any of the names and have information about that person so they can check them off the list. >> cal fire is about to update us on the fire fight that's underway in butte county. let's take a live look at the site of the news conference in chico. you can see they're getting ready to start there. >> now, we're going to stream this live online at abc7news.com, and we will bring you the updates here on abc 7. we will monitor very closely what is being said. at last count, 63 people have died, making the camp fire the deadliest on record in california history. there are fears the number could go much higher because 631 people remain unaccounted for in butte county. >> the camp fire is also the most destructive fire on record, destroying 9,700 homes. thousands of people remain evacuated because of the fire. >> the fire has charred 142,000 acres and firefighters are making progress. containment is up to 45% tonight. cal fire says it expects to have the fire fully contained in two weeks. >> and because of all of the smoke, today san francisco set a

record for the worst air quality ever with a qi of 271. the bay area air quality management district says the prior record was from last year's north bay wildfires when the air quality index measured 246 in the city. we have team coverage on the impact this air pollution is having. "abc 7 news" anchor eric thomas will give us an update on the postponement of the big game between cal and stanford. >> first let's hear from abc 7 weather anchor spencer christian. >> we are running out of ways of saying the air quality is bad and potentially hazardous to our health. let me give you a look at a satellite image from a few hours ago. the reason it is older is because we have a better image when the sun is up. you see the direction of the smoke flowing from the fire, first south ward into the sacramento valley and then southwest ward into tl bay area. that's why we have the continuing buildup of pollutants. this is the air quality index

showing levels of fine particulate matter building up in the air of 200 and above. 246 in oakland. nearly 300 at livermore. that's really poor, and it is poor in other locations as well. moving along, a live view showing the smoke building up over san rafael. this is our air quality forecast for the next four days. the spare-the-air alert will remain in effect along with an air quality advisory. air quality will be poor in the bay area saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday. we expect modest improvement midweek next week as some rain comes in, but before that we just have to deal with this declining air quality. ama. >> all right, spencer. thank you so much. and take a look at a live look at the embarcadero center in san francisco. you can see the salesforce tower in the background. we just learned about 90 minutes ago that the bad air forced the cancellation of tonight's building lighting ceremony at the embarcadero center. also, the skating rink closed early and it is going to be

closed indefinitely because of the poor air quality. the carnival, which is held indoors, went on as scheduled and wrapped up just a few minutes ago. >> "abc 7 news" was in downtown san jose as well where crews were wearing masks as they put together some of the many displays for christmas in the park. the event is supposed to open next friday. one place that shut down is in san jose, is happy hollow park and zoo. it is closed indefinitely, of course, because of the bad air we are talking about. well, tomorrow's traditional big game between cal and stanford has been postponed. >> "abc 7 news" anchor eric thomas is live in berkley. it is not the only game affected either, right? >> now the big game is supposed to happen on december 1st, that's when it has been postponed to. it is such a rare event, this postponement. it has only happened once before, and it was in 1963 following the assassination of president john kennedy. now, normally there would be activities here tonight, rallies, bonfire, but because of the smoke tonight it is quiet.

when we first bumped into a visitor from toronto on the cal campus, he is just bought big game tickets. >> this is my first day in california, so i'm hoping that -- i heard a lot about the game, and i have heard that it is supposed to be one of the biggest games of the season. >> it is when they get to play, but late this afternoon cal athletic director jim nolton announced the annual showdown withstand forward had to be postponed until december 1st because of bad air quality. >> once we realized the air quality would not likely return to acceptable levels, we made the decision to postpone for health and safety of our student-athletes. >> cal is hosting the big game this year. junior william aldridge planned to take his little sister, vanessa, to her first big game, but they figured postponing was a possibility. >> we were hoping it wasn't, obviously, but we know that the health of the players is obviously a big concern. >> yeah, it is pretty disappointing because cal/stanford is like the biggest game of the whole year. >> reporter: no big game, no

bonfire the night before. as i told this cal student, whose best friend flew up from texas for the contest. >> what do you mean there's -- no, there's going to be a bonfire. >> not with this smoke. >> what do you mean? >> reporter: i'm sorry. >> no! >> so you know what? we're pushing to saturday. >> reporter: and it is not just college football. the north coast sectionales had a slate of high school playoff games scheduled for this weekend. after spending days on the phone trying to find alternate sites with healthier air, the organization decided to postpone games until saturday, november 24th. >> the air quality is just too poor. a lot of our districts have closed their schools. they're not even in school today. >> reporter: and it gets even more intriguing with north coast sectionales. if they can't play the game next week, then it will be decided on head-to-head matchups, who moves on. if they didn't play head-to-head, then it will be decided by coin flip. as far as big game tickets go, they will be honored on

