size continues to burn in northern california we are seeing the effects in the bay area. smoke is impacting our air quality. viewers from across the bay area have been reaching out to tell us their skies are hazy and they smell smoke. good evening and thank you for joining us. let's get right to the our meteorologist with the latest. >> that smoke is shrouding the bay area and i want to show you live pictures first from walnut creek so from the east bay where you can barely see

anything, to the south bay where you are noticing san jose is soft in as well with the smoke. moderate air quality for parts of the east bay and south bay and even poor air quality outputs altamonte and even worse in the sierra nevada near the northern california wildfires, unhealthy to very unhealthy. the heavy smoke remains with us , it gets better later on tonight into tomorrow morning, only to get worse again although not as heavy as today in terms of the smoke. it is bad right now in walnut creek. an air quality advisory has been extended through tomorrow, moderate air quality expected for the next four days. i will be back with a closer look at the smoke forecast in your weekend, coming up. the devastating dixie fire keeps growing. % 432,000 acres, making it the third largest wildfire in state history. you see jarring pictures coming out of the town of greenville. the fire just roared right through leveling just about everything in its path. we begin our coverage with our

reporter who says the focus has already shifted to rebuilding the historic town. >> i've been here since 1973 and it's hard to stomach. >> reporter: longtime greenville business owner and plumas county supervisor saw his town for the first time since it was reduced to ash and debris. >> now that i've seen this, i'm better, i'm not great obviously. this is sad. >> reporter: despite the widespread destruction, he is committing to rebuilding. >> it is a slow, arduous, long process that will be painstaking. >> reporter: a process the 76- year-old knows all too well, he survived the camp fire, california's most deadly and devastating fire in paradise. >> we know what it's like. >> reporter: he is here today to offer support from his town, still rebuilding from the 2018 fire. survivors are collecting donations to send to a town that suffered a similar fate as

theirs. >> the people that had to run from this fire like we did, it changes you. you are not the same. >> reporter: meanwhile, the dixie fire continues to excel uncontrollably, the firefight continues as crews begin clearing areas in the burn scar. >> my heart goes out to the people who lost their homes. i'm just glad i could come up here and insist the firefighters . >> reporter: trying to make it safe enough for folks to return home. >> it's not just the bay area, smoke is impacting other parts of california. we spoke to experts about what to expect if this becomes our new normal. >> reporter: like talking was nearly lake tahoe is normally one of the most picturesque areas in california.

this resin has to wear a mask just to go outside and he says it doesn't even look like home anymore. >> today was a lot darker than it normally would be. normally you would be able to see the mountain in the forest but you can't see any of that right now. >> reporter: parts of california saw some of the worst air quality in the world on friday, just south of the dixie fire there was an hui of a 34. doctor craig favorable wind conditions gave the bay area relatively healthy air so far this winter season but when shift has caused the smoke to travel hundreds of miles south and the doctor says it's just a start. >> we are getting into more critical fire weather patterns so the next couple of months could be pretty challenging for not only communities but the firefighters. >> reporter: the doctor has looked at their fire models and

says climate change and drought are contributing factors in a troubling prediction he has for california's going forward. >> residents will have to get used to smoky skies and better quality as we go through the next few decades. these fires are burning hotter, they are burning more intensely and they are creating a lot of smoke and it can really impact communities so we have to get used to that, unfortunately. >> you contract the air quality where you live on our website, abc7news.com were we have a map constantly updating conditions and you can view that wherever you stream using our abc7 bay area app. from fires to covid and as the demand for covert testing has skyrocketed in the bay area and san francisco over the past month, smaller community clinics in underserved areas are just getting overwhelmed, they are seeing lines of people looking to get tested. our website, abc7news.com, we have a map of testing sites there in san francisco, but only a few of them are designed for mass testing with the

current search going on, community groups are putting the pressure on the san francisco department of public health to expand site capacity. >> reporter: the number of covid tests administered across the city has more than tripled in just the past month, and pop- up sites serving areas disproportionately affected by the virus are now starting to turn people away because the demand is so high. the demand for covert testing is surging across the bay area, especially in san francisco's mission district. this man says the lines to get into the missions two pop-up sites have more than doubled in the past two weeks.

