building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc7 news. >> did you see it or hear it? thunder and lightning here in san francisco and across the bay area. rumbling in the north bay,va, p widespread wildfires. flashing across the night sky in the east bay, lighting up the oakland skyline. streaking across the south bay where it's blamed for sparking on apartment fire. >> as someone who grew up on midwestern thunderstorms, it was both intense and unusual here. >> yeah, eric. you got that right. abc7 news meteorologist drew tuma joining us now. right away with what to expect because, drew, this has been wild weekend of weather. >> yeah.

certainly this morning is a morning a lot of us are not going to forget anytime soon. hundreds of lightning strikes lighting up the morning sky earlier today. live doppler 7 along with satellite showing you the bay area was basically the bull's-eye for all of the storm activity. right now the current lightning strikes are in the sierra. but what is happening right now, the bigger picture, we have an area of high pressure in the desert southwest. that's not uncommon this time of the year. it's bringing the intense heat right now. what is uncommon, we have a tropical storm well the our south. it will stay away from california, but the moisture is getting funneled into the bay area thanks to that high pressure. again, overnight tonight we have another chance of seeing rounds of lightning move through bay area. so it is for that fact the red flag warning continues overnight tonight for that threat of lightning that could spark new fires. we'll go very closely on future weather and go hour by hour and show you when the lightning could move through your neighborhood in a few minutes.

>> drew, thanks. now to developing news on all of the problems caused by that severe storm. it knocked out power to thousands. first to the fires, including this one in san jose. take a look at the flames. fire crews say lightning srted fire at a six-unit complex. one person was burned out but no one was hurt. cornell barnard joins us from contra costa county where lightning there sparked a series of grass fires. cornell, this goes without saying, crews are stretched thin. >> you're right, dion. it's been a tough day for firefighters out here. the heat is intense and they need more resources. we're here at the base camp for the deer zone fires, the fire is burning over this ridge here in contra costa county. the fire has burned 300 acres, 0% at the same time right now. like many fires overnight, lightning is the cull politicize.

a fears summierce summer storm lightning show to all parts of the bay area, amazing to see. but firefighters say all that lightning combined with extreme heat sparked multiple fires. >> all six fires we had this morning were all attributed to the lightning. >> those fires grew into the deer zone fire in contra costa county. here's time lapse video of the smoke from the fire burning in the round valley regional preserve near brentwood. brian bell and his female live on morgan territory road where residents are being urged to prepare to evacuate if needed. >> it's constantly a fire concern out here, right? plenty of dead vegetation, we do everything we can to keep fire breaks around the country. >> alameda county fire units worked to contain this vegetation fire in sick more park likely sparked by lightning. the fire was stopped at 50 acres. cal fire tweeted it responded to 11 fires since 1:00 a.m. in santa cruz and san mateo counties.

most presumed to have started by lightning strikes, forward progress has been stopped on most of these fires. we're working to get more resources, stretched then due to heavy fire activity. contra costa county firefighters need help too. >> we need helicopters out here as well too, and everything right now, especially with what went on last night and this morning, everything is in short supply. >> in marin county, this fire came close to an apartment complex in corte madera. >> the wind and everything, it was a crazy combination of things. >> i grabbed everything i could and ran out, mostly stuff for my daughter and then got out as quickly as possible. >> luckily everybody there is is okay. here at the deer zone, firefighter expected to be overnight. they hoped to get more resources to fight this fire tomorrow. cornell barnard, abc7 news.

>> cornell, thank you very much. pg&e says customers need to be prepared for rolling blackouts through wednesday evening. that's due to the heat wave that's still gripping much of california. the california independent system operator has issued a flex alert asking people to conserve electricity today through wednesday from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. abc7 news spoke to pg&e this afternoon to get a better explanation as to how the blackouts will work. >> this is really a statewide issue, not just a bay area or pg&e issue. it's rotating blocks, so it's 250,000 customers at a time, but depending on how long the supply and demand challenge exists, it's multiple groups of 200,000 to 250,000. one group will be out for an hour and then another group. >> pg&e says the decision is squarely on cal iso and in some instances, the utility is given just a few minutes to cut the power. here's a look at the current

power outages here in the bay area. a pg&e spokesperson tells us there were several heat-related outages due to lightning. the outages labeled with yellow affected more than 50 people. areas with the largest number of outages are labeled in red. this morning a huge bolt of lightning was captured near if contra costa county fire protection district training tower in concord. they responded to several fires ignited by lightning and activated their emergency operations and increased staffing during the storm. the lick observatory at mount hamilton proved to be the spot to catch the overnight light show over the south bay. check it out. its web camera captured nonstop flashes that lasted for hours. at 4,200 feet above the lights of the bay area, this was one of the clearest views of the lightning. now, thunder, lightning and rain, you can check the forecast from where you live on your free

