it ignited around 9:00 last night around the 210 freeway before quickly spreading, pushed by 60-mile-per-hour gusts of wind. several homes were seen consumed by flames. we don't know an exact number of homes yet. >> everything, the houses, everything is on fire. it's bad. >> it's bad? >> yeah. >> why did you run? >> my dog was in the house. i had to break the window. it's not even my dog. it's my buddy's dog. he's stuck on the freeway, they won't let him off. >> interstate 210, interstate 5, interstate 405 and highway 14 are all closed. hundreds of firefighters are battling the flames as well as several spot fires sparking beneath power lines. os county.is not cont quick action kept this fire to two acres. the flames burned their way to one utility pole but the fire

did not damage buildings. on the peninsula, firefighters spent the night at the scene of a brush fire on san bruno mountain. it's out now but crews are watching for hot spots. we first brought this to you as breaking news on midday live yesterday. the 11-acre fire burned in the guadalupe canyon area of brisbane. those flames burned under pg&e high voltage lines, but the company says they were not the cause. right now they're trying to determine what caused this fire. still pretty grateful that it is now out. always, you know, especially with the conditions that we're seeing today, they have to watch these hot spots, there could be a flair up. so they want to make sure they have everything out and that everything is going okay. pg&e looking to restore power to everyone impacted by the safety power shutoff. the strongest wind gusts have

died down and all 34 counties have been cleared for restorati restoration. nearly 60% of the customers affected have power back. line inspections stopped once it got dark. they can't do it unless there is light out. pg&e says crews found multiple cases of damage including fallen branches on power lines. >> all right. in addition to all classes canceled at uc berkeley today, there's schools that are still kro closed in parts of the north bay. those include sonoma county office of education, the west side union school district in hillsburg. all oakland unified schools are back oepen. mills college is also back open today. the estimates are coming back in about how much this week's pg&e blackouts will cost the economy and the number is high. it's probably a bon

dan noyes has been looking on the pressure to build a safe power system and what the future looks like. >> reporter: state senator jerry hill sent this letter to the public california utilities commission calling for better oversight of pg&e with these forced blackouts and asking why is pg&e alone in making this desion? >> ty n't have a track record that we can trust. they have a track record that has shown they're a safe utility and they can guarantee what they're doing is the best course of action. >> reporter: hill told me forced power outages are supposed to be a last resort and this week's blackout should not have been so widespread. >> it seems as though this is really a broad blackout covering so many people in so many counties. do you think this should have been targeted more closely to the high-risk areas? >> absolutely. this is supposed to be a surgical approach. it's supposed to be surgically applied to those situations that are warranted. >> reporter: hill called on the puc to perform a root cause

analysis of the decisionmaking that went into the blackouts. the president of the commission came down hard on pg&e. >> this cannot be the new normal. we can't accept it as the new normal and we won't. >> reporter: and court issue of pg&e's safety plan replacing if dry vegetation or trees. i asked pg&e's head of the safety program about it. how far have you come along with the hardening of the wires over the high fire threat areas? because you have a marker for this year, correct? >> we did, sir. so we have a target of 150 miles and we have completed 100 miles. >> reporter: pg&e hopes to replace 600 miles of power lines next year, 7,100 in the next ten years, but there's 25,200 miles of that bare wire in high threat areas so more black uts will come, and we're just starting to hear estimates how much this week's outages will hurt the state's

economy. >> i saw numbers as high as $2.6 billion. >> reporter: a professor tells m businesses will get more resilient buying backup generators, for instance, but she warns that carries a price. >> if you have to buy a backup generator in order to operate a business in california, california becomes a lot less attractive place to operate a business. >> reporter: if california were a country we would have the fifth largest economy in the world. we'll only know the true cost of the blackouts in the weeks and months to come. dan noyes, abc 7. businesses and homeowners are assessing the losses from the pg&e outage michael wara said the shutdown will run between 65 million and 2$2.5 billion. that's a huge range. according to reporting in the chronicle, other experts say the economic and human costs are actually incalculatible.