december 1st as they would have been tomorrow. on the berkley campus, eric thomas, "abc 7 news." >> okay. thanks, eric, very much. the north face endurance challenge and the sunset running races, both in san francisco, have been called off for tomorrow because of the smoke. the oakland zoo is closed through at least tomorrow. alcatraz will be closed this weekend as well. sunday's annual berkley half-marathon will be rescheduled until february, maybe march. the 49ers golden heart run on sunday in santa clara has been cancelled. we have a complete list of the cancellations on our website, abc7news.com. dog owners have taken the unhealthy air quality warning seriously. many decided to keep their pets indoors or maybe limit their walks. "abc 7 news" reporter lyanne melendez is at corona height dog park in san francisco with suggestions on how to keep your dog safe. hi, lyanne. >> reporter: hi. let me tell you, even at night dog owners come to this park to walk their dogs. it is a very popular park, but i think all we're going to see

tonight are raccoons and coyotes. clearly people are staying home, keeping their dogs safe. it is usually swarming with dogs, but today the national park was practically empty. stephanie zay is a dog walker. because of the unhealthy air she limited the time spent out with her animals. >> i brought them out for like an hour and a half today. >> reporter: that's half of what you usually do? >> yeah, so half. just so they could get out. >> reporter: some older dogs required needed assistance. >> i take them out. we're not going to go very long. we just take shorter walks now. >> reporter: at delores park we ran into harriet. her owner told us conditions out here have not been good for the dog. >> i don't take them out for as long as i usually do, and she -- because she is coughing so much, i'm having to hold her a lot. >> reporter: this woman posted a picture of her dog with a small bandana covering its face, which

doesn't do much good. masks aren't really effective either. >> and they probably wouldn't tolerate them being fitted anyway. >> reporter: dr. sherri o'neil just returned from chico where she and other vets were treating animals. she says it is not a bad idea to wipe down your dogs after a walk because some dogs tend to lick themselves. >> with those cases where there's a lot of particulate matter on the coat, you do want to gently wipe it away, and baby wipes would work just fine for that. >> reporter: last night she brought home a senior dog after its owner, an elderly woman who lost her home, could no longer care for her. the dog's name is gizmo. >> the shelter i was at had close to 800 animals there. it is very full, three separate buildings, and just trying to physically manage the needs of all of those animals, even the healthy ones, it is quite challenging. >> reporter: and gizmo will eventually need a home. by the way, muttville is a great organization here in san francisco which helps senior,

older dogs. i'm live in san francisco, lyanne melendez, "abc 7 news." >> okay, lyanne, thank you. as dangerous air quality continues to plague the bay area, a utah-based company is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. purple air is a crowd sourcing based air monitoring system with numbers that have consistently been more alarming than the federal government's. "abc 7 news" anchor kristen sze is here to show you how it works. >> dan, this map shows you where purple air sensors are located. you can see in the u.s., mostly green and yellow for good or acceptable air. but we will show you the bay area here, and you will see it is all dark red pretty much. that means air quality that is just dangerously unhealthy. let's go ahead and just click on the san francisco dot right there, that's in the south beach. that sensor shows 282 as the air quality index, and the seven-day graph you can see shows it has been bad the whole week. now we're going to show you this. each dot represents one purple air sensor, costing about $250.

it uses a fan to draw air past a laser, causing reflections from particles, and it counts the particles. >> so when you buy the sensor, you take it out of the box, you put it on your house, you connect it to your wi-fi and you look at it on the map. >> reporter: there are about 600 of these sensors in the bay area, and right now i will take you -- right now you are looking at the chico area where you can see, boy, 548, 466. that air quality there is more toxic for sure than what we have here in the bay area. nowhere in the world is it this bad. in fact, i'm going to show you, 378, that's new del hi, updated to 401. that may be bad, but here in the bay area our regional average is 465. that's compared to one of the most polluted cities in the world. we are worse right now. ama. >> thank you, kristen. about an hour ago santa clara university announced it will stay closed all next week

