save the animals. at this farm trainers were forced to set these horses free with no time to lead them to safety. this is just one of a half dozen fires burning in california. in ventura county the thomas fire is closing in on this beach front community after burning more than 200 square miles and destroying over 400 buildings. officials warn the flames could burn all the way through christmas. in riverside county, scores of tankers work to put out the flames. one woman watched as her home burned to the ground. >> house is on fire. my house is on fire. >> a lot of propane tanks blowing so you know homes are going. >> that is hard to watch. about 700 firefighters from several agencies are battling flames from the lilac fire in san diego county this is video of a crew on the front lines north of san diego near camp pendleton. officials say navy and marine

corps aircraft are expected to join other air tankers in attacking the flames today. california air national guardsmen from the 129th rescue wing are being deployed to southern california. about 25 will join in the areas impacted by the thomas fire. it's 4:31 right now. back to meteorologist mike nicco. mike, there's an inversion layer here. can you explain how that works? >> an inversion layer is when the cold air sinks down at night and the warm air sits on top of it. that's a very stable atmosphere, warm air rises, cold air sinks down. it puts a lid on the atmosphere and won't let any of the fine particulate matter or pollution mix out because the air is not rising. when we go back to yesterday and look at the satellite you can see all that smoke getting trapped by those winds out of the south and pushing it up into our neighborhoods. it's the north bay, san rafael could have the worst air quality.

today, tomorrow and sunday could have poor air quality. >> we have the correct drive time now. traveling east shore to san francisco, look at that, that's much better, 26 minutes. a couple of cars stacked up on the right-hand cash side. don't forget toll booth 14 is still out of commission so avoid that lane if can you. otherwise everything is moving nicely here and no metering lights yet. ace train number one left on time at 4:20 so that's a great way to avoid those roads. we do have road work northbound on 101 coming out of the robin williams tunnel. the right lane is blocked for a few more minutes. road work in the east bay in a couple minutes. >> sue, thank you. now to the latest on the strikes in oakland stretching to day four. our best and final offer is in for libby schaaf. >> still workers are heading to the picket line again. amy hollyfield once again live

at oakland city hall. good morning, amy. >> reporter: hi, good morning, reggie. the mayor says this new offer adds five more million dollars in compensation to union workers. here is a look at the new offer. now there's a 4% salary increase in there dating back to july. that was already in the offer. this is new. a 1% raise in a year, january 2019, and then another raise up to 1% in year two. also new, half a million dollars to convert some part-time or temporary library workers to being full-time workers. the mayor says this is the final and best offer. >> it's fair to our workers. it more than increases their wages by the cost of living but as equally important it is fair to our residents who are wait to go see their city services return. >> reporter: workers will still be on strike today as the union

looks over the offer. it is the union's move. the city says it is waiting to hear back. the mayor says if this offer is rejected the city will request that a mediator is brought in. residents in oakland just be aware no city services will be available today, nonemergency. police, fire dispatchers will be in. other city services closed as workers will still be on strike. live in oakland, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. emotions ran high at a town hall meeting in san francisco's bayview district. this was held of a suspected carjacker by a rookie police officer. those at the meeting saw the body cam footage from that policeman shooting o'neill. police say o'neill stole a van. >> mr. o'neill began to run to the direction of the marked vehicle while the van he drove continued to roll forward striking the fence.

>> the mother of mario woods shoves shot to death two years ago could not hold back. the officer has been placed on administrative leave. it's 4:35 now. a psychiatric patient is back in the hospital after leading authorities on a wild chase that involved a carjacking and a biting attack t. began about 6:20 when the man escaped from the psychiatric hospital in san leandro. deputies say he carjacked a car, fought with a teenager inside of it before crashing it. the teen suffered minor injuries. the patient then tried to carjack someone else, even biting the driver in the process. a car hit the man when he tried to run across interstate 580. he stayed on his feet, though, and kept running. deputies finally captured him. the preliminary hearing for the two men facing charges in the ghost ship warehouse fire resumes monday. yesterday was another emotional day in court. leah daniel vega was on the stand, a ghost ship resident. she described the ghost ship as a stone hut saying the building was not intended for humans.

