next at 5:00, here we go again. blasts of heat and wind will make things dangerous. a red flag warning is now hours away for much of the bay area. this fire weather is hitting the community of calistoga especially hard. people there have barely recovered from the glass fire and now racing for power outages. the admissions controversy over a san francisco high school. the kids in contra costa county demanding to go back to school. and businesses and churches get the green light to operate indoors in alameda and santa clara counties but only one county is making plans to do so. 12 hours from now these areas will be under a red flag warning.

that means critical fire weather conditions will be happening in parts of the north bay and east bay and south bay. good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. right to spencer christian who is tracking the forecast for us tonight. spencer? >> dan and ama, we have a pattern of strong offshore winds developing. as the winds flow downslope they compress, the air compresses. it dries out, it warms up. that increases the risk for fire. we're looking at gusts under 20 miles per hour in the higher elevations at the moment but they will get stronger overnight. as a result we have a red flag warning in the north and east bay hills and valleys and the santa cruz mountains from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. friday, our strongest gusts up to 50 miles per hour. high temperatures will be in the upper 90s the next few days and i'll have more details and the complete accuweather seven-day forecast. >> spencer, thank you. with the red flag alert comes

the threat of preemptive shutoffs that could affect 23,000 customers, 9,000 in napa county alone. what it means for the community of calistoga. >> reporter: even on a perfect fall day they've seen better times in downtown calistoga, color the place worried. >> this year you have to be ready for everything and everything. >> reporter: just days after the glass fire, there will be another red flag warning tomorrow. with it a potential third power outages to prevent high winds downing power lines and sparking new flames. 21 california counties face the same precautions but no place has suffered more. >> this is another gut punch. >> reporter: we asked about the losses since the first shutdown in 2018. >> millions of dollars in lost business and opportunity.

>> reporter: to ease some of the pain pg&e paid for and installed this micro grid on the edge of town. there are nine diesel units capable of putting out 13 mega watts, enough to power all of downtown calistoga. pg&e turned them on with the glass fire and will keep them on all the way through fire season. >> it's awful hard on us. >> reporter: for rob that supplemental power will make no difference because it doesn't extend to his barbecue. he will have to close yet again. >> we have to deal with it. i shouldn't but we have to deal with it. >> reporter: while downtown merchants ask what good is having power if the tourists stay away? in 2020 carol myers and others have dealt with covid, the fires and now this. >> yes, we are open but there's no one here. you can't open a tourist based town with no tourists. >> reporter: though they are certainly trying. in calistoga, wayne freedman, abc 7 news.

>> now to find out if you will be affected or how to prepare for a shutoff go to our website. we have links to both under our news headlines. >> officials say alameda and santa clara can move from the red to the orange tier. they join san francisco as the only two in the tier. alameda isn't likely to move forward until the week of october 26th at the earliest. changes will go into effect tomorrow in santa clara county, in particular outdoor gatherings up to 200 people will be allowed and shopping malls can operate at 50% capacity. it's important to note the rules for indoor dining and gathering will be more restrictive than the states. each can operate at only 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. >> and it's a really important limitation that we've put in place to help try to reduce and we'll be out there with our

enforcement teams ensuring there's compliance. >> santa clara county officials praised people, they're remining everyone to be vigilant to prevent a slide backwards. the prestigious lowell high school in san francisco is expected to change its admissions policy for this academic year because of covid-19. it's a controversial move discussed by the school board right now. lyanne melendez, this would be a huge change. >> reporter: huge. speaking of changes, covid has forced us to make drastic decisions in our lives. now lowell is the only high school in san francisco with a very unique system in place when accepting students, but then covid came along and the virus made it impossible to collect that data, and so now that unique selection process is on hold making it easier for any student in san francisco to

apply. lowell high school has been around since 1856 making it the oldest public high school west of the mississippi. the list of accomplished alumni includes supreme court justice stephen breyer, broadway legend carol channing and governor pat brown among many others. considered an elite school lowell has relied on two requirements to get in -- a high grade point affect and a state test. both of which will not be counted this year because of the coronavirus. >> there was not an option for an a, b, c, d, f. there was only the option of credit or no credit. >> reporter: the test was also suspended last spring. >> the proposal is the superintendent's proposal not a board proposal is for us to waive the policy for one year based on covid. >> reporter: students who apply will use the same lottery system as other high schools within the unified school district. the algorithm takes into account

