if you take a live look behind me, you can see the swells. we spoke to a couple of locals who say they come by here every day and that these waves right now are as big as they have ever seen them. so again, firefighters who responded to the scene say this beach is only safe for the strongest of swimmers and the strongest of surfers. we will continue to follow this story and bring you updates as we have them. tiffany wilson, abc 7 news. >> you're right, the problems at the beach are connected to some high surf. let's go to abc 7 meteorologist sandhya patel for more. >> since this morning the wave heights along the coast have more than tripled. let me show you live doppler 7 hd. i will show you what is bringing those big waves. it's the storm that is bringing rain to northern california. now, as we take you in closer, we have current wave heights on the order of about eight feet at half moon bay, ten feet, san francisco. bodega bay, 13 feet. as we look to the north, there's a high surf advisory.

surf is expected to peak this afternoon, waves up to 25 feet. of course there's a risk of rip currents. that high surf advisory is going until 8:00 p.m. tonight. as you take a look at the live doppler 7 hd we have been tracking light showers around ukiah and as you look to the north, northwestern california has been getting dumped on. crescent city, last 24 hours, almost three inches of rain. that rain is working its way down towards the bay area and it is going to make for a rough morning commute. i'll be back with the details in a few minutes. we obviously need the rain. california's drought is drying up wells, parching fields, allowing mountains to rise. it is reducing reservoirs to dangerous levels and leaving much of the state under extreme conditions as you know. but finally, as sandhya said, a real amount of rain is on the way. it won't end the drought but it won't hurt, either. abc 7 news reporter laura anthony is live in the east bay tonight. every drop counts, laura.

>> reporter: it sure does, dan. it is just starting to cloud up here in albany although we have had the sun poking through every so often. this is what it looked like a short time ago in emeryville along the shoreline with the clouds moving in and the winds picking up. it definitely looks like a weather system is on its way. but so far, no raindrops. water officials here in the east bay say it's a good start but a long way from any real relief from the drought. >> we certainly are happy to see that the rainy season is upon us. but we do need it to rain in our watershed and we need it to rain where the reservoirs are at. >> reporter: do you worry people might get the perception the rainy season has started so i'm going to stop conserving? >> if people have been in california for about two days, maybe they would think that. but anybody who has been in california longer than that, they would know we are in big trouble. >> reporter: the only thing that this initial rain might allow

for is for people to turn off their sprinklers, maybe not water at all for a week or so. beyond that, there's no great relief expected. in fact, water agencies are as busy as ever preparing for drought restrictions or further drought restrictions if it doesn't rain much or at all in november and december. in albany, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> laura, thank you. two people who are on board a single engine plane that crashed into a sonoma county vineyard have been hospitalized. the faa tells abc 7 news the experimental plane went down about 2:15 this afternoon. about six miles southeast of the santa rosa airport. sky 7 hd shows us the wreckage. the faa says the plane struck a set of power lines before going down. a man on board was airlifted to the hospital. a female victim was taken to hospital in napa in an ambulance because of that crash. firefighters face a number of challenges while battling an apartment fire today in san

jose. crews could not enter the building near san jose city college because of downed power lines. firefighters evacuated the building and homes on two blocks because of a fear that more live wires might fall. one firefighter was injured by falling roof tiles. no word yet on exactly how it started. a gigantic tree toppled across vallejo street in the north beach area this afternoon. look at the scene. the tree fell near columbus street directly in front of the original cafe triste coffee house. it pulverized a car parked underneath, just crushed by this huge tree. the street is still closed. public works crews will cut up that tree and haul it away. san francisco's mayor is meeting at this hour with the heads of san francisco firefighters unions who are asking him to fire the fire chief, joanne hayes-white. carolyn tyler joins us from city hall with news on this

developing situation. carolyn? >> reporter: that sit-down is taking place right now up there on the second floor. the fire chief says she did not meet with the mayor today but is confident he has her back as she struggles to hang on to her job. the heads of every employee group in the san francisco fire department ranging from the black firefighters, the asian, women and gay firefighters, waltzed into san francisco mayor ed lee's office late this afternoon. they were delivering a letter they unanimously agreed to earlier this week, citing a grave crisis of confidence in the direction and leadership of the current administration under chief joanne hayes-white. >> we want to serve the public to the best of our ability and we feel we are not able to do that right now. >> reporter: union leaders say the department is failing to meet its most basic mission of public safety, citing a shortage of ambulances and long wait times for an emergency medical response.

