air. that could be seen for miles. two tanks badly damaged or stroyedment they contained a total of about 250,000 gallons of ethanol. > that's right. officials were trying to determine if monday night's 4.5-magnitude quake had anything to do with the conditions that caused yesterday's explosion and fire at the newstar energy fuel storage facility. newstar is 15 miles from thenner? of monday's -- the epicenter of monday's quake. there have been several aft aftershocks in the area. >> we have team coverage on this investigation into the fire. >> abc's eric thomas is looking at what this could mean for gas prices, but let's begin with abc7's laura anthony with the latest on the investigation. laura? >> reporter: hi, well, we're told this investigation just in its infant stages. just a few hours into it. there are multiple agencies involved. here's a live look at what's going on here as we speak. the wreckage really of the tanks behind me. as for that search warrant, a spokesman for the contra costa

fire department cautioned not to read too much into it saying it's not necessarily an indicator that there is a criminal investigation, just standard procedure in an incident this large. less than 24 hours after fire ripped through two tanks at the newstar energy storage facility in crockett, investigators with the contra costa fire department, the atf, and other agencies served a search warrant on the site. >> at 11:30 this morning, we served a search warrant on newstar, and i want to quickly say that you should not form any opinions about that because this is a common practice. >> reporter: the evidence seized could include documents and computer servers that have video before and during the fire that consumed two tanks that contained about 250,000 gallons of ethanol. just 1% of their capacity. the huge fire sent a giant plume of black smoke over the area, forcing the closure of interstate 80 at the height of the evening commute.

>> you can get the long-term health effects from smoke, b that's when you're exposed for a period of time, not this few hours we had last night. >> reporter: in the meantime, the chairman of the contra costa board of supervisors is calling on his county to introduce legislation to include newstar and other facilities like it in contra costa's existing industrial safety ordinance. >> this facility does not have the same time of robust regulation that an oil refinery or chemical plant has. i'm going to be asking our board to look at expanding the industrial safety ordinance to include facilities like this. >> reporter: allowed back into their homes this morning, those who live near the plant worry that something like it could happen again. >> well that i was able to get out safely and that my family is safe, and that i still have a home to come to is -- it's amazing. >> reporter: now this is a live picture of what remains of those tanks. it looks like something out of a

disaster movie, even a tornado. every so often we see trucks spraying that foam on to the area. this foam blanket as they're calling it will be maintained, we're told, for at least today to try to prevent any flare-ups. once they're certain there are no flare-ups, they're going to begin the process of trucking out that foam material safely so it doesn't end up in the bay. live in crockett, laura anthony, abc7 news. >> all right. this plant is in crockett. now monday night, there was a 4.5 earthquake in pleasant hill, walnut creek, not too far away. is there some thought or threes being looked into whether that might have somehow damaged the the fire? >> reporter: well, yeah, kristen, we've been asking that all day of the fire officials. they told us at this point that is really only speculation. they directed that question to newstar. we have been e-mailing newstar today asking specifically at what level are these tanks

built. what kind of earthquake are they built to withstand, the number, for instance. i mean, given the fact that they're in this region that's prone to earthquakes, there has to be some standard. as of this airing now, we have yet to hear back from newstar about exactly what standard that is and whether these tanks were built to withstand an earthquake at least of the kind we saw the other night. >> thank you for continuing to ask that question. much the fuel tanks involved in the newstar fire contained hundreds of thousands of gallons of the biofuel additive ethanol. this is a grain alcohol product designed to make your gasoline burn cleaner. abc7's eric thomas live in walnut creek with why the fire probably will not cause a spike in gas prices which is good news, eric. >> reporter: but larry, it's something we always think about, right, whenever there's an incident at a refinery or a fuel storage facility like this one, is it going to send our gas prices up? well, the answer is probably

not. but ethanol i a type of alcohol made primarily from coin or soybeans -- corn or soybeans. the hundreds of thousands of gallons stored in these tanks were going to be mixed with gasoline. its final destination -- your gas tank. >> ethanol is blended at a ratio of 10% to 90% gasoline. >> reporter: unlike biodiesel which is typically 85% to 100% renewable fuel like vegetable oil, ethanol is an additive meant to make regular gasoline less dirty. >> it helps to reduce some of the pollutants, the local pollutants that come out of your tailpipe, and it reduces our use of oil. >> reporter: borenstein says california imports most of its ethanol from out of state and stores it in giant tanks near refineries where the ethanol gas blend could be made, then shipped out. with bay area gasoline prices already over $4 a gallon, drivers may be wondering if the quantity lost in the newstar

