city will now get behind her, give her their support and their blessings, as she tries >> so she wears two hats. she continues to be board president and also acting mayor. and herrera says a special election will be held on june 5th of next year to fill out the rest of the term. >> although the board of supervisors could step in at any time and decide they'd like someone other than london breed to be acting mayor. i don't think that's likely because she already are the consensus to become of the board. we should go now to abc 7 news reporter amy hollyfield who is joining us live now from the store on monterrey boulevard where mayor ed lee collapsed last night. >> reporter: hi. yeah, he was shopping here at this safeway when he collapsed.

it was around 10:00 last night. this is the safeway on monterrey boulevard near the sunnyside playground. the manager here told us the store would not be commenting about what happened here last night, but we do have some reaction from some of the safeway shoppers here. >> he was a pretty historic first to be the first asian-american mayor. and i think now we've got the first acting african-american mayor. so it's another first for us. san francisco's been through a lot. i think we'll get through this as well. >> it was -- it's shocking. he was so energetic and running around and it was a shock. a total shock. >> reporter: -- was talking on the way to the hospital, but about two and a half hours later, he was pronounced dead at

zuckerberg hospital this morning. we were told some of his loved ones and colleagues were by his side at the time. amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. now let's take you back to city hall where jessica was covering that news conference with now-acting mayor london breed. having news conference having just wrapped up moments ago. >> and you see all these people, part of the san francisco city family standing there, members of the board or supervisors as well as dennis herrera and the city treasurer all there to lend their support this morning. >> yeah. lots of hugs and tears. let's go to jessica at city hall. jessica? >> reporter: as you mentioned, those colleagues of mayor ed lee's standing behind acting mayor london breed as she spoke about mayor lee and his legacy. but you could see everyone visibly upset at the shocking and sudden death of the mayor at the age of 65. many of his colleagues wiping

away tears. staffers here all around city hall even up in the balconies paying their respects, listening in on that press conference as we reviewed and listened again to the legacy that mayor lee leaves behind. in fact, acting mayor london breed spoke about him calling him dedicated and committed and a public servant. take a listen. >> just remember the nice man who was always himself no matter where he was. always had a kind word for people, always had a moment to stop and really listen to people. >> my heart is deepenly saddened today. we lost a very great man. a man that showed humility to all. >> i'm drawn to the kind of leader that's nice. and ed lee was nice. and he, you know, he was a match. >> i think it's an important

reminder for all of us, the importance of family and friends. and not to get too wrapped up around things that really don't matter. >> reporter: okay. so hearing about mayor ed lee there from several people. i can tell you at this press conference that acting mayor london breed called him a good man with a good heart and she spoke from the heart today about his influence on her and how dearly he will be missed. we also learned in this press conference a bit of the logistics that will happen after his death. now acting mayor london breed will also continue to be the president of the board of supervisors. so she will have dual roles until june of next year unless the board decides to nominate someone else in the interim to replace mayor ed lee. but we believe that's unlikely and again she will wear both

hats for the time being. a somber mood here as everyone kind of wraps up and this press conference has ended just moments ago. reporting live, i'm jessica castro, abc 7 news. >> thank you, jez ssica. part of his legacy is he was the first asian-american mayor of san francisco. hard to believe in a city this diverse with such a large asian population. but he was and that was a big deal. >> indeed. let's go to abc 7 news reporting matt -- >> reporter: mayor lee was a role model to many and his death in the middle of the night sparked sadness and shock. the news of mayor ed lee's death early this morning was shocking to many san francisco residents. >> it's just shocking. he's so young. he's a great guy. >> i can't believe it. because he looked so young and

healt healthy, you know. such a nice person. >> he was a young man. >> shocking. someone's lost a life. >> reporter: ed lee became san francisco's first asian-american mayor when he was appointed to the position in 2011. >> he's a trail blazer. >> reporter: the latest census shows a percentage of the population is asian. in chinatown people said mayor lee will be hard to replace. >> i think the city's going to suffer a big loss because of this in terms of asian-americans in leadership positions and hopefully someone will take his place. >> my mom is actually from china from the same province that he was from, so i think he was just an amazing role model and, you know, advocate for this area and this community and for the asian-american community at large.

