live from the kgo tv broadcast center this is "abc 7 news." >> good afternoon. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm larry beil. lawmakers are doing everything to stop the uss of fireworks this fourth of july. it's aimed at preventing fires and using water to put out those fires. >> dry is right. you can see there's just a hint of green on the grass on the hill. it is far outweighed by the amount of dry burnable grass around it. that poses a distinct threat to the area and other livestock that may be up there. there are distinct challenges with the drought. the hills provide welcome open

space but they are so dry the fear is illegal fireworks could spark fires. and in the drought water is in limited supply. they are in crackdown mode. >> we're in a drought. it's drier than other seasons. if they're going to crack down on it this year, it's probably okay. >> reporter: they are empowering park rangers to issue citations for illegal fireworks. currently only sworn police and firefighters can do that but are limited in number. in unincorporated areas, fines are passed this morning. $3 fist3 $350 for the first violation. when there's injury or property damage, $1,000 plus six months in jail on top of paying for damage or medical costs. injuries can be serious according to this nurse. >> immediate care is required. recovery time. anywhere from 3 to 9 months.

>> those are serious injuries. >> why siryes, sir, it is. >> they are warning against illegal fireworks. an education campaign kicks off thursday. we were all kids once but as adults they need to be prepared. >> have buckets of water around. try to prevent it but assume that people are going to do it anyway. keep stuff ready so if something like this happens you can nip it in the bud. >> reporter: david louie, abc news. the balcony collapse that killed six people in berkeley was caused by severe dry rot. they released the findings of the initial investigation. inspectors also offered recommendations for future construction which include requiring an inspection every five years for balconies, also using more corrosion resistant

steel. >> we don't know how it got in. we want to make recommendations that would prevent situations where it would allow the dry rot to advance as quick lie. >> reporter: it happened a week ago today during a late night birthday celebration. all of the building's required inspections were complete. state lawmakers in south carolina have started a debate on whether to remove the confederate flag from the capitol grounds. here's a list of retailers who vow to stop selling the flag. karen travers has the latest on the confederate flag controversy in charleston. >> reporter: calling for the confederate battle flag to come down from the front of the capitol building. >> it shows how in south carolina if we can get past the things that divide us. >> reporter: to some it's a flag

that's a symbol of division and hate. to others it's part of the state a hiftrey. it stood on top of the dome from the 1960s until 2007 when it was moved to that flagpole in front. poles have shown a majority of south carolinian south carolinians would like to keep the flag in place. >> i believe it represents history and heritage. >> reporter: the controversy over the flag loomed large. taking down the flag from the statehouse requires a two-thirds supermajority in the statehouse and senate. the house approved a resolution that calls a special session that caused a debate over the future of the flag. it became front and center after last week's tragic shooting when it showed the alleged gunman dylann roof posing in front of it. new dash cam video showing dylann roof's arrest.

seven southern states use confederate imagery in their flags. in florida mississippi and tennessee, there are calls for change. karen travers, abc news washington. just last year governor jerry brown signed a measure to ban the state from displaying items marked with a confessed rat flag. that does not apply to those in books that are being use forward educational or historical purposes. a check on our weather. >> warm n getting warmer. >> spencer christian joins us. >> it's going to reach up to hot. we have sunny skies across the bay area right now looking toward the golden gate. no fog there. 73 in mountain view. 82 in morgan hill. check out this view from the east bay hills camera.

currently 90 degrees in santa rosa. petalum a91. and livermore. as wee look from our roof camera out over the embarcadero this is our first forecast. mainly clear skies inland. coastal fog will form during the late night hours. tomorrow, it will be warm mild to warm. mild at the coast. warm everywhere else. high temperatures reaching into the mid-90s inland tomorrow. we'll see triple digits by thursday. we'll show you where to expect the hottest weather in a few minutes. >> sky 7 hd shows us where a brush fire burned close to homes in fairfield today. it broke out on a hillside along vista grande before 2:00 this afternoon. firefighters came together to battle this fire. crews on the ground and in the air stopped the flames before they reached any homes. it charred about 15 acres.