vega broke down, sobbed uncontrollably, after calling it a living, breathing hive of dreams with no clear cut leadership. >> i don't know why the prosecution has to ask her about people who have been decease d. it's irrelevant and it was tragic to see her weeping in court. >> the preliminary hearing will determine if derick almena and harris should go to court on 36 counts of voluntary manslaughter and bear responsibility for the ghost ship fire. a memorial service will be held for the bay bridge toll collector killed in that horrific crash last saturday, si si han. a truck driver plowed into her booth. he was arrested on suspicion of dui and vehicular manslaughter. a memorial service is scheduled on westlake avenue in daily city. the public is welcome. 4:36 now.

kate steinle's family launched a fund-raiser ahead of what would have been her 35th birthday. the family is hoping to raise $3,500 for a grant. the grant is for the challenged athlete foundation which supports people with physical challenges. steinle was shot and killed and just last week a jury acquitted the man charged in her death. we have a link on our website, abc7newscom. more sexual misconduct allegations on capitol hill, this time it involves an arizona congressman. and it follows the resignation of minnesota senator al franken. abc news reporter arlette saenz joins us from washington. good morning, arlette. >> reporter: hi, good morning, reggie. well, capitol hill saw a double whammy of resignations yesterday over sexual misconduct allegations. two more lawmakers said they'll be stepping aside. one a southern democrat, the

other a republican in the house unable to withstand these allegations. calling it the worst day of his political life senator al frank en acknowledged it's time to go. >> in the coming weeks i will resign as member of the senate. >> reporter: >> reporter: eight women accused the minnesota democrat of sexual misconduct. franken has apologized for some of his behavior but was clear. >> some of the allegations against me are simply not true. >> reporter: franken bowed to pressure from dozens of his colleagues to step down. >> i am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office. and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. >> reporter: and now republicans are seeing the first in their party to fall on capitol hill. arizona congressman trent franks announced he'll step aside as he

faced an ethics investigation. franks insists, i have absolutely never physically intimidated, coerced, or had or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff. and one other lawmaker on capitol hill is also coming under scrutiny. congressman blake farenthold, a republican from texas. the house ethics committee is investigating allegations he sexually harassed a former staffer. some of his republican colleagues, at least two of them, have called for him to resign. in washington arlette saenz, abc 7 news. it was a much quieter night across our neighborhoods and along the coast and the east bay hills. that's why your temperatures are from anywhere 20 degrees cooler to 9 in oakland to 12 in napa. we'll start in san francisco. 45 in sunny side. the castro, the mission, presidio, ocean beach and the ferry building at 50 right now.

44 is our temperature in richmond. dress for 39 in union city. palo alto and santa clara and also walnut creek at 35. tracy, you're at 38. pretty clear looking air right now but it is going to be hazy this afternoon. as far as your commute goes, the winds will be calmer. there's no small craft advisory on the water today. mass transit chilly to mild and the roads lighter breezes and dry once again. east bay valleys, your 12-hour planner. 41 at 6:00. low 60s in the afternoon hours. about 55 at 6:00. we'll go up to the north bay. we're starting off at 35. still in the 40s at 10:00. look at that, 50s at noon and mid-60s during the afternoon hours. i hope you enjoy the sunshine. sue has a new accident. here are the details. coming off the upper deck of the bay bridge, a live shot coming into san francisco. this is a two-car accident at the 5th street off ramp which is just out of our view here. i'm not seeing any backup on the span. it is blocking the left turn

lane at 5th street coming westbound on 80. so we'll be following that for you. so far so good. our maps look great. check it out. hardly any red which is good news. still some road work to be aware of. northbound 880 marina and high street. 23rd is further along. 880 marina to high street for the next 15-20 minutes or so. we'll check back. thank you, sue. too tall, too ugly, and not needed. battle lines drawn in a bay area community over new cell phone towers. the new express lanes along interstate 680 are just two months old now, but some drivers say they are not working. and a fight over the "full and a fight over the "full house" ho

and i am a senior public safety my namspecialist for pg&e. my job is to help educate our first responders on how to deal with natural gas and electric emergencies. everyday when we go to work we want everyone to work safely and come home safely. i live right here in auburn, i absolutely love this community. once i moved here i didn't want to live anywhere else. i love that people in this community are willing to come together to make a difference for other people's lives. together, we're building a better california.

