major fire at a lumberyard. bob redell is on scene. >> plus, why you'll want to be extra careful when you're passing a cyclist. >> and watch as you're passing each other. this is a smooth drive across the san mateo bridge but we'll talk about how that fire is affecting your drive through san jose. >> and fog-free conditions right now. still tracking the chance of seeing some rare september rain showers. your microclimate forecast is still ahead. >> let's get things started on the right note this morning. a live picture of the bay bridge all lit up, folks in these early morning hours going back and forth between the east bay and the city. this is tuesday, september 16th and you are watching "today in the bay." >> announcer: from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay."

>> a good tuesday morning to you. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> andom kris sanchez. laura garcia-cannon is off today. firefighters in san hojose are battling a major fire at a lumberyard. at the intersection of oakland road and commercial street near the 181 interchange. bob redell is live at the scene. you said it's a pallet factory so clearly a lot of fuel for fire. >> reporter: good morning to you, kris. we got a clarification from the san jose fire department, just in the yard where they were storing pallets. not sure if this were building pallets. you can see the hogs lise line dropping gallons and gallons of water. the problem is they burn very

hot because there's a lot of wood and a lot of oxygen in there because there's a lot of air between the piles. they put the water in there and probably they're thinking of bringing a tractor out here to tear apart that pile to do the overhaul to make sure this fire is out. the fire department arrived around 2:00 this morning. you see the photos submitted to us by the fire department and a viewer just how massive this fire was, completely ungulfing the pallets by the time the fire department arrived. they sent one group of crews to attack the fire to keep it contained. the second alarm was tasked with the job of keeping this fire contained to just this yard, which apparently they did. the fire department says they kept it within the fence line, though they might have lost several cars just outside the fence line because of the

radiant heat. >> the flames actually were really, really, really close, so we had to really book it. everybody came out safe and cars came out safe, too. >> you just heard from some of the workers who were working in an adjacent business. no one hurt in those businesses. there was a detail shot, an auto body shop. apparently no one was inside at the time because the chain link fence was locked. the arson investigator is expected to come out here later this morning, perhaps in a couple of hours from now to find out what caused this fire. they're not sure yet. it is suspicious because it did happen in the middle of the night, you got a wood pile. oakland road where this fire is located is shut down between 101 and commercial.

reporting live here in san jose, bob redell. >> thank you very much, bob. >> targeting the elderly because of their kindness. that's what police say two brazen robbers did this weekend, beating up a couple both in their 90s. they say they robbed the couple twice. the first time they befriended the wife by complimenting her garden and then proceeded to steal jewelry. and then the suspects came back the next day and they began beating up the couple. the wife was stabbed as she tried to call 911. the neighbors report being stunned and on guard. >> that's disgusting. >> and i don't let anybody in. i think that was their mistake, that they let somebody in. >> it affects your faith in humanity. police say the robbers stole

their safe during that attack. both the husband and wife are expected to recover from their injuries. >> tourists and locals along the baja peninsula are coming out today. it's one of the worst storms to hit the area. >> and the same storm could affect this area. we turn to meteorologist rob

mayeda. >> there's no tropical storm to the south of the southwestern coast of mexico, tropical storm polo we think by the weekend could make a run at cabo san lucas by saturday or sunday. it's this system here to the west which interestingly enough could bring the bay area a chance of some showers. it will try to head toward the bay area as we head toward thursday morning. low 70s around san francisco, low 80s for the tri-valley. we'll have a closer look at the timeline of these potential summer showers. now it's time for a check of your commute. >> first of all, san jose, we have your typical road crews, 85 and 880. but over here just off 101, that's where the fire was

located, at the lumberyard, commercial and oakland are the two major roadways. so if you're planning to head to burger king in that area, can you get off at southbound of 101 and take oakland road away from the area. just a note for now, you'll have to loop around. now let look at oakland. traffic pulls nightly from san leandro into and vice versa. >> thank you very much. dreefrs have always been expected to share the road with cyclists, that's the expectation. but now you're going to be slapped with a fine if you fail to do this. a new law that takes effect

