abc7 news begins with breaking news. the winds started and what happened is the fire started exploding in all directions. >> an explosive fire chars three northern california counties forcing thousands from their homes as the blame devour everything in their path. hundreds of homes are destroyed and firefighters from cross the state are being called to help stop the fire. >> the massive fire has grown again today. it is currently 61,000 acres. it is only a percent contained. >> one person has died but their identity is not revealed. several people are still unaccounted for.

at least 400 homes have been destroyed. 6,400 houses are affected by the fire, 17,000 have been evacuated. 2,000 firefighters are on the scene. >> in the past hour governor brown has pledged to bring in whatever resources are needed to fight the fire including more crews from across california and other western states. >> the government is about many things. but the fundamental obligation is public safety. public safety in terms of protecting people against fires and disasters and criminal activity. it is back to the bakes. these are serious fires and people have been killed. hundreds of sturctures have been devoured. >> he met with cal fire at the emergency management center and said this is a reminder that california has to do more to

fight climate change. >> the devastating valley fire has video in several directions in three counties and it is taking an enormous human toll. amy hollyfield is in middletown. >> the reality is singing in. we sought homeowners who used to live in this home showed up to survey the dam for the first time and discovered the home was gone. he has teared in his eyes and was speechless. there are going to be hundreds of stories like his. right now they hope the worst is over. >> there was a good night fighting the fire and feel they made significant progress. they have 5 percent of it contains and that is up from no containment at all. the 5 percent could seem low but that mean we have part of the fire that is fully contained at this point.

>> here is a look at the aftermath and how random the fire is. highway 29 that goes through the heart of middle town still has businesses intact. a block over in the unable, though, it is devastation. never seen nothing like that. in a short period of time i drove my bike over and the sky was lit. >> chad lives on the outskirts of town. the homes are fine. he can see the smoke rising from the hills. >> i had no sleep in two nights. >> the neighbor has been going up to the fire digging out lines and throwing dirt on the patches of fire. >> we know the hills best and we want to make sure that everything is safe for everyone here. >> evacuation orders are still in place and most people are complying. firefighters realize it is tough for residents to stay away but say where dangling power lines and debris it is not safe yet to

let people n. >> everyone is anxious to learn the fate of their homes and prosecute. we are very, very well aware of that. we have firefighters who live here and their homes have been impacted also. it is still going to be a couple of days and impossible to say with any accuracy right new. a look at the horizon is hazy from all of this smoke. firefighters say the fire is not progressive at the pace it was when it first started. the wind is picking up a little bit. they say they still do have a ways to go. they have 29 firefighters -- 2,000 firefighters on the scene and have called for more and have called in the national guard. >> hows of people have evacuated and many are staying at napa county fair grounds talking of their escape, worries and how they are coping. janet o is with them in calistoga.

janet? >> some people at the fair groups are trying to make the best of the situation. check out this car, the driver says the payment -- paint momented off as he tried to make an escape. people are thankful to be here but are left wondering, where do they go from here? >> by the looks of it it could be mistaken for a camp site. but, instead, it is him to hundreds of evacuees affected by the fast moving fire. >> something black and...something like you have never seen. >> residents from middle town usually see the fire travel up the mountain afternoon now down where they are. all that changed when the winds shifted catching many by surprise. >> i was taking a sure and i looked out back window is saw the back of ridge on fire and i started calling as man as i could.

>> evacuees are hoping for the best especially when they woke up to cooler weather and fog but they are also preparing for the worst. >> i cannot sleep thinking about my home, my everything...my grandfather's home. >> adele has bigger things to worry about, her missing husband. >> last time we talking he did not thing he could get out he would tray to hike out. >> she is making a plea for her husband, leonard to find a phone and call. >> >> those who did leave say they barely escaped with a few personal belongings. they are here thankful for the community donations and caring hearts. calistoga served breakfast as a way to give back to those who lost so much. >> started at 5 o'clock in the morning and keep it congress until they are fed. >> it is sprinkling so that is a good sign for those working