>> michael finney reminds us anyone who suffers a loss from the power shutoff can file a claim but that doesn't mean you will be reimbursed. the needed forms are easy to find on pg&e's website, straightforward but that's where the simplicity ends. the utility didn't pay out a single claim after last year's wildfires. michael suggests anyone who has a claim should go to small claims court. uc berkeley is closed today. business oers d ut the shut their doors because of the power outage will be trying to recover. we go live to orinda. it looks like you have a bit of like back there, maybe? is that from the truck? >> it is from the truck. good morning. usually the marquee to the orinda theater is all lit up, it's still lights out as power remains out in orinda. pg&e says power will be restored

by 6:00 p.m. now, throughout much of the east bay, cities like oakland looked like ghost towns. businesses in oakland have been hit hard by these power cuts. some losing thousands of dollars in revenue. pg&e has apologized but many business owners say pg&e has do better. >> they keep you, like, like you're in prison in your own home without doing anything. this can't happen again. >> an apology is not acceptabla. >> not acceptable. there's a lot of power is stil schools will be open even if there's no power. some schools like uc berkeley, however, they remain closed today. for a list of all the schools that are open and closed, we have a link on our website, abc7news.com. you can stay up to date on everything related to the outage

at abc7news.com. we have stories, resources and much more on our website. a big change may be coming to parking at b.a.r.t. stations. why you may not know what you're paying until you get there. >> all eyes on capitol hill today to see if state department allows the woman at the center of the ukraine scandal to testify. we'll have those details coming up. and here come the blue angels. the stars of fleet week are ready to dazzle the crowd. >> that's all ahead. first, it's han seven minutes a from your accuweather forecast. here is lisa. >> good morning. we're out of the woods basically in the bay area, thatoffshore wn the upperelevations. we have an air quality advisory for south central bay area. hazy skies due to the smoke in the sierra nevada allowing some of that smoke to drift into the bay. otherwise we're in the 50s.

upper 50s at the coast. a cool afternoon out there or morning, i should say, with plenty of sunshine, we'll warm up. it will be a nice afternoon with numbers in the upper 60s to near 70. by later today a few 80s inland. a live look outside, you can see how pleasant it is with the clear skies. right now visibility not a factor. but you may run into some of that later on today. for the most part our offshore winds slowly switching over to an onshore component today. and that's exactly what we've been hoping for. the upper elevation winds are still allowing for some breezy conditions, and that's why we have the red flag warning for lake county and also the sierra foothills. still a caution certainly with the relative humidity dry this morning. as we get into the all-important weekend with the blue angels, things slowly getting back to normal. that would be nice. how is traffic?

>> we have one spot on the peninsula, we'll look first at the bay bridge toll plaza. just a minor delay for cash-paying folks in those left-hand lanes. otherwise you're moving smoothly across the span for about an eight-minute drive over towards san francisco. no delays there. look at our little blip of red and yellow coming out of tracy. that's typical for your commute. here's what we got a problem spot. an overturned vehicle. there's some confusion from the chp. they're telling us one right lane blocked and the holly off-ramp blocked with this overturn. and conflicting reports that two right lanes are blocked. regardless, the holly offstreet is closed. you'll need to go to ral

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good friday morning. we're starting out with temperatures cool. 50 in san mateo. 42 in santa rosa. our fire danger index all in the green except right here, we're looking at breezy upper elevation winds out of the northeast, just until about 10:00. everything going in the right direction, except if you're headed to the eletiinds and that low relative humidity. it's fleet week, 70s today.

