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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 punch. plus, a very scary crash on the slopes in the sierra. two chairlifts collide, sending skiers crashing to the ground. new details on the aftermath tonight on abc seven news at 11. >> always live abc seven news starts right now. oh my god.

>> oh my god. >> panic in santa cruz as massive waves pummel that iconic wharf tonight. the dangerous surf is getting worse and crews worry the damage will too. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley. everyone at the wharf is okay. that's the great news. but santa cruz county is getting hit hard by this storm, with one man dead and another missing in dangerous waves. we'll get to the damage at the wharf in just a moment. but first, let's go to abc seven news meteorologist sandhya patel with a look at the conditions. sandhya were to one on the storm impact scale right now. but that's going to change. >> yes, it will become a two tomorrow, dan. and really, it's a life threatening situation at this hour at the coastline, which is why we're telling you to stay out of the water. we have big waves tonight. dangerous, possibly deadly surf. we've already seen that proven to be the case today. definitely not only stay out of the water, but never turn your back to the ocean. swells have been building right now. we have 18 footers

off the northern california coast. look up off the pacific northwest coast. 28 foot waves at this hour. high surf warning until 6 p.m. tomorrow. current wave heights, san francisco, 18ft with those large breakers 30 to 40ft, possibly up to 60. in favored areas, we are talking about life threatening conditions and flooding is certainly possible. so a coastal flood warning until noon tomorrow. watch out as swimming and surfing is not advised. looking at live doppler seven, we just have a few spotty showers right now. they're really light in nature. as we get you into street level radar north bay occidental area, we are seeing some wet pavement, but the main storm still off the coast. as dan mentioned, it's a light level one for tonight. it becomes a two tomorrow as a moderate strength storm gets in here on our exclusive abc seven news storm impact scale, you will hear the rain pounding the pavement. 3:00 in the morning, 5 a.m. hitting many parts of the bay area will have an opportunity for thunderstorms as well, and this continues at 8

a.m. the flooding risk is increasing across the north bay and the northern portion of the state. right now, winds are getting gusty over the higher terrain. oakland hills, 2737 at alameda at the northern part of our viewing area. and we are starting to see that the winds will ramp up even more going into the morning hours, 40 miles an hour plus over the higher terrain. i'll be back with a full look at the forecast, which does include the holidays. coming right up. dan. >> okay, sandy, thanks very much. and as sandy is talking about, this is really some dangerous weather, especially along the coast. we'll go to the developing news now out of santa cruz, where those powerful waves we're talking about are hammering what's left of the wharf. a more than 100 foot section went crashing into the water today, taking several people with it. amazingly, the three people caught in the collapse are not seriously hurt. >> the whole thing collapsed. we just ran as fast as we can. it was definitely very scary, but luckily we were very fortunate to not have fallen in because we

were about 20ft away from collapsing in. so it was very it was very adrenaline inducing. >> no kidding. those high waves are also pounding the santa cruz harbor, flipping boats here. as you can see, pieces of the wharf are scattered tonight, making for really a striking visual. what was once a bathroom is now drifting toward a river. abc seven news reporter lauren martinez is live in santa cruz, where those damaging waves are not finished yet. lauren. >> no, dan, the damage is not done. the concern is with the storm still yet to come, the city could lose additional portions of the santa cruz wharf. we're standing at the entrance here to the wharf where people have been coming here all night trying to take a look, but as you can see, everything is closed off. >> i've witnessed the swell triple in size throughout the day. >> powerful waves are hammering the santa cruz coastline, where people are bracing for more. on

monday afternoon, high swells caused a portion of the santa cruz wharf to collapse into the ocean. three workers ended up in the water. video shows lifeguards rescuing two people. a third person was able to swim to safety. we spoke with one man who was on the wharf and had to evacuate. >> i've never seen anything like this. >> no, the damage was extraordinary. to see. the collapse included construction equipment, parts of the beloved dolphin restaurant, and restrooms. the restrooms drifted off to the mouth of the san lorenzo river, north of the beach boardwalk. that's where we found a crowd of locals. >> it's a mixed bag. it's a stunning free show which is ecstatic and exciting, but at the same time, it's really indicative of larger problems that we're going to continue to see. >> officials are estimating 150ft of the wharf collapsed. brian waters is a surfer. he was capturing content for the santa cruz boardriders club. >> 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 the weather that we've seen along our coastline the last few years? >> you know, i've lived here all my life and so i've seen it where the waves were breaking against the boardwalk. so this isn't that unusual, but the size of the waves or the way they're coming in or something is a little different. >> the part of the wharf that collapsed had been closed to the public and was under construction to repair damage from previous winter storms. during a press conference, mayor fred keeley explained one possible theory of the collapse is that asphalt and other materials that would have weighed that part down were removed. >> that is, it was explained to me, is why that portion failed. the rest of the wharf still has its pilings, has the cross pieces, has the asphalt, has the weight to keep the wharf in place? >> keeley is concerned more of the wharf's structure could collapse. longtime resident dennis locks used to work at the dolphin restaurant when she was 18. >> it's kind of sad. it's like a

