fremont. the difference this will have on people trying to get into work. >> and moving to sin city? major vote happening today that will determine the future of the oakland raiders and all the nfl owners are weighing in. today in the bay continues right now. >> thanks for joining us on this monday morning. i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. a lot of news to get to. we saw bob redell out at the warm springs station. he had his jacket on. it's cooler here to start your morning. >> that's true. it is cooler. going to get warmer though. >> it's going to get warmer today and the next several days. that will be what we can expects over the next few days after a little rain over the weekend. now, we're getting a live look outside at san jose. the clouds are getting out of here. the roads are getting a chance to dry out. and we're pretty much done with the rain as we will see the high temperatures reaching into the mid-60s for the south bay. east bay up to 67 degrees. and for the peninsula, low to

mid 60s there. san francisco, 64 degrees. and for the north bay, 70 degrees in santa rosa. the rest of the week, a few changes here and there. we'll talk about it coming up. heading over to mike now updating the drive on the nimitz. >> for a few reasons. we watched the nimitz. it is behaving. we have your typical slowing as a look at the entire bay. i'm going to zoom over here for the travel times for the east bay. we're seeing highway 4 a little slowing there. no major issues down to the san mateo bridge. a little slowing through pleasanton. it's holding steady there. let me give you a live look farther south. this is fremont, and the drive southbound with the headlights down past tesand in towards mission boulevard. i'm going to watch for a change in the mission boulevard flow because of your next story. i'll hand it off to you. >> that is a story you know very

well, mike. thank you so much. happening today, the new warm springs b.a.r.t. station in fremont is getting put to the test for its first full commute day. cameras rolling as it officially opened on saturday. >> bob redell is live at the staz this morning to show us how everything is running and hopefully it's smoothly, bob. >> reporter: it is running smoothly, at least from b.a.r.t.'s point of view. if you look at the parking lot behind me, you can see the parking lot is mostly open. or empty, kris and sam. maybe 100 cars here. it's still early in the commute. it be interesting to see how many people take advantage of this new station that officially opened this past saturday. this monday morning being the first time it's opened for the weekday commute. you might recall, this station was supposed to open a couple years ago but it was delayed because of electrical and software issues. it did finally open this past saturday. this is sandwiched between 880 and 680.

it's about just over five miles south of the fremont b.a.r.t. station, which until saturday used to be the end of the line. >> i was driving to the fremont b.a.r.t. >> how much time do you save? >> about 15 minutes. >> what will it do in terms of relaxation and stress? >> definitely being able to sleep in. >> a little more convenient for me. i come in from san jose so i don't have to drive to the fremont station. >> how veenlt in terms of time saved? >> about seven mile difference. about 15 minutes. a little less traffic going back home. i don't have to deal with it on mission boulevard traffic right there. >> okay, that is bob redell reporting there. another thing that bob was telling us about this morning is the fact thas project came in about $100 million under budget. saving money and lots of people saving time. >> that's true.

finally, though. it was supposed to open a couple years ago. people are very excited it is open and once they remember what the traffic pattern is, maybe the parking lot will be fuller. >> we want to take you to the coliseum morning. the current home of the oakland raiders, at least for now. maybe not for long, though. nfl team owners are in arizona today for their annual league meetings. they're expected to make a major vote today on whether the raiders can move to las vegas. 24 of the 32 team owners have to agree to it. have to vote yes, and that seems likely that they are going to okay that move. if approved, the team will move to a new $1.9 billion stadium in las vegas. today in the bay's pete suratos is live at the coliseum. he'll explain what the city of oakland is trying to keep the team in the bay area. that's in a live report at 6:30. a school is trying to heal this morning. they're coming together to show solidarity against racism and

bullying. hundreds of families joined hands outside bny high school as the parents of some of the students targeted in a racist instagram account spoke out. that account targeted black students and a black staff member. organizers say they hope this event starts a healing process. but some of the students there say that theish really isn't being met head on. >> i really would like to see it as a way to bring people together so we have a good base for starting to heal. >> we really feel like they're tip-toeing around the issue. >> the superinant says some students have been disciplined and a title ix investigation is under way which could lead to more consequences at the school. >> kris, a sunnyvale coach facing very serious charges this morning for allegedly making inappropriate comments to girls on social media. police arrested 21-year-old moises martin on friday after a 13-year-old girl came forward. investigators say they then discovered a second victim as well. at least one of those girls was on the volleyball team that

