for joining us. we are following breaking news -- mandatory evacuations in the santa cruz mountains. a wildfire burning near homes good morning, it is 4:30. mandatory evacuations now in the santa cruz mountains where a wildfire is burning near homes near boulder creek. i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we broke into programming to tell you about this at 3:00 a.m. this is part of the santa cruz mountains. mandatory evacuations are in effect in bear creek canyon. this is a look at the brush fire

burning southwest of saratoga and los gatos and north of ben lowman. we want to look at where that fire started. the flames sprung up overnight at deer creek road and bear creek road. we have people calling into the news room. evacuees are gathering at boulder creek elementary school. >> we did talk with the school district leader. they are ready for as many people as need to arrive there. at this point, they have 10-15 people there. those mandatory evacuation orders are affecting more than 100 people. all of them had to leave their homes in the middle of the night. firefighters are telling people whose homes are not under the mandatory evacuation orders to leave if they feel they are in danger. if you see smoke or flames, don't be told to get out. the elementary school is the

designated shelter. >> a friend came, too. he said the sheriff is here. i didn't do anything wrong, honest. people here that, you know, welcomed me. very nice men. set up chairs, put me over here because it was the warmest part of the room. an old lady gets special treatment. i brought a complete change of clothes. a vest and a jacket on. so, yeah, i'm set. >> all right. clearly some nervous laughter this morning, but, though she was awoken at midnight, she had the wherewithall to grab things. that's what you are supposed to do. fortunately for her, she did get knocks on her door from friends. we know law enforcement was

using a reverse 911 call to get folks out. >> right now, we want to check in with -- okay, kari hall, we have a look at the weather. we are dealing with the conditions in the south bay and the north bay. the weather conditions are going to play a roll. >> we look at the humidity and the wind speeds to get an idea of the behavior this fire could have. we start with relative humidity at 41%, but just keep in mind, we have very dry fuels there and we haven't had any rain, a decent amount of rain since june. as we look at the mountains, very dry this morning. the humidity goes down until later this evening. then, we have an on shore flow that is going to transport more of that humidity, possibly fog. that will help settle some of that smoke into the valleys. that's going to create worse air quality for the south bay as well as the unhealthy air quality we have going on for the

north bay. here is a look at the current wind speeds. all calm around the bay area, which will hopefully help with the containment of those wildfires as we go through the morning. that won't begin until sunrise. as people drive out of the mountains, how is it looking over highway 17. >> only judging by the sensors. we are talking about the crash. a full closure of 880. i was concerned about that. it cleared minutes ago. an earlier crash for the southbound side. now, the same freeway, different number, we are talking 17. kari mentioned south toward the summit, we see slowing on the sensors from overnight construction work that should be picking up now anyway. this area is the area for the evacuation zone. the fire around bear creek. there's boulder creek and los gatos. highway 35, there's the closure from earlier washout from the

rainy season. officials are able to get to highway 9. highway 17 is completely open. the roads are clearing. we'll talk about the north bay fire zones coming up. for now, back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. a new update, the fire in santa cruz mountain has burned 125 acres. it forced evacuations for people living in the bear creek area near deer creek. this is new fire video. it is very active right now and growing in the mountains. officials used reverse 911 calls to inform those residents. now, those cal fire officials, the sheriff's department officials say, even if you are not under a mandatory evacuation order, if you feel you are in danger or need more time to get out, you should leave now. several agencies fighting that fire. crews from santa clara county sheriffs helping the santa cruz county sheriffs who are out there right now.

terry joins us on the phone. you evacuated your home and got to see those flames from your home. you are now in los gatos. tell us what it was like as you saw those flames and thought to evacuation. >> caller: i got in the car and the flames were about from where i was, they looked like they were 40 feet high. i said okay, i'm out of here. >> right. >> no need to wait around. did you get one of those reverse 911 calls the sheriff's department sent out? >> caller: yes. >> what was it like? what did they say? was there urgency to it? >> caller: basically said it was under immediate evacuation. didn't say mandatory at that time, but immediate and just made a decision this is the time to do it. >> we know you saw those flames, but knowing what happened in the north bay, did that add some

urgency to how fast you got out? >> absolutely. >> where did you go? >> caller: i'm at lakeside school. >> okay. >> caller: most of the people in my area had to go to black road because that's the only way out. it goes to santa clara county. >> you are at an evacuation center now? >> caller: right. there's no evacuation center, everybody is gathered here. >> everybody is outside in a parking lot where you are? >> caller: right. >> have you received updates or hearing anything about what's going on where your home is located? >> caller: um, not at all. my l.a.n. line is forwarded to my cell, so i just got another call from the reverse 911 that said that it was mandatory now to evacuate.

