an update, fire crews are making progress and we're beginning to contain this fire. >> and that is the glimmer of hope coming out of napa county this morning. firefighters are making progress against the fires raging there. it comes as somber news emerges from sonoma county, the death toll climbing again and first responders changing the tone of their mission. thanks for joining us. kristen will be with you later today. so let's update you on where all the fires are burning right now. a man updated just moments ago with new acreage totals. the atlas fire almost 44,000 acres. and the partrick fire almost 11,000 acres. we are live team coverage.

amy holly fe llyfield is in sonb we'll start with jessica castro about the death toll going up again. >> reporter: yes, the numbers just continue to grow. the number of fatalities now at 14 in sonoma county. making it the county with the most deaths associated from these wildfires. we have also learned that there are still 463 people missing. unfortunately, we heard from the sonoma county sheriff that they have moved into a recovery effort. and if they are unable to find them missing by tracking down relatives or friends, they are now doing targeted searches. >> we're using search and rescue team members, not law enforcement. they are law enforcement associated, but not people that can do evacs, so we are spreading our resources very wisely. and we have cadaver dogs that can scent bodies and help us

find people. so that is the the identity indicatification i be hard. we have found bodies that are almost completely intact and we have found bodies that were nothing more than ash and bones. >> reporter: so this midday, it is certainly a grim reality. some other important notes, the sheriff said natural gas was restored to the jail where there are more than 1,000 inmates. there is still no time table on when people will be let into their neighborhoods. and just one more thing, the "san francisco chronicle" reporting that county officials decided against sending out a mass cellphone alert when those fires first broke out, they said it would cause unnecessary panic and delay first responders. i asked the sheriff about that, but he was unable to comment on whether that was a deliberate decision. reporting live from santa rosa, jessica castro, abc 7 news. >> and new information out of

napa county where officials say crews are starting to contain the fires. thanks to the weather and additional resources coming in for support. that squincludes atlas, tubbs, growi growing, but not as fast. they say it is safe enough to begin doing escorts, that means allowing people with critical needs to get back to their homes. >> we're seeing people that want to go in and check on people that have stayed, loved ones, that sort of thing. also to retrieve medication. and to check on animals. those are the most frequent requests. also people have business needs. there are several wineries located in the areas of evacuation and they need to get generators and equipment and things like that in. i also want to be specific, this includes our areas here in our evacuations here. this does not include the city of calistoga. >> and let's talk about calistoga. a mandatory evacuation order for

the entire city, along highway 128 and northeast of the russian river as well as the northeast corner of the city of sonoma. >> our presence in calistoga is not welcome if you are not a first responder. your choice to stay and there have been very few of them is a distraction to our first responders. you will not be given life-safety support at this point. >> the city known for being hospital pitable, but right now is not the time to advice. and we're always hearing from gavin new >> how do we address it, how do we use technology in a more

thoughtful way that we can bring real time information. >> on the issue of emergency response, the lieutenant governor says the fire should serve as an opportunity to collaborate with other states, talk about new technology and fire suppression strategies. earlier this morning, a sonoma county fire crews got their assignments and abc 7 was there to get a rare glimpse at operations. >> we need to hit it hard, time to get this thing done. so let's make our best effort. i know you will. but we need to make our best effort, knock this thing out as quick as we can. >> new this morning, firefighters from all over the state including some firefighters that were battling a huge fwlaz southeblaze in sou california made the drif ve to pitch in. the toughest fire, the partrick fire, there are roughly 1,000 firefighters and other first spoernds stayi responders staying the night at

the fairgrounds so they can be ready at day break every morning. evacuations are under way in sonoma as the tubbs fire continues to grow. it has thousand bunow burned mo 34,000 acres. people raced to get out just in the nick of time. a amy hollyfield is there. >> reporter: some cal firefighters here on the scene tell me that some homes did burn down last night here in this valley. they are keeping a close eye on this area. and look behind me, here is why. it is smoky here. 1 firefighters are keeping a close eye on this area. they still have an evacuation order in place, but some are ignoring it. a drive through shows you what the fire did last night and spots where it is still burning. firefighters are staged nearby and are watching it carefully today. it is also being watched from

above. this is a rural area where the homes are spread out, but drive the other direction and you will find a neighborhood on flat streets. the fire hasn't reached this area, but it is close. >> i'll stay until the planes are reaching on the doorstep. >> reporter: that didn't mean that he isn't nervous. >> when they told us to evacuate, there were flames up in there. and the flames were cresting the top of that hill. and over here. and i was pretty scared. >> reporter: we went into town to talk to people who have evacuated. they are at least enjoying some creature comforts like an open starbucks, a rare find in the wine country this week. >> everybody has been super generous and helpful with each other. but it feels kind of like ghost town and just hanging out. a lot of people have left. but some of us don't want to leave. >> reporter: but jeff can't get fresh cough he fee affee and a .

