>> we are seeing the crazy temperatures all over the west right now. 116 in phoenix today? reno is going to be up there. what are we doing in the bay area? >> not that hot. maybe close to 100 degrees out by concord and fairfield for sure. right now a study in contrast. golden gate bridge at times, misty skies to start off the friday morning. mid-50s there and interesting looking at san jose, coolest point of the day starting off in the 60s. so high temperatures today around san jose, close to 90 degrees. 9 in concord. 70s around san francisco and oakland and a quick check of the statewide forecast. 120 in palm springs. as you see there. l.a. into the 90s so the bay area not all that bad relatively speaking. now a look at the friday morning commute. >> we have continued to enjoy fairly light traffic. thanks to the holiday. all week long. but we have seen that picking up over the past two days as people

returned to work an now we are seeing a little bit of slowing along 280 and may be debris on the road. aside from that, though, the speed sensors and fairly quiet. not reporting major incidents. a quick check of the south bay drive times, northbound 101 from 85 to 87, 13 minutes. 87 from 85 to 101, 10 minutes. and northbound 17 from highway 85 to highway 101, about 8 minutes. take a live look right now in san jose. all of these folks -- well, i hope they get to work on time. not a lot of slow and go. back to you. >> thank you. it is 5:01. happening right now, the g20 summit and new video just into the newsroom. you saw it there. president trump shaking hands with russian president vladimir putin. a very highly anticipated meeting. now, earlier this morning, president trump tweeted, quote, i look forward to all meetings today with world leaders, including my meeting with vladimir putin. much to discuss.

today in the bay's jay gray live in hamburg with what to expect from the meeting today. good morning, jay. >> reporter: good morning, laura. yeah, and that meeting being played close to the vest by leaders of both countries here. what i can tell you it's framed by protests that continue across the city right now. so intense this morning that first lady melania trump was unable to leave her hotel for a brief period of time. this city still clearly on edge right now. a sit-in met members of the g20 and didn't delay the official start of the summit this morning. police using water canons before forcibly removing the group, the latest sign of resistance. after chaos overnight in hamburg. a standoff between police and protesters, thousands who filled out across the city on the eve of the g20 summit. >> organization of the big world

rich countries that sit on and rest on and plunder the people of the whole world and i'm sick of it. >> reporter: frustration boiling over. as demonstrators sparked fires and hurled bottles, rocks and fireworks at security teams. who responded with water cannons, teargas, batons and pepper sfra trying to control the angry crowd. as the sounds of angst echoed across the city, president trump met privately with german chancellor angela merkel before having din we are the presidents of joo pan and south korea. later today, a first face to face meeting with russian president vladimir putin. >> a lot is riding on this, a lot of expectations. and these are two very big personalities meeting, very big issues on the table. >> reporter: issues that could include terrorism, kremlin support for syria and iran and the conflict in ukraine.

while many back home demand mr. trump confront mr. putin in elections. yeah, and the white house really refusing to discuss anything that may be on the agenda when the leaders meet in just over an hour or so here in hamburg. that is the very latest live from germany, i'm jay gray. back to you. >> playing it close to the vest for now. thank you, jay. back to breaking news, closer the home, fast-moving flames right now are continuing to grow this morning. this is in winters. that is just north of fairfield. where people are being told there to evacuate as the fire swells to 1,000 acres. pete is joining us from yolo county with the fight to contain the flames. we know we get updates periodically of cal fire. what kind of progress are you seeing overnight? >> reporter: good morning to you, sam. we are standing along highway 128 near pleasant valley road where there's a road closure due

to the fire and we are getting updates here on the ground. i spoke with cal fire an new numbers on this winters fire coming to progress. now, we know that it is now at 25% containment and the acres burned is now jumped from 1,000 acres to 1,800 acres. there was a mandatory evacuation in place. that is since lifted. but the evacuation for golden bear estates is in place and  nearly 40 homes were affected. initially more than 500 fire personnel brought out to deal with the fast-moving brush fire that started yesterday afternoon just before 1:00 p.m. in fact, the video, planes to drop fire retardant on the hillside to contain the fire. wind can be a factor for crews out here for the next few days. and there are closures on this highway on highway 128 that extend to lake bariesa road. we are live near winters, for today in the bay, pete suratos.

