>> over 5,000 pg&e customers in the bay area are without power. abc 7 news found this crew working in the oakland hills. they told us they had been on the clock chasing outages since 7:00 a.m. yesterday. >> take a look at this scene from sky 7 near pinole. flood waters washed away the pavement leaving a gap almost as long as two big rigs. can you believe that? good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. let's show you exactly where this is happening at alhambra valley road. >> laura anthony is there live for us with the story and the amazing pictures. >> reporter: dan, we have seen a lot of storm damage these past couple of days but nothing tops this. check this out. this is alhambra valley road near castro ranch. the swollen pinole creek, which is what we're showing you, washed away this roadway in the middle of the night. fortunately, nobody was driving on this road when it gave way.

it happened in the middle of the night as a raging pinole creek washed away a huge chunk of alhambra valley road at castro ranch near pinole. >> i think there's a hole. >> big hole. >> a big hole, yeah. a little excitement in pinole. >> it's pretty crazy. i mean knowing that i drove this last night and now seeing that there's nothing there, i take this road all the time. my friends and come and hang out here. it's just kind of shocking. >> reporter: in martinez, a deli owner spent his morning cleaning up after overflowing alhambra creek pushed a sea of water and mud into downtown. >> all my patio, all sticks, chairs started moving. it's crazy. >> reporter: ben owns the martinez athletic club on crass electrostreet. >> we had to stop class and some people were like we're stopping class for what, it's just raining. we open the door and they saw

that the rain was like past the curb and was on the curb. it was almost to the front door. >> reporter: in benicia, it was heavy rain, high tides and overflowing lake herman that caused several rolledwaadways t flood. >> it was the second storm of the week so it was just saturated soil and all the runoff just was really filled up the reservoir and the creeks. >> reporter: we're back live here. you're looking at pinole creek. obviously down quite a bit from where it was obviously last night where it washed this roadway completely away. by our estimate, probably about 70 feet between where i'm standing and the other side of the roadway. we've heard from a lot of people out here that they use this road regularly. thank goodness there was no one driving on this section when it gave way. at this point contra costa public works cannot tell us when they might have this road repairs and back open.

as you can see, it's a huge undertaking. live near pinole, laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> thank goodness indeed. laura, thank you. well, to the south now, where first responders surveyed the damage today. floodwaters swallowed up homes and forced evacuations. >> this area is in hollister, about an hour south of san jose. population about 37,000. >> abc 7 news reporter david louie is there live with what's happening there. >> reporter: you can see that the floodwaters are still very much evident here on lovers lane in hollister. the 50 homes here on the street are so glad that the rain has abated for th time being, but you know they have got a big cleanup job ahead and many of them are saying that they're very concerned that this is all going to happen again. never did so much water rise so fast and flood 50 homes. sky 7 was overhead as the advancing water took overpass tours, vineyards and a ranch style house. between 2 and 3 feet of water

soaked his carpeting and left a water mark in the bathroom there will be plenty of work to dry out and repair the damage. >> i'll be removing some drywall and some insulation and definitely carpet. you know, getting the dehumidifiers out and drying everything out. so the sooner you can get a jump on it, the better off you are. >> reporter: he is a contractor so he'll bow able to do much of the repair work by himself. still, he estimates damage between $10:,000 and $12,000. this is a designated flood zone, but the overnight evacuations forced some residents to escape on the backs of others or by boat or high clearance trucks. this is also an area where people keep livestock. >> my neighbors on one side evacuated horses to their friend's higher ground. my neighbors on the other side, they have about three or four dozens of cows so it's kind of hard to evacuate, you know, that

many cows. >> reporter: an animal control officer told us no stray animals were found. with the certainty of more rain to come, residents are concerned more flooding will follow. in the meantime building inspectors will be busy. >> just figuring out what the damage is, what the cost is to people. are homes inhabitable or not. >> reporter: flood insurance is required for most of the residents here on lovers lane because they're inside a designated flood zone. but for those outside the boundary who do not have insurance, those repairs are going to be very costly. live in hollister, david louie, abc 7 news. in sonoma county the russian river is expected to stay at flood stage until tomorrow. >> but school districts have just announced guerneville schools will be closed again tomorrow. >> abc 7 news was in guerneville where one man volunteered to take people in flooded streets in his boat. the water goes as high as the bottom of street signs in some spots.