>> reporter: matt keller, abc 7 news. >> thank you. of course former san francisco mayor willie brown very close to ed lee remembering him today as an honest man with a great sense of humor and humility. >> ed lee was ed lee. even of temperament. very bright and able. and clear ly with great integrity. >> mayor brown hired ed lee to be his purchasing manager in 1996. he said ed lee was vibrant and skillful in the way he could bring people together. and that was definitely one of his skills. >> congresswoman nancy pelosi is also offering her condolences to mayor lee's family this morning. pelosi posted a tweet that reads in part, he was a true champion for the people and a dear friend

to the many lucky enough to know him. >> i spoke with the congresswoman this morning. here's what she had to say. >> it's almost hard to talk about him without smiling even at this sad time because he always has smiled. his legacy will be of a person who got the job done. who really grew the economy of our city. sensitive to the needs of everyone there. >> of course nancy pelosi from san francisco both repping the city's interest on a national level. nancy pelosi. and on a local level with mayor ed lee. they grew to have a close friendship. >> and she said he was also considered a model mayor by other mayors around the country for how he was turning san francisco's economy around. and she said that he grew the economy here, that was one of the things she thought was his legacy. and he was able to get the job done.

yes, they were personal friends. she called him a lovely man. she said this morning that she has been crying. her voice was pretty broken up when i asked her this morning how are you doing. she said terrible. >> yeah. well, we're staying on top of the breaking news of ed lee's passing on the abc 7 app. if you do download it and enable push alerts, you'll get updates on your mobile device. gone but not forgotten, mayor ed lee has made a lasting impact on the community. still ahead, a look back at a music video featuring the mayor and other celebrities and athletes. >> such a booster for the city. >> and from the warriors from hunter pence to the ceo of twitter, we'll have reaction pouring in on social media. good morning, everybody. let's take a look outside and show you what's going on right now as we head towards the ten minute after 11:00 hour. you can see it is pretty hazy out there. we do have issues with air

quality. the potential right now all of us are moderate. we'll talk about how the air quality is going to improve and how

welcome back, everyone. we are marking the sudden death of san francisco mayor ed lee. he passed away suddenly overnight of cardiac arrest. he was just 65 years old. >> for people who have known him for years, decades, those of us covering him because it was so sudden, very tragic and sad. and abc 7 news reporter joining us live from city hall -- >> reporter: well, i have known mayor ed lee since he was with the asian law caucus here in san francisco when he had fought for public housing at the u.n. developments at that time.

the projects for better conditions there after a woman, a female tenant, was raped and killed. he was just an enduring activist for civil rights. a lot of people here had a lot to say about him. all kind words. and as you can see, someone left this bouquet of flowers here on the steps of city hall. there was a common thread to all of the people with whom i spoke. the common thread being that, you know, they use common words like he was a kind man, dedicated was another word. humanitarianism. other people said that he was the consummate public servant. a man who everybody said did not forget his roots. for civil rights, he was an activist, public housing was a big issue for him as well as strengthening the minimum wage. and people said he had a vision of inclusiveness. now, a lot of people, of course,

hugging, crying here at city hall. we caught a lot of people as they left a meeting that was held early this morning by now-interim mayor, acting mayor london breed. she briefed the mayor's staff this morning at 8:00 and then at 10:00 she met with department heads in room 200ed adjacent to the mayor's office. and here's some of what the people we interviewed said. excuse me. here's what london breed said. >> ed lee lived a life of service cut far too short. cut short far too soon. like me, ed grew up in public housing. the son of working class immigrants, he developed early on a profound sense of community. he was from the dawn of his career an advocate for the powerless, a voice for the overlooked. someone who fought for those in need before himself.

>> reporter: that was london breed now-acting mayor of san francisco. and also president of the board of supervisors. she also retains that title under the charter of the city. and that's exactly the balcony we were showing you. that's where the mayor's office is. that is where -- near where she held the news conference for about a couple of hundred people gathered here at city hall. again, the mayor being remembered as a man of inclusiveness. whether they agreed with him or disagreed with him in the many political battles he had here at city hall. back to you in the studio. >> there was definitely a humility to him. thank you, vic. >> many people were asleep when the mayor passed away. i spoke to former mayor willie brown just after 3:00 this morning. he was just shocked and reeling from this news.

and the thing is, just yesterday a lot of us saw mayor ed lee laughing and he appeared healthy just yesterday. >> yeah. there was absolutely no sign whatsoever this was to happen. the death quite shocking to all. natasha is live in the studio here with reaction on social media. >> calling the legacy project over and over again. the team tweeted out they are saddened and stunned, that common thread we're talking about. quote, the lasting impact he leaves on the city of san francisco is a timeless tribute to his incredible leadership and vision. and then the san francisco giants calling mayor lee their number one fan adding in part, quote, he was a strew san franciscan who supported those most in need. hunter pence also tweeting out this image thanking the mayor for his support and passion. and we're also seeing mayor lee's ties to tech. you can see the flag at city

hall at half staff. and then biz stone quoting him as an all around good senator diane fine tine tweeins out my heart and thoughts are with ed's family and friends and the city i love. finally we want to show you mayor lee's last tweet. looking to fight unsafe housing with the hash tag housing for all. we heard vic talking about that being part of his legacy. that was sent out just 17 hours ago. in the studio, i'm sending it back to you. >> thank you. and biz stone was among business owners who encouraged lee to run finish mayor. >> he was also among a host of celebrities, athletes, and others to appear in the ed lee

