fighter squadron on the west coast. >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. it's been a hot, hectic day. >> that is right. flames rushed through the hills of martinez. a small fire spread quickly toward nearby homes, people picked up garden hoses to fight it. >> sergio quintana is live on the scene. sergio? >> reporter: the contra costa fire teams got some fast back up from cal fire teams, all of them are now starting to clear up here, at this scene. from sky 7 hd, you can see the first moments of the fire moving really fast. construction crew members were part of the initial fight, using garden hoses and tried to dig a fire line. but the wind pushed the fire down a hill and toward other

homes in the neighborhood. the burn area was still moving quickly. it spread to about five acres. someone on the construction crew was welding rebar and the sparks from that job may have been what started this fire. >> take precautions. there is a spark plug going into the stations. >> reporter: no structures were damaged, though the flames did get close. the cal fire battalion chief tells me it's extremely dry out here and extremely hot out here. he says they're hoping for relief from the heat soon. so are a lot of his fire crew members. live in martinez, i'm sergio quintana, abc7 news. new details on a grass fire

in fairfield that burned one home near empire place. sky 7 hd was on the scene before 4:00 p.m. residents of ten homes had to leave quickly, while crews fought this fire. 4200 customers are with out power this evening. the train had to be delayed to clear the area for a time. no word on any injuries or what may have started this fire. a three-story home in alamo burned to the ground this afternoon. sky 7 hd was on the scene and you can see the flames burning quickly. the fire crossed trees and grass on fire as well. firefighters were able to put out the house fire quickly after they arrived but the house is a total loss. however, we're glad to tell you no one was hurt. a benicia family of three is missing after a fire turned their vacation home to ash. no one has seen the family since september 13th. the father, adam is the

president and coo of buchanan construction in benicia. the fire started on sunday as the cabin off highway 193 and garden valley. investigators found remains of two people in that burned out-cabin. they've not identified who they are. >> right now, they know it's two people. >> the cause of the fire is under investigation. moving now to the latest on the valley fire in lake county now listed as the third most-destructive fire in california history. we know that more than 1200 homes have been destroyed. evacuation orders have been lifted for seigler springs. laura anthony is tracking this story. it's a relief to get back up there but could be dangerous to sift through ruins of a fire. >> reporter: absolutely, dan. each home comes with its set of

issues, nails, sharp objects, appliances and tons of metal and other debris. cleaning it up is just beginning. >> god bless our home, two thirds of the mess here. >> reporter: janet and her son told us they won't spend much time here. just enough to get keep sakes and get out. the crews are coming and

looking for hazardous materials response. >> reporter: that is why returning residents have been instructed to do as little sifting as possible. and make sure to wear gloves and masks. the california office of emergency services working with lake county will come in and remove what is left and scrape the lot to several inches below the surface. >> the goal is to have the ground safe enough for a 3-year-old to play in the dirt. >> reporter: these guys from two men and a truck moving company, bringing supplies in for victims. >> try to do what i can. helping them, by loading and dropping in whatever i can. >> reporter: now, with this fire mostly contained, many crews are starting to pull out. those that remain will change focus from firefighting to

restoration, trying to minimize and fix or repair the environmental damage that they, and the fire left behind. in middleton, laura anthony, abc7 news. let's now turn to cornell bernard in lake county. cornell, more people are finally coming home. >> reporter: yes. that is right. the road block just lifted about an hour ago. allowing folks to return home after ten days. some are finding prized possessions amid the ashes. this family has been waiting ten days to go back to their home, which was spared by the valley fire. >> we're blessed. so it's hard to be angry or upset. we made it. and many of our friends and neighbors didn't. >> reporter: but neighbors eric

lopez lost their home. seven on your side posted a pop up event. what we didn't know is that eric had a secret about something he left behind. >> i started getting worried and kind of upset. i knew i had a ring in the house. she didn't know. >> reporter: not just any ring, but a diamond engagement ring. >> all week, i thought the ring, the ring. hopefully, it's good. >> and when he told me that he had bought an engagement ring, and it was in the home. >> the tv was still standing. and i seen the box on top of it. >> he opened it. the ring was still there. >> reporter: protected by it's case, the ring, dusty but still

