what started the fire. matt keller, abc 7 news. matt, thank you. hundreds of rescue workers continuing to look for victims of the deadly mud slides in santa barbara county. >> the death toll remains at 17. this morning 43 people in montecito are still missing. crews are working around the clock trying to get mud out and find those still missing. further up the street from the hotel the destruction continues. people are still missing among the wreckage of homes and boulders. >> we know that window is closing but we're doing our best to search and rescue. you hear stories people have been missing for eight, nine days and they were found alive. we're hoping we'll find those people. those people are out here working hard to make that happen. >> mandatory evacuation orders have been expanded to nearly all of montecito. officials estimate residents will not be allowed to return to their homes for another two weeks. >> it is now 4:30. let's check in with lisa argen and a look at your weather.

>> good morning to you. so here's the way it's going to look throughout the afternoon. the fog clears and then we'll see temperatures warm up into the 60s, back to 9:00 in the 50s. but as we go through the next several hours, look at the fog. it's quite extensive from the east bay, the south bay. we go throughout, say, the next two or three hours, it doesn't move much. it will take until the 9:00, 10:00 hour here at 8:30. still some fog around the bay, and then we have a lot of sunshine. so limited sunshine yesterday. today more of it. and because of that we'll see plenty of low 60s around the bay. sue? >> we're going to take a look at the bay bridge toll plaza at 4:31. you can see it is dense out there. lisa tells me dense is the correct fog term as opposed to thick or heavy. hercules along the 80 corridor to san francisco, a pretty easy drive right now. no metering lights. orange means fog for your commute.

it is dense as you can see and traffic is slowing up and over the altamont pass. you can take ace train 1. it is off and running on time this friday morning. this morning president trump's expletive comment is sending shock waves across the country. democrats and some republicans expressing their outrage and disappointment. and within just the last few minutes donald trump has been tweeting. he said this, quote, the language used by me at the daca meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. what was really tough was the outlandish proposal made. a big setback for daca. responding this morning. abc news reporter lana zak is live with more on the story. >> reporter: good morning to you, jessica. several tweets coming in the last few minutes, in fact.

he says the comments were tough but the language being reported is not exactly correct. he doesn't say exactly what he said. we also know that he has been reportedly using similar comments in the past. the white house previously denying that he said that all haitians have aids and that nigerians need to go back to nigerians need to go back to their huts. the white house is not denying the president's comments characterizing some countries with a curse word. sources tell abc news that when lawmakers at the white house briefed president trump on their daca immigration plan, his response to restoring protections from immigrants from haiti and several african countries was, why are we having all these people from, expletive, countries come here. proposing the u.s. should bring in people from countries like

norway. it was a setback to the daca plan. >> we have no agreement. >> reporter: it was a defining moment for the president. outrage was swift. here's senator richard blumenthal. >> this remark by the president of the united states smacks of blatant racism, the most odious, masquerading poorly as immigration policy. >> reporter: mia love, the child of haitian immigrants, called the president's words divisive and talked about her parents saying they worked hard, paid taxes, and rose from nothing to take care of and provide opportunities for their children. the president must apologize. the white house shows no sign of backpedaling. president trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate. he lay blame at his opponents writing the democrats seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country.

now the backlash has gone global. former mexican president fox used the president's so-called expletive to describe mr. trump's mouth. we know the president of haiti has summoned the top diplomat for a meeting today. lana zak, abc 7 [ no audio ] gavin newsom was very blunt in his response to the president's comment. he posted on facebook, quote, you're a joke and a racist, president donald j. trump. resign. jessica, thank you. president trump will have his first physical exam as president today. it does not include an evaluation of mental fitness. >> he is the oldest person ever to be elected president. the 71-year-old has pushed back on suggestions that he is mentally unfit for office declaring himself a very stable genius over the weekend.