through thanksgiving weekend, possibly reopening on monday, november 26th. today most school districts in the south bay remained open despite the unhealthy air quality. we found mixed reaction from parents, but health officials say it was right thing to do. chris wynn has more from san jose on the rational behind the decision. >> reporter: as smoke from the camp fire hovers throughout the region, this has become a familiar scene, empty school playgrounds and athletic field because of the poor air quality. >> they're coughing during the night. they're like -- they don't feel good. they wake up, they don't want to go to school. >> reporter: but in the south bay, of the 31 school districts in santa clara county, all but three chose to keep classes in session at the recommendation of the county board of education as well as the county health department. >> we want to ensure that students have access to safe indoor, clean air. >> reporter: public health officer dr. sarah cody says it was the best recommendation to make. >> families, of course, don't have to send their child to school if they feel that on

balance it is better for their own child's health if they stay at home. >> reporter: with 30,000 students, the san jose unified school district stayed open but kept kids inside all day because of the smoke. >> we have great filtration systems in our school, the air conditioning that filters out the particulates and makes the smoke less damaging for students. >> reporter: some parents were happy with the decision. >> they're having this break coming up already for thanksgiving, you know, which we are all trying to get to. so, you know, it is good that they're actually staying in school. >> reporter: others weren't as thrilled about the move. >> there's a group of kids standing right in front of the office waiting for their parents to pick them up, and not one child is wearing a mask. >> when you're inside it is kind of boring because you are just doing math and all of that and just work. >> reporter: county officials will continue to monitor conditions throughout the weekend and say any smoke-related absences will be counted as excused. in san jose, chris wynn, "abc 7 news." coming up next, we are live in paradise, a town that has

been scorched by the camp fire and is now recovering and rebuilding. >> we will find out what cal fire has to say from chico on the fire fight, also ahead. >> with the bad air quality in the bay area, what type of medical treatment do you need to medical treatment do you need to stay healthy? medical treatment do you need to stay healthy? (music throughout)

at at&t, we believe in access. the opportunity for everyone to explore a digital world. connecting with the things that matter most. and because nothing keeps us more connected than the internet, we've created access from at&t. california households with aleas snap or ssi benefits may qualify for home internet at a discounted rate of $10 a month. no commitment, deposit, or installation fee. visit att.com/accessnow to learn more.

well, you are looking at live picture of the nightly news conference being held by officials in butte county on the camp fire. the number of structures destroyed has jumped to 12,263. that includes 9,700 homes. >> cal fire officials now are especially concerned about gusty winds. a red flag warning has been issued for the camp fire burn area this weekend.

>> we are concerned about the winds that are predicted for this weekend. we continue to work on direct handline in the big bend area. the fuels in there have no recorded fire history and are extremely big and heavy and in very steep terrain and continue to be a challenge. >> 50 additional fire engines will arrive on the fire lines tomorrow. the fire has burned 146,000 acres and is 50% contained. we'll continue monitoring the news conference for information and we'll have an update in about 15 minutes. but in the meantime let's go live to "abc 7 news" reporter wayne freedman in paradise this evening. wayne. >> reporter: good evening, dan. you know, you talk about air quality in the bay area. here in paradise tonight it is almost 600 parts per million. i have taken my mask off just for this live shot. it is not pleasant at all, and yet that's not the biggest source of frustration. people in paradise, some 27,000 of them, they want to come home. they keep asking, why can't we come home?

well, what we've done today, we went around town, we're going to show you why it is still a very dangerous place. the road blocks do have a purpose. >> for safety reasons right now we're not letting residents in. >> reporter: one reason that outside the burn zone impatience increases every day. >> i am going to push my way in and go check on my animals. >> reporter: which may be easy to say but daunting to navigate, even for those who work here. >> i'm going to call this more like a tsunami than i would be -- like a tidal wave of fire. >> reporter: this is the version of paradise no one ever imagined or can even comprehend when they see it firsthand. >> it is crazy to see everything just gone. >> reporter: chris flores focuses mostly on traffic lights and signals. he put up two of them when we found him today, 12 more to go, and then a city beyond that. not easy to run around here when it is hard just to walk. >> oh, it takes weeks. >> reporter: the hazards everywhere from trees that could fall at any moment to downed

