burning and why you might be forced to stay inside until the fire is out. >> it sounded kind of like a dump truck emptying its load. it rumbled the house. >> a shake, rattle, and then a downhill roll as a house collapses overnight in san francisco. and hundreds of firefighters on the front lines in big sur. we're going to tell you what crews are doing to keep a state treasure from getting scorched. and we're eight days away from christmas, and talking about beach weather. temperatures in santa cruz in the 70s for today. but things are going to change, and rapidly. your full forecast in just a few moments. and it looks like one crash has become two crashes down the east shore freeway. we have cars in lanes. this is a bad time. always a bad time there but worst time of the morning. outside we go. a live look at the bay bridge. gorgeous lights. it is tuesday, december 17th, and this is "today in the bay." from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay."

and a very good tuesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm terry mcsweeney. breaking news out of redwood city where a scrap metal fire sends large plumes of smoke into the air. this is the sims metal management facility on seaport port boulevard along the bay. "today in the bay's" chase cain on the scene, leading to a warning to people in the area. >> reporter: terry, it is. they're telling people to stay inside, close your doors and windows, if you can smell the smoke. probably good advice if you're anywhere in the vicinity of redwood city. although there is not a shelter in place order. we want to make that distinction. we can tell you, though, the fire is now contained after burning for five hours here in redwood city. redwood city fire crews along with the help of some other nearby departments have been able to at least get the fire contained. they're, of course, trying to knock it down, trying to fight it back alongside the industrial sprinkler system, here at the sims metal management plant. the smoke and fire has been pouring into the air, as i said, for five hours now.

what's burning is a pile of appliances. they say it's about a 75-foot-wide pile and around 1:00 a.m., something in the pile exploded. they're still not sure exactly what that was. so they're not sure if there are any chemicals in that fire, which may be causing problems with the air, with the smoke that is being sent off from this fire. but we did get to talk to the fire chief about the fact that this is the second fire at the same place in just about the last month. >> since the last incident, we have made additional changes, in their operation. again, this fire -- there was an explosion. we don't know what caused that explosion. so we'll be looking into that and working with them and see what caused the explosion. and what additional precautions do they need to take. >> reporter: but the good news is, they have been able to get the fire under control. they hope they can have the fire fully out within at least the next couple hours. but for now, there is a lot of smoke out here. you may see that on your morning commute. if you don't have to be out and about driving, again, the request from fire officials here

in san mateo county is keep your doors and windows closed. stay inside. also if you're driving, hit the switch to you're not pulling in the smoke into your car this morning. chase cain, "today in the bay." sims metal management may sound familiar. the same facility caught fire last month, as we were hearing in the report there, sending dangerous smoke into the air. 17 hours. burning paint, plastics, car parts and appliances prompted a shelter in place for three counties. san mateo, santa clara and al meeta counties. no one hurt. another fire six years ago, as well. a developing story in monterey county where a wildfire still burning out of control in big sur. one of the most pick turesque a pristine national landmarks in the state. scorched at least 500 acres of the los padres national forest near highway 1. at least 15 homes destroyed, including the home of the fire

chief for the big sur volunteer fire brigade. about 100 people have been evacuated since that fire broke out sunday night. containment is just at 5%. the cause of that fire is still not known. new details on the san francisco home that crashed down a hill, leaving trees and debris in its path. take a look. in this video, you can see the home sitting halfway down the hill. it slipped from its spot about 10:30 last night. tumble down the hill, waking up neighbors, forcing one family from their home. investigators say no one was home at the time, and gas and electricity had been turned off. a neighbor told us the home it be under construction for about a month. and this happened on crown terrace in the twin peaks neighborhood of san francisco. the house ended up parked just above gray stone terrace. today in the bay's bob redell is tracking down more information. a live report in a few minutes. a live look outside this morning from the south bay. what a difference a week makes. remember last week at this time? it was freezing in the morning. now it's kind of bearable and

nice temperatures headed toward the afternoon, as well. want to check in with meteorologist christina loren. >> yeah, it is going to be nice. and i hate to say this, but seize the day, because it's not going to last long. as we get into tomorrow, we shave off 10 degrees of that warmth and then even more as we get into the end of the week. but, hey, good news is, we have a warmup towards this weekend. so we're going to climb right back up. not to levels we saw yesterday. that was a record-breaking day. santa cruz, 74 yesterday. today around 70 in santa cruz. south bay still nice and dark this morning. sun starting to make a little bit of an appearance if you face to the east. 65 degrees in foster city later on today. not a bad day shaping up there by any means. 68 in los gatos. 66, mid market. san francisco looking good in the outer richmond district. the east bay, 65 degrees for you. tri valley, 67. and we're looking toward temperatures in napa and santa rosa in mid to upper 60s for today. so let's talk about where we are headed. an area of low pressure on the way as we head through tonight and tomorrow. and this is going to do two things. maybe squeeze out a few showers,

