good in the bay area. the commute is very light. some road work westbound, shut

down because of construction for a few more minutes until 5:00. otherwise we have the eastbound lane of highway 4 leveraged to summersville under construction until 2:00 this afternoon but it is in the non-commute direction. noise drive at 580 to dublin less than half an hour and highway 4 to concord is the westbound direction and san rafael to san francisco is fog free and smooth sailing across the golden gate bridge. next on the morning news at 5:00 we continue to follow breaking news in marin county where a fire burn close to a shopping mall. our reporter will have the latest from the scene. >> a strong winter storm whipping across almost half of the country with the

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good friday morning at 5:00. did we make it to friday already? >> we here. that was quick. it may have seemed like the same day each day this week with cool temperatures in the morning, hot temperatures in the afternoon and "spare the air", of course. >> we don't mean to go on and on but it is the 26th. >> yes, 26th "spare the air" day and it is milder this morning because of the record warmth and the high clouds that put a blanket on top of us with low-to-mid 40's from the south bay up to oakland and san carlos and half moon bay and antioch at 41 and 43