international when the pilot apparently was having engine problems. but we are hearing from fire officials that the weather below visibility were also most likely factors in this skas. multiple agencies searched by foot and by atv for several hours. but the challenge today was the terrain and, again, the weather. low visibility but they were able to get the drones up, which helped them locate the wreckage. >> i can't tell you that the wreckage was a very steep, brush shi terrain. as a result of the search taking place by ground today, two firefighters recently have been -- reports of two firefighters who have been injured. >> the alameda county fire fighters are now being treated for minor injuries. they will be okay. we have also learned that the plane that went down is a single engine piper pa 32. again, only the pilot is believed to have been on board and believed to have perished in that crash. the federal aviation administration has been called

out and they will try to figure out what happened and what led to the plane going down. reporting live here, abc 7 news. squl woeter conditions weren't great when the plane was flying in the area. >> not at all. abc 7 meteorologist is here with more on what that plane experienced. >> dan and alma, it was not good. let me show you live doppler 7 hd. there was cloud, fog and even a few showers in the area. as i show you visibility, less than a quarter of a mile. this could have been a factor. live doppler 7 hd tracking a few showers right now. the santa cruz mountains. ef ensome potty showers from san francisco to pacifica. we're watching a few showers. we've also seen the wind here in the bay area. next storm is coming has caused some problems, as well.

i'll have the details coming right up. >> thank you so much. more on our weather now. this morning, kwind and rain are still causing problems all over the bay area. wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour. sky 7 hd was over at pg&e this afternoon after a tree fell. that tree damaged four poles. 60 customers were impacted. those customers should have power wac soon. >> we'll stay in the north bay for another moment where trees are down and one neighbor is basically cut off as a you will are. abc 7 news reporter wayne friedman is live. wayne? >> if a tree falls in a forest

and no one hears it, does it make a sound? in warren county, no one is asking that question. instead, we're hearing descriptions of sounds like this. >> it was a loud crack. >> a large crack and then a boom and now curt, along with his neighbor, must deal with this. a large tree straddling both of their properties that landed on the house next door. it was one call among many after high winds had their way with drought-weakened trees. >> this is very typical. we've had about ten calls already and we're trying to get to them as quick as we can. >> in petaluma, several trees fell on a barn killing a horse inside because no other deaths or injuries. meantime, in morinne county, sheila dodged a bark-covered bullet. >> it's still a risk when you live in the forest. that's for sure.

>> this 125 foot douglas fir fell only a few feet from her house. >> i didn't know what it was. it was not good, either a tree or a power line. >> how about both. after a trip to the store for supplies, should jack go over the tree or under it? okay, let's go under. and now the twist. in real life, jack is an environmentalist and nature photographer specializing in trees. it's bart of what happens with trees. >> we'd love to take you to that tree live but it's way up a narrow road. far more narrow than 2 one we're showing right there. so narrow that work crews could not get their equipment into that tree today. they hope they'll be able to do so tomorrow. live from san geronimo, abc 7 news. >> our crew hit a large pile on

the connector ramp while driving early this morning. the chp recommends you stay calm and avoid heavy breaking. >> as you can see here, flooding slow drivers in morinne county. tweeting this picture showing how rain and high tide flooded near the park and ride area. also in morinne, caltrans crews hustled. they fell overnight and blocked highway 1 near erica road in mill valley. >> abc 7 morning news tweeted this picture of a truck facing the wrong way westbound on the san mateoo bridge. it's the white truck in the middle of your screen there. >> two cable car lines in san francisco for hours today. it was apparently some kind of electrical breakdown. now, stay with us and stay ahead of the next storm where you live with the abc 7 news app. download it for free at

abc7news.com. >> a street gang now faces charges and dozens of burglaries after being arrested in a sweep called operation grinch. >> abc 7 news reporter joins us live where the suspects are being held. david? >> alma, police have been working on this case for three years. four suspects are still at large. now, the particular ris are not only here but also in hillsboro and union city. jaus one of several neighborhoods that have seen a rash of home burglaries. some of them have been caught on security video. behind the scenes, police zerosed in on an organized gang of adults. they apeeshed in court this morning.

