a cruise wharf collapsed more than 100ft, falling into the water. and that wasn't even during the worst part of the storm. >> that's right. dan and i am tracking those dangerous waves. plus a look at the storm that is generating those waves. timeline is coming up.

>> ski lifts collide at heavenly and send almost half a dozen people to the hospital. and one of the world's most active volcanoes, hawaii's kilauea, is erupting again. the biggest threat, though, isn't the lava. >> always live. abc seven news starts right now. >> live doppler seven tracking the strongest storm that will hit the bay area this week. and the worst of it could be over us in the morning. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley. here we are, a special edition of abc seven news. at 1030. we're getting aen live look at conditions around the bay area right now for you on the exclusive abc seven news storm impact scale. we're at a level one storm as we speak, but it will ramp up to a level two by tomorrow. that's unnerving given how bad the conditions were today. oh my god. >> oh my god.h my god. >> just incredible. rescue crews had to jump into action today when part of the santa cruz wharf crumbled into the water.

today we'll get a live update from santa cruz in just a couple of minutes. now, not far from santa cruz, the capitola wharf is closed because of dangerously high surf. look at the waves in this video. capitola police say two surfers were rescued this morning and warned that the conditions are extremely dangerous. so stay out of the water. in watsonville, a man died after he got trapped by a large wave under debris at sunset state beach and at marina state beach. another man was pulled into the ocean and still has not been found. all right, let's go now to abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel for a look at the forecast for christmas eve. sandhya. >> yeah. and dan, christmas eve, it is going to be a stormy start to the day, but let's talk about the surf first. we do have a high surf warning that is in effect for the entire coastline until 6 p.m. tomorrow. current wave heights 7 to 15ft. those breakers have been over 20ft at times today. large breakers 30 to 40ft up to 60ft in favored areas means conditions are

dangerous, life threatening until noon tomorrow. we also have a coastal flood warning and that means life threatening conditions, dangerous swimming and surfing conditions, flooding in low lying areas. so watch out. we are tracking some spotty light showers right now on live doppler seven. we're going to take you in to street level radar around guerneville casadero highway. it is a little wet, but this is not even the storm yet. this is just moisture ahead of the storm. the storm is still off the coastline. that's the same storm that is kicking up the swells. and that caused part of the wharf to wash away there in santa cruz. as we look here along the north coast, we are seeing some pockets of moderate rain right now. even heavier rain is coming tonight. it's a light level one scattered light showers, areas of low visibility with that fog and dangerous surf. as we head into tomorrow, it becomes a moderate strength storm. a two downpours, gusty winds, slight chance of thunder. life threatening surf continues. so as we look at our rain chances, they're ramping up going into the morning hours

around the time that many of you may be hitting the road to get out of town or commute. so watch out 3:00 in the morning. we're seeing some downpours here. 5:00 it is pretty widespread with some heavy rain going through, and at 10 a.m. we are still seeing those showers. those winds will pick up gusting as we head into the overnight hours, over 30 miles an hour and some of the higher terrain. we're talking 40 to 45 plus miles an hour. that's not the only storm i'm tracking. dan. i'll be back with a look at that. your holiday forecast coming up. >> all right. thanks very much, santa. you can see the same live doppler seven that our weather team uses every day by going to abc seven news.com and the abc seven bay area app. track the rain and see what's coming where you live all week long. powerful waves are blamed for tearing away part of the santa cruz wharf today. as i mentioned at the top, a section more than 100ft long fell into the water, taking people with it, and folks had to spring into action to help them. abc seven news reporter lauren martinez is live from santa cruz with the very

latest, lauren. >> reporter dan i would say the concern is with the storm still yet to come, the city could lose additional portions of the santa cruz wharf. officials said it was today, around 1244 in the afternoon, high swells caused 150ft of the end of the wharf to collapse into the water. the wharf was closed to the public because it's under construction, but crews were out there inspecting conditions. three workers ended up in the water. officials say lifeguards rescued two people. the third person was able to swim to safety. no one was seriously hurt. now, the portion of the wharf that collapsed included construction equipment, restrooms and the site of the recently demolished dolphin restaurant. the video that you're looking at shows the restrooms that drifted off and landed at the mouth of the san lorenzo river on the north end of the boardwalk. we spoke with locals who gathered to see the extraordinary view.