wires to toxins on burn sites to some 600 people still unaccounted for as the search for human remains continues block by block. the yellow tags, those are good news. >> the property has been searched and certain colors where you will have where either, a, someone has been found or where no one has been found, which is obviously a good thing. >> reporter: all part of a pain staking process in its beginning phases. paradise is no place for the uninitiated. >> what we don't want to have to do is come back and rescue someone or someone that has gotten injured after we let them back in. that would not be a good thing. >> reporter: maybe now you get a sense of just what it is like still in this community. work going on everywhere, traffic pretty much non-existent. a mess. paradise, i hate to say it, paradise is a mess. live in paradise tonight. wayne freedman, "abc 7 news." >> thank you, wayne, very much. all right. so let's get right to weather and spencer christian for the forecast.

>> i'm going to start by giving you a view of the smoky haze over the skyline of san francisco right now as seen from the exploratorium camera. of course, it looks like this all over the bay area right now. 59 degrees right now here in san francisco and in san jose. we have mid 50s in oakland, mountain view and morgan hill, and 48 degrees in half moon bay. here is a smoky haze at san rafael. 50 degrees in santa rosa. 48 in napa. 52 in novato. 53 at concord and livermore. now we see the smoke over san jose, and these are our forecast features. the smoky haze will be with us through tuesday. we may see slight improvement in air quality tomorrow as we expect a little bit of a sea breeze to develop. then rain will arrive next week, bringing with it cleaner air as well. we are eagerly waiting for that. this smoke forecast animation shows these darker colors here representing the heaviest concentration of smoke. as we go into the weekend, notice how lighter colors show up on the map here in the san francisco bay area. that means, of course, slight improvement in the air quality, but i emphasize slight because

we do expect poor air quality generally to remain with us through the weekend and into early next week. overnight, still a spare-the-air day. low temperatures will drop into the mid to upper 30s. in the inland valleys. we will see low to mid 40s in the bay and the coast. again, tomorrow, a spare-the-air day. we will see high temperatures raising from upper 50s to about 60 on the coast. mainly low 60s around the bay shoreline, and only mid to upper 60s in the mildest inland locations. now, let's look ahead to when we can expect some rain. next week, wednesday, thursday and friday, we have substantial chances of rainfall all three of those days. the storm that's coming in ranks one on the storm impact scale, so wednesday through friday we expect light to moderate rainfall. rainfall totals in most areas about half an inch to an inch. it will be breezy and cleaner marine air will accompany the rain. heave is a forecast animation starting 5:00 next wednesday morning, the eve of thanksgiving.

we will see the first wave of rain come through on wednesday with snow in the sierra. thursday, thanksgiving day, a second wave of rain will come through with more snow in the sierra. on friday and into the weekend, expect a third wave of rain to come in. that's the way it is shaping up right now. much-needed rainfall and much-needed cleaner air. here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. there will be little change in the weather conditions through next tuesday except perhaps a bit of an increase in clouds. it will cool down on wednesday as the rain arrives and as the stronger sea breeze develops, sweeping out some of this dirty air. so we will have light rain, light to moderate rain on wednesday, thursday and friday. thanksgiving day will be a day for being thankful for the rain. >> yes. >> and for the cleaner air. >> thanks, spencer. all right. stay with us. a lot more to come. up next -- >> an auto dealership at multiple locations throughout the bay area suddenly shuts its doors. i'm michael finney. ahead on

and you find a deal on cookware that makes you say. you know when you're at ross yes! ...oh, yeah! bring on the holidays! that's yes for less. everything you need to prep, cook and serve up the season. it feels even better when you find it for less-at ross. yes for less. oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (vo) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar

and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? (vo) and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? (vo) a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. oh! no increased risk? ♪ ozempic®! ♪ ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching, rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin

may increase the risk for low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. i discovered the potential with ozempic®. ♪ oh! oh! oh! ozempic®! ♪ (vo) ask your healthcare provider if ozempic® is right for you. and you realize you are the the hostess with the mostest. you know when you're at ross yes! yeah! that's yes for less. entertain in style all season long. it feels even better when you find it for less-at ross. yes for less. "7 on your side" has confirmed the closure of seven auto dealerships in two bay area cities. the closures have left anxious customers with few answers. >> yeah, michael finney has been tackling this story all afternoon. he joins us with his findings.