>> thank you. live pictures to show you right now. there is a two-alarm fire that is burning. this is at 2425 valdez and grand. it is near lake merritt this morning. the building is said to be under construction. you can see the flames here from a distance. this is one of our cameras that's positioned but you just see how enormous this fire is right now. we have nbc bay area sky ranger launching in a moment and report of bob redell on the ground. we'll bring you the latest developments but a fire in oakland right now. we have more breaking news, as well, an amber alert issued for a 16-year-old boy in southern california. los angeles police say that eric coleman is abducted by a 31-year-old candace johnson yesterday afternoon. johnson is considered to be armed and dangerous. and was last seen driving a 2014 black toyota camry. we don't have a picture of the missing teen just yet but police

are not specifying right now what the relationship is between the teen and the suspect. new this morning, san ramon police looking far suspect breaking into more than a dozen cars happening yesterday in the neighborhood west of san ramon valley boulevard between pine valley and bolinger canyon. call police if you have any information about the break-ins. south bay teenager right now is in critical condition after he was shot while he was driving his car just after independence day. that shooting happened in santa clara on july 5th. that teen was driving this mercedes here and shots heard in the neighborhood. neighbors say they figured people still celebrating. >> we just heard the fire. that the shooting, gun shooting. we thought it was fireworks. >> the teen crashed into the back of a white cargo van with the foot still on the pedal. police arrived to investigate and found bullet casings not far from where the teen crashed. police have not released many

details about the 17-year-old victim. again, we do know that he is in grave condition right now at a local hospital. learning new details of the shooting death of a man playing pokemon go in san francisco. congresswoman and the parents of riley will give information on a reward. the 20-year-old baseball standout was playing pokemon go last summer with friends and shot and killed near aquatic park. officials headed to court on monday. they have been accused of not doing enough when the sexual misconduct scandal of a teenage prostitute first came to light. officials of city hall expected to appear at a u.s. district court on monday. the judge henderson is overseeing a settlement from a 2000 case of requiring oakland police department to make 51 reforms and henderson says the report shows they failed to take the steps to investigate the sexual misconduct case. in san francisco, there is a push right now to rename justin

herman plaza after maya agelou. the goal is 10,000. people calling for the name change say that justin herman in charge of redevelopment in the 1960s an demolished black owned homes and businesses in san francisco. happening right now, a live look from sacred heart community services on 1st street in san jose where parents began to line up at 4:00 this morning. >> that's right. you see them bundled in blankets. an annual summer tradition at sacred heart. this is why. because parents can sign up for a backpack filled with school supplies for their children. this year, more than 3,000 backpacks will be handed out. this is open to families in need in santa clara county. families register today and pick up the backpacks qualifying on august 11th. and time right now, 5:09.

outside, palo alto, 59 degrees. mostly cloud free and patchy thick fog around san francisco and the coast. morning temperatures mild. 60s to start the day and by lunchtime, 70s bay side and then climbing into mid to upper 90s approaching mid afternoon around the valleys today and turning breezy later on for the afternoon today. san francisco should see 70s, some cooling through the weekend and across the inland locations, quite hot today. concord and walnut creek close to 100 degrees an cooling saturday and sunday and check of friday morning commute, not friday light around san francisco this morning. >> unfortunately, we are, rob, tracking what looks like right now a crash that may be blocking some lanes out of san francisco. the rest of the bay area so far, so good. we saw minor fender bendersover night but chp reporting a crash of southbound 101. it appears three lanes are blocked and speed sensors picking up slowing in the area

so we are definitely starting to see backup along that area even at this hour and no estimated time when they'll clear out the areas, peninsula not looking too bad. back to you. >> thank you. new this morning, ivanka trump targeted. disturbing crime that has the secret service on alert. plus, a flight attendant assaulted. terrifying scene happening on board this delta airlines flight. and breaking news, we continue to follow out of oakland. live pictures of a huge fire that is burning. we understand it is building under construction. it is close to lake merritt. we have a crew on the way to the scene right now. the latest coming up. (man) hmm. what do you think?

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2425 valdez and grand -- near lake merrit. breaking news continuing to follow if the east bay. these are live pictures of a massive fire burning in oakland right now. we're told it's on the 2400 block of valdez and grand. not too far from lake merritt this morning. it is building that's under construction all that we know at this point. it is an enormous fire, laura, as you can see from the shot here. this is a closer view there. this video coming in from a viewer. as you can see, this came on twitter so the place being built next door is on fire and the flames absolutely enormous. we are trying to get more information right now on just how many resources poured in to controlling this fire. but again, we just found out about this within the last 20 or 30 minutes.

a building under construction as laura mentioned burning out of control at this point. as you see, just off of broadway street in oakland. >> that's right. pretty much between broadway and 27th, kind of. that triangular pattern. we have nbc bay area sky ranger ready to launch this morning. if you're in area at all, live near it, work near it, give us a this morning. it is declared a three-alarm fire pouring as many resources as they can on to this fire. at this point, you see the smoke rising. no doubt as the sun rises, as well, the thick, black, billowing smoke will be covering the east bay area not adding to a good air quality, as well. this is video sent in by a viewer. we appreciate that. anything to do to give us more information we have crews headed to the scene, as well. bob rebel on the ground and gathering information. as soon as he can get there,

