announcer: now from >> abc 7, breaking news. > there is a fast-moving wildfire and sky 7 is live over the scene, showing you it is near interstate 680. this fire has grown rapidly in the past half hour and cal fire says one structure is on fire. they do not specify what type of structure. we do not know if it is a house or outbuilding. sevelyou can see the red lines. there fire.

initial dispatch said 40 minutes ago they put the fire at 10 to 15 acres. visually, it looks like the acreage has grown but we do not know by how much. you can see homes and subdivisions in that area. we are tracking evacuations for you now to see where they are but flames are getting dangerously close to some on the hill. water is being dropped from helicopters and airplanes, performing nonstop flights. you can see some of the roads associated with the fire. the main area near 680. fire crews were first called to the report of a structure fire off kill care just after 2:00 this afternoon and it spread into the wildlands since then. evacuations are taking place in the golden eagle neighborhood right now. the area is north of the

pleasanton ridge regional park, a popular hiking area. that is a problem for hikers as well. the air is not very good at the moment. be careful. they are calling it the canyon fire. th unincorporated alameda county. you can see smoke rising and active fire burning, charring the hillside. calfire, local agencies in alameda county fire are all joining the site to try to stop the flames from advancing. you can see another drop of water right now. our meteorologist mike is tracking this. let's get an update. mike: it is breezy as the summertime pattern develops and that means the sea breeze is shooting right up 680, which is

the gateway to the south bay and silicon valley. normally this time of year it would be getting very busy with traffic but with so many people working from home, hopefully that will not be the case and people will not impede the firefighting efforts. let's look at current conditions. we have the south southwest winds blowing through. it is 84°. humidity is 33% and the wind is gusting up to 18 miles an hour and will ramp up faster the next few hours. so my big concern is watching the fire rise up the canyon walls. but this is a tree laden area and if flames get to the top of the trees and we have amber hopping, it will drop embers into the club at castlewood and

possibly across 680 into pleasanton. that is the worst case scenario, but it is possible if the fire reaches the teat -- the tree line and hops from tree to tree. kristen: we will continue to follow this fire and give you updates as we get them. for now, let's get back to our regular format of getting answers. a high school is going back to a merit-based system in 2023. the san francisco standard media partners will be here in about 20 minutes for a conversation. and three beaches in one county are among the most polluted in california. where are they and what can be done? that is in 10 minutes. but first, the u.s. supreme

court struck down a new york state law that required residents to have proper cause to be approved for license to carry handguns out of the home. the court says the law violates the constitution. what impact will it have in california? joining us is attorney general rob bonta. thank you for making the time to join us. governor newsom calls the decision reckless and radical. what do you call it? >> i call it a disappointment, a step back, but a case that provides guidance for the pathways we have to keep california safe by leading nationally on common sense laws proven to keep communities safe. so while the good cause portion

of the requirement for a concealed carrie weapon permit has been struck down, there are other ongoing regulations that past constitutional muster and can be used to keep communities safe, including the fact that we can still require a permit for a concealed care rate weapon and we can have mental health assessments, background checks, firearms training, fingerprinting, and can continue to prohibit concealed care weapons being possessed insensitive places like polling stations, schools, government buildings and places of legislative assembly. so many tools are still permitted that are constitutional to keep communities safe. kristen: it sounds like california is not backing off from gun control legislation. a release from the governor's

office says that you have been ready for this and working to prepare for this moment and it sounds like next week, 16 new bills will hit the governor's desk that will strengthen our productions. can you cite a couple of them, and how will they pass muster with the new scotus ruling? >> we have been preparing for this moment for months. we hoped it would not come but we prepared for it, and it is here and we are ready. we have been planning and preparing. i am sponsoring a bill authored by a senator that will adopt all proponents of the decision to make sure it is compliant and make sure we have a strong permitting scheme in california. it will have safety assistance -- safety assessments.