fire will affect gas prices. >> california uses about four million gallons of ethanol every day. so this is probably 10% or less of one day's usage. it shouldn't have much effect on the price of gasoline at all. >> reporter: but borenstein has one caveat -- if the entire newstar facility remains shut down for weeks for maintenance, the fire could have a significant impact on local gas prices. so keep your eye on how quickly they can get that storage facility back into operation. wl tell us whether or not the incident will send gas prices up even a few cents, and let's not think about another facility that stores ethanol going down right now. live in walnut creek, abc7 news. >> thank you. stay up to date on the latest developments in the newstar fire and the investigation with the abc7 news app, as well as abc7news.com. abc7 news is committed to building a better bay area. one of the most important issues is housing.

today a new report comparing housing projections with workers' wages reveals a disturbing trend that housing production is out of alignment with job growth in the city. >> abc7's vic lee is joining us live with the story. >> reporter: hey, larry. well, what this report reveals ironically is what we all know -- that there is a lack of affordable housing in san francisco. but this report takes it one step further. it actually looks at that shortage, comparing it to the economic level of workers. >> we're becoming one of those third-world countries here where the rich are comfortable, and the poor that serves them, that serves them has to commute two to three hours a day to get here. >> reporter: the report, released by the legislative budget analyst's office, concludes san francisco's housing connection is out of sync with job growth which is climbing in the city both for high and low-wage workers.

>> between 2010 and 2018, san francisco's population has grown 10% while jobs have increased 38%. >> reporter: the fastest growing segment -- those making more than $103,000 a year. almost growing as fast, those making annual salaries under $69,000. for poor to mort-income workers in the city the housing statistics are grim. although san francisco has approved some 18,600 market-rate units for 14,000 high-wage households, they're short 15,600 affordable how cousing units fo lower income households. connie ford is with jobs for justice. >> they're already being pushed out and forced to live -- many of them are living in vallejo, antioch, tracy, even stockton. >> reporter: her husband and two children have lived in a chinatown single resident occupancy unit, sro, for more

than a decade. she speaks little language and chose not to leave because she feels secure here. in order to stay, she works three jobs. >> i know of many other families who also live in sro with kids under th age of 18. and it's extremely difficulty difficult -- difficult to find housing for families with children like myself. >> reporter: although jobs have increased almost 40% in the last eight years, this report suggests that for every eight jobs created, only one unit of housing was produced. some would call that a critical shortage. abc7 news. >> now that we have this information, what happens next, how will it be used? you can't expect everybody to have three jobs. it's just -- that's not realistic. >> reporter: right. well, you know, here in city hll, first of all, supervisor marr is planning to introduce legislation that would require this kind of reporting to be

released every year to the supervisors. and as you know, mayor breed has made it one of her priorities to build more affordable housing. so this type of report, this kind of data should give her actual numbers to go by. larry? >> all right. thank you. one of california's largest hospital systems has settled a massive antitrust lawsuit. sutter health has 24 hospitals in the bay area and northern california. the state attorney general and 1,500 self-funded health plans alleged sutter stifled competition and overcharged patients. the settlement still needs court approval. so far there's been no comment from sutter. cutting the line. how a clipper card could help speed you through airport security lines. horsing around, but this isn't just for fun. how horses are helping cancer survivors thrive. plus, early warning. 30 years after loma prieta, a new plan could let you know when a quake is coming just seconds

away. >> reporter: i'm michael finney. tonight we're focusing on earthquake retrofitting. just what do you have to do to make your home safe? i'm spencer christian, it may be too early to declare the rainy season has begun, but showers are on the way.

tomorrow, governor newsom is set to announce that a statewide earthquake early warning system is coming to california. the governor says the alert system should not replace home preparedness. >> i think we're as prepared as one can be. the question is, are we as individuals prepared.