best chance right now looks like the south bay. we stop the clock on our futurecast at 9:00 p.m. wednesday night. more importantly, what will happen is we'll get better air quality out of this. and then on thursday, overnight wednesday into early thursday, looking pretty fierce when it comes to your wednesday. keep in mind for your travel plans. friday night looking bad, nor is the weekend for travel across the state of california. by wednesday, should not be sparing the air. thursday and friday, air quality continues to improve as we get that atmospheric mixing we need from those winds which will come through. let's check your drive. we always need mike inouye. >> good morning. looking towards palo alto because of a new story. the flow on 101 moving slowly. the tail lights northbound away from palo alto. the top of your screen you see the haze, low clouds and smoke that chase was talking about in redwood city. as the sun comes up, it will become more visible and distinctive as to where the source is and maybe more of a

distraction for folks. as we look at the map, we look at the entire peninsula and it does move smoothly, but a big note for folks. if you work over at that pacific shore center, that's a business park at the end of seaport boulevard, dazzle, broad vision, some of the larger businesses over there, they will have probably -- have to shut down today. i'm not sure. we don't have word from those companies, but chp has got a traffic block there, blocking you from 101 towards seaport boulevard. you can't head toward that area unless, of course, you have a very good reason and chp allows you to do that. woodside road, highway 84 to the west of the freeway, that is open on to and off highway 101. an issue through redwood city. expect a slight different traffic flow. smooth flow toward the bay bridge toll plaza. i do want to talk about two crashes now clearing from the roadway west 80 at san pablo. we do have what looks like one of them cleared from the roadway. the second still blocking your second lane, causing a bit of a slow down. a lighter volume of traffic may save things if they can get this cleared quickly. we'll look at the bay bridge

toll plaza, cash lanes and off to your left backed up. the lanes to the right not so bad. and no metering lights yet, guys. that's how light the volume is. this is traffic tuesday but as we approach the end of the year, the lighter flow of traffic. . that's right. people go on vacation. still ahead on "today in the bay," slamming on the brakes near schools. why one bay area city says 25 miles per hour in school zones, not safe enough for students. plus, silicon valley takes a trip to capitol hill. we'll tell you why some of the biggest names in tech are demanding action from the commander in chief. and a routine tonsil surgery now becomes a life or death decision at a bay area hospital. the final test that could determine whether a teenage girl is taken off life support.

welcome back. now taking a live look from high atop san bruno mountain. beautiful, beautiful shot here. camera shaking a little bit. a little breezy out there. air quality not so great as a spare the air day. sunrise at 7:20, happy to report, just four days before the official winter kickoff. and we're talking about the 70s in the bay area. changes around the corner. that's all going to be detailed in your full forecast. while we have a lighter volume of traffic, this big fire here near gilmore. you'll hear about it from terry and laura. the closure of seaport boulevard after highway 101. we'll explain the reroute and they'll talk about the reason why. fire one of our top stories this morning. fire officials on the peninsula say a large pile of old appliances exploded overnight, sparking that fire at the sims metal plant in redwood city. right now, there is no shelter in place, but authorities say it is a good idea to stay inside and keep the windows closed. this is the second fire at that

plant in just five weeks. hundreds of firefighters are battling an outel control wildfire in big sur. so far, at least 500 acres have burned near highway 1. at least 15 homes destroyed and about 100 people evacuated. just 5% contained. >> berkeley will look at a plan to lower speed limits around all city elementary schools. city council will vote on whether to buy 15-mile-an-hour speed limit signs to place around the city's 11 elementary schools, and 3 preschools. right now, the speed limit is 25 miles per hour. this morning, silicon valley heading to capitol hill. >> in just a matter of hours, president obama will meet with executives from some of the biggest names in tech. peggy bunker joins us live in our studio. the tech industry plans to ask the president about the nsa's secret surveillance program. >> indeed they do. good morning, terry and laura. it's been a pretty tense relationship between some of these tech giants and the white house. ever since edward snowden's revelation about data mining at the national security agency. today several tech executives

will meet with the president to discuss their concerns over surveillance operations. first up, let me tell who is going to be here at the meeting with the president today. we have apple's tim cook, marissa mayer, reed hastings, eric schmidt from google and cheryl sandberg from facebook. initially this meeting scheduled to discuss healthcare.gov, completely unrelated. after the president asked for help with the troubled health care website. however, those plans changed on monday. after a federal judge ruled that the nsa's practice of collecting americans' personal information was unconstitutional. u.s. district judge, richard leon, stated, "i cannot imagine a more indiscriminate and arbitrary invasion than the systemic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data." the judge further stated that collecting this data violated the fourth amendment. the nsa director defended the practice, saying it's done to protect americans. >> the purpose of these programs and the reason we use secrecy is not to hide it from the american

