"today in the bay" starts right now. good morning to you. thanks for starting your day with us here on "today in the bay." i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. the big story is that smoke. it is said we have worse air quality than china right now. we've heard the reports of how bad it is there. we'll get to more on that in a moment. first i want to check on the morning commute. >> we have fewer cars than china. >> which will help. >> green all over the roadways and on the traffic front, the two closures that we have have cleared up. construction zone at 23rd for north 880 cleared through oakland. all of the green sensors all over the way. easy drive out of the tri valley, although we see a build. the maze eastbound 580 a crash there near 24 on the interchange. we may have a few minutes until they can clear that. i'll track that closely but that does not affect folks getting to the bay bridge, as we zoom out the second closure to the top of the screen denverton cleared from highway 12, better news as well.

clear green roadways but a little glow. this is a shot from san rafael. we have smoke all over the bay, that's the big story. the smoke has been the main issue, really bad out there and as we look at our air quality numbers, and the measurements of the particulate matter in the air, it's reaching unhealthy levels. we've seen that for the past few days, over 200, so what does that mean? spare the air day is issued when the levels are over 100. it's unhealthy when it's 151 to 200, but we are in that range of very unhealthy air, and that means that everyone is affected by this, and you may have symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath and long-term exposure could affect your heart. it's serious to be outside, and we're also telling people to limit your time outside and try to stay indoors as much as possible. it's really hard, as we have things to do around the bay area. we'll continue to monitor this,

and talk about the weekend air quality coming up in a few minutes. >> people have kids to send to school, people want to get outside. it is our big story of the morning. team coverage in fact. you already know it's what you've been dealing with really all week. smoke just choking the bay area, and now it is reaching dangerous levels. listen to this, the air quality reporting network is saying the san francisco bay area is experiencing the worst air quality in the world. >> now to live pictures of san francisco, where the city does not want you to drive if you don't have to be outside. it's providing free public transportation. today muni riders get that ride for free, and in the south bay, you won't have to pay either if you don't, if you want to ride, i should say, the dta. >> let's talk about the classroom. parents want to know, do you send your kids to school? most bay area schools are shut down. in fact, there are so many closures that we're going to run them on the bottom of your screen. you see some of them now. we're going to put them up all

morning. most colleges and universities are closed, including san francisco state, san jose state, santa clara, uc berkeley and stanford. we're going to take you back outside safely from the comfort of your home. our coverage continues this morning. "today in the bay's" pete suratos is live in:can cloud cover county, one of the areas experiencing the worst air quality with a lot of schools closed there, pete. >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus and laura. that's quite a list that we just showed our viewers of the closures of the schools, due to the air quality from that smoke coming from the camp fire, and we're standing in front of one of those schools, pittsburg high, which is closed as a result, and really all we've seen this as a nation, we were in san francisco yesterday, living in the oakland area, you can smell the smoke, because of that smoke coming from the camp fire. i do want to point out, we showed you a long list of school districts deciding to close school because of the air quality, santa clara unified did not cancel classes. in fact, they said a statement "students are safer and better

served indoors within our schools." clearly other school districts are taking a different tone, including right here at the contra costa county unified school district. we had a chance to speak with a spokesperson explaining why they decided to cancel the classes. >> a lot of our students still had to be exposed to outside air, even to go to restrooms. we're not the midwest. we're not back east. we're in california, where our schools are wide open. >> reporter: it's not just the schools we're talking about, of course, universities and junior colleges are also canceling classes, including cal. we have to see if that affects the big game between cal and stanford this weekend, if the air quality will be an issue. we'll have more on that in the next half hour, but there are so many school closures, and we have a complete list for you on our website at nbcbayarea.com. we're live here in pitts bburg, pete suratosor "today in the bay." >> i'll try to send out a link as well to schools. i want everybody to take a look at this. this is the website, it is

called purple air, and it's really fascinating. we're going to do it live here with you. in the upper left corner, you could put in your zip code, wherever you are. let's say willow glen, 95125. what it will do will pull up that area immediately and tell you what the air quality is in that area. you can expand it to the bay area. you can see where some of the best and worst air quality is, and it updates and changes throughout the day. it is a really fascinating look at the air quality in the bay area. we're saying how bad it is. this gives you some of the levels. some of the darkest colors are the worst air quality. we were finding some of the 400 range in the pittsburg and vallejo area. check it out, it's called purple air, and it's fascinating, because you can see the air quality where you are, maybe where your kids or are where you work. >> it's something we need to be mindful of. lot of people are doing things and need to have the masks. >> you need to have a mask and