today requires you to give cyclists a three feet buffer zone. stephanie chuang joins us. steph, the law makes sense but not always easy to do. >> reporter: that's right. there is a sign for cyclists but it's not a dedicated lane. drivers must not pass cyclists if there isn't three feet between them, unless there is a buildup of five or more cars and then the cyclist must pull over and let them through. cyclists say they welcome anything to help protect them on the road. >> the scariest thing that happens is when i'm going in a

bike lane and they're to the left of me and they go to make a right-hand turn. >> a study found that up to 40% of fatal crashes between bicycles and vehicles are caused by unsafe passing, usually when drivers hit cyclists from behind. drivers caught violating the new law will have to pay up to $35 but that climbs with court fees to $220. if there's an actual collision involved, the base cost is $220. but really with fees, almost a thousand dollars. how the timing may. >> thank you.

>> the team is promising more changes to get out of the parking lot. other drivers took matters into their own hands, jumping curbs and driving over fences. this has led officials tell the the "mercury news" any fix will take time and they're urging fans to take mass transit rather than drive to the game. the next game at levi stadium is not this sunday but the following sunday. >> state officials are trying to figure out what happened to nearly $1 million in missing equipment. the problem here, the university does not know if that equipment was stolen, lost in the mail or

simply misplaced. san jose state police are investigating. >> today the leaders will decide the fate of the last large piece of undeveloped land. city leaders must decide what to do with this 44 acre orchard. the town has been working on a plan for that space for years. it's a plan that calls for the construction of more than 380 homes and 580,000 feet of commercial but they say they're worried about class es. >> coming up, a bill that farmers say could put them out of business.

>> plus dealing with the worldwide ebola crisis. >> and new rules perhaps on the way data gets to your cell phone. how did had correct you, coming. >> the chevrolet cruise lt. latte or au lait? cozy or cool?

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outbreak in south africa. 3,000 medical personnel will be isn't to the region to provide logistical support. three of the four americans who contracted the virus have now been treated in atlanta. the president will meet with doctors and other officials at the centers of disease control and prevention. 70% of those who contract ebola typically die from the disease. >> and the united nations generally assembly will meet and convene to talk about global issues. highest on the list control ebola and the ongoing crisis in the middle east. the president is set to talk about isis next week.

>> right now phone companies are exempt from neutrality laws when it comes to sending data to your smartphone. they can slow down your data as they see fit. they call it network management. so wireless is exempt. the fcc is going to reconsider that rule. the knee-jerk reaction is, yeah, all data ought to be treated equally, whether you're using your home or cell phone connection. but you control your home data use. if you're trying to send an important e-mail on your cell phone while the other guy is using the net wire, maybe they did n did not hear you see the spacex

dragon docked. morgan brennan is live at cnbc headquarters. good morning, morgan. >> good morning, scott. futures are lower after a mixed day for stocks on monday. the dow jing higher but the nasdaq slumped more than 1%, its worst percentage drop since july 1st. the fed begin as two-day policy meeting. the dow raising 43 points, the nasdaq falling 48 points. scott, back to you. >> morgue and, thank you. apple has issued a rrl. the album was a gift from apple but upset some users when it showed up in their itunes account whether they wanted it or not.

"gee whiz, people, apple gave you free music, not a venereal disease." >> when the finger pointing comes out, now we know a serious offense has taken place. >> trying to get a sense of the pulse of the week as far as our weather is concerned. are things looking good so far in. >> good if we're looking for hopefully a chance to see some showers. a mild start to your morning, 50s and 60s outside. some patches of cloud in and around the bay area this morning. san francisco, we're mainly fog free right now. we'll see patches of low clouds as we go through the morning.