investigators are looking into the cause. a wildfire burning south of lake tahoe continues to grow. the so-called monitor fire has burned 16,500 acres since lightning sparked it on friday. sections of highways 89 and 4 are now closed. the fire is just 10% contained. >> the highway patrol closed interstate 5 today after a fire broke out. the flames ran uphill south of paradise ranch toward radio towers there. it burned about five acres before crews were able to get it under control. fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that killed an oakland man today. they saw the man in the front room of an apartment just before 11:00 this morning. they pulled him from the building but he was pronounced dead a short time later. new details on the vallejo

house fire that started after a man decided to do welding work in his garage. >> it happened on villa vista avenue. the flames were reaching into the sky. we're now hearing from nervous neighbors. >> flames could be seen early this morning shooting through the roof of this home. >> it was very fast. >> crews worked quickly to contain the fire to keep it from spreading to other homes. the damage is extensive to this home. estimated to be more than $200,000. the cost of the fire has not been officially determined but the battalion chief shows us what most likely started it. >> someone was working on a gasoline tank. >> angelina garcia noticed the flame from her bedroom window at 12:30 a.m.

>> the flames came roaring out of the thing and i heard him yelling to her to get out of the house. >> they sprung into action to protect their property. >> my husband was spraying the car and the grass and the house because it was a big fire. >> garcia called for help as her neighbor tried to put out the fire himself. he was taken to the hospital for second to third-degree burns. another woman inside the house made it safely out with her dog and cat. garcia is relieved everyone made it out. >> he was with his grandma at another family member's home. >> reporter: fire crews were out here all morning to make sure there were no hot spots. they red tagged the house so no one else is allowed inside. the fire is still under investigation. janet oh abc 7 news.

early this morning the canine escaped from a vehicle in the department's parking lot. an officer in street clothes was suddenly confronted by the charging dog and it attacked him. the officer pulled the gun and shot the dog once. >> we hope the public understands we're gk to try to figure out what happened and make sure the canines are safe to be used when they are being used in a public setting rather than justice trying to apprehend those suspects we're trying to find. >> the canine should survive. the officer had a hand wound and was treated at the hospital. they'll look at the car to determine how the dog got out. still ahead -- what happens in vegas, stays in vegas, unless you happen to be the warriors. coming up andre iguodala spills

the secrets from the team's sin city celebration. if it was you, if it was your children, and if you're not black, this would be a state of an emergency. >> new at 4:30 the swift reaction to the just-released report that says racial inequality is still a problem in san francisco. 7 on your side's michael finney is taking your questions on facebook and twitter. ask finney. >> taking a live look. traffic at 4:11 on tuesday the macarthur maze. that's your traffic heading 80 eastbound. and making that curve toward the bay bridge and into san

covering los altos antioch, petaluma and all the bay area this is abc 7 news. a bit of controversy around the largest water agency. east bay mud is considering installing rebates to those who install artificial grass. >> reporter: east bay mud officials are still split on the issue of this stuff. fake turf. there was discussion today. they'll take the issue up next month. other homeowners moving ahead with their conversion to make grass. not everybody likes the idea of being rewarded for it. his yard is getting an extreme makeover.

good-bye to dirt and gravel and hello to synthetic turf. >> want it to look pretty, look good. don't want to spend a lot of money on it and conserve water. >> reporter: the utility already offers rebates to those who switch to drought tolerant landscapes. cash rewards may be offered to those who fake it with artificial turf with a cap of $1200. >> if you'll convert your landscape, there should be some natural material converted not all artificial. >> reporter: stop waste sent this letter to east bay mud. >> this stuff has no place to go after its useful life other than a landfill. people may install it and then send it to landfill after the drought is over. >> reporter: they are barely keeping up with demand. some customers can pay to $10 a

square foot for the look of real grass. a rebate may help defer the cost. a summer reprieve for a unique san francisco museum. the cartoon art museum was supposed to closes it doors last weekend after the rent doubled. the landlord has agreed to keep it open until september while they look for a new home. >> we get a lot of people from everywhere that come here. summers, holidays are our busiest time. >> the museum staff is looking for a way to display its collection if it can't find a new home soon. lawmakers discussed a man of action during a hearing about the massive recall of some 34 million takata air bags. they lobbed criticism at takata representatives and federal safety officials. eight people died because the air bags went off with too much

force. >> for years it's obvious takata did not put safety first. instead of the air bag saving lives, it is killing people. >> lawmakers are also upset over an internal takata e-mail that said they stopped safety audits to save money. an official says the e-mails werezxs2 tak9=ñn n!$/÷o( of context and it no longer uses the inflator used in the accidents. warriors fans showed up to get an autograph from harrison barnes nine hours later. the workers distributed coveted wrist bands at 9:00 this morning. they let fans enter the store tonight for an autograph session with the warriors forward. the first fans got in line before 5:00 this morning. the meet and greet will start at