we'll bring you a live report. >> there are a bunch of businesses there, as we a. audi dealership and mitsubishi dealership and there's corporate presence there so we'll find out exactly where this stands in terms of the flames spreading. tracking what's going on on the roads there as a result. what are you seeing? >> well, right now we are seeing reports right now, my traffic maps are picking up some slowing in the area and it looks like they do have some roads blocked off and it looks like it's 23rd to 24th. it is on the 2400 block of valdez and grant. there aren't too many cars on the road but noticing on the map where the triangle is alerting you where the building fire is, we can see some slowing just on 35 street, as well. as of now, i think we should be okay in terms of that traffic. >> all right. taking a live look at the fire burning right now. the good thing at least is that it is building under construction and money going up in flames right now. but hopefully most likely there

was no one in that building as it was being constructed right now and adding fuel to the flame, no doubt the construction materials, the lumber used to construct some of the buildings now and doesn't look like winds appear to be a factor. checking in with rob in a moment if we can. it looks like the plume of smoke actually rising straight into the air but no doubt, you know, we have the really hot air quality, air temperatures sh i should say. this is not going to help with the air quality, as well. rob, what are you seeing for winds in the area. >> you made a good observation there, laura. the smoke column vertically upward and not down at street level. we have light winds. not much in the way of low clouds. this ra view looking back towards oaklanding the fire right now, winds relatively light so smoke as it continues to rise this morning, thickest generally in the first square mile around the vicinity of the

fire. you may have some ash and other things maybe dropping off to the south and southeast there, a slight northwest breeze. 3 to 5 miles per hour. wind doesn't seem to be a major factor in terms of embers down wind from the site of the major fire. >> that could help in the firefighters' fight, as well. this thing has been burning now for quite sometime. and it is large. >> as we take you to live images, watching for 15 or 20 minutes. no discernible change in just the kind of ferociousness of the flames and the smoke coming out of the building. again, it is a building under construction on valdez street just off of broadway. and we have seen situations recently where there have been buildings under construction in the area in emeryville, for example, a building under construction caught on fire twice in a year and investigations going on at this moment into whether or not that was intentionally set now under

building construction in oakland on fire this morning. we have been covering this since about 5:00 or so. as soon as we found out, this building right off of broadway street between 24th and 25th on valdez, huge flames this morning, dominating the oakland skyline. >> we don't know the cause of the fire yet, so far we know that multiple agencies have responded to this fire. they're trying to put out. you see how large it is. may take quite sometime for the moment. we have crews headed to the scene, as well. the map kind of gives you a better understanding of where it is. no doubt no doubt 580 to 88 see the thick, plume of smoke as it rises in to the air. all right. no threats of winds there. appearing calm earlier. rob was tracking that for us. >> relatively light in the area. you can see the smoke rising straight upwards from that fire. a lot of heat generated from that. you can see the smoke plume lifting straight on up and

interesting for scale. they have a ladder truck starting on the dousing of the flames there and the winds really not that intense. a lot of embers coming off and away from the building structure. taking a look at the maps here, see wind generally across the bay out of the northwest and relatively light at oakland airport and wind speeds closer to downtown and lake merritt northwest from 5 to 10 miles per hour so some of that smoke higher into the atmosphere drifting off towards the south and east for you this morning. temperatures by the way starting off mild. low 60s from oakland to san jose currently and then san francisco mid-50s through the rest of the morning seeing the temperatures eventually climbing into the 60s and 70s. through the morning, again, the marine air, compressed down and any cooling seeing confined to the coastline this morning. above that, marine layer, though, seeing hot temperatures setting up. dry conditions in the hills the start the morning. there's fire danger will be elevated today for the north

bay, east bay and south bay into the afternoon. humidity levels below 25% in the hillsides and you see the areas in red and orange showing you places today to likely climb above 90 degrees. hot day around the bay area. close to 100 around concord and liver more. a quick check of the seven-day forecast, shows some cooling temperatures in the weekend but hot day today, dry conditions and again, we are going to see elevated fire danger across the hillside today and the big story, that major fire burning in oakland. >> thanks, rob. right now, this is a live look at the sky ranger of that building that is on. that building as we mentioned under construction and because of the fire they closed off some streets in the oakland area. seeing an of blocked lanes and we don't know what time it will be open. right now there isn't any traffic in the area. it's still fairly early and not seeing any slowing or any backing up.

