i woke up at 3:00 this morning thinking it was raining or hailing outside. things were hitting my window. i opened the blinds and there was a fire. >> a frightening inferno this morning. a six alarm fire tears through an apartment complex under construction and spreads to town homes next door. >> it gives you an idea how big the site is and it is still smoldering and they put water on this so many hours later. nearby streets still remain closed. thanks for joining us today.

>> this fire broke out before 3:00 a.m. just across the street from home depot and right off interstate 580, which was affected by the blaze. >> we have live team coverage for you. we have a closer look at the people who had to leave their town homes when the fire jumped. >> reporter: it took them more than five hours until they called this under control. they are still putting water on it just in case. obviously, this construction site is ruined. the impact is much -- far reaching more than that. look at the cars that were burned on the street. there's debris all over the place from broken glass and ashes and embers that flew around. cars and a business destroyed. people still feeling grateful that this fire this big didn't kill or hurt anyone. imagine looking out your window and seeing this. a raging fire right across the

street full of energy. melvin burns took this video until he realized he needed to get out of there. >> it got so hot that i had to evacuate because the windows started to crack and break. it got close. >> reporter: this is what people saw when they got outside, fire at a firve-story apartment building under construction. people a few blocks away were scared. >> i moved m ed my car because wind is blowing. i feel like the fire is coming right here. it's burning my face. >> reporter: a security guard woke up and evacuated residents in the apartment building across from the fire. >> we had to bring everyone on the top floors, babies, animals, we had to rescue people. i had a cat. he scratched me. >> reporter: firefighters found

themselves dodging part of the construction site, a crane swinging wildly from the heat. >> they were worried about it falling. their operations, they had to position in different locations to avoid that. >> reporter: the fire spread to the town homes next door, four of them destroyed from fire, water and smoke. firefighters had evacuated the block. the residents were safe. at auto repair store next door was destroyed along with a dozen cars in the lot. >> that's a big surprise. a total loss. >> reporter: officials tell us they don't know the cause of the fire. the firefighters here have called in federal investigates from the atf to help them figure out what happened. they say the teams will be out here looking for clues all day. >> we are thankful no one was seriously hurt. dozens of people had to jump out of bed and get to safety very quickly this morning. some of them watching as the fire then spread to their row of

town homes. you see them there. matt, how are the residents of the neighborhood coping right now? >> reporter: it has been a tough and emotional morning out here. a lot of people lost their hopes. others are still waiting to find out when they can return to their homes. before the sun came up, something was obviously wrong. >> i woke up. i saw through the shade an orange light. that's kind of funny, the sun doesn't come up in that direction. >> reporter: this man and dozens of other residents grabbed what they could and got out of their nearby homes as a huge construction project burned brightly in the early morning hours. later that morning, the normally busy stretch looked like a ghost town. one family walking while being kept warm by red cross blankets. >> it's actually pretty loud and frightening. we were in it at the moment. you want to make sure you are safe and far away.

>> reporter: this family escaped the flames. they will be able to go home hopefully sometime today. that won't be the case for those who lived in four town homes destroyed by the flames. the red cross told me they are working with 20 people displayed. they are being offered food and drinks as they work on setting up a more permanent place for them to go. that permanent place is at the senior center. they will decide if they will get people to sleep there or give them money for a hotel. >> thank you. social media played a big part in keeping people updated on the fire. firefighters tweeted out a video of the fire at its peak. look right here. yes, s jessica castro takes us through the morning. >> reporter: we had a chance to follow along online. firefighters sent out updates as they added resources throughout the morning.

the fire department took to twitter every step of the fire fight. video from early this morning shows what was a fire alarm fire around 4:00 a.m. and the next tweet then showed how dangerous things were getting. the fire upgraded to a six alarm at the apartment building under construction. social media gave us a play by play as crewed increased water pressure and later the morning got even busier. a smaller fire in union city would tie up resources. probably the most in-depth behind the scenes look came from the drone they launched. this tweet shows the hot spots the unmanned aircraft can detect. and take a look, sky 7 captured the drone in action. notice how it can get into the tight spaces, helping to keep firefighters safe, especially when crews are on the roof of a burning building. the drone went up just as the fire spread to nearby town hopes. finally, nearly four hours later, just before 8:00 a.m.,