kind of a chilly start for you as we get the day started. t the. we're watching two areas of moisture that will bring a chance of rain to different parts of california. tropical storm odile continues to weaken. as you can see the storm weakening as we get into wednesday morning. but the main focus of that storm does appear to be aiming in on southern arizona. we could see the potential of flooding there east of palm springs into places like tucson and phoenix. probably not much of an impact for the bay area. but we're watching some high cloud cover. courtesy of the system here, just off to our west, this will bring us a chance of seeing some rain, possibly for areas in the

north day. >> perhaps your thursday morning commute to wake up to a few showers. santa rosa and out toward pleasanton we'll see highs today in the 80s and actually probably cooling down a few grefs with the chances of hours. now for another check of your tuesday commute. here's mike. >> this is the oakland road overpass around the -- you can take oakland road away. let's show you on the map. the cross roadway, take heading back up and get you back over to

that portion of san jose. otherwise you have to get off at the roadway much farther south. it's about a half mile. so there's a note for you. the rest of the bay and south bay looking smooth. we're looking at the rest of your bay and a smooth drive. here's the bay bridge toll plaza, no drama. no problems and no leans blocked at the toll plaza. southbound 101 picking up a few more cars but you still have a smooth drive. i'll give those 5:21 right now on your tuesday morning. . >> it is viewed as the most significant california water law

in nearly half a century. it would force local governments to keep their water wells at a certain level. if it doesn't rain, water can't be taken out. farmers say the rule would essentially plnt an airport veteran from pittsburgh has a warning this morning about a job opportunity. mark says when he returned to the bay area, a recruiter found him through linkedin. but the job offer turned out to be an online scheme.

tonight the investigative unit exposes the complicated scheme and what all job seekers need to watch out for. we investigate tonight at 11:00. >> we could find out who the triple a sacramento kifr cats will team up with next. they ended their affiliation with the a's after a 15-year relationship. the as are looking for an affiliate and many say their top choi choice.

>> announcer: you're watching "today in the bay." >> the restaurant that accused an nfl pro of leaving a smaller than average tip could soon be getting its biggest tip ever. philadelphia restaurant pty

posted le sean mccoy's tip on ebay at a paltry 20 cents. this morning the price on ebay to buy that receipt is up to $100,000. mccoy says he tips on service, not amount. . >> it appears the nevada man hit a jackpot by snagging an extremely rare baseball card in an online auction. the card is estimated to be worth half a million dollars. he hopes to buy it and if he

does he hopes to sell it and buy a home. >> if i can tell you what team he's on, but i can't. >> pittsburgh. pittsburgh. i saw the damage. >> hurricane odile has picked up strength. >> plus firefighters working desperately to gain the upper hand on this year's most devastating fire this son so far. we have the latest on that firefight and a damage tally as well.

we continue to follow breaking news. firefighters have finally knocked down a fire at a pallet yard and now the challenge is making sure it does reignite. >> and california firefighters

dealing with nearly a dozen out of control wildfires this morning, including one that's being called the most destructive one we've seen this season. a northern california town is burning to the ground. >> and we're watching fire conditions around the state. cool temperatures morning, 50s and 60s outside and perhaps a chance of seeing hours in the middle of the week. >> and there's more than a chance of seeing some slowdown. we'll talk about the traffic control around that fire in san jose. updates coming up. >> and looking live at san jose on this tuesday morning, a lovely and clear start on this morning, september 16th. this is "today in the bay." >> good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm kris sanchez. laura garcia-cannon is off. >> and i'm sam brock.

we begin with a story we've been following all morning long. a fire at a. >> we saw some pictures of huge flames earlier tonight where where do things stand now? >> first of all, if you have business in this area, happy to report that oakland road between 101 and commercial is reopening. you see that behind me. if you move into the background, you can see where this fire is located and the sounds of the fire department still dumping water from a hose ladder on to that fire. the fire is knocked down, extinguished, but those were a bunch of pallets. they burn very hot and they burn for a long time. you have a lot of fuel, namely the wood, and when they're stacked, there's a lot of oxygen

in there. this is what the fire looked like when the fire department arrived this morning. this is around 2:00 this morning. you can see the fire had -- it's a two-alarm fire. they couldn't actually go in. they had to stay on the defense to keep the fire from spreading and then they used their second alarm unit to keep the exposures, the other surrounding businesses protected. they were able to keep it contained to this yard with the exception of some cars and a business next door who were destroyed. >> what's the little pieces when they cut the wood, the leftovers? that started on fire and then the next thing the whole thing start on fire and it was a whole mess. >> those were people working at