6:00. last night warriors got to meet barnes at the macy's store. with the purchase of $35 fans got a personalized autograph from the champion. and draymond green is having his own autograph session in burlingame. from the sound of it the warriors -- andre iguodala was on "jimmy kimmel live" last night. they celebrated in vegas following the parade. iguodala doesn't drink so he just watched as his teammates took part in olympic level partying. >> we had the turn-up ranking. >> who turned it up? >> bronze went to marty. gold and silver was close. klay came in at a close second. but draymond took the gold

medal. he did a great job. >> go for the gold. >> draymond was clearly -- he was enjoying himself at the parade and rally. clearly had been celebrating before that. catch "jimmy kimmel live" right after abc 7 news at 11:00. catch your forecast right here. >> with spencer christian. does that make green the new gold or gold the new green? >> good one. >> look at live doppler 7 hd. sun sunny skies all over the bay area. hot weather coming our way in a day or so. it's mild to warm. here's the view at the golden gate bridge. it's mild. mild to warm again tomorrow with triple-digit readings in the inland area. then further cooling over the weekend. satellite image shows a ridge of high pressure building in. why have the big warm-up occurring. it is not exactly a heat wave. here's our forecast for

tomorrow. highs ranging from 60s at the coast to mid-90s inland. hottest day thursday. temperatures exceed 100 degrees in antioch, clearlake right at 100 in livermore. upper 90s in many other locations. cooling on friday. inland highs into the low to mid-90s. 60s on the coast and things sort of normalize. overnight, normal with fog at the coast and locally pushing beyond the coast. low temperatures in the mid-50s. tomorrow, look for more warming in the south bay. sunny skies with highs in the 80s. almost 90 at gilroy. on the peninsula sunny skies. 79 at mountain view. on the coast, relatively muld lyly mild. 63 at half moon bay. downtown san francisco, almost at 70 degrees.

about 69. low 60s on the coast. 90 calistoga. oakland to san leandro. 80 at castro valley and innland east bay 91 at walnut creek 94 at antioch. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. thursday will be the day of most intense heat. readings at or above 100 degrees. up to 90 around the bay. upper 60s to near 70 on the coast. 8 to 10 degrees of cooling in many areas on friday. especially inland. further cooling over the weekend. temperatures drop back into a more seasonal range. it's not a heat wave but it's advisable not to expose yourself too much to extreme heat or intense sunlilt on those days. >> thank you, spencer. up next the dream home that can be yours, not with the

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breaking news out of martinez to tell you about. a small grass fire appears to be out now. this was next to howell road. crews were able to get it under control. they were concerned because it grew very quickly because it is warm and dry out, but it looks like they put it out before anything was damaged. we have all the latest on twitter. an indiana couple having trouble selling their luxury home decided to take a new approach. they are give away their custom built log cab on to the winner of their essay contest. the subject is a life well

lived. the 6,000-square-foot home is on 5 acres, has an indoor pool. it's about an hour south of indianapolis. >> so often tragedies strike and you don't know when they're going to happen and they change your world. and we thought, if we got november support from people around the country we could change somebody's world for the positive. >> the contest costs only $150 to enter. there must be a minimum of 4500 entries. if you want to enter the contest, we have a link on our website. by now we've all heard of the popular prewedding phrase "say yes to the dress." a new show is having them say yes to the bicep press. >> the new abc show "love can't wait" deboouuts as a companion show to "extreme weight loss." they are helping three couples get in shape before they say

their i dos. >> why is it important for couples to get healthy together? >> it shouldn't be about getting to your wedding day but getting happy and healthy for the rest of your life. >> it's our goal to turn that all around and talk their focus off of food and drink and turn it into these fun activities that they can embark upon together. >> you can catch the premiere of "extreme weight loss -- love can't weight" here on abc 7. coming up the new options passengers arriving at the airport serving silicon valley could soon have to get home or to a hotel. the fbi accuses a teen of plotting his own isis attack. new charges of racial inequality. what some

live from the kgo broadcast center, thus is abc 7 news. >> in news making headlines where you live -- the council held a meeting to discuss illegal fireworks. they want an ordinance to give them more authority to issue citations to those using illegal fireworks. it's been one week since the

berkeley balcony collapse. officials confirm dry rot is the cause of the collapse. we'll have a live report at 5:00. the future of san francisco's iconic palace of fine arts is being debated. carolyn tyler says now that it's moved, what should go in there? more coming at 5:00. a new study by the san francisco re-entry council shows racial inequalities. they talked about the treatment of african-americans and whites in court. vic lee is live with the details. >> ama, jeff adachi heads the group and claims that racial profiling extends from the street on to the jails and court system. the report shows that while san francisco's black population has declined to only 6% they are now 40% of those arrested.

