>> a wild fire is burning out of control threatening homes and the weather could only make it worse. we're tracking the conditions this morning. >> reporter: today federal investigators plan to take a closer look at a pipe that they think is directly related to the cause of last week's huge refinery fire here in richmond. i'm christie smith. coming up i'll tell you what it is they are looking for. >> and one big party. the london olympics finishing with a rocking lineup. we'll show you all of the highlights. >> and welcome the monday morning, taking a live look, the bay bridge toll plaza. it's monday, august 13th, this is "today in the bay."

>> good monday morning. the time is 4:30. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we're following a developing story out of northern california where scorching temperatures, dry brush fueling a wild fire near clear lake in lake county. >> the wye fire has been burning more than 12 hours and it shut down highway 20 east of clear lake oaks and has people in spring valley community under evacuation orders. several hundred firefighters are there working trying to contain the fire which has charred at least 5,000 acres so far. a smaller fire is burning on the other side of the walker range. both sent up big plumes of smoke visible for miles. >> i went out to do other stuff and happened to see the cloud of smoke and i saw two different ones. it was just a pretty thick area of white smoke. >> great shots there.

the weather today expected to make the matters worse. meteorologist christina loren, she's here tracking those conditions. good morning. looks pretty crazy out there. >> yeah, but right now is the time when firefighters will have an opportunity to get a handle on that fire with conditions a little more conducive to fighting the fire. our winds have calmed down substantially in clear lake and this morning temperatures are in the upper 50s. however, the heat of the day, talking 106 degrees so certainly that fire danger will continue. not just there, to the south in santa rosa this morning you want to play it safe around here. it is that time of year. and the wind will be picking up throughout this afternoon. so we'll talk about that, this morning i want to point out how warm it is in livermore and concord. you are 2 degrees shy of 70 this morning. it's going to be a hot day, hotter than yesterday. we'll take to you the full forecast. first let's check your drive. >> good morning. also take to you the north bay but only as far as north of

petaluma. we have construction. northbound you lose a lane as you pass north about petaluma boulevard. we do have a little slowing at the scene but bright lights and a few cars. a live look at san rafael shows you the curves, just before you get to north san pedro road, a light drive to the north bay. visibility is great so far. we'll track it. >> 4:33. new this morning federal investigators planning to go inside the chevron refinery in richmond looking for the cause of last week's fire. >> christie smith is live in richmond. they narrowed the search to a decades old pipe? >> reporter: yes, that's right. this is going to be a big week for federal investigators coming to richmond trying to pinpoint the cause of that refinery fire last week. what we're told is that they are going to be focusing specifically on possible corrosion in a pipe that was

inspected but apparently never replaced. this is a pipe that we're talking about that was apparently installed in the 1970s. that inspection happened in november. a team with the u.s. chemical safety board is trying to get a closer look as early as today after the huge fire that sent a plume of black smoke over richmond last monday. they haven't seen testing records but told the associated press that given the age and the conditions corrosion may be to blame. >> getting in the beginning of this week, hope to examine that pipe and remove it for testing. >> reporter: chevron for its part said that it's also trying to understanding what went wrong here last week, saying that we are cooperating and committed to better understanding the root cause of this incident. reporting live in richmond, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> analysts say the fire is pushing gas prices up, in fact, this marks the largest jump so

far this year. san francisco of course no shocker has the highest average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas at $4.17. last week it was $3.93. drivers because they have to are dealing with the increase. >> we don't drive if you don't have to. >> you know, i don't do that much. i keep driving the same amount. >> in san jose and oakland prices are up about 25 cents from a week ago at $4.10 a gallon. >> 4:35. the london olympics are officially over. boy, but they went out in style. >> it was a great run all the way around. the closing ceremonies indeed last night bringing out some of the biggest names in british fashion and music. raj mathai, front and center for all of it. this was one big bash. >> reporter: it's finally over. what an incredible ride for millions of people here in london. i've been to six olympics and i can say with certainty far and

beyond london outshined them all. what's happening today? the front page of the times of london, very aptly put, the road to rio. and that is next. a couple weeks ago we saw the opening ceremony. that was the ceremony. last night we saw a party. take a look. ♪ they brought them out of retirement, the spice girls rocking the crowd at the olympic stadium more than 80,000 fans from all around the world. we were all shoved into the stadium enjoying this party from the spice girls to george michael. they had a video tribute from the late john lennon and jesse jay one of the rising british pop stars here. a pretty wild party but ultimately the goal was literally and figuratively to pass the torch to brazil. >> i declare the games of the xxx olympiad closed and to

assembly four years frontal now in rio de janeiro to celebrate the games of the t31 olympiad. >> we did it right. >> they did it with style. they did with it respect and with humbleness. now it's all up to the brazilians. what we saw last night they will host quite a party. london did a fantastic job. we'll see what happens with brazil. now it's all about the airport. heathrow will be packed for the next 24 hours and so will sfo. dozens of olympians coming home, and thousands of fans and a few journalists also on our way home. we'll see you back at home. for one last time i'm raj mathai in london. >> we hope the journey brings you back safely.