glimmering. >> did you like the ring? >> yes. it's beautiful. it was so beautiful. >> the ring survived. >> i can't believe it's still in the spot i left it. >> reporter: annette is weight for eric to propose. he says he wants to make it special. rebuilding their lives comes first. luckily this shiny corner stone is intact. and they're looking for a new place to live. not everyone has been able to return to the burned areas. 300 people remain at the evacuee shelter set up at napa county fair grounds in calistoga, down from about 900 people. those who live in cobb mountain are living in tents and rvs. >> it's just been days crying together, bonding together,

helping with our children and helping with our animals. and the one blessing is that it brought us closer and stronger. >> the shelter will remain open until thursday. not everyone that left has a home to return to. some moved to other shoulders. >> many people have lost important documents in the fire. there is help for the victims. there is an assistance center in middleton this week. here is a new lake county hot line. call 888-565-3787. you can find support if you need help assessing your damage. at rest of a charter school employee uncovered a weakness with charter school oversight across the state. abc7 news is live in sparks charter school. a board meeting is scheduled tonight to discuss what is going on. katie? >> reporter: dan, the board is

scheduled to discuss pending litigation, and county officials say the school opened without completing necessary background checks. >> i am frustrated on a regular basis. >> reporter: the office of education grants charters to schools like sparks but then, the power fades. >> once authorizing the school, they're independent of us. >> reporter: only after the 18-year-old was arrested on charges of sexual assault did it come to light the sparks school failed to complete state mandated background checks. >> every employee should have cleared a background check before starting work. that is hr 101. >> reporter: police arrested chow after an 8-year-old girl came forward. he worked as a part time lunch monitor and teacher's aide with the school. police say the school is working with them. >> we talked to parents at the

school. they feel like people had been back ground checked so. there were assurances made by the principal. >> reporter: the board voted to temporarily close, late today a board member released a statement saying all but one background check has been completed and chou was hired as a minor, so any prior problems won't have registered. >> we'll be taking a look at processes to see if there is something we can do to make sure that this doesn't happen again. >> reporter: the spark board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 tonight. thank you, katie. still ahead tonight and only on abc7 news the man in blue gets a peeping tom citation. the man behind the camera tells us why he took this video. a kidnapping case once treated as a hoax. tonight the feds have taken over. and i'm spencer christian.

we have had triple digit heat as well as record highs but cooling has begun. i'll show you how much it's going to cool off in the accu-weather forecast in just a moment. an airlines reservation an airlines reservation issue doesn't get resolved until when broker chris hill stays at laquinta he fires up the free wifi, with a network that's now up to 5 times faster than before! so he can rapidly prepare his presentation. and when he perfects his pitch, do you know what chris can do? and that is my recommendation. let's see if he's ready. he can swim with the sharks! he's ready. la quinta inns & suites take care of you, so you can take care of business. book your next stay at lq.com! la quinta! ♪ ♪ grow old with me ♪ let us share what we see ♪ just you and i ♪ ♪ grow old with me ♪ let us share what we see

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the suspect in the center of the value rayo kidnapping is set to be arraigned linking him to the crime. matthew muller's attorney has said he will plead not guilty.

family and friends looked on as the young man they knew as a high achiever faced a complaint that could leave him in prison for the rest of his life. >> someone that graduates from harvard, an attorney, survives four years in the marines and goes sideways there is something going on there. >> reporter: steve says he's known reid and family since he was born. the family is shocked at the kidnapping. >> this is just overwhelming and we're just at the beginning of the whole thing. >> reporter: muller's parents led investigators to his home. he entered a no contest plea on friday in alameda county superior court. vallejo police called the march kidnapping a hoax but when dublin investigators found muller in his home, they found evidence linking him to the

kidnapping. vindicating the couple that the police called lying. >> the family was shaken up today. it's a serious allegation and consequences are extremely difficult for the family, and h him. >> reporter: in sacramento, abc7 news. a car plunged 100 feet down a cliff in the outer richmond neighborhood. the driver went over the edge near balboa street. the crash took out power lines and the driver was trapped underneath those live wires. police in concord are investigating a brutal robbery at food max store on monument boulevard.