part of santa cruz that just went away, you know? >> the city says the wharf is closed indefinitely, which is obviously impacting small businesses and restaurants there. the beach boardwalk is run by a company. they said they will be updating their operating hours on tuesday. live in santa cruz. lauren martinez, abc seven news. >> all right, lauren, thanks very much. first responders in santa cruz county are telling everyone to stay away from the ocean and to avoid flooded roads. not worth the risk. east cliff drive is closed between 26th avenue and palisades avenue. high winds and debris have shut down the parking lot and the roundabout at rio del mar esplanade. capitola village is closed tonight, with evacuations in effect for some areas because of the waves. this is video from earlier this afternoon of those swells hammering the wharf. capitola police say seawater is flowing into the village area and the waves are only getting more intense to the north bay now,

where crews had to rescue three people swept into the water. it happened at the edge of scottie's creek on the sonoma county coastline. a strong wave overtook the group, carrying two people 150 yards down the creek. fortunately, they made it out okay with the help of rescuers. and now, from the surf to the snow. we're learning new details tonight about a scary accident on the tahoe slopes. five people are hurt after their chairlift smashed into another one. abc seven news reporter j.r. stone has new information about how those people are doing and exactly what happened. j.r. yeah. >> dan, we've been in contact with a friend of one of the victims who tells us tonight that one man who fell off the lift injured his shoulder to the point that emergency surgery was needed. another was having problems breathing and there was a belief that he may have a punctured lung. those are just a couple of the injuries. this happened just before ten monday morning at heavenly mountain resort on the nevada side. in this picture, you can see it

appears that one of the chairlifts slid back into another chairlift. as it was going up. one person appears to be trapped in this video too. or this picture here. five people had to be taken to the hospital. three of those individuals suffered injuries that were directly related to the fall, which was said to be about 30ft. a witness described what she saw. >> and as we were getting up in the air, we could see about 15 quite a few emt or all the red medics that were there surrounding someone. and my husband did notice the backpack hanging from the chairlift. we were just on that. so thankfully that wasn't us. so. and i said out loud, i'm like, i can't even think about that because that'll make me not want to ski anymore. >> yeah, what a scene it was as to how or why this happened. that is unclear. heavenly issued a two sentence statement confirming that there was an incident and saying, quote, the safety of our guests is our top

priority, end quote. we know it's been very windy up in the sierra in recent days. was that to blame? was user error to blame? was this an equipment failure all unknown this evening? dan, now back to you. >> all right. we'll keep asking questions and we'll find out jr. thanks very much. a lot of people are on the roads tonight in the fog is making it a fairly intense experience. this is a look at the san francisco embarcadero earlier tonight. very misty, low visibility. kind of an eerie feeling for those out and about this evening. looking live out at the roads across the bay area tonight. fortunately, we have not heard of any major accidents. that's good news. obviously, on a night with a lot of people heading to their holiday destinations. and let's take a live look at sfo, where the weather has led to a plenty of delays. today, more than 200 flights left late, although only one was canceled. oakland and san jose mineta both had a couple dozen delays apiece. and listen to this. by january 2nd, an estimated 107

million people will have hit the roads and another 40 million will be flying. that's a 6.2% increase in fliers over last year. it's also the first holiday. keep in mind, with new faa rules requiring automatic refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights. >> this is really surprising for us because even for the holiday season, like having it be this long was a little intense. but it's moving. >> delays have been limited at airports, but major amtrack hubs are dealing with significant setbacks on the east coast because of downed power lines. if you plan to drive, the busiest time is noon to 6 p.m. look at some of this traffic back east. the gas prices do remain lower, with a national average of $3 a gallon. head to abc seven news.com or the abc seven bay area app for important updates about the weather and how it's affecting holiday travel. it will give you access to the same live doppler seven that sandia and the rest of our

weather team use every day. all right. a lot more to bring you here. an eye popping price tag to repair a school in bad shape. construction could take so long that some students will actually never return to the building. a sign of recovery in bay area waters. and it's awfully cute. plus, fire stations are facing off to see who can be the most festive, we'll check out some of the top contenders and they are impressive. all of that is coming up, but first, here's a look at what's ahead tonight on jimmy kimmel live! right after abc seven news at 11. >> jimmy, stay with us or i'm turning this minivan around. >> i'm sorry. that's the mic. >> you're gonna have to. yeah. now it's on inside out. this is a disaster. >> this is really what i'm going to do at 70.