we're saying is it necessary to be outside at this point. >> yes. >> some of the kids do still have school, and there are people who have to go outside, go to work and everything else. make sure you're wearing a mask. this is what it looks like. we are breathing in a lot of the particulate matter, and things that have burnedparadise. the smoke advisory continues through tuesday. by wednesday, we may start to see improvement, but that's also when we'll start to see the rain chances coming in, so we'll continue to monitor that, and of course, you can check it out yourself, as we talked about, purpleair.com. i'll have a look at our forecast as we go into the next few days, and the wind direction, coming up in a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. 5:06 for you right now. developing in butte county, with a number of confirmed deaths growing even higher from that tragic camp fire, new uncertainty about what is now an enormous number of people missing. last night, that number jumped

to 631. the sheriff did make it clear many of those people may actually be safe. authorities simply want to account for them. there are now 63 confirmed deaths, and the camp fire has burned 141,000 acres, with 40% containment, and new drone video is giving us a better idea of just how much paradise went up in flames. you can see it right here, look at that devastation there, and neighbors, that neighboring town of comcal east of paradise, both towns simply leveled with more than 10,000 structures described. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live in chico. president trump will visit the fire zone tomorrow. >> reporter: correct, marcus. president trump expected to land at beale air force base sometime tomorrow. if you're not familiar, that's about 60 miles south of the camp fire base here at the fairgrounds in chico. he'll travel up here to butte county and he's expected to visit the town of paradise,

which, as you mentioned, was destroyed just over a week ago, a week ago yesterday. president trump's visit comes a week after he sent out this tweet. look at your tv screen, basically blaming the state for the wildfire because of forest mismanagement, and threatening to withhold federal payments. in a turnaround, he's sinced praised the firefighters for their courage and promised central assistance. last night, during a town hall meeting, we spoke to residents of paradise to get their thoughts on the president's upcoming visit. >> i'm looking forward to it. we have a purpose in paradise, and that's to rebuild, and this is not a time for disliking and hating people. this is a time to bring us together. he has the power to get some bills passed for federal funding and to speed up fema. >> i think it's a good gesture. we will welcome him, if he's sincere. if he's sincere and honest, and he's somebody that we can believe in, and if he's going

to, in fact, help us. >> reporter: tomorrow will be only the second time president trump has visited california, since he was elected to office. the first time was back in march, when he examined the prototype for the new wall along the mexican border, of course that being in the san diego area. coming up at 5:30, a change of subject, how firefighters are handling fatigue, as we enter day eight of the camp fire. reporting live here in chico, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> so much devastation there. all right, thank you, bob. >> it is tragic. 5:09 right now. continuing coverage of the woolsey fire. this was the one that devastated parts of southern california. firefighters are actually starting to get a little better handle of it. sadly, three people died. more than 98,000 acres have burned, with at least 548 structures destroyed. the fire, however, is now 62% contained. more evacuees are being allowed to return to their homes or to see what's left of them.

at height of the fire, there were 265,000 people evacuated. firefighters are getting a boost, thanks to lifting of red flag conditions down south. second fire, the hill fire in ventura county is fully contained. >> 5:10 right now. we want to switch gears to something lighter. happening today in san francisco, the spca is unveiling its annual holiday window displays at macy's in union square. this happens every year. it will feature as you see right there, some of those cute little pets there in need of homes. you can adopt those cats and dogs. this year's windows titled "the wonder of giving" to celebrate the bond and tradition between family and friends. the displays have helped more than 9,000 animals find homes over the last few years. they'll be on display until january 1st. so get out there, see the cute little animals there, just fun to watch that. >> yes. >> something to make you smile. >> cats wake up and they get frisky.