an employee caught someone removing money from a cash register. that person beat the employee until she was unconscious. the man was identified as a 24-year-old man, he was captured and charged with assault and robbery. >> california's home water use may be down but hidden use is up. a tool helps you identify your real water use. >> that is a lot. right? >> that is a lot. >> what's happening to that water? drew tuma shows you tonight at 11:00. >> and now, let's turn our attention to the triple digit heat. it's brutal out there. >> and summer is saying goodbye in a warm way. here is live doppler 7 hd. sunny skies here across the bay area. let's take a look at high

temperatures for the date. 103 in gilroy. other records were 102 in antioch. 100 in napa. 102 in clover dale and numerous mid and upper 90s around the bay. 89 here in san francisco. we still have a heat advisory until 8:00 this evening. the bay shore line and coastal areas and that heat is pretty intense. and i am happy to see it receding. here is the view at santa cruz beach. 97 in morgan hill. here is a lovely view in emeryville. 91 santa rosa. 93 novato. 98 fairfield. and looking south ward, along

the bay area under blue skies these are the forecast features. fall begins at 1:21 a.m. wednesday. mild to warm around the middle of the week to end of the week but not like today. let's go back and give you a look at satellite radar image. a tropical depression moved into northwestern mexico yesterday now moving into the southwestern arizona. showers in southern california now that are not going to reach us. we're going to have see coastal fog later in the day. mainly sunny skies with an onshore flow that will drop temperatures up to about 20 degrees from today's level. overnight, looking for mostly clear skies inland and around

the bay. we'll see fog developing near parts of the coastline. low temperatures into the low 60s and tomorrow, sunny skies and mild to warm conditions in the south bay. up to 80 in san jose. 83 morgan hill. peninsula, mid to upper 70s. 77 in palo alto. mid-60s on the coast. 68 in downtown san francisco. north bay valleys, 82 in santa rosa. 74 hayward. and inland east bay, highs into low to mid-80s. here is the accu-weather forecast. well, starts to warm up again on the first day of fall. wednesday, it will be rather warm inland on thursday and friday. highs into mid-90s but all areas cool down again over the weekend. the first weekend of fall. >> you know, i hear the first week of october can be a hot spot. >> it can be. so temperatures are staying at lower levels. >> all right. thank you.

>> well a possible solution for violence at levis stadium. >> how late jamie wanted a taste of the real new orleans and we just couldn't say no to that face. then we wanted more of that local flavor so betty says... oh yeah, that's betty. you're going to want to do this alligator thing. and betty didn't lead us wrong. a little later we passed some dancing. and who doesn't like dancing? especially when it's followed by fireworks everyone's nola is different. follow yours.

are stacked with bacon, sweet these 100bourbon sauce,, and apparently my mom's fave, spicy sriracha sauce. eat it, don't tweet it mom. denny's big burger bash, with burgers starting at $6.99 officials in santa clara will discuss security changes in levis stadium because of a fight there. a man getting pummelled by several 49ers fans.

tomorrow, the santa clara city council will talk about what can be done to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. among the options, ending alcohol sales after half time, and bringing in extra police. >> alcohol seems to be one of the major issue that's causes the fan violence. >> very supportive of the alcohol being reduced but i just tend to think that is not going to solve the issue. >> council members are looking into whether tail gating across from the stadium is legal. >> and apple is seeing developers apparently in china used a counterfeit version of apple's code. a mobile messaging service used by 600 people said it's app is infected. the best thing you can do is

update your app as soon as is available. >> the new operating system apple released last week is now on more than half of all iphones. it improves maps and using less power. the new phones sold on friday will be preloaded. >> "wall street journal" reports apple is committed to making an electric car by 2019. the project's code name is titan. it's been given the green light to triple it's development team. investigators are looking into other manufacturers rigged emissions tests now that volkswagon admitted to doing it. the justice department launched a criminal investigation and in

germany, vw stock fell 20%. energy stocks propelled the dow jones average. and the s & p 500 went up almost nine. >> people are listening to online music services, the revenue surpassed $1 billion in the first half of the year. down loads continue to drop. >> even my parents are using n pandora now. >> ama daetz reports on a bay area pilgrimage to see the pope later this week. and the race for president just got caller. one candidate steps down.