been following the story of pro-palestinian protests on college campuses. the u.s. department of education is siding with both jewish and muslim students, who say some uc schools discriminated against them during those protests. the department investigated nine complaints of discrimination and harassment. it found uc schools in santa cruz, davis, los angeles, santa barbara and san diego did not respond effectively. the schools have agreed to report future complaints to the department's office of civil rights. a middle school in the east bay, closed due to dry rot, may not be able to reopen for another three years. longfellow middle school in berkeley shut down before the

school year because it was just in terrible shape. a new timeline from the berkeley unified school district lays out plans for water damage repair, seismic upgrades, and modernizing the school generally. the whole project is estimated to cost up to $68 million, pending board approval. the 450 students of longfellow middle school are going to class at another school about a mile and a half away, while the work is done. a strike at starbucks is growing right before christmas. by tomorrow, workers at hundreds of locations across the country are expected to be on the picket line. some stores have had to close down entirely, as workers in nearly ten states walk off the job. the union is asking for higher wages for baristas. >> none of us wanted to strike, but we can't afford to not have a fair contract either. >> in a statement late last week, starbucks said the union prematurely ended bargaining sessions and that its pay and benefits are comprehensive. it's

unclear whether the strike will cover any bay area locations. well, this year, december 25th will be twice as festive for the first time since 2002. the first night of hanukkah lands on christmas day at union square. you'll find the largest menorah in the bay area, right next to a majestic christmas tree. visitors we talked with say having both holidays coincide marks a truly special time. >> it's an opportunity for us to pause and to remember that we're all the common creation of being greater than us. and with that, it gives us hope and new light and life, a great opportunity for all the whole entire community, from all religions, from all different backgrounds to come together, will light the menorah right here in union square. >> the eight day festival of light starts wednesday with lighting the first candle of the menorah. the san francisco fire department is showing off its holiday spirit today. they held

open houses for their fifth annual fire station. community holiday decorations competition. dozens of fire stations are shining with elaborate lights and other festive decor. as you can see, very impressive firefighters tell us it's a chance to connect with the community, how much they appreciate all the holiday cheer. >> they have some baked goods, they got some hot chocolate and just inviting the community to come on out and celebrate the christmas season. >> judges are looking at each of the more than 50 fire stations participating. such a fun time of year. look at that. just gorgeous. all right. fun time of year. but the weather is a little spotty. meteorologist sandhya patel is here with the holiday forecast. sandy. >> yeah. dan. less than ideal tomorrow, but it's going to change. all right. just in time for the holidays. let me show you live doppler seven right now. much needed storms. this one is already making its presence known across northern california, the pacific northwest. the same storm that

is kicking up the surf. it is going to bring us the possibility of thunderstorms tomorrow, all the way from northern california to the bay area to the central valley. you can definitely see that our entire area is highlighted, so watch out. we do have that possibility of thunderstorms as we look at live doppler seven. still tracking some lighter returns right now. really light scattered showers right around the bohemian highway bodega highway area. as we widen the picture here, notice it's a little bit muggy out there. we do have a south wind 50s and 60s on those temperatures. visibility is running low and we do have dense fog. you may have noticed it if you were out and about. quarter mile right now in concord, just over a mile and a half moon bay and byron. so be careful out there. murky view from our exploratorium camera tonight. dense fog and some showers tomorrow morning. it's a stormy start to the day. and christmas and hanukkah. it's going to be dry for the holidays. a level one for tonight. scattered light showers, areas of low visibility and dangerous surf. on our

exclusive abc seven news storm impact scale. this is going to become a level two storm. downpours, gusty winds, chance of thunderstorms. it's looking more and more likely and life threatening surf. so watch out for that. the winds do pick up 1:00 in the morning. you will notice over 25 mile an hour winds out of the south. they're over 30 miles an hour around middletown and calistoga at 3 a.m, and then the winds do back off as we head towards the 8:00 hour. but the rain does pick up, so let's time this out for you. 3:00 you're seeing the heaviest rain in the north bay, even some downpours moving towards san francisco, potentially some thunder at 5:00 in the morning. if you are commuting, definitely give yourself extra time. it's going to be rough getting around as we as we head into 7 a.m. pretty widespread rain and we will continue to see scattered showers at 10 a.m. with the sun breaking through. could even see some instability popping up in the afternoon hours, but it's really going to be scattered showers for the afternoon by evening. by christmas eve evening, things are quieting down. all right. rainfall totals

