last night. it got pretty dark. after he lit the candles he came outside to check on the tree and tried to cut some of the purchases and clear it but while he was out, the fire inside started. >> the resident was outside cutting apart a tree that fell down. he went back into the apartment to get something to drink and saw the christmas tree on fire and started putting it out with the hose. >> three people were treated for smoke inhalation and one person taken to the hospital. red cross arrived to help those people out would were dismissed. this morning you can see there is a big mess to clean up. a lot of branches. people are driving away the scene, slowing down and taking a look. if you come to the area, keep an eye out. there is a lot of debris in the road. right new in the south bay

5 the customers are without power the hardest hit area in the bay area, in the east bay a thousand are without power and the same on the peninsula and the north bay in all 9,000 customers are affected way down from yesterday when at least 170,000 customers lost power in the bay area. >> mike has been telling us how cold it will get in time with santa clara county officials expanding the beds and operating hours at two homeless shelters including on little orchard street open 24 hours and offer 350 beds through sunday. in gilroy the nationalç guard armoury now has 150 beds and open until 8:00 each morning law sunday. in oakland, four warming centers are open to help people deal with the cold and they are open until friday morning but that could be extended if necessary. >> tuesday the wind affected commuters on rail sea and unground. the commute on bart was axed

because of a service interruption because of wind-blown debris. and ferry service from south san francisco was canceled. >> does this bother you this choppy weather? >> the wind. wind was bad. i came home. we heard a giant "boom," and she said, it is the tree. it was a giant crash. >> the crash was with this tree that ripped out power lines. traffic was blocked. the muni line was re-directed. >> drivers on the the bay area bridges i don't have alerts for high wind advisory including the altamont pass and bay bridge. >> railroad tracks are not even safe. a caltrain hit a small tree that fell on the track.

no one was hurt boat transgenders were blocked causing delays until a crew removed it. >> board riders can expect more delays if the wind is a problem. fallen branches on the tracks near daly city hair, pleasant hill and castro valley caused delays. service is back to normal. so far. >> look at this picture, san francisco montgomery station shows riders crammed on the platform shoulder to shoulder waiting for the delayed trains to arrive. this large redwood crashed on to a home in north napa yesterday afternoon. the house suffered heavy damaged and was red tagged. no one was hurt. >> traffic was halted in concord when a tree collapsed that nearly crushed a white corvette yesterday morning. the driver watched as the tree start the to fall and he had nowhere to go. his car was on the inside lane and remained mostly unscathed. >> i saw it coming down and i

was like, oh no wish i was driving my beat up truck. >> the driver north concord hooked up a fallen tree to his pickup truck and tow the it off the street. >> a look at sfo this morning you can expect the situation to be better. yesterday there were dozens of cancellations and delays because of wind. you can see why the wind caused delays yesterday. this flight had a wobbling descent, sort of a choppy landing with flights flying over millbrae and highway 101 rather than the usual pattern over san francisco bay. they had to change the landing patterns. delays could be a problem this morning. >> viewers have been sending pictures of wind dam. we love to see any pictures. you can send them to us at ureport@kgo-tv.com. >> the snow pack in the sierra is doper than this time last

year but we need more rain and snow to end the drought next year. the survey of the snow pack shows the amount of water in the snow is 50 percent of average for this time and at this point last year it was only 20 percent. the extra water doesn't necessarily help fill local reservoirs. >> a couple things have happened when you have very dry conditions as we have and have had. a lot of the snow when it moments will go into the ground water opposed to running off in a normal year. >> the run off from the snow pack supplies a third of the state's water in late spring and early summer. >> in southern california, firefighters have rescued 50 people trapped on a snowy mountain road in the san bernardino mountains with crews we getting to the stranded motorists. everyone is okay. officials say they started getting calls last night from drivers who were stuck on the switchbacks. crews got some people to a

church to keep warm. others abandon their cars and walked to shelters. the rest were able to drive away when the plows cleared the sky. >> it wasn't as white knuckled but i held on to the steering wheel with gusts out there. >> northbound and southbound it is easier and the east and west are the white knuckle so the bridges but for the golden gate bridge are going to be more difficult to traverse through until noon. northeast winds are not going to be so fast as last year and 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 45 and trees are on the verge of going or power lines that could be the final push that makes them brit. -- bright. dress if layers this morning. this afternoon, it will become breezy. we will not get rid of the wind until the sun sets so it will be

breezy with temperatures in low-to-mid 50's inland and low 50's at the coast and low-to-mid fists an the bay. tonight, without the wind keeping temperatures up this morning, the dry air and the long nights, everyone but for the bay shoreline like yesterday, in sausalito, and along the coast, under a freeze warning. this is more for the pets and the plants. exposed pipes could burst but by this time most of us have taken care of that throughout the year. just in case you put something new outside or a you have sprinkler system you may want to flush it out. >> one to two degrees warming each day for the next three days and by saturday the frost will not be the issue and temperatures are in the my 50's to 60 for the first half of the weekend. leyla gulen? the golden gate bridge shows there could be more of a treacherous drive from marin to san francisco. it looks clear.