72hour.org in the bay area is important, it's a powerful tool for people to get their own family emergency plans in order. >> the shake alert system will not predict earthquakes but can give residents a warning of up to about 20 seconds that a quake is about to hit. a heads-up kucould be used to st off rail systems before the shaking begins. and individually get ready if you know that to do. joining me via skype is seismologist dr. lucy jones. and first off, dr. jones, thanks for joining us. what do you think about the earlyuake warning system? >> well, it's something that i helped get going when i was working for the u.s. geological survey. it's basically science, it's not prediction that's saying it's already underway. it's clear that in other countries that have adopted it there's a lot of uses that can be had. i hope we have good education to help people understand how best to use it. >> how does the system actually work? are there sensors deep in the ground to detect the first wave? if layplman's terms, you're a

scientist. dumb it down for me. >> okay. well, so, it's using the existing seismic network. when you got told yesterday there was a 4.5 -- two days ago, 4.5 at concord, that was being ground motions recorded by a seismic network. we're doing the same thing for early warning, but doing it so much quicker that you're now getting the message that the earthquake's begin before the waves have gotten to you. if you're right on top of the u walnut creek on monday and we put out the alert, you would have been getting it during the shaking. but people a bit farther away go out to fremont or san jose who felt the earthquake, you would have had some warning. so it's in terms. doing protective actions, that's only for the biggest earthquakes. on the smaller ones, imagine knowing as the earthquake gets going to's going to be small, you've already gotten a text

that says light shaking expected, and you go, oh, there it is, that's fine. instead of that -- is this it? oh, oh, okay, that wasn't that bad. >> yeah. no, i mean, that would be helpful. when the quake hit the other day and i was in danville, i ran over to this gigantic mirror that i -- i didn't know, is it going to stay up, is it going to come down. 20 seconds would be valuable. on twitter yesterday you mentioned the creeping section of the san andreas fault in relation to the hollister quake. what exactly does that mean, and how concerned should we be about that? >> actually, if anything less concerned than you might have been otherwise. so the san andreas has several sections. some -- it moves in big earthquakes like what happened in 1906 or 1857 in southern california. in between those two sections is a part that we can look at the earth's surface and see that it's moving every year instead

of building up to one big earthquake. along with that surface creep, we also see lots of small earthquakes. so the creeping section has magnitude threes and fours much more often than other parts of the san andreas, but it does not appear to be storing stress to be released only in a big earthquake. so the 4.7 is very much busy as usual for california -- business as usual for california. >> dr. jones, thank you so much for your time. hopefully the big one is many, many years away, and if it does hit, hopefully everybody will be ready. again, thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. >> all right. thanks. you know, even if you get a little bit of warning, you got to ask yourself, are you and your home ready for the next big earthquake? today 7 on your side's michael finney is going through a home looking for what need to be done. he has what to think about when it comes to your home. what is it, michael?

>> reporter: well, i've got to tell you, this is where the rubber meets the road. is your home going to stand up, are you still going to own your property after the big earthquake? earthquake retrofitting is happening all over the bay area. it's a big deal in san francisco. part of that is mark barber gelata in san francisco, been busy lately? >> very busy. >> reporter: the soft structure, what do they call that? >> a soft story building. those were determined by the city -- san francisco currently has a ban date that's about three quarters of the way done. oakland just started one. this particular building we're in is a classic soft structure where we have open parking at the bottom. >> reporter: that's what we're seeing here. it's pretty much open with just a couple of poles. >> yes. >> reporter: what makes it soft? >> well, the city of san francisco determined a -- built before 1978, five or more units, three or more stories, and they give the information to the homeowner and the engineers, and they say from there they're going to determine whether or

not that's going to be a soft story. ultimately an engineer will decide whether or not it's a soft story. >> reporter: it's not an option. >> no. >> reporter: and so what happens? you guys bring in metal and bolts and -- >> well, soft stories do target wood-framed buildings. in this particular building, we have a wood-frame building, not unlike a lot of single-family homes in the bay area. a lot of the techniques are still the same type of structures. but this particular case we're going to be putting bolts in, and we're going to be putting a steel frame in to resist the movement in an earthquake. >> reporter: across the street, let me take some pictures of that right now. that -- that's like the job that's already been done, right? >> yeah. that was done several years ago. and you can see there they brace all the grarage door openings with the x braces and columns. the lighter gray at the bottom is where they dug in and fastened that to the earth. so the building's less likely to sway in an earthquake. >> reporter: more likely to stand up -- >> yeah, much safer structure.