martin coached. he also volunteered at the community service and senior center in sunnyvale. a police are blaming a three-car crash in the east bay on drunk driving yesterday. the passenger was in one car and was ejected in the crash, which happened about 5:00 in the evening on san pablo avenue in el cerrito. the driver was determined to be under the influence. the injured passenger suffered broken bones but did survive. there were no other injuries. >> an unusual way to make good for people who purchased bogus tickets. the warriors last night held a stop fraud night for recent victims. you see the young boy who was at last night's gain. he was turned away from a warriors game in atlanta earlier this season along with his mom. >> when the warriors heard about that, they decided to fly the pair out, get them a room at the sir francis drake hotel in san francisco, and they got courtside seats. they're sitting next to the warriors owner. the team has a message to people

who are buying third-party tickets. >> there's no way to guarantee tickets purchased on these sites are legitimate. the only way to guarantee that your ticket will scan is to buy it from warriors.com. >> the team says that hundreds of people this year have shown up at warriors games with counterfeit tickets. some are knowingly, and at one game, march 8th, against boston, about 60 fans were turned away at the door. >> geez. and for the amount of money you have to pay to shell out for a warriors game, yeah, that's a whole lot of money over there. >> so hopefully everyone gets to go to another game, but probably not. kari hall joining us now. the weather, we pay for that, too. and we'll have a good reason why later this week. >> we're going to have warmer temperatures, and right now, at 6:07, as you get ready to head out the door, it's going to be all clear, even though we have rain earlier this morning, it is getting a chance to dry out now. a live look outside at san jose and the temperature trend going

into the upper 50s. and we'll see some to mid 60s today, but that's still cooler than our normal high of 67 degrees. we're going to soar past our normal high and head into 80s in time for the weekend. we'll talk about that coming up in about five minutes. but now as we head over to mike, some of that typical slowing happening now in the east bay, right? >> you know how that goes. the east bay, and they move west with the commute over to the peninsula. that's what we're seeing for the san mateo and the dumbarton bridge. nothing dramatic and nothing unexpected. to the try valley, we see the slowing that started earlier for 680 in pleasanton. that's holding steady to sunol boulevard, and as folks make the cut through, highway 84 to pleasanton and livermore, and westbound across the san mateo bridge, does show slowing. no surprises. we'll take you down here. this is mission boulevard. there's auto mall parkway above it, and what's in between is

that b.a.r.t. station that bon just talked about. saw the light traffic over there at the parking lot, but we'll watch to see if this changes traffic flow today, and especially tomorrow as folks perhaps from the south bay, i know a few friends who travel up there on bard heading to the east bay in san francisco. that will save them a drive. over here, approaching the bay bridge toll plaza, 22 minutes to the crowded toll plaza. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> probably heard this story over the weekend. quite a bit of backlash after united airlines stopped two girls from boarding a plane. in three minutes, the reason the airline says the girls were dressed inappropriately. >> plus, baseball season is right around the corner, and the a's are ready. the events happening this week to get somes excited for this 2017 season.

i want to show you what's happening in the sierra right now. here's a look at the radar showing snow still coming down. this is ths system that moved through the bay area overnight. they will still have snow for a couple hours and a live look outside at squaw creek. the temperature right at freezing there. as we go into the next couple days, going to see a couple more snow showers and then a rain/snow mix on wednesday. dry for tomorrow. we'll take a look at what the bay area can expect here as we head through the week. that's coming up in about five

minutes. and we're looking over here for the tri-valley. look at the bottom of the screen, suddenly a lot slower for highway 84 cutting through pleasanton and livermore. i think it's about that time where people leave the house. >> we're following break news out of sanford, florida, right now. one person has been killed and five others including children are in serious condition after a shooting at an apartment complex there. all of this happening about 30 minutes outside of orlando. details very limited at this point. police say they do have the shooter in custody and that the shooting appears to be domestic. two of the victims fighting for their lives right now for 7 and 8-year-old boys. some of the people struck with bullets are insnd bystanders. we'll have more updates. >> in the meantime, breaking news at home as well. just in to our newsroom, what has been upgraded to a four alarm fire in oakland. multiple rescues under way.

this is happening on the corner of mead avenue and san pablo avenues right off market street. this is right by the boys and girls club of oakland. we have a crew headed there right now. we'll bring youen update as soon as we get there. >> 6:14, united's legging scandal is going viral and now celebrities are weighing in. here's what happened. united airlines did not allow two teenage girls to get on the flight because they were wearing leggings. those girls were flying from denver to minneapolis over the weekend. now, the reason that united says they were not allowed to get on is because they were traveling on an employee pass and thus they have to follow the company's dress code policy to fly on that pass. john legend's wife chrissy teigen is a model, she tweeted next time i will wear only jeans and scarf while flying united. >> in business and tech news right now, investors could be taking the opportunity to cash in some profits from the so-called post election trump

