incidents, a number that fire investigators could increase to 30 or more. most of the fires, as you said, began between midnight and 5:00 a.m. we did ask investigators how long they watched the suspect before arresting him and was weighting a risk. >> if we were to approach him and say we know what you are up to most serial arsonists are compulsive and will just change the area, change their ammo and continue. >> we looked to see if there was escalation. once we see certain things that concern us then we will decide that we are going to act on something. >> reporter: so they did because their investigation wasn't small. they say the fires began small and then got bigger and affected bay point, lafayette, clayton, walnut creek and brentwood. that suspect james wilson remains in county jail tonight.

he has a $1 million bail in front of him. we'll know more about the specifics of these fires as time passes as we see the formal complaint. live in concord, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> what a story. a developing story in pittsburgh. gun fire broke out. an officer is out of the hospital but an attempted murder suspect is being treated. allen is live at the scene. >> reporter: this is still an active crime scene. investigators are knocking on doors out here and behind me is where the shooting took place. you can see the yellow crime scene markers most indicating the position of shell casings. 18 shots in all were fired between the police and the suspect in what has been described by police as a serious shootout. investigators say they were trying to apprehend an attempted murder suspect wanted out of concord for an incident last

night. at least two officers chased the man to this corner when police say he turned around and shot one officer in the leg. the other officer returned fire and wounded the gunman. the gun used appears to be a large caliber semi-automatic handgun. police say the suspect is a 49-year-old man out of bay point. we are told the wounded officer is a 24-year veteran of the force. he was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover. the bay point man's condition is still unknown at this time. we are told there were people at home at the time of the shooting. there is a store on the corner and through it all no one else was injured in this shootout. reporting live i'm allen wong, abc 7 news. this is a crucial hour for firefighters battling the enormous wildfire in northern california. so far the rocky fire destroyed at least 39 homes and scorched 68,000 acres. crews were able to make some progress yesterday because of

cooler temperatures and higher humidity but those favorable weather conditions are starting to change this afternoon. >> today we are already starting to see temperatures on the rise. the humidity is lower and that has a potential this afternoon and this evening for fire activity to pick back up. >> reporter: as of right now the rocky fire is only 20% contained. >> it is warmer, the wind is starting to pick up a little bit. no major flare ups we can see so far this afternoon. we are deep in the fire zone. you can see the fire pretty much charred everything in its path but amid the bleak picture there is good news, appearances that rocky is finally slowing down. the number of homes destroyed has now climbed to 39, up 15 from tuesday because the inferno has finally died down allowing

officials to get in and see what is left in its wake. this was the order of the day for firefighters battling the rocky fire dousing hot spots as they appeared along highway 20 with fortunately no major head of flames to contend with. >> conditions are holding up. the ground forces are going in and doing great work on mop up but it is that time of day in the past week that we get a lot of flare ups. >> reporter: officially 20% contained the hope is to have the fire completely contained by next monday if the weather coop rates. >> i'm getting tired. >> reporter: that's good news for thousands still evacuated. this couple left their home in spring valley and have been at the red cross shelter for four days. >> we are getting tired. we are getting real tired. this is like our third fire from living in that area. so we were prepared. we knew what to do, but you

still worry. >> reporter: joan jacobs came to the shelter as a resident looking for help but soon found herself a volunteer. >> as corny as it might sound i felt like i found a new family here. these are people that anything that anyone needs they are there and if i can contribute i want to do that. >> reporter: and we are back live here. this is what many of these folks will come home to see around their homes. officially 13,000 people are still out of their homes evacuated but we are waiting for an update from cal fire. if things hold as they did today, if the wind doesn't pick up hopefully they can get back to homes fairly soon. in lake county laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> what a scene. the weather is hurting firefighting efforts. let's check in with sandhya patel to see what is happening

on the fire lines right now. >> as laura mentioned the winds haven't been too problematic. let me show you current conditions near the fire line. it is warmer by 17 degrees compared to yesterday at this time. relative humidity cut by about half compare today where we were yesterday. 25%. wind is out of the south gusting to 12 miles per hour. as you take a look here that fire covers 107 square miles, very large fire obviously. wind gusts are expected to remain a bit unpredictable going into the late night hours. early morning they drop off and pick up again at 6:00 a.m. it's not looking very good for those firefighters especially when we take a look at what is coming. live doppler 7 hd showing high clouds. as we look at the forecast here scattered showers and thunderstorms expected initially dry thunderstorms thursday evening prompting a fire weather watch to the sierra nevada and