70-year-old had all of her jewelry stolen earlier this year. >> yes, i'm dwrad. finally, i'm glad. yes. that's good news for holiday season. >> that is good news. it looks like a christmas present. >> yes, um-hmm. >> the district attorney's office says the gang members ranging in age from 19 to 25 would take the jewelry here and have the gold melted. they would hold onto cash and guns they stole. juveniles were recruited to break into the homes. >> residential burglary, if you committed as a an adult. so often times, they would use juveniles to complete the crimes so that the juveniles would face less consequences. >> 16 suspects appeared in court today. nine are being hemd in other counties. four still at large. all remain in jail with bail set for 1.5 million tlars for most of them. >> i'm very surprised.

because i know that, you know, with the downsize of the police department around the burglary noting with the primary thing that they should work on, it's good to know that they're actually thinking about it. >> in san jose, abc 7 news. >> we are running the identity of one of the victims of a dead ri shooting in west oakland. oakland police confirmed that one of the victims is 17-year-old torian hughes of oakland. the double shooting happened just before 9:00 last night on 32nd and west street. officers responded to a report of shots fired and found two victims who died at the scene. >> an attorney for a san jose man awarded more than $11 millon for a police shooting. the officer involved may never have been trained in crisis intervention. a knife was held to his throat and making suicidal comments. this was the scene. his attorney said the aufrgs on the scene didn't treat his client as someone with mental issues.

>> he was emotionally impaired. that should have triggered what they call a crisis intervention approach team. but it did not. the officer treated this as a public safety call and that she was using force to put down the force. >> he did not want to be shown on camera today. he is now paralyzed from the waste down. >> the sounds you do not want to hear this holiday season. snap, crackle pop. and we're not talking breakfast cereal. the best way to fireproof your home. >> plus, a freemont man accused of being a terrorist. >> wind so strong it's flipping over big rigs like this. >> putting smart watches to the test. 7 on your side on which one has no time-out. >> and forget a password. the newest way to log in with your phone.

who helped make slea difference last yearose for thousands of local foster kids. thank you for helping foster kids. thank you for the school supplies. thank you for the new shoes. thank you, secret santa. and thank you for donating money. announcer: your generosity proves that while not everyone can be a foster parent, anyone can help a foster child. thank you. thank you. gracias por su ayuda. [baby coos] thank you.

they say he is innocent. that all he wanted to do was to support the refugees in syria and not the terrorists that he should be given bail, but the judge didn't buy that. about 40-50 family friends and other supporters packed the courtroom when he appeared in court. the prosecutor argued that the 22-year-old should not be granted bail because he was committed to joining an al-qaida

affiliated group called the al nusra front. his attorney asked that his client be confined to his parents' home in freemont. dartell argued that religious rhetoric doesn't always translate into actual conduct. a federal grand jury indicted shoffee for atempting to join the terror group. in 2014, his own father notified the u.s. embassy in cairo when he digs appeared during a family vacation in egypt. the after daift says adam sent a text message to relative one that sid he had gone to protect muslims. he had gone to istanbul and then returned home to the bay area. last june, the fbi began listening to his phone confers with investigators saying he wanted to fight with extremists. in late june, he booked a one way ticket from sfo to istanbul.