a few factors including if a sibling already attends that school and proximity to the school. still, the president believes the academic rigor at lowell will dissuade some families from even applying. >> and students will know that going in, stow a student who is not prepared for that is not likely to apply for that. >> reporter: lopez believes this action could lead to changes in the admission process at lowell making it more equitable. >> i've been very vocal about eliminating state standardized tests for all students. >> reporter: i am hearing that the school board has enough votes to pass the superintendent's resolution next week. again, today is only a discussion. while they say it will only be for this academic year this coronavirus may be around in the spring and that test may have to be suspended one more time. uncertain times.

>> all right, lyanne, thank you. in one community they are lobbying to announce a clear plan to get back to at least some in-person classes, lafayette, moraga and orinda. >> reporter: students and parents say the time is now for some of them to get back into the classroom after months of learning only online. >> there have to be allowances made. i respect that. the teachers who need to stay home, i respect that. for the families who want to go back and they need that and their kids need that, we have to make that happen, too. >> reporter: despite meeting state criteria for allowing in-person classes, they say it's not time, not yet. >> we really want to be with our students. >> reporter: there is an agreement with the district for

safe return but the union wants to wait until after the holidays. >> with people probably gathering in larger groups than they normally do outside of the social bubble they may be exposing themselves to covid f. we're back in the classroom you're exposing the students and faculty. >> reporter: the district did not respond to our request for comment, but in a recent email to parents, quote, we hear from many parents and students that we must open our schools faster. we hear from many that we should be more cautious. our charge is to best meet the needs of all, but to do so safely. besides some sports activities, the high school district has set next january as a goal for returning to at least some in-person in a hybrid model. some say that's not soon enough. >> the worst part is probably just not seeing my friends and it's a lot harder to learn. going back to school would be

100% better. >> reporter: in lafayette, laura anthony, abc 7 news. a major ruling from the supreme court on the u.s. census count. the justices cleared the way for the trump administration to end the head count temporarily halting a lower court decision that had extended it. the administration argued that the count needed to end immediately so the census bureau had enough time to crunch the numbers before congressionally mandated year-end deadline. a coalition of civil rights groups sued arguing that minorities and others in hard-to-count communities would be missed if the count ended early. several setbacks in the fight against coronavirus from treatments to vaccines. we'll take a look. plus, santa clara county unveils how it will make in-person voting safe and secure as the battle over illegal

what? never. are you kidding me? for years, the residential burden has gone up. while the corporate burden has gone down. prop 15 reverses that. it closes corporate loopholes and invests in schools, small business, and firefighters. and when the big corporations pay more, your tax bill goes down. that's right. a savings of a hundred twenty-one dollars a year for the average home. give homeowners a break. vote yes on 15.

november's election will be safe from the registrar of voters. the county gave an inside look at its vote preparations. for those who vote in person 100 vote centers will be open. voting stations are spaced six feet apart and the county says they're cleaned after each use. changes this election include a new e-poll book so there's no need to sign a paper roster and knew high-speed ballot counting machines. the california republican party says it plans to expand its offering of drop boxes election officials call illegal. >> reporter: even after california secretary of state alex padilla sent a cease and desist letter to the republican party considering their illegal ballot drop boxes the state gop isn't backing down. the controversy started over the weekend when the secretary of state's office and county registrars received reports of suspicious ballot drop boxes in l.a., orange and fresno

counties. the state republican party says the boxes are legal because it's ballot harvesting which authorizes another person to take their ballot to a collection site. the secretary of state says this doesn't qualify as ballot harvesting because the collection boxes are unmanned. >> we have been harvesting and republicans are still harvest balloting. we can run and complain about the election results later or get smart and figure out the rules and figure out the chessboard they've laid out before us. >> reporter: if any ballots were found in the unauthorized drop boxes those voters could be contacted to vote again. republican michelle steel released a statement saying i don't condone any unofficial means of collecting ballots. every vote counts and we must ensure ballots are turned in and counted responsibly and legally. they believe this is an effort to take votes away from him.