>> reporter: all right. mark, thank you so much for joining us. he's going to be with us all afternoon. we're going to go through this house. and coming up in a couple of moments, we'll show how to turn off your gas if there is an earthquake. we want to make sure you get past that. reporting live from san francisco, i'm mikey finney. >> thank you so much. the earthquake in the east bay comes days before the 30th anniversary of the loma prieta earthquake. the actual anniversary is tomorrow. the 6.9 quake caused part of bay bridge to collapse as well as a section of cypress freeway to n oakla -- to come down. we're give you a glimpse into the future in our abc7 originals documentary "the affect effect." it can be seen anywhere you get abc7 including amazon fire tv and the news app. we'll bring a 30-minute commercial-free special broadcast tomorrow night at 6:30 here on abc7. and any of us that were -- you remember exactly where you were when the earthquake hit. >> yes. i had crossed the bay bridge a half hour before the quake

itself. i know leslie brinkley was on the bridge and, hence, was right there when that section collapsed on the bay bridge. amazing work that our team did. >> i was 19 floors up in the st. francis hotel. i was here on -- world series assignment for "good morning america," and my assignment quickly turned into a reporting assignment on the earthquake. >> you must have felt that on the 19th floor -- >> my gosh. i thought the building was going to collapse, and i was going to die right there. the building was swaying and bouncing. unbelievable, i can't describe it except terrifying. >> i bet. hopefully -- i was in the caldecott tunnel. it didn't move an inch. i had no idea there was a earthquake. i was the only one who didn't know there was a quake. what are the odds? >> we all remember like it was yesterday. crazy. let's get to weather. clouds are increasing. >> will it be nice? >> well, we might get showers overnight. i think that's pretty nice. you can see on live doppler 7 lots of clouds gathering now. it's quite a bit cooler in most bay area locations, quite a bit. and yesterday at this hour -- than yesterday at this hour. getting breezy, an indication of a change in our weather pattern.

here's the view from the tower looking over san francisco, under partly cloudy skies. 60 degrees in the city right now. mid 60s at oakland, redwood city, gilroy, 70. 70 at half moon bay. emeryvil emeryville, high clouds gathering now. 69 degrees up north at santa rosa. mid 60s at san rafael and petaluma. 72 at fairfield and concord. 70 at livermore. from mt. tam, the bay, dark and dreary. these are the forecast features. we'll see increasing clouds with sprinkles developing. even some light showers overnight. mostly sunny next two days. of course, we're talking tomorrow afternoon, mostly sunny the next few days. showers possible early saturday morning. tonight, looking at again mostly cloudy skies, certainly overnight with a chance of sprinkles, showers mainly in the north bay. perhaps a few light sprinkles in other locations. overnight lows will mainly be in the upper 40s to low 50s. here's the forecast animation. you can see a little wave of showers moving through.

light, scattered showers as a weak cold front pushes through during late night and overnight hours. mainly between midnight and about 3:00 a.m. and we'll see even partial clearing even before the morning commute begins or ends i should say. but by midday, we'll see mainly sunny skies with a few lungering high clouds -- lingering high clouds. highs tomorrow will range from low 60s at the coast to mainly upper 60s around the bay shoreline and low 70s inland generally. and it will be a breezy day tomorrow. looking ahead to friday, a drier day but not much change in the temperature range. about low 60s at the coast, upper 60s near the bay. low 70s inland. pretty much same picture on saturday. sunday, though, we see the beginnings of a warmup. and here's the accu-weather seven-day forecast -- you can see where the warmup is going to take us. upper 70s inland on sunday. low 70s around the bay. then temperatures bounce up significantly on monday, tuesday, and wednesday. we'll see highs those three days inland in the mid 80s, up to about 80 around the bay shoreline and up to 70 on the coast midweek next week.

that's pretty late in the season for 70s at the coast. that's what's coming our way. >> nice. >> boy, great for those pumpkin visits. >> that's true, too. >> to the

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a bay area middle school is hosting a movie premiere on a topic affecting many young people. >> "screenagers: next chapter" focuses on the growing rates of depression among teens and especially how smartphone use affects young people's self-esteem and mood. this movie was made by a stanford physician who noticed how screentime was affecting her daughter's emotions. >> the film teaches kids how to identify and talk about emotion caused by using social media and teaches parents how to cope with these emotions. >> learned in the film the science around when we step in to try to problem solve, physiologically our stress level goes down. for our teens, it measurably

goes up. >> the movie premieres tonight at king middle school in berkeley. showtime, 7:00 p.m. well, it turns out kids are finding creative ways to get around screentime limits set by their parents. kids as young as 9 are sharing youtube videos and reddit posts that explain how to bypass apple's screentime controls. these include changing the time zone settings to get out of mandatory downtime, watching youtube videos with an i message or using series to send texts when i message is turned off. parents have complained that apple has not addressed the work-arounds in app updates. >> kids will find a way to get more access. yes. you want to move faster through lines at the airport? there's a new plan to help you get ahead of everybody else. all you need is a clipper card. we'll explain. another bay area parent