that's cute. something calming about seeing the pets in the window, too. >> really cute. all right, right now approaching 5:11, and it is freezing in parts of the north bay, as you get ready to head out the door, santa rosa now at 32 degrees. we're also seeing some upper 30s in oakland and in livermore. 36 degrees. you need the extra layers heading out the door. if you're going to be at the fruitvale b.a.r.t. station, in the mid-40s starting out for this morning. still really smoky. as we go into the afternoon, a light wind, as our high temperatures reach into the low 60s. as we head over to mike, you've been tracking the roads. anything new going on? >> no, everything's clear. the earlier two crashes or earlier would it two-closures have cleared from 880 and highway 12. highway 12 is where we had the crash in the north bay. over here, we're looking at a smooth drive. in the south bay we have a new incident reported. it is north 101, right around the airport sjc, and no lanes blocked. i'll track that report, it just

came in to the chp blotter. coming out of south county, no major problems. we have this one crash eastbound 580 at 24 in the last couple of minutes. we have seen the sensors really change. chp is probably arrived, so there is a distraction over there. no problems into the north bay. there's san rafael, guys. back to you. coming up, the air quality not just impacting schools but also air travel. what to expect today at bay area airports, as thanksgiving travel officially begins. stocks snap back and facebook responds to that devastating "new york times" report. we'll take a look when "today in the bay" continues.

coming up on 5:15, no movement of the winds this morning, meaning more smoky conditions across the bay area. as we take a live look outside at 101 in san jose, taking a look at willow glen and our temperature trend below 40s to start, another cold morning and temperatures reach the normal high. as we go into the ek w into the temperature change. a little thicker smoke today as kari is talking about but the traffic should be thinner for the early commute. a very happy friday to you. i'm glad you're with us. stocks snapped back on thursday

on word the u.s. will delay its next set of tariffs on china. wells fargo is laying off a thousand people nationwide. it's not a huge number percentage wise but that's the second time this week have i have said the word layoff. shirz shares of nvidia under huge pressure after the company said it was suffering from a crypto hangover, they're talking about cryptocurrency. people have lost interest in bitcoin and therefore nvidia. facebook held an hour and a half long telephone news conference to respond to damning olgs allegations by the "new york times," saying facebook officials knew russia was interfering with facebook and the election long before they admitted it. the allegations are seriously enough people are openly talking about who should leave facebook. it's not going to be zuckerberg and it won'ten sheryl shandberg. "sheryl is doing great work for the company.

she's been a very important partner for me and continues to be and will continue to be." "the times" report goes beyond russia. it says facebook hired a pr firm to deflect criticism away from the company by blaming george o soros. let's leave you on a light, fluffy note. the canada goose coats the one with the stuffed in down, they're very warm, very fashionable and very expensive jackets. >> are you getting my christmas present already? >> you cannot wear them to wood church high school in northwest england. they have banned them there. >> because? >> they're too expensive and become this fashion thing. they're like $1,000 a coat, and woodbridge want to poverty-proof the school, which is an interesting step. much like you wear uniforms. >> i was going to say, i guess it is like they ask for that labels or certain uniforms.

uniformity. >> i grew up extremely middle class, and remember the lacoste shirts with the alligators, my mom would take them off other shirts. >> oh, that's nice. wanting to keep you hip. know what to get you for christmas. thanksgiving and holiday travel is expected to kick off today. it's a live look at sfo, with the influx of travelers now also comes the increase in delays and canceled flights, and it's mostly due to that smoke in the area. the airport recommends that arriving early and checking with your carrier to see if your flight is affected. sfo is expecting to see more than 169,000 travelers today alone. as for the holiday season, the airport is expecting 6.7 million people between now and new year's day. so a lot of people catching those flights and coming in to visit. >> you can kind of understand

right now why you want to get away from the bay area. the air quality is so poor. usually we're like stay here. >> right, and so i was looking around at that purple air, and you can kind of pick where you want to go based on where the air quality is better. >> it's fascinatinfascinating, air website. >> purpleair.com. we have been posting links. the sierra is looking good. >> the thing is you have to drive through lincoln and all those places, too. >> auburn, absolutely, where the numbers are 500 and 600. >> hold your breath for an hour. >> hold your breath until you get there. we're looking at some unhealthy air quality again this morning, and the problem is, we have high pressure that causes the air to sink and we don't have much of a wind so it's trapped. as we go throughout the day it's not going to change that much. anything above 150 to 200 is unhealthy.