people. not to hide it from you. but to hide it from those who walk among you who are trying to kill you. >> so that's the nsa's account however, the judge also questioned the effectiveness of the program. terry and laura, the judge noted the government, quote, does not criteria a single instance in which analysis of the bulk metadata collection actually prevented any kind of attack. so if the data mining efforts are even working, that is also in question this morning. back to you. >> thanks so much, peggy. and you know today's meeting comes about a week after many tech companies banded together to launch a website, calling for major reform ohs to the nsa. the website, reformgovernmentsurveillance.com , says the nsa puts public trust in the internet at risk. the letter signed by several tech companies, including apple, twitter, microsoft, google, facebook, linkedin and aol. we continue our coverage now with scott mcgrew. and scott, is this tech trying to save face here? >> i think really, terry, it is.

tech needs to be seen as doing something, something to protect you and your data. recently, google engineers took to google plus to vent their anger, using words we can't say on television. microsoft declared government spying a quote, advanced persistent threat, the same name they give hackers. others are encrypting data, trying to make it harder for spies to read. revelations from edward snowden is that the nsa not only watches traffic to and from sites like google, it actually monitors traffic between google's own computers inside the system. when those computers are based offshore. where american law is less restricted. some in the group headed to washington this morning say they're a bit concerned over the size of their entourage. a few people are influential. a big group is a photo op. our own ceo from comcast is part of the group. other news, the federal open markets committee starts a two-day meeting today in which it will no doubt discuss an end to qe 3, the quantitative easing

or easing money policies that have been injecting tens of billions of dollars into the american economy each month. easy money has been one of the major factors, sending the stock market to record high. twitter is under pressure this morning after analysts at wells fargo wondered if that stock has gotten too high. and then terry and laura, a federal judge telling the nasdaq it's not off the hook in lawsuits springing from that botched facebook ipo. they paid out about $10 million, but it's been really pr that's been the problem with the nasdaq. you look at the past couple ipos, even last week's nimble storage, for instance. they have all chosen nyse, as did twitter. twitter on the nyse. that's been the biggest problem that the nasdaq has had after that facebook problem. >> thanks so much, scott. let's check the forecast. here is christina with more warm weather. at least a while. >> i love it. just love it. four days, as we get into the next four days, we're talking about the winter solstice. highly unusual to have

temperatures this mild in the morning. and yeah, we're going to hit the 70s yet again today. more comfortable conditions for you and your family members. maybe you have family coming into town for christmas. we're looking good for no showers between now and then. we might see a little sprinkle as we head throughout tonight and tomorrow. but the chance not looking great. in fact, highly unlikely. temperatures climb out of the 40s into the upper 60s for most cities across the bay area today. that means comfortable conditions by about 2:00. it is another spare the air day. you want to keep that in mind, especially if you have respiratory issues or asthma. i'm so happy to report that we should see better air quality as we head throughout tomorrow. it should not be a spare the air day tomorrow as we have an area of low pressure that will come through and really offer some improvement. but this morning, all i can tell you is, the one benefit from all that particulate matter suspended in our atmosphere, gorgeous sunrise and we will show the pictures from across the bay area. we've got cameras positioned in the most strategically beautiful spots across the bay area. so stick with us as you're waking up, start out your

tuesday. temperatures tumble, cleaner air quality and thursday, cool temperatures and fierce wind. and this i really want to point out for holiday travelers. you can see where you're getting these reds and oranges, even the pinks. that is wind sustained at 20 to 30 miles per hour, gusting to 50 miles per hour. and it looks like they're going to be pretty fierce, those wind speeds between wednesday night and early thursday. and then we'll start to see these winds really drop off. more of the yellows and blues coming into the mix as we head throughout thursday, late thursday into friday. that's the good news. right now, though, calm conditions out there weather wise. let's check your drive and see how we're doing with mike inouye. >> first show these live pictures out here. this is the smoke and lights and all the activity at the redwood city fire. scrap metal fire at sims metal management at the end of seaport boulevard. chase cain has been following the details on this fire, and the investigation. and, of course, whether or not they can put this fire out in the next short bit of time. a lot of smoke going on here. let me show where this is in relation to the freeways. this is affecting your drive on the peninsula. there is the san mateo bridge at the top of your screen over here

and dumb barton bridge at the bottom and seaport boulevard. the west side of the freeway, that is okay. traffic throws on and off 101 just fine. but chp doing traffic control here, blocking you from this area. in that same area, a couple business parks, one pacific shore center, the largest park over in the area. and it has zazel and broad vision. this will be an issue. i don't know whether or not those employees have been notified of any special activity. we're tracking that information in the newsroom, as well. meanwhile, the flow of traffic on 101 is moving smoothly, but we might see that smoke as the sun comes up. south bay moving smoothly, as well. tri valley, nothing unusual. an early start and then simmered down for west 580 toward the dublin interchange and folks make their way toward 680 and sonol without any major

problems. cal transctrans can use the tol, as well. west 80 slows from two earlier crashes now moved to the shoulder at san pablo avenue. we have debris in lanes causing slowing and may have to see a sweeper truck. look at that, a lighter volume of traffic keeps things smooth approaching the bay bridge toll plaza. metering lights turn on late, and the back-up built toward west grand avenue. good news, no problems for the north bay, guys. back to you. >> thanks. 6:20. still ahead on "today in the bay," a routine tonsil surgery becomes a life or death fight. why a bay area family is asking doctors for one more test before a teenaged girl is taken off life support.