i think people should just avoid the area entirely. so as of right now, we are still seeing the streets directly around that building fire blocked off as they continue to work on this. i'll send it back to you. >> all right. that nbc bay area sky ranger shot from above giving you a new perspective of this fire with that thick plume of smoke billowing up into the air. >> also how big the building is that's burning right now. we don't know specifically what the building is intended for but it looks like it is several stories high and you see how close that fire is burning to so many other corporate buildings and even potentially residencies in the area and folks spotting this from their apartment. >> good news is that the wind doesn't appear to be a factor right now. could be with burning embers sent to the area. look to the right of the screen there. see the emergency crews and the lights in thes lining. completely avoid the area if you

can. some of the streets in the area could be closed down right now as nbc bay area sky ranger kind of pans around to this area. you see the length of the building itself and no doubt how this thing is really rapidly spreading. >> also seeing a crane sitting on top there just above the building, as well. no idea at this point the stability of that crane but that could be an issue, as well. it is engulfed in flames right now. again, this is a building on valdez street. not far from lake merritt. off of broadway. in oakland. there are a number of car dealerships right nearby here and just huge efforts at this point. there you see a stream of water being poured on to that fire as oakland firefighters trying to get a handle on this. this is our first look this morning from nbc bay area sky ranger as we are just getting a better picture as laura mentioned of the enormity of this fire we found out about in the last half hour and upgraded from a two to three-alarm fire. if you are seeing this in your

neighborhood, if you have any additional perspective, call in right now. call station. let us know what you're seeing as there's an all-out effort right now to try to get the fire under control. >> feel free to contact us via social media, as well. we can give you a call, as well. we'll continue to stay on the story. a major fire burning in oakland this morning. we'll be right back. [ crickets chirping ] [ light music playing ] you've wished upon it all year, and now it's finally here. the mercedes-benz summer event is back, with incredible offers on the mercedes-benz you've always longed for. but hurry, these shooting stars fly by fast. lease the c300 for $399 a month

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the x1 voice remote. xfinity. the future of awesome. 2 alarm fire. 2425 valdez and grand -- near

lake merrit. welcome back. 5:26. we continue to cover breaking news. live pictures of oakland this morning where there's a massive building on fire. from what we understand, a building under construction on the 2400 block of valdez near grand. >> initially a two-alarm fire. as you can see tell from the strength of the flames, immediately upgraded to a three-alarm fire. crews on scene right now attacking it aerially trying to get the fire under control. that's a building under construction in oakland. we'll have many more details on this. bob redell is on the ground. right after this break.

welcome back to "today in the bay." we are covering breaking news out of oakland this morning. where there is a massive building under construction burning right now. >> this has been going on for the last 45 minutes or so. we are looking at live images from nbc bay area sky ranger which was immediately launched as we follow raging flames. that is a building under construction in oakland on valdez street. >> we'll continue to follow this. we have nbc bay area sky ranger this morning taking these aerial pictures. really giving you a chance to see the fire fight at work right now where crews are really trying to tackle and surround the fire and it is so massive. the map to the right of your screen shows the area where it is. 2400 black of valdez and grand. it is very close to -- not far from lake merritt and you can

see the fire burning so strong, soly you can see it from a far distance away. >> there's real concern this morning about the buildings right next to it. that is live look from the emeryville camera showing you the extent of the fire, the smoke covering the oakland skyline from miles away. again, this is what is concerning at this point. will the flames spread? crews attacking it from 0 a number of directions and a crane that is right in the middle of the flames. >> that is building that was under construction. adds nbc bay area sky ranger has been on the scene, we have been able to see as they slowly zoom out here, how tall this building is, as well. no doubt it was a building that they had been working on for quite sometime. we don't know how it started. right now, the main concern is getting this out, making sure those flames do not spread to adjacent buildings, residents in the area, as well. firefighters have a lot on their hands this morning. >> the stability of the crane

has to be issue as we take a look at the fire. it is immediately upgraded this morning from a two to three-alarm fire and you would imagine the resources continue to grow as we have not seen a difference in the strength of these flames since we first showed it to you at about 5:00 this morning. rob mayeda is tells us and we have been seeing that there is a smoke that's essentially going straight up and trying right now to prevent the flames from spreading. seems to be the number one agenda of oakland firefighters. >> that is right. this camera view from a little further out far perspective of all the smoke billowing into the air. you kind of see a column just moving straight up which is actually a good thing, the wind not high in the area. checking in with rob mayeda with more on that. >> you saw very well in the wide view of the oakland and the smoke moving straight up from downtown and then kind of spreading out and fanning out above the city of oakland and

you can see the flames there surface level winds not too strong right now. we are seeing wind of about 5 to 10 miles per hour. but you notice there it looks like the crane there is actually in motion as the flames and the heat generaled by that create kind of a rotational twist to some of that hot air that is rising away from downtown oakland. those flame heights, you can imagine how high that crane is. at least 100 feet off the. there's the chopper view seeing the fire crews there surface level you are not seeing a lot of embers moving away but given how much heat is generated by the fire, a lot of that is racing upward into the sky. quick check of the conditions that we are seeing right now, temperatures in the upper 50s around that fire. and our wind map shows you the winds relatively light and that's why you saw the smoke is going up and away from downtown. there again, a wide angle view of the fire having a major impact of lake merritt, the roadways, too.