we see levels over 200 and hazardous loflz aboveevels abov. that makes it dangerous to be outside and everyone is affected by this. we look at the wind direction and where it comes from. here is chico. you can see that we are looking at the winds coming directly down, and across, so that takes it into parts of the valley and the east bay, and we have hills so it just stops and the wind's not really moving that fast, so that's the reason why we are doing so bad with this air quality, and now storm ranger is powered up ready to track the next storm. as we go into the next several days we'll watch the storm system approaching from the west and there's quite a few of them lined up out there in the pacific. i zoomed out to show where the first one is. you can see the cluster of clouds and right now t dnow, itt look like a strong storm but it will bring relief. through the next seven days our

wind direction changes, the first wave moves in on wednesday, possibly another round on thanksgiving into friday, and maybe even a third one right behind that, but that one also looks fairly weak and may fall apart before it gets here. we are looking at the computer models and trying to figure out how much rain we'll see. it's far out, so they may not be all that accurate. it shows decent rainfall amounts for parts of the north bay especially and here is a look at the gfs model, another computer model that goes out beyond seven days and shows rainfall totals over one to two inches, but we'll have to watch and see if that causes more problems. now, as we look at our high temperatures for the inland areas, some upper 60s over the next few days. still smoky, no improvements in our air quality through tuesday. as we head over to mike, you have more info on the crash in oakland? >> the one by the maze, first folks the majority of our drive is looking great with the green sensors. crash highway 87 it was not presenting a problem for that

transition to 101. no update from chp over the last few minutes. this was updated this crash getting away from the bay bridge and the maze, eastbound 580 at 24. the reason we had so much slowing that popped up quickly, there was a traffic break. they were able to clear that vehicle to the shoulder. we have a little slowing that should clear up to the bay bridge, that's okay. we'll show you that in a few minutes. we may have the metering lights turned on despite the friday light commute. contra costa county easy flow. upper east shore, some debris reported san pablo dam road. not a major problem. shout out, the b.a.r.t. system is on time this morning, but muni and vta, free rides just to help people get out of that air and get to their destination a little quicker. we don't want folks walking. wear the masks, we talk about the air quality, that is the big story today. over here, you can see the glow, the haze in the air through palo alto and how light the traffic

flow is, peninsula is just fine, so is san francisco. back to you. >> thanks, mike. at 5:22, coming up, it's a big nbc bay area holiday tradition. our teams fan out across the bay area to collect food to make the holiday special for thousands of people. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez standing by with how you can help. >> reporter: hi, we're here in pleasanton and we're getting you started with a little lively music this morning. coming up in a few minutes, how much $10 can buy, how much you can feed a family in the bay area. don't go anywhere. we' we'll be right back. and kari hall is sharing how she spent the night on facebook. see her photos from her event that she hosted last night, fund for the future dinner for the silicon valley education foundation. see the pictures on kari's facebook page. that's meteorologist kari hall.

harvest food drive is now just i think we all need a little feel good news. nbc bay area and second harvest food drive is a day away and we're always so impressed with the generous spirit of the bay area. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live from the safeway store in pleasanton with how this works and how we can help. kris? ♪ >> reporter: hi there, marcus and laura. we're impressed with how much people are willing to help, even

if they can help a little bit. we're here at the safeway store in pleasanton helping with second harvest. brad street is the president of safeway. he arrived in northern california to take over this territory right at the height of the food drive. were you impressed with how generous people are in the bay area? >> very impressed. it's a great year last year. we were able to give back to the communities in over 170 of our stores last year. it's fantastic. >> reporter: you make it easy. grab a tear sheet, one of the stickers here and find them around the store and also at cash registers, $1 donation, you can do as little as $1 but up to $10 will buy a bag of food and the bag of food is about 11 pounds, which the food bank tells me translates to about nine meals for a family of four. so we're not talking about major turkey drive, but this is the kind of staple goods that the food banks need all year long. you can do it for just $10. we will be all around the bay area and happy to help, and

again, you really don't have to give a lot to do an impact, make an impact here in the bay area. we think safeway our partners here and all of our food banks around the bay area for helping us do this good deed and we hope to see you. i'll be at the safeway on bird avenue in willow glen. >> very cool and nice to get a little music in the morning, too. be sure to join all of us. thanks, kris. this weekend for the feed the need food drive, we do it every year. it's fun. >> it will be. tomorrow at various safeway locations collecting donations. laura and i on dun avenue in morgan hill from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. the rest of the bay area will be at vary yis locatiious location. to get a list of the people and where there will be go to our website. nbcbayarea.com. >> $10 donation goes far. 5:28, it is our top story, the air. it is unhealthy at the very least. very dangerous in many spots in the bay area. up next, we'll have the latest on school closures across

our region, and of course, live team coverage. stay with "today in the bay." 5:28. don )t adjust your televis-