but the chief says progress is being made, with the addition of 35 emts on the streets since august. we caught up with hayes-white heading into a meeting dealing with that very issue. >> we've got work to do and we want to continue to solve some of the issues that we have to deal with, rebuilding our department after having to make five years of consecutive reductions. >> reporter: she wrote a letter last night to her 1500 member department, saying quote, i have moved this deptford and saying the attempt to force her out is quote, an unfortunate distraction to the real issues. >> but if they are still resolute, how can you continue? >> as i have, with confidence, with the support of the mayor's office. >> reporter: the ultimate fate of the fire chief lies in the hands of the five-member fire commission. under a legal opinion by the city attorney's office, the commission may remove the chief on its own. the mayor can recommend removal. and the commission would have 30 days to respond to that request.

they have a regularly scheduled meeting tomorrow. in san francisco, carolyn tyler, abc 7 news. victory for surfers after a long battle over access to martin's beach in san mateo county. late this afternoon, a judge ruled in favor of the surf rider foundation over silicon valley billionaire kosla. in the ruling, the judge said kosla's failure to obtain a permit before blocking access to the beach was illegal. the judge says he must reopen the access road to the public until he can obtain a coastal development permit from the state. the group sued after he shut down the access road to martin's beach after purchasing the property back in 2008. an east bay father says a young concord man might be alive today if police had taken action months ago. the suspect in the sunday morning murder was named in the police report for attacking a teenager earlier, but officers dropped the case. abc 7 news reporter lyanne

melendez joins us from concord where the father confronted police today. lyanne? >> reporter: well, just before that stabbing incident, it appears that 18-year-old dominic massoni assaulted another teen here in concord at a park about eight months ago. we want to show you a picture of gabriel lang. he was 16 at the time. his father told us he was sucker-punched and kicked in the face several times. there is the police report naming massoni as the person who attacked him. while the report was filed and several names of witnesses were given, police did not give it to the district attorney's office because gabriel lang did not want to testify. >> in the back of my mind i keep saying if charges were brought forward there's a possibility that kid could still be alive. it just hurts. you know, i can't stop now, i can't give it up. >> reporter: so today, ryan lang waited outside police headquarters to talk to an

investigator to see if anything else could be done. the victim died yesterday at a hospital after being stabbed saturday night outside a party on virginia lane. police arrested massoni and another man after witnesses gave a good description of their car. now, both men are still in the county jail on murder charges. police here in concord, we asked them about this incident, gabriel's incident. they said they could not give us that information. live in concord, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. >> lyanne, thank you. the city of oakland is getting more federal help in its effort to increase its police force. the city announced today that it received its fourth federal grant to hire more cops. the nearly $2 million will help cover the cost of 15 police officers. the chief credits additional officers for a reduction this year in violent crime in oakland. the alameda county sheriff's office and city of san leandro received similar grants. apple's hot-selling, phone

quickly turns into buyer beware. coming up, the software update that has apple wringing its hands and pulling the plug. napa, then and now. the changes one month after that big quake. and dragons in the dungeon. the controversial art exhibit comes to the rock. walmart is no longer just a supermarket with a doctor's office. it's also your bank. ♪ at kaiser permanente, everything you need is under one roof. another way care and coverage together makes life easier. okay, a little easier. become a member of kaiser permanente. because together, we thrive. ♪

today marks one month since the devastating 6.0 earthquake struck the napa valley. sadly, one person died. dozens were injured and others lost everything. four mobile homes caught fire not long after that quake and by the time the sun came up, three

homes were burned out. sky 7 hd shows us those homes now. take a look at this. those were units gone, a fourth too damaged to live in was also removed. in downtown napa, part of the century-old building collapsed into the street and part of a roof dangled over the corner. take a look at it today. let me show you this. a blue tarp covers the hole in the wall. that chunk of roof has been removed. half of this building was red-tagged meaning it is not safe to be inside. more than 200 buildings were red-tagged after the quake. the city says today there are more than 160 red tags but 90% of the businesses are back open. the tower at the napa county airport is still empty. the force of the quake shattered the windows there. today, take a look at this. it is still boarded up after all this time. air traffic controllers now operate out of a trailer using two-way radios and binoculars to direct planes. but some things are back to normal. the same day of the quake, cal

trans fixed a giant crack through highway 37 in american canyon and today, take a look at this. cars and trucks cruise over a giant scar in the earth, one of many reminders of the napa county quake. >> still many reminders. a domestic violence refugee from honduras is being released to her mother's care after being held in a detention center for seven months. immigration reform advocates and catholic church leaders prayed before today's hearing in san francisco. they say jenny escobar was beaten so severely that she miscarried her twins. the same man then -- that beat her also threatened to kill her. escobar and her sister were kidnapped by smugglers, then detained at the border. her sister is still being held in texas. >> the first step is to make sure we are able to release her as well and bring her back to her mother, and then we will continue to litigate the asylum case for both of the sisters. >> the judge is releasing jenny

escobar in part because she has epilepsy and her mother can care for her. her mother is a legal resident in san francisco and an active member of the catholic church. alcatraz is undergoing a big change. the former prison which was home to machine gun kelly and al capone is now hosting what many say is the most anticipated contemporary art show of the year. it's also controversial. abc 7 news reporter alyssa harrington has the story. >> reporter: ai weiwei might be china's most well known dissident. arrested in 2011 for tax evasion, ai weiwei's passport was confiscated. he cannot leave the country but is making his voice heard around the world through his activism and art. alcatraz, once known as one of the world's most notorious prisons, is now doubling as a gallery for seven of his pieces. the exhibit is called at large, ai weiwei on alcatraz. >> this is an amazing place. what incredible history this island has. it's a place of detainment. it's a place of protest.