>> all right. terry actually lived in part of that evacuated area. thank you so much for giving us an update. stay safe out there. >> caller: thank you. >> bob redell just arrived on scene. we are going hear from him next and see what it's like to be on that fire line. who are these people?

the energy conscious people among us say small actions can add up to something... humongous. a little thing here. a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you. don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california and do your thing. mountains. let )s go straight to toy back to our breaking news at

4:40. a fire burning in the santa cruz mountains. we want to get straight to "today in the bay's" bob redell who just arrived on scene. bob, what are you seeing out there? >> reporter: good morning to you laura. chp set up a roadblock. what the officers try to do is limit the amount of traffic going in and out of the area so the firefighters have enough space to get ntheir equipment i and out. this is called the bears fire. it started last night around 11:30. they believe it started as a structure fire and grew to a wildfire. it was ten acres, it's grown to 125 acres. earlier, coming up here in the santa cruz mountains, we saw a number of cal fire trucks streaming into the area. santa clara is responding, and monterey county. they had 30 different crews.

as you have been mentioning, the santa cruz sheriff's office sent out a revuerse 911 call urging them to evacuate. the roads they are asking them to evacuate from, deer creek road, rons road, don's road, los valley road and oak ridge. if you feel you are in danger, but not necessarily on one of those roads, leave the area, if it's safe to do so. the evacuation center that's been set up is boulder creek elementary school. >> we don't have a lot to offer, baa warm building. we'll try to get coffee and water and do whatever we can to make them comfortable. >> reporter: to reiterate, the bear fire has grown to 125 acres. it is at a moderate rate of growth. we are at fair creek road and highway 35 where chp has a roadblock. we spoke with people who were able to see the fire in the

distance. it appears the fire subsided or moved down the canyon where you can't see it from this point anymore. live in the santa cruz mountains, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you so much for that. coming up on "today in the bay" -- >> watching those wind speeds. also fairly dry air around the bay area. as we start out this morning, we are going to have a day with temperatures reaching into the 80s. so, we'll talk about that and where and when we'll get that cooldown, coming up next. a live look at fremont. 880 moves smoothly to the 17 area. 17 is the issue we are tracking over the summit and past the fire zone. ♪ ooh ooh ooh. ♪ making it ♪ thick, carved turkey breast. the autumn carved turkey is back for a limited time at subway. so much turkey.

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♪ making it ♪ thick, carved turkey breast. the autumn carved turkey is back for a limited time at subway. so much turkey. right now - mandatory evacuations are underway in bear creek canyon. this is a look at the location of the brushe back to our breaking news, mandatory evacuations are happening. this is the brush fire in boulder creek southwest of saratoga and los gatos. this is new video of cal fire crews watching that fire as it continues to burn, 125 acres forcing 150 people to evacuate. >> bob redell is there on scene. he is gathering more details. he said he saw a stream of firefighters and equipment arriving. you know it is important to keep the roads clear. weather is such a consideration. >> when they first arrive, they need to monitor things and

before they get some sunlight, they can't do too much except take observations and figure out the best way to tackle the fire. as we get a live look outside in san jose, all quiet and clear with calm winds. that is good news there. starting out with slightly higher humidity and milder temperatures, right now in the upper 50s from santa cruz to san jose. we are watching what is happening in the north bay with a chilly start in the 40s. wind speeds around that bear creek canyon area are calm as of now. that may make the way that the fire spreads a little bit more unpredictable. at least we don't have a strong wind gusting and fanning those flames this morning. great news there, even as we go into the 1:00 hour. the wind speeds coming from the north and it will be at 9 miles an hour there. so, still not really strong, but we will have a slight increase in those wind speeds as we go

through the day and the winds turn more on shore as we go into tonight and early tomorrow, which will help transport more humidity and then, also, give us a little bit of a break there, as far as the dry conditions we have had. but it's very dry across the santa cruz mountains. we have dry fuels there and today our temperatures will be reaching into the low 80s in the south bay. then, as we move toward the east bay, danville, expect a high of 84. hayward, 78 degrees. lower 70s for san mateo and san francisco reaching up to 72. in the north bay, the high temperatures in the lower 80s this afternoon. not only will we have to battle the wildfires, but still unhealthy air quality in the north bay as well as the santa clara valley. it will be moderate. we may see that increasing to dangerous to unhealthy air-conditions, air quality as we go through the day. watching for the chance of rain for thursday.

i'll talk more about that coming up. mike is checking the routes around the fire. >> the fire this morning is the breaking news, south of most of our commute spots. the santa cruz mountains, north of boulder creek, we are talking bear creek canyon as well. that's where the closures are. now, we talked about the wind. things are calm. if the wind blew to the west, highway 9, to the east, highway 17. right now, those highways are open as normal. we are looking at a lot of closures. let me pull up this list. we have this list. we are going to post it online, folks. this is a full list of closures. they continue to change as the fire moves around. looking at bear creek road, deer creek road, favre road as well. keep that in mind. we are going to get this information back out to you, again. back to the maps, the area between highway 17 and highway