trade today. following the defeat of the health care bill on friday, asian and european markets already in the red today. but by 1% or less, as our u.s. stock futuresering we'll see what happened throughout the course of the day. the dollar is at a four-month low against major currencies on concerns over trump's agenda and concern he won't be able to get those done. >> drivers are paying less to fill up at the pump. that's good news for the economy. an average price of regular unleaded gas fell by a penny in the last two weeks to $2.34 a gallon. that move comes as oil prices slipped during the same period. of course, a different story in the bay area. according to aaa, you'll pay $2.98 on average for a gallon of regular gas in oakland. in san jose, $3.01. and $3.11 in san francisco. >> amazon is exploring physical stores to sell furniture and home appliances. products that a lot of shoppers are reluctant to buy sight

unseen. "the new york times" says that the stores would act as showrooms where people could see the items in person, make take them for a test drive. all orders would then be delivered to their homes. amazon is also considering using virtual reality to let people see how those new products would look in their homes. >> lyft is trying to position itself as anti-uber following recent controversies at the ride hailing rival. they started the round up and donate program. if you opt in, it rounds up your fare and donates to different charities for different causes including the environment, equality, and veterans. the program is being tested and will take a few weeks to gee nationwide. >> good news for anyone who wants to see the sights and sounds of big sur. at least if you can get to sur. happening today, parks and camp grounds in the area are set to reopen. that was the phifer canyon bridge that was taken down recently because of all the

rough weather. now, areas along the southern stretch of highway 1 took a big hit, including many roads and bridges. crews have been busy clearing up mudslides and debris, while most parks and camp roudz are set to be reopened today, several will remain closed long term. baseball season officially begins next sunday, not that anybody is keeping track. this week, the city of oakland is getting into the spirit. >> it's spirit week for the a's. they may be the only team in oakland in the future, so let's support them with a flag raising event at noon. later at 6:00 this evening, the a's reveal a new mural of stomper, an elephant. this is a time lapse video of the 120-foot mural being created. this year marks 50 seasons since the a's moves to oakland. they're offering a unique trade-in. fans can trade in their giants

hats and a brand-new green a's cap sporting the green and gold. >> stomper in beast mode. that's for sure. >> exactly. it is a beast. >> i like the cuddly stomper better. >> i like cuddling in bed longer in the day. a lot of people have to get up and get moving here. >> yeah, but a little easier to get up knowing that it is going to be a beautiful day. we're going to have some sunshine and maybe that rainfall kind of lulls you to sleep. last night, getting out of here as we get a live look out at all of our microclimates. 48 degrees in the tri-valley. want to get you out the door quickly with what is going on now, what to expect as we go through the day. and it's 51 degrees now in san francisco. heading up to 64 in the peninsula. and 65 degrees in the east bay. and we're seeing some clouds in some spots, but we're getting some clearing as the storm system once again moves out of the bay area. still a scary few spotty showers just offshore, and i don't think

many of us will see that. the seven-day forecast comes up at the bottom of the screen, you'll see we'll have a drier weekend ahead. had of that dry weather means moraler januarys. a look at the pollen count. for trees, it's high. it's mostly oak, pine, and birch, but wae're now also getting mold. moderate amounls of that, too, as the wet weather moves to the east, we'll turn our attention to another system set to move in on thursday. as we get a look at the forecast now, what we're expecting, this one will be farther to the north. as it moves closer toor the bay area, looks like a lot of that rain stays across the north and may affect the north bay. i will keep a chance of rain in the forecast for the north bay. and also for san francisco. but then, after that, it all clears out. if you're following me on facebook and twitter, i'll keep you up to date on everything. also, lets me know what you have planned and i'll help you out with a forecast there. through the week, going to see a

warming trend again, especially after the rain moves through the north bay on thursday. inland areas, check out the weekend forecast. it is going to be much warmer than the weekend we just had. as we head over to mike now, we're seeing nor slowing in the tri-valley. >> that's right. the pattern is what is concerning. let's look at the entire bay, a smooth flow of traffic over here. the tri-valley and the shift coming off airway. reports of an earlier slowed vehicle. i showed you the travel time earlier for westbound 84 getting through the area. that's slower. but that's perhaps because of a disabled vehicle at airway which has cleared. no way to take the cut through with everybody else. you can get back to the dublin interchange. hitting the corner or cutting the corner. we'll show you how things are shaping up. going to end with a couple live shots. this one in dublin. despite the disabled vehicle, no real slowing here. and the bay bridge, we end with this shot of the backup and

metering lights, which have the effect of that coming off the maze. no surprise coming down the freeway. back to you. >> thank you very much. we continue to follow breaking news just in to our newsroom. we want to give you a look at the fire in oakland which is now at four alarms now. we know that firefighters just had to pull out because there was a risk of collapse in that building. this is one of our traffic cameras that's tuned in at mead and san pablo. earlier, we said mead and market, but these situations are fluid. this is the area you want to drive around. we did post a map on twitter so you can see where that is if you're driving through the area and it's not a normal part of your commute. we'll bring you an update as soon as there is one, but there are rescues under way and firefighters have pulged out after doing a sweep there because of a risk of collapse. >> well, ask and you shall receive. in two and a half minutes in today in the bay, find out how a simple phone call to your credit card company could save you some big bucks.