pope francis continued his visit to cuba today with a visit to santiago.

thousands lined the streets of cuba's second largest city, meeting with clergy and visited the shrine of the country's patrons saints. >> i know that the church in cuba was in difficult conditions to take everyone, even in the most-remote places. the presence of christ. >> the pope told the faithful they should try to be willing to change. tomorrow morning, people attend mass and meet with families there and leave for washington, d.c. the pope is scheduled to arrive in washington, d.c. about 1:00 p.m. our time. he's there for wednesday's cannonization of other junipero sara.

>> some lucky people will be sitting near the pope. >> ama daetz had a chance to meet a couple of them. >> reporter: from washington, d.c. to new york and philadelphia, pope francis is the hottest ticket in town. so hot, tickets the catholic church gave out for free are selling for hundreds of dollars online. these two can't imagine selling their tickets. >> i'm really looking forward to going to be able to see his holiness is going to be a great experience for me. >> i'm very excited being next to the pope, waiting for his message about hope. >> reporter: they're among 200 bay area catholics that were chosen for the opportunity. >> the state of california, we have 12 diocese here in the state. we were allotted tickets for the event. so we divvied them up among the

12. >> they'll attend mass in washington. >> we're going to be present when he is cannonized. >> junipero sara was responsible for establishing california' missions. his rise is expected to be the pope's way of weighing in on the global immigration debate. >> we're struggling with the issue of immigration. >> reporter: jack flanagan is a professor of religion. >> he is not going to dictate what immigration policy should be, but should say that immigrants are people, too. people are human dignity. >> reporter: because is he from argentina, many latin americans feel he speaks to them. >> he understands where we are coming from as latinos and hispanics, and americans. >> reporter: the pope will hold a separate mass for spanish

speaking catholics. >> what would i say? i would say keep doing what you're doing right now. >> speak for the people who cannot talk. >> ama will be in washington and join us live starting tomorrow here on abc7 news and is reporting on facebook, and on twitter. presidential politics, scott walker is ending his bid for the white house. he made the announcement a few hours ago. walker says he was ending his campaign to help clear the field and said republican race has been too focused on personal attacks and urges others to also drop out to refocus the debate but did not name donald trump. republican candidate dr. ben carson is not backing down from

his controversial comments about islam. on "meet the press" sunday carson said he does not believe any muslim should be president of the united states. he says he believes islam is inconsistent with the constitution and america's faith should matter, today, a leading civil liberties group called on dr. carson to resign from the race. >> not long ago, a person thought a african american could not be president. they're wrong then and now. >> ben carson saying he wasn't trying to hurt or offend anyone, but came to his conclusion because of his quote, love for america. >> you may find that it's totally out of character for a presidential candidate to express these kind of feelings, i don't think you realize is that there are many american that's believe the same thing. >> a gallup poll found 60% would support a muslim candidate for

president. >> san francisco port authority installed a bench covered in sunflowers on pier 14 in memory of kate steinle, killed in a random shooting walking along the pier with her father july 1st. inscribed on a plaque is the last thing she posted on facebook the day she died. reads whatever is good for your soul, do that. the man charged for the death has pleaded not guilty. a few passers by in san francisco saw something they didn't feel right about and got involved. their actions helped police aus aus aused- last wednesday, this man began recording a 67-year-old looking at a video he'd just shot. >> i see what you're doing. don't erase it.