>> the dealership are all under the umbrella of momentum auto group with sales rooms in vallejo and san jose. seven locations are closed. they are momentum dodge chrysler jeep ram in faird. momentum hyundai and mitsubishi in fairfield. momentum nissan in fairfield. momentum infinity in fairfield. momentum kia in vallejo and momentum dodge, chrysler, jeep and ram in vallejo. some locations have signs reading, closed until further notice. others simply say, out of business. now, we saw several surprised customers arrive at a closed dealership in vallejo today. one was left wondering how he would retrieve his car from the now-shuttered repair shop. another got her car just in time. >> he told me that he was calling me -- it was a courtesy call to let me know momentum had

been shut down. >> it bothers me because there's no information or anything like that that they give me and now i have to get it, you know, from them. >> reporter: at this hour eugene porterfield says he has no idea how he will get his car back. two dealerships under the momentum auto group remain open. momentum chevrolet in san jose and momentum toyota in fairfield. a manager there declined to speak to us or explain the closures. we will, of course, continue looking into this. >> all right. thank you so much, michael. well, all of this week "abc 7 news" has been focusing on building a better bay area when it comes to your commute. >> we have talked about the bay bridge metering lights, whether traffic actually helps and why past plans to build freeways never came to fruition. >> tonight we are looking into the future. we will explain how an experiment like this with self-driving cars can help reduce traffic. it is fascinating. plus, your questions about

masks answered. find out what will protect you from our

live where you live, this is "abc 7 news". within the last ten minutes we have just learned the death toll from the deadly camp fire in butte county has grown by eight to a total of 71. the butte county sheriff just announced eight victims were found in the last 24 hours by recovery teams in the community of paradise and another nearby town. >> here is a live picture of a news conference underway right now where officials are updating the public on the fire. moments ago, sheriff honea told us where the latest victims were found. >> of the eight that were located today, seven of them were found in paradise. all were inside structures. one was found in magalia, and that -- those human remains were found inside of a structure. >> butte county sheriff kory honea says the number of missing has gone up to 1,111. there's a much higher -- that's

a much higher number than yesterday, but he warned some names may be listed more than once. he said the figure will fluctuate, and we have seen that in the last few days. >> and at the bottom of your screen, we are continuing to run the names of people who are listed as missing after the fire by the butte county sheriff. >> there's also a phone number. call that number if you recognize any of these names and have information about that person. >> yes. many parts of the bay area experienced purple air, the color that signifies very unhealthy levels today. >> you can just sense it as you went about your business today. let's check in with "abc 7 news" weather anchor spencer christian and what it means exactly. >> those purple areas are showing up all over our air quality index graphic. i will show you first a live view of san rafael -- i skipped over it but it is smoky and hazy there as it is in all regions of the bay area. here is the air quality index which measures current levels of fine particulate matter. those are the particles in the atmosphere that create the smoky haze we see and that can get into our respiratory system and

go deep into our lungs. look at the boxes in purple there, vallejo, concord, livermore, oakland, san francisco, that's where we have the poorest air quality, and it is also poor at santa rosa, redwood city and san jose i might add. this is the view as i give you a look at the air quality forecast. it is expected to improve only slightly tomorrow. we expect poor air quality tomorrow, sunday, monday and tuesday, as the spare-the-air alert remains in effect until tuesday. dan, ama. >> spencer, thanks very much. here is a live look at san francisco international airport. at least 350 flights were delayed today because of the low visibility caused by all of the smoke. >> some flights saw delays of 60 minutes, maybe more. the timing could not have been worse, of course. today is expected to be one of the highest travel days because of thanksgiving. flights at oakland and san jose airports were largely on time today despite the hazy conditions there, too. >> we're all braving the smoke together, but what are we doing correctly? what are we doing wrong?

"abc 7 news" reporter leslie brinkley got answers to all of our questions about masks and other ways people are coping with the smoke. >> reporter: we are all improvising, perfecting our mask-wearing technique to protect our health in the smoke-choked air. >> is it a good idea to wear the mask while driving? >> i think it would be because you are getting in and out of your car more frequently, and you are mixing the airs. >> reporter: dr. allison is an allergist with the allergy medicine group of the bay area. she says ill-fitting one-size-fits-all masks that are too large can be folded and sealed with medical tape. >> wrap around glasses are a good idea, and sunglasses, regular glasses. you can use goggles if you want to, because a lot of my patients are having eye irritation in addition to coughing. >> reporter: is something like this, a snorkel mask, overkill? >> why not, really? >> reporter: whatever works? >> whatever works. i think it is a great idea, a