$200 shoes that never shipped. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. wconnueo flowreangne ju in

6:24 now dwrrb we want to look from our emeryville camera. you can see one of the engines pouring water onto a fire there at san pablo and mead. we're getting a lack at that

four-alarm fire happening right now in oakland. the flames still very active and at last report, the oakland firefighters did have to retreat from that building because of a risk of collapse in the roof and in the floor. we do know that firefighters were able to cue several people and were doing sweeps at the point they were supposed to be pulling back. we are hearing that there are several cues, though, that are still working. this is, again, the corner of mead and san pablo. we have a crew headed that way. as soon as pete gets an update, we'll bring it to you. >> as you can see from the live shot, reports of the heaviest fire there on the third floor of that building. we will keep you ipidated. >> all new this morning, if you have high interest rates on your credit card, a new study finds it pays to reach out to your credit card provider and ask about it. according to a new report, 87% credit card holders who asked for a late fee to be waived were successful.

69% who requested a lower interest rate received one. that study found only 1 in 4 card holders were actually making the requests. analysts say with competition among credit card companies these days, consumers have far more leverage than they might realize. >> nbc bay area responds to a campbell woman out $200 for a pair of shoes she never got. she reached out to consumer investigative center for help and investigator chris chmura has her story. >> last june, ann callahan ordered a pair of $200 shoes from the store walk rite for life at a local mall. but she never got them. ann told us she repeatedly tried to get those shoes or a refund, but the store gave her the runaround. the stalemate went on for months. so ann finally asked us to step in. we contacted walk rite for life, then ann received a $200 refund. we wanted to know what happened, but company didn't respond to

our request for comment. we're glad we can help her, and we can help you get your money back. call us, the number is 888-996-tips or logon to nbcbayarea.com/responds. >> thank you very much. 6:27. shifting focus, coming up next, the steps the white house is taking to try to move on after failing to pass the republican bill to replace obamacare. and we continue to monitor that breaking news out of oakland. a four-alarm fire burning there that is so hot and so risky for firefighters they had to pull back. we will be back in just two minutes with more on the rescues that are under way.

right now at 6:30, breaking news. we continue our coverage of the fire in oakland. now we have sky ranger overhead. you can see just how voracious the fire is right now. you can see the fire coming through the roof of that building that appears to be a residential building. we now know that because of the fire and the roof, there was risk it was going to collapse and fire crews had to pull back. >> let's get you to where this is going as you see heavy fire presence there. this is upgraded as you see on the bottom of the screen to a four-alarm fire. this is at mead and san pablo avenue, just northeast of downtown oakland. an auto zone right around the corner there. you're seeing a multiple level structure, we don't know yet what kind of building it is. smoke and flames pouring out of

the top of that structure, as we see firefighters try to pour water on it from the trucks. >> this is a defensive position at this point. firefighters have had to pull out, but earlier, in this firefight, before it went to four alarms, we know that firefighters did go inside and were able to rescue people from the building. at least three rescues were under way when the firefighters then began a sweep of that complex and started to pull back. now, we don't know what kind of building is, but from our vantage point and from the photos that oakland fire took from the ground level, it does look like it's a residential building, perhaps a mixed-use building with shops underneath. >> they were in the process of taking hose lines and trying to get that to various levels on the building. the latest we have is that the heaviest fire, as you can see here, was coming from the third floor of the building. and the smoke is visible from all over. we took our traffic cam. we could see it from miles and miles away.

we'll turn it over to, who is monitoring the traffic impact. this is northeast of downtown oakland. >> let's take the camera we have in emeryville. it's turned normally to the bay bridge. we turned it down toward oakland. if we can see it from the rooftop in birkly or emeryville, you can see there's a roadway. i think that might be 980. let he show you whaet we're talking about as we get out toward the east bay. the area just off 580 and 980 right here. i think this was in the background, 980 right here. this is san pablo and mead where the fire has been reported. and they're actively fighting the fire. not far from there to the north is 580. this will be visible in all portions of the paz. you see that section of san pablo that is closed right now. we'll keep tracking this and the impact. so far, the drive on the freeway is maintaining its typical speed. but the fire is quite a