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overturn e-cigarette protections. vote no on juul. no on big tobacco. no on prop c. two breaded chicken patties plus fries and a drink for $4.99. three patties for $5.99. or even four for just $6.99. four patties? well, tickle my elbow! no thank you. try my really big chicken sandwich combos. starting at $4.99. house democrats are hearing testimony that's exposing details of what appears to be unease within the state department. >> abc has more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: this morning mike mckinley, a former top adviser to secretary of state mike pompeo, appearing before the three house committees looking

into whether the president committed impeachable offenses when he pressured the president of ukraine to investigate joe biden and his son. mckinley was with the state department for 37 years but resigned from his post last week, frustrated over the treatment of career foreign service officials there. today he reportedly voiced his support for former ukrainian ambassador marie yovanovitch who was abruptly removed from her post after being attacked by president's personal attorney, rudy giuliani. >> i think most of this is a concern by a colleague for an ambassador that he held in high regard. >> reporter: former u.s. special envoy to ukraine, kurt volker,'s making a surprise second appearance on capitol hill to read over his prior testimony. while vice president pence, the department odefense, the white house budget office, and giuliani all defying their congressional subpoenas. giuliani telling abc news, "we will see what happens. if democrats enforce their subpoena." >> the president will use any delay tactic, any distraction to

stop the work, the orderly work that's being done. >> reporter: acting white house chief of staff mick mulvaney now coming under scott pruitt me to with another state department witness telling congressional investigators mulvaney played a key role in stripping control of the u.s.' foreign policy in ukraine away from career officials. the "washington post" reading he delayed $400 million in military aid to ukraine under orders from the president. the e.u. ambassador gordonondis lands, involved in text -- gord gordon sondland, involved in the text messages, is scheduled to testify on thursday as the president continues to criticize the impeachment process calling it a witch hunt led by house speaker nancy pelosi. abc news, washington. more than 300 people face federal charges after agents took down what they're calling the world's largest child pornography site on the dark web. the justice department announced that one of the suspects is actually a former special agent for i.c.e. agents say they also rescued 23

victims from suspected predators in the u.s., spain, and the united kingdom. prosecutors claim a suspect in south korea ran the site. 337 arrests took place in several nations, including the u.s., canada, u.k., ireland, germany, saudi arabia, brazil, and australia. a menlo park mother will g to federal prison for her participation in that college admission cheating scandal, but it's actually less time than prosecutors wanted her to serve. a judge sentenced marjorie clapper to three weeks in prison during a hearing in boston today. the jewelry business owner is the ninth person sentenced in what agents call operation varsity blues. clapper was convicted of paying $15,000 to improve her son's a.c.t. scores. bart directors next week will be considered a new incentive program to boost ridership to san francisco international airport. the incentive is access to the tsa priority security lines. abc7 looks at how it would work and what passengers think.

>> reporter: nearly 13,000 passengers ride b.a.r.t. to san francisco international on an average weekday. a proposal is in the works to boost that number, not just to increase revenue but also to address congestion issues from private vehicles. the incentive is to give clipper card users access to tsa's priority security lines. a handheld scanner like this would verify that they used b.a.r.t. to get to the airport. steve mcnutt hails from texas. he uses b.a.r.t. whenever he's here. >> i think it's a great idea. public transportation is obviously a good way for the community to keep people moving along and for the environment, too. >> reporter: tim horigan is visiting from ireland where trains are favored over taxis and private cars. >> after a while it will become the norm, and then you're okay after that. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. has developed trip verification software which will confirm that the passengers pass through a b.a.r.t. sfo station fare gate. you will also collect -- it will also collect and store the clipper card serial number.