that dry lightning could spark more fires. i will be back with the detailed look and possibility of wet weather and thunder here, as well. in the meantime cal fire says because of the drought it is now sending some air tankers farther to a deeper water source and using retardants instead of water on the flames. agreed to pay $4 million settlement for violations at martinez refinery after a seven year investigation from quality management district released today found fluids were periodically drained into the on site sewer and water treatment system allowing propane and butane to eevaporate into the air. san jose is planning a memorial to fallen officers. the effort comes five months after veteran officer was killed by an armed suspect. abc 7 news reporter david louie is live at city hall where step one in the effort has been

taken. >> this is not a new idea. a memorial has been proposed twice before in 2008 and 2013 but the recession made it difficult to raise money. this time might be different. san jose has lost 12 officers in the line of duty dating back to 1924. the most recent in march remains deeply etched in the minds of many citizens. officer michael johnson was shot and killed while responding about a call. a former officer thinks its time for a memorial. >> we are involving everybody in the design in what we think will be something that will really honor the sacrifice of those who have served and sacrificed so much for us. >> reporter: at a committee meeting today the city manager was directed to start working on a design. it has been suggested the memorial might be constructed at city hall where it will be accessible to the family and public. the mayor has attributed 75,000

from his own budget and is asking for council members to chip in. a public campaign will be mounted to raise the rest. >> if someone devotes their life to public service and ultimately gives their life i think that is the definition of somebody who should be memorialized and honored by the community. >> reporter: san jose has two downtown veterans memorials but failed twice before to create a fallen officer's memorial. >> if we have a memorial for veterans it is basically giving lives to our country i think that should be accountable for a citizen with the bay area to do the same for officers. >> reporter: the process is expected to take a year. in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. some san jose residents will have a high tech tool to help them conserve water during the drought. compares usage with similar sized households and businesses helping you to see whether you are a water hog.

it will debut next month. and we all know they are keeping up with the jones' is important for many and we love to see a little competition in conservatio conservation. >> we randomize it. if you are selected it is not because you are a bad person. >> san jose has set a goal by 30% as compared to 2013 levels. a new debate into when the tech sector is family friendly. >> this is probably the most generous policy. >> coming up netflix new policy for parents. will it pressure other tech companies to improve their baby benefits. the new post about doctors and hospitals. and if you want to know how much more your boss makes than you there will soon be a page for that. and all the difference. is it worth the higher price?

>> abc 7

one day after netflix announced one of the most generous leave policies in the country microsoft is following suit. will this rare message take as much time as needed. abc 7 news reporter is live with the story. >> as you know every company's culture is a little bit different. experts we spoke to say that smart employers will do what they need to do to keep their employees happy. as the competition for the best tech talent heats up in silicon valley -- >> a lot of tech companies are known for their very young work force cht. >> reporter: more companies are trying to separate from the rest

of the pack. >> as companies age and as workers age this has been an impending issue. what are the companies going to do when the employees start having babies? >> reporter: netflix announced an unlimited leave policy for new moms and dads to take as much time as they want with pay during the first year after a child's birth or adoption provided they are a full time salaried employee. >> i think it is wonderful. and i'm speaking as a woman who worked for 43 years and raised two kids and had a really hard time finding child care. >> a year is amazing. i'm kind of shocked by it. >> reporter: today microsoft announced the change to its maternity and paternity leave policy upping the period from four weeks to four months. some say what may work well for one company doesn't mean success for another. >> benefits and perks are not a reason for tech talent to go to an employer and stay with them long term. >> reporter: glass door analyst says it is possible other

silicon valley companies could jump on the band wagon or maybe do something different. >> they will dive deeper into what employees say are working well and make other changes, perhaps other benefits that we haven't seen yet. >> reporter: the moves for microsoft and netflix reigniting the conversation about importance of having a work/life balance. >> you can find data on the website yelp saying today it will start listing emergency room waiting times on the search results. it will document how many beds are in nursing homes and whether the facility has received serious fines. yelp always allowed reviews but this information wul by pulled from government data. federal regulators acting