a live look at san francisco. that smoky haze is real. friday morning, take a live look at san francisco. that is not fog we're talking about this morning. it's a smoky haze, very real, across the bay area. my coclimate weather alert, in fact, is in effect. another look across the bay area, giving just different

angles. boy, it is so thick out there, you, i'm sorry to say, will not be able to escape the unhealthy air, no matter where you are in the bay area. thanks for joining us. i'm xwrs, i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. we'll get to the smoke coverage in a moment. we check in with mike inouye with a look at our traffic this morning. >> all right folks, you know the bay bridge toll plaza we have your traditional backup over there. we have all lanes filled. i was hoping that friday would bring lighter flow of traffic at the toll plaza but we did see the metering lights turned on promptly at 5:20. so they are having this backup here. you see also that smoke in the air and that is a bigger concern bay area wide. as we look at the speed sensors we don't see a problem as far as the approach. metering lights turned on at the bay bridge but that's about it, contra costa county getting out of your way here, the rest of the commute a smooth flow of traffic on the roadways. as we've been talking about, there is a significant amount of

smoke in the air. air quality is a big concern around the bay and kari will be talking about that. >> it's a huge concern as you head out this morning. here is a live look in emeryville, you can see also the thick smoke that's hanging overhead, and the air quality is going to be so unhealthy to be outside, again they've extended the smoke advisory until tuesday night, so that was supposed to expire tonight. there will not be any improvement in our air quality over the next several days. as you make your way out the door, taking a live look outside in san jose, our temperatures headed into the low 70s today. we'll talk about the rest of the weekend forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. 5:33 for you right now. it's what everyone has been talking about all week, that smoke pouring into the bay area, and today it's only going to get worse. one group is saying that we have the worst air quality in the world right now. >> live pictures of san francisco this morning, some cities and counties are providing free transportation. they don't want you out walking. we'll have more information on

that soon, but first, that smoke closing a lot of schools today, including universities. we've got a list, some of the closures are actually running at the bottom of your screen as well. if you don't know if your school is closed, give them a call ahead of time. i've also just put a link on my facebook page,l laura garcia nb. >> this view from space shows smoke from butte county pushing through the air and lingering. that's why we feel the effects from all of the smoke. we go live to contra costa county. "today in the bay's" pete suratos is there, in one of those places experiencing that air quality that is really difficult to breathe. how are you dealing with it this morning? >> reporter: good morning to you, marcus. you know, you smell the smoke here, but you're smelling it, i smell it definitely stronger in oakland, and of course in san francisco, but really this is a problem bay area wide, and where we're standing at pittsburg high is one of the many schools that

have canceled as a result of this air quality issue. several school districts are doing so, with the exception of santa clara unified school district, but it's not just the school districts. we're talking about universities. every major university here in the bay area has skiy ed stye -d or majority decided to cancel classes. officials are monitoring closely the conditions leading up to the big game between cal and stanford. for no you that game will go on but we'll wait and see if that changes. here's what students had to say last night. >> i feel uncomfortabluncomfort. it's not nice to be breathing outside, it's bad. >> it will be around presumably for a long time with no masks on so you have to factor in their health. >> reporter: that could be a concern for the players in tomorrow's game. video posted of cal students smoke alarms going off in a campus building.

it's unclear if that was caused by smoke coming in from the camp fire. now as i mentioned, several school districts are closed. we'll have more on that impact in the next half hour. for a complete list of school closures go to our website at nbcbayarea.com. we're live in pittsburg. ss. for "today in the bay." >> stay safe, pete, as well. all of the smoke coming from the camp fire north of the bay area. right now thousands emain evacuated from the butte county wildfire, and the sheriff now saying the number of people unaccounted for has exceeded 600. it's likely some of those are unable to notify authorities they're safe, there are 63 confirmed deaths from that fire and the camp fire has burned 141,000 acres with 40% containment. the president plans to actually visit some of the hardest hit areas to see for himself some of that damage. he's scheduled to fly to northern california tomorrow. "today in the bay's" bob redell joins us live in chico with more on that and the president's

visit. good morning, bob. >> reporter: we're at the silver dollar campground in chico, this is the base camp for the camp fire, where roughly 6,500 firefighters come to rest, refuel and recharge before heading back to the front lines. fatigue is an issue. keep in mind, they're doing 24-hour shifts on, 24 hours off. for firefighters in city-based fire departments, fighting the fire say different work. the front lines can be more unpredictable, filled with lots of smoke, flame and steep terrain. we spoke with the menlo fire chief who sent firefighters up here. he added the level of destruction like what we've seen in paradise that, catastrophe wears on a person, even firefighter, regardless of who you are. when you're off duty it's not like you go back home. you're stuck at base camp, sleeping in a tent, camper or