i have some bad news for our friends in southern california. the high fire danger, the critical fire conditions extended now. that should say sunday at 8:00. it's going to go all the way through the weekend. still about 8 million people affected. 77 down there today, hazy and not quite as breezy as yesterday. 62 in sacramento. 48 in tahoe. 59 in yosemite. 71 in monterey. here is a look at my seven-day forecast for tahoe. they'll be making snow because mother nature is still not providing any. natasha? now to the latest on the neighborhood battle surrounding the "full house" house. the planning commission voted to

stop construction permits. the owner jeff franklin created the hit tv show. neighbors fear he's renovating the interior to look like the home on the show that will make it even more of a tourist attraction. he says he's just doing seismic upgrades and creating an open floor plan. commissioners asked him to install a gate to alleviate neighbor concerns about tourist traffic. a battle is raging on the peninsula over proposed cell towers. >> homeowners in the upscale community of hillsborough rallied against officials and wireless providers. katie marzullo has that. five years we've been shut out, and now we get five minutes. >> reporter: an angry exchange in hillsborough. patrick shannon argued he should get more time to talk. he said town leaders have tried to squash public input on 16 proposed cell towers. >> do we need to tell you that 50-foot-size industrial towers are fundamentally incompatible with rural living?

>> reporter: crown wants to build them in hillsborough. some would be new, others would be an extension of other existing poles. >> the proposal for this site is to replace the pole and add another 15 feet. >> reporter: at the meeting neighbors said the towers would be too tall, too ugly, and a major problem for property values. crown castle denies the claims. >> access to high-speed wireless activities are great benefit and adds value to property whereas the residents -- >> reporter: homeowners argue the towers are unnecessary, that cell service in hillsborough is just fine. >> when i say i will fight this, i would physically fight it. [ applause ] >> reporter: the town manager has the power to approve or deny the towers. kathy larue told me on the phone she's not made a decision. she's scheduled to take action

december 21st. >> some of the sound we heard -- >> she said she was going to physically fight it. >> all right, ma'am. the salvation army needs more than just donation this is year. they need your help doing the bell ringing. you see them across the county. the salvation army of hayward are averaging only ten a day. they've had 32 in the past. it's not just hayward. south san francisco says they're in need. to volunteer go to abc7news.com for all the information. it is actually snowing in houston, texas, but not snowing in the sierra. i mean -- >> what gives? >> what's happening, mike? >> that progressive jet stream where it's taking all of this warm air up into canada and that's dislodging the cold air east of the rockies and dropping it down into even mexico had snow yesterday. it gives you an idea how topsy-turvy our weather pattern is. we have this high pressure. it puts up a roadblock.

look at that wall of clouds just off the coast. some of that will leak into our neighborhoods today in the form of some high clouds. it's going to be another warmer than average day. 64 at half moon bay. santa cruz, 69 degrees for one of the warm spots along with ukiah. the rest of us around 63 to about 66 degrees. may get to 68 in san jose. in fact, let's go down to the south bay and take a look at here's your 12-hour planner and your highs today. 65 in milpitas to 68 in morgan hill. gilroy, 69. cupertino at 67. at noon it will be great, 62 degrees. and if you're heading out at 7:00 this evening dress for about 57. we'll drop down into the mid to upper 30s in our deepest valleys, low 40s inland. 40 to 46 around most of the bay. san mateo, half moon bay and san francisco in the upper 40s. my accuweather seven-day forecast, the haze is going to hang around through sunday. there's a possibility of a spare the air alert. each one of those first three days and then we're staying warm but hopefully cleaner pattern

for monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday. all right, sue, what are you working on this morning? a couple early problems. first our overall traffic map which looks great. minor slowing out of the central valley. let's zoom in here. we had some work construction going on northbound 880 from marina up to high street. now word of an accident a couple cars blocking a lane of traffic there. over towards the peninsula southbound 101 before eastbound 92 apparently the left lane is blocked here with an accident. it's early enough i'm not seeing any red sensors or yellow sensors yet. we'll keep following these. hopefully they'll get them out of lanes quickly. the new express lanes on interstate 680 are getting mixed reviews. >> the most common complaint are the empty lanes. it's a minimum 50 cents to use the express lane depending on real time traffic but is never free even in the middle of the day when the freeway is packed.