welcome back, everyone. it is 6:23. today doctors at children's hospital oakland will perform more tests to see if there are any signs of life for an east bay teen who was declared brain dead following tonsil surgery. "today in the bay's" christie smith is live at the hospital with new reaction from family members. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. well, this family still has questions like just about everyone else who has heard this story. and that is how could you go to a hospital, get your tonsils out, and end up on life support, being declared brain dead? right now they are hoping for a

miracle. they are waiting for the results of one last test to see if jahi mcmath has any brain activity at all. they say that would prevent her from being taken off life support. the 13-year-old has been on life support since thursday, and her family says they were told by children's hospital that she is brain dead, and should be taken off that life support. her family shared a photo before she had her tonsils out and saying that she was scared, but they believed that it was for the best. it would help her with her sleep apnea to help her breathe better. after surgery last monday, they said she was up, she had a popsicle, said a few words, but later they said she would not stop breathing from her mouth and nose. a horrible situation got worse. she went into cardiac arrest, then was declared brain dead. >> if it that eeg test shows any type of brain activity, they can't take her off. they can't take her off. we still got time. and we'll still have a little bit more time. >> reporter: here is a picture

of jahi with her mom that the family shared. they said it was taken right before surgery when she got to the hospital. the hospital says it's limited in what it can say about this, because of the family's wishes. but they said that what happened at the hospital is certainly under review. the family also calling on mayor jean quan to step in and see if she might be able to help slow things down. they are also still seeking legal advice. that's the latest from here, reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> thank you, christie. new this morning, major crimes in san jose have spiked above both the state and national averages. just three years ago, the city's major crime rate was 35% below both averages. according to the city auditor's annual report, san jose's crime rate is now 3% above the california average and 1% above the u.s. average, higher even than los angeles and san diego. the report states that last year, police made 17,000 arrests. that is down from about 36,000

in 2007. in addition to climbing crime rates, the average emergency response times in san jose are increasing. in 2005, the average response time for a priority 2 emergency call, 8.2 minutes. this year, 20.3 minutes. response time for priority-one calls rose slightly to 6.7 minutes, slightly above the six minutes or less target. part of the reason for this, a sl slimmed down police force. the city cut pay by 10% and san jose has lost or laid off hundreds of officers. it is 6:26. still ahead, an update to breaking news we're following. billowing black smoke as skran metal burns on the peninsula. we'll tell you why you might have to stay inside your house with the windows sealed until that fire is out. >> let's take a look at the lights on the bay bridge, doing their thing. i wish they would do their thing. there they go. okay. we've got a spare the air day, ten in a row, means don't burn.

a gorgeous warm weather day on the way, warm for this time of year. not even at the winter solstice yet and a nice day again. 70 at santa cruz. >> people coming and going across the bay bridge. this is a look at the toll plaza. i would think maybe the metering lights are on. picking up a little bit later. maybe folks starting their holiday vacation a little early. we're going to keep checking that morning commute. and, of course, the all-important forecast. a lot more news ahead, as well. ifs 6:27.

let's face it, if you're looking for a modern and luxurious way to escape, a celebrity cruise vacation is the perfect way to relaxer invigorate. what are your pleasure.

massive flames and thick, black smoke for miles along the peninsula this morning. we'll tell you what's burning and what you might be breathing in if you go outside. plus, downhill slide. we're going to tell you how a house took a tumble overnight and how everyone in the neighborhood escaped injury. and a live look now at the opening bell to wall street we go. and big comeback yesterday for the dow jones after a pretty funky week last week. there's the bell.

let's get -- this is the one we wanted to get to as quickly as possible. the nasdaq. and caesars entertainment is ceasing the moment there, with the confetti and the suits and the colorful outfits on the women. it is tuesday. i was going to say, tuesday, december 17th. this is "today in the bay." laura. >> just another day in wall street. >> from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> just looking at the live shot there. >> exactly. stretching them out. >> good morning, i'm terry mcsweeney. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. an update on the breaking news out of redwood city this morning, where a pile of appliances exploded, parking a fire. we're on seaport boulevard along the bay. a live look at the scene now, where the 25-foot-high pile of appliances has been burning for more than five hours now. right now, there is no shelter