abc7 app. we'll also send notifications on power outages and breaking news. now to the coronavirus pandemic. the national number of covid-19 cases is going down while the latest concern involves students returning to college. abc news reporter christina sloan has the latest. >> president trump saying coronavirus cases are on the zi decline. >> nearly 85% of cases across the country are reporting a steep decline in cases. and that's despite the fact that we have the number one testing program anywhere in the world. we're up to almost 70 million tests, far beyond any country. >> this as the cdc says more than 200,000 american lives could be lost by labor day but you can't run away from the numbers of people that have died, the number of people who are getting hospitalized, the surges we're seeing. >> many students return to the classroom. more than a dozen students potentially exposed at this oklahoma high school after one

of their classmates misunderstood rules and went to school anyway. students will be sent home if they don't follow campus health guidelines. while a spokesperson for the u.s. naval academy confirming a number of mid-shipmen tested positive. and the university arizona testing students before they move n. those who are positive will be sent to an isolation dorm for ten days. christine sloan, nbc news, new york. a gas line scare for people living near the san bruno blast site. the pg&e issue that led to those neighbors being evacuated from their homes. this rally today in the south bay is in support of inmates who are

we know these are challenging times. rest assured, you are not alone. we've all had to adapt. and with summer here, your energy bills might go up with rising temperatures. together, we can save energy and money. try closing your shades during the day... setting your ac to 78° or higher... or cooling off with a fan when you can. united we are always stronger. stay well, california, and keep it golden.

as we fight the coronavirus pandemic, california is mandating face masks to stop the spread. that's why abc7 wants to remind you to wear a mask for you, your loved ones, and your community. please wear because you care. distance learning begins tomorrow for more than 54,000 students in the san francisco unified school district. most students will attend a zoom class with or without their camera on. they're guaranteed no less than two hours of live instruction per day. since march, the school district has distributed more than 13,000 chromebooks and set up more than 3,000 hot spots. students without access to computers will be able to connect with their teachers by phone. neighbors have been allowed to return to their homes after a

gas rupture in san bruno near darby place and chris moore drive a mile from the 2010 explosion. pg&e says a 3/4 inch pipeline ruptured at 9:00 this morning. 37 people were evacuated from an apartment building until crews were able to dig up the street and repair the line. pg&e says there was no explosion. in the south bay, protesters rallied outside the santa clara county main jail today in support of an ongoing hunger strike by inmates that started friday in response to the death of george floyd. organizers of the protest are calling for changes to the county's justice system and greater oversight for the sheriff's office. the sheriff's office says they are working to address many of those concerns. in a statement the office says this. we take the health and welfare of those in our care seriously and will work closely with custody health services regarding those who elect to participate. things got a little bit wild

today in the east bay. >> what do you think about the animals? >> awesome. >> they're awesome? >> thumbs up from him. up next, we'll take you to a zoo created specifically for social distancing. i'm meteorologist drew tuma. it's another hot day out there today as our heat wave rolls on. and again tonight there's another threat for lig

on the peninsula, the free ride is over for sam transpassengers. the bus agency resumed collecting fares once again today. it paused fare collection at the beginning of the pandemic. sam transis also increasing service on busier routes. a number of routes saw service levels cut because of low passenger counts in recent months. protective plexiglass shields

have been installed. there were wild encounters today in the east bay. abc7 news was at the alameda county fairgrounds in pleasanton where there was a drive-through zoo built as a safari adventure. viewers got to be monkeys and reptiles from the comfort of their cars. families say it was a good chance to get the kids out of the house. >> though the little ones enjoy it, all kids love animals, right? they don't get to see these often so it's pretty cool. >> the tickets cost 35 bucks with the money going to help various bay area wildlife groups. >> good to see them getting creative. good to see at least no rain for that drive-through zoo. certainly felt muggy across the bay area, drew. >> yeah, the humidity is certainly on the rise all thanks to that moisture coming from the tropical storm that allowed those lightning strikes to lancaster for several hours this morning. right now, though, on live doppler 7, any lightning strikes have moved out for the moment.