back here at home a woman is out of the hospital. recovering from the latest sea lion attack. >> a sea lion bit her on the knee. she was able to get back to shore where people including a retired paramedics tended to her injuries. this is the fourth such attack since december. officials are telling swimmers to stay near shore. ten miles of track between fremont and the new station won't begin until march. the extension won't be good to go until this fall. the $2.3 billion line is a vta project right now and they are still testing trains. >> there is a phase that will take place on that extension b.a.r.t. operations control center actually controls trains that are not carrying passengers to test everything that we need

to test and we have potentially a six-month period to complete that testing. >> the vta says it's optimistic it can get the necessary testing in time for a june opening. happening today, you'll be able to check out tesla's model three in a showroom. in palo alto a private vip event last night. starting at 10:00 a.m. this morning it will go on display to the rest of us. tesla says nearly a half million cars have been reserved but few have hit the road because of production problems. hi there, everyone. friday morning. check out live doppler 7. we have a lot of dense fog in the bay area this morning not only in the north bay. usually it's santa rosa. they're fine. along the coast, down to a quarter of a mile. you can see how foggy it is so on the roads use caution. you'll hear the fog horns on the

bay and mass transit, yes, some of those spots will be quite foggy. check out one of our warmer locations, a lot of sunshine. it gets even warmer for the wekend. monday is the holiday and we're looking at changes into next week. the rest of us, 60 today in napa. 61 palo alto. upper 50s along the coast. the fog will clear overnight tonight. we won't have that problem. saturday morning will be nice and clear. good morning, sue. hi, everyone, happy friday. friday is a fog day as far as we're concerned out on the roads. limited visibility. this is a live shot of san rafael. traffic is light but the taillights are headed southbound to the civic center and then they disappear. that's where the fog is. it's prevalent to the golden gate bridge and there is a fog advisory there this morning. flipping over to walnut creek,

not so much. traffic is flowing nicely on southbound 680. those taillights heading past north main street and an eight-minute drive from concord through pleasant hill and highway 24. from 24 into oakland, it's about a nine-minute drive. it's all looking good as far as traffic flow this morning. overall the fog on your map is represented by orange and that is pretty socked in. use extra caution in those areas. >> two dozen elite surfers are standing by ready to converge on half moon bay. the looming storm that could mean the mavericks competition is finally back on. san francisco's acting mayor propose as big honor for the late ed lee. critics are questioning london critics are questioning london breed's mo

it's time for sleep number's 'lowest prices of the season' on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort your sleep number setting. and snoring? does your bed do that? it's the lowest prices of the season on the queen c4 mattress with adjustable comfort on both sides. now only $1199, save $400. plus, 36 month financing available. ends monday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

good morning to you. heading out of town, it's friday and traveling to the central coast or the south land should be fine. we have that dense fog this morning but then low 70s in los angeles. 60s in monterey. in fact, we're looking at more mild air here. you can see the fog from the embarcadero. if you're head to go the sierra nevada, partly cloudy with temperatures starting out in the 20s. 50s in the afternoon. >> lisa, thank you. happening today organizers will decide whether conditions will be ideal for running the mavericks surf contest on monday or tuesday. >> big swells predicted to hit the northern california coast.

cornell bernard tells us organizers and locals getting ready just in case around half moon bay. >> reporter: the crew at mavericks surf shot is getting ready hoping the big wave rumors are true. >> everybody you talk to pretty much knows about mavericks and this community and the world. >> we're all excited to get mavericks back on track. >> reporter: brian overfeldt say they're targeting monday or tuesday to run the famous surf competition. a storm in the pacific is predicted to bring big waves. >> we're hoping the storm stays in the window and actually we're hoping it increases and the weather cooperates and we get a great day. >> reporter: 24 of the world's elite surfers are standing by for official word that mavericks is on. pro surfer washburn has competed in every mavericks challenge from the beginning. he'll sit this one out but knows how tough the contest can be. >> mother nature is pretty radical. even on a mellow day mavericks

can kill people just like the ocean anywhere anytime. >> reporter: the last time mavericks happened here was in 2016. thousands of surfing enthusiasts converged on half moon bay. the town says they'll be ready to welcome them again. the event didn't happen last year because the former organizers went bankrupt. they're now bracing for a lot of hungry customers. >> we would probably need extra workers to work in the restaurant because when it's slammed, you need people running food, washing dishes. >> reporter: the official call for mavericks will be made friday morning. cornell bernard, abc 7 news. acting mayor london breed wants to rename san francisco's portsmouth square in honor of the late ed lee. >> hundreds of people packed for a candlelight vij for lee who died of a heart attack last month. it's one of the oldest and most significant sites in the neighborhood. many question breed's motive. she's running for mayor.