and other bills are moving through the legislator. one provides a pathway for suing gun manufacturers, sellers and distributors and piercing the immunity that they have had by providing a pathway to sue them when they failed to exercise appropriate care in keeping guns away from those who are a harm to themselves or others or from the illegal market. a third bill is one that governor is sponsoring that provides a private right of action for violations of the laws that have already been deemed compliant.

like selling or manufacturing high caliber weapons were assault rifles or ghost guns. kristen: california is moving to strengthen its gun laws. even congress and senate is reaching a framework to limit it but still do something to strengthen some existing restrictions. as we move in that direction, the supreme court seems to be sending a different message. granted, the supreme court is not necessarily supposed to go with public sentiment, but what do you make of this divergent path the nation seems to be on? >> the timing of the supreme court decision could not be worse, given the needs for additional action to promote gun safety throughout the nation. california is doing what it should to keep communities safe.

we have some of the strongest gun laws in the nation and one of the lowest gun mortality rates. one is because of the other. if other states or the federal government did what california has done, we would save thousands of lives. the federal government should do more than it is doing but i am pleased that after years of inaction and the stalemate and inability to do anything significant, they are making steps forward. so i will take that progress. but moving forward at the federal level and in our states is required, especially given the tragedies in buffalo and uvalde and the fact that there have been more mass shootings then days in the calendar year.

and unfortunately the decision by the scotus is a step backward but it allows california to take steps we already do, taking steps to keep compliant. kristen: thank you for joining us today. up next, we will revisit the wildfire burning right now getting close to homes and also talk about a beach report that shows

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how much their accident cget the best result possible. kristen: an update on the breaking news in sonoma county

-- settle in alameda county. a wildfire in the heavily wooded and canyon near the pleasant wood regional park. firefighters were first called to the scene after 2:00 for the report of a structure fire. the fire spread and took off. evacuation orders are in place in killdeer road and golden eagle neighborhood in pleasanton. others are under evacuation warnings or advisories. several road closures in place including foothill road. we will bring you additional updates as we learn them. the climate and environment are key pillars in an effort to build a better bay area. three of the worst to beaches in the bay area, all in the same county, and we are asking why and what can be done. joining us to discuss is the

water while -- water quality scientist for heels abbe. thank you for your -- four heal the bay. thank you for joining us. >> we put out a report card each year to warn beachgoers -- beachgoers and provide this report should late on pollution issues that government agencies and decision-makers can take action on. kristen: which beaches are the most polluted? >> the three are in san mateo county all in the foster city area in the engineered patchwork of water on the bay side of the

peninsula. a lot of pollution gets trapped in those channels and does not have a chance to get flushed away like it would at a regular beach that has waves and ocean currents. kristen: what can be done? >> we are encouraging municipalities and local governments to start putting in green infrastructure like parks that can catch the runoff in water and clean it up and they can also serve as habitats and green spaces for the surrounding community. kristen: can you define pollution? polluted beaches, what did they have the most of? >> there are many types of pollution. this focuses on fecal pollution, sewage pollution, and it can get people sick from just one exposure. the chemicals and

pharmaceuticals take more chronic long exposure for sickness to develop. kristen: how did you measure this? >> we relied on government collected data. all across the coast of california and the west coast in general, government agencies collect the data weekly and they send it to us where we turn it into a grade that is more easily understood by the public. kristen: those three beaches, i believe they are near waterways where people might go waterskiing, swimming. would you not do that? >> we do not want to deter anyone from going to the beach, but if you are going to visit a beach with characteristics like stagnant water and little wave action, we advise extra caution.

check the report card before going and see if it is clean that week. be cautious. kristen: in this report card, which beaches are the cleanest? >> this year we had a lot of southern california beaches on the honor roll list of our report, meaning they had perfect water quality throughout the year, even during the rainy season. orange county had 19 beaches on that list. san diego county had about 15. so most of them are concentrated down here. unfortunately in the bay area, there was a big decrease in grades as soon as the rainy season hit. kristen: i would think the coastal beaches are cleaner than the bayside beaches, right? >> generally, yes because they experience more water circulation.