team u.s. a. in the lead. 104 medals, 46 gold. china second with 87 total medals, 38 gold. while russia was third as far as the total medals, great britain the host nation had more golds, pushing it up to three in the overall ranking. >> we can tell you team usa's count was helped by athletes from here in the bay area. two universities doing well. cal and stanford. cal's nathan adrian perhaps had the most stressful job. he swam the anchor leg of the relay that gave michael phelps his all-time record of 22 medals and 18th gold medal. plus it was phelps' final olympic swim of his career. >> you don't want to be that guy who is going to jump off the blocks early. >> he got the job done. adrian also winning two more medals, another gold and a silver. alex morgan also from cal had the game winning gold in that

semifinal soccer match. kerri walsh winning that third gold in beach volleyball. maggie steffens headed to stanford this year was the top scorer for team usa in water polo, had five in that final game. on the gold medal count, the cal athletes doing well. they finished the games with 17 medals in all, stanford won 16, but stanford did have more gold medals so i guess we call this one a draw. if you like to celebrate it, look back in a flashback, we live the memories, the best moments. go to nbcbayarea.com, scroll down to the london 2012 section and the memorable moments. >> it was outstanding. i thought every day had something different to be excited about. >> want to start our work week out checking the forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> hey, good morning to you. lot to talk about in the weather

department. not just today, all week long as we still have very hot weather in the forecast. i want to point out how warm thts morning in livermore and concord, 3 degrees shy of 70. we likely are watching us with your ac on in those cities. we dropped into the low 50s, this is the coolest point of the day before sunrise and temperatures are going to be hot and forecasting 102 degrees again in the extreme east bay. so, if you want the heat relief if you don't have an air conditioner, take the kids to the beach. 78 degrees at 2:00 in santa cruz. and your hour by hour forecast works like this. 88 degrees at noon inland, up to 102 in the heat of the day, 84 bayside and 74 at the coast. we are not sparing the air today, however, if you're waking up with us in the clear lake region around lake port you want to stay indoors today. a smoky condition due to a fire. we'll talk more about that and the conditions we expect in the weather department up there and

in the bay area. it's going to be hot. make sure you play it safe when it comes to fire danger all week long. here's mike. >> speaking of lake county, highway 20 is closed through the area affected by the fire. locals know that. that's not affecting most commuters. 101 south to the peninsula where we're looking at a smooth drive past university. reports of a metal sign in the lanes on the southbound side, that's the taillight section. i haven't seen anything though i scan with the camera. another live look at the freeways, san jose, this is 101 north under the 680/280 interchange. a steady stream, not a big deal. at the limit. our map shows through the area a smooth drive throughout the south bay. in the northbound and the southbound directions, all green through this area. 580, an easy drive. out of the altamont pass, the yellow only speeds dipping to about 60 so not a major concern. no incidents here or at the bay bridge toll plaza. easy flow of traffic, visibility

not a problem. that's good stuff. back to you. >> thanks, mike. >> major job cuts coming from bay area tech heavyweight. learn what is driving the changes. >> the game change for mitt romney, but is it too late? a new poll shows most voters made up their minds. details coming up.

>> welcome back everybody. good morning. wow, how about that shot. that is san francisco, a lot of fog, the low hanging clouds just hovering around the city. it's going to be a hot one. you might want to take water and brace yourself. >> here we go, brace yourself for politics. the race for the white house, a dead heat. a new poll shows president obama up with 5% undecided. the poll was conducted before mitt romney announced his pick paul ryan. starting today both campaigns work in battleground states to sell their own vision. claire has the latest from washington. >> my veins run -- >> thousands turned out to

welcome home wisconsin's native son, and now presumptive republican vice presidential nominee. >> when we win this election we go fix this mess in washington. >> reporter: in the 48 hours since congressman paul ryan was added to the romney ticket the gop presidential campaign has fired up. >> i guess you think i made the right decision, the right choice. i know i did. >> reporter: president obama moved fast to define ryan by his budget plan and tie romney to it. >> this kind of top down economics is central to governor romney and it is central to his running mate, just yesterday morning my opponent chose his running mate, the ideological leader of the republicans in congress, mr. paul ryan. and i want to congratulate -- no, no, no. >> reporter: the gop campaign

will divide and conquer this week, the romney bus tour rolls into florida today without ryan. the wisconsin native heads to drought stricken iowa, the same state the president campaigns in today. obama will tour a farm in iowa and announce that the agriculture department is buying up pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help support farmers suffering from a very hot and dry season. while romney will headline a morning rally in st. augustine before heading to orlando at lunch time, then miami later in the afternoon. claire lakea, nbc news, washington. >> absolutely. it is 4:47. a look at our weather arriving. right on time. >> checking those details. there is a fire burning. not sure if the you know about this but to our north and we do have viewers up in the clear lake region. thanks for waking up with us. let's get to it. high fire danger persists just about all week long. 53 in san francisco, we're at 67 degrees this morning in