critics say the proposal is aimed at attracting support from the chinese community. fewer people are riding b.a.r.t. and one director wants the transit agency to find out why. >> ridership was down almost 2.5% in the latest quarter and 4% below what it was in the same period last year. the downturn is mostly among riders making short trips. >> take a look at some of the impact of uber and lyft and other ride sharing services on our short trips. are people taking those ride sharing services instead of using b.a.r.t. for their short trips? >> the downturn is hitting b.a.r.t.'s budget which saw passenger revenue fall by a million dollars. b.a.r.t. says its overall budget situation it good with sales tax revenue coming in higher than projected. a lone bay area driver tried to get creative. >> the contra costa chp this tweet. we know jon gruden is back and

we love it, too, this will definitely not work as your car-pool passenger, but hilarious. "a" for effort. here is your car-pool ticket. poor gruden. >> people say jon gruden looked like the chucky doll. >> can we let it go this time around? >> i don't think, mr. gruden, that you do. this is a tradition that goes way back. okay. never more than seven minutes away from the accuweather forecast. here is the lovely and not chucky at all meteorologist lisa argen. >> i'll take it. not only low clouds but we have some dense fog out there. a half mile visibility, look at fairfield. the bridges have dense fog advisories. quarter mile livermore. nothing on the coast. all of marin county is socked in. here is downtown. it's worse than yesterday but the reason why high pressure is building in and that higher pressure is pressing down on the

atmosphere creating the dense fog. sunnier and milder for the weekend. wet weather returns earlier next week. we'll have some breaks. the forecast, it clears quickly. by friday afternoon and evening the fog doesn't come back. that means much brighter conditions to start your weekend. we're fast forwarding to monday morning, a holiday for most people. actually monday night when we'll see the rain push on in. by tuesday it looks like a pretty rainy day. it really begins to dissipate by later in the day. look like a snow maker. that's the good news. 60 in oakland today. sue, what's that fog doing? >> it is prevalent, widespread. the overcrossing, not a problem here and traffic is flowing nicely from san jose to the silicon valley and up to cupertino, an eight-minute drive

which is not bad at all. a fog advisory for the golden gate bridge and it's very widespread and is moving around. right now no major stalls or accidents. friday light. >> daly city police say several coyotes have been spotted in the neighborhood next to the cal palace a. woman who lives on south ridgeway captured video and sent to police. it can lead to an increase in rodent. daly city police say the latest sightings have been in the southern hill neighborhood which you can see we highlighted on the map. last winter's storms were powerful. one was so strong it set a record.

>> this car is changing the life of a marine veteran. >> and muni rolls out a plan to make your bus experience more colorful. artists are onboard. right now this morning's "tech bytes." big changes coming to facebook's news feed. >> it wants to bring people together. over the next few months users will see less public content. >> and facebook will predict which post you might want to interact with your friends about and show those higher in the feed. >> and attention parents, changes are coming to google's chrome browser. >> google is phasing out a program. new supervision features will be launched this year. making things all right for a vendor. >> she was demonstrating a smart piano that teaches people to play when she learned the music legend himself wanted to try it out. >> at first she thought it was a

joke. stevie played for about 15 minutes. okay mcdonald's. i see your one, two and three dollar deals. tell you what, i'll raise you five. introducing value jack's way. five great ways to save. like i tell jack jr., it's all about big values, jr. prices. that's value jack's way. it's time for sleep number's 'lowest prices of the season' on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort your sleep number setting.

and snoring? does your bed do that? it's the lowest prices of the season on the queen c4 mattress with adjustable comfort on both sides. now only $1199, save $400. plus, 36 month financing available. ends monday. visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

like jack's one-of-a-kind breakfast pockets for $2 each. three of jack's famous tacos and a small drink for $3! or a classic bonus jack combo for $5! it's like i tell jack jr., it's all about big values, jr. prices. good morning to you kids going to school this morning may encounter dense fog. temperatures near 50 degrees. then we're partly cloudy by 11:00. and temperatures for most of you hovering around 60 or the low 60s and getting milder through the long holiday weekend. natasha, reggie?