>> on one hand they argue mail-in ballots, that we have to be concerned about the process. on the other hand they're literally putting out fraudulent ballot boxes. on the back side is the name of the person delivering that ballot, who the voter is. it's very easy for them to see whether it is a democrat or a republican. >> that's josh haskell reporting. a possible safety, you has stopped testing of a covid-19 antibody therapy. the eli lilly study has been put on hold over an unspecified concern. eli lilly is working on a therapy similar to a treatment president trump received after he was skgs diagnosed. a temporary halt by johnson & johnson following an unexplained illness of one of the participants in the study. now abc 7 news anchor dion lim has a look at a bay area connection in the race for a covid treatment. >> reporter: researchers at

stanford were just days away from joining the trial of a promising covid vaccine candidate. then came word that manufacturer johnson & johnson is pausing the study after a participant became sick after an unexplained illness. now comes the challenge of figuring out why. >> they'll need to do follow-up, lab tests, alcoholism clinical . we just don't know what the issue is. >> reporter: an infectious disease ex personality at stanford. although she's not directing the trial, she says the interruption isn't unusual. >> i wouldn't put a lot of stock in it yet. it could be a big safety signal. virtually every trial will have an adverse event. >> reporter: that's in part because researchers cast a wide net recruiting tens of thousands of participants to increase the odds they'll catch any rare side effects. and since the trials are blinded, johnson & johnson may not know whether the patient

received the vaccine or a placebo. the vaccine was widely anticipated because the company recently use ad a similar technique for ebola. it does not need to be refrigerated and is easily transportable. >> this is why we have so many vaccine candidates. we don't know which one will work. it's very hard to predict any side effects. >> reporter: case in point another from astrazeneca. it was scheduled to enter trials when the study was halted last month because of an illness. a second patient reportedly suffered neurological problems. at stanford, dion lim, abc 7 news. the astrazeneca trial is still on hold in the united states. as for stanford it says it has several other potential vaccine trials in the pipeline with pfizer.

if you're looking to pay less in rent you may be interested in three bay area counties seeing the largest drop in rents nationwide. a new report from realtor.com says rents for a two-bedroom apartment in san francisco plunged more than 21% year to year. the median rent for a two bedroom is just more than $3,900. the report says most big cities are seeing a drop in rents while outlying areas are experiencing an increase. cloud storage company drop box said it's becoming a virtual first company meaning the 3,000 employees will continue to work remotely most of the time and will occasionally go into the office. to support the change drop box will turn office noose what it called drop box studios removing individual desks and creating more space for collaboration. >> more to come. it is warm. you know that. summerlike weather is not yet over. abc 7 weather

proposition 16 takes some women make as little as 42% of what a man makes. voting yes on prop 16 helps us fix that. it's supported by leaders like kamala harris and opposed by those who have always opposed equality. we either fall from grace or we rise. together. proposition 16 provides equal opportunities, levelling the playing field for all of us. vote yes on prop 16. when you take a it all begins to un-ravel. ann ravel's no reformer, she's backed by big corporations who've poured hundreds of thousands into her campaign. and she opposes ballot measures to make the economy more fair for working people. only dave cortese is endorsed by the california democratic party. he's helping us battle the pandemic

with a science-based approach. and expanding health services and child care to those in need. for state senate, democrat dave cortese. i'm voting 'yes' on prop 19. nineteen limits taxes on seniors. it limits property tax on people like me. nineteen limits taxes on wildfire victims. it says so right here. if 19 passes, seniors can move closer to family or medical care. i looked at moving but i can't afford the taxes. will you help california's most vulnerable? vote 'yes' on prop 19.