>> just amazing. looks bad, but people who live here are staying positive telling us, hey, it could always be worse. tonight the california highway patrol is waiting for flood water on highway 37 to recede before reopening the road. more than three feet of water has flooded parts of the roadway. drivers had to abandon their cars. the california highway patrol posted this picture to facebook late this afternoon. officials say the water was -- has actually risen at this location today. it's not clear when the road will reopen, however. in orinda, the wet weather opened a sinkhole blocking a busy residential road. it's also dumped sewage into a nearby creek. >> that's right. that's not the only place in the east bay dealing with a weather-related sewage spill. >> eric thomas is live in orinda tonight. eric? >> reporter: that's the sinkhole back then. they have recovered it with road debris while pg&e cruise work on isolating and protecting a nearby gas line. they're worried about the

potential leaks over there. there's already been a sewage leak over here at the sinkhole site and minor road is still shut down. the only way to find out just how deep the sinkhole really is, is to tear away the street covering it. >> when i showed up here, there was a small hole from the top that looked like a few feet across. as they're exposing more and more, it's just a huge sinkhole. >> reporter: the sanitary district said the problem was a leaking sewer line underneath miner road. >> some sewage did get into the creek. so we've done water quality tests and done mandatory reporting. >> reporter: they don't know how extensive the leak was but neither they or east bay water think the drinking water was affected. the sink home is right next to this neighbor's house. she says a fire truck discovered it this morning. >> they were about to drive over the bridge and saw the sinkhole. and then luckily stopped because their fire truck probably would have ended up somewhere down in

the creek. >> i'm just glad they caught it before something major happened. >> reporter: and fixing it may take a while. >> our very preliminary estimate is probably a couple of weeks. >> reporter: orinda is not the only place suffering sewage leaks. east bay mud said a power outage at its main sewage treatment plant in oakland triggered an overflow. >> we had a deluge of storm water and the storm water mix wed wastewater overflowed at three sites. >> reporter: those are alice street, barnhill marina and temescal creek in emeryville. signs are posted at each site warning people not to come in contact with the water. eric thomas, abc 7 news. well, a slick road may have caused a driver to lose control of his vehicle and go off a cliff. >> abc 7 news was on manor drive in pacifica as crews pulled the suv out. the vehicle went down the embankment about 10:00 this morning. rescue crews had to rappel 300 feet down the cliff to reach the driver.

the man was airlifted out with serious injuries, as you can imagine. crews used a long cable, which is what you're watching, to slowly drag that suv out. we also want to show you a tree that toppled over in san carlos. it's a big tree on san carlos avenue just north of alameda. we just caught word from san carlos officials that the removal will take three to five more hours there. in the meantime, both lanes or both directions are closed. >> you can see why, it's such a huge mess there. well, we are not out of the woods yet, more rain is coming. >> let's check in with sandhya patel with the latest. >> yeah, and that rain on top of saturated grounds could mean some more potential flooding problems. live doppler 7 right now showing you some spotty light showers. really they're not widespread. we got a break, we saw some sun today. we take you down to street level and it is wet. slick around american canyon, also around the benicia area, american canyon road across 29. now, when you take a look at the