cooler tomorrow and that trend continues into sunday. >> thank you. new this morning, the prime minister of ethiopia is the nobel peace prize winner. both countries were at war between 1998 and 2000. years of tension and hostility followed that until the prime minister signed a peace deal in 2018. the impeachment showdown heats up today in congress. >> the former ambassador to ukraine is expected to answer questions on capitol hill. >> reporter: the former ambassador to ukraine is scheduled to appear first thing this morning, but the state department could block her testimony at the very last minute. former ambassador to ukraine, marie yovanovitch expected to appear before a closed door deposition today. yovanovitch was removed from her post in may after coming under attack from president trump's personal attorney, rudy giuliani. her recall amid growing frustration at the state department that secretary of

state mike pompeo has bdone done nothing to defendant yovanovitch's post. these two now indicted businessmen with tri ties to giuliani also wanted to force her out. they were arrested wednesday at an airport, they're charged with illegally funding contributions including some from russia to a pac supporting the president. at a rally last night in minneapolis, trump saying the impeachment push would produce a backlash at the ballot box. during the raled edly the presi did not mention rudy giuliani or the indictments. abc news, new york. b.a.r.t. leaders are considering a plan that could cause parking fees to increase next year based on demand. b.a.r.t.'s board of dreshgts discussed the idea of using

dynamic pricing at b.a.r.t. station parking lots yesterday. that means lowering prices to encourage riders to park and raising prices when demand is high. if this change happens it would end the agency's parking fee cap of $3. b.a.r.t. has not updated the parking policy since 2013. the meeting was just informational. no action was taken. happening today, fleet week kicks into full gear with the first of three weekend air show shows. >> i heard them yesterday. the blue angels were above san francisco and they were doing some survey work, just getting the lay of the land. today's fleet week air show begins at noon with the blue angels expected to fly around 3:00 p.m. that will happen tomorrow and then again on sunday. >> the annual parade of ships will be held. the fleet arrives in san francisco bay parading under the golden gate bridge. it includes five u.s. navy ships

joined by a coast guard cutter, the army corps of engineers and a representative from the royal australian navy. the fireboat will be leading the escort. that parade starts at 11:00 this morning. we're hoping they'll have a good welcome to the bay area. lisa, what do you say? >> good thing it's today and not the past couple of days because things are really cooperating this morning. we're slowly going to see a return to an onshore push. those upper elevation offshore winds still with us. it is a little breezy and still looking at some of those winds out of the north. right now it's cool. 47 in santa clara and campbell. 58 in alameda. mid 40s in napa. 44 in danville. as you head out this morning, it's chilly and clear. looking for sunshine and mild to warm conditions today. you may notice a little haze in parts of the north bay as those offshore winds drift some of that smoke from the sierra

nevada otherwise gradual cooling begins on sunday. headed outside today in san francisco, 60s by 10:00. upper 60s by noontime. look at the 70s, beautiful day with that onshore flow. mid to upper 70s through 4:00. sunny conditions. should be a beautiful day. that trend will continue as we go through the weekend. 81 today in fremont. 78 in oakland. 79 in san mateo.g oe again tha in the 70s today. numbers trailing off over the weekend but with better air quality and more of that sea ua areas for the air shows will be a mess. they expect over 1 million throughout the three-day show for the blue angels. that's always exciting. look at san rafael, taillights are headed southbound. freitas parkway there, you are looking at about a 20-minute drive from here, which is tera

linda aross into tcross into th gate bridge. looking at the richmond-san rafael bridge. a lot of road work. emergency crew there's trying to get out of lanes. not a lot of slow traffic, but always that road work there to back things up. once that will be picked up by hopefully 5:00 a.m. over towards holly street in san carlos, the right lane is open. the holly street off-ramp is closed. continue to use harbor oral s n ralston for this time. a mobile version of call of duty is smashing records for the number of downloads. >> and mark zuckerberg says facebook is working on thought control. here's tech bytes. >> in today's tech bytes, the biggest mobile game launch ever. >> call of duty mobile was downloaded more than 100 million times in its first week. according to data from sensor tower. fortnite was downloaded 22.5 million times during its first