this is hard to believe but the driver of this car is okay after that hunk of metal crashed through his windshield in del ray beach, florida. firefighters said, quote, he is lucky to be alive. the driver did have a few cuts from the shattered glass, probably nerves that are shot as well and really there's no word on where the metal came from. but such a scary thing that happened and thank goodness that driver is okay. let's talk about our weather and the heat and winds. spencer christian is here with the latest. we have temperatures increasing and winds increasing and relative humidity getting dangerously low and that means fire risk. here is the view from sutro tower overlooking san francisco. 74 degrees right now. 81 in oakland. mid to upper 80s at mountain view, san jose and gilroy. 66 right now at half moon bay. the view from emeryville. 90 degrees up north at santa

rosa. napa, 87. low to mid-90s right now at fairfield, concord and livermore. it'll be even warmer the next few days. gusty winds will develop tonight in the hills and higher elevations of the bay area. high fire danger will be with us the next few days through friday and record heat is possible not only record highs in the afternoon but maybe even record high overnight lows. our red flag warning goes into effect, remains in effect until 11:00 a.m. friday. this is for the hills and valleys of the north bay and east bay and the santa cruz mountains. winds about 15 to 35 miles an hour with gusts up to 50 or 55 miles an hour combined with dangerously low relative humidity and dry fuels means high fire danger. to overnight conditions, notice in the forecast animation no

marine layer to speak of, maybe passing low clouds along the coastline. that's about it. nighttime conditions clear with low temperatures in the mid-50s at the coast. upper 50s to low 60s near the bay shoreline. mainly low to mid-60s inland except in the north bay which will be a little bit cooler with lows there in the mid to upper 50s. tomorrow's highs, 76 in half moon bay. 84 in san francisco. mainly mid to upper 80s around the bay shoreline, places like oakland, fremonfremont. mid-90s tomorrow but it'll be getting even hotter into thursday and friday. the accuweather forecast. upper 90s inland on thursday and friday. low to mid-90s and 80 degrees or higher on the coast those two days. the weekend will bring a cooler pattern. it will be sharply cooler sunday and going into early next week

the weather will be a lot more like autumn. feel a lot more comfortable. counting down the days. thanks, spencer. well, around the world in 11 days, the so-

as we all fight the coronavirus pandemic, mandating facemasks to stop the spread. we want to remind to you wear a mask for you, your loved ones and your community. please wear because you care. abc news will host town hall with democratic presidential nominee joe biden this thursday night. you can watch it live in a special edition of ""20/20." it will be on our connected tv app available to download on roku, amazon fire, android tv. coming up at 6:00, the i-team looks into the case of one voter who received more than one ballot. local election officials say this is not fraud. we'll explain why. however, there is a case of suspected fraud at the edd. 7 on your side's michael finney talks with two by area residents who say they were asked to take part in the crime. trick-or-treat, well, that's off the table. blame it on the coronavirus

pandemic. so what can kids do this halloween for fun? all coming up in half an hour on abc 7 news at 6:00. bird enthusiasts are celebrating an epic nonstop distance record, similar to the one you see here, has finished a new worldecord for avian nonstop flight. >> that is a gorgeous bird. it set off from alaska on september 16th and arrived in new zealand flying up to speeds of 55 mil mil an hour. experts say the bird's sleek design give them potential effectively turning them into jet fighters. the bird had been tagged last year. it flew over the pacific ocean for days with no place to land. experts say strong easterly winds helped the bird set that record. dan, maybe it hitched a ride on a boat for a little while, a couple hours. >> maybe. that's a lot of flapping for

days on end like that. wow. "world news tonight" is next. what? never. are you kidding me? for years, the residential burden has gone up. while the corporate burden has gone down.

prop 15 reverses that. it closes corporate loopholes and invests in schools, small business, and firefighters. and when the big corporations pay more, your tax bill goes down. that's right. a savings of a hundred twenty-one dollars a year for the average home. give homeowners a break. vote yes on 15. in the tubbs fire. the flames, the ash, it was terrifying. thousands of family homes are destroyed in wildfires. families are forced to move and higher property taxes are a huge problem. prop 19 limits taxes on wildfire victims so families can move without a tax penalty. nineteen will help rebuild lives. vote 'yes' on 19.

tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. on the coronavirus, two separate trials now, a vaccine and an antibody treatment both on hold tonight. plus, the fireworks. the supreme court showdown. president trump's supreme court nominee, judge amy coney barrett, is pressed on several major issues today, with just 21 days to go before the election. does she consider roe versus wade a so-called super precedent, a law that's already settled? how she answers. judge barrett is also asked about the affordable care act. with millions of americans and their coverage on the line, a case before the court just days after the election, how she answers on that issue. on same sex marriage. and on the presidential election. if it's contested, would she recuse herself? and how she described talking to her own children about the video of george floyd.