we will see light conditions because of the holiday. we are still dealing with downed trees and the result of year's wind. as we take you to the santa cruz mountain, into los gatos in old santa cruz highway this is where we have a down tree that has taken up both lanes. if you fine another way to get around this and take down the power lines and transformers and they expect to re-open things by this afternoon. it will be a long closure and we cannot use it for the commute this morning. it is not credit -- yet 2015 but some countries are celebrating new year and the first place is just ahead. >> the oakland officials need your help on new year's day and watching the roads could improve a community garden. >> and the toll plaza shows traffic is running smoothly and we are watching weather and traffic up through the entire commercial break with abc7 news now so you are in the

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>> good morning, everyone, happy new year's eve. >> it is dark out there. >> there we are. a nice look of the city with windy conditions if you are in the mountains. it and windy this morning. you will be dealing with branches on the ground. be careful on the roads. >> and now happening right now people are ringing in the new year. >> it is 2015 in new zealand. they have welcomed in the new year with fireworks in auckland at the sky tower with the celebration starting an hour and a half ago at 3:00 a.m. our time. >> back here, from the roof camera at the embarcadero later tenths thousands of partygoers will flock here to ring in the

new year. barricades want up yesterday. the fireworks experts put the finishing touches on the 15 minute display rigging in the new year. if you are headed out there are important safety tips. >> we want to avoid tragedies so take public transportation. hire a car service. take taxis ferry whatever but don't drink and drive. >> police will watch for d.u.i.s and writing tickets for public drinks. there are public transit options and bark will run until 3:00 a.m. and muni and caltrain will be free. >> san francisco's asian art museum has the 29th annual bell ripping -- ringing ceremony. the monks in japan ring the bells 108 times to cleanse their bodies of sins and earthly desires. the art museum brings south a

16th century bell for the occasion and allows patrons to eat the 2,000 pound bell. >> for a list other things to do celebrating the new year go to abc7news.com with events planned along with how you can get there safely. >> and the 126th tournament of roses today is tomorrow right here on abc7 news. >> among thosening are oakland residents clearing on two city officials searching for votes for a green community garden. here is that story. >> oakland has 18 community gardens. this is in need of tlc. some plants are dead or dying and several of the capers are missing. but there are signs of life. >> got great herbs. >> the projects for the market familiar got off the ground last year. the idea was to get crops for her neighborhood which has

limited access to fresh and affordable produce. >> it is better to grow our own fruits and vegetables where it is healthy. >> the goal could become a reality if oakland lands a $40,000 grant from miracle gro a contest among four community gardens: detroit, new york city, or landrieu -- representatives will ride on the miracle gro float during the rose parade. as you can see, community activists have tried to turn this into a garden to young and old alike. the money would further the dream. and go beyond. >> a family market family where students and families come together and harvest the food they grow and it will be available on a sliding scale to community members. >> mark hall wrote the grant request and if oakland wins, there will be more outreach to the neighbors to get them involved so this garden thrives

like others in the city. >> we have learned when you take ownership in their parks and gardens they recollects them. >> the rose parade is thursday and the garden contest has begun. voting ends february 9. speaking of gardens hopefully you will cover your plans but if you want to vote for a family market garden in oakland we have a link on abc7news.com. >> we are talking about the wind. cover the plants because of the cold. >> first time they will be threatened by the cold >> it is windy. this is a commercial for chapstick. right? have chapstick ready, ear muffs, gloves and humidifier. that is the kind of weather we will have. >> we are babies in california. >> we like to be comfortable.

nothing wrong with that. >> speak for yourself. >> the baby part. >> i am san jose. born and bred. i can't handle the cold. >> go up to minnesota and try talking when it is ten or 20 degrees it takes your breath away. >> i have a hard time when the air conditioning is cranked up. >> here is the wind. we are still gusting around 25 miles per hour in many areas. this is the big story so far. the small craft advisory continues until 1:00 o'clock over the water. at 7:00 we can have gusts around 25 to 30. headed to noon the wind advisory expires and the central valley is gusty at fairfield at 26 and the rest of us are hang around at ten or 20 miles per hour and we could have gusts up to 25 miles per hour. overnight we see the winds stay in select areas but our sheltered valley and lower

elevations will feel the effect of not having wind and we are at 42 in west portal with a lost 30's around san francisco tomorrow morning and upper 30's but they still cold especially for san francisco. 48 through the ferry building and across the golden gate bridge and 47 headed to downtown or financial district and 35 in saratoga and freezing cold in tracy at 32 and behind that live in walnut creek and 36 in healdsburg and everyone else in the low 40's. from mount tamalpais, it is bouncing around at 2,600' and winds will taper but the sunshine will be chilled by the arctic air mass. freezing cold lows to start the new year tomorrow, the 2nd and the 3rd, friday and saturday morning and 2014 ends dry and 2015 begins dry. the cold front is sweeping to the south with numerous problems in the san bernardino mountains and the grapevine has snow. we will check that out for you.