spectacle in oakland. >> we're going to take that back to oakland, and now again, sky ranger overhead. you can see the flames are nowhere near contained in that building. and we daknow that the fiefr is now at four alarms which means the oakland fire department had to call for help at least four times. we see the fire trucks pumping water into the rooftop of the building there near san pablo and mead. we know there are folks who are out of the building at this point. they had to be rescued by oakland firefighters. >> and kris, just to emphasize again, we know for a fact there were multiple rescues already at this building and firefighters were in the process of going through a search and rescue, trying to see if there was anyone else. and because of the compromised position of the floor and of the roof, they didn't want to take any chances, as we zoom in. what a powerful image. you see folks on top of that ladder there. firefighters on top of the ladder as the water is pouring in. this is the nbc bay area sky

ranger viewpoint, and just an incredible scene here. flames ripping through this multiple level building. again, the situation here, mead and san pablo avenue. wedged in between 980 and 580, northeast of downtown oakland, and fire absolutely consuming your screen right now as they do their best efforts from afar to try to contain those flames. >> now, our crew is just moments away from arriving there. we might get a better idea of what kind of building that is, but from this vantage point and from the photos from the ground level, it appears this was a residential structure. to know that at least three people had to be rescued from the building is remarkable because that fire seems to have gone up very fast. we saw it go from two alarms to three alarms to four alarms very quickly. >> you see the spotlight there on the side of the building as they are presumably looking to see if there are other people inside, as they try to figure out the best way to be able get back inside of the building. we want to show you another vantage point from our nbc bay

area sky ranger. this is also video that was tweeted out from oakland firefighters earlier. this is ground level look at that flames and smoke, just pouring, again, out of the top of that building. this is either from the mead or san pablo avenue side of the building, as we see the heavy presence. we know that, again, this is a four-alarm fire. that's what it looks like from the ground. >> this is where you and in. if this is your neighborhood or you're familiar with this neighborhood, give us a tweet and tell us what you think this building is. at this point, we can tell you that a triage center is being set up a few blocks away for folks who were displaced by the fire. hopefully they are all okay. and we'll be getting more information from firefighters and the red cross who will likely be showing up to assist in thing moments. we have two crews headed in that direction. one very close. pete suratos is going to ask questions from the ground level

and see if we can get nor information. you can see from this vantage point, from sky ranger up above that some of the rooftop has indeed collapsed. it looks like it has fallen down and the fire is still burning very ferociously. the best efforts of the oakland fire department are to put water on it from above. you can see the pumper dumping that water on the roof top right now. >> as we pull out, or at least as the camera eventually will pull out, you'll get a better perspective for where this is. we see that building there, and we talked about fact it could very well be a residential property, does not seem to be threatening to spread to other buildings at this point. again, this is mead and san pablo eve. but a four-alarm fire. no doubt going to impact people trying to get around that area. let's loop in mike now, and mike, what are you seeing in terms of the traffic patterns? >> on the surface street, the mapping company talks about the street sensors blacked out right there at san pablo and mead.

that's right where the building you see, the multi-story building in the center of the flames. now, quickly moving traffic there. i do believe that's 980 just behind that. san paubo 11 looks like it's closed, as opposed to mead which is open. that will be your access point to the freeway. as you mentioned, sandwiched between the 980 and 580. i don't see a lot of slowing, although there will be spectator slowing because you're cleary able to see the flames from very close to that area because we can see it from our emeryville camera as well. as we're taking a look at the smoke billowing off the building. i'm judging by what the structure is and looking at google maps and it looks like the structure is at the corner where san pablo avenue would be, the street with fire equipment on, the largest street. that's why i think traffic is stopped on the perimeter. we haven't gotten confirm az, but i'm going to say avoid that area because of all the smoke and flames. as an alternate, you can use mlk

jr. way or market street to take you to grand avenue, and the grand exit on and off the freeway is open. we'll continue to track this because it could be more of an effect as more folks head to the area or as the smoke billows and the sun comes up. we'll send it back to you. >> we can see the smoke billowing up into the sky. that's a bit of good news that it does not appear to be a major wind event in that area. we see the smoke kind of drifting off a little bit, but it's not whipped around the neighborhood. >> gosh, so much smoke. as our sky ranger pulls out a little farther to give you more perspective, and kris, we can say that we maybe have seen a little of the flames dampened in the last 10 or 15 minutes. so strong still. look at that bright orange spot in the middle of your screen there. and the only technique, the only thing that firefighters can employ right now, because of safety issues, is to pour water from on top of their trucks onto the top of the building, as they try to go in. they were performing not just