>> historical. so this is a piece of history for us. seeing the waves this extreme, as well as losing a piece of history at the end of the wharf. >> what are your thoughts on just seeing the chunk, the, you know, part of the wharf just right here that drifted off and collapsed. >> it's kind of hard to it's hard to comprehend that wharf has been here for 100 plus years. >> the city says the wharf will remain closed indefinitely, which is hitting a lot of small businesses and restaurants there hard. two days before christmas. now the santa cruz beach boardwalk, which is run by a company, closed their doors separately due to large waves and high tide. city officials say they expect dangerous conditions through tuesday. live in santa cruz. lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> all right, lauren, thanks very much. from surf to snow, five skiers are recovering from injuries suffered in a fall from a lift at heavenly mountain resort. the resort says at least three people. three of the people fell from the comet express chairlift this morning.

the chair they were riding in slid backwards, striking the chair behind it. all three skiers were then tossed out of their chairs, falling about 30ft onto the snow. two people on the ground also suffered injuries. all five had to be taken to a hospital in reno to be treated. the holiday commute on highway 24 was stalled by a fire in the caldecott tunnel this morning. the chp says a minivan burst into flames after colliding with another vehicle inside the eastbound portion of the tunnel. this was just before 10:00. no injuries, thank goodness, but all eastbound lanes had to be closed temporarily. it was a bit of a mess. as you can see. all right. in a little less than three weeks, san francisco will have a new mayor. since november. since the election, mayor elect daniel lurie has been filling out his administration, his new team. abc7 news reporter monica madden is following the story. >> accountability, change and service to our great city. >> mayor elect daniel lurie got

the keys to the city by promising shake ups in san francisco. >> there is going to be a lot of changes during the transition period. there's going to be a lot of fresh faces, and we're already seeing that. >> as the levi strauss heir and nonprofit founder reveals hisnd top staff picks. most recently, lurie named former twitter cfo ned segal as head of housing and economic development. he's also tapped former giants executive stacy slaughter as his chief of staff. >> well, he's basically bringing his campaign into the office, which is something we always a long time see. >> abc7 news insider phil matier offered us insight on the individuals. >> stacy slaughter, his chief of staff, is a longtime san franciscan. she served as a staffer for former mayor frank jordan when he was in city hall. she's been with the san francisco giants, so she's really tuned in to the fabric of the city. her uh- next step up is matthew godot. again, he has been in city hall for past mayors and now is coming back.

ned siegel well, that's an interesting one. he's a longtime lifelong friend of lurie's. they went to school together. he's been working with him on tipping point. he's coming in as a friend and an adviser with the mission of trying to revitalize san francisco's downtown. that's a big job, but they hope that his contacts with twitter and such would be a boon to it. >> matier says lurie is fulfilling his promise to voters. >> lurie was elected to take a fresh look at city hall. that's what he pitched and that's what he is doing. >> and the hires suggest to focus on pro-business policies as lurie looks to deliver on one of his top priorities, he told abc7 about in september. >> i just want to turn around the city that i love, and eight years from now, artists, creatives, business leaders are going to be like, i got to be in san francisco. >> while the incoming mayor has been looking outside of city hall for his immediate staff, he still has two major appointments left chief of police and head of sfmta. >> those are the two most important appointments. we'll see what happens. >> monica madden, abc7 news.

>> bring you today the country's highest profile murder suspect, pleading not guilty to the charges against him next. the argument made by his lawyer about how luigi mangione's case is being handled. a bombshell document released today in the case of former congressman matt gaetz. details about the house ethics report, which finds evidence gaetz paid thousands of dollars for sex and drugs. stay with us. >> the abc seven storm impact scale. today's storm is level one. that means light rain, so keep an umbrella handy and drive safely. track today's storm any time on the abc seven news app.