the fire dealt takes to twitter once again saying the town home fire is finally contained. several agencies helped out. they also used social media for updates. the drone belongs to the sher f sheriff's office. jessica castro, abc 7 news. >> a lot of you posted to social. firefighters using ladder trucks to spray water on the flames. this video was put up. you can see fire and smoke. if you look closely, the scaffolding still standing even though the building is pretty much gone. an up close look at the complex under construction fully engulfed. >> any time news breaks where you live, we want to see your pictures and videos. post them on social media. we can find them and share them on air and online as abc7news.com. >> that fire had some of us wondering if there would be an impact on the food distribution

that happens. sky 7 over that building a block away from the fire scene. we made calls. we are happy to report the assistance facility not damaged. it's business as usual today. those in need can stop by after 1:00 p.m. for their food. if this morning's fire seems familiar, it could be because san francisco had a similar one two years ago. this sky 7 video is from march 2014. a massive apartment fire in the mission bay. the 172-unit complex was 80% complete before the fire. it took on about $40 million in damage and delayed completion of the complex. it opened last november and a representative tells abc 7 it's now 97% at capacity. >> our coverage of the fire continues online. download our app to get instant alerts on your phone and follow

us on twitter. in other news, drivers in san jose are afraid they could be next target of a gunman shooting at cars. police say four drivers have been hit by gunfire since may on blossom hill road. two drivers have been hurt. one grazed by a bullet, the other hit by shrapnel or glass. extra police are now patrolling the area. another twist this morning in the sex crimes investigation involving police and an under age girl. the public defender is looking into cases handled by five richmond police officers and a former sheriff's deputy. they are accused of having sex with the woman you see on your screen. she told them that she had sex with more than 30 officers in the bay area. some of the richmond officers under investigation made prostitution arrests. the public defender wants to know if their alleged involvement with her influenced their actions at work. in a statement, richmond's

police chief says, i'm sorry this matter brings embarrassment to the professional men and women of the richmond police department and to our community. a growing controversy over a caught on camera killing at the hands of police. we will show you the video out of louisiana that has people around the country fired up. the president's plan for the military. what his announcement means for the future of our men and women in afghanistan. a look at our golden gate bridge camera. marine layer with us this morning. our meteorologis

we are tracking developing news out of louisiana where officials have just released the names of the two police officers involved in the shooting death of a black man. we have the video that so many have watched and so many are upset about, including as you will see, the victim's family. >> reporter: the two officers responded to a call about a man with a gun. they approached 37-year-old alton sterling who was reportedly selling cds outside a convenience store. what happens next is hard to watch. >> get on the ground. get on the ground. >> reporter: the amateur video shows the officers struggling with sterling. one officer yelling gun. >> gun.

>> reporter: then several shots are fired. >> oh, my god. >> they shot him? >> yes. >> reporter: reacting to the video, louisiana's governor. >> the video is disturbing to say the least. >> reporter: authorities say sterling died at the scene from multiple gun shot rounds to his chest and back. >> when officers arrived, sterling was armed and the altercation ensued that resulted in the loss of his life. >> reporter: the shop owner had apparent lly given him permissi to sell in front of his store. protesters rallying in support of sterling's family today. >> as a mother, i have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father. >> reporter: their son standing beside her overcome by emotion. >> he has to watch this and this was all over the outlets.

>> reporter: the louisiana governor announced the justice department will be the lead agency investigating sterling's death. new this morning, a judge in south africa sentenced double amputee oscar pistorius to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend. he was originally convicted in 2014 of manslaughter. an appeals court overturned that ruling. the sprinter faces 15 years in prison for shooting the 29-year-old model through a bathroom door in 2013. president obama today announced he will slow the drawdown of u.s. troops in app afghanistan. this is a compromise. 8,400 troops will remain into next year. the president had planned to drop that number to 5,500. republican leaders in congress welcome the figure. they say they hoped to keep a larger number of forces in the country. another feather in the cap for the redwood trees. the reason we should be thankful

to live amongst the giants. temperatures are below average. up to eight degrees cooler than average. this can't keep going. can it? we're supposed to be in the middle of summer. i have a warming trend coming. we will tell you about a major hover board recall. if you have one of these or know someone who does, you will want to hear about it

happening now, the removal of another truss of the old bay bridge easter spn span.