>> i think it's important that everybody get tested. >> reporter: this man couldn't get tested this week because the missions 24 venkat street site reach capacity. >> three weeks ago it exploded. >> reporter: this woman the san francisco latino task force and she says three weeks ago the mission district had only one covert testing site that was open three days a week and now, due to heightened demand, the mission has two sites with expanded hours and it is still not enough. >> with the new search we are seeing about 300 people a day. >> reporter: the first location at 24th and camp is open saturday through tuesday. the second location is only open on thursdays. >> on thursdays we see up to 550 people. >> reporter: the task force is working with the city to expand testing services to meet the demand in districts disproportionately affected by the virus, including the mission, an area that has reported 381 new covid cases in the past two months. the only district surpassing that is bayview hunters point

with 458 new cases the past two months. that's the highest case rate across the city. >> we expect testing demand increase like it did for the fall and winter surge. >> reporter: they hope the city will reopen some of the mass testing sites to help alleviate the impact on smaller community sites at the san francisco public department of health says a final decision has not been made yet and they're still monitoring the situation and need. the latina task forces also requesting more space in hotels reserved for patients to isolate and quarantine, partly because the positivity rate from those two sites we showed you has increased from five, to eight percent in the past couple of weeks. california is not going to require teachers to be vaccinated to return to the classroom. gavin newsom did however leave open the possibility that the state could issue a mandate. live nation will require physicians

have a negative test for the policy starts in october. the fda is moving to authorize an additional dose for those who have weakened immune systems and that is expected to happen later this month for many bay area school district are getting ready to return to in person learning including oakland unified school district starting monday. is it safe? and what happens if a child or staff member gets sick with covid? a focus on education as part of our effort to build a better bay area. our news reporter has the story. >> reporter: oakland unified school district will welcome students back to school monday, august 9 and teachers are ready. >> everyday when i come in i have to fill out a form about if i'm feeling okay so that our protocols in place and we will have a tent on site if students do feel sick that they can go to and then they have rapid covid

testing. >> reporter: from covert testing to mask mandates for anyone inside the building. >> it's going to be very hot some days so you might want to take it off but i'm going to keep it on as much as i can. >> reporter: school officials are also highly encouraging vaccines though they are not mandatory for students or staff. here's the plan if there is a case of covid-19. >> they will isolated home for 14 days and beyond that, anybody that might've been exposed can stay in class as long as i get tested twice of they don't have any symptoms. if they have symptoms than they have to stay home as well. >> reporter: the school's spokesperson says there are no plans to return to distance learning in the event of a covid-19 case. >> that's not the guidance we have from the state or the county. >> reporter: the secretary of education is encouraging parents and caregivers to be vigilant about making sure children schools are following

there in person plans. >> make sure as parents that you are ensuring schoolonfostrategies that they are supposed to follow. >> reporter: while visiting an elementary school in san bernardino city unified school district, governor newsom noted that children are thrilled to be back in school. >> everyone of these kids raise their hand when we asked what they preferred, to be back in the classroom or be back online and not one child raise their hand. >> reporter: a new school year and new opportunities take learning back inside the classroom. >> be sure to tune in monday morning because abc7 mornings will have live team coverage as oakland unified goes back to school with in-person classes. we will also track weather and traffic conditions of june and monday starting at 5 am for that. frustrated passengers, the chaos continues for spirit airlines. the word justin from the ceo on how long this travel nightmare might last. if you are a fan of disney

if you are a fan of disney and disney plus to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want, and need... and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. living longer is possible and proven with kisqali when taken with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective versus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor alone. kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. kisqali is not approved for use with tamoxifen. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali.

