californians are without power right now. but for how much longer? and the race for coronavirhb . we know the 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. (vo) my name is cynthia hawkins, the owner of hawkins house of burgers. my grandparents came here in 1939 and we've been serving this community for over 80 years. my dad always said, take care of your community and they will always take care of you. and they have done so. through the ups and through the downs. my name may be on this building, but this place belongs to all of us. ♪

tonight generators across the state are on full blast as at least half a million people are without electricity due to the fire danger. smoky skies and high fire danger. i'll let you know when you can expect a change coming up. a possible setback in the race for a vaccine. the astrazeneca trials are on hold after a volunteer became ill. what this means for the bay area trials which were about to begin. south bay business owners find ways to reopen indoors, but they know that opportunity could slam shut again. abc 7 news starts right now. building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. tonight across the tales of harrowing escapes from ravaging wildfires.

skies darken. thousands face another night without electricity. power shut off to prevent park sparking any new fires. more than 167,000 pg&e customers in fact in 21 counties are still without power. >> this map shows the current public safety power shutoffs. they're indicated by upside down purple triangles. and dan, right now utility crews are inspecting lines and working to restore power in some of these areas. >> reporter: that's right-a ma. they're working fast as you know. j.r. stone is in calistoga where entire neighborhoods are still in the dark tonight. >> reporter: complete darkness along these neighborhood streets on the western i'd of calistoga, a city where 40% of the people are without electricity and that includes tv. tough for youngsters. >> it's hard, really hard. >> reporter: taylor may only be 6 but this is not the first time her family has lost power due to fire dangers. now, though, they have a small generator that powers only the most essential items. >> i can only watch stuff on my

ipad if it's charged. >> if it's charged. have you been charging it? >> no. because our charger doesn't work. >> reporter: across the state at least half a million peopleh plr shutoffs over fears of power lines falling and sparking a fire. >> you realize how much you depend on electricity when this happens. >> reporter: in calistoga you can hear the hum of generateors in neighborhoods. winds are expected to pick up. calistoga mayor chris canning says it is concerning, especially after monday night. >> back in 2017 with the tubbs fire, last night was the first night that reminded me very eerily of that evening. >> reporter: while many that we talked with are remaining optimistic, taylor's mom is doing the same. r husband and their father, who is a firefighter, remains busy on call at the fire station. >> it's one day at a time, and just trying to make the best of it. >> reporter: now, generators like this one here in calistoga are on full blast right now, but

there is a hope that the electricity will be back on by wednesday night. in napa county j.r. stone, abc 7 news. and we saw that apocalyptic glow of the sun through the haze in the bay area today. this is what it looked like in san ramon. the smoke and the fog was so thick in some places tonight, dan, it blocked out sunset. it was really just eerie. >> it was really -- that's a great word. it was eerie. very strange. and as you said, apocalyptic. how long is that going to continue? abc 7 news meteorologist sandhya patel has more on the air quality and the dangerous fire conditions that sandhya still persist. >> reporter: absolutely. and dan and ama, we're going to wineally ight now gusting41 mis drying out a hount st.ena or 50-mile-an-hour windsthis ied f up until 8:00 a.m. tomorrow for the north east bay hills, santa cruz mountains.

wind gusts will be very drying. low humidity. and so any fires that do develop will spread rapidly. take a look at the fire danger index. fire danger in the north bay will be running anywhere from high to extreme during the overnight hours. so definitely watch out. now, the fires burning to our north creating bad air quality. ukiah is unhealthy right now. although we are starting to see a slight impochlt rovement in o parts of the bay area. still poor in the east bay as you'll notice in orange for sensitive groups. when you take a look at this time lapse from earlier tonight, san jose cameras showing you just how smoky the skies were. you couldn't even see the sun. it was dimmed by the smoke and the fog. i do have good news for you. i'll show you when the air quality will improve coming right up. ama, dan? >> sandhya, that is good news. thank you. well, breaking news here tonight. a new wildfire is exploding in northern california right now near the town of paradise. paradise, of course, was just devastated, ravageed in november