the information collected will not be shared until legally required. data may be saved by b.a.r.t. for up to 4.5 years. the reason for that is not provided in documents provided by b.a.r.t. passengers often complain about delays at security checkpoints especially during busy periods. if there's a way to speed up getting to their planes, they embrace it. >> i think it's a good idea. it helps out traffic, it helps out entryway of people. more easier to -- sorry -- more easier to get into the terminal. >> reporter: the proposa sll in its early stages, and there's talk that other transit agencies besides b.a.r.t. might get involved, maybe other airports, as well, including oakland international airport. at sfo, abc7 news. a pg&e executive to who took part in a party the a pop sonoma county winery during the mask blackouts has left the company. the utility confirming that mel christopher is out as the head of pg&e's natural gas division. the party was scheduled during the anniversary of the

destructive north bay wildfires. the ceo bill johnson said the party was insensitive and did not reflect the values of the company. we are really excited to announce san francisco columnist phil matere is joining the abc7 news team. >> phil will contribute to the " "building a better bay area initiati initiative" with issues we all face living in this region. this is a big deal that he's coming over here. >> it is. he will enhance "building a better bay area" as we search for solutions to the chronic problems of high cost of living, limited housing, the environment, and transportation to name just a few. phil will also join us as the abc7 political analyst just as the political season heats up. phil will dissect what is happening on the campaign trail with local candidates and propositions. >> looks menacing in that picture there. you don't want to mess with him if you're a politician. he's coming to talk to you. he'll have a lot to say what's going on locally and nationally with respect to politics. you can read phil's columns in "the chronicle" on wednesdays

and fridays. welcome to the abc7 team, phil. good news. >> i love hearing him on the radio, too. so insightful. tells it like it is, and seriously knows about everything. he's great. welcome. ahead, what you need to know to get ready for the next big earthquake. and forget helping hands. how about a helping horse? the program that's putting together horses with cancer survivors. i'm spencer christian. we're looking north from the golden gate bridge. showers approaching. i'm show where they might fall.

we know that horses possess a special gift that can help certain patients heal more quickly. this fall ucsf began a pilot program pairing cancer survivors with horses. the patients quickly discovered the emotional benefits of interacting with the animals. here's abc's leanne melendez. >> reporter: the signs on this post in mill valley suggests there are several trails to follow. but only one points the way to a dusty road where anyone entering is warned that you are now living on horse time. >> now you're annie oakley. >> now i'm annie oakley. >> reporter: jean jones is a cancer survivor who once saw herself as an unlikely candidate to take up riding. ironically, cancer helps h ercome the fear of change. >> we start with the crate -- >> okay. i felt like if i could get on a

horse at 67 years old and successfully learn how to ride it, i can do anything at this point. she's clean today, though. she's not dusty. >> reporter: bonding with a horse like molly has had a calming effect on jones which is the intention of the program called horses as healers. >> we don't have to be psycho therapists. we don't have to be anything else except for just let these women experience a relationship with an animal where if you open your heart will walk right in. >> reporter: ucsf knew it wanted that for cancer patients and found the stables. becaus it's on it public lands, federal law says they must somehow serve the public. that's how horses as healers began. >> like pedaling a bike. keep him going with your legs. >> reporter: the pilot program brought in four women who had just battled cancer. each of them had four sessions with their horses. >> so i kind of expected that we could find at least four people

and as it turns out, not only did we find four participants, we have a wait list of ten participants. >> reporter: for christina, being on her horse meant she no longer saw herself as the victim. >> as a cancer patient, you struggle with the fact that there's always somebody else in charge. the doctor's in charge, the nurse is in charge. and this is my way of being in charge of what i do during the day. >> reporter: here the horses show them the power to heal and to teach. >> i can do it. molly showed me i can. >> reporter: in mill valley, abc7 news. >> what a fantastic program. just seeing the smiles on the faces of those women. i mean, for a few minutes, all of your worries go away. and you're just on the horse and enjoying everything. we want to turn your attention to the weather. we've got changes on the way. here's spencer. >> yeah. it's suddenly getting cloudy as you can see on live doppler 7. i'll give you the forecast iteration showing what's coming our way during the overnight hours. we'll see a weak cold front swing from northwest to

southeast. between basically about midnight, 3:00 a.m., pretty good chance of scattered showers through the bay area. tell clear up partially even before the morning commute's over, bringing a mainly sunny afternoon. overnight look for low temperatures mainly in the low 50s. near the bay and inland, except in the north bay where it will be chill chillier with lows in the mid 40s. upper 60s near the bay. low 70s inland. here's the accu-weather seven-day forecast -- we'll see mainly sunny skies for the next seven days after tomorrow morning's sprinkles. but saturday morning, there's a slight chance of some north bay sprinkles. other than that, mainly sunny skies through the weekend, and a warming trend early next week starting on monday with inland highs back in the 80s again. >> a little up and down there. >> just a bit. >> thank you. >> okay. coming up, social media challenge. this one has nothing to do with ice or tide pods, but it does have a good reason behind the challenge. we'll explain that. >> reporter: an earthquake hits, and you have to turn off your