rescued, multiple rescues, but also sweeps trying to find whether or not there were other people inside of the building and they had to pull out because of a compromised roof and flooring there. again, this is a look. a live look you're taking right nufrom oakland. mead and san pablo, if you're just waking up with us. this is a four-alarm fire that upgraded from a three to a four-alarm fire have been following for about 30 or 40 minutes now. firefighters doing the best job they can to try to contain the flames. >> pete is there now. having just arrived on the ground, and pete. what are you seeing there on the ground? >> good morning to you. what you're seeing is you're seeing the flames coming out of this building here on san pablo and mead. we're just getting here, we're trying to get more information from folks here on the ground. you see a number of fire engines here. as sam mentioned, i believe i heard you mentioning that the only way for them to fight the fire is they're doing it from the truck, from the ladder

that's coming out of the truck right now. you see that they're going to work on this building. now, i'm still trying to figure out exactly who has been evacuated, how many rescues have taking place here, if there's anybody outside of this area, but really, this is the best position we're in to show you what this looks like. now, we're looking at a three-story, looks like a residential structure. an apartment structure, with smoke coming out of it. you have the roof pretty much blown out. as crews are here on the ground, trying to contain the fire. in fact, when we were driving on 980 west, you can see the huge flames. the fire coming out of this building. the smoke really billowing through the air, through a good portion of this area. engulfed right now. we're just getting on the ground, going to get more information from fire officials, from anybody on the ground with information and we'll bring another update to you when we come. back to the newsroom. >> thank you very much. that's the ground level perspective there. you see all the fire trucks bepete and the smoke billowing from that vantage point.

again, this is wedges between 580 and 980 northeast of downtown oakland. kris, we have been looking at what pretty much has been a static situation in terms of the flames for the last several minutes. >> we know the oakland fire department is battling this fire, four alarms now, and they're setting up a triage center for any of those folks who may have had to be evac waited from the building. at least three rescues were happening right before firefighters had to pull back and take a defensive position on this building. you can see it is a bigging. and we have a lot of questions. we'll take a quick break, try to get some answers for you, and we'll be back in about two minutes.

welcome back. for the last 30 minutes or so, we have been following this situation out of oakland. a foour-alarm fire that broke out earlier this morning and firefighters doing the best they can right now to attack it aerially. this is on san pablo avenue at mead avenue. and we are, again, watching this very closely. you see just a ferocity of flames coming from the top of the building of what is believed to be a residential structure. we're getting more information about exactly where that is. >> this is at 2551 san pablo avenue. according toour preliminary search, it appears to be a community recovery project. that is some low-income housing, so another blow to low-income housing in oakland, if indeed

these 47 units are lost. we do know that there were some rescues that had to happen, that folks had to be rescued from the building by firefighters. then, before firefighters could continue on with a sweep to check for other folks inside, the danger of the roof collapsing forced them to pull out and take this defensive position. and it may have been just in the nick of time because at this point, it does appear that the roof did collapse down onts one of the floors below. >> it's interesting to see as it gets lighter, better visibility, but you see the spotlights on the side of the building that keep appearing periodically, perhaps attempts to figure out if there is still anyone inside. as you mentioned, there were multiple rescues already here, and firefighters were in the process of performing sweeps when they had to leave the building because of that roof collapse. and because of compromised floors in the building. you see a firefighter there standing, that is a powerful image. in the middle of that ladder, as smoke and flames engulf him. and the water coming down from the ladder on the truck. >> that's the only way to fight

it from the outside in. you can see the flames are still, though, burning, and they are -- a lot of smoke, and the question always when we have fire and we have wind, is it possible for this fire to spread to other buildings nearby? kari hall has been watching that wind forecast for us. and we are going to get some information from her based on that. in just a few moments. you see a lot of water still poured down on the building, and you can see from sky ranger up above that it is a very large building. you some of the other buildings nearby. what can you tell us about the direction that the smoke is go and the speed at which it's moving? >> right now, we have seen calm winds, even behind the weather system that moved through earlier this morning. and live look at the camera. you can see the smoke that kind of billows away, farther off towards the south and east. so this is what we're seeing as far as current conditions. calm winds and temperature as 54 degrees. it is cool, and as we go through the morning, going to see those winds picking up a bit.

we may have some gusts up to 16 miles per hour. and blowing some of that smoke closer the 980 area. away from 580. closer, farther off towards the south and east, as we go throughout the morning, as the winds pick up to about 10 or 15 miles per hour. and there may be some higher gusts. another situation we'll be watching is the winds throughout the next couple of hours. kris, and sam. >> you highlight the immediacy of trying to contain those flames as quickly as possible. you see the smoke heading off there and taking from the building. the left side of the screen, you see water coming in from a water truck as firefighters are trying to attack this airy. they cannot get in the building right now. as we have watched this evolve the last 30 or 40 minutes, rirt been about the same level of fire coming out of the top of that building there, which is to say quite a good deal of fire. enough where you can see it from the local cameras as we turn