2018 by the massive camp fire. tonight it's being threatened by the bear fire burning in the plumas national forest. there are mandatory evacuations in parts of plumas, butte, and yuba county. so far nearly 41,000 acres have burned and it is at this moment 51% contained. and tonight the creek fire remains out of control in fresno and madera counties, forcing a new round of, everybodies. daring rescues of hikers and campers in the sierra forest have taken place. helicopters lifted more than 150 people overnight and this morning to safety. the missions have been dangerous, not just because oe f ad use nightvision goggles after their first attempt failed. the fire is northeast of fresno and has exploded in size, scorching more than 152,000 acres since friday. it's 0% contained. as awful as this fire sounds, not a single person or firefighter haseen hurt.

>> it was such an anxious wait, not knowing what was going to happen and when they were going to be here. so it's surreal just having them here in the flesh. >> the smoke's been so thick that the pilots don't have a visual of the terrain to land safely or to identify the locations where the evacuees are. >> this fire has also been destructive. dozens of structures have been wiped out by the flames including at least 60 homes. firefighters from san francisco left this afternoon to help on the front lines of the creek fire. more than a dozen firefighters were hurt, some severely, while fighting the dolan fire in monterey county this morning. they had to deploy their emergency shelter. think of it as sort of a fireproof or fire-resistant sleeping bag. three firefighters were airlifted to a hospital in fresno, and one is in critical condition. the fire has been burning for three weeks now and just exploded in size overnight. >> pretty busy night for us last night. the fire in general grew anywhere between 50,000 and 60,000 acres from where we were yesterday to now.

>> officials say the dolan fire was started by arson on august 18th. a man has been arrested. cal fire is worried about flare-ups because of the weather that's triggered a red flag warning through wednesday morning. the big concern here is with the czu complex in san mateo and san mateo counties. while it is the smallest of the three fires, it also has the lowest containment. yeah, so we continue to monitor, that but california isn't the only state dealing with raging wildfires. a large portion of medford, oregon has been ordered to evacuate togh80,000 residents and is being threatened by a wildfire. the fire started this morning and also caused 25 miles of i-5 to be shut down all the way to the californian a fast-moving wildfire all but destroyed the town of malden. it's about 30 miles south of spokane. the fire station, post office, city hall and library all went up in flames along with nearly all of the homes.

officials say it took just three hours to sweep through that town. and you can follow the latest details on the fires all across california with our exclusive wildfire tracker. it it's7news.com and the abc 7 news app. new developments tonight, tiburon's police chief has announced his retirement as the department deals with a racially charged incident. chief michael cronin was appointed chief in 2007. the manager says they've been discussing cronin's retirement for some time now. his last date will be on sunday. >> are you guys restocking the store? >> there's no problem going on. >> why are you here so late? >> it follows this incident last month when a black store owner says he was racially profiled by police at his store. the sergeant involved in the confrontation has now resigned. the marin independent journal reports that cronin denies his departure is connected to this controversy. now we want to tell you about a possible setback in the race for a vaccine. the bay area was set to begin

its phase 3 trials of astrazene astrazeneca's covid-19 vaccine, but now the entire study is on hold. abc 7 news reporter kate larsen has been following this trial, and kate, what happened? >> reporter: well-a ma, a trial participant actually became ill. so now they must stop to investigate whether it was a serious side effect or completely unrelated to the injection. there is actually some surprise and disappointment within san francisco's department of public health since they've been working so hard to prepare the bay area phase 3 trials of the vaccine. but they can't comment right now, since all inquiries must be deferred to astrazeneca. the final stages of nteereceals aren in atent sent abcreview safety data, which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials. a source says the affected patient is in the uk, where astrazeneca is based. >> it is reason to be concerned,