44% of those booked in county jail and 40% of defendants convicted in court. jeff adachi co-chairs the re-entry council. >> it also shows that african-americans are seven times as likely as whitss to be arrested. 11 times as likely to be booked in county jail and ten tumgs as likely to be convicted of a crime. reaction by the public was fast and furious. >> if it was you and your children and if you aren't black, this would be a state of emergency. >> reporter: many say the solution was prevention. getting jobs for young african-americans who might otherwise turn to jail. >> take that money and put it in the black community. >> what money is being put into our youth. >> reporter: members of the council representing law enforcement said reforms were needed to remove the

disparities. >> it's a reminder of how urgent the need is to act and the cause and also accountability. >> reporter: the reforms would need money but the city was dragging its feet. >> none of this is well supported by a budgeting process we're under way right now. >> reporter: the study recommends law enforcement and the courts keep accurate ethnic and racial data. the authors of the study say that would enable them to produce policies to reduce inequities. a man led police on an hour-long chase. it began in fontana. news helicopters captured the driver of a chevy volt weaving in and out of traffic and driving on the wrong side of traffic. the driver surrendered without

incident. hollywood is morning james horner this afternoon after his death in a plane crash. the 61-year-old crashed his lane profit in los padres national forest. the composer won two oscars for his work on "titanic" and scored more than 100 other films including "braveheart" and "a beautiful mind." sean diddy combs claims he defended himself and his son on the ucla campus. police say he assaulted someone with a kettlebell inside the athletic facilities yesterday afternoon. combs' son justin plays football for ucla and has been working out on campus. a bill allowing terminally ill patients to end their own lives is in trouble. it would allow doctors to

prescribe lethal drugs. more details have escaped on how two inmates obtained tools used to escape. the search is focused about 20 miles from the prison where clothing belonging to the men was found inside a hunting cabin. a prison worker faces smuggling charges of smuggling weapons to them. >> she had taken the blades, some of the other tools the screwdriver bit, placed them into a hamburger and put it into a refrigerateorrefrigerator. >> a prison guard told them he brought the meat from the tailor shop. the guard hasn't been charged in the case. a 19-year-old accused of plotting an isis-inspired terror

attack was turned in by his father. justin sullivan of north carolina told undercover officers he wanted to kill as many as 1,000 people with a car bomb or chemical weapon. he talked about coating bullets with cyanide and kill his parents. the deflaetgate scandal is still going on. the patriots quarterback testified under oath before roger goodle. it's lasted nine hours so far. the nfl suspended brady last month when they said he was generally aware that footballs had been tampered with. investigators found a san mateo neighbor uncooperative. new hampshire republicans like trump. trump trails only jeb bush in the poll of likely voters. bush is supported by 14%, trump

by 11%. the poll was taken thursday through monday. he officially entered the race a week ago today. the first primary will be held on february 9th. drunk driving. the new alarm about driving under the influence of cannabis. the paths of destruction outside of chicago after a deadly tornado. and where the severe weather is heading next. ask finney is just ahead. i'm still taking your questions on twitter and facebook. i'll answer your questions here live a little later. i'm spencer christian from the east bay hills. the sky looks free of clouds for now. they'll advance overnight. i'll have the accuweather forecast coming up. another live look at the afternoon commute. slow crawl on the skyway in downtown san francisco. oncoming traffic trying to has back to the east bay. not a heck of a lot better for folks trying to get toward 101

there's something out there. it's a highly contagious disease. it can be especially serious- even fatal to infants. unfortunately, many people who spread it may not know they have it. it's called whooping cough. and the cdc recommends everyone, including those around babies, make sure their whooping cough vaccination is up to date. understand the danger your new grandchild faces. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about you and your family getting a whooping cough vaccination today. an ef-2 tornado battered michigan with 115-mile-per-hour winds this morning leaving an 11-mile paths of destruction. there are similar scenes all across the midwest today. abc news reporter elizabeth hur shows us the damage. >> reporter: with telephone poles dancing in the wind and transformers exploding in the rain it was just a meritatter of