them from the bay bridge over to oakland. in the distance, you can see the breadth of the fire. >> we always know that when you can see something from the freeway, there is going to be a traffic impact. we know local streets are probably closed. let's check with mike and what are you seeing from your perspective? >> on the traffic sensors, we see basically no traffic slowing. a short section of san pab low right by the fire. i believe is this from the emeryville camera or a different angle? we can see the smoke from the emeryville camera. is it from the emeryville camera. you can see the flame. this is in oakland across 580 and past the maze from our cameras. so quite visible. you see the traffic behind the smoke there. very close from this perspective. i believe that's 980. very close to 980 and 580. all of this activities, you see a number of ladder trucks and a lot of smoke in the area. i believe the muyoert of vehicles are on san pablo area as best as we can tell. but avoid san pablo and avoid mead through that section

between 580 and 980. cow can use grand avenue to get over to the freeway. you can use mlk jr. way and market as alternates to get past that section of san pablo. this is san pablo. takes you to and from berkeley from the oakland area, a major readway, divided roadway, and one to avoid. market is very close and so is mlk jr. way. 980, no real slowing, but we will have the distraction. there's 580. our camera is way up here at the top of the screen and we can see that from emeryville just north of the shopping mall. so that's the issue. we'll track that, probably impact to the local buses. but no problem as far as b.a.r.t. in the area either. b.a.r.t. is still running on time underneath the roadways and underneath the bay there for the bay bridge. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. and pete suratos arrived there in the last 15 minutes or so as we're looking from sky ranger above, he's watching the activity at the ground, and pete, what do you know about who

lived in that building, what kind of building it was? >> reporter: good morning to you, kris. well, we have oakland fire and other officials here that it's hard getting information from them because obviously, they're attending to the scene you see behind me here with this building we have been discussing all morning. i did speak with one individual who said he used to run a business in this area, and from what he is telling me, his claim is this was a mixture of residential units as well as units for folks with substance abuse problems and mental health issues. we're still working to verify that information, but that's what we're told from someone who used to work in this area. you're seeing the fire is still strong. you have oakland fire using the ladder to put out this fire from up above in this huge building. you're seeing, i would say, a three-story structure, and it looks like it's contained to this building. obviously, causing a lot ofitias in this area on san pablo and

mead in oakland. a number of oakland fire engines here. working to get more information from them, but they have to attend to the that folks on the ground here are telling me started roughly around 5:30 a.m. just a recap, i spoke to a person in this area. he said this building was a mixture of residential units and units for folks with substance abuse problems and mental health problems. in this area, you want to avoid this area as they're working to contain the fire. back to you in the studio. >> that's interesting that you said what you had heard from folks who live in that narnd about what kind of building that is because that matches up with what we found once we have the address here. 2551 san pablo avenue. that is the address for the east bay community recovery project. pete was talking about the fact that this could be a facility to help people with mental health issues, substance abuse issues and it represents potentially low-income housing for about four dozen units.

so that is likely what this structure is, as we take another look from sky ranger here, from far above, seeing still the strength of those flames as firefighters trying to contain it. >> mike was talking about how far away our traffic camera is and the fact you can see it from that emeryville camera. we'll show you the side by side if we can. and here is a look at the vantage point from one angle to another angle. this is going to be a big distraction for folks driving by because you can't help but look when you see a giant column of smoke like that and that smoke is still pouring from that building there. at san pablo and mead this morning. we do know that the fire department, oakland fire department, is trying to set up a place for folks to gather. folks who have been displaced from that building, and who had to evacuate there. we don't know the situation or rather the conditions surrounding the three rescues that also happened earlier this morning, as the fire broke out just around 6:30 this morning.

we do see a change in a color of smoke, and often that means they are making some headway. >> right. so we have been covering this since the early 6:00 hour. pete just reporting a second ago it broke out about 5:30 this morning and it was nlshy a three-alarm fire. upgraded to a four. as you were pointing out, as we looked at it from the emeryville camera, the size of it viewable from across the bay right now. that's how large this fire is. again, just situating it for you. this is wedged between 580 and 980 northeast of downtown oakland. we see just the presence of firefighters on scene right now. trying to make sure that it does not spread to any surrounding buildings. again, this is 2551 san pablo avenue. san pablo and mead avenue. there's an auto zone right around the corner there fors who live in the neighborhood. and this, again, just an aerial shot at what firefighters are up against still right now. >> we see the water coming in from all different directions,

so san pablo and mead and also from 26th avenue. the oakland fire department also put out a photo from that vantage point as well. the good news is we're seeing more smoke than flames. that means that the firefighters are starting to make progress. though from a defensive position. let's check in with kari hall and see what the wind risk is at this point. we see there are a lot of buildings in that area. >> a lot of the winds have calmed down sns we did have that storm system that moved through overnight. we can see that plume of smoke, even from this oakland camera that continues to blow that smoke off towards the south and east. right now, temperatures in the low to mid 50s. it does feel very cool out there. and we're looking at winds that are coming in from the northeast. we may have some gusts up to 13 miles per hour through the next 30 minutes. and going to see those winds increasing just a bit as we go into the lunchtime hour as well. and then calming down. as we get a look at storm