under a mandate that reshook regulation after the financial crisis blaming often tied to stock price for encouraging disastrous risk taking at the expense of long term earnings. california is expected to make the final payment on costly borrowing championed by arnold schwarzenegger. schwarzeneggar led to suede voters to help close straight deficit. the bonds cost $19 billion. payments have averaged $1 million a day every day the past 11 years. today's final payment $928 million. it is almost back to school time. hard to believe for those heading to college lap tops are a must. >> 7 on your side partnered with consumer reports for exclusive coverage on lightweight lap

tops. >> it is super lightweight. remember the stories we used to do? lap tops are getting lighter and lighter. consumer reports recommends a few of the lightest they have ever seen. ultralightweight laptop may be the lightest thing in your backpack this fall, definitely lighter than a textbook and lighter than this water bottle. around two pounds the latest book weighs less than mac book air. consumer reports says it or the lenoevo or samsung could really lighten the load for students. >> really well on performance tests and did well on portability test. if you take your laptop with you frequently in a backpack you will notice the difference even if it is only a few ounces. >> reporter: you will pay a premium. the samsung goes for $1,100. the apple is $1,300 and lenovo

is $1,500. battery life is also important. to test consumer reports continuously cycles through a series of web pages until the battery dies. the mac book has a battery life of more than 16 hours. the samsung delivers 10 hours and the lenovo 7. >> if it is just sitting on a desk it's not going to matter. >> reporter: if price is more important than portability consumer reports named two best buys the 14 inch lenovo flex 3 at $650 and the 15 inch acor aspire at $500. the lenovo flex 3 has an eight hour battery life and acor has 12 1/2 hours. consumer reports says both are fast at general office tasks and photo editing and are powerful enough for video editing and mid

range gaming. >> thank you. let's go outside and talk about the weather forecast. another nice day around the bay area and maybe rain coming. >> we can only hope. >> it looks like a pretty good chance that we see showers around here. maybe even some thunder. right now behind me just beautiful. it feels warmer. blue skies, a few high clouds. let me show you live doppler 7 hd. it is much warmer across the bay area. temperatures inland in the low to mid 90s for hottest spots and along the coast in the low to upper 60s today so far. live doppler 7 hd may be tracking unsettled weather as we head towards tomorrow evening. my view with the high clouds that are filtering the sun. 68 in san francisco. it is mid 70s for oakland. san jose 77 degrees. morgan hill 84 and half moon bay it is 66 degrees. nothing but blue skies and a little bit of cloudiness from our emeryville camera.

temperatures mid 80s. 89 concord. 92 livermore and a view from east bay hills camera more clouds like this as we head towards tomorrow. warm again inland tomorrow. thunder possible thursday night into friday morning with scattered showers impacting your morning commute. we will talk about that in just a moment. here is the area of low pressure that will bring us the shower/thunder chance tapping into moisture and as it does we are going to see changes around here. it moves on shore tomorrow night and you will notice that the cloud cover increases. the stream of moisture comes in and as we head towards around 9:00, 10:00 tomorrow night we are looking at a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. friday morning commute time we have damp roadways out there and we can't rule out the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm or two. by friday at 11:00 a.m. things are long gone and if you have get away plans no need to worry about thunder or lightning. rainfall totals from a few

hundredths of an inch. we will take the rain in the fourth year of the drought. the initial thunderstorms will be dry in nature which could start more fires around the state which is not good. tropical storm lightened a bit. gusts to 70 expected to pass north of the hawaiien island chain but swells will be problematic and will weak toon a depression as we head towards friday morning. if you are getting out of town and heading out there for vacation this weekend should be okay. temperatures tomorrow morning mid 50s to low 60s. you will see high clouds around tomorrow afternoon warmer day in the south bay. san jose at 85. 90 in gilroy. 84 in red wood city. 81 in san mateo. half moon bay 71 degrees. high clouds on the increase. 73 downtown san francisco. north bay upper 80s around santa