vianey joining us for that look at that. >> they do need to secure that surrounding area to make sure that the firemen have a safe location to fight the fire and secure the location around it to make sure that is being safe. as you can imagine, they're closing off roads in both directions from 23rd to 24th and to give you a perspective, let's zoom in on this right now. 2400 block of valdez and grant. the road is blocked from 23rd to 24th street from waverly to valdez. an i'm sure they will probably be working the secure more low kigss around this area, just to make sure it is safe and they can safely fight this from a distance. so as of right now, not impacting the major delays and definitely see to probably avoid the area if possible. >> that is very good advice. will be able to see it from the freeway there. you can see this thing from far away as nbc bay area sky ranger gives you the aerial pictures of up above. this fire has been burning for a good almost 30 minutes at least now. that's when we first brought it

to you here on the air. >> you see the fire departments resources on the ground there. firefighters using hoses at this point. trying to just gain some leverage right now on these flames. and in terms of the strategy, we have seen them kind of directing the water not just directly on top of the building trying to extinguish the flames but around the perimeter of the building under construction trying to make sure that it does not spread to the aegis ent buildings. there are a lot of buildings in this part of oakland, car dealerships sit right next to this building and it is when we pull back again you will see several stories high, flames absolutely pouring out of the top of this building right now. >> as to how started, we don't know that as of yet but firefighters quickly arrived on the scene to try to tackle this one but you see the angle, as well. how large, tall the building is as we mentioned, sam. we don't know what -- look at this. you can see what firefighters nearby, looks like trying to pull hoses, as well.

they have a lot on their hands this morning to tackle this thing and you see some of the embers that are falling there from the top of the building, as well. to try to keep those from spreading, as well. to buildings, residents in that area, as well. they have the streets in the area completely blocked off as you see the fire truck there is to the right and center of your screen. >> we mentioned the businesses. there are residential buildings it sooms, as well. nearby. we saw on twitter several videos pictures describing the fact of looking at the flames from out of their window. we do not have any reports of injuries but certainly we hope it stays that way as firefighters trying to get it under control. it looks like there may be a little bit of containment from 30 or 40 minutes ago and the flames are pouring out of the top of this building. you see thick, dark, black smoke coming out of what looks like a multi story building in downtown oakland. >> just a glow from the camera

taken from far away, though. not only can you see the thick plume of smoke in the air but the glow of this enormous fire that's burning right now. it is a building under construction. as to what type of building, we know. residential or if it was business complex or whatnot. but it was large. good news, we hope that one was inside. i mean, construction crews do start early in the morning and don't know of injuries so far or how the fire started. >> you got that crane just there in the middle of the fire. an active construction scene and it is spinning around. rob was talking about this, with the rotation of the wind. they need to make sure that the crane is stable. look at this. you're seeing portions of the building come down and kind of crumble as the flames eat into the wood. this is really close. what? a black away from what looks like homes and now seeing flames on the street level, as well. firefighters trying to pour water on top of that to make

sure it does not spread but there's real concern right now that this fire which is already enormous at this building under construction to move along to other buildings. let's bring in rob mayeda right now as he was talking about the wind elements at play here and for the most part essentially a vertical column, rob. >> yeah. across the bay area, you would see this as a big column, plume of smoke. literally lifted from ground level all the way up above downtown oakland as the surface winds aren't all that strong but higher up, we have warmer air aloft and acted like a lid on the smoke and cooling. it is fanning out over the tops of downtown oakland there. as you take a look at this view from the camera there over oakland, at the scale of that fire. you can see the buildings around downtown, lake merritt. clearly seen there taking you in to the temperatures, you will notice it's 59 degrees currently and the wide angle view really does show you how the smoke is literally going straight up into

the sky and fanning out over downtown. in terms of air quality issues around the site, around that particular block, obviously, smoke and embers but not noticing the smoke column close to the ground or moving off to the east of where the fire is burning currently and as you can see there from this vantage point, as the smoke continues to rise, you continue to see a lot of smoke really hung up over downtown oakland and most part, ground level, moving up and away. >> it is concentrated, that smoke right now as firefighters trying to make sure that this does not spread to more than just this building. we have been watching this, laura, for minutes or so. >> most definitely. we could see just -- i mean, it went up rather quickly it appears imagine with a construction site like that. all the materials to quickly burn. you see how hot, how fast it is burning. it is video of earlier. this is from a viewer actually in that area.