truck and mostly preparing your truck and gear for the next shift. for one local firefighter, the stress is even worse. jason hawkins' own home in paradise burned down last week. as soon as the fire started, he evacuated his family and went about evacuating the rest of the town. hawkins says he and his wife bought this home two years ago and now, like dozens of other people whose homes were destroyed, they need to find another place to live. hawkins wanted to stay with his family, but it was his wife who convinced him to help everyone else. >> there was a part of me that didn't want -- i wanted to be with my family, and i needed to be with them, and my wife actually convinced me, you need to go back and help your community. >> reporter: now the town of paradise where hawkins lived is the place president trump will be visiting tomorrow. he's expected to arrive sometime tomorrow via beale air force base before making a trip to butte county. more details coming up at 6:00. reporting live here in chico, bob redell "today in the bay." >> you see all the different

effects from this horrific fire. thank you very much, bob. happening today, new revelations will come to light about google's deal with the city of san jose for its downtown development. >> we wring in "today in the bay's" kira klapper. so what should we learn today? >> hey guys, good morning to you. sometime today the city will release its memorandum of understanding or mou, which is like a contract, but without the same legal weight. just for some quick background, google is planning a community in downtown san jose for 15,000 of its employees to live and work and eat and shop. so earlier this week on tuesday, san jose mayor sam liccardo says the deal has google paying full freight for land taxes, and community benefits, including affordable housing. this is a contrast to the billions of dollars in subsidies amazon has asked for and got from local communities in new york and virginia, where amazon will split its second headquarters. even so, earlier this week, two community groups filed suit

against the city of san jose claiming the city and google reached that deal through non-disclosure and closed session meetings n violation of the brown act. that's the act intended to keep the city business out in the open. the city attorney says san jose did nothing wrong. the city council is set to vote december 4th on whether the project can move forward. when the city posts the mou later today, we'll bring you what's in it on air and online at nbcbayarea.com. . >> thank you very much, kira. we'll take a look at that morning commute with mike. >> the google project likely going to bring more traffic through the surface streets so that is one other concern as well, just one of the concerns for traffic all around the bay, but right now, the green shows you not a huge concern as far as the speed sensors. that's a nice drive, south bay up the peninsula side, the east bay. we're looking at the contra costa highway 4 not yet slowing down at all. no problems toward the bay bridge toll plaza.

580 at 24, i think that earlier crash eastbound has cleared. shout out here for mass transit, use mass transit if you can. muni and vta talk about the free rides you mentioned. they want to get folks out of the smoky air and get to their destination. >> that's right, whatever you can do. it is concerning when you see people out. their only mode of transportation sometimes to work is riding a bicycle. the air quality is bad. >> it is very bad. you want to make sure you are wearing a mask as you head out. we look at our weekend forecast for the air quality, it's still going to be very unhealthy, and dangerous to be outside for long periods of time. as we go into the next several days, the smoke advisory has been extended until tuesday, so as you get out there, and we're looking at temperatures that will be in the low 60s for the coast, and some upper 60s for the inland areas, and we're still once again having to limit our time outside. there will be more clouds which could continue to trap that smoke across the bay area on sunday. if you're getting away, you're able to find somewhere with some

better air quality, how about heading to heavenly. it's going to be in the upper 50s today, and then some mid-50s for the rest of the weekend. that was a live look in yosemite this morning. of course, it's still dark, and we're going to see highs at about 50 degrees for tomorrow as well as sunday. santa barbara also has some clear air, and our high temperatures there reaching into the mid-60s, with partly cloudy skies, and even in some improvements as you head down to month day and carmel valley. we're seeing high temperatures today that will be headed toward 73 degrees and some upper 60s for the rest of the weekend. follow me on facebook. i'm @karihallweather or look for meteorologist kari hall for the air quality updates and we'll talk about the forecast and the incoming rain chances on social media. let me know also where you're headed for your weekend. i'll have a look at today's temperature trend coming up in about three minutes. >> hoping some of that rain would clear up. >> exactly, thanks so much, kari. 5:42. coming up, we'll talk to a bay

area health director about the long-term effects of this smokey air. plus a strange twist in the russia investigation this morning. we'll check it out when "today in the bay" continues.