is too legit to quit movie. ♪ put them in charge ♪ thank you for blessing me and the rest of the city with mayor ed lee ♪ ♪ only 5'5" but he gets [ bleep ] done ♪ ♪ unless you riding with us >> making ed lee look cool there. hip hop artist ash cod in the song. >> i think that's what you call cool. coming up, we have other stories. a fire ripped through an oakland neighborhood this morning. we'll have the live look at the damage. and a live look right now from our exploratorium camera. that hazy sky still there. mike nicco coming up

i am a first responder tor and i'emergencies 24 hours a day, everyday of the year. my children and my family are on my mind when i'm working all the time. my neighbors are here, my friends and family live here, so it's important for me to respond as quickly as possible and get the power back on. it's an amazing feeling turning those lights back on. be informed about outages in your area. sign up for outage alerts at pge.com/outagealerts.

together, we're building a better california. it is a day of mourning in san francisco. the city's mayor ed lee has died at the age of 65. he passed away this morning at zuckerberg hospital after suffering cardiac arrest. >> and we have a live look inside city hall right now. the new acting mayor, board of supervisors president london breed held a news conference expressing the grief, the shock, and the sadness that everyone is feeling this morning at the

sudden passing of mayor ed lee. former san francisco mayor willie brown tells abc 7 news that he is in mourning too. he says that mayor lee suffered a heart attack. >> our coverage of mayor lee's passing continues on the abc 7 news app. we want to get onto other news right now though. a fire damaged several homes in oakland this morning. two were destroyed. >> abc 7 news reporter leslie brinkley joins us live from oakland. >> reporter: really scary scene up here overnight in the oakland hills. you can still see the smoke rising on the hillside behind me. i talked to a neighbor right next to where this fire started. they said they saw a wall of flames. it was raining embers. they narrowly escaped with their 1-year-old baby. now, the fire ignited around 11:00 last night. we can take a look at some pictures from sky 7 here. it started in two homes that were under construction on a hillside here on snake road.

as i mentioned, a 40-foot wall of flames spreading across the dry hillsides. firefighters say it was fueled by 18 mile-an-hour winds and extremely low humidity. homes here in the oakland hills were evacuated as the blaze went to four alarms. >> upon arrival we found out that we had basically embers flying all over the place. it was basically raining embers, raining fire. we just had to go into quick action and do what we had to do. with the assistance of the police, we were able to evacuate about 50 homes. >> reporter: -- the fire traveled up the hill. two homes under construction destroyed. five other homes sustained some major damage. everyone i spoke to said they were terrified, they thought this was going to turn into another fire storm and they were quick to give credit to the very fast response from firefighters who showed up here and managed

to extinguish this blaze. they're working on putting out some hot spots here speckled throughout the hills from all those embers that went flying. the family that i talked about that escaped, they said they had a go bag packed because they were already paranoid after the other fires in wine country and in southern california. they got out in 90 seconds and they say they think that saved their lives. reporting live, i'm leslie br k brinkley abc 7 news. thankfully the winds backed off last night. you know, it's been breezy in our hills for several days now. hi, everybody. let's open up the window on the hills where you can see the camera holding still. no burning of wood all the way up until midnight. my next highlight clear tonight going to be freezing cold in the valleys like it was this morning. late next week, a major pattern shift that will bring us for sure the coldest air of the season. but will it bring us rain?

that's something we're going to keep an eye on. for now, look at this. temperatures mainly in the 50s until you get up in the hills at 62. and half-moon bay already at 70. live doppler 7 hd showing the difference from yesterday to today. that canopy of clouds out of here. now a haze of smoke to the south. santa cruz was 78 yesterday. forecasting 76 today. it's going to be one of our warmest areas again. we've got that offshore breeze which means it will be calm. so 70s, low to mid-70s, santa cruz, san jose. the rest of us 64 to 68 this afternoon. here's how my accuweather day planner breaks down. 63 to 64 at 4:00. and at 47 to 52 at 9:00. most in the 40s at midnight. here's the storm coming down from canada. in fact, it originates in alaska.

and that's why it doesn't have much moisture with it. it will bring some snow to the sierra. until we get there, mid to

from all of us here at abc 7 news, thanks for joining us. >> our coverage of ed lee's passing conti

>> from caesars entertainment studios it's beginner's luck week. today, we're playing with contestants who are on their first trip ever to las vegas, and if things go well over the next 30 minutes, it's gonna be a very memorable trip. so let's play "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] ♪ welcome to "millionaire." it's beginner's luck week. you guys ready to go today? [cheers and applause] all week long we're playing with folks who have never been to las vegas before, so we're doing something extra special for them. every time one of our players successfully answers the $5,000 question, they not only get that money, they also get this: a gift certificate for the forum shops at caesars. home to painted skies, talking statues, and more than 160 specialty shops and restaurants, the forum shops feature some of the most celebrated retailers in the world, including many that