great improv. >> reporter: of course, if you have access to an industrial respirator, that might not be a bad idea. >> you can use it if you happen to have access to one. >> reporter: if you run out the door and grab a bandana, a scarf, would this help? >> it is better than nothing. again, a thicker scarf is better if you can. >> reporter: at the sports basement store in berkley today, runners still showed up to pick up their swag despite the cancellation of the biofreeze half marathon this weekend because of the bad air quality. some customers came in asking for desert goggles like this and even camping gear. >> instead of walking around berkley with masks on, we could just head down to pinnacles a set up and may little bit. >> reporter: get out of town and take a deep breath again. i'm leslie brinkley, "abc 7 news." and while we are struggling with the bad air, those whose homes burned down are, of course, dealing with a lot

worse. if you would like to help the fire victims, we have a full list of resources you can turn to on our website, abc7news.com. you can make a $10 donation to the red cross. just text "red cross" to 90999. we have spent more than a week straight in spare the air territory because of the smoke from butte county. >> what is it really

(music throughout)

let's focus again on air quality. what do you need to keep healthy during this series of spare-the-air alerts? >> you see lots of people walking around with masks, but the question is does it work. >> "abc 7 news" reporter dion lim spoke with two doctors to get answers to the questions. >> reporter: over the course of dr. david tuft's career he has treated firefighters who have suffered from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. >> the greatest risk are those trapped in their home and exposed to a closed space fire. >> reporter: while he said there's carbon monoxide in our atmosphere right now, a hyperbaric chamber like these are not helpful for the most, just those with the most severe conditions.

we visited dr. ian tong who was in his home at walnut creek. even he didn't want to go outside to commute to work. >> i have never seen anything like this. i don't have respiratory issues but i have shortness of breath. >> reporter: we sat down with facebook live to answer questions. >> if you work in an office building using ambient air from the atmosphere and pulling it in through the building, then you really probably should be wearing a mask. >> reporter: speaking of masks, dr. tong says bandanas and holding a mask are not enough. he recommends n-95 rated mask and wearing it properly. >> the way to wear it correctly is to make sure that you pinch this metal portion here, pinkch it around your nose so it is fitted so you create a suction. the way you make sure it is working, when you put it on, you breathe in, and if you see suction happening, you can feel it pressing against your face, you know you have fitted the mask correctly. >> reporter: the good news, despite the effects of all of this smoke, the body can recover

eventually. >> this is not something the next day after the smoke clears that you will be back to normal. your body and immune system has to fight it off. >> reporter: even though hyperbaric oxygen treatment is not required for current air conditions, there are other benefits you can learn about at abc7news.com. in walnut creek i'm dion lim, "abc 7 news." and our air quality is expected to improve this weekend, but we are still several days away from clean air. spencer has the detailed forecast next. and you can track bay area air quality levels with the "abc 7 news" app. the app is also how we've sent outbreaking news alerts when conditions worsened and how we will let you know w

"abc 7 news" is committed to building a better bay area. so we're spending more time examining issues that affect our quality of life and trying to find solutions. >> and tonight how a small number of cars with artificial intelligence would soon improve traffic for all other cars on the road, including yours. >> it happens to all of us. you are driving along the freeway when for no obvious reason some cars start slowing down while others are still cruising right along. it is what experts call a phantom traffic jam. >> you are stuck because of the way people drive.

small disturbances from one driver are magnified by the driver behind, and pretty soon it is speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down. >> reporter: dan work, a traffic expert from vanderbilt university knows all about the phantom traffic jam. his team even wran this test, demonstrating it is a real phenomenon. you can see it sped up in this video. 22 cars driving in a circle. >> there are drivers who are told to drive as they normally would in rush hour traffic. inevitably, eventually the cars go into a stop and go traffic pattern where drivers are racing around one side of the track to go caught in the traffic jam on the other side of the track. >> reporter: here is video with data from an experiment that shows what we can do about it. these are the same cars with one exception. the arrow points to a self-driving car programmed to smooth the flow of traffic. the human drivers don't know it is there, but as one self-driving car drives more smoothly, all of the other cars do too. >> what that self-driving car has to do is basically drive at