natural gas. now exactly how do you do that? i'm mi

you probably felt some of the earthquakes that have shaken us this week. a 4.5 quake was centered in

pleasant hill monday. yesterday a 4.7 hit near pinnacles, that's in san benito county. >> the quakes came days before the 30th anniversary of the loma prieta earthquake. so all week long, we're helping you get ready for the next big one with tips and information. >> michael finney live with some important tips to try to help keep you safe including a really important one in your house, michael. >> reporter: yeah, turning off your gas meter. look, after the earthquake hit, and one is going to hit, the important thing is to make sure you're safe. once that occurs, the next thing to do is make sure your gas is turned off. mark is helping us out. you want to walk in here -- he's an earthquake retrofitter. and he's giving us a lot of tips today. so you know, everybody knows the meter's out there, but what do they do? >> the first thing, you need to know where the meter's located. understand where the meter location is. you may have one of these hanging from the meter. this is a wrench. if you don't, you should at

least have -- go to the hardware store and buy yourself a wrench. and all the gas meters, all the pg&e meters have this type of valve here. this is parallel right now. and when you turn it perpendicular, the gas will be shut off. all you do is take the wrench, insurance it, it will turn any direction, and then that will shut off the gas. the other option is is to install one of these, this is called a little firefighters. these are called automatic earthquake gas shutoff valve. that's kund kind of a mouthful. they have a little valve that will open and close. once the earthquake starts to shake, that will close, that will automatically schett ohut gas. in this case you put them on the gas meter -- >> reporter: we can see inside of there. let's hold it -- >> that one is closed. you can see that's closed right now. and then i'm going to turn it upside down, that will open. that will actually -- actually actuate in the earthquake. calibrated for a 5.3 or greater

earthquake. >> reporter: you don't have to 100 work e-- don't have to worr about turning it off. >> you don't have to be there. they pay for themselves pretty quickly. they cost about $500. >> reporter: sounds steep, but if you potentially get the discount. thanks for pointing that out. they do have specific wrenches built for these. but you don't have to have that. get a wrench and make sure it's hanging next to the meter, and you'll be set. reporting live from san francisco, i'm michael finney. >> all right. thank you. that little valve. never heard of that before. >> that is such an important safety tip. all right. thank you. >> yeah. great information to help you prepare everything you need, also the quake kit. very important. >> the executive director of san francisco's department of emergency management has this advice -- >> so this is an earthquake bag. number one thing is a radio, a radio is something you'll need in order to get information.

it's a crank radio. you can also get a -- a solar powered. the other thing that i think is critical for me, number one, is a backup battery for my phones and my ipad. we've got a first-aid kit. any kind of medication that you need. we want to make sure you have just the basics here, but in addition, we've got a flashlight, obviously, or a head lamp, and this little doohickey which is to open cans. many people buy canned food without thinking about the can opener to get it open. so that's something that is high on our list of essentials. if you can sit down and think in your head, what are the things that i might need and my family to not only get through the first couple of days but make ourselves a little more comfortable and ensure that we can be on our own for a few days. that's what you want to do and organize. >> in addition carol says you

need to stock up on bottled water. and nutrition bars and extra clothing. >> three days worth at least. >> right. >> abc7 can help you prepar for an earthquake or any natural disaster. just about to our website, abc7news.com/preparenorcal to get tips on preparing for the next earthquake. you ever wonder what's inside of a patrol car or a fighter jet? a new social media challenge gives you a peek. it's the tetris challenge. the idea is for first responders, the military, or emergency services to bring out everything they have in their cars, their ambulances or planes, all the contents are then laid out in an orderly manner. even a chp unit from southern california took part. first responders hope the tetris challenge gives them more followers so they can have more reach for their public safety messages. getting into the halloween spirit. coming up, a family friend, halloween inspired day on the farm. dan is here now with a look ahead to abc7 news at 5:00. >> new at 5:00, dire warnings for a north bay community.

what might happen to their water supply after an earthquake. ahead, an alarming report about bullied students here and all across the state. and the local pumpkin farms waiting for a lifeline. tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock.

i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything to preserve and protect them. with love, california.