the f.b.i. intervened at the airport and put him on b.a.r.t. back to free mont. late this afternoon, the judge denied bail. >> obviously, we're disapointed but we intend to take it to the district judge on appeal. >> japanese americans in the bay area are expressing support for muslims and arab americans. if day of remembrance held a news conference to respond to antimuslim sentiment. the granddaughter of the first japanese american to challenge the legality of internment in the united states during world war ii was one of the speakers. >> unfortunately, what i say now is my father's court case is more relevant than it was in 1944. which is a very sad thing to say for this country. >> today's news conference opened with a moment of silence in solidarity with the muslim community. >> a man died from what san jose

police described as a druk driving rampage by a 19-year-old. he's accused of running a red light and broadsiding the victim's car late laes night. you can take a look at the mangled volkswagen beetle. the trouble began when the suspect's suv sped away after hitting a car in a deny's parking lot just moments earlier. antioch police are looking for witnesses. it happened at the intersection of the lone tree way and davidson drive. the driver stayed at the scene to cooperate with the investigation. >> mountainview base google is trying to make it easier and faster to log in using your smart phone. simply using your e-mail to sign into your google account. a notifification will appear on your phone asking if you're trying to sign in from another device. tap yes and you're in. this could be use 68 when locking in from a new location or if you've forgotten your password.

meanwhile, ford is now teaming up with google to work on zefl driving cars. you know that google is already testing self driving cars using their own technology. the two companies will reveal something bigger and better at the consumer electronics show in january. >> many of us have smart phones. but what about those smart watches? >> michael finney is here with which device stands the test of time. >> if you're considering buying a smart watch, these are very important studies. consumer reports just finished looking into these latest watches. and here's what they found. >> commercials for smart watches are everywhere this holiday season. watches of all shapes, sizes and prices offered to count your steps, check your heart rate and display all of your notifications conveniently on your wrist. and, of course, they tell time, too. consumer reports has rated more than a dozen watches, putting them through a variety of tests.

the lab checks for durability of the cover glass by scratching it with increasing hardness. consumer report test art rate accuracy by skom pairing watches to its highest rated heart rate monitor. and testing water resis tent. the $175 sony smart watch three failed this test and land pd at the bottom of the consumer reports ratings. at the top? the apple watch which starts at a $50. $550. the face doesn't scratch very easily. >> that means plenty of options like fantastical, a calendar app and a personal organizers app. a good, less expensive choice is a $130 watch. unlike apple, you can use it with a phone that runs on ils or

android. another option, the $350 samsursa 3g 2. >> battery life is a big issue. it's good to know that all the smart watches consumer reports recommends lasts at least a day so you can leave in the morning and charge it when you get home. >> back to the weather for just a moment. wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, flipped over at least three big rigs and a delivery truck. this is near highway 258 and 14. these pictures were taken by the california city fire department. a wind advisory is in effect until tomorrow. >> what a series of storms we've been dealing with. so blustery and here today. >> what's coming next? >> alma and dan, how about another storm? this time and, not as mild as

this one. out here right now, the roads are slick along the embarkadero. let's check out live doppler 7 hd. this system is really winding down. it's leftover showers and as i take you in a little bit closer, you'll see where it is wet. street level radar we are seeing some light returns. also, between half-moon bay and the santa cruz mountains, seeing some slick roadways and up north, warren springs road, just east of santa rosa area still a little bit wet. in the sierra's, it's not as heavy as it has been. we are going to deal with winds with the next storm today. the storm did wring some strong winds. 47 miles an hour at sfo. look at big rock up in the north bay mountains. 75 mile an hour winds.

right now, at the lower elevations still a bit on the gusty side. sfo reporting a delay continuing the increase. you can see the rain drops there, an hour and 40 minutes. if you're expecting somebody, just be aware of the fact that they may be late. some of the resorts reporting as much as two to three feet of snow. beautiful view there. if you're heading um, we do have more snow coming. mid to upper 50s coming. lovely view from our emoryvi lurks le camera. cold storm coming in on thursday and they're just going to brielgtsen up on christmas day. that christmas eve storm is going to bring wet, windy conditions. it's a two on our storm impact scale. snow level between 2 to 3,000 feet. that means a light dusting of snow not out of the question. so let's look at the time line,

wednesday etching, really not much other than clouds. you could see a light shower, just ant anywhere at 9:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m. and then reports thursday morning, the showers begin to increase. 5:00 a.m. thursday, liekt to moderate rien. becomes heavier at 6:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m., you'll notice it's pretty widespread. look at what happens at 8:00 a.m. trying to see some show snouers. we are going to continue to see the showers as we head towards the thursday evening time period. i'm sorry to backtrack the time lapse there. so we won't see showers as we head towards your thursday afternoon and everiening. and then we'll see those showers winding down. we'll go late thursday night and just in time for santa. everything will be done. about a half an inch of rain, could see a little bit more than that.