it's the fourth of five. it is being lowered and will be taken to the port of hollande to be disasemibled. they are working with the contractor to keep birds from nesting on the truss. california's redwood forests are more than the oldest on the planet. they are strong weapons against global warming. the trees remove and store more carbon from the atmosphere than any other forests on earth. redwood trees can live more than 1,000 years. they grow to enormous heights capturing huge amounts of carbon dioxid dioxide. >> makes me want to go on a hike. today it's cool for the hike. >> no ac needed. >> california has been at the forefront of combating global warming for 1,000 years, before we even started ourselves. good morning. that's a phenomenal statistic considering the amazon forest is

so big. i wanted to show you a cotton candy from morning. we turn from almost blue to a little bit of pink, a gorgeous morning. see just the swirling winds there. it dropped a little drizzle. wasn't as moist this morning as it was yesterday's morning. here is one area that saw the sunshine. 280 and 17 at san jose. clouds and drizzle, heaviest friday and saturday morning. a modest warming will follow late next week. as soon as our winds, most of us in double digits except san jose at three miles an hour. winds will get slower start today, as least in the same areas we had the small craft advisory yesterday, which is east of the golden gate, north of the bay bridge, 2:00 until 11:00 into the evening hours. southwest wind about 20 to 30 miles per hour. a look at the satellite. you can see the clouds running from the san mateo bridge to the richmond bridge. it will pull back to across the

golden gate bridge as we head into the afternoon. our temperatures right now usa he as you move up, 50s and 60s. mid to upper 70s for the south bay. mid 60s to 70s on the peninsula. the clouds and breeze will keep the coast in the upper 50s with low to mid 60s downtown in south san francisco. ten to 15 degrees warmer in the north bay, one of the few areas warmer today, significantly than it was yesterday. mid 60s to mid 70s along the east bay shore. as you head to east bay inland, we needed a break from the electric bill. we're getting one after a hot june. upper 70s to low 80s. here is a look from south beach, looking at a breezy at&t park where we have an evening game on a wednesday. we round up the three-game series with the rockies at 7:15.

dropping down to 56. look at the clouds. eventually, they will come back by 7:00 and start filling our neighborhoods. 50s and 60s by 9:00. grab that jacket. here is my seven-day forecast. afternoon temperatures continue slow cooling through saturday. a little drier but breezy sunday. we will get back to average monday and tuesday. we can't get rid of summer yet. we're just getting into july. a major recall involving more than half a million hover boards. >> safety officials are warning the lithium ion battery pacts can overheat or explode. mo the company has not issued a comment. the head of the consumer product safety commission spoke with abc 7 news. >> a huge recall. it's the rule we have been waiting for to address this product that as soon as it came on the market presented a pretty significant fire hazard and

continues to present a fall hazard. >> officials say the fall hazard could lead to a bigger recall. you will find information on the products affected on our website abc7news.com. if i had to be a zoo animal it would be this giraffe. she's living the life. >> i thought it was because you are tall as well. zoo

put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria.

for a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture every day. coming up at 4:00, from napa to nasa, the bay area woman heading on her first mission to the international space station. the disappearing messages go missing. how snapchat suddenly looks a lot like facebook. a giraffe has a special shoe to help with her arthritis. >> it's quite the fashion statement. she's sporting her new blue boot. the 16-year-old giraffe was having trouble standing. zookeepers say it offers extra support. >> she's more social, able to spend more time hanging out with her sister. here is the best part. she gets acupuncture and laser therapy. >> wow. the treatments are paid for mostly by community donations. it's all about the shoes. makes you happy.

>> if i were to get a hot stone massage, it might be worth wearing that. for all of us here at abc 7 news, thanks for joining us. >> a live look outside where it's a cloudy day. >> make it a good one.

♪ light piano today i saw a giant. it had no arms, but it welcomed me. (hawk call) it had no heart, but it was alive. (train wheels on tracks) it had no mouth, but it spoke to me. it said, "rocky mountaineer: all aboard amazing".

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