around-the-clock to main tape the fast moving fire. cal fire said they are not sure when people will be allowed to go back to their homes or what is lot of their homes. officials say this is also a lot of infrastructure damage, downed power lines and downed trees and messed up roads so a last work to be done when they get a good handle on fire. take a look at this picture on social media all that remains of a family's home, the homeowner saw the flames moments after the fire break out. it happened while tom garrett and others were working at the casino, seeing the fire grow rapidly. he dashed home and escaped with valuables but it wasn't until later he looked at facebook he realized his home was gone. " our house is gone. on facebook there is a picture of a fence, and a wooden sign that says thousand is where i

belong." the house is the ashs of the home where the house used to stand. that is confirmation the house is gone. like many middletown residents he cannot return home because officials have declared the area "off limits." >> the weather has certainly been a big concern for crews battling the flames. >> we are going to check now with meteorologist mike nicco lisa argen talking about if conditions are improving. >> we are seeing plenty of cloud cover with mist and drizzle in the north bay. temperatures are way, way down in the north bay. around the bay, too, where the fire is active. hidden value lake temperatures are in the 60s, humidity is 66 percent. the wind are light but there are gusts that are stronger than ten miles per hour. generally, today, out of the west, that is where the winds are going to be and we will look at 12 miles per hour through the afternoon. the good news is that live

doppler hd is holding together a system with rain to the north. there is sprinkle activity and we will see measurable rain not only in the north bay but around the entire bay area and we have a february game to talk about. we talk about that and temperatures in a few minutes. >> the fierce value fire explode over the weekend and it wiped out entire neighborhoods, nipping at the heels of the resident running for safety. we have more now. >> the video captures the panic as the driver struggles to fund a -- find a we out. you can see fire everywhere and hear the fire's roar. others are cornered by the ferocious flames and smoke. watch as the flames consume this home in just minutes. a twitter showing when a moment

had to evacuate. frightening. >> go! >> that was max gutman reporting. donations are pouring in and the red cross said physical donations are really needed the most. if you would like to donate $10 right now text red cross 90999 with details on abc7news.com. >> other fires are continuing to burn across california include the butte fair in the foothills southeast of sacramento. it moves north through calaveras counties and many people in the bay area have vacation properties there. cal fire said it has burned 71,000 acres and 30 percent contained. the flames have destroyed 135 homes and another 6,400 buildings are threatened. residents face evacuation orders in several communities. >> if you are near either fire

and would lake to share pictures and video, do it safely, please, and share them with us on social media using # abc7now. >> other news, we are tracking developing news from mississippi, the university is on lockdown after a deadly shooting on campus. >> a drone shop targeted by thieves and it was all caught on

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>> happening now a mississippi university is on lockdown after a shooting attack. one person is dead. gunfire break out at delta state university about three hours ago. it is a public university about 120 miles from jackson. the coroner said the victim was a professor. local police have not yet captured a suspect despite a reported sighting near one of the buildings and are asking school and staff to stay inside. >> fire broke out at a junior college with reports from the swim center at 2:15. there was heavy smoke and fire coming from the utility room that started from a gas line. crews were able to stop the place from spreading after the gas was turned off of the the cause of the fire is "under investigation." officials estimate that the flamed caused $500,000 damage. >> and incredible surveillance video, two burglars broke into drones plus in santa clara early this morning at 1:00 o'clock,

and can you see them getting in through a window. the alarm goes off but they hurried and filled several bags and slipped out the window is drove off. drones plus, as miss stood outside the store until the manager could check the tier and -- the inventory and figure out how much was taken. >> police sass argen is ahead with the forecast. >> the forecast is coming up. >> plus the coverage of the massive value fire continues with a look at law a local football team is responding to the victims. two bay area cities named the

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>> cupertino, concords wine country, and all the bay area, this is abc7 news. >> the valley fire is raging on in the north bay and people are posting their experiences to social media. look at this, dozens of pictures and video from people near the fire and from other at evacuation centers. you can share pictures of where you live but be safe using # #abcnow. we have well wishes to the victims of the fire coming from the san francisco 49ers. the team tweeting this morning, our thoughts and prayers go do all those affected by the valley fire, thank you, everyone working tirelessly to bring relief. the team opens their season at home tonight against the minnesota viking on our sister network espn so, hopefully the weather will be good for the game and for firefighting. >> today i had to town on the windshield wipers and it was like a little mist and drizzle