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alameda county sheriff's investigators are rolling out foul play in the death of philip kreycik . autopsy results released today showed no signs of traumatic injury while toxicology results are still pending, officials say they're unlikely to determine cause of death because of the decomposition of the body. he disappeared wh wh wh near pleasanton on july 10. a search team found his body under a tree a mile north from his intended running route. get ready for more chaos at airports across the country

this weekend. spirit airlines ceo says flight cancellations will continue through next week. this is now day six of the travel nightmare with nearly 1900 flights canceled so far. today up to 50 percent of spirits lights were not expected to take off grade at oakland international, two flights were canceled but two others did depart as planned to orange county in las vegas. spirit blames the ongoing issues on the weather and staffing shortages. >> when we started canceling, our cruise got dislocated her the system and they were in the wrong places at the wrong time and we needed to start to build that puzzle back together again . >> what can be done now? congress could get involved to demand spirit airlines start issuing refunds rather than vouchers or hotel rooms. the san francisco symphony's longtime former music director announced today he is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. michael thompson tweeted today that he recently was diagnosed and underwent successful surgery. he says treatment will continue for the next several months, so he has to step back from public appearances until november. after 25 years, he stepped down from the symphony last year but has continued involvement in several other symphonies nationwide.

let's get a check on the weather as long well as the smoking conditions. >> unfortunately we are feeling it across the bay area eyes may be burning a little bit because the smoke is transferred from the upper layers of the atmosphere down to the ground which is why you are seeing live pictures like this from our mountain camera, the smoke is mixing in with the fog and here are some safety tips. avoid exposure if you can come close windows and doors and your ac on recirculate so you're not breathing smoky air. visibility is low down to just over two miles and conquer, for miles in santa rosa, six miles in livermore. you will notice the air quality is moderate and ukiah

fairfield and look at vacaville. you are in the red which is unhealthy, right now we are looking up for for sensitive groups in livermore, good in san francisco, redwood city, and fremont and that's because we have a nice seabreeze. oakland and san jose reporting moderator wally. here's a look at what you can expect as you look at live doppler 7. some fog that will continue to advance across the bay later on tonight and from our east bay hills, you can see how bad and murky it is right now, 64 in the city and much warmer today inland, 71 in oakland and 82 in san jose and 73 in palo alto. from our san jose camera, shark tank is surrounded by smoke right now, santa rosa at 80 degrees, currently in the 90s to concorde. a live look golden gate bridge camera along with smoke. the impacts continue to tomorrow, smoke and heat will reseed a bit on sunday, moderate air quality expected the next more four days. tonight as the breeze picks up even more we are going to briefly see better air quality going into tomorrow morning, but notice what happens by afternoon and evening, some of that smoke comes back

picture so you will start to see the impacts of it as we get into sunday, things improve a little bit more so in the upper layers of the atmosphere, the pink is the heaviest smoke, still we will be dealing with that in the upper layers right through sunday and sunday night, things get much better going into monday. if you're traveling in bay area airports you are looking at hazy sunshine, breezy in the mid 60s to low 80s. warm in new york city, partly cloudy with a chance of thunder, chicago and los angeles going from fog the sun. fog in the morning here on through about eight or 9:00 and then it pulls back to the coast and sits there and your morning temperatures will be in the 50s, 60s with some fog around, afternoon hazy, mid 60s to mid 90s so it will definitely be a little less hot but as you look at the 7-day forecast, the smoke will continue. not as smoky on sunday and the temperatures will come up again next week with mid to upper 90s inland, mid 60s co-side. it is that time of year and with climate change i think the smoky days are becoming,

disney plus isn't just on your tv or mobile device, it's live and in san francisco at pier 27. we go live at the stories continues to mature today. what's going on out there? >> reporter: one of the things going on out here isisisisisisis about, these hounds are from san francisco and they go around the city checking out murals including marvel studios antman and the wasp mural. this is designed by a local artist. you will see more of this in my story. it's a celebration of all things disney plus, from the stories continues summer tour. it's a place where all kinds of fans prizes.