in place, but authorities say it's a good idea to stay inside if you can and keep your windows closed. this is the second fire at the plant in just five weeks. "today in the bay's" chase cain gathering new details at the scene now, will join us for a live report in 15 minutes. new details on a san francisco home that tumbled down a hill overnight. take a look, the house is stuck halfway down the hill. boards and other material spilled on to the sidewalk when it it came down. the crash woke up neighborhoods and caused a nearby house to be evacuated. happened 10:30 last night in the twin peaks neighborhood of san francisco. "today in the bay's" bob redellel near the house right now. and what's going on? >> reporter: well, good morning to you, terry. what's remarkable is that when this home on the 100 block of crown terrace, which is up the hill, fell down here to the 100 block of gray stone it terrace, no buildings were hurt and no people were hurt. in spite of the fact that

everything here is in pretty much tight quarters. one neighbor tells us that when this house came tumbling down this hillside, it sounded like a dump truck dumping its load. but again, no one hurt. and the fact there was no gas or power on made this even more unfortunate for people around here. a neighbor tells us he believes this house was being remodeled, a remodeling job that started about a month ago. >> looks just like, you know, if fell down the hill. there was some shoring up or something that must have fallen. and it just slipped. i think that's the noise we heard. >> reporter: that neighbor telling us he believes that house had been put on to wooden pillars sometime yesterday. again, no one from the city or the fire department has given us an official cause as to why this came tumbling down. we know a city inspector was out here last night. this came down around 10:30. no one has actually been out

here yet to take a look at this in the daylight. we suspect that will happen once the sun comes up this morning. again, this house, which was apparently being remodeled, came down around 10:30 last night. no one at home at the time. no one hurt. and it's the only structure that was destroyed. every other home here safe. one home still evacuated. reporting live here in the twin peaks neighborhood, bob redell, "today in the bay." 6:33. we continue to follow breaking news along the peninsula. we are just getting these live pictures. our chopper now flying above that huge scrap metal fire on the peninsula. this is at the sims metal management facility right along seaport boulevard along the bay in redwood city. just sending clouds billowing, smoke up. black smoke, as a huge stack of appliances continues to burn. this is the second fire at this scrap metal yard that we have seen in at least five weeks. but kind of having the chopper overhead gives you a look at how

large this fire is. there is not a shelter in place right now, but they're advising people who live near that plant to stay indoors. you want to close your windows, as well. >> that helicopter shot, seemed there was a second fire, maybe connected to the pile of appliance that exploded and burst into flames. there is a second pile. >> they are looking how to tackle it. let's check in with christina loren. what about the winds in the area? seems like they're going straight up. >> straight up. you saw that exact motion. wind is rather calm out there. and that will likely be the case as we head throughout the next couple days. it's that calm wind, though. we're not getting any mixing in our atmosphere that's causing that spare the air alert. we still have unhealthy levels of pollution, and that fire, yeah, not going to help out the situation. so our tenth consecutive spare the air day. we will see more wind as we head throughout tonight, tomorrow and especially on thursday. so we are looking toward better air quality, but no wind driving

that fire. that is one thing that may be on the side of firefighters this morning. 38 in napa. 45 in oakland. 41 to kick off your tuesday in san jose. so not that cold out there. it could be much colder, as you can recall. just a week ago, we were in the 20s all across the board. so definitely trading in those 20s for the 30s and 40s this morning. as we head throughout the afternoon, the 60s and 70s. morgan hill, 7. 65, foster city. san francisco, 60s your way. east bay, 68. pleasanton, 68. then the changes arrive with the weak disturbance pushing through. if you want to hit the beach, one more beautiful day at santa cruz. 70 degrees at about 3:00 p.m. in the high cayman yesterday. they hit 74 yesterday's. overall, this is the trend for the greater bay area. your seven-day forecast at the bottom of screen. why focus in on morgan hill just to show the substantial drop-off we have as we head throughout

tuesday. 74 today, down to 57 degrees by the end of the week. normal is 63 degrees. but the good news is, we're going oh to start to climb right back up for both saturday and sunday. looking good for holiday travelers all across state of california for this weekend. let's check your drive. maybe you're traveling right now. hi, mike. >> good morning. not a lot of travelers. i should say less than a typical travel tuesday. we are approaching the end of the year, a lot of folks shifting schedules or shifting out of town. we do have the metering lights on at the bay bridge. we'll take this shot to you, and then the maps. we look at the approach to the bay bridge and there we go. a smooth drive. the only issue for the east shore freeway is right here, west 80, as you're approaching san pablo avenue. two earlier crashes causing big backups to form. that has started to thin out. debris across a couple lanes. watch that. the only issue toward richmond for your slow down. over on the peninsula, a smoother drive. my focus is not the san mateo or

dumbarton bridge. laura was talking about. and chase cain following the scene at seaport boulevard, the fire at sims metal management. let's get a look from our palo alto camera. this is kind of a jerky move but at the bottom of the screen, you see 101 and the low clouds mixing in. but as the lighting change we were able to see this, over here up to the upper right, we have there -- there's the smoke. and there's all the activity from the fire. so as the sun starts to come up, you see a lot more smoke, because our chopper over the scene does show that, as well. look at that. all this smoke with fire still to be put out. a big distraction for folks through the area. you are closed off right now. local traffic cannot enter 101, and that affects the shore center, as well. back to you. >> thank you very much. it is 6:37. still ahead, a christmas miracle through customs. the new push to make sure shipment of donations is delivered on time to kids in need. plus, we tell you if you can still expect a soggy mess a day

after a water main break at san jose international.