primetime tonight on abc7, we started out at 8:00, catch

"the goldbergs," "schooled," "moder family," followed by "parents." then the new show "stumptown." then join us at 11:00. halloween is just a couple of weeks away. if you're hoping to take the family somewhere festive for the fall seen, ama daetz knows just the place. ♪ >> reporter: nothing says fall like a day on the farm. for bay area families, lemur's farm has long been a favorite. let's find out why. ♪ hayrides, truck rides, train rides. >> fun here. there's all this stuff to do. >> reporter: chickens, ponies, goats. do you like feeding the goats, teddy? >> yeah. >> reporter: there's even goat yoga. a play town and two haunted houses. did you go through the scary one or the not-so-scary haunted

house. >> the scary one. >> reporter: was it scary? >> yes. >> reporter: are you going to have nightmares? >> no. >> can i try? >> reporter: yes. >> yes. >> reporter: did you like the haunted house? >> yes. >> reporter: the farm has been a go to for family fun for decades. >> i have a granddaughter, 19 years old. we use today to take her here every year, too. the tradition lives on. >> reporter: frank explains how it began. we are riding on the horses. are you on pumpkin, i am on boo-boo. apparently the starts with a cow? >> started with a cow. someone owed my great grandpa a debt and decided to pay with a cow. he said, i need somewhere to put this cow, so he bought a farm. >> reporter: it became a dairy farm until the '80s when bob and arnold lemos turned it into what it is today, a pumpkin patch cherish issued by bay area families. joseph is celebrating his 3rd birthday here on the farm. he loves horses, so they came up from gilroy.

>> it's worth it. the place is great. you come, you'll have fun. >> reporter: the farm is a popular birthday destination. no matter the age. >> you look fantastic. >> this is -- i feel so blessed to be here. and i love this place. >> reporter: lemos farm, a place where families come to play. here are seven things to know before you go -- the farm is open year round. the pumpkins are obviously for fall and halloween, but you can cut down your own christmas tree, there are egg hunts for easter, and take a trip back to the wild west during the summer. hours vary by season, though, so check the website before you go. the cool thing about the farm is parking and admission are free. so the kids can just come enjoy the atmosphere. then if you want to pay for something like a choo choo train ride, you can totally do that. or you can purchase a hand stamp and get unlimited access to all the fun. people of all ages will enjoy a day on the farm. but ideally, 14 months to 7 years old is probably the sweet spot. these four-legged friends are

the only animals allowed on the farm except, of course, service animals. leave your pets at home. is lily. there are -- sorry, lily. there are plenty of snacks, or bring your own and grab a table. the pumpkins aren't just for decoration. see one you like or two? maybe it yours. pay on the way out. we are on a farm, but there are restrooms, and thank goodness because you know there are diapers that need changing. if you're wondering what to bring -- >> bring a camera, bring a smile, bring a good attitude. come out ready to make good, wholesome family memories. >> reporter: that was awesome. >> thanks. ♪ >> so cute. lemos farm, in half moon bay. open on the weekends throughout the year. during october, it's every day of the month, you can take your family and enjoy everything the farm has to offer. for more great halloween events in the bay area, go to our website, abc7news, and search our halloween link. find links to pumpkin patches,

haunted houses, even see when you can watch charles -- watch "charl" charlie brown halloween." it's coming up. thank you so much for joining us. abc7 news at 5:00 starts right now. that fuel tank explosion in crockett. was it triggered by the pleasant hill earthquake? it is just one possibility. i think we dodged a bullet here the last 24 hours. >> a new turn in the investigation. why the atf executed a search warrant. plus, why the water supply could now be at risk in case of an earthquake. sonoma county on edge this evening. muslim students bullied in schools. parents are telling their stories. and bolting and bracing. 7 on your side's michael finney on the question many are asking on the eve of the loma prieta anniversary. it shook us actually knocked us off our chair and feet.

>> knocked them off their chairs and feet. one man on what happened whenn east bay fuel storage facility was rocked by an explosion. >> today drone view 7 shows you all the aftermath. you can really see those destroyed containers, the tanks, at the brief nustar facility. good evening. >> thanks for joining us. the nustar facility is in crockett. investigators today served a search warrant at the site. >> abc7's laura anthony has the latest live fromcroctt. laa? >>hi, well i'm told this investigation is still in the very early stages. the first priority is to make sure this fire does not flare up again. to that end, all day we've seen fire crews stationed here every so often. they spray foam on to this structure, what's left of the two tanks actually. as for the search warrant that was served today by contra costa fire investigators, we're told that is common practice after an