health care ceo brian thompson appeared in court in new york today. luigi mangione only spoke once to plead not guilty to 11 counts, including first degree murder and furtherance of terrorism. that's a charge. his attorney spoke on his behalf, saying mangione is being used as a political fodder. she pointed to mangione's high profile arrival in new york. >> he was on display for everyone to see in the biggest staged perp walk i've ever seen in my career. it was absolutely unnecessary. >> the state charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole now. mangione also faces federal charges. those carry the possibility of the

death penalty. and if you missed it on television, manhunt. luigi mangione and the ceo. murder. a special edition of 2020 is now streaming on hulu. it takes a deep dive into the case that has just fascinated the entire country. another case that's fascinated the country. the house ethics committee has released the report into former representative matt gaetz that stirred up controversy during his very short lived confirmation process for attorney general. the bipartisan committee accused gaetz of paying 12 women a total of almost $100,000 for sex, as well as purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of congress. according to the report, one woman testified she was 17 years old when she and gaetz had sex. the committee concluded that there is substantial evidence gaetz violated florida's statutory rape law. gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing, and today disputed some of the findings in a post on x. quote there is a reason they did this

to me in a christmas eve eve report, and not in a courtroom of any kind, where i could present evidence and challenge witnesses. end quote. all right. let's go back and talk a little bit more about the weather forecast tomorrow. of course, christmas eve and meteorologist sandhya patel is here with the forecast. sandhya. >> yeah. and dan, you know what? things will start to quiet down a bit as we head towards christmas eve. but right now, i want to show you a live picture from our sutro tower camera. and you'll notice it's kind of a fuzzy view. we do have some thick fog out there. hard to make out the golden gate bridge because of the fog as well. visibility right now down to a half mile in fairfield. dense fog. quarter mile in concord. watch out tomorrow morning if you do have travel plans. it's not just the fog right now, but we've got this storm that is developing on live doppler seven. and as it pushes in, we're going to see some issues. let's start with where the rain is right now around the bohemian highway. we are seeing some spotty light showers, and it's kind of how it's going to stay for another

hour or so before things start to pick up. so as we widen the picture here, notice the radar returns as far as the steadier, heavier rain still off the coastline. i do want to show you what the outlook is for tomorrow. the flood risk is going up. it's increasing across northern california. it includes parts of the north bay. so there is a risk of flooding. so watch out as we do see some more intense rain coming in tomorrow. 50s and 60s on those temperatures right n jose got up into the 70s today. sfo camera live view right now. tonight. dense fog and some showers tomorrow morning. stormy start to the day. christmas and hanukkah. it is going to be dry for the holidays but not going to last very long. so let's start with tonight. it's a light level one system, scattered light showers, areas of low visibility due to the fog and that dangerous surf. it becomes a level two tomorrow. it's a moderate strength storm with downpours, gusty winds, slight possibility of thunderstorms, and even that life threatening surf

continuing. be prepared for all of these things. so the winds increasing as we head towards the early morning hours. you will notice over 30 mile an hour winds at 3 a.m. those winds are not going to last very long, but it will remain gusty as we head into the late morning early afternoon hours. here's a timeline of that rain 3:00 in the morning. you are noticing some heavier rain coming into the picture. 5 a.m. a lot of the bay area is covered in either rain or some gusty winds or fog, so these are going to be some of the hazards. 7:00 in the morning, you finally start to see the widespread rain through here becoming more scattered in nature for the afternoon hours. at noontime you see those scattered showers, but it's quickly moving out. by 5 p.m. that rain has pushed on out when all is said and done, here's what we're expecting about a third of an inch in san jose, over an inch and a half in ukiah, and everyone else will be in between. but there will be some pockets of intense rain, so be prepared for that. in the sierra winter weather advisory 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. 5 to 10in above