it is 5:45 right now. cold start again this morning. here is a live look outside at 101 in san jose. as you get ready to head out in santa teresa, it will be 41 degrees. chilly start with the heater on

recirculate inside the car. temperatures reach into the mid to upper 60s today. we'll be a little bit warmer than normal. we will avehave some minor shif in the air quality and rain chances, coming up in less than five minutes. here is palo alto, an easy drive for the bay shore freeway. that will change over the next few hours. 580 sees the volume, again the glow, smoke up in the distance, but no problems on the roadway right there. and a strange twist to the russia investigation. good morning. court filing reveals julian assange has been charged by american authorities, who are seeking his arrest. to remind you, assange is the head of wikileaks, hold up in the ecuadorian embassy in london to avoid charges in europe. federal authorities are charging him in america and want him arrested. there are all kinds of constitutional questions, can

you charge a foreign national for publishing things are true? what about the first amendment? let's connect this to mueller's investigation. the suspicion is the russians hacked hillary clinton's emails, gave those emails to assange, who tipped off trump's aides that they were going to release them. brings us back to the question, what did donald trump know when he said this -- >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. >> he's been more aggressive in his attacks on mueller, tweeting "the inner workings of the mueller investigation are a mess." the president shouldn't know about the inner workings of the investigation into himself, and he didn't when sessions was attorney general. he recused himself, but just days after trump appointed matt whitaker, who is new mueller's boss, suddenly president trump knows about the inner workings of the investigation. big news coming out of

florida, the republican candidate for governor likely to win there, but the senate race will go to a manual recount. president trump has cast doubt on the whole process, claiming people voted twice. in an interview at "the daily collar" he said "people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles. sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again." there's no evidence that's the case. president trump will be in northern california tomorrow to examine the fire damage. we'll have full coverage on nbc and nbc bay area. >> thanks, scott. our breaking news story for you this morning, the smoky conditions from butte county wildfire there making what we are calling a bad time for a lot of people outside. that air quality not great for anyone, really being called the worst air quality anywhere in the world right now. >> very unhealthy pollution levels out there. it's a step above the hazardous stage. it's closing schools across the bay area. we have links on nbcbayarea.com.

right now, we want to talk with contra costa health director, dr. chris farnitano. thanks for joining us this morning. i want to ask you, what is your department telling people? let's talk about who are the most vulnerable here. >> well, the most vulnerable individuals are people with long disease or heart disease, kids with with asthma, adults with copd, young children and pregnant women are more sensitive. >> what can you do? you can't escape the air. you can try to stay away from outside but indoors it's smoky. >> indoor air is generally better than outdoor air, so our main message is for people to stay indoors as much as possible, limit their outdoor activity as much as possible. if you can set your air conditioner to recirculate, if you're able to have a setting like that, that's helpful. keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible.

>> we've been talking to a lot of people about those masks. the grade mask n95, there have been conflicting reports about the filter on front of those masks. is it important to have that filter or can you have the n95 grade mask? >> if it says n95, it means it's certified that when properly fitted, it will filter out 95% of those small particles that we're worried about from wildfire smoke. so the filter in front isn't so important as long as it says n95. however, they only work if they're well fitted. people with beards that generally don't fit well on, we don't have masks also for children, so they only work for adults. >> that is so concerning, because of course, their lungs are developing. we wish we had more time with you this morning. thanks so much for joining us. big concerns and that goes to reflect we're so concerned as

well, many districts in the area, i'll send out a link to schools that are closed this morning. some are, some are not. make sure you pay attention to that. follow me on facebook or just look at the link, laura garcia nbc. because you got to check, a lot of people are concerned. >> it's been tough. >> they keep the kids inside for rece recess. >> they do. >> still have to go outside to get to the other classrooms. >> these masks don't fit little kids. it barely fits me. it's pretty big. >> i posted a retweet of our producer showing him wearing the mask in the proper way to wear it, so check that out on twitter. >> if you can find a mask. >> if you can find some, because the air quality is still unhealthy out there, and we're looking at the numbers, they're changing. san francisco is now up to 315. the highest on the map here because we are seeing a marine layer and some low level fog moving in. the smoke mixes with that and