it is going to be tough traveling out there. tomorrow morning, the colder start. you do get a break from the wet weather tomorrow afternoon. but, by nighttime, you are going to see the rain redeveloping. so watch out for that. accuweather 7 day forecast, storm impact scale is a 2, thursday wet and windy christmas day is light. it is going to be dry. frosty cold night is coming up. sunday morning is going to be cold. sunday's system is a weak one. right now, just a slight chance for the north bay. >> sandy, thanks very much. >> up next, the mysterious golden object that dumped the face solved by facebook. >> panic at the mall, shots fired inside. the stampede of holiday shoppers.

the deadly chain of events afterwards. and the great made in america christmas is back. did your idea make the list tonight? after abc 7 news. >> david, thank reallies a lot. new at 6:00, a bear cub on the run in cla krae. what happened and

city officials need nearly $11,000 to buy this bronsz statue. hercules began as a company town. a product was called hercules blasting powder. so far, the city has raised just over $00. from bronze to gold, experts couldn't figure out what this was. they put a query out on facebook and the annals came within hours. the object was thought to have been an old religious staff.

in fact, it's a german device that supposedly creates a protective field against radiation. . >> four bay area scientists are among the latest recipients of national medal of sients and technology and innovation. the doctor is recognized as a pioneer. from stanford, it's described as the world's greatest living psychologist. and dr. stanley falco is a major player in the study of infectious microbes. meanwhile, the president is playing golf on his holiday vacation. there it is. and then he makes sure -- did you get that? did you get it? >> yes, we did. >> all right. don't forget, reindeer. santa needs just a couple of

goats to make christmas really briegts.

you are invited to ring in 2016 with dick clark's rocken eve begins thursday at 8:00 p.m. >> then, a break for abc 7 news for a look at how the bay area is celebrating. and the countdown continues at 11:30 with more new year's rocken eve. >> findings from a new chp inspection of the tour bus company responsible for that huge union square crash. do some of its other busses have problems, too? >> what's happening in the fire burn area after two days of significant rain. >>en and a second birthday lead to an expensive problem. why a toddler almost didn't get

to fly home with her parents. >> that's all coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. >> but before you want to share some holiday safety tips to keep something like this from happening to you. >> san francisco firefighters ignited this tree to show owl quickly a tree can burn. a few other comments. >> it's very important to keep your live tree watered. they can dry out quickly. so we recommend checking the water level every two days. so every other day. don't place the tree near a heater, fireplace or any other heat source. and you want to make sure you don't have any frayed wires, as well. >> the fire department has partnered with city grazing to provide a greenway to discard trees. we have manufacture details on our web site. >> thank you for joining us. "world news" is coming up next. >> for all of us here, we appreciate your time. >> leaving you with a live look outside, but we will see you again at 6:00.

tonight, the fallout. what donald trump said about hillary clinton. some arguing, trump went too far with the words he used in his attack. >> she got [ bleep ]. >> tonight, the clinton team now responding, and what this little girl asked the candidate. late today, the panic at the mall. shots fired inside. the stampede of holiday shoppers trying to escape. the deadly driving. the chain reaction accidents, just as millions hit the road for the holidays. 40 million americans facing severe storms through christmas eve. accused army deserter bowe bergdahl in court. tonight, in his own words, describing what the taliban did to him. and the great made in america christmas is back. so many of you sending in your ideas. tonight, the famous "i love lucy" moment. and something in that scene made in america.