and new video of the mad rush to evacuate hospital in santa rosa one week ago. firefighters get handle on the flames and many residents allowed back home. >> cautiously optimistic. >> i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us as recovery effort continues, so does better news. evacuees in parts of mendocino, sonoma, napa and lake counties were allowed to go home today. >> more than 16,000 pg&e customers still in the dark. containment figures. largest is atlas. nearly 70% contained. >> increased containment on fires in mendocino and lake counties as well. number of fatalities up to 42. including this 27-year-old man from santa rosa. >> josh hoefer's family said he

had asthma attack from smoke from fires and cardiac arrest. died short time later. >> cadaver dogs have been brought in. evacuations not lifted in burned out areas until they perform thorough search. >> news is more encouraging but still many people in line of fire. >> leslie brinkley live in oakville where flames still rage. >> reporter: been a lot of reports about how close the nuns fire is getting to wineries up here. popular ones that people know about in this stretch of napa valley. but mondavi, everything is safe along highway 29, no evacuations. but behind me, above highway 29 on the ridge tops, getting

smokier as the orange sun sinks over the hills. in those hills the fire is still scorching the land. along the oakville grade, an army of fire crews and contract companies waited for marching orders. >> sometimes send us up to scout and find dead snags or trees they know are going to be a problem. spending this time getting saws ready. shop set up to sharpen chains so we'll be ready when they need us. >> reporter: along this stretch of highway 29 through the heart of napa valley, six simultaneously zip back and forth between reservoirs and berning ridge line, dumping water all day long. >> weird as this is, you feel great. >> reporter: happy they're here? angels of the sky. watched from veranda of home at

staglin family vineyard in the hills of napa valley below the fire line. vigilant, hired private fire crews to protect home and property. >> three water trucks and people spraying perimeters. bulldozer for a fire break above the winery. had people stay here all week but don't feel safe anymore. >> reporter: fire is creeping closer. >> it's hard to gauge. ha somebody posted down the road on bell oaks lane for thirty-two days watching and reporting in what they see so we know, fire not going to creep over the hill before we realize it. >> reporter: in that smoky haze up there, there is still a dangerous fire, does have everyone on edge. two hours ago, six choppers out here. as you saw, bringing water in,

water and air drops, lot of sightseers lined up taking pictures, taking in a scary, terrifying but reassuring view of firefighters attacking very aggressively this fire all day long. for now things are calm. and everything in the future i think hinges on the wind. here in oakville on highway 29 in napa, abc7 news. >> thank you leslie. private contractor on the front lines of nuns fire was killed this morning when his truck plunged off steep roadway. >> under investigation and identity won't be released until family is notified. >> laura anthony with the story. >> my heart goes out to family and friends impacted by this. has impact on all of us. >> reporter: death of private contractor, water tender driver

the first fatality of the crews working the front lines. killed this morning after rig overturned on the way down the oakville grade at nuns fire. >> traveling downhill, came upon a right-hand turn on the roadway, went on its left side before plunging off side of the hill. >> reporter: landed upside down. empty water tank was detached and sitting near the truck. midday, coroner's van arrived to remove the driver, a male. water tenders have been a key part of the firefight, embedded with firefighters at front lines. >> fire departments don't have the amount of equipment, water tenders, bulldozers or helicopters to do the job on their own. we have a list of equipment we can call. >> reporter: drivers all trained

in fire safety before called upon. based on the logo, this rig traveled from red bluff to help with the napa valley fire fights. abc7 news. pg&e's possible role in north bay fires caused utility's stock to plummet again today. >> investors fled on worries that utility could be in for steep losses if found liable for fires. lost 15% of its value. $6 billion reduction over the past week. california national guard released pictures of crews dumping water on the fires. some residents are frustrated they can't get home to survey the damage. >> live with that part of the story, wayne. >> reporter: when people come back to homes this is what they're going to find, not inspiring, quite the opposite. tragic, house after house after

house. question is how will people who live in nakeeighborhoods deal w it? find inspiration? we found plenty today. here's the helpers, so many, too many to count. legions of them. heard about the firefighters. >> my guys and gals worked their tails off to take care of what we did, put our fingerprints on it and make it right. >> reporter: but probably not about melissa and her husband, water they're taking to animals and pets who survived inferno in kenwood, hard to tell from what remains but had been a prosperous neighborhood with beautiful, expensive homes. >> it's so eerie, i don't know how to explain what i'm feeling. just weird, i don't know. >> reporter: anything but numbness or despair from couple who stayed behind during the fires a week ago. house looks like these houses