a body shop and decal shot. they all got out because it happened in the middle of the night and the property was locked, reason there's a level of suspicion here. that's why the arson investigator will be coming out to try to figure out what caused this fire to burn. this is dmeks to the a-1 lumberyard here. >> firefighters are working to ticket what's left of the tiny town of weed. more than 1,500 people are

evacuated, which is half of the town ace population. in addition to the homes, the often has always of the busiest roadways. it's already considered the state's most destructive fire this season. >> what bay area counties are sending help to fight the king fire. that doubled in side yesterday. the fire is burning up and down steep hillsides, making it difficult to battle the fire from the ground. right now the fire is only 5% contained. >> and in addition to the two

fires we just mentioned, firefighters are currently fighting nearly a dozen other changes there are so many, the m map even though hurricane odile weekened overnight, it -- it is one of the storms that might affe

affect. >> winds down to 60 miles per hour so we're seeing less wind but still the same amount of rainfall coming on. east of los angeles we could see maybe a half foot of rain coming done just south of tucsons are down toward the green valley there in southern arizona. that is where that storm, which has formed, props polo. which usually if you don't get to the letter "p" in this story this end of the season. in the the cab here pi sew you see all the moisture to oufr

certainly especially out toward the north bay, you can see a few more changes coming her way and for the the north bay, highs in the year to low 80s. the trend will be cooler for and we talked to a baybury man who's sister is trapped in the bajas. >> they're staying in the ball rooms and also the conference rooms. >> we are told that if that woman and her friends cannot get out of there, her husband is

ready to drive an estimated 20 hours into mexico to pick her and her friends up and bring them home. >> an unwelcomed sight around the bay area. do not be surprised to see a pickett line on the gold i don't know gate bridge this morning. the union involved includes machinists and iron work. >> >> as they try to get on their way -- >> or at least not negative flow, i guess. sam's talking about the picketts that you might see. we are looking at a typical build offer here. through san rafael, for example,

a little build for the traffic flow. that is redistrictable. we have a smooth drive. closest to the dublin. want to take you to the south where we -- there's a fire or the northbound han in. >> there's a build for the commute. we typically see that first happening from 680 up up toward 880. and if the. >> worcester. >> right now 5:39 on your tuesday morning. another shark sighting in and so

sea spch from what woor learning about it's a custom aalready prp download the morning news app and get minute to minute t-- >> t

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today congress will learn more about the president's plan to defeat isis. trac tracie potts joins us now from washington. >> congress wants some checks and balances, like remember reports to congress and a two weeks heads up before any arms are transferred. they've also written into this, there will be no u.s. boots on the ground. we'll see how quickly that moves through congress. it's being pushed by republicans. on the other hand, we're hearing on the senate side today from both the joint chiefs chair

martin dempsey and from defense secretary chuck hagel. they're going to be talking about the military response and the military strategy here. after they testify, tomorrow secretary of state john kerry, who has been all over the middle east is back here on the hill testifying tomorrow. >> thank you very much, tracie. >> afghan police say a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of. the nato hp there there have been reports that at least reported the status.

>> and a new law involving cyclists. >> this lane does have a green lane for cyclists but it's not a lane. unless there is another space, 3 $300 in course. according to this new law. drivers have to wait to pass unless there is a buildup of five or more vehicles and then the cyclist must pull over. now there's that new miracle requirement, at least a yard. psych crists kree spoke with

this morning said they welcome anything that helps keep them safe on the road. >> i think it's a good idea. it's nice to have a little more buffer zone away from the cars. >> a study by the american -- league of american bicyclists found up to 40% of the fatal crashes were caused by unsafe passing. >> according to safekids.org, kids between the ages of 5 and 14 were the most likely to end up in the emergency room for cycling compared to any other sport.