time before trees, cars and homes gave in to mother nature. >> there's whole houses down. >> reporter: just southwest of chicago, a tornado toppled trees, trapping even first responder vehicles, many in a rush to help others. >> my house was shaking and everything was breaking. i thought it was windows. it was all coming out of my medicine cabinet. >> also areas where there's leaking gas. propane tanks turned over. broken gas lines. there are certain areas that are not safe. >> reporter: in portland, michigan, an ef-1 tornado ripped off roofs, tossed a semiagainst a store and tossed the steeple of this church. this woman watched in disbelief at the roof flew off her house. >> reporter: in iowa, flying

debris crushed planes after winds crashed into an airport hangar. there were no fatalities or serious injuries. the threat now is from philly to boston. the forecast is calling for damaging winds to hail. >> our weather here not a whole lot going on. just heat. >> spencer christian joining us with a look ahead at the forecast. >> from mild to warm to hot and back to mild again. here's live doppler 7 hd. sunny skies throughout the bay area. not a hint of any fog. we may see some develop. across the 48 contiguous states, warm to hot and humid. along the east coast and gulf coast, maybe even showers. mainly sunny in the northeast.

sunny and warm to hot. high of 94. dallas hot in the southwest for sure. high of 112 at phoenix. across california, look for sunny skies. there will be some coastal areas that will experience patchy fog. hies tomorrow of 99. fresno 97. sacramento, 112. palm springs, the desert is usually hotter. 81 in los angeles. bay area, warm to almost high conditions. inland temperatures low to mid-90s. upper 70s around the bay. truly hot weather will arrive on thursday. i'm happy to say it will only last one day. inland areas with highs above 100 degrees. larry and ama? >> thank you spencer. still ahead -- a big catch with some big bite. how this exotic fish ended up in a new jersey lake. driving under the influence of marijuana. what happens when researchers

put pot users behind the wheel. i'm 7 on your side's michael finney. fourth of july is almost here. can

covering free flont mont palo alto, north bay and all the bay area this is "abc 7 news." >> a new research study offers fresh data on the effects of marijuana on driving performance. they recruited 18 cannabis users to drive in a simulator. the marijuana users showed an increase in weaving but not as much as those under the influence of pot and alcohol. >> one of the things we know happens with cannabis is it reduces your field vision and you get tunnel vision. you're unable to react as quickly. >> not surprisingly, the study found pot and alcohol have more of an impact on driving when used together. children with a good memory are apparently also good liars.

>> we're learning more details about the story on climate change. jane wells has more. >> reporter: the threat to human health from climate change is so great it could undermine the last 50 years of gains. extreme weather events bring rising rinks of infectious diseases, poor nutrition and stress. polluted stays where people have no time to relax walk or cycle is bad for the heart and mental health. kids who are good liars also have better working memories. particularly verbal memories than bad liars. this may be because they can take skillful verbal maneuvering to keep one's lying straight. lying may be a marker of a capable little brain. a warning about skinny jeans. they can seriously damage muscles and nerves.

one 35-year-old woman spent days in the hospital. she developed compartment syndrome made worse from her skinny jeans. i'm jane king. they offered the echo on an invitation only basis. it can sinkync with your food. it will allow you to order items from amazon's market place. it works with the digital voice assistant alexa. time for ask finney. michael finney answering questions sent in by facebook twitter and e-mail. a neighbor in oakland sets off illegal fireworks every july 4th. where can i report him before he starts the fire? >> that's a great question. i'm sorry you've got that

neighbor. first of all it's illegal to have the fireworks. so they're not allowed to keep them, store them or have them at all. may be a good idea to call now. call your local police department. since you say he's in oakland, the problem is so intense in oakland, they have a special number just to report illegal fireworks. i'll post that on our website. you can go there and give them a call. if you can get a police officer to say we've got a complaint and we're watching, maybe it won't happen. i've seen stickers for uber. is there a limit to how much of the windshield can be blocked? >> you are allowed to have a five-inch square on the driver's side of the windshield. it has to be down low. on the passenger side, another

square. that one is allowed to be seven inches. you are allowed to block a little bit of space but it has to be way down. >> shana asks i sent in my passport to be renewed with plenty of time to get it back. we leave for our overseas trip friday. what do i do? >> you can take care of this. these kind of things happen often. there will be a death in the family and someone has to get out of here. they've had problems with their computers. we dont know what's causing the problems but they know they have them. call the customer service line. even if they don't have an appointment online they can make one over the phone. do you have your ticket? if you have your ticket you'll show up in person. tickets in hand and they'll cut you the passport there. have them walk you through the whole process.