but not sulking. >> trying to do as much for others as we can. >> reporter: others who probably never knew them until today, how they helped despite losing everything. who is helping you? >> my husband. >> reporter: who is helping your husband? >> me. >> reporter: who is helping the two of you? >> god. >> reporter: abc7 news. >> fire crews getting help from weather. things turning in their favor. >> sandhya patel with the latest. >> winds have live doppler 7, tracking high cloudiness in the north bay around the fire lines. here's look at conditions. winds near the surface pretty light with the exception of clear lake, gusts to 12 miles an

hour. remain light but thursday things change. winds increase to 15 miles per hour, then thursday night, over 20-mile-an-hour winds. live doppler 7 is tracking stam from gulf of alaska, bringing much needed help to fire crews. i'll be back with hour by hour forecast and look at how the storm ranks on the storm impact scale coming up. since the fires broke out, sky map 7 has shown us where flames are burning. jonathan bloom has been above the north bay in sky7. joining us with more. >> we're using new sky map 7 technology to take closer look at areas hardest hit by the north bay fires over santa rosa. what it does is puts information over the top of live pictures

from the helicopter. major roadways like highway 101 or smaller streets. restaurants destroyed, can put labels over those. buildings otherwise unrecognizable, helps us see what they used to be. technology that you guys have asked us to show more of in the wake of the devastating fires. helps get some of the information that's hard to come by about what homes and buildings survived the fire and which were destroyed. especially in coffey park in santa rosa, virtually nothing else. google earth overlay to show the neighborhood a week ago, houses, trees, sidewalks. take it away and you can see this total devastation that remains on all but a few blocks of the neighborhood. we can number some of the houses. that will show which of the

houses were destroyed and which managed to survive the fire. dogwood drive is good example. you can see on the odd numbered side, total destruction, even numbered side, somehow those homes were spared by the fire and still standing. this is what sky map 7 is technology is all about, been in operation about a month. come in extremely useful in the fires and will continue using it to bring you information and difficult but useful pictures to look at when it comes to planning what to do next in the wake of the fires. abc7 news. when firefighters become victims themselves. >> all of sudden these guys hearing on the radio, wait a minute, that's where i live. >> had the news hits home, new fighting despite having no place to live. spending shutdown, impact of

tourism in bay area because of the fires. >> and tax help for people hit hard by the fires. >> back in 60 seconds. awwwwww...... yummmm... denny's new holiday pancakes are delicious. you guys can have some if you want. order now at denny's.com how's it going down there? that's good. lica misses you. i'm over it though. (laughter) that's fine. i miss her more than you anyway. ♪ ♪ hey, my window is closing.

yeah that's okay. alright miles. i love you. (phone hangs up) ♪ ♪ yeah i love you too. ♪ ♪ at last count more than 40 firefighters, police officers and other first responders lost their houses in the north bay firestorm. while they stayed on the job, starting to focus on their own losses. those who help others now in need themselves. >> i had a shed. this is our walkway. >> reporter: scene is typical of the fire-ravaged areas. but used to be home of one of about 40 first responders who

lost their homes. reality is sinking in for first time in 25 year career as firefighter, he's a victim. >> been on the side helping people, trying to get them through bad times. and suddenly be in that position is odd. you know, i don't know how to react to it. >> but union brothers and sisters have established this center to help them. find temporary shelter, financial help, counseling and assistance with paperwork. >> the fabric of this community and want to keep them strong so they can keep holding up this community and serving them in the way they do on regular basis. make sure they're there for them throughout this time. >> reporter: humbling to be on the receiving end of help he says. >> recovery and moving forward helps with psyche and helps heal the mental part of this. >> reporter: with nothing to salvage in his torched home,

will be a rebuilding process to unite him with others in the community facing the same challenge. firefighters are used to disengaging with victims once their job is done, but because so many were victims themselves, images like this etched in their minds, not going to forget this disaster the rest of their lives. abc7 news. donations are needed for firefighters who lost homes in the fires. fundraising page is set up, link at abc7news.com. of course the bay area and wine country specifically are connected in the minds and hearts of many tourists here in the united states and really all around the world. >> business owners looking into impact the fires are having on the tourism industry. >> reporter: along tourist heavy

fisherman's wharf, the business district is manning for annual festival, not expect fires have impact on the crowd. >> this time of year, more of a regional traveler. >> reporter: not the case for tower tours, takes tourists from san francisco to the wine country every day. not a single one since the fire. >> bookings canceled and new ones not made because of what happened. >> reporter: constant contact with partners in napa and sonoma counties, hopeful to begin rolling again this week. san francisco hotel council is also checking in with wine country counterparts and offering discounted rooms in the city for displaced residents and others with bookings because of the fires. >> company meetings, retreats,