ranger, our mobile doppler radar, scanning around the bay area, showing all of the rain has cleared. as we get a closer look at that area, we're going to see that kind of push over 980 and that may be a distraction for everyone heading in that direction. so going to see the winds remaining fairly calm, but may pick up as we go into the next couple hours, kris and sam. >> thank you very much. this is nbc bay area sky ranger on scene of this four-alarm fire. this, again, in northeast downtown oakland. at this stage, it's at four alarms. started at three. pete has been on the telling us about the fact we know at least from the people who live there that this is a low-income building for people who need additional services. >> clearly not a good time to lose low-income housing in oakland, if that is indeed the case. we're looking at the ladder trucks pouring water on the rooftop from above while still watching fire trucks pump water

from below, and this is happening on three angles, three sides of this building now. this is pete's camera from the ground level now. and you can see the smoke just billowing over the building next door. we do know that folks have been asked to leave the area, and the fire department is trying to set up some sort of triage center, some sort of evacuation center. we do know that there were several people who were rescued before the fire went to four alarms and before the risk of the roof collapse forced firefighters to fight it from the outside. we don't know the condition, yet, on the folks who had to be rescued. >> maybe 10 or 15 minutes ago, we saw flames shooting from the same vantage point of the roof of the structure. there has been significant improvement just in that timeframe in trying to get the flames contained. we talk about the rescues. you see on the bottom of the screen, it says multiple rescues. you were confirming at least three people had been rescued. there was also a search going on

within the building for firefighters trying to locate anyone who might still be inside of there. we have not gotten any word of anyone trapped. but we did see within the last 20 minutes or so spotlights over the building as firefighters trying to identify whether or not anyone might be in there. >> let's check in with mike for the traffic impact. we know that the smoke is going to be a distraction. do we have any actual hard closures? >> we do have a closure, we learned about mead being closed. mead and san pablo are the two avenues where the fire is located. you see the smoke billowing. it alternates between gray and white. we're trying to follow the status here. you see flames jumping out of roof line as well. this is just off 980. i think in the background, you can see from time to time the cars going back and forth. that's the issue. it's visible from the freeway. none of those lanes closed, but san pablo and mead, mead is close to the scene. sticking to the map, very quickly, these live pictures are dramatic, we want to focus on the closures.

between 580 and 980. for my portion of the report, i'm focusing on the traffic flow. you want to use market, martin luther king way, those will take you as an alternate to san pablo. grand avenue will take you over to 980 which looks like it's moving slowly. we can see that shot we just showed you from our emeryville camera. that's up here. we can see all the way across 580 and past the maze over to this. so everybody driving through the maze will see this as well. either in front of then or in their rear view mirror. watch out for folks who might be distracted. watching the local streets. avoid san pablo and mead. take mlk jr. way, take market street, and grand. back to you. >> all right. thank you very much, mike. we're looking from farther up overhead, with sky ranger there. you can see the roads that are closed that mike was talking about. you can also see that the flames seem to be dampening just a little bit. there are still flames on the

rooftop, but we see smoke, so perhaps progress for oakland firefighters who had to leave the building and fight the fire from the outside exclusively. >> from our vantage point, it does look like the fire is not as aggressive as it was just a short time ago. you see the flames getting picked up and pulled there by a little bit of wind. kari hall talking about the fact the winds will strengthen as the day progresses. so this is absolutely a concern right now that they try to contain this fire as quickly as possible. again, a four-alarm fire in oakland, if you're just waking up with us right now, that is situationed in between 580 and 980 northeast of downtown. >> more specifically, on san pablo avenue and mead avenue. mead avenue is now closed. there are fire engines al on 26th and shooting water onto the fire from that direction as well. and this is firefight that is going to continue throughout the morning. >> we will be following this throughout the morning. we'll be bringing you updates as soon as we get them. we will keep nbc bay area sky

ranger up on the scene, trying to deduce where they stand right now in getting the fire out. again, as kris mentioned, mead and san pablo avenue. >> we'll be back in 30 minutes. good morning. blame game. president trump going after republican lawmakers for failing to replace obamacare. but who is really responsible for the biggest setback yet for the white house? spring storms. baseball-sized hail near dallas. this funnel cloud spotted in oklahoma. severe weather pushing east this morning with six more states bracing for more bad weather. frightening scene. an escalator going up suddenly reverses direction sending shoppers tumbling. at least 18 people injured. an investigation leading to two