this is early as to when it broke out. you see the difference from those pictures were taken probably 30 minutes or so to the live pictures bringing you a moment ago. of how much this fire has excuse meed so far. burning hot. burning fast and quite the fire fight for firefighters out there this morning. lots of multiple agencies have responded from this all angles. >> multiple agencies. initially a two-alarm fire and upgraded to a three-alarm fire and going to take more resources than that to get this under control. as we are absolutely concerned right now about the people living nearby an you mentioned that twitter video a second ago. and as the camera has kind of panned around to the building and the perimeter there, we see how those flames are to those buildings. >> that's right. we don't know if evacuations are in order right now but no doubt the people living in the area hopefully very well aware. it is early in the morning. people are sleeping right now. if you're near this area, as

well, of course, you need to be concerned for the safety of yourself and others, as well. firefighters trying to get a handle on this one. it is going to be a tough fight for much of the day. good news is the wind at least appears to be cooperating. not sending a lot of embers. we have seen that in other cases of fires that they have had to fight. take a look at that. that's a home that is very close by an you see how the fire spread somewhat. a little bit there. burning the back. >> oh yeah. >> yeah? >> the roof is catching on fire right now as we speak. you are seeing those flames spread to the roof of that home. again, laura, we don't know about evacuations at this point. we have reached out to oakland fire. bob redell trying to get to the scene expecting live report from him as soon as he is set up and the concern absolutely this point is not for necessarily just the building under construction and whether the flames start to tear into the adjacent buildings and seeing this live. the flames spreading to what looks like a nearby home.

>> that's right, exactly. concerning right now, there are businesses in the area. ywca not far away. whole foods market in the area. as day is breaking, the sun coming up,s maybe a better view, better vantage point, although the glow of the fire itself can be from miles away. on 880 and 580 in the area you can see it. many of the roads in that area completely blocked off to traffic at this point. but this can be seen for many miles away. a fire that broke out a little after 5:00 we believe this morning. it is on the 2400 block of valdez and grand and close to lake merritt, not far from the fairytale park close to that area, as well. air quality will not be good in that area. >> definitely not. air qult will be an issue. you see the crane there in the building of the building spinning around and around as the wind is twirling it in the

middle of the flames. just beyond that, there's an aerial shot there of water being poured out from a hose on to the top of the building. really trying get to the heart of the flames. we have seen them spring up all over the building, on the street and spreading. now look at this part of the building. absolutely lit up in flames. it looks like still part of the building under construction there and seen it spread to nearby homes, what seems to be a nearby home, as well. pulling out and nbc bay area sky ranger pulls out, we will have a sense of far it's spread. still the building under construction on fire there. but we are closely warming, laura, what happens nearby. >> look to the left of the screen there. you see the firefighters up on the tall willeders just kind of tackling it from a couple of angles. one perspective of trying to go about it. big threat there will be if the wind carries embers the homes or

businesses, as well. the serb concern is trying to contain it. very large, very tall building. it looks like it almost takes a big city block there if not two or so. that is tough fight and now a lot of different pictures of viewers. we appreciate this, as well. sending them in. column of thick, black smoke as the fire was really starting to get under way right here. >> yes. please, tell us what you are seeing right now and if this is close to where you're living or planning on going to work trying to collect as much information as possible from al all sources and all requests to oakland fire to find out where the efforts stand, trying to contain the flames. just an enormous fire burning at a building under construction. at least seven or eight stories high if not taller than that. all of that wood, obviously, going right up in flames. we do not know how the fire started but we do know that it

is considered to be a three-alarm fire and as the light of day comes out, we get a better picture right now of what firefighters are doing. you see four, five different streams of water to get it aerially and seems like we haven't seen it spread as much. we have been watching this now 45 minutes. >> exactly. i would imagine that containment would be the big right now of what they can do to try to just keep this fire to where it is burning at this moment. but it's been a big glow that you could see in the skies about -- look at that as the embers flying into the streets. right think to the bottom right of your screen there is that there are not any businesses or homes directly under there because that's the big threat. that, you know, the embers to spread and then firefighters really up against something tough. we have nbc bay area sky ranger overheading you pictures. we have "today in the bay" crews on the ground gathering information for us right now. our crews behind the scenes here, as well, making multiple phones to businesses, the try to

get any word of what could be going on on the streets blocked in the area but certainly avoid the area of valdez. in that area, no doubt the smell of smoke, you will see the flames. you need to stay away. we understand that evacuations are now under way, as well, for people in that area. >> that's all that we have at this point. evacuations not clear exactly the extent of how many people are being cleared out but as you mentioned that is fire that's consuming more or less a city block in oak. evacuation orders issued. we found that out in the last minute. and there are businesses right there to orient you, there's a string of car dealerships next to this building. there is an audi in oakland that's right there. there's a mitsubishi and acura, as well. that is a home kind of on the corner of the street there adjacent to the building under construction an you see the flames did spread. it was on the roof of that house one point and firefighters are attacking those flames trying to make sure they keep the fire