>> great to know. thank you. we wait for hours to get a bite. one new jersey man got more than he bargained for. >> he dropped his line and got quite the nibl. the fish had a row of teeth that almost looked human. that is really strange. he'd never seen anything like that before. and was a bit concerned. >> a lot of the residents swim and there's marathon swimmers that swim this lake just about every day. >> he first thought it was a piranha. it's a poku, also from the amazon. it was likely dumped by someone who bought it at a pet store. abc 7 news at 4:00 -- what could lead to a ride sharing boom at the airport serving silicon valley. here's a look at what's ahead at 5:00. >> coming up scary moments. >> went to a butcher knife.

>> an eyewitness talks about a monk now charged with trying to kill a fellow monk. transforming a house. an icon

ic here's tonight's primetime lineup. 8:00, "fresh off the boat," "blackish," "extreme weight loss" and the news. the city council is considering a proposal to regulate short-term rentals. a public hearing was cut short at the last meeting. tonight's city council meeting begins at 7:00. the san jose city council is considering allowing uber and lift to get a stronger foothold at the airport. matt keller has the story from san jose international airport. >> reporter: twlen comes to

transforation at the san jose international airport, taxicabs are still the big player. today, uber lift and others want the green light to pick up passengers. it requires a permit. it could glingbring in more than $250,000. taxi drivers have been outspoken kritsices of the app-driven service. >> what can we do? we can do nothing. they are powerful. they have money. >> if that's what they want to do fine. >> hurting your business though? >> notice, it's not. we are doing good. >> reporter: the city regulates taxis. in a memo to city staff they are behind a pilot program for transportation network companies. they want finger printing and background checks of drivers,

vehicle inspections of the city full payment of all fees and fines, require a business tax license and other safety measures. uber drivers are excited. >> i've been waiting for over a year. >> reporter: uber passengers are asking what's taking so long? >> it's completely outdated in the terms of how it works. >> reporter: they are nearing the end of the pilot program and are passing along tips to san jose. city council vote is expected to take place during the afternoon session. matt keller, abc 7 news. thank you for joining us. i'm ama daetz. abc 7 news at 5:00 begins right now with ama and cheryl. berkeley confirms dry rot in the deadly balcony collapse. they are calling for new inspections city wide. >> just in time for july 4th a

fireworks crackdown. businesses getting rid of the confederate flag. i'm abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. >> this is abc 7 news. >> today we're learning the official cause of the horrifying balcony collapse in berkeley that killed six young people last week. sky hd was over the scene where a shrine for the victims continues to grow. i'm larry beil in for dan ashley. >> there are remedies to prevent another tragedy. wayne freedman joins us from berkeley. >> reporter: good morning. they are going to take steps. they'll stretch the code. state code is not enough. they want new reckulation, tougher terms for materials,

ventilation and inspections. sometimes the obvious still qualifies as newsworthy in making official the cause of the balcony collapse. they met that measure this afternoon. >> what our observations are was there was severe deterioration of the wooden members. the most likely cause was dry rot and the contributor to dry rot is moisture infiltration. >> reporter: which answers one question and opens the door for so many others. was it built properly inspected? how can they guard against such collapses in the future. the planning department wants inspections on all banlconies of similar buildings within seven months with regular follow-ups. we want them to get a structural engineer to do the inspections every five years. >> reporter: a statement today from the company that built this

structure. it has settled laults edd lawsuits in the past for dry rotted balconies. our concern remains for the families and loved ones of those who died in this tragic accident. we continue to offer our assistance and cooperation to all investigating authorities. meantime, back in berkeley when asked how a balcony could collapse on a relatively new and inspected building they had a simple answer -- >> that's not a question i can answer. >> reporter: from berkeley, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. two of those injured in the balcony collapse have made great strides in their recovery. jack and connor remain in the medical center tonight. we're waiting for updates on the other five survivors. an overflow crowd turned out