>> reporter: the curator traveled to china to help bring some of the pieces back. she says ai weiwei's creations are meant to bring up questions about human rights. for example, the display with wind includes a giant rainbow paper dragon kite. >> the dragon and kites represent power and freedom but they are displayed in a building that was used for prison labor. >> if one person who comes to this exhibition walks away with a better understanding of what freedom really means, this project will then be a great success. >> reporter: another work is made entirely of legos. more than one million pieces forming the faces of prisoners, many detained for political reasons. the artist also plays with sound. visitors can listen to music or poetry by prisoners echoing from cell walls. only visitors who buy a ticket to alcatraz can see the exhibit for no extra charge while on the island. it runs from this saturday through april of next year.

in san francisco, alyssa harrington, abc 7 news. apple is running into problems with its new operating system for iphones. maybe you experienced this. it pulled an update to its ios 8.1 operating system today after some people with a new iphone 6 reported problems. users say their phones couldn't make calls or connect to their cellular network after they installed the update. that's a big problem. and some people with a larger iphone 6 plus have found another design issue. it bends. abc 7 news reporter jonathan bloom will have more on this potential problem brewing in the pockets of iphone users tonight at 6:00. we are hearing more and more about sexual assaults on female students on college campuses. >> now women and men can protect themselves with something they probably carry anyway. that's a cell phone. >> 7 on your side's michael finney is here with that story. >> there is an app for this. there are several, in fact, that call for help in case of an attack.

this circle of six app sends an alert with one touch of the screen. it also gives your exact location. another option is called be safe. >> what be safe does it turn your phone into a recording device so if you're in an emergency it gets the face and the sound of what's happening. >> be safe also alerts all your emergency contacts that you are in danger and it also sounds an alarm. air fare trackers say it will cost more to fly home for thanksgiving this year, perhaps a lot more. but there are some ways to save. fair compare.com says if you haven't bought your ticket, do it now, like tonight. prices are going to go up, way up in october. the cheapest flights are on thanksgiving day itself. you will find midrange fares on the saturday before and after thanksgiving. the most expensive, well, those flights will be on tuesday and wednesday before thanksgiving. retail giant walmart has

been trying to get into the banking business for years now and today announced another financial product. the retailer will soon offer checking accounts along with its prepaid and debit accounts. there will be no minimum balances, overdraft charges or monthly fees as long as customers have direct deposit of at least $500 a month. now, that's a fabulous deal and it's all geared to the low income earners who are now unbanked. most use check cashing and other high priced financial services. >> it saves more money, too. >> a ton of money. >> the safety apps are remarkable. >> i love that idea. >> isn't that a good idea? >> thank you. well, as we said here earlier, some rain is actually about to arrive in the bay area. >> meteorologist sandhya patel outside now. still dry for now. >> yeah, still dry, but it is mild and muggy out here. not dry for long. you are going to be reaching for the umbrellas very soon. let's check out live doppler 7 hd. i will tell you what, hang on to the umbrellas for thursday and

friday. you are going to need them off and on as you take a look at live doppler 7 hd. some of the lighter returns have been up around point arena, ukiah area. not a whole lot of rain. the heaviest of the rain has been up to our north around crescent city, garberville area. we are expecting heavy returns as far as the rainfall is concerned in the northern portion of the state where a flash flood watch is going in the burn areas until tomorrow morning at 5:00. ironically, there is a red flag warning still in effect until 11:00 p.m. tonight. hopefully that will get dropped very soon as the moisture starts to shift eastward. you can see just a dreary sky, temperatures 71 in san francisco. in the mid 70s right now san jose, oakland, 66 half moon bay. temperatures have ranged from the low 70s to mid 80s. very mild, sunny in san jose right now. sharp contrast from the north bay. 71 in santa rosa right now. it is 74 in napa. 78 in livermore. look at this dramatic view of the clouds rolling in from the