6000ft, even higher on the peaks. with those gusty winds, it is going to be hazardous driving conditions, so make sure you have your chains if you are going up or going to expect family coming down 40s and 50s on your temperatures. tomorrow morning starts off stormy tomorrow afternoon you're looking at highs that will range from the low 50s to the low 60s. and i think while most of you start to see a mix of sun and clouds for the afternoon hours, let's talk about christmas eve. so it is a stormy start in the morning, but in the afternoon just some showers and then christmas day. we are talking about morning fog followed by dry weather for christmas and dry for the start of hanukkah celebrations. wednesday at sundown we're looking at mainly cloudy and cool low to mid 50s. if you celebrate any of those holidays. it is looking nice that one day for any outdoor plans that you might have or driving during that time, the accuweather seven day forecast. it's a level two tomorrow. watch out. it is going to be a stormy start to the day dry for christmas

and hanukkah, as i mentioned. and then we bring in a level one, a lighter system thursday, friday, saturday periods of wet weather and really more showers for that time period. sunday we do have more rain coming in and that's also a one. but i think between tonight and tomorrow we all have to kind of watch out and stay out of the water for sure. >> yeah, absolutely not a good idea. >> looks like i'll be able to ride that unicycle i'm expecting for christmas. >> i think you will be. >> hopefully you get it. >> helmet. yes. thank you very much. i'm just kidding. i'm not kidding. >> hawaii's kilauea volcano erupted again today. this is video of when it first began, about 220 in the morning local time. lava shooting 300ft into the air covered more than a square mile. scientists were more concerned about volcanic smog that could reach homes downwind. the usgs says the eruption now appears to be paused, so things have quieted down. this is the fifth eruption at kilauea since december 2020. and check out these photos out

of san diego today, dozens of people gathered at la jolla cove to watch just enormous waves crashing as some brave thrill seekers grabbed their surfboards and took advantage of those big waves. amazing. all right, coming up next, gifts and giveaways. they're part of building a better bay ♪ mac and cheese, so delicious. ♪ ♪ sweet potato souffle. ♪ ♪ ham and turkey, hooray. ♪

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seven news.com and the abc seven bay area app. there are versions with and without music. we had it on in our house the other day. quite lovely actually. efforts to build a better bay area keep going right on through christmas in the east bay. a holiday giveaway is helping out families, singles and seniors in need. a thousand baskets full of new toys and a complete holiday meal were prepared and distributed. today, it's an initiative by davis street community center for residents in san leandro and surrounding cities. >> it's amazing. it's the best time of year to be here at davis street. my staff, our teams, across the board, everybody wants to come out and see their families that they work with year round and be able to support them. and so it's really a special time here. >> alameda county fire, the chp and san leandro police came out to help spread the cheer. the center provides a number of other services throughout the year as well, like medical, dental and child development programs, plus a food pantry as well. they're doing terrific work. and today, santa got some

help from santa clara county firefighters. this morning they dropped off christmas toys to dozens of young patients at valley medical center. this is the second year of the hospital toy giveaway. most of the toys were donated and all were deeply appreciated. very nice. well, coming up next, if you're thinking of a last minute christmas gift, perhaps thi

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it was a positive start to the christmas week on wall street today. all three major indices made gains. the dow added a devilish 66.69 points. the nasdaq went up more than 192, and the s&p 500 closed more than 43 points up. display you'll recall. after a three month strike, a tentative deal has been reached between hilton hotels and the remaining 650 striking hotel workers in san francisco. a vote to ratify the deal is scheduled for tomorrow morning. over the weekend, hyatt reached a deal with its union workers, and marriott did the same last thursday. well, happening tomorrow, someone could get a very big holiday gift. the next mega millions drawing is christmas eve, and the jackpot is now $944 million. only one other time in thellion. game's history has someone hit the jackpot on christmas eve. wouldn't that be something nice

for the holiday? well, abc7 news at 11 is coming up for you next. the tahoe chairlift crash sending five people to the hospital. we talked about that a little bit here. next, you're going to hear from a witness who saw the chaos. plus a sign of hope and new life. why these pups showing up by the dozens is reason for excitement. that is next on abc seven news at 11. i'll see you in a couple of i'll see you in a couple of moments. (box thuds) (water boils) (packet tears) (tea bag clanks) (water pours) - listening to people that drink bigelow tea is so important to my family, because making that perfect cup, it's the reason we do what we do hi, guys! - hi! - hey! - so what are you guys drinking? - constant comment.

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the coast tonight, sending more than 100ft of the santa cruz wharf into the water. workers rescued a bathroom breach beached, and the waves are only getting worse. we'll have the latest there. we're tracking our next storm heading into the bay area for christmas eve, and this one will pack an even bigger