>> i was just not going to stand by like that. >> he and another man behind the cell phone were relentless. following brooks for several minutes. that other man was broedis parker. he spotted brooks getting close to girls holding a shopping bag. >> one girl was rather young. she had on a school girl skirt. >> he's got a video on and recording under ladies dress. he's got a hole in the bag. i've been following him. >> he and parker work for a tour bus company on union square. they finally got the attention of police who then detained brooks. watch as he's being handcuffed. one officer lifts a bag. the hole is visible. >> the camera was in the bag, angled towards a hole cut the size of a half dollar. the lens can see up a skirt.

>> one officer took his camera and found more incriminating evidence, but only cited him under penal code 647 j 2. disorderly conduct. this offense carries misdemeanor charges, brooks is expected to appear in court in october. in san francisco, abc7 news. wow. >> well, coming up next, a bay area woman who might have reservations about making reservations on southwest airlines. >> michael finney steps in to

what looked like a computer glitch turned into a complicated problem for one woman. >> yes. michael finney is here now with a solution. >> they say stuff happens in life. yes. when the stuff is happening to you, that is when it hurts. >> carol looks through her paper work. she booked the flight for a friend whose father just died. she somehow got double billed for the flight.

>> i hit okay. you know, purchase. this screen went to the next page but never shows the next page. >> carol waited and confirmation doesn't go through. her friend took off for detroit. she noticed the double billing. southwest told her the refund would be processed in 30 days but, 30 days passed, no refund. >> i picked a different return flight. when i went to book it the second time. >> south west told her because it is different, it cannot be considered a double booking. he disputed the charge with visa. visa credited the money back. 30 days later, southwest charged her again. that is when she reached out to me. southwest told us it's customer service reps have ability to see when something is done in error.

in this case, representatives on the ground were overruled. she received a full refund for the extra booking. >> 7 on your side rocks. basically. >> see? now if you have a consumer complaint let me know about it. go to abc7news.com, click on the sections tab, then select 7 on your side. >> good work. >> you do rock, michael. very g thank you. >> coming up next, no ordinary science fair. >> the inventions some are jamie wanted a taste of the real new orleans and we just couldn't say no to that face. then we wanted more of that local flavor so betty says... oh yeah, that's betty. you're going to want to do this alligator thing. and betty didn't lead us wrong. a little later we passed some dancing. and who doesn't like dancing? especially when it's followed by fireworks

everyone's nola is different. follow yours. [extracurricular activitiessands help provide a sense of identity and a path to success. joining the soccer team... getting help with math... going to prom. i want to learn to swim. it's hard to feel normal... ...when you can't do the normal things. [announceto help, sleep train is collecting donations for the extra activities that for most kids are a normal part of growing up. not everyone can be a foster parent... ...but anyone can help a foster child.

what can i make for you? how about our new flavor-packed italian hero? with three authentic italian deli meats; spiced capicola, a cracked- pepper-seasoned mortadella and spicy genoa salami. enjoy it while it's here! subway. eat fresh. this isn't the science fair you or i remember, today, the great thinkers of tomorrow spent the day at google, showing how they plan to change the world. jonathan bloom went to mountain view. >> these are hacked glucose meters. >> reporter: this engineer is

still in high school. 20 finalists from 11 countries in this fifth year of the google science fair. >> more kids from more countries coming up with better ideas. >> reporter: this 14-year-old through corn cobbs in a bucket of dirty water. >> the next morning i saw the water was clean. >> reporter: she designed a water treatment center. >> the chicken feathers here. they're carbonized. >> reporter: the common theme is helping the planet. for but a lot of these young inventors there is something personal. >> when i was an infant, my grandparents had to carry me ten miles to get vaccinated. >> reporter: now, the wagon the vaccines can stay cold.

