faith, hope and love. >> congresswoman barbara lee at today's funeral for nia wilson. wilson's niece says she cannot believe her favorite person is gone. >> nobody can tell me otherwise. can you promise to come visit me in my dreams? >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. sad day, indeed, for family, friends and dignitaries as they say good-bye to a teenager stabbed to death at a bart station. >> abc 7 news reporter melanie woodrow is live at mcarthur bart in oakland. we'll get to melanie's report in a moment. it was a very, very emotional day in oakland as they said good-bye to nia wilson. >> if -- say her name. her name has a broken nation. let us come together whether you're black or white.

even if you're color blind, you can still the difference between wrong and right. >> so confused, teaching you, can i just see you one more time. >> so many people spoke today about nia, their experience and memories. and this young girl, just utterly devastated. again, congresswoman barbara lee was there as well. again, a very difficult day as they remember a life cut too short. listen. >> nia's love, the love she gives without no expression. nooia's love, the love she give when you may not have no sense of direction. nia's love, the love she gives when you need that protection. nia's love, the kind of love that will never fade away. nia's love that she gives when she tell you to cherish those

and have a wonderful blesed day. nia's love, my nia's love, baby girl shining brightly, and big sister promise i will get justice for you, i love you. >> very difficult for nia's sister latifah who was also stabbed with her, held her in her arms as she passed away. following today's memorial wilson's casket was taken from the church by horse and carriage. mourners followed that procession, some getting out of their cars to pay tribute. a prayer rally is about to get under way right now for nia. >> cornell barnard is live at oakland's mcarthur bart station with more on that. cornell? >> reporter: yeah, kristen and dan, just hours after her emotional funeral, a peaceful prayer rally is expected to take place here outside the mcarthur bart station to honor and remember nia wilson. this, of course, is the spot

where so many vigils have taken place over the last few days and weeks. a memorial continues to grow here in her honor. as you know, the 18-year-old was killed on july 22nd in an unprovoked attack on a bart platform as she left the bart train. her sister was also stabbed. she survived. 27-year-old john cowell was charged with the crime. police have not determined a motive in the case. but many believe it to be racially motivated. we are seeing a few people who attended today's funeral starting to gather here outside of the macarthur bart station where this memorial is really vry -- just astounding. in fact, the memorial continues to grow on -- outside another pillar just outside the station here. the memorial -- the vigil, actually, is supposed to begin at 5:00, last until 7:00. we're told several speakers will

be talking about nia. live at macarthur bart, abc 7 news. if you want to know what you can do to help nia's family, find resources at abc7news.com. turning to other news now, a sonoma county man is in custody accused of throwing a suspicious device under a sheriff's patrol car in a safeway parking lot in guerneville. that's video of the sonoma county bomb squad blowing up a backpack they believed belonged to the suspect. sheriff's officials say witnesses saw the man ignite a device and then throw it under the patrol car belonging to an offduty deputy. the device exploded, injurying a safeway employee. >> one woman was knocked to the ground by the explosive. she was checked out and declined medical attention. >> the deputy ran from the store, hearing the blast,

spotted the suspect. a serious accident in fremont is causing major delays tonight. take a look at this picture tweeted by the fremont police department. the accident happened a short time ago. you can see what a big mess it is on mission boulevard, close to interstate 680. mission boulevard is shut down right now. hard to believe when you see this wreckage. but police say the two drivers survived, and they did not even have life-threatening injuries. authorities say they're working on a plan to help ease traffic in that area. turn your attention to california's fierce fire fight right now areas near the mendocino complex fires are under a red flag warning because of gusty winds and low humidity, the worst possible combination. today there are new mandatory evacuation orders for a part of potter valley, also clear lake oaks and the cal mountain recreation area. in the last hour, some evacuation orders were lifted for the lakeport area. the fire has spread to 153,000

acres and is 30% contained with the larger of the two fires expanding now to the northeast. there are reports right now that the ferguson fire has moved farther into yosemite valley. according to sierra news online, it's jumped highway 141. firefighters are being told to shelter in place. all non-essential staff has been evacuated, two people, a firefighter and a bulldozer operator have been killed fighting this particular fire. in the last hour, a small brush fire broke out in walnut creek. it was quickly put out, but it shows how fires really are a problem. you can see the smoke there in the middle of your screen. now, weather conditions are just getting worse, accentuating the danger. abc 7 meteorologist spencer christian is here with more. >> okay, christian, here's a look at the red flag warning in effect until 11:00 tomorrow night for a large area. to our due north, where the carr