sits over san francisco, so it's even more unhealthy out there. that's what we are seeing as we look out the window. we talk about the numbers, what does that mean? well, if we see the particulate matter levels at over 100, they issue a spare the air alert. if it's 151 to 200, it's unhealthy. we are seeing numbers like this, very unhealthy, and if you go up near the wildfire zone, it's 500-plus. go to that website, purpleair.com. we've been posting links on social media, and you can see where the air quality is most unhealthy. we have a northerly wind that's going to stay that way. there may be minor shifts but the wind is so calm, it doesn't make much of a difference. what will make a difference will be some rain. storm ranger is our mobile doppler radar tracking the next storm moving in. we're thankful we see changes here. we can see the line of clouds well to the west of the bay area. as bego into next week we'll track the rain coming in and a

change in the wind droes direction. we'll see the rain moving in on wednesday and there may be heavy pockets of rain and there's the potential of several waves of rain going into friday and next saturday, possibly into sunday and some good news here as we go ahead through the next seven days. mike, you have a concern for b.a.r.t. riders. >> we do. many of our b.a.r.t. stations are outside, the platform portion we get from the car to the b.a.r.t. station itself. at the dublin b.a.r.t. station a ten-minute delay. this may grow. we'll track that. if you have the masks, bring them and use them because you might have a longer wait time if there was an issue like in the dublin pleasanton area. the dublin line experiencing a ten-minute delay right now. over here, no delays an easy drive for the travel times down the east shore freeway. nice smooth flow but the build richmond side toward san rafael, guys, back to you. >> thanks, mike.

>> the warning signs are there, as thieves steal down statements were home buyers but are real estate agents getting the message? i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. surveillance video .. polie

just released .. to help so 5:56 right now. we have dramatic surveillance video to show you police just

released to us to help solve a homicide. you're about to see flashes that show gunfire. the man suddenly died from the gunfire. he's a full block away from the scene. it happened during a robbery on august 11th at international boulevard near 46th avenue in east oakland. the robbery victim survived but a father of four named christian agretti died from a stray bullet. if you can identify the robbers, police are offering as about 25,02 -- a $25,000 reward. contra costa county officers say they followed up on a tip about a gaming operation in pacheco. detectives searched the area last night and found 37 computers that feature gambling games like slots and video poker. the computers were seized along with some cash. thieves are going another way to take payments from virtually every home sale in california.

>> they're taking advantage of a security flaw to steal your money. consumer investigator chris chmura investigated the problem over the summer and it keeps growing. >> good morning, we've talked with five bay area families who have lost ten of thousands of dollars. people like maria lopez in napa, put down $85,000 toward a house in sacramento, but scammers intercepted her payment through an email scheme. the banks and her real estate agent told her to call the fbi but maria didn't get any help. >> when i talked to the fbi, i said, what are you going to do about it? they said there's nothing we can do. we get allegations like this all the time. >> maria wants to know why nobody seems to be doing anything to stop the scammers. we started digging around, and made some surprising discoveries. tonight at 11:00, the repeated warning signs that are being ignored by thousands of bay area real estate agents. if you've lost money to fraud in real estate, we'd like to hear from you, too.

please call us, 888-996-tips or visit nbcbayarea.com/responds. i'll see you again tonight at 11:00. 5:59 for you right now. as the snow falls there in new york, macy's flagship store in herald square is unveiling its holiday window. the theme of this year's window is the wonder of giving. the custom interactive video game allows guests to fly in pursuit of santa's sleigh while animated characters and scenery come to life. qualify right now. dangerously unhealthy air is choking the bay area. nbc bay area issued a microclimate weather alert. live look at the hazy bay bridge out there. the smoke is forcing school closures across the bay area. that's not the bay bridge, a different shot from the bayier. schools are closing, parents are scrambling.

>> they can't keep the day care facility here open, so that means they have to be home or i have to find an alternate. >> we've got team coverage on the hazardous air that's going to affect your entire day. including a live report from the fire zone, where all of that smoke is coming from. what the president has planned, as he's preparing to come to california. "today in the bay" continues right now. and a good friday morning to you. thanks for starting your morning here with us on "today in the bay." i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. the big story is the smoke. we'll get to team coverage in a moment. first want to check that morning commute with mike. not as many cars on the road? >> probably not, because thanksgiving approaches. folks are traveling so it's a big travel day but not for the early morning commute. concern b.a.r.t. has just announced a ten-minute delay out of the bay fair station. reminder anyone along that ride over in toward dublin pleasanton or along the peninsula, many b.a.r.t. stations are outside, with the smoky air, they have to