wider picture, we are tracking another system. this system, though, has cold air associated about it, so when it comes in, you're going to feel the change. on our storm impact scale this is a 1 late tonight through tomorrow. a light system will bring pockets of moderate rain and there's potential for flooding. here's the biggest thing, we're looking at snow over our local peaks. the river is still a concern, russian river at guerneville cresting around 6:00 so just under an hour. at almost 38 feet. it is expected to see significant flooding but below flood stage by 2:00 p.m. thursday. the flood warning up for the russian river until 1:30 friday. flood warning for solano county until tomorrow afternoon and parts of the south bay until tomorrow morning. we'll have low-lying flooding as we head into tomorrow so a coastal flood advisory until noon. i'll be back with an hour-by-hour look on when to expect the rain, when you'll see pockets of heavy rain coming right up an how your weekend is

looking. well, business owners in downtown san anselmo went to work today with their fingers crossed after they had to clear out last night because of possible flooding. >> abc 7 news was on san anselmo avenue as shop owners returned. they removed storm barriers and checked for water damage. thankfully there was none. fortunately san anselmo creek receded before reaching flood level. >> something has to be done about the creek. every time there's a storm, you know, we're always at maximum level. we have to shut down the store. people don't come downtown. >> it did increase up to the bottom of that building. that's about 13 feet. flooding, i think is 13.5. >> donna seymour's restaurant sits right on top of the creek. her businesses flooded several years ago. this toime she lifted all the merchandise off the floor in order to protec it. this storm has taken a huge chunk of a freeway. take a look at one exit off interstate 80. what's left of the road is suspended midair. up next, you'll see the moment this freeway collapsed.

meanwhile, there is some good news for a road closure in contra costa county. we'll explain. plus -- >> no, not you. not you. >> president-elect trump refuses to let a reporter ask a question, so we asked some experts what this means for everyone else. of reach for far too long:s have health insurance.that's been out how? they enrolled through covered california. it's the health insurance marketplace where you'll find a range of plans from leading health insurance companies that offer you the best combination of quality, rates, and benefits. and, through covered california, you may get financial help to pay for coverage. to get covered, you've got to get going. open enrollment ends january 31st. visit covereca.com today.

president-elect donald trump has had a contentious relationship to say the least with the media. today during his first news conference since july, things didn't necessarily go any better. he even called one news organization, quote, a pile of garbage. so is this a sign of the times? abc 7 news reporter lyanne melendez is in the newsroom with some insight tonight. >> well, dan, it seems like it may be. now, a cnn reporter was warned today by the incoming press secretary that he could be thrown out if he challenged mr.

trump again. the president-elect on the other hand said all i can ask for is honest reporting. it was president-elect donald trump's first press conference since winning the election. it started out amicably. >> i have great respect for the news. bbc news, that's another beauty. >> but when asked about unconfirmed claims that russia has compromising personal and financial information about him, mr. trump lashed out at those organizations which reported it. >> buzzfeed, which is a failing pile of garbage. >> since you're attacking us, can you give us a question. since you are attacking our news organization -- you are attacking our news organization. can you give us a chance to ask a question, sir. >> quiet, quiet. >> can you state categorically -- >> she's asking a question. don't be rude. don't be rude. >> can you give us a question. >> i'm not going to give you a question. >> can you state categorically -- >> you are fake news. >> the dean of the graduate

school of journalism at uc berkeley says mr. trump's behavior undermines the press in the eyes of the public. >> i think what it does, it invites them to disregard what the press is reporting and that's what he's hoping for. >> that unconfirmed information has been deemed credible by u.s. intelligence officials. howard epstein is the vice chairman of the san francisco republican party. >> if they can't confirm it, they should -- it shouldn't be reported, assuming he's telling the truth, which i do, it is fake news and it shouldn't be out there. >> wasserman disagrees. >> the top line conclusions that the intelligence chiefs had reached that russia was all over trump, was trying to pressure him to do certain things, i don't see how you can keep -- that is news. >> now, this is something that the public doesn't always see. during that press conference you had trump staffers in the back of the room hooting and cheering. this is unfamiliar territory for those in the white house. the white house press corps.