rosa. 82 vallejo. 90s in lake port. 79 in oakland. 83 free mont. inland spots warm, summer warmth. 93 livermore. 92 walnut creek. accuweather seven day forecast we are tracking possibility of showers and thunderstorms with live doppler 7 hd between thursday night and friday morning. be extra vigilant. friday is cooler. saturday temperatures in the mid 60s to upper 80s for outdoor plans and a little bit warmer as we head towards sunday. not a lot of change going into next week. dan, cheryl. >> thanks very much. let's head back outside. amazing pictures from a million miles away is next. and tennis has never seen anything like it. the revolutionary high tech advances that will be used for the first time at the

how's it progressing with the prisoner? he'll tell us everything he knows very shortly, sir. as you were... where were we? 13 serving 14! service! if your boss stops by, you act like you're working. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do.

a rare glimpse at the dark side of the moon. this is new video from nasa's camera. you can see the moon's other side as it passes in front the earth. the camera caught the exact moment the moon was hovering over the pacific ocean near california. you can see the top right of your screen. regular observations. nasa says this picture was just a lucky occurrence. >> that is cool. scientists say they have solved the mystery of balancing rocks. a new study concludes the fact that san andreas can interact sending the biggest vibrations around the rock stacks and that helps them stay upright instead of toppling over. the rocks look like natural seismoscopes. a free mont resident named the coolest vegan alive.

16-year-old freeland won the competition sponsored by people for the ethical treatment of animals and helped the organization create vegan wallets. she cares for two rescued goats herself. she is doing great work. one of san francisco's biggest events gets underway on friday. the abc 7 news team was in golden gate park as workers set up for this year's outside lands festival featuring three days of music, comedy, food and other attractions. this year's headliners include mumford and sons, black keys on saturday and elton john takes the stage on sunday. billy idol plays on saturday. >> and dan ashley will play there one day. >> still ahead a day of fun. >> just ahead right up their alley how the generosity of high rol

happy anniversary to me it's safeway's anniversary... happy anniversary to me but you're the one who's gonna save some serious money. happy anniversary to me right now with your club card usda choice ribeye steak is $7.99 a pound 32-ounce gatorade is 69 cents and select quaker cereal is $1.49 happy anniversary to me. safeway's huge anniversary sale! it's just better. having necessary school supplies can mean the difference between success and failure. the day i start, i'm already behind. i never know what i'm gonna need. new school, new classes, new kids. it's hard starting over. to help, sleep train is collecting school supplies for local foster children. bring your gift to any sleep train, and help a foster child start the school year right. not everyone can be a foster parent, but anyone can help a foster child.

covering santa rosa, berkeley, san jose and all the bay area. this is abc 7 news. i'm ama daetz. coming up new at 6:00, beefed up security at oakland international airport. tonight we investigate whether it's enough to prevent a breach by someone who works there. also a controversial by pass begins to take shape on the north coast. why aren't officials discussing the environmental price tag? and a warning about increasingly popular auto loan. why many are calling it a debt trap all coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00. >> thanks very much. see you then. abc 7 news was at stamford today for the expansion of the ronald mcdonald house there. it provides a place for

families. when completed this will be the largest ronald mcdonald house in the world. an event called fun day generated a lot of smiles on the peninsula. abc news more than 350 bowlers with developmental disabilities hit the lanes. participants from all over the bay area came out for this fun day celebration. >> makes them the happiest people in the world. they look forward to this event all year long. they love coming here. they love to bowl. >> so happy. >> more than 150 volunteers were there to help the bowlers, some of whom were in wheel chairs and physical limitations but nothing limited their fun and enjoyment today. >> great program. that's going to do it for us.

world news tonight. >> for sandhya patel, michael fi breaking developments tonight. yet another movie theater attack. this time, the gunman wearing a surgical mask, armed with a hatchet. then opening fire. after dousing moviegoers with pepper spray. several injuries. late details coming in from the scene. also, a major development in the mystery of flight 370. authorities just today revealing what they now know about that piece of wing. the first big debate. donald trump center stage. and tonight, we learn of a phone call between trump and former president bill clinton. what they talked about. the giant storm swirling toward one of the tallest buildings in the world at this hour. already hitting an island with tens of thousands of americans. and, the mystery of the champion diver. she could hold her breath for nine minutes. diving deeper than the statue of liberty. tonight, missing in the water.