the average speed of that person that's driving too fast and then too slow. >> a human driver can't figure that out but a car with artificial intelligence can. here in the bay area traffic researchers at the department of energy's berkley lab are using sophisticated computer modelling to predict what else self-driving cars can do. in this simulation, cars programmed to behave like human drivers have to get through an intersection. they take turns just like people would do. then a single car with artificial intelligence is introduced. >> if you let artificial intelligence find a more efficient solution, what it will do for this particular scenario is it will learn to create a smack, even though you never taught it what is a snake. >> the researcher says the team's computer models figured out how to make merging traffic run more efficiently. this simulation represents the approach to the bay bridge toll plaza, also a sticking point. the red symbols are self-driving cars regulating other vehicles

to smooth the flow of traffic. >> in the coming years we will see an increasing proportion of vehicles on the road have some level of automation. not fully automated but some level of automation. within a few years we will have maybe 5% or 10% of vehicles that could help control traffic. >> reporter: remember that experiment with the circling cars? researchers say when the cars were driving more smoothly they used an incredible 40% less gas. that's not just the self-driving car, it is all of them. >> it really shows the potential that these automation systems, even before every car has them, can benefit all of our commutes. >> really interesting, isn't it? an early version of this technology is being offered by some carmakers. it is an advanced version of cruise control that allows you to set the amount of space between you and the car ahead of you. researchers say that keeps you driving more smoothly and benefits everyone around you. we want you to be part of this conversation. how can we work on building a better bay area and making it

easier to get where we want to go? share your ideas by adding the #betterbayarea on social media. all right. spencer is back with an update on our forecast. >> all right, spencer. >> i'll get it out. >> it is the air quality, that's what it is doing. >> it is the air quality messing up our speech overnight under hazy conditions, a spare-the-air night. low temperatures drop into the mid to upper 30s in inland valleys, low 40s around the bay and on the coast. tomorrow, another hazy and smoky day, another spare-the-air day. highs range from 60 as the coast. there will be a little bit of fog and perhaps a sea breeze that might improve the air quality slightly. highs around the bay and inland in the mid to upper 60s. as we look at the haze over san rafael, here is the air quality forecast for the next four days. we expect poor air quality in all regions of the bay area, and the spare-the-air alert has been extended through tuesday. we have a storm ranking one on

the impact scale, producing about half an inch to an inch total in most locations. here is the forecast animation starting on wednesday, going into thanksgiving day a second wave of rain, and then on friday and into next weekend a third wave of rain and snow in the sierra. that will bring us much-needed relief in many ways. it will relieve the dry conditions as well as the poor air quality. here is the accuweather seven day forecast. as we look ahead to wednesday, thursday and friday, we don't expect continuous rain throughout the day every day, but there will be periods of rain each of those days. we will be thankful for the improved conditions. >> boy, we sure will. >> thanks, spencer. >> on to sports tonight. yeah, a lot to talk about, larry. >> i know you guys talked about stanford and cal. there's one upside of the big game being pushed back a week or a couplefeeac e from t fact that everybody should be able to breathe by

pai'm open to that.medicare? lower premiums? extra benefits? it's open enrollment. time to open the laptop... ...and compare medicare health plans.

why? because plans change, so can your health needs. so, be open-minded. look at everything - like prescription drug plans... oh, and medicare advantage plans from private insurers. use the tools atede.gov or call 1-800-medicare. open to something better? start today. open enrollment ends december 7th.

now abc 7 sports with larry beil. good evening. world war i, world war ii and the assassination of jfk. those are the only tiles the big game has been either cancelled or postponed until now. as we told you earlier, the 121st edition of stanford versus cal has been moved to december 1st because of the bad air quality. the battle for the axe, all of the tailgating and pregame parties just not possible because of the bad air. if there's one upside to the scheduling change, it is that for the first time since 2013 and only the second time since

2007, the big game will actually be the final game of the regular season. just like the good old days. >> i think our hope was all week, we're going to play this game, it is going to get better, the wind is going to change. the great thing was coach wilcox was part of this every step of the way. the football side of him was, let's play the game, and if we can play the game yesterday, let's play it yesterday. everything was on the table. but we looked at air quality everywhere and there just wasn't any place that local where it was a significant improvement. >> well, air quality is somewhat better in the south bay, so san jose state's football game with nevada will go ahead. they will play it tomorrow, but they're moving the kickoff up. instead of a 2:00 p.m. start, they will kickoff at noon in san jose. on to the warriors, they still have the most talent in nba, still favorite to win the championship, but there are more doubts about how the season will unfold following the draymond, k.d. dispute and last night's blowout loss in houston didn't clarify things.