breaking news for you this morning out of redwood city. a live picture from our chopper. and you can see the flames burning. once again, at sims metal. you see two separated fires. might be all part of the appliances which exploded and burst into flames overnight.

we have chase cain right there at the scene. we're going to have a live report from him on the latest, trying to knock those flames down. >> that's still ongoing. but everything else back to normal at terminal a at san jose international airport this morning, just 24 hours after floodwaters shut it down. a little more than an hour ago, the airport announced the terminal is fully operational. a hot water pipe exploded yesterday, sending water everywhere, and causing a few flight cancellations and several flight delays. travelers had to use terminal b to go through security to get their luggage while the mess was cleaned up. christmas presents caught up in red tape. they're going to get to a local nonprofit in time for christmas after all. a shipment of scooters and skateboards meant for the family giving tree in menlo park all got stuck at the port oh of oakland because of a security issue. customs decided it wanted to do another search. this morning the port says it is working to expedite the process and get the toys t family giving tree, making it a happy

christmas for lots of kids. and i mean a lot of kids. the shipment includes 900 scooters and skateboards. >> that's a lot of the gift wrap. coming up up, we'll keep updating the breaking news, a huge fire at a scrap metal yard, the second in a month. we're going to tell you what's burning and what the fire marshal just told us about the incident, next. ♪

[ female announcer ] holiday cookies are a big job. everything has to be just right. perfection is in the details. ♪ pillsbury cookie dough. make the holidays pop! guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls, with cinnabon cinnamon, are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. make breakfast pop!

you're watching 15 minutes of continuous news, weather and traffic on "today in the bay." >> an update to breaking news we have been following all morning long out of redwood city this morning. a scrap metal fire sending large plumes of smoke into the air. take a look at these live pictures from overhead. this is is he items metal management facility on seaport

boulevard along the bay. they're telling people, because of all that smoke you see there, to -- they don't have a shelter in place, but advising people stay inside if you can. close your windows. you don't want to be breathing that in. there's actually a press conference, a news conference going on right now. chase cain at the scene, going to gather that new information and bring it to us in a live report coming up. 6:45 now. fire breaking out about 1:00 this morning. appliances exploding and you can see the results of all that. and we were looking at the big plumes of smoke there, seem to be rising upward. winds in this area, if they were to happen, could be rough for people. let's check in with christina right now. she has a look at that. >> calm wind conditions out there, but what is kind of rough for the area is there's nothing to push all that smoke out. so if you do live in the area, you do want to heed that warning and stay inside with the windows shut. it's the best thing to do to keep you and your family safe. that's what we're always trying to do. as we head throughout the morning hours, take a look at this gorgeous sunrise. oh, my goodness. i love showing you this in san

francisco. 48 degrees. it's a little bit breezy out there, but we are getting pinks, reds, oranges and yeah pretty spectacular for the next 45 minutes. overall, looking pretty good for the next few days. unseasonably warm today as we head through tomorrow, area of low pressure comes through, that will raep drop our temperatures and provide cleaner air quality. our tenth consecutive spare the air day. thursday, fierce wind comes into the picture. and this is what's really going to mix up our atmosphere and that will really help the situation when it comes to air quality. you can just see the layer of haze over the entire bay area and clear sky. a nice mix. here's what we expect in terms of your air quality. for tomorrow, maybe a spare the air day. if i had to put my money on it, i would say not going to be a spare the air day. thursday into friday, looking pretty good back in the moderate range. and that's when you should be able to burn with a clean conscience. commute if you can and carpool. let's check your drive with mike. >> i think we have a you'ule lon

one of our comcast channels. a lighter build for all your spots, great news. but we do have issues and we focus to the peninsula where we seaport boulevard closed from 101. folks being held at block quist and not able to get to a couple business parks at the end of the roadway this. as we take a look from our chopper, this fire is blazing at sims metal management. that's on seaport boulevard. and, again, seaport boulevard closed so access to redwood shore center closed off. companies like broad vision and zazzle, couple names you might recognize over there. we're trying to get ahold of those companies but we have had no word. just know they're held off. seaport boulevard at blomquist. woodside road, look at that activity. the reason why, the smoke. let's get back to our maps and the flow of traffic. woodside road open as you come off the freeway and head through this area. a smooth flow of traffic for 101 into the south bay, as well, with your typical mild build