check out some disney plus memorabilia. >> there are costumes all over the area. this one was used in the disney plus movie cruella one by emma stone. >> reporter: and marvel themed art. >> this mural has a little bit of a personal connection for you. >> i went to the boys and girls club growing up and being able to pay this mural and ultimately donated back to a boys and girls club here in the bay area just means a lot to me. >> reporter: everything is a continuation of a story, especially for vanessa, one of the stars of the new turner and hooch which picks up after the original 1989 movie. >> i was a huge fan. >> reporter: in every mood, she plays erica, a dog trainer for the u.s. marshall who plains trains 90 pound hooch. she spilled some behind the scene secrets. >> it brought a lot out of me to meet the dog and make a relationship with him and he was very slobbery.

and sometimes they added slobber. >> reporter: there are plenty of games for family members young and old and if you just need a break you can relax right next to my friend your custom set of mickey ears or other souvenirs, remember, these stories don't have to and, just take a picture. so you can remember this special day. back out here live, the fun continues until 7:00 tonight. not sure if these hounds will still be here though. if you want to check out the fun it starts at 11 am tomorrow and goes until 7 pm. >> looks like a lot of fun. th

hi, i'm debra. i'm from colorado. i've been married to my high school sweetheart for 35 years.

i'm a mother of four-- always busy. i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen and then i started taking it about two years now. started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things. i'd say give it a try. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. the pandemic has been especially hard on seniors in retirement homes. many were locked down for months and even with a vaccine, visiting family or traveling is still difficult. >> reporter: one bay area retirement home found a way to

let residents travel the world. when frank was hired as a tech concierge at the watermark in napa, he expected a typical job. >> i mainly thought it was going to be phone problems, laptop problems. >> reporter: it wasn't long before he became the go to guy for lots of things. with limits on visitors, he helped residents stay connected with family using face time and zoom. >> it's a different language they never picked up on. once they understand that they can pick it up little by little he >> reporter: one day frank noticed one of these stashed away, a pair of virtual reality goggles. after getting the headset hooked up, frank got the idea of using it so residents could do the traveling that covid was preventing them from doing. >> we are going to be putting the vr headset on clay and sending him to france. >> we went to different places in the world and it makes it feel like you are in someplace

that's real high up in the hills. >> reporter: plan was to take a cruise to alaska, they can go to alaska on the headset or if they were planning to cruise the caribbean, you can go there on the headset. >> reporter: traveling virtually was fun, but soon, something deeper started to unfold. the residents started to take frank into their past. >> the majority have been requesting place they've been to a ready to relive memories. >> you feel as though you are right there in the middle of everything. the first time i went to beirut was back in the early 60s. this is where my father's side comes from. you feel like you are right there live. >> i'm open to listening and experiencing the stories that they tell me and it's nice seeing their reaction when they relive the moment. >> you get to see something that will spark a memory of remember that time when and it's a great program to start new conversations. >> those virtual-reality trips happen every thursday.

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more time with her? sounds good to me. ♪far-xi-ga♪ if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. breaking tonight as we come on the air, the new milestone in the race to vaccinate. 50% of all americans now fully vaccinated. the cdc reporting the highest single day covid case total in exactly six months. 120,000 new infections reported in the past 24 hours. the deadly surge of the delta variant overwhelming hospitals. florida reporting the most admissions. 60% of hospitals in the state expecting critical staffing shortages in the next week. doctors warn of more cases among children as school districts battle with state officials over masks. in texas, hospitals there also facing major staffing shortages. patients lining hallways. plus, what we're learning about a new mutation of the virus. marcus moore is at a hospital in dallas tonight.

the wildfire emergency in the west.