anywhere from about 2/10 of an inch there in livermore, all the way to over an inch and a half in ukiah. this does turn to snow in the mountains. it's going to be a mix of rain and snow. winter weather advisory 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow, 5 to 10in above 6000ft higher on the peaks. with those gusty winds, driving is not going to be easy. your morning temperature is 40s 50s. it's a stormy start to your christmas eve morning. in the afternoon, things are quieting down 50s and 60s for your highs. let's talk about christmas eve and christmas day. so mid 50s to low 60s. stormy in the morning, afternoon showers. if you are going to be out and about on christmas day, it's going to be dry mid to upper 50s. if you celebrate morning fog, mostly cloudy otherwise, and for hanukkah mainly cloudy and cool at sundown on wednesday. temperatures in the low to mid 50s. here's a look at the accuweather seven day forecast. it's a level two storm a moderate strength storm for tomorrow. it's certainly going to be a little rough going getting around tomorrow morning,

but it does dry out for the holidays. on wednesday you'll even see some sun rains back again thursday, but that's a lighter system. it's a level one and periods of showers friday. saturday, more wet weather on sunday and then monday. we are looking at it to dry out with a brighter start to the workweek or to if you're still off monday a week from today. but in the meantime, definitely stay out of the water and watch out for those dangerous waves bringing

closed its doors today. the daily driver has been in the dogpatch neighborhood ■for about six years. in an instagram post, the business says the current model just isn't working. but they wrote, quote, fortunately, it will stay a restaurant. the amazing team will stay employed, which was extremely important for us. they did not elaborate but said more information is coming, so we'll have to see what they have in mind, how they're pivoting. well, it is a hopeful site for a native species of seals. dozens of northern fur seal pups are hanging out at the farallon islands off the coast of san francisco. they're tucked into the cove to stay away from sharks while they wait for their mothers to return from the sea. hunters wiped out this species of seal from the farallons in the 19th century. the u.s. fish and wildlife service says the pups started returning to the farallons 28 years ago, and have been steadily recovering ever since, which is really wonderful to see. adorable. well, the warriors were home tonight at chase center, but did not

necessarily feel like it. sports director larry beil is here. larry. >> dan, this is one of those stats that you think that can't be right. but the indiana pacers are a perfect six and zero at are a perfect six and zero at chase center. the i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms... ...with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after trying a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq works differently. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling as fast as 2 weeks for some. and even at the 3-year mark, many people felt this relief. rinvoq can stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal; ...cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events,

infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. done settling? ask your rheumatologist for rinvoq. and take back what's yours. (♪) casino. good evening. typically the warriors go as steph curry goes steph didn't hit a field goal until the third quarter tonight. still, the dubs had a chance to pull this game out against indiana in the fourth

quarter. fans feeling in the christmas spirit. oh she's definitely feeling it to win the swim right there. draymond green hooping with trace jackson davis with authority at 13 points and eight rebounds in a spot start jonathan kuminga game high 26 off the bench. and this is full extension tip. and it goes. and pascal siakam can't believe it was like there's no foul on me there. pacers take a 12 point lead in the third. look at tyrese haliburton. go to work and hit the tough fadeaway. just 16 for him on the night though. warriors battled back. steph curry two of 13 from the floor. this is one of the two. gets his feet set. gives the dubs the lead with ten minutes to go. but fast forward three minutes left. pacers by one. shot clock winding down myles turner right place right time. up and in. pacers by three with 20s left we got a two point game. warriors absolutely positively need a stop. turner dagger three. team high 23 for him. and the warriors lose 111 105. indy a perfect six zero at chase. warriors host the lakers at 5

p.m. christmas day right here on abc seven. the nba takes over with five games on abc starting at 9 a.m, so open presents and enjoy a day of hoops with us. monday night football, saints and packers, the grinch and santa taking this one in first quarter. third and goal for green bay jordan love to don tavian wicks, who is wide open all alone seven nothing packers. then josh jacobs, the former raider, punches in the touchdown from two yards out. he had 107 total yards. didn't play a lot late because the game was a blowout. saints driving late, but zayne anderson picks off spencer rattler here. it's the first shutout in the nfl this season. final score 34. nothing to the ice we go. sharks and canucks. beware of the grinch. first period william eklund. it's a power play goal! he shoots and scores! seventh of the season one. nothing team teal, but all canucks. after that, vancouver scored three goals in 70s, capped by elias pedersen's wrister. his second within a minute and the canucks prevail four three. incredible day of surfing in the 88 cow big

wave invitational on the north shore of oahu yesterday. 40 foot waves and this is a perfect ride that carries landon mcnamara to victory. looked like he was going to get swallowed up in the whitewater, but no. mcnamara said he dreamed of winning the eddy since he was a little kid. and man, did

for one final nighttime read. we pick something out for you. you might enjoy a lot of holiday feasts in the works this week, but what do you do with all the leftovers? storing them in old takeout containers may not be the best idea. we break down the research around single use plastic and what the state could do to create less of it. that story is one of the top things people are clicking on right now on our website. you can check it out at abc7 news.com. all right. that is all for now for sandhya patel, larry beil, all of us. we appreciate your time. i'm dan ashley. right now on jimmy kimmel. denzel washington, have a great night. see you tomorrow.

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