livermore. and as you can recall the past couple months have been so mild, there were several days when it only hit 67 degrees in livermore, even in july. throughout this month it's been hotter than average and it maintains hotter than average just about every single day this week. but what i can tell you is there is a gradual cooldown on the way. satellite imagery tells the story of the day. look at all of that moisture. it's actually churning clockwise, that's high pressure and that stirred up severe weather in southern california yesterday so you want to keep that in mind if you're headed down south, thunderstorms are in the forecast. they had a tornado warning at one point and that was generated by strong storms out there. for us, we're not going to see this monsoonal moisture impact our forecast. that big ridge of high pressure, though, will not let up. in fact, it strengthens today. and the temperatures are going to run warmer. 104 for gilroy and look at this, not a lot of change until we hit thursday. then mid-90s return. back to the upper 80s saturday

into sunday getting improvement inland. overall if you look for great weather, beautiful conditions at the beach. back to you guys. >> thank you very much. it has been a painful reality but we've been talking about the sky rocketing gas prices here in the bay area due to the chevron refinery fire. there is another factor pushing the prices higher nationwide, for that and more before the rest of the news before the bell we turn it over to courtney reagan. good morning. >> good morning to you. right, the drought actually may be having an impact at the gas pump. the latest survey finds the national average of regular unleaded jumped 18 cents in the past two weeks, this is a national average, to $3.69 a gallon. in san francisco, gas is at $4.17, 4.11 across the bay and a penny more in san jose. the survey says the increase is partly due to supply disruptions like the refinalry fire but also

the higher cost of corn based ethanol as a result of the drought in the midwest. futures now are relatively flat as the markets come off a positive week. the dow and the s&p 500 posted gains for five weeks and nasdaq four straight. there is no economic data this morning but we get report this is week on retail rates and housing starts and consumer sentiment. several retailers also reporting including home depot, walmart and tarr target. the dow rising to 13,207 t nasdaq up 2 to 3020. motorola plans to cut 4,000 jobs or 20% of its work force and close about a third of its offices worldwide. new york times says a third of the job cuts will be in the u.s. motorola is looking to stop making -- and shrink its product lineup. the company was bought by google

last year for $12 billion. back to you. >> thank you very much. it's 5:50 or 4:51 now. you can expect more traffic headaches in san francisco today. construction on the central subway project will be blocking a section of the north beach neighborhood. that work will involve relocating utility lines on columbus avenue between union and powell. that work will last about four months. >> $1.6 billion subway project will create a new muni station in china town connecting it to the t-third line to the cal train station. this is expected to open up to the public in six years. >> still ahead, heading for the national spotlight. bay area little league team getting a spot in the national tournament but not without controversy. we're going to show you what happened. >> always a controversy. no controversy here for fremont, though, we'll show you the rest of the traffic flow this morning coming up.

>> what a way to say good-bye. a look at the huge display of fireworks at the closing ceremonies of the olympics in london. summer games came to a close with performances by queen, spice girls, the who, more than 80,000 fans packed the olympic stadium for the three-hour

finale. >> that was phenomenal. you have george michael too. he was there. >> he was. >> i'm a big fan. mike inouye, not sure if you sing but you can do tap dancing on the traffic. >> sounds come out of my mouth. i don't know if they call it singing. tap dancing, sometimes we do that. no issues for 92. there is construction between half moon bay and 280. now better look at 92 over another hill, this is the high rise onto the peninsula side with the westbound commute traffic, smooth drive. no incidents over the water. that's eastbound with the few taillights there. down the peninsula we saw palo alto earlier. i did see a traffic break, actually one squad car with flashing lights heading south past university. told you about the sign in the lanes reported there and it's clear for the last ten minutes so a smooth drive again both directions through palo alto. we'll take you to the east bay and the overall look at the maze and the approach to the bay

bridge. yellow here speeds dipping toward 60. not a concern. no incidents throughout the maze. back to you. >> thanks. >> a couple months before the big boys get to the big game. a bay area baseball team is heading to the little league world series. >> the petaluma national little league team beat a team from hawaii. take a look. >> they call him out and the game's over. unbelievable. >> look. hawaii was making a comeback but an unusual play, quickly ended the game. this is what happened. the runner appeared to miss third base while heading home. on appeal the runner was called out for the final out of the game. petaluma won 7-5. little league world series starts on thursday. >> good luck to those guys. go get 'em.

we're tracking developments on a wild fire burning in lake county more than 5,000 acres burned and still zero containment. we'll let you know how this is affecting residents. >> investigators move into the chevron refinery as they try to figure out what caused that massive fire. what they discovered this weekend. >> for all of your news, weather, traffic updates and all sorts of things check us out on facebook. it's simple. search nbc bay area news.

>> fires are threatening homes in northern california and the high temperatures are not helping firefighters. good morning. i'm marla tellez. i have the latest on the fires burning in lake county coming up. >> reporter: a big week ahead for federal investigators looking into the cause of the richmond refinery fire last week. coming up i'll tell you why they are focusing on a corroded pipe. >> and we're keeping it hot inland today with