fires are burning, mendocino complex fires are burning, wind gusts ranging from 25 do 35 miles per hour. in the sierra the gusts will range up to about 65 miles per hour, even stronger with dangerously low humidity in both areas. right now it's about 88, 89 degrees in both those areas where the fires are burning. wind is gusting from 15 to 27 miles per hour. just give you a look, a visible satellite image, over the last few hours showing the movement of smoke going west to east across the northern part of the state. forecast in a few minutes. >> spencer, thank you. here's another view of the smoke from the mendocino complex fire, the smoke is i have the doctoring down to the bay area and creating a hazy friday, see it from this shot from our east bay hills camera. it's so thick you can barely make out san francisco bay. the smoke is expected to hang around through the weekend. >> this is what greeted lakeport this morning, a beautiful and

colorful sunrise as you look out over the water. but there's also the smoke on the horizon from the wildfires that's made the air quality so poor. >> before wildfire strikes it's always important that you prepare yourself and your family for the possibility of having to evacuate. and even if you're miles away from the nearest major wildfire, there are steps you can take ahead of time if the smoke becomes a real problem. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen has the story from the south bay. with the fire season already off to a devastating start, bay area fire officials are encouraging the public to prepare. >> when those fires are influenced by any amount of wind they spread very quickly. >> captain bill murphy says your wildfire action plan should identify different escape routes from your home and include where your family should meet in case of separation. an emergency kit with documents, medication and extra clothes can be helpful. >> when we issue evacuation warnings or orders, they need to take those seriously.

most importantly, they need to be prepared ahead of time so they're not thinking about what they need to take or bring with them when those notices are issued. >> reporter: because of the wildfires burning to the north, parts of the bay area could experience poor air quality this weekend. employees at ace hardware in las gat toes have stocked up. >> if it's a repeat of last year, there's not going to be any around and there's going to be a lot of people, especially for people who might be older or sensitive to smoke. >> dr. sarah cody, a health officer, says sensitive groups should stay inside if the smoke comes our way. people can create a clean room in their homes. >> a room with few windows and few doors, where you could get an air purifier and just dedicate that room to be your clean air room. >> taking the steps now to avoid frustration in the future. chris new yen, abc 7 news. >> the potential for big fires in california and the northwest

is above normal and fires could continue into october. that's according to the national interagency fire center in an outlook issued this week. we're looking at the map for august right now. the threat increases for the state in september. that's the worst time of the fire season. you can see more of the state is covered in red. and then in october the state is still at risk, but you can see how the northwest false back into a much more normal range. but bottom line we could be in for another two or three intense and tragic months. a call for action in contra costa county. the death of a bikist dcyclist t have to happen. a standing ovation for the astronauts who will usher in the next era of space travel. one is from sonoma county. the pacific ocean is usually cold and unwelcoming, right? not this week. the dubious records set in the waters in southern california. >> i'm "7 on your side's"

michael finney at the santa clara county fair.

a lot of people are grieving a personal loss tonight. martin nelis was killed yesterday. dion lim is live in pleasant hill tonight with more on this tragic story. dion? >> reporter: it was indeed so tragic, dan. martin nelis was a beloved fixture, working here for more than ten years. his colleagues tell me he was brilliant and witty. he will be deeply missed. >> martin was all about family. he was a wonderful father. >> martin nelis was on his lunch

break from his job as public information officer for the city of pleasant hilln agedy struck. >> we are still just processing and absorbing the tragic events of yesterday. >> nelis was riding his bike in lafayette thursday afternoon when the contra costa county sheriff's office received a call a cyclist had been hit. he was transported to the hospital where he later died. >> we gathered last night at my house, just friends started showing up, and we kept waiting for martin to walk through the door. >> this is where martin was hit. while it appears to be quiet, neighbors tell me looks can be deceiving. because of recent development, there are reports regularly of people almost getting hit. >> on next door you see a lot of instances where people have sort of close calls and collisions. you see it happen all the time. >> reporter: jason mcbride has lived in the neighborhood for years, and says the booming construction in the area has made the road a cut through for drivers, a perfect storm for an