but it's not unusual that this would ham, especially with enrolling thousands and thousands of patients. >> reporter: dr. yvonne maldonado is a stanford epidemiologist. she's not part of the astrazeneca trial but she's conducted clinical vaccine trials all over the world. >> the only reason you need to do this trial these ways is because of exactly this reason. it's possible that the safety signal will be determined to be unrelated and they can move forward. >> reporter: last month abc 7 got an inside look at a san francisco trial site for the astrazeneca vaccine. the bay area trial was already . >> generally speaking, when there's a stopping point, when our trial's able to resume again? >> the product sponsor needs to investigate what happened. every single detail about this patient. they need to meet with the data safety monitoring board. there's a lot that will need to >> reporteusf doctor told me ite

a matter of days or even much longer depending on exactly what happened. for abc 7 i'm kate larsen. back to you. >> okay. thank you, kate. coming up, caution and reluctance over new reopening guidelines. business owners in the south bay say they understand how quickly conditions can change. plus, if you ever go back to the office, how lu get to your office? see how risky a high-rise elevator really is when it comes to coronavirus. first, a look at what's coming up tonight on "jimmy kimmel live" with guest host josh gad. >> thanks, dan and ama. i'm josh gad. let's see how this goes. please welcome all the way from arandale kristen bell, idina menzel, and

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after shopping around for insurance, they called usaa - who helped find the right coverage for them and even some much-needed savings. that was the easy part. usaa insurance is made the way liz and mike need it- easy. santa clara and santa cruz counties moved on the state's color-tiered coronavirus

tracker. the change from the purple to red tier means gyms can reopen with modifications. amanda del castillo found for many business owners there's a sense of caution and reluctance when if comes to these new indoor reopenings. >> reporter: the owner of blossom nail spa in campbell says her employees are now tough as nails as they've had to maneuver constantly changing reopening plans. it's one reason linda doe admits to feeling some reluctance when her employees and customers told her the county was allowing her to finally move indoors. >> i'm like you know what? i will believe it when governor newsom says it, it's official. >> reporter: she was happy to see governor gavin newsom announce santa clara skounty has moved from purple to the less restrictive red tier. the change also means nail and waxing salons and tattoo and piercing parlors are able to open their doors with modifications. museums, zoos and aquariums can do the same at 25% capacity. shopping malls at 50% capacity, up from 25%.

if the county remains in the red tier for 14 days, k through 12 schools can reopen. fitness centers can also move indoors at 10% capacity. >> we were open for 48 hours exactly july 13th and 14th and had to shut back down unfortunately very quickly. >> reporter: on tuesday retro fitness's outdoor class continued as planned. owner jason bumgardner says the move indoors will come once staffing is in place. admits tht return with caution knowing other counties have experienced reopenings only to be shut down again. >> i know my members and my staff who have been unemployed for six months don't ever want to shut down again. >> right now we get to do indoors. i'm going to invite my customers indoors if they feel comfortable. if not we still have outdoors, and we just take it from there. >> reporter: indoor gatherings, dining and movie theaters remain off limits. in san jose i'm amanda delcastillo, abc 7 news. some parents want their children return to school and today they made that opinion

known. a small group of parents along with their children held a rally in pleasant hill outside the contra costa county office of education. >> it is safe for kids to go back. of course we have to take the precautions necessary. but i do believe that in-person instruction is overall key right now. >> the group wants parents to have a choice about whether their children return to the classroom. bart is making some changes to its schedule starting next monday. trains will be running more frequently during the commuteho except for two lines. the dublin daly city and richmond berryessa lines will not be changing. bart is adapting the weekend schedule. instead of 20-minute intervals trains will be on 30-minute frequencies. however, they will be starting about 15 minutes earlier. keep that in mind. >> bart has been so badly affected by all this. and because of the pandemic bay area workers are all facing, ama, new job realities. >> they are, dan. from new safety protocols to working from home, changing