police say they can't force you to leave, but if you do leave, you won't be allowed back in. >> just a hot breakfast, we still have hot water, we don't have any electricity. all our food is rotten. but i'll hold out. >> reporter: this mandatory evacuation is in place for sections of eastern sonoma valley. if you are worried about your home, if you are worried about lootsers, i can telling you we somewhere seen so many police officers. >> pieople who may be looking fr loved ones who were evacuated from hospitals, both in the danger zone. so to find evacuated patient, call the numbers you see on your screen. for kaiser, that is 855-599-0033. and for sutter, 797-543-4511.

at 2:00 p.m., authorities are expected to give an update on the lake complex fire burning north of uhe could i a oig. right now it's only 5% contained and has burned more than 32,000 acres. download the abc 7 news app for the latest. at this time, the men today sd destroyed 250 aims. go to abc7news.com for specific information on the mandatory evacuations there. we'll take a live look outside. and, boy, that is not good. that is our view from our tower camera, ash and smoke from the north bay fires triggering the city of san francisco to upgrade the air quality index to red. officials say you need to close your windows, keep your pets indoors and limit outdoor activities. if you do need a place to go, all four main library branches in sfwran francisco have air

filters and we have a list of those locations on our web sites abc7news.com. here is a live look from our sfo camera and you can see what the issue is there. it's like we have a foggy morning only instead of fog, it is smoke. so you will want to check with your airline before you head out because the fament a has in acf a flights delay program and flights could be delayed as much as 192 minutes today. mike nicco is keeping an eye on the impact that smoke is having for all of us. mike. >> yeah, it's all of us. nobody can escape it and that's why we've been focusing so much on the air quality whether schools being closed or people upset that their kids are being forced to go to school through the air. let me show you the latest map. and you can see the red taking over all about all of the neighborhoods. look at the yellow around saint rosa, because of the northerly winds blowing to the south, you've escaped the worst of the air quality. but you are definitely importing

it or exporting it to the rest of us as we look at mt. tam. unhealthy everywhere except santa clara valley, it is poor there. unhealthy means everything is beginning to feel the effects. and this is kind of like day three, so each day we keep breathing this poor air, it will be more detrimental to our health. in fact it will hang around throughout weekend and possibly into next week before a chance of rain rolls in. i'll tell you about that coming up. okay. a good samaritan steps up to help a fire victim who lost it all. the connection that brought them together and how they are now moving

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abc 7 news fwhaus pap inu e county this morning. the orange glow is in skyline park, good news there aren't any homes near by, but they want goat t get the flames out. and a lot of help being sent from all over. we spotted a long line of police cars from different counties heading towards napa, possibly to help with road closures, evacuations and of course patrolling neighborhoods. this next story starts with great loss and ends with great generosity. we met an ironworker who learned the fire in santa rosa stole just about all of his possessions including the tools

that provide his livelihood. he is getting help from a stranger who knows what it's like to lose something precious. matt keller was there as the two strangers connected. >> reporter: the recovery in santa rosa for dana hanson begins in san pablo. the 27-year-old tools were destroyed. >> i saw dana on the news. i heard ironworker and i looked over and i caught his last name. >> reporter: she reached out via social media to let dana know she had a full set of ironworker tools. they connected and this morning they met at her house in san pablo. >> there is harnessing and a tool belt. >> reporter: but there is something special about these tools. they belong to another ironworker named michael, her son. >> he was what they call a rug

buster, which is he did rebar week. >> reporter: michael died more than two years ago age of 31 from colon cancer. his mom and dad knew his tools would be valuable to someone. because of the devastating fire in santa rosa, that one turned out to be dana hanson. >> can this get you back to work? >> absolutely. >> i'm so glad. >> reporter: the future is unknown for dana. he's been in contact with his insurance company, but it's unclear when the rebuilding process will begin. but today, he got a a little bit back from the ashes and a grieving mother did, too. >> it's like a testimony for michael. and what he loved and dana sounds like this is his passion, too. >> i'm proud to wear his tools and keep him on the steel. >> reporter: and now he's all ready to go back on the job on monday. in san pablo, matt keller, abc 7 news. >> that is a story i needed

today. i hope you enjoyed it, too. you're coverage of the north bay wildfire continues. insurance claims can get confusing and frustrating after a disaster. what you can expect to be real reimbursed for. and we're keeping track of the dangerous air quality. mike nicco will show us the conditions where you live next.