accident like this. >> it's hard for bikes to maneuver because there's not a lot of room. it's one of those concerns because you have a lot of cars, a lot of bikes, recipe for disaster. >> reporter: as this neighborhood looks for solutions, another community is grieving. its mayor sending out this message to the world. >> pleasant hill is a wonderful place to live, work and play, and a great part of that was martin's hard work. we're going to have a very difficult time filling the hole in our community fabric created by his loss. >> it is so heartbreaking. now, that construction truck that hit nelis has been impounded and the driver interviewed. that investigation is ongoing. in pleasant hill tonight, i'm dion lim, abc 7 news. a federal appeals court upheld two california gun laws today. one law requires new semiautomatic handguns to stamp identifying information on bullet casings, have chamber load indicators as a safety feature. the second bans conceal/carry

permit holders from possessing firearms on school grounds. gun rights advocates said the law violated second amendment rights and that both laws violated their 14th amendment, equal protection rights. a sonoma county native is among the nine astronauts who will ride the first commercial capsules into orbit next year. nicole mann and her colleagues received a huge round of applause at today's ceremony at the johnson space center in houston. nasa is collaborating with boeing and spacex to make aircraft that can ferry cruise from earth to the international space station and back. >> for the first time since 2011 we are on the brink of launching american astronauts on american rockets from american soil. >> now, mann on the far right here attended stanford where she earned a degree in mechanical engineering. spacex and boeing are shooting for a test flight of their

capsules to the space station by the end of this year or early next. the ocean waters off of san diego broke a record this week, the highest temperature in san diego in 102 years of taking measurements. reporter jennifer de la cruz has the story. >> our oceans are warmer this year. >> warmer than past years. >> people are loving it. >> maybe a little too warm. a sea surface temperature of 78.6 degrees recorded on wednesday, more than ten degrees above the average. >> it is still warmer than normal and warmer than normal since early 2014. >> reporter: he's calling it a marine heat ve >> reporter: he says sea surface temperatures should have gone back to normal. that didn't happen. >> it means we're in a new situation around here. >> reporter: we've seen changes in marine life. >> last year we had hammer head

sharks, sea snakes, which was quite unusual. >> reporter: he says it's a excision of things like climate change, el nino and raising surface temperatures that could bring serm innocent changes. >> when you add the gradual increase to this fluctuation you get, sometimes you get pretty big increases that you might not recover from. maybe that's what's going on now. >> more records could be broken since august is usually the month with the highest ocean temperatures. and you know it's only the start of august, august 3rd. >> announcer: now your accuweather forecast with spencer christian. >> we have some high air temperatures coming our way, not for a while. here's a look at current conditions. live doppler 7 showing sunny skies from coast to inland across the bay area. it's breezy out there, we still have gusts of around 23 miles per hour here in san francisco, and around the bay and near other coast allocations. we've got anywhere from 10 to 16 degree wind speeds. here's what's happening with the smoke because of these winds. this is a looping satellite image. the wind is coming from the

north first and then curling onshore and blowing the smoke generally away from the bay area. the bulge k of the smoke. larger masses being blown into the central valley. wind gusts show overnight hours into tomorrow winds will taper off early tomorrow and intensify again in the afternoon and evening hours. so this windy pattern will remain with us. here's a view from sutro tower looking northward. oakland, 73. mountain view, 73. this is the view looking toward the golden gate. the haze in the distance there, it's 87 in santa rosa. concord at 93 and livermore. from the east bay hills we give you this hazy view. these are our forecast features. mild to warm the next two days, turning much warmer early next week. and we may see triple digit temperature readings in some of our inland areas by the middle

of next week. before i get to that, we have this. overnight, a little bit of fog will form near the coastline. we'll see hazy conditions in the sky. overnight lows will be mainly in the mid to upper 50s. then tomorrow, breezy at the coast once again. we're locked in this pattern for a while. there will be haze in the air. declining a bit with more and more smoke. high temperatures ranging from mid-60s at the coast, up to about 80 degrees. the inland east bay will see high in the low to mid-90s. north bay, upper 80s to low 90s. here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. so we have a lot of change coming our way over the next seven days. for the next three days look for inland temperatures mainly in the low to mid-90s, about 80 to 82 right around the bay and low 60s on the coast. the warmup begins in full force on tuesday, wednesday and thursday will be hot inland with high temperatures around 100 degrees. mid to upper 80s around the bay shoreline, and next friday, temperatures start to moderate a bit. but that heat is going to hold on for a few days.