careers and managing work-life balance, everyone is looking for solutions. and as part of our commitment to building a better bay area, we're spending this entire week looking at our changing workplace, highlighting ways people are starting to make it work. >> today abc 7 morning's anchor ka massi aaron looks at elm vaitors and ensuring they are not a roadblock to getting people back to work safely. >> reporter: this is the pandemic reality at some places in the bay area. little did i grams on the elevator floor with people carefully moving to their spots. signs limit the number of riders. people push buttons with their elbows. and lots of reminders to maintain social distance while you wait. >> i understand the anxiety is high. but the reality is that risk in the elevators is quite low. >> reporter: that's joe allen, a harvard public health expert who says riding an elevator even with other people on board is relatively safe if you take precautions. allen's top tips -- always wear

your mask. don't talk when you get on the elevator unless it is absolutely necessary. and if you have to cough or you have to sneeze, turn and face the wall and do it into your elbow. >> and that will go a long way in keeping airborne viral particles low for that short ride. >> reporter: there have been so many questions about covid-19 and elevators. allen even has a facebook video with more advice. >> load in a checkerboard pattern and maximize spacing. everyone should face forward. announce your own floor. >> 28, please. >> but the person who is closest to the buttons should push them and use your knuckles. >> if you do touch something, many buildings now have hand sanitizer near the elevators. some elevator companies are selling buttons you can tap with your feet and air purifiers. >> we know this virus has th mn. >> reporter: evenarea's oe

ildings restrictions. tisencrup is one of the bay area's largest elevator providers with thousands of elevators digitally connected to monitor activity. the company says bay area elevator use was at its lowest in mid april and is rising slowly. during the last week of august the number of tisencrup elevator trips in san francisco office buildings was just 23% of normal. and san jose 40%. in oakland 46%. and it's likely most of the elevator cars on each trip up and down were not full. the company's high-tech system can assign people to specific elevator cars. >> elevator traffic is down across the board. so what that allows us to do is actually reprogram those elevators so it doesn't direct people to maximize or fill the elevator up but only direct four or less people onto a cabin so

they have room in that cabin to socially diance. elevator company called schindler is also using its advanced systems to make rides safer. at the post montgomery building in san francisco, employees have schindler preprogrammed cards that tell the elevator which floor they work on without pushing buttons. schindler is now piloting the next phase, using smartphones. >> we can put bluetooth beacons inside the devices and it will connect to your phone through a schindler app so you could actually maintain your social distance in the lobby and enter your call using your own smartphone. >> reporter: california regulations that are slowing the return to work are also allowing ace. time to get innovations in but employers have a critical role as well. >> companies are going to have to do their job in terms of extending the workday so we can have standard arrivals and departures and dedensifying the office. >> reporter: no matter whael vaitor enhancements turn up, experts say you should still use your common sense.

so if the elevator comes and it's crowded, just skip it. and get on the next one. kumasi aaron, abc 7 news. >> i like that there's a way to not have to touch the number at all because i'll be honest, dan, i never wanted to touch it even before covid. >> i know, i've become a little more aware of it before covid as well. i like the elevator buttons you can push with your feet. that's a clever idea too. >> yeah. we're talking about our changing workplace all this week because it's such a huge focus of what's happening and what's changing. with a variety of topics and stories that you can see on your screen right there. this will be all week long on abc 7 news and you can find all of these reports on abc 7 news.com and on the abc7news.com app as well. it's going to be an interesting week with these topics. but ama, let's focus on our changing weather, which is also very welcome news. a lot cooler. >> yeah. i'd like for tomorrow maybe not to look like end of days,

sandh sandhya. is that possible? >> i know. it was so eerie today. yes, it is possible. ama and dan, we're going to have the sea breeze clear some of the smoke late in the day tomorrow. so hopefully it will be an improvement for many parts of the bay area. right now, though, i want to show you a time lapse from our kgo sutro camera, not the roof camera, excuse me for that. smoke and fog just shrouded san francisco earlier tonight, and if you saw it you know exactly what i was talking about. visibility was really poor. now take a look at the smoke forecast. you will notice the north bay mid-night tonight still pretty bad as we look at the improvement for tomorrow evening notice most areas are going to be in the lighter shades of blue indicating less smoke than what we experienced today. now, the smoke was coming in from our north, and as we head into thursday morning it looks like the air quality will improve as well. but tomorrow because smoke impacts will still continue air quality is going to suffer. poor to moderate. we're looking at a record-setting 23 days of spare