if you're forced to evacuate the north bay because of the fires, you could now be facing a

lot of bills when you get home, things like hotel rooms and food. those actually can be covered by your insurance if your property suffers damage, you may somewhere to pay for temporary housing, storage costs and transportation. here is what state farm agent says you should do to make sure that you get reimbursed. >> we encourage everyone to hold on to any receipts. the hotel receipt, buying extra clothing because they didn't have enough time to pack, buying food for the dog or a kennel for the dog because the hotel doesn't allow dogs. >> in just three days, state farm has received 1400 homeowner claims and 850 auto claims connected for fire damaged vehicles. those numbers expected to sky rocket once people are finally allowed back into their homes to assess the damage. air quality continues to be a concern around the bay area. sky 7 got this new video along 880 and you can see how bad it is, this is heading north from hayward. you can see the thick smoke

line. it's forced a number of school closures including ignacio valley in concord. if you are wondering if your child's school, you can check the list on abc7news.com. and we have entered a phase where really you need to have a mask i think when you go outside because i was out there walking around before and it was really bad. >> it is. you can really feel it. we have the rekirk laerecircula on our cars. sometimes mine clicks off and then you can tell you have to push it again. it will be interesting what happens tomorrow, high school ff football games, will they have in. so that is something that we'll be following for you. here is a look at walnut creek. almost as hazy as it was yesterday. definitely if you look at the left side of your screen there, which is more into walnut creek. southbound you can see the poor air quality there. good news, wind advisory is

over. the fire danger is the next thing to taper a thet 5:00. but there is a secondary push of winds, we talked about it yesterday coming in tomorrow night, that will heighten the fire danger once again and then this could be the game changer. a cold front is coming in tracking a slight chance of rain to the north. it will definitely change the wind direction and the constitution of the air mass, it will make it cooler and more humid as the winds will be coming offer the oceever off th. you can see the plunge coming down from alaska, this is our last burst of winds that could enhance the fire. sorry, there was supposed to be some pause points there. but about 9:00 friday evening, winds will be fast through about 9:00 saturday morning. and then hch will roll high pre.

and then an offshore breeze sunday in the north bay and mountains, but it will be blowing more northeast to southwest. instead of northwest to southeast. so more of the pollution will start to be vented out over the ocean. but it will linger and it will be hotter that we'll likely have spare the air all the way through monday. so here is the weak cold front, that is what we get from alaska, it dumps all of the moisture in washington and oregon. by midnight, you can see light rain trying to move into the north bay and notice that is all it is right now, some light rain. earlier models were a little more bullish pushing up to about a third of an inch. but now it just looks like light rain maybe less than a tenth of an inch of rain. and some sprinkles for thursday morning. this is almost a week away, so things are going to change. so we'll keep an eye on it for you. if you are heading out today, here is a look at your temperatures. we'll have low to mid-70s inland, upper 60s low 70s around the bay, low to mid-60s along the coast. winds will subside, but

we're going to recap our breaking news on the north bay wildfires. firefighters are making progress against the fires raging in napa county, it comes as somber flews emerges from sonoma county. the death toll climbing again,

14 have died. and we've learned there are still 463 people officially missing. there is still no time table on when people will be let into their neighborhoods. in fnapa, sheriff will escort people back to hair hotheir hom only those with critical needs. there will be a meeting today at 4:00 p.m. at the unified school district and the second at 6:00 at st. john the baptist church, that will be in spanish. coming up at 11:30, we'll bring you a live news conference from sacramento, office of emergency services making public comments on the north bay wildfires. until

>> one of our contestants today may make more money in the next 30 minutes than they have in the past 30 years, so stay right there. it's time to play "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] ♪ hey, everybody, welcome to the show. you guys ready to play "millionaire" today? let's welcome our first contestant, who lived in finland and australia for the past 20 years. from santa clara, california, leslie shannon. [cheers and applause] welcome. >> thank you, thank you. >> welcome back to the united states, and welcome >> announcer: now from abc 7, live breaking news. >> it is 11:30, i'm reggie aqui. we are preempting who wants to be m