week. a big change under the hood could be comingto nascar. >> a nascar official says hybrid technology may be part of its vehicles by the 2022 season. how that technology will be used is still being considered. indy cars are considering using hybrids in three years. and mark zuckerberg says facebook is working on its own version of thought control. he said staffers wearable and implantable devices. >> do you know what i'm thinking right now? >> don't want to. >> if it's going to help people with medical issues, i'm all for that. >> that's where it starts. >> let's start and stop it there. >> yes. >> we have the control, don't we? >> let's hope. still ahead, a bat warning in the east bay. a discovery that has health officials on er >>nd some in the north bay don't let a

good friday morning. waking up to clear conditions, kind of chilly out there. still breezy in the upper elevations. but the gusty winds, southern california with the smoke there. and temperatures near 80 degrees today in sacramento. upper in moerey windy out of t the winds will continue to diminish from the upper elevations and turning onshore for that typical sea breeze and

a cooling trend through the weekend. >> thank you. a dead bat found in fremont tested positive for rabies. police say they found the bat on sunday. it was in the driveway of a home near chaucer drive and aderridge court. california's attorney general is proposing new rules to protect the privacy of consumers. javier rosera unveiled the regulations in san francisco. businesses would be required to inform consumers of their right not to have their personal information collected and shared. he said the rules would far exceed federal safeguards. the state will hold public hearings before the rules are finalized. and santa clara university will inaugurate its new president, father kevin o'brien. he studied law and initially want god into politics but then found a passion for teaching. he joined the jesuits in 1996 and was ordained a priest a decade layer.

father o'brien is santa clara university's 29th president. good morning. another five hours of a red flag waning if you're on your way to the sierra nevada. conditions are dry. relative humidity still dry. but we will begin to see that recover in the days ahead. heading to the mountings, 61 today. temperatures dropping to the 20s. numbers in the mid 60s for saturday. more sunshine on the way for sunday. that red flag warning for lake county and the west slope, the way to the sierra nevada. we're still in the fuels. the low relative humidity. be careful. we will enjoy a pretty weekend with winds continuing to dial back throughout the day today in the upper elevations. sue? >> looking at your traffic maps as we head out on this friday morning. if you're coming up on the 456, it's looking pretty good. mostly green with the exception

of course of your central valley drive. a blip in tracy. new accident on northbound 680 near marina vista. not a lot of slowing but could be some debris in lanes. they're calling for a tow truck. some businesses are not letting darkness stand in the way of getting the job done. >> wayne freedman was at a salon in sonoma county where hair was top of mind. >> this isis salon 12 in santa rosa, the lights are out but look at this, they're still doing work. rachel sandoval, you're the owner, right? >> i am. >> you're doing this without lights? >> i am. >> reporter: what else don't you have? >> no hot water. no phones to check appointments. no blow dryers, curling irons, lights. >> reporter: lights. but you're still doing this. >> i'm still doing this.

>> rachel said she didn't want to cancel on our clients and wanted to make sure all of them got needed. >> don't you need the hair dryer? air dry? >> just run fast. >> okay. next at 5:00, a break-in at a home near lake tahoe. the surprising guests found inside. >> and breaking news, wind fueling these massive flames in southern california a brush fire exploding in size overnight. as fire fears ease here in the bay area, the power is coming back on. pg&e's

the house is on fire!

>> forgive our trespasses -- >> now at 5:00, a desperate situation in california as strong winds fuel the flames in this massive brush fire. it broke out at 9:00 last night. it burned thousands of acres. and pg&e is turning the power back on as fire fears ease in the bay area. when the lights should be back on for most people. >> good morning on this friday, october 11th. >> you're never more than seven minutes away from our accuweather forecast. here is lisa argen. >> good morning to you. here's what's left of a red flag warning, up to the north in lake county and the west slopes of the sierra nevada until 10:00.