more on that in a minute. look at the 20 and 30's inland. the only lay around 40 is san francisco and san mateo and possibly half moon bay. happy new year, seven-day forecast shows in the 30's at midnight and clear outside. notice the 60's are coming back and warmer-than-average temperatures by next week. >> good news yesterday after the win for bart. we have 29 trains in service. they are running through 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and that is for the new year holiday so folks can have mass transit available if they are out having a good time. ace rain is running on time and they are going to be on a holiday service. muni has a treat for you: they are free today. here is a look at the drive. if you are hopping in the car it could be a dangerous commute because of the wind. emeryville camera is bouncing around by the eastern span of

the bay bridge and we have a high wind advisory for the cartinez and benicia and san mateo and dumbarton bridge. traveling along the bay area bridges be very careful. thanks. the f.b.i. wants help from hackers. >> samsung wants to have a computer that envelops users. >> the f.b.i. wants to hire hackers advertising for people with expense in "ethical hacking." >> the cyber world is part of everything it does from counterterrorism to criminal activity. >> samsung plans to offer the first deck top computer next year and the first computer with a curved monitor. that will set better envelop the user. >> it is available in february for $1,300. >> a brand new smartphone was

under the tree but don't chuck the old one. >> use it for navigation or a baby monitor or a lot of new devices are coming out for a wi-fi connection, temperature control and lighting -- all controlled by smartphones. those are the tech bytes. have a great day. >> snow is in the forecast for san francisco's aquarium. how officials plan to welcome the new animals. >> a strange sight: cars are covered in salt. a look outside you can see plenty of buildings the embarcadero buildings are lit up crystal clear as a result of all of the nature valley crunchy granola

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>> good morning at 4:52, the last edition of the morning show for 2014. this is downtown san francisco very clear with cameras still bouncing. the winds are dying down slowly and we have a wind advisory so be careful out there. >> a 12-year-old gave a san francisco fire department a gift that will keep on give and the police department is next. >> the san diego resident came to san francisco to hand fire chief hayes-white 200 stuffed animals. she began collecting the toys several years ago. show has donated 130,000 stuffed animals to first responders across the country so they can soothe children during emergencies. >> when we have children that are involved in a fire or a car accident, they are scared. even something like a small stuffed animal to give the child makes them less nervous and less scared. >> jessica and the organization she founded called "wee care

bears," will deliver 500 stuffed animals today to the san francisco police department. >> snow is in the forecast for san francisco's aquarium at the bay. mike mentioned this. the aquarium is mentioning river offers to the family and will add snow to the habitat. officials say otters enjoy playing in all kings even environment and snow is no exception and will add 700 pounds of snow for the enjoyment of the otters and the best time to view snow days are from 10:00 to noon. >> they are so much fun to watch. >> river otters and sea otters love them all. >> mike, that is ott-e

unacceptable. >> you are right. that is fur-sure. >> the best i could do. i have only had two recipients of coffee. 17 of the money days in december were wet. 12" total in san francisco which is 7.25 above average. well end the area drive but quote have more wet weather in the middle of january. the grape vein is -- vine is snowing with numerous reports of stalled cars. snow in las vegas this morning but 43 this afternoon. low-to-mid 50's through the value stream and calmer conditions. 26 in lake tahoe today. as we look at the seven-day forecast for lake tahoe what we are seeing is no chance of snow the next seven days and temperatures after today are above freezing in the afternoon hours. >> no chains are required at the moment so you will be in good

shape. walnut creek shows traffic is light this new your's eve holiday. as we move over to treasure island though, on the lower deck of the bay bridge we have a stalled vehicle from the city to the east bay. there are a few blocks lanes. kristen sze and matt? police in australia are sending for a man whose attempt to rob an a.t.m. did not go as planned. >> man with the t shirt hiding his face slips something into the tam and lights it. watch this. an explosion. coming soon. there you go. ouch! >> it knocked him out of his shoes. he ran away without getting a dime. or i assume, dollars. authority say he was not an expert. obviously. as for the machine check it out, authorities say they will

need a new machine. >> be safe. bizarre site in chicago a spill at the 100-year-old morton salt we facility caused a collapse of a wall unloading salt into a car dealership next door. several cars were buried in salt at a parking lot. engineers will examine the building's structure integrity. it reads "morton salt, when it rains, it pours." >> if you wake up and thing the wild both will slow your commute, what you need to know before you head out the door for the day after. >> answers into why an airasia jet crashed into the ocean with the latest on the search for the black box next in new york. >> this is the shaky camera looking at the emeryville side of the new bay bridge the

eastern span and the camera shot from emeryville. it is shaky. hang on to the wheel. we keep you on top of the weather and traffic and

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...guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good morning, a look from australia, a beautiful shot of the celebration of the new year down under. a beautiful display of fireworks in the harbor of sydney with t opera house much they are celebrating so you can go to bed early tonight.