steph curry's presence helped. you saw some camaraderie, some laughs on the bench, but curry's groin injury could keep him out a while. draymond playing despite a foot injury. he went scoreless in 24 minutes last night. the warriors play the mavs in dallas tomorrow. this is a dubs team that is ailing just 16 games into the season. >> we're banged up a little bit physically and right now we're banged up spiritually. there's no getting around that. so we've got to fill up our cup and get our spirit back, get our energy back. we're going to. >> those emotions that caused us to lose, and it is my bad, you know. but, you know, we're not panicking or think, oh, man, we're not a great team. we're still the best team in the league, we will win a bunch of games and another championship and be fine. >> remember the late boal? this is his son, turned 19 today. he is 7'2" freshman at oregon. his name is bol bol.

his best game for the ducks, 26 points, nine boards as they beat sir au cute. he could not down a three just like his father way back went. the uk dids won the guy 80-65. >> omaha state, 157! play ball! >> that is golfer bubba watson channelling his inner patrick mahomes of the chiefs yelling out sponsor names before connecting with his own td strike on the golf course right there. heinz has offered the chiefs qb, pat mahomes, free ketchup for life. for life, if he throws 57 touchdown passes. he has 31 through ten games. he needs to average just over three touchdowns per game to get free catketchup. that's incentive. >> i know, for you, free ketchup for life is -- >> do the fries come with it? >> no, you have to go to mcdonald's for that. >> how about bubba watson?

how good is that? >> well, the touch. >> thanks, larry. join us tonight on kofy tv 20, cable channel 713 and right here for "abc 7 news" at 11:00. the bad air is sticking around and tonight we will show you what is happening in each region of the bay area. we will break it down and take you around the bay area to show you more specifically what is going on. >> on "abc 7 news" at 11:00, hazardous air conditions in the south bay, how it is impacting some big holiday events. . christmas in the park. coming up tonight on abc 7 at 8:00 it is fresh off the boat followed by "speechless." then at 9:00, "child support" followed by "20/20" at 10 and "abc 7 news" at 11:00. a few thoughts about what really matters. the air out there is as bad as any of us can remember. it is unnerving and irritating. it is toxic and it is dangerous. it is too unhealthy for school, to keep the zoo open, to play the big game tomorrow between stanford and cal. needless to say, what we're

coping with here pales in comparison to what the people of butte county are facing. personally, i didn't protect myself as i should have done until yesterday when the smoke suddenly gave me a sore throat and headache. lesson learned. if you don't have one much these for you and your family, an n-95 mask, get them. they can protect you from the toxic particulate matter that is in the smoke lingering all over the bay area this past week and will continue to do so for the next several days. even once this health crisis passes, it is a good idea to keep maybe a box of these masks at home as part of your emergency survival kit. you never know when it might come in handy again, and better to have one now than not be able to get one when there's a run on them. we can't do anything about the air quality, but what really matters is that we can do what we can to protect ourselves until this passes. i always love to hear from you. let me know what you think. follow me on twitter and

facebook @dan ashleyabd7. maybe post a picture of yourself in your mask on the facebook page. >> that will do it for this edition of "abc 7 news". look for breaking news at any time on "abc 7 news" app. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm dan ashley. for spencer christian, larry beil and all of us, we appreciate your time. >> we are leaving you with a look at the embarcadero

♪ this is the "jeopardy!" teen tournament. here are today's semi-finalists-- a senior from winston-salem, north carolina... [ cheers and applause ] a junior from owings mills, maryland... [ cheers and applause ] and a senior from carmel, indiana... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!"--alex trebek! [ cheers and applause ] thank you, johnny. welcome again, ladies and gentlemen. on yesterday's program, a risky wager in final that didn't have to be because the game was a runaway, but it worked out well for maya, and now she's in the wings waiting with claire sattler to see which of these three,

audrey, emma, or rohan, will join them in playing for $100,000 in the 2-day final. good luck. here we go. ♪ categories, please... oh. - audrey, off you go. - germany, $200, please. rohan. - what is deutsch? - deutschland, yes. all right, rainy day p.e. for $200. audrey. - what is dodgeball? - good. germany, $400.