the winds that blasted the sierra last year hit a record. >> now this gust you're watching is actually a little weaker than the 1one from last it was the fastest nontornado wind reported in 2017. it was part of an atmospheric river that battered a lot of california. muni has a new definition of a moving piece of art. >> about 100 city buses will display artist works, part of the san francisco beautiful program. the winning artists and poets competed. mara hernandez, a chance to get her work in front of a mass audience. >> but here on the buses people will just go around and look around and see something different. hopefully it will inspire their

lives. >> the creative satisfaction. the winning artists and poets received a cash prize for their work. good morning to you. waking up to these foggy conditions and really by about 8:30 or so we should be sunny. look at the temperatures, low 60s around the bay. tomorrow no fog at all and we're even warmer. by sunday see that 70 degrees in the south bay. that's how mild it's going to be. we have rain in the seven-day outlook. sue? >> we do have some drive times to tell you if you are traveling through the fog zone through the 580 corridor from tracy up and over the altamont. you're slowing, 38 to a 40-minute drive. highway 4 is looking better. san rafael into san francisco, it is foggy. still looking at the limit. a straight shot into the golden gate bridge and take a look coming off the bay bridge you

can barely see the headlights westbound. fog advisory here. in fact there were a few spots without fog this morning but we're focusing on the dense fog to slow that commute. clipper machines are in every station at b.a.r.t. 70% of riders are now using the cards. on january 1st b.a.r.t. added a 50 cent surcharge to the paper fare tickets. they are trying to convert more people to plastic. here's a novel new way to get frequent flier miles. be unhappy while traveling. >> we're being cynical. american airlines is letting flight attendants to give advantage reward miles to apologize to passengers. in the past only gate agents or reservation agents had that authority. the miles can be added to a passenger's account on the spot using a tablet. and the airline says the number of extra miles depends on the severity of the issue.

i think this makes sense and hopefully it will be incentive to be nicer to flight attendants? three more airlines will start banning smart bags. >> united, hawaiian and allegiant will start implementing the new rules. several carriers have already taken similar actions. officials are concerned lithium ion batteries could cause a catastrophic fire. passengers will be allowed to check their smart bag only if it can be removed and take it in a separate carry-on. a bay area auto shop is hoping it will change the life of a veteran. >> marine veteran craig received a civic donated by all state. he served 13 years and seven deployments in the persian gulf in somalia. he is currently without a place to live. but he is positive this car will be a turning point in his life. >> this is, for real? i don't know why i got this.

this is beautiful. i'm very humbled and excited. >> nominated for the donation at the program. the first thing he's going to do is drive to oregon so he can visit his family. >> very nice. what would you do if your rent went up 133%? it is happening to some in the east bay. how they're pushing back. a patch has an issue. plus, outrage over president trump's ex play tiff to describe immigrants from certain countries. the president isn't saying sorry. he's already up and has been tweeting. i'll have the full story next. bay area crews returning bay area crews returning home after rescuing mudslide

when my smile is bright, i feel ready to shine. some whitening toothpastes only remove surface stains, colgate optic white high impact white is different. it has hydrogen peroxide, to whiten four shades for a visibly whiter smile. trust your smile to colgate optic white.

what you're supposed to be seeing right now is a view of san francisco. >> no. the fog so bad you're going to have to imagine the skyline. we're seeing dense fog all over the bay area now. it's not raining heavily. it will be okay. it's friday. >> i think it will be okay. we're going to survive it. >> january 12th. alexis and mike off this morning. you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. >> hi, lisa. >> hi, reggie. natasha, good morning to you. the sacramento valley has a dense fog advisory. in the bay area, you could use one because we are foggier than yesterday. in fact, we're looking at zero mile visibility from half moon bay. less than a mile in livermore. just over a mile in concord. it's foggy at the san