emeryville camera. muggy with rain developing, wet morning commute. we're looking at a few showers lingering on friday. here is the cold front, the storm that we're watching. it's slowly going to bring the rain line southward into the bay area and as you look at the timing, 7:00 p.m. tonight, it's still up to the north as we head towards the midnight hours. we are going to see the rain line shifting south and east, so when you're sleeping, you might hear the pitter-patter of rain drops. it is going to be a rainy morning commute. allow for plenty of time to get to work, get the kids off to school. by tomorrow afternoon, around 2:00 p.m., only isolated returns showing up and really, friday, 5:00 a.m., we still have a few showers there for the morning commute. continuing into friday evening. rainfall estimates are expected to be highest in the mountains, half an inch to an inch, and at the lower elevations, two tents to four tenths of an inch. king fire expecting more rain through friday evening, quarter

to a half inch hopefully over that king fire. the crews will be able to get a handle on that blaze. temperatures tomorrow morning, very mild, low to mid 60s. make sure you have your umbrella by the door tonight before you leave for work tomorrow morning, and as you look toward the afternoon, other than a few showers maybe down towards the santa cruz mountains, most of you will be seeing sunshine, mild weather for most of you. upper 60s to upper 70s but certainly cooler than today. accuweather seven-day forecast, it's a rainy morning commute. plan accordingly. a few showers on friday and then we will dry it out over the weekend with slightly milder weather. temperatures over the weekend, mid to upper 60s. bay and inland is where you will see the milder conditions. low 80s inland. we need the rain and it's coming. clouds are already gathering but it is muggy out here. i have to admit. >> sandhya, thanks very much. you can track the stormy weather in your neighborhood with the abc 7 news weather app. download it for free at

abc7news.com/app. >> good time to get that app. is there a problem with the palms? up next, why the new trees by the bay bridge are getting a lot of second looks. plus, the new amazon building that will be warmed by the internet, sort of.

workers in san francisco are beginning to vote on a possible strike. they rallied outside the city's civic center courthouse before voting began this morning. members of the service employee international union 1021 say negotiations with management have stalled. union members have until monday night to vote on the strike. many of you have noticed the palm trees planted on the eastern approach to the new bay bridge are not looking very healthy. we checked on them today and the adult trees look kind of sick, actually. we talked to the project manager in charge of selecting and buying the palms. he says this is normal. after they are planted the trees

go in a kind of shock apparently but we are told the trees should be back to normal and looking healthy by spring. amazon is building a new office in seattle and it has some very cool ideas about recycling. the biodomes will use heat generated from data centers in one building to warm the entire biodome. the system transfers the heat via water piped underground. the water is then returned back to its original source once it is cooled down to help cool the data centers. other facilities use waste heat from server farms but it is not usually connected to other buildings. a form of monarch butterfly was spotted as large blue globs on weather radar. look at that. they were seen over illinois and missouri before heading to mexico. during their migration, the monarchs help pollinate a third of our fruits and vegetables. the size of the swarm is a positive sign. monarch butterflies have been declining at an alarming rate because of pesticides, drought

and cold temperatures along the migration route. one thing is for sure. there is always a camera around these days. this time it captured a golfer having a meltdown and clubbing his clubs to death. what he's saying about getting so teed off. as we go to break, look at this. look at the new baby flamingo at the san francisco zoo. officials there say they are tickled pink. thank you. we'll be right back.

coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, the announcement of a rescue plan for these hungry horses. we have inside information on a deal to save them only on abc 7 news. cal trans under fire. has it done enough to protect native american history at a controversial construction site? >> an exclusive story on that.

7 on your side's michael finney with a solution for keeping your life in order in a disaster. all of that coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. you are a golfer. golfers know it's a quiet sport, it displays sportsmanship, right? >> until you get frustrated. one man's frustration was so great he couldn't keep it in anymore. oh, my. >> my goodness. he is usually an above average golfer but at a recent tournament in philadelphia he had a rough couple days so he took it out on his clubs. >> not realizing his buddy was filming the whole thing on his phone, he jumped up and down, screamed and snapped nine of his clubs in half. >> i had a meltdown. total 100% meltdown. i put all the carnage in the bag and threw the bag into the pond. >> expensive meltdown. he destroyed $1,000 worth of golf clubs. >> he can't afford to replace them but admits the tantrum felt

pretty good. looked bad on video but felt good. >> calm down. just golf. than welcome to "world news tonight." breaking now, the new u.s.-led airstrikes and a major development on that new 9/11-type plot. how were they planning to get bombs onto planes headed to america? in toothpaste and in a certain type of clothing? brian ross is here. martha raddatz in the region tonight. also breaking, america's most wanted, spotted. authorities say he's now playing a game with them. the urgent manhunt and look at this. an army of officers sweeping through neighborhoods. we're right there. extreme weather hitting at this hour. a nor'easter. flash floods, cars surrounded right there in seconds. d.c., philly, new york and boston will all feel it next. ginger zee is here. and, is he stealing your luggage? tonight, the surveillance. the man stealing bags at one of america's busiest airports. and what the video also reveals.