>> it would provide cooling. >> reporter: its engineering that may appeal to this young clock maker. he wasn't giving interviews but mighting planning a satellite. the instructions on how to make it. >> reporter: anyone can build it? >> anyone. >> you can build it. >> reporter: just don't bring it to school. in mountain view, jonathan bloom, abc7 news. >> amazing. smart things. that is pretty cool. >> let's talk about the heat. >> so hot out there, spencer. he predicted it, though. >> speaking of smart people... so i had to say that myself. here is why. we've got sunny skies on this evening after a very hot day. but air quality is improving i'm happy to say. here is our four-day air quality outlook. fall will alive -- arrive with a

breath of fresh air. highs of 97 in fresno. 82 down in los angeles. 90 in palm springs. here in the bay area tomorrow, we'll have quite a cool down after a day of triple digit temperatures inreasonlaninland, the bay. breezy and cooler at the coast. here is the accu-weather forecast. it's going to warm up again on wednesday, before the warming on thursday and friday, those highs will be into mid-90s but we'll stay there throughout the weekend. >> now, speaking of smart people. >> oh! >> there you go. >> art and sports go together. a new contract with nfl teams. raiders have found offensive

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raiders showed some great in their win yesterday, they still have a lot of work to do on

defense, giving up 493 total yards but on offense,d derek car was outstanding, with both amarñ cooper and michael crabtree going into 100 yards in receptions.  was outstanding. he was a dominant receiver in the league. >> i'd like to point out is that i think michael crabtree had a phenomenal game. he made some beautiful catches but the unselfishness, the way he blocked on the perimeter, just terrific. >> now, raiders face johnny mansel and the browns. he's showing flashes of the old

johnny football days. a solid defense, that will be a real test for the raiders. >> steelers brought the niners back to earth yesterday with a 43-18 victory. the defense was a no show. two weeks ago, carlos hodge can not take the beating and left with leg and head injuries. no run game for collin kaepernick to do what he does best, throw down the field. why can't this offense crank up in the game? >> i thought kaeperni::j playeda pretty good football game, doing things we ask him to do. >> best offense is able to do both. we do understand our identity is to run the ball. we need to make things happen,

you know. >> the 49ers schedule does not get any easier. they head to arizona with the nfc west leading cardinals. carson palmer through to larry fitzgerald for yesterday's win. this will be a test before hosting the packers in two weeks. switching to college football, cal beat texas, and stanford jumped back into the rankings with number 21. quarterback kevin hogan completing 18 of 23 passes. he was named pac 12 offensive player of the week and is now 12 and 6 in the top 25. cardinals facing oregon state friday night. today is the 60th

he retired with a perfect 49-0 record. now, floyd mayweather junior is tied with marciano and is also contemplating retirement. long time raider executive al locazell died. he worked with paul brown of the bengals. he helped create that raider mystique and would stand up for anything regarding silver and black. this sports report has been west. 42 years ago tonight, the first monday night football game. it was 45 years ago. 1970. >> i just started my career as a

news reporter then. >> i know you don't remember. >> okay. okay. preparing for the pope, we're going to give you a peek at one of the largest security operations in u.s. history. then at 11:00 we're all trying to conserve but you may be shocked at how much water you really use each day. and in prime time tonight, good line up. "dancing with the stars" and the season premier of "castle". then stay with us for abc7 news at 11:00. live". >> that is this edition of abc7 news. we appreciate your time. i'm dan ashley. >> and from the entire abc7 news team, look at that sunset. have a great night.

hello! my name is phil zietlow. i work on the cheerios team and it's always bugged me that we couldn't say that, "cheerios are gluten free". you know, cheerios are made from oats which are naturally gluten-free but sometimes grains that contain gluten get mixed in. so we came up with a way to remove them. which means now, cheerios can be enjoyed by everyone! just original cheerios? honey nut cheerios too, buzz. sweet! is anything bugging you now? (laughs)

this is "jeopardy!" here are today's contestants -- a project manager from fort worth, texas... a writer from newport news, virginia... and our returning champion -- an office assistant from lincoln, nebraska... whose 2-day cash winnings total... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! thank you, johnny. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, folks. so happy you could join us today. play along with these constants -- gordon and sue, who are the newcomers, challenging natalie lips.

let's see how it all works out. uck. here we go. all right, let's find out what the categories are... next... notice n-o-n in quotation marks. you get to deal with the state of... and... natalie, start. that sounds familial for $200. natalie. what is a sister city? yes, that's familial. familial for $400. natalie again. what is a grandfather clause? good. $600, familiar. natalie. what is a mother lode? yep. $800, familial.