>> live in san francisco, stephanie chang, beibei. >> it is air hi. somebody spotted a shark a surf are says he was about 50 yard from the shore when he noticed a huge shadow underneath his wave. that's when they said a 15 get away but the where on this week and cycle are we?

>> we're also tracking perhaps a chance of seeing a few showers around here toward the middle part of the week. right now we have 50s outside, chilly in the north bay. 61 the view from emeryville, san jose 67 degrees, 65 closer to san francisco as we see dry conditions from now. you turn the weather satellites down to take a look at some of these fires burning around the that's dark dot that you knee there rising fire until eventually we'll see a chance of seeing from hours.

-- >> heavy rains still possible in baja today. there is -- tomorrow morning's commute not likely to be impacted. we're seeing the computer direction right now but enough to wet the ground. that would be very nice to see this time of year and hopefully a sign of things to come as we get closer to fall here in a couple of weeks. in san jose, you'll notice closest to 7:00. for the north bay you'll see the high mostly in the 80s today and the temperature you'll see the

temperatures climbing back to the 70s, 80 $ and 90 over the weekend. >> over here we're looking at northbound 101. we're talking about a crash just north of that scene. so there's that stretch from dully up the the you and 84, no delays for water on ton. the okay a reminder, a two-event

yammi. we'll live you a look at pal oo. she just played in o offer. inhere's the area that we're talking about. it will affect rulins road from all base shore highway to highway 101. today's kickoff event starts at 1:00 in front of the san francisco bay trail. >> mysterious lights in the early morning sky last wook has finally been exchanged. >> some sort of angel? >> of course. >> the mystery lit up social

media with guesses mentioned the afor mentioned ufo was a p what a touching nose. thank you. and coming up, why you do want to play coker don't miss this sale at all airport appliance

service.

>> announcer: you're watching "today in the bay." >> welcome back. today is the day that new laws take effect to govern robot cars

on california roads, an increasingly controversial idea how this should be regulated. scott mcgrew, up till now there were not rules. >> nobody thought to write robot car rules. the biggest rule change is these kinds of cars will not be allowed, google's experimental car, which has no steering wheel or brake, not allowed on public roads. the driver has to be able to take control in an emergency. other than that, it's a pretty liberal set of rules, which really encourages companies to keep experimenting. >> speaking of cars, did the state of nevada pay too high a price for that tesla battery factory? you see the governor of nevada making a deal to offer tesla $1.3 billion in tax breaks. the wall street journal gave away too much saying the politicians have no idea how

thoroughly they've been pleased. tesla shares moved down the federal open markets committee starts a two-day meeting this morning to talk about interest rates. a marriage of investors think the fed will start talking about interest rate hikes. it's about time. the economy has caught on and we're at zero, functionally zero. >> half glass full, you say things are moving in such a better direction now, we'll take the higher interest rates. >> before the inflation takes effect. >> thank you. >> if you need a little boost today and you want to get it for free, mcdonald's has you covered. get a free coffee every day until the end of the month during breakfast hours at

participating mcdonald's. couples share their embarrassing free coffee moments on twitter using the halftime. >> is that the homer wagner reference? >> no. >> oh, okay. we're going to hold off on that until later. rob, without getting into too much swishing, the switching of the weather patterns are going to keep us on our feet. >> yeah. comfortable afternoon on the way for the bay area. then we'll talk more about chances of showers in that mid week forecast coming up in just a few minutes. ike? the metering lights went on at 5:39. there's the slowdown for all

lanes there. this is a sul. >> it is 5:57 now. just call it high tech tracking. >> plus, door-to-door efforts to try to make sure people are ready for that next big quake. >> and promised changes after the gridlock friday night but those changes could make others upset. it's never been easier to find a dentist.

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news as hundreds of wooden pallets catch fire in the bay. why investigators are calling the fire suspicious. >> and in a small california town, almost half the town is destroyed. >> we are tracking mid-week showers. >> and over here, we'll update that traffic flow. >> and looking live at downtown san jose, we see the sun starting to rise. this is tuesday, september 16th. this is "da