>> looks like it. thanks, spencer. something to drink, and something to play. it's finney's friday free stuff, next. then at 5:30, world news. >> coming up on world news, the flash flood threat heading into the weekend, 50 million americans in the storm zone. plus, did an offduty police officer try to plant evidence. the scandal rocking college football. new at 6:00, a redding man shares the dramatic video of his family's harrowing escape from the carr fire, flames all around. their ♪ ♪ ♪ i put a spell on you ♪ yeah, because you're mine ♪ with chase atms serena can now grab cash on the go, all with the tap of her phone. ♪ stop the things you do no card? no problem.

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a rhino trying to flip a car on an african safari. >> it jolts the car up and down, off the ground as you can see, used its horns to latch onto the

bumper, eventually falling off. look at this thing. the driver of the car tried to accelerate, honk the horn to scare off the rhino. nothing worked until park employees intervened. the park says the rhino was showing off to a female in heat. no one was hurt. there were no kids on the block today, dozens and dozens of professional goats briefly took over an idaho neighborhood. they're trained to remove weeds fro fields, pastures and open spaces. given the chance, they also will clear flower beds. >> they're efficient. >> the goat crew had been working overnight in a nearby drainage area and broke through a fence and began their grand adventure. animal control rounded them all up eventually, but not before they had a most excellent adventure. >> so cute clumped together running around. it's time for finney's friday free stuff. michael is in the field in santa clara county fire. >> michael, adding to the fun,

giving stuff away. >> we are taking a lot of questions here, a beautiful day. warm, warm, but a beautiful day out here. i suggest everybody show up. we'll be here until 7:00. we're solving consumer questions and concerns. so drop by in san jose. let's go to finney friday free stuff, a bit more entertaining, free piano lessons. the hoffman academy, if you -- it's an online school, and you're going to get a premium account for a month, that's an $18 value. you are not going to pay a thing because you're watching "7 on your side" and finney's friday free stuff right now. the sandwich a large drink, $2.50 value. you know togo's, all over the bay area, and this is the kind of day you need a 20 ounce

fountain soft drink. go online, order it there, you'll pick it up and as you know togo's is one of the original sand wach places here in the bay area. to get in on this, go to abc7news.com, look for the "7 on your side" area. then look under finney's friday free stuff. we'll be here until 7:00 taking your consumer questions and concerns. drop by and say hello. reporting live from san jose, i'm michael finney. >> meet you at the midway, michael, thanks. a special event that has hundreds of children grinning ear to ear and their families ready to send them back to school next. >> first, we want to thank danielle for this picture of one of the alameda marina. share your pictures with us with the #abc7now.

i'm ama daetz, coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, the fires across california are leaving local fire departments stretched thin. tonight, local cities are kept safe with so many firefighters out of town. also, why you better plan ahead if you're thinking about taking bart across the bay this weekend. we'll have all that plus much more coming up in a half hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. kristen, dan? >> thanks so much. a special event today in the south bay to make children make sure they have everything they need when they head back to school. >> almost that time. abc 7 news at the sunnyvale

community services today for the annual head to toe backpack distributions. >> kids stopped by the load up, backpacks are stuffed with supplies and each family got one bag of groceries and a gift card to buy shoes. >> they're putting everything they can into their housing costs. so food, backpacks, other necessities that the kids need and that the families need are out of their reach without some help from the community. >> about 1,800 children were expected to take part today. great effort. >> many such drives including the sacred heart one that abc 7 is a part of. we encourage you to world news tonight is coming up next. i'm kristen sze. >> i'm dan ashley. see you again at 6:00. >> there he is, taking your questions. bye-bye.

tonight, several developing stories as we come on. the severe storm threat, flash flood watches up and down the east coast. fears a dam could give way. residents told to evacuate. plus, the tornado confirmed here in new york city. 50 million americans now in the storm zone heading into the weekend. also breaking tonight, planting evidence? the video obtained by abc news. an officer in plain clothes and off duty shooting a man in the face, then appearing to place something on the ground. was he caught on camera trying to cover up a crime? the bombshell interview tonight in the ohio state coach scandal. the assistant coach accused of domestic abuse now saying head coach urban meyer knew about the allegations. just moments ago, meyer responding. also tonight, police cornering the suspect wanted for