and not a single person abc 7 news spoke with said their commute has gotten any better. >> i was thankful things haven't gotten worse, but i don't see things have gotten any better either. >> it's a money grab. it's a new tax. that's exactly how i saw it. >> the most they've charged since the express lanes opened is $4.50. despite the complaints, no changes are expected anytime soon. a leadership change coming to sacramento. the woman who is about to make history in the state senate. >> you know the color of the year, ultraviolet for 2018. but there's a lot more to this than just the color purple. we'll explain. first this morning's "tech bytes." in today's "tech bytes" a huge order for tesla's new semitruck. >> anheuser-busch is ordering them at $180,000 each. >> they are hoping to reduce fuel costs. the new vehicles are expected to

hit the road in 2019. apple is out with its list of most downloaded apps of the year. bit was number one. >> cartoon pictures that look like you. snapchat number two. youtube number three. check out this invention made for the would-be groom. a cell phone case that can hide an engagement ring. >> stream live or record the proposal and capture the reaction all while popping the question called the rock shock and it sells for about $40. >> is this how it works? >> it cannot make her say yes.

♪ when you have doctors working as a team for your health, you get the care you need to help you thrive. ♪ visit kp.org to learn more. kaiser permanente. thrive. ♪

welcome back. a look at san rafael in the north bay that could have the poorest air quality today. today is our first winter spare the air, and that means wood burning is banned up until midnight. i'll be back with a look at where our rain is in just a few minutes. >> mike, thank you. appreciate it. we may not have gotten much snow but look atl alaska. they picked up 6 feet of snow in the last five days. that's a lot of snow even for that location. it's known for heavy snowfall. another two feet still on the way. the california state legislature about to make history. state senator atkins is their choice to replace kevin deleon when he leaves. atkins would become the first woman and first lesbian to hold the leadership position. the 55-year-old lawmaker previously served as assembly

speaker from 2014 to 2016. she is >> customers who wear an sweater -- the promotion includes flights on virgin america which is now owned by alaska airlines. >> we're saying alaska a lot. a story about alaska, you've got it. all of our wet weather is going up into alaska. an idea with sutro tower. mostly sunny. grab the sunglasses. spare the air. still need the heater on at night. it rounds the bend and tries to come down. and that's where all the cold air is.

and where all of our rain will be for the next 14 days. sue, do you have an update? we have an accident off the span. a look at the upper deck so the accident was at the 5th street off ramp which is a left turn lane. i'm not seeing any backup on the span. the accident is apparently still there. just a heads-up if you're coming into san francisco this hour. looking good from the central valley. no delays there. issues on the road and a little bit of slow traffic on the side street. an accident in oakland near high street. a lane of traffic blocked here. no slowing yet there which is good news. we'll check back on the peninsula in san mateo in our next report. >> sue, thank you. shocking yellow perhaps. >> big bird. >> but it was not so. deep purple, ultraviolet has been announced as the color of the year and it's more than a color.

it's a mood and attitude. >> a prominent color consulting company made that announcement. hillary clinton chose to wear purple the day she conceded the election. a sizable presence in palo alto during the brock turner sexual assault trial. it uses the color in its marketing. >> the history of the color purple in the movement for women's equality is one of the reasons we were drawn to it as a name for the organization in the first place. >> the color also sparks originality. ♪ the color purple >> it's hard not to go there, right? next at 5:00 a.m. a moratorium on marijuana. >> and $11 million reward. the reason menlo park police need your help tracking down this man.

>> emotions erupted during a town hall meeting with san town hall meeting with san fr

and good morning. it is friday, december 8th, 5:00 a.m. jessica is off today but not for long. we'll be here next week. sue hall is in for alexis. >> good morning. >> and mike is here to tell us about our weather. >> it's changing but not for the better because of the spre the air, the haze starting to roll up from the south. our critical fire thresholds remain below