the air alerts. definitely be careful. now, look at the satellite picture. you notice all the smoke coming in from the north. this is all from the august complex fire that you're noticing just choking the bay area. it's the north-northeast wind. we're sandwiched between high pressure and low pressure. and that wind direction just pushed that smoke into our area in the upper layers of the atmosphere. so it didn't translate down to the surface. that's why the air quality has been so bad. now, look at mount st. helena, gusting to 45 miles an hour right now, mount diablo 37 even though the wind advisory has expired that red flag warning is still going. golden gate bridge camera hard to see. high fire danger overnight tonight. areas of dense morning fog and spotty drizzle and cooling continues the next few days. today over 20 degrees cooler in many of our bay area locations. visibility down to a mile and a quarter in half moon bay, 3/46 a mile in petaluma because of that smoke and fog. live doppler 7 showing you that fog. watch for illotmpemratures coared to 2ow6coor 7nd 80s

retaining some of the heat. tomorrow morning anywhere from the low 50s to the low 70s. fog and haze to start the day. afternoon highs with lingering fog and haze, mid 60s to mid 90s. so a drop in the temperatures. mu much-needed, as you will notice mid 90s for the hot spots. cooling continues on thursday. and then as we head into sunday, monday it's going to be comfortable. upper 80s for our warmest spots. we'll take that. dan and ama. >> no complaints here. all right. tomorrow on "good morning america" jessica alba chats about the new season

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good evening. the a's had a chance to open up a nice cushion. a doubleheader with the astros, who are in second place, today. part of a stretch of ten games in seven days for the green and gold. . start with hazy skies. the opener. the makeup of a postponed game back in houston after a positive covid test. scoreless in the third. let's crush. khris davis goes oppo taco off zach greinke. on the third homer greinke's allowed all season. 1-0 a's. if k.d. heats up that would be fantastic for the athletics. a's go up 4-2. liam hendricks in to close it out in the seventh. alex bregman strikes out to end.

1-2o 2. matt olson connecting for his 100th career home run. it's a three-run clout to give the a's a 4-0 lead. but the a's pitchers walked five, their defense was shaky, astros win it on a seventh inning goriel sac fly. 5-4 the final. the a's back to a 4 1/2-game lead over the stros in the a.l. west. how about the giants? right in the wild card chase. the question is whether they can stay there opening up a series with seattle. packed house at oracle park. the game started flat for the giants. i've got a million of them. mariners led 5-1 in the third. giants mount their comeback. mauricio dubon muscles up. two-run blast we're tied at 5. giants pull ahead in the seventh. darren ruff getting rough. left center and gone. giants hold on 6-5. they're hanging on to that final wild card spot in the nl.

hoops tonight. lebron james and the lakers, game 3 with the rockets. here comes freight train lebron with authority. 36 for lebron. he was all over the course. austin rivers. great effort by a guy in his 17th season. lakers would pull away in the fourth. rajon rondo, he was playoff rondo. 21 points, nine assists. lakers take a 2-1 series lead. 112-102. no giannis in game 569 bucks-heat series. out with that bad ankle in a poot. but the bucks hanging tough. chris middleton for three of his 23. and the bucks were within four late. but jimmy butler perfect fit in miami finds goran dragic to help seal the deal. giannis said after the game he wants to stay in milwaukee. right now, we could all use some comforting words, so here it goes: melty, melty, tasty, grilly, juicy, sizzle.

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josh gad . >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live," with guest host, josh gad. tonight, daisy ridley and our health care hero of the week. and now, here's josh gad. >> hello and welcome to "jimmy kimmel live!" instead of music we have the sound of lawnmowers. with the breeze, it only feels like hell. when i agreed to host the show a few weeks ago, i said, "let's do did outside". that's what the health experts recommend. but then the highest temperature ever of