so pollutants quickly get diluted and washed away. kristen: have pollution levels gone up over time? >> the good news is in the report a few years ago, we found that fecal pollution levels are decreasing over the last 35 years. so that was a slight decrease in we hope the trend continues. we are still encouraging government agencies to take action on pollution. kristen: is there anything we can do as individuals to help improve the water at our beaches? >> yes. get involved. maybe get involved in a local beach cleanup, get involved in local politics and see what your local representatives are doing for water quality. and we want folks to be safe

when they go out to the beach. check the beach report card and avoid areas that might be polluted. kristen: thank you so much for sharing the results of the report card and for your time. coming up next, we are following a new fire. we will bring it to after a short break. and also, merit-based admissions are back at a san francisco heist go

kristen: it is a busy fire day. sky 7 is over the town of port costa, where a fire is getting very close to homes. people are being told to get ready to evacuate. this is a 20 acre fire so far and chb has asked that all roads be shut down in the area. avoid carquinez, scenic, and canyon lakes. let's get to mike for an update.

mike: the concern is that now that it is 3:00, we are getting to the sea breeze and it blows the fastest through this area. this is just to the east of crockett and you can see how smoke is being pushed to the east because wind is gusting up to 23 miles an hour. they could also gust up to 35 miles an hour now through at least 9:00. that is when the fastest wind blows through the area. the temperature is manageable, 76 and the humidity is a little higher then down in the canyon fire. but the wind is faster and this could definitely spread more to the east. if there is any amber hopping, it would have to hop over the water into solano and phoenicia county. kristen: thank you.

we will keep a close watch on this. a high school in san francisco is making headlines. last night the school board voted to return to a merit-based system for admissions. a lottery system was used during the pandemic and a lot of debate about diversity and fairness. joining us is a reporter with the san francisco standard. thank you for your time. you covered the vote last night and it was 4-3 to go back to a merit-based system. it seems like that made a difference. >> the previous board probably would not have been that close and not returns to this. kristen: new members all voted for returning to merit. what were the main arguments?

there were passionate arguments on both sides. >> those in favor of keeping the selective admissions felt it was a big opportunity for students to advance their learning and had already accelerated to catapult their success in life and that it gave public school families a chance for a private school type of education. on the flipside, there was a problem for a number of years of having disproportionately low black and latin next students compared to the rest of the district. and getting the gap broken. kristen: so classes are set for the fall. so this would apply to next fall. going back to merit, what does

that mean? what will be considered in deciding who gets a spot? >> it will go back to the way it was before, based on a special test and essay and grades and the students have to go through that process separate from the regular lottery system. not all families necessarily what -- not all families necessarily know what to do, which is another part of the problem. they are going to have to reestablish all the procedures and have technical costs on top of the overtime cost that is expected to come out of this. they will have to reach out to everyone, this is how it will be again, it will be different than the last few years. so students entering high school

next year, it will not affect them. kristen: will they continue to do what they did in the previous version of merit, which was left 30% of the seats for other means, not test scores? 15% were coming from underrepresented middle schools, for example. while they continue to do that? >> yes. it still part of the policy. but there has been criticism for those efforts, and despite the efforts the gap in the diversity has not been bridged. has not been bridged. kristen: my car, has not been bridged. kristen: my car, the insurance company wasn't fair. i didn't know what my case was worth. so i called the barnes firm. i was hit by a car and needed help. i called the barnes firm, that was the best call i could've made.

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kristen: tonight, two major stories as we come on the air. the supreme court's ruling on guns, striking down new york state's concealed weapon law. what this now means for new york. new york city's mayor before the ruling warning it would be like the wild west. imagine the subway if everyone is carrying a gun. and the explosive testimony late today before the american people. president trump and the extraordinary pressure on the department of justice. the former president telling his acting attorney general and deputy attorney general of the false claims on the election, saying, just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and republican congressmen. even though they repeatedly told him they'd investigated the false theories and that they were not true, that they were absurd. he wanted to move forward with it and if not, he planned to replace his