in the newsroom, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. in san francisco, breaking news in san francisco. muni has stopped all inbound service to the church streetlight rail station because there is a body on the tracks. investigators are looking into how that person got onto the tracks, whether it was intentional or accidental. outbound trains are moving slowly through the church street light rail station, but again no inbound service. we'll have updates on the abc 7 news app. toy makers are worried about a tax overhaul they say could drastically increase the prices that you pay for your kids' toys. >> michael finney is here to tell us more about that. >> it's a whole new world out there. the proposed overhaul would reduce corporate taxes from 35% all the way down to 20%. however, it also would increase the cost of manufacturing overseas. the toy industry association warned that will make toys far more expensive. that's because many companies,

most companies manufacture their toys overseas. under the tax plan, they can no longer deduct the cost of the imported toys. the higher cost will be passed on to consumers. the president of the toy idustry association went so far as to state or overstate it would, quote, take away happy birthdays and steal christmas. congress is just beginning to consider the proposal. could it be that airlines will be adding new perks and fewer fees? jetblue is giving some hope. the airline is offering free internet access aboard all domestic flights. the wi-fi system is capable of serving scores of devices on the same plane at the same time. industry analysts say airlines are starting to sweeten their deals. delta and american airlines now provide their in-flight entertainment for free. delta is considering free meals on some flights. however,y baggage fees, no way. they're so profitable, they're

here to stay. if you're anxious to get your tax refund, the irs has sobering news. refunds will be late this year. you can expect the very first returns to come out in late february. however, the delay is for good reason. the irs is carefully examining all refunds to make sure they're legit. the agency is trying to prevent identical thieves from stealing tax refunds, your refunds. the irs gave out an estimated $3.1 billion in fraudulent refunds in 2014. now, the deadline to enroll in covered california, that's obamacare here, for 2017 is the end of this month. so, agents will be here at abc 7 to answer your covered california questions on friday and to get you started on enrollment. our phone lines will be open from 4:00 to 8:p.m. you'll also be able to get your questions answered on facebook and twitter, using #askfinney.

we've done this before and it has been a huge success. remember, obamacare is still out there, it's still going. if you need to get in on it, now's the time. >> thanks, michael, very much. highway 84, also known as niles canyon road in alameda county reopened a half hour ago. >> crews had a big job there too, cleaning up several slides. authorities estimate the mud was four feet deep in some places. >> this afternoon sky 7 spotted this excavator removing mud from the train tracks that run alongside the busy road. and fremont police posted this picture on facebook, a car that was abandoned during the flooding and now needs a good wash. >> you can see it's totally covered in mud and debris after the flooding was cleared. >> talk about a road to nowhere, the chp tweeted this photo of a washed-out section of morton road in the sierra hills foothills community of colfax. here's how it looked.

the video isn't great, but you can see the roadway just give way. it is located near the alta exit of interstate 80. good evening, everyone. hopefully you're getting a chance to dry out a little bit. live doppler 7 not as active as last night. right now you'll notice we do have some light rain following right around point reyes. as we take you to street level, it is a little wet, light showers also right around novato, ignacio boulevard, lucas valley road. so since sunday these series of storms have added up and in terms of rainfall we have gotten almost a foot of rain the amount st. helena. look at this, san francisco, oakland, well over 3 inches. over 7 inches santa rosa, san jose you've had your share. 2 inches. out towards the livermore area, about 3 inches of rain. so we have made some progress. in terms of our drought, many of you have been asking on social

media, where do we stand, has it made a difference? absolutely. these areas here that ae not shaded are out of the drought. the only areas that we're dealing with the drought starting here in the yellows, it's abnormally dry all the way to severe drought continuing as it is going to take a lot more than several storms to get rid of the drought completely. up in northern california we have made some progress as well. they have gotten some drought relief there. in the sierra nevada, chain controls on all roads leading to tahoe. it's snow showers and we do have a winter storm warning going until tomorrow afternoon. 12 to 18 inches of additional snow is expected. statewide snowpack is now at 158% of normal. now, if you're traveling up there, snow level will be lowering to 3,000 feet. may see road closures again. so i would just advise to hold off until after the storm passes after 4:00 p.m. tomorrow. it's a dreary sky from our sutro tower camera. here's another live picture from our emeryville camera. seeing a few peeks of clearing but not much.