spots here. 87 and 85. actually, atypical, light for this traffic tuesday, great flow of traffic there. no major problems, just your build out of the tri valley and pretty normal towards sonol into fremont. over here, slowing off the castro valley and a street, san mateo bridge and dumbarton bridge. you might see smoke as you head over the water on the peninsula side because the fire is between those two bridges as i showed on the map. we'll look at the san mateo bridge itself. a live look shows the smooth flow of traffic there. there is some haze and low clouds and the smoke all mixed together and so that is an issue for drivers but not visibility. you're okay. back to you. >> thanks very much, mike. a developing story in monterey county, where crews have just given an update on an out of control fire burning in big sur. the fire now scourged at least 550 acres, burning in the los padres national forest near highway 1. 15 homes destroyed, at least, including the home of the fire chief for the big sur volunteer

fire brigade. 100 people have been evacuated since the fire broke out sunday night. containment now just 5%. the cause of the fire not known. the fbi is on the lookout for a man they're dubbing the bad beard bandit. they say this man has robbed at least five banks in northern california, including one in sunnyvale over the last eight weeks. each time wearing a fake beard like you see in the surveillance pictures. fbi says he's dangerous so you know who he is, give them a call. let's check the day's top local stories, christie smith in oakland where doctors will do a final round of testing for a girl on life support after a routine tonsil surgery. christie. >> reporter: good morning to you. that's right. this girl's family is really pulling for a miracle. hanging their hopes now on that one last test to be administered today, to see if jahi mcmath has any brain activity at all. they shared photos of the 13-year-old girl who was declared brain dead days after

having her tonsils removed to try and improve her breathing for sleep apnea. they shared photos before surgery, saying the girl seemed okay immediately after the procedure. and then wouldn't stop bleeding. they say they were not satisfied with the help they got from the hospital. they say they actually had to help her themselves to try and suction the blood. they say now they want to give her every chance before following the direction of children's hospital to take her off life support. >> if that eeg test shows any type of brain activity, they can't take her off. they can't take her off. we still got time. and we'll still have a little bit more time. >> reporter: the hospital did respond, but said they were really limited on what they can say about this, because of the family's wishes. but they did offer their condolences, and say that what happened here is under review. that's the latest. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the bay." live to bob redell with a

look at a house sliding downhill in san francisco. >> reporter: it slid already. good morning, laura and terry. right now in the 100 block of gray stone terrace in the twin peaks neighborhood where sfpd has shut down this section of road and you can see why. that's the home that used to be in the 100 block of crown terrace up the hill from where we're at right now. no one was at home at the time, a neighbor tells us it was being remodeled. work that began about a month ago. he believes it had been shored up on wooden pillars yesterday and then last night around 10:30, he tells you us he heard a horrible sound as it tumbled down the hillside. >> it sounded kind of like a dump truck emptying its load. i was in my house and heard this crashing. and came outside and didn't hear anything or see anything after i got outside. so didn't think anything else was going on. and then about five minutes

later, the fire trucks and police trucks were coming down the streets. >> reporter: because this was a remodel, there was no one inside. there was also no power or gas hooked up to the property. remarkably, no one was hurt. none of the other properties near here were damaged. reporting live in the twin peaks neighborhood, bob redell, "today in the bay." an update to breaking news out of redwood city this morning, where the scrap metal fire sending large plumes of smoke into the air. this is the sims metal management facility on seaport boulevard along the bay. these are live pictures from the chopper flying overhead this morning. the big problem, though, they're having is that it has now spread. it's three fires, in fact. >> there is a crane at the center of your screen, helping to knock down the fire, and that

is picking up some burning embers. parts of the fire moving around, now transporting, so the fire is growing. you see the smoke in that area. they are telling people, if you live in that area, to stay indoors, keep your windows closed. you don't want to breathe that in. they don't know exactly what is burning there, but it is a stack of appliances that they have there at that scrap metal fire. this is the second to burn in just about five weeks there. but as the chopper pulls out, you can see how the smoke -- how far it has really spread across the peninsula this morning. >> yeah, one that broke out about four or five weeks ago, that was burning used cars, cars they were cutting up. this one, appliances, a different type of fire. but as you can see, a very, very similar result. this morning, silicon valley is heading to capitol hill. >> in a matter of hours, tec companies meet with the president and take him to task on the nsa's secret surveillance program. "today in the bay's" peggy

bunker joins us live. some of the biggest name in tech will attend the white house summit. >> just about all, laura. as you mentioned, really could be a tense meeting, ever since edward snowden's revelation did data mining at the national security agency. these huge internet companies have banded together to ask the government to change their surveillance practices. let's look at who will be at this meeting. apple's tim cook, marissa mayer, netflix's red hastings. google's eric schmidt and cheryl sandberg, to name a few. there will be several more. interestingly, this meeting was originally scheduled to discuss healthcare.gov. however, those plans changed on monday after a federal judge ruled that the nsa's practice of collecting americans' personal information is unconstitutional. u.s. district judge, richard leon, stated, "i cannot imagine a more indiscriminate and arbitrary invasion than the systemic and high-tech celestial and retention of personal data." however, the nsa director said