it has quieted down certainly from this morning's activity. we are tracking thunderstorms as we head towards the east in the sierra. live doppler 7 showing you near lake tahoe you have a couple thunderstorms that have popped up. now, it's not only the lightning we're tracking over the next 24 hours. we're still in the midst of this excessive heat right now. you can see 106 in brentwood. 92 in redwood city. 91 in san jose. 93 in cloverdale. just the slightest sea breeze, though, has kicked up from half moon bay to san francisco. so you can see we're only in the low 70s right now. so not as warm as we were yesterday, but something that is much different than yesterday, the humidity is certainly much higher. you look at the dew points right now and these numbers measure how much moisture is in the atmosphere. when these numbers get above 60, like they are right now, that is pretty humid air. earlier this morning the numbers were above 70, and that is when it gets oppressive humidity, almost feels like florida

humidity. and this humidity interacting with the hot temperatures we have storms. heat warnings still in effect with a high risk of heat-related illness. this will continue tomorrow as well. overnight tonight, another warm night out there. not only warm, it's rather humid as well. many cities will only drop into the 70s, like san mateo, san jose, concord, even cloverdale. low to mid-60s as you get closer to the coast. but the threat is there for lightning early tomorrow morning. our red flag warning does continue overnight tonight through 11:00 a.m. in the morning tomorrow. and again, with this red flag warning the threat as there for lightning to start new fire. let's time out that chance for you. early tomorrow morning, this is 4:00 a.m. on our monday morning. there you can see more storms

developing off the coastline and moving into the bay area. that threat does continue, at least through 8:00 a.m. right now the best chance of finding that lightning once again, between 3:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. so it's a good idea to remember lightning safety. nowhere outside is safe. you want to move indoors or into a car. lightning could strike 12 miles away from the storm and you want to wait 30 minutes until you hear the last rumble of thunder before it's 98 the accuweather seven-day forecast will track that morning storm threat early tomorrow morning. that extreme heat continues tuesday and into wednesday. and then slightly cooler air moves in for the second half of the accuweather forecast. download the accuweather app to your phone. you can track the storms as they move through tomorrow morning, guys. >> all right, drew. it was loud. thank you very much.

>> yeah. now for a little escape from all of the severe weather, let's get to chris alvarez. >> the 49ers running game one of the best in the league. how a man nicknamed the jet hopes to help in 2020. plus, let's bash. the a's bring out the bats and the broom. they sweep san francisco at oracle park.

the a's were in position to sweep the bay bridge series. the giant blew three-plus

leads. honoring the one day anniversary of the negro league. leagu bottom two, brandon belt's first pitch swinging. he's going to sneak one over the wall for his second homer of the year. we're all tied at 1-1. here comes the a's lightning storm chad pinder towards the coke bottle in left. an estimated 422 feet. 4-2 a's. still in the fifth, two on for stephen piscotty. that's toward his hometown of pleasanton. marcus semien feels at home. 379 feet. it's a two-run blast. oakland scores nine runs and send 11 men to the plate. pinder got two hits in that inning alone, 11-2 after five.i

inning. great did i give catch. they double up pinder at second base. the a's sweep 15-3. we'll hear from both teams in an hour. for those that are counting, and i am, we're four weeks away from the scheduled regular season opener between the niners and cardinals at levi's. the guy nicknamed the jet back on the field and looking forward to contributing this season. >> i do think i can open up a different element. my tool set and what i bring to the game, you know, kyle does a great job pulling players and the best situations to see. i'm excited to be back and be healthy. it's hard for me to tone down a bit. i work like i'm broke, so it's hard to stop working. hey, did you see this? quarterback alex smith got great news that he can return to

practice today. his family celebrating yesterday. today here he is at practice, throwing darts for the first time since that gruesome leg injury that ended his 2018 season. he's had 17 surgeries on that leg and his life was in danger at one point. doctors thought they had to amputate the leg, but here he is. no matter what happens, it's a big victory for alex smith. has a chance to be the starting quarterback if the nationals. >> 17 surgeries. >> what with a when we come back. chris, thanks . it seems a new cat burglar in california joined the ranks of the bay area's own kelp toe

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a cat burglar, yes, a cat burglar caught on camera. this cat has been roaming a citrus heights neighborhood for four years. >> his name is jax, but neighbors call him klepto kitty. he breaks into homes, takes whatever he can get, like toys and mop heads, and apparel. you might recall san mateo's famous feline nicknamed klepto the cat, he also stole items from homes and became nationally famous after an appearance on

"letterman." what was it like working at the height of the original klepto kitty's fame? >> you don't often see cats on the letterman show, so where is jax going to go? >> we'll find out. see you tonight, the make or break moment, as a top health official says the time to get covid-19 under control is now. dr. deborah birx hitting the road, pleading for all americans to wear masks and social distance as she tours the nation's hot spots. as more schools reopen, some teachers already resigning, saying they do not feel safe. alarming scenes from college campuses. students back, ready to party. four clusters at unc chapel hill in just three days. and an oklahoma state sorority under quarantine after 23 test positive. this just in. multiple officers reportedly shot responding to a call in texas.

barricaded inside. the latest coming in. also developing tonight, the ballot battle. demands the postmaster general,