and hoping for more. >> we have two systems. the first system is in southern california but we will show it now, live doppler hd is looking at a little bit of precipitation in the north bay, and, still, the mist and drizzle from sonoma to marin and the more widespread rain is north of ukiah. this will continue to shift to the south and we will see the possibility of measurable rain but look at this, getting into southern california, they are look at anywhere from quarter an inch to half an inch. the golden gate bridge is socked in with low clouds and fog, and winds pumping the stems to the purpose more 60s for mountain view and 62 in san francisco. the winds are breezy at sfo at 29 miles per hour:ryville is partly sunny, 66 in novato and 71 in livermore with more sunshine and a helply looking santa cruz with mostly clouds skying and cooler today a spotty hour is possible and better chance of rain especially in the north bay on wednesday. mid-50s tonight and cooler,

with higher relative humidity and the cloud cover, and we are going to look at the cold front moving through on wednesday, you can see ad it is well-defined pushing into northern california and moisture is in place. so we are going to squeeze out a few drops an the bay by tonight and the game could is a sprinkle but not likely, more likely we will have a lot of cloud cover and clear on tuesday with a front, check it out, we could see anywhere from quarter imof rain in santa rosa through monday night, .04" in santa rosa and livermore. 74 in fremont, 76 in san jose, 60s in san francisco. at levi stadium, look for upper 60s and the possibility of sprinkles but it will be breezy with the south winds at 10 or 15 miles per hour and looking at temperatures in the 70s and

cooler below normal tomorrow with more significant rain on wednesday and the numbers quickly rebound on thursday, upper 80s by friday and looking at more mid-90 over the weekend. that is definitely warmer-than-average by then but teen now and then, we are going to take every drop we can get. >> you bet. lisa, thank you. the bay area is becoming an even better place for millennials with new numbers finding four bay area cities in the top 20 for people ages 25-35 to live. santa clara was 20, sunnyvale at 15, berkeley number 8, san francisco at 4. topping the list? cambridge, massachusetts. >> salsa and samba in hours away "dancing with the stars" premieres tonight and our traffic reporter, leyla gulen, talked with two contestants, daughter of the late wildlife

experts, and former bad boy, with irwin saying the big challenge is the new footwear. >> they put me in a pair of he wills and i fell over and started walking like a baby giraffe, all wobbly and he was like, well, that is a problem. >> spoken like the daughter of a wildlife expert, right? >> leyla asked if they leadership the famous whip dances? >> yes, we have. >> did we do it the right way? >> i don't know. >> you can catch the cast in the to day proceed mere of "dancing with the stars" going tonight right here on abc7 at 8:00. >> the fun doesn't stop there, premiering today, fab life premieres this afternoon at 3:00 led by super model tyra bangs and includes foodie and fashion

guru focusing on cooking, fashion, interview design and do it yourselves with rachel ray moving to 1:00 o'clock. hoping for a hotel room in san francisco this week, good luck. >> a last out of towners could find themselves checking their sea legs for a few

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>> coming up at 4:00 and 5:00 team come of the fast moving valley fire with an update and upclose look at extent of the devastation and firefighters' efforts to vote 61,000 acre fire. >> also, we are going to bring you stories on thousands wondering if they will have a home to return to. all of that and much more coming up at 4:00 and 5:00. >> interesting stuff, the high-tech companies seattle force has so many attending the annual conference it residented a cruise ship to house those attending. a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at pier 27 called "dream force," so the celebrity ship has been renamed "the dream boat." >> 1,100 guests use it as a he tell during the conference that

starts tomorrow with 150,000 people registered for the conference and you know that means traffic along moscone. sow warned. that does it for us. thanks for joining us.

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>> hi, i'm chris harrison, host of the all-new "who wants to be a millionaire." this season, we're mixing things up a little. no more jumping questions, no more easy answers-- just a single player determined to win that million dollars, one person answering the question, "who wants to be a millionaire?" [dramatic music] ♪ welcome to the show. are you guys ready to play "who wants to be a millionaire"? [cheers and applause] let me tell you about today's first contestant. he loves taking tests-- seriously-- and has gotten a perfect score on the sats and the acts not once, but five times. nobody likes him. from holmdel, new jersey, please welcome chris cho. [cheers and applause] hi, man. >> what's going on, buddy? >> how you doing? good to see you. >> great to see you. [applause]