weddings or special events people were planning that are dloe dislocated. >> reporter: most of the region is untouched. head of the visitor's bureau expects a quick and strong rebound. >> when the smoke clears, will look like same destination you've been to before or expected to visit. >> reporter: abc7 news. >> well, from immigration enforcement to the irs, federal government is lending a hand to all the folks in need in the north bay. >> michael finney is here to tell us more. >> there is help out there. start with this. irs filers who asked for extension last april rather than filing full paperwork have a deadline today. last day to efile 2016 federal income tax return for tax exemption filers. there is an exception for those in the fire zone. spoke with the irs this past weekend. it's giving extension filers

until next year to get paperwork done. rules can be a bit tricky. check them out on irs.gov. more welcome news. i.c.e. officials will not do immigration enforcement at evacuation sites, assistance centers or shelters and food banks. lawmakers says that means no one should fear deportation trying to get food or necessities. exception is in event of serious consider presenting a public safety threat. when neighbors in need, abc7 shows up. i'll be at evacuation centers, come see me. tomorrow at sonoma county fairgrounds in santa rosa. for lifestyle all locations, go

to abc7news.com/7onyourside. if you have any problems not being taken care of, hear from you, or just consumer problem, we'll be there, swing by. taking a break bun look from sky7 before we go, using sky map 7, you can see the journey's end mobile home park off highway 101. aerial image, can see the devastated mobile home park where victims died and many are still missing. >> so many images like this. hi there. i'm abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. as you look at live doppler 7, notice a bit of cloud cover across the bay area. will switch to rain thursday evening. radar will be tracking changes ahead. live picture right now. you will notice a lot of high

clouds around and we're going to check out storm impact scale. abc7 news's exclusive scale. one light, to five severe. incoming in one, light system. right rain thursday afternoon/evening to friday morning. generally under under under breezy. system will help the firefighters. another live picture. lot more clouds around. beginning of changes ahead as we track those changes. 80 in san francisco, 79 in oakland right now, 84 in san jose and gilroy up to 90. highs so far in 70s to 90s range. warm all around. this is where you want to go to escape smoky air. it's improving but still heavy

in north bay. 87 in santa rosa, napa is 78 degrees. low to mid-80s, concord to fairfield. can still see layer of smoke hovering. cooling trend rest of the work week. breezy with showers thursday afternoon/evening and gradual improvement expected in air quality. hazy for north bay in morning. cooler, clouds around and tomorrow afternoon, clouds as well. temperatures down mid-60s to low 80s. cloudier and cooler day, smokier conditions. wednesday night 5:00 p.m., still light winds except for point rays. sp picks up. notice the wind direction. 24 thursday night, coming off

the ocean. onshore winds, raise humidity, help the firefighters on the fire lines. wind is not something they want to hear about. heads up on that. air quality tuesday poor to moderate. wednesday repeats but as system moves in, cleaner air ahead. thursday good to moderate and friday good air quality everywhere. light rain into mendocino county 8:00 p.m. thursday night continuing. spreads during overnight hours. scattered light showers for friday morning commute. mix of rain and snow in sierra nevada. download the accuweather app and keep track of live doppler 7 anytime you want. rainfall, light amounts. ukiah could get third of an inch. seven-day forecast. cooling continues on wednesday. one on storm impact scale thursday to friday.

dramatically cooler, higher humidity, showers. dry, warmer saturday through monday. >> thank you. security flaw is putting every wifi connection at risk. but there is a patch

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coming up at 6:00. proving to be a valuable resource. one-stop shop that's helping fire victims get everything from loans to driver's license to unemployment benefits. >> and labor of love, look at tireless efforts to help fo four-legged victims of the fires. >> all coming up.

first time ever, scientists observed of two neutron stars. >> animation of what happened, entered a death spiral and collided in august. >> cal tech scientist call it's most spectacular fireworks in the universe but more than just a show. >> released more energy than in our sun's entire lifetime and caused ripples in the fabric of space time. >> and researchers confirmed the smashups are the source of elements like gold and platinum. all based on predictions by physicists at uc berkeley and lawrence berkeley national laboratory. >> just boggles your mind. fascinating to think about. >> story of the universe and few more ticks off the puzzle pieces. "world news tonight" is coming up next. >> we appreciate your time. beautiful shot of our own planet

here on earth. >> smoke looks tonight, reporters rush to the rose garden. the unexpected moment at the white house. president trump, after saying, i'm not going to take the blame, is asked whether some republicans should go. about his response to puerto rico. will he fire robert mueller? and touching a nerve, saying president obama did not call the families of the fallen. also tonight, the massive rig explosion, just off new orleans. authorities moments ago on the search and rescue. the deadly fires in california. and tonight, a staggering number. more than 100 missing. and the couple married 55 years, trying to survive in the pool. the wife dying in her husband's arms. former army sergeant bowe bergdahl pleading guilty today. and tonight, the interview