9. this is the area we are watching with the fire activity. it is moving smooth and clear right now, unaffected by the fire. back to you. 4:50. now to the north bay wildfires. let's get you caught up. cal fire says the tubbs fire is 75% contained. the atlas fire is 70% contained and the nuns fire is now 53% contained. together, the three fires have burned almost 140,000 acres since last sunday night. >> a number of wildfire deaths across northern california stands at 41. that includes the driver of a water truck who died in a crash yesterday in oakville. sonoma county authorities say there are still 88 people missing and not yet accounted for. this morning, fire crews may set a backfire to contain the wildfire threat in the kenwood area. they say this would happen only if conditions are perfect.

we are sending sharon katsuda to sugar loaf state park to check this out. she'll join us at 5:00. happening today, a north bay hospital shut down in last week's fire storm is due to reopen. they had to evacuate 77 patients in the early hours of the fire because it was in the fire's direct path t. reopening is scheduled for 7:00 this morning. coming up on "today in the bay," fire coverage continues. >> we take you back to the breaking news in the santa cruz mountains. 125 acres burned and 150 people are under mandatory evacuation orders. we are on early to bring

back to our breaking news.

the fire burning now in the santa cruz mountains. we are on this morning bringing you updates. right now, the fire has burned 125 acres. this is some of the heavy equipment arriving in the area. you see the bulldozer there. we know the aerial attack cannot start until first light. the fire is causing evacuations for people living in the bear creek area near deer creek. even if you are not under mandatory evacuation orders, if you feel you are in danger, leave the area. crews from santa clara county are online with cal fire, the santa clara sheriff out there as well. >> we heard from the lieutenant less than an hour ago. here is what he said. >> assisting in the bear creek area. >> reporter: so, how many evacuations do we have right now? >> at this point, approximately

150 evacuations. >> reporter: okay. what areas? >> deer creek road, bear creek canyon and other areas. >> reporter: okay. you guys have aid from other agencies helping with hard closures and road closures? >> we do. highway patrol and santa clara. >> reporter: okay. i'm sure highway 9 is shut down midway from 17 to boulder creek, is that about right? >> correct. >> reporter: then, coming north, up into the area is shut down. do you know where that is? >> bear creek road is shut down as well. >> reporter: okay. do you have any advice for anybody in the outlying areas or the general area? >> respect us. we are working hard to deal with the fire and secure the area and

provide assistance with evacuations and security. >> reporter: okay. and, do you expect -- i mean, i'm assuming we are going to have extended closures beyond where we are at. do you have any idea what areas need to be aware of that? >> yeah, at this point, i don't know. of course, we are in the northern tip of the santa cruz mountains. depends ton progress we make with the fire. >> more to come on "today in the bay" as we continue to follow this bear fire. this is in the santa cruz mountains. the boulder creek area as 125 acres continue to burn. 150 people have been forced to evacuate this area. we have heard from crews talking about the manpower that is going into this to try to battle this fire. we know that boulder creek elementary school is the official evacuation center. they are telling people, even if you are not under a mandatory evacuation and feel the need to get out, do so. >> we did tweet the list of road

closures that mike inouye has been talking about. we will track those for you. also, we are tracking the weather forecast. that will be a critical part of the fire fight. ground crews there, the aerial assault can't start until sunlight. >> as we start this morning, the winds are calm. that will help them as they try to get containment there. also, we are going to have calm winds in the north bay. looking at the wind speeds, the relative humidity and the upcoming chance of rain is coming up on the other side of the break. as we look here, the fire zone. no major issues aside from highway 17 and highway 9. we'll talk about the effect on your morning commute. for joining us.

we are following breaking news -- mandatory evacuations in good morning. thanks for joining us. we are following breaking news. mandatory evacuation orders for folks in the santa cruz mountains as a wildfire burns. i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we first broke into programming to tell you about this at 3:00 this morning to inform people that fire was tearing through parts of santa cruz mountains. right now, mandatory evacuations are under way in bear creek canyon. this is the location of the brush fire in boulder creek. it is burning southwest of saratoga and los gatos. we want to take a closer look at

where that fire started. the flames sprung up at deer creek road and bear creek road. people called into the newsroom overnight. evacuations are under way as people gather at boulder creek elementary school. we have one crew at the shelter at this time. >> we have bob redell there, at the scene, with cal fire and with the sheriff's deputies. he said it appeared it started with a structure fire of some sort and quickly spread to the dry brush. now, here is where we are hours later. we want to go to "today in the bay's" bob redell. bob, spilled the beans for you, but we know that there's a potential cause here. >> reporter: cal fire telling us, kris and marcus, yes, it started as a structure fire around 11:30, maybe a little before that last night. at first, it was around ten acres. now, it's grown to 125 acres. you have 150 people