they do the surveillance to protect americans. >> the purpose of these programs and the reason we use secrecy is not to hide it from the american people. not to hide it from you. but to hide it from those who walk among you who are trying to kill you. >> now judge leon also questioned the very effectiveness of the program. terry, the judge noted the government, quote, does not cite a single instance in which analysis of the bulk data collection actually prevented any kind of attack. so if the surveillance efforts are even working, that is in question this morning, as well. terry, back to you. >> electriciall right. thank you very much. today's tech summit is not just focused on the nsa. the botched rollout of the healthcare.gov website. at a fund-raiser in san francisco last month, president obama told several high-tech leaders, he wants to overhaul the way the federal government contracts out its i.t. work. 6:55. edward snowden's revelations have angered silicon valley, but scott mcgrew, we may have only

seen the beginning. >> that's what we're hearing. glen greenwald, the journalist working with snowden has said we have only seen a small percentage of the secrets that snowden knows. snowden this morning has reportedly offered a deal with brazil in a letter posted to facebook seems to hint he would tell brazil more secrets about america's spies on that country in exchange for asylum in brazil. wall street begins its meeting today to discuss easy money policies as we watch "show girls" on the nasdaq this morning. haven't got a rule for that one. the markets are a bit lower this morning. and new into our newsroom this morning, google and hp recalling the charger on their latest computer, the chrome book 11, on fears it could catch fire while charging. this is the very inexpensive chrome book, costs about 200 bucks. but they have had several incidents of overheating and fire. >> interesting. thank you very much. 6:56 right now. one final check of the day's other top headlines.

several sunnyvale residents plan to file a lawsuit in federal court today in response to the city's new strict gun control law. the lawsuit filed by attorneys from the law firm michelle & associates, supported by the nra. berkeley will look at a plan to lower speed limits around all city elementary schools. city council vote would make it 15 miles per hour instead of 25. and an update to breaking news out of redwood city. we have been following this all morning where a scrap metal fire sending huge plumes of smoke into the air on that wide shot from our helicopter, you get a much better idea how much smoke and how far it's going. this is at the sims metal management facility on seaport boulevard, right along the bay. there's three separate fires actually burning now. a crane started the third fire. it's actually picking up parts outside of the fire, trying to move them. and it wound up transporting embers. and you have seen it really grow out there. firefighters having a tough time

tackling this one. >> they just had a news conference and chase cain is live with the latest information. chase. >> reporter: want to correct this. there are two fires. the original fire, which we have been reporting on all morning and then redwood city fire told us they believe some embers from that original fire set some vehicles at a next door business on fire. that is the second fire that they're dealing with. of course, they brought in more fire engines to help with that. we should have some live video from our chopper overhead, which should hopefully show these two separate fires there right next door. a business right next to sims metal fire. the original fire has been burning since 1:00 a.m. but redwood city told us they do have that under control. it is just a one-alarm fire, but they do have two alarms worth of resources here in case anything else happens and turns out that's a good thing because of this second fire. for people in the area, they're asking you to shelter in place as an advisory. not an order. just an advisory. if you smell smoke, they say stay inside, close your doors and windows, be aware of that.

because they're still not sure exactly what chemicals may be burning in this fire. it is an appliance fire, a pile of appliances ploexded around 1:00 a.m., 75 feet wide. that is what is burning. as we have been telling you, also not the first fire at sims metal. there was one five weeks ago. we talked to sims metal representative just a moment ago and she said she is very sorry for any inconvenience. to people in the area. they are investigating this fire. that was, of course, in response to us asking how can you have two fires here in such short succession from one another. but we will be out here all morning, and, of course, keep you updated on this impact for your morning and for anyone here in the area. live in redwood city, chase cain, "today in the bay." >> really quickly, does the smoke smell electrical or a smoky smell? >> reporter: we're a bit too close because the smoke is up in the air, settling, so we can't really smell from where we are. >> which is a good thing. we're going to keep you out there and join you again. local news updates in a half

hour and every half hour after that. >> have a great day. good morning. weather wallop. a new snowstorm making a mess of the commute in the east, while out west, a dangerous wildfire near big sur forces evacuations. hold the phone. a federal judge rules the nsa's mass collection of phone records unconstitutional. does this mean the government has to stop what it's doing? feeling lucky? the mega millions prize is now up to $586 million. and it's on the verge of growing to the largest jackpot in u.s. history. and nice catch. an airport security officer dives to the rescue when a baby falls off a table. the heroic action that's landed him a bonus today,