contained to just the building, the building under construction. this is on valdez street right off of broadway. busy part of oakland, very commercial part of oakland with all of the businesses nearby. we are just learning that evacuation orders have been issued in oakland. >> yeah. obviously you can see the crane there that was probably helping to build the building, as well. or to instruct the building, ishld say. but just kind of the frame building is really all that you can make out at this point. we have been talking about the winds in this ear area, as well. seem to be cooperating. i don't think there's a big threat. let's bring in meteorologist rob mayeda this morning with a good perspective of the humidity levels there and the winds that could be a factor in this fire. >> yeah. seeing the view of the crane part of it fire is the fire of this size creating its own wind right around the site there. almost a cyclonic upwards twist of the hot air rising away from the fire there. clearly getting the upper

structure of that crane involved. now, the wide angle view of this will show you how the fire is pushing smoke away from downtown oakland and a perspective of the winds looking like in that area as we take a quick look at that on the weather computer, you can see how the air flow is lifting up and away and then as that smoke heads up higher in the atmosphere, it is turning off to the east and southeast. so ash and embers from the fire likely falling off to the east and southeast and most part there ground level the flames continue to push some of the hottest air just up and away from that fire as you see right now currently temperatures in the low 60s and not a lot of wind and at least at the surface but this will continue to be an issue for air quality, at least locally around this region, again, winds not too strong right now. 5 to 10 miles per hour out of the northwest and the ash and embers are an issue and the fire of this size a big threat to igniting smaller structures

nearby. back to you. >> thank you for the latest there. >> i will say that as we take this wider look there, it does seem like the flames stopped growing as aggressively as they were as perhaps the onslaught of water resources starting to mick a dent in the fire but there are reports right now of people potentially having to leave -- certainly leaving their homes and people losing their homes. we watched the flames spread to a house or what perhaps is an apartment, a series of apartments, residences, right next to the construction building and that fire under construction on fire. there are a number of businesses nearby and oakland fire upgraded it from a two to three-alarm fire trying to get a handle on flames raging since 5:00 this morning. >> that's right. we know that by the oakland police department announced evacuations in order and not saying the area but you can assume it's close to the fire

and where they feel people could be threatened. so make sure you heed those warnings, as well. as we continue to take the live pictures of nbc bay area sky ranger overhead. as you mentioned, it looks they're getting a little bit of a handle on the fire in containment so far and burning hot and so quickly. you see the fire being attacked from all really angles up above as well as they can to try to contain the massive fire. >> looking forward to hearing more from bob redell close to the scene now and trying to get him live as soon as we can to get you more information and more perspective from what's happening on the ground but i find myself looking at the crane in the middle of the screen there. rob mentioned that the crane was on fire at one point and you have to wonder about the stability of it right in the middle of the building and that is a long, high powered crane. there are a number of buildings right around there. so we are just trying to effort more information we have multiple nbc bay area crews on the scene this morning.

let's check in with pete suratos. you foe that area well. >> reporter: good morning to you. we are enrooutd to that scene, as well. i'm watching the video just like you guys are. and in that area, it's what's considered the auto row in oaklandment some of the areas turning into at least empty warehouses and reverting to different businesses and restaurants an seeing the big flames in the area is a concern for businesses as well as people that may live in that area. and of course, you know, we have had issues now of not connected but the issues of some of those empty churs in oakland catching on fire. it's a concern for folks in oakland but seeing those flames, it is a pretty scary sight. hopefully they're starting to get the fire contained heading out to that area. >> pete, let me ask you this. you mentioned that it's in auto row, an area that the city of oakland targeted for more building, residential building. do we know what it is, what kind

offing it is that's on fire right now? >> you know what? we are just getting on the story so i don't have that information on what type of building it is but it does look similar to the structures that we have seen pretty much around oakland, whether it's a new apartment building or office space for folks in this area. but definitely, looks like it's under construction. yeah. we have to gather more plans were for this building. >> under construction. it's under destruction right now. just portions of the inworkings of this building just crumbling to the ground completely burnt to a crisp there as firefighters are just trying to kind of handle the perimeters of the fire to completely keep it from spreading. >> it is really terrifying to watch this. seeing like you said portions of the skeleton, the frame really, of this building just crumble before our very eyes and collapse into the center of that fire. no doubt adding more fuel to the flames. we will say that they seem to have contained the flames to

that portion of the building. hard to tell from this vantage point. getting a wider perspective we'll see but, again, the main concern here, stopping the spread of the flames to make sure it doesn't reach adjacent buildings. there are businesses an homes in the area. now, you can probably count how many streams of water are being poured directly into the center of that building, such a large building almost different quadrants that firefighters to to try to attack. we are hearing there are no reports of nany injury there is >> we believe it broke out little bit before 5:00, around 5:00 this morning. very early morning hours. construction crews start early in the morning. we don't know if anybody was at the scene. how it started but that's good news no injuries to report so far. let's hope that remains the case with multiple firefighters and agencies on this fire right now doing what they can to try to