upper 40s to the low 50s. one other live picture from mt. tam cam, raindrops diminishing a bit but they're coming back. a cold storm moves in overnight, a dry friday through the holiday weekend. a rainy pattern is setting up the middle of next week once again. on our storm impact scale tonight through tomorrow we have a 1. there will be pockets of moderate rain and that could add to the existing problem since the ground is saturated, so more flooding possible. snow is possible over our highest peaks. tonight the rain is still well off the coast but showers will be going. 3:00 a.m. the rain begins to move in widespread. 4:00 a.m. pockets of moderate to heavy rain. even tracking mixed precipitation at 5:00 a.m. over mt. hamillton there in the pink. don't be surprised if you see a little snow over our highest peaks. your morning commute looks challenging. and then scattered showers will continue into the afternoon and evening, but they diminish pretty rapidly. you can always download the abc 7 news app to help you track this system. rainfall totals will be highest

in the south bay. about half an inch. isolated areas could pick up an inch. temperatures mid-30s to mid-40s. tomorrow morning is chillier, tomorrow afternoon is cooler. in the 50s. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. cold showers, snowflakes on our hills. 1 on our storm impact scale tomorrow. drying begins friday, continues through the martin luther king jr. day on monday and it's really going to be another system coming in late tuesday into wednesday. also a 1 on our storm impact scale right now. >> the next few days to dry out. >> we need it. >> with all this rain, has the time come for flying water taxis? >>

rex tillerson put exxon's interests before america's.. i'm not here to represent the us government's interest.

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slang insult meaning worthless or lazy that may have originated from the nickname of 19th century chow wagons in a wagon train. a french startup says it is planning to build a flying river taxi from the sennes to san francisco. they are about to close a third round of funding for its battery powered bubble shaped ships. they would hover above the water and transport as many as six people. the company is focusing on san francisco because they say it is already open to autonomous driving. >> we have the bay so it might be an easy way to cross the bay. when the people are gone, the animals will play. >> coming up, a snow day at the zoo that some loved. others took a little convincing. >> we want to thank abc 7 news viewer john for this picture of king tides in san francisco. dramatic. >> share your pictures with us on social

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coming up at 6:00, neighbors helping neighbors.

>> i took this woman over to her cat right over there. >> tonight the good samaritan stepping in and why some insist they're flooded in, not flooded out. also we'll explain why water is being let out of the the largest reservoir even though it's only halfful. online panic. how a woman got stuck with extra seats costing her hundreds of dollars she didn't have to spend. all coming up in half an hour. finally, the animals at the oregon zoo got a rare break from visitors today. >> snow in portland shut down the zoo. you can see the animals played. >> the zoo tweeted this video showing the polar bears rolling around in the snow. the river otters also got in on all the fun. >> along with some sea lions right there. more like snow lions today. but perhaps the most surprising was the elephant. at first a little sheepish about the cold weather. >> after a few minutes, you could tell this will be unforgettable for an animal that

never forgets. look, frolicking in the snow. >> world news tonight is next. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm dan tonight, fireworks at trump tower. the president-elect donald trump, his first news conference since july. blasting unconfirmed reports being investigated by u.s. intelligence about russia and whether vladimir putin has material on the new president to blackmail him. and what we now know about that report. brian ross standing by. and that very tense moment today with a reporter. >> you are attacking our news organization. can you give us a chance? also breaking tonight, the family business. since election day, the president-elect promising to offer a plan to avoid conflicts of interest. tonight, his big reveal, and the office of government ethics calling it,