contain this massive fire that's been burning for nearly an hour now. at valdez and grand. very close to lake merritt. you can see the flames, big plume of smoke in that upper left screen that you see right there. where the smoke has just been going up in a column and now spreading out the area. no doubt not adding to a good air quality in that area and firefighters at least are maintaining the structure of that fire. i mean, internally there. it is not spreading. >> totally. we fim rer of the fire. you are right. they have essentially kind of kept it in one spot and what is nice about a couple of different camera angles here is you can tell from the camera looking a big difference between where the fire stands right now and where it was maybe 15 or 20 minutes ago. because there was just a column of orange underneath all of that black smoke piling up into the air that is really kind of shrunk since we have been watching this. so at least it does seem from far away like they're making

progress on this thing. you can see how strong the flames are. this is a very aggressive fire. >> that's right. ing to make more progress and more information. we just know that it was a building that is under construction. whether it was a residential type or a business below, we don't know at this point. we do know that firefighters have been out there. they're trying to tackle this, not only keep this building contained but you see how the fire or the water i should say is trying to protect the adjacent buildings, as well. should the fire pick up or spread at all, it doesn't spread even further to adjacent businesses and residents in that area. >> they're using the leverage of roof tops from buildings nearby, laura. getting on top of them and using that as a liftoff point. that is the home right now that did catch on fire. you see smoke still coming out of the top of the roof. those flames started to spread about 15 minutes ago and that locked very concerning but it

seems like they have gotten that under control. >> all right. and these are live pictures now getting via periscope from a viewer right now from that fire. another perspective from the ground this morning as you see the fire crews there. and the different angles of them trying to tackle this fire. now that the sun is up, a better perspective and people waking up right now. we understand that evacuations are in order for that area. stay away from those roads. no doubt they're closed off with all the crews there on the streets. you can see the flames, see the smoke, as well, from adjacent freeways and roadways. big plumes covering the east bay right now. >> news into the newsroom right now an apartment building that went up in flames. so again, an area of oakland, auto row, a lot of development right now. a lot of business nearby. obviously, car dealerships, laura, you mentioned the whole foods a. whole number of businesses and people living in and around this structure that's

now essentially gone. we have been watching these flames erupt since about 5:00 this morning so we're about an hour in at this point if you're just waking up with us at 5:57 this morning. upgraded to a three-alarm fire from oak fire and you are looking at multiple streams of water being poured on to flames, different parts of the building because that fire, that building expands a full city black but at least we can say pretty definitively that the flames are not as high now as they were within 15, 20 minutes ago. >> right. the flames that you can see to the left behind that parking structure right there, leaping into the area, that was a situation just joining us, that entire building was like that. trying to containment, control of that hoping it doesn't spread as we have been telling you this morning. checking in with meteorologist rob mayeda. winds appear to be calm in this area helping firefighters not to burn additional embers and whatnot. a building under construction,

there is a lot of material, obviously, that can burn in this. can be a very tough fight. >> very flammable and then there's the crane sticking out in the middle of the building, as well. it was twirling around like a baton not too long ago. perhaps the wind calmed down and not seen it move as much. there are the firefighters trying to pour water to the flames there. in a section of the building that is still on fire and, laura, we were watching portions of that frame collapse before our very eyes and just tumble into the middle of the flames. we have not seen portions of the building break off here in the last five minutes or so but firefighters aggressively trying to keep the flames contained. as you just get a sense right now from the hospital and nbc bay area, sky ranger, how close some of the homes are in the area and evacuation orders mandatory. that have been in effect now for at least 30 minutes as crews try to make sure that no one is in harm's way as there are undoubtedly people nearby watch

the fire break out and develop from their home, from their apartment. >> close to this site, close your doors and windows, as well. smoke inhalation is not good. we have seen so much smoke billow into the area firefighters continue. this, nbc bay area sky ranger shot is giving you an overall round perspective of how many angles they have got. how many crews they have on the scene trying to tackle this. kind of keep it contained. you mentioned, sam, that the building is crumbling inward and that's the goal, as well. you don't want flying embers, parts and pieces burning, as well. stay with nbc bay area for the latest. it is breaking news that we have been covering since we came on the air. this morning, it started a little bit before 5:00, we have crews on the scene gathering information. we have had nbc bay area sky ranger overhead. >> where all of this is going down. this is valdez treat street between 24th and 25th streets in

oakland. right off of broadway in the auto row area of oakland. you are looking at live images as firefighters try to contain the flames and you can see just kind of the blackened middle of the building. bob redell on scene we understand right now. what are you seeing and hearing from oaklands. >> reporter: good morning. i'm actually still enroute in my car. but i can tell you that this fire was visible 15 miles away. as i was heading north on 880, first noticed a large plume of smoke roughly around the castro valley with a look of being a wildfire. now in the downtown area. you can can see the plume rapidly rising among the high-rise buildings approaching looks like bart headquarters here and maybe the kaiser permanente building. my point is that this fire is so