minute because of the rapid on it. backup happened after the metering lights were turned on. approach of the fire with the assistance of the sheriff's it's moving here. you see that glow and the smoke department, we were able to get and the red of the sunrise. look at the maps and we see no those people evacuated and engaged an active fire problems other than that and slowing for highway 4. suppression around the community marcus, the other freeways are of davenport that is still ongoing as we speak now. moving smoothly and the closures not i-80 but the closures for to the north, there's still fires progressing in san mateo the north bay and continuing for the santa cruz mountains, as well. county and these are significant back to you. >> thanks, mike. happening now for you, a threat and we expect there to be nice catch by space-x. significant activity within those areas and bringing towards elon musk showing it capturing those communities today. overnight, additionally, the payload. significant event was the fire moved from the west side of this is what fell back from space. this protects the payload and empire ridge road and spotted >> got some valuables and came what's on your mind? yesterday's rocket launch set 58 can you help keep these guys protected online? to town to wait it out. over containment and made an breaking news. easy. connect to the xfi gateway. satellites into orbit. on the move. a look at the top stories. extremely active run. what about wireless data options for the family? of course, what everyone is flames from multiple wildfires critical fire conditions across talking about. you can customize and save. all the wildfires across the bay across the bay area. empire ridge road threaten the people whose homes were in the what about internet speeds that can keep up with my gaming? area. they have been expanding way are now gone. just seconds to spare. other structures and residences let's hook you up with the fastest internet from xfinity. on the eastern slope of that overnight. live updates from close to the the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. ridge and moving down into the and now with our stores reopening, front lines on evacuations and we're putting healthy practices in place.

communities of boulder creek. come visit a store today. the destruction these fires have already left behind. stop in or book an appointment online as you know, there are fires at a time that works for you. 6:54. you're watching "today in the burning from the north bay to bay." those have been and we already had active evacuation warnings now that's simple, easy, awesome. whe you can find games, news and highlights. ask. shop. discover at your local xfinity store today. the south bay filling our skies in those areas to evacuate they with smoke and ash. dangerous breathing conditions out there this morning. very busy morning for you. are evacuated and have been done want to get you the very latest. so overnight. thanks so much for joining us, as well. i'm laura garcia. and fires continue to move down >> i'm marcus washington. mike is keeping an eye on that commute and first let's start into priority with meteorologist kari hall keeping us up to date on what we can expect from that forecast yesterday continues today and today. kari, how is it looking? throughout the rest of the event >> cool down for the coastal is the safety of the public and areas and parts of the inner the safety of the first bay. as we start out this morning responders, firefighters and law with some fog oversan francisco enforcement. as part of that, we have been and, once again, this is very active in our evacuations something we haven't seen in quite a while. and the sheriff can speak toelpo but we'll bring about some changes. in the trivalley, still a smoky morning, but our temperatures still heating up for the inland the last-minut only thing areas and to the mid 90s. we're not talking about highs we can do at this point is to over 100 degrees for the first time in several days. get people away from the fire we'll have more on this and the

air quality coming up. for their safety and the safety all in one place, right on your tv. mike, how is it looking for the of the first responders. morning commuters and people if you're asked to evacuate, the xfinity sports zone. evacuating? evacuate. do not wait. use your voice to search every stat, standing and score. >> kari, for the morning commute we encountered last evening and as we look at the map full screen, you'll notice the bottom throughout the day yesterday welcome back to you. areas that were under evacuation follow the teams you love. and, even get notifications of the silicon valley right on 6:18 right now. with breaking news alerts and more. schedule. but you also notice at the order and people stayed to the breaking news. pg&e confirming one of its bottom on the left side we have right but when the time came to workers died while helping first so you'll never miss an update. the red zones or highway 9 and with the xfinity sports zone evacuate and first responders it responders in solano county. everybody wins. highway 1 shown here because of put the public safety and the the utility not releasing any now that's simple, easy, awesome. the czu fires and the safety of our first responders more details at this point. click, call or visit a store for details. in jeopardy. keeping a close eye on those exclamation point mt. hamilton we ask that you please do not do that. that when you're asked to fires burning in solano and napa road heading up towards counties. evacuate, please evacuate. more than 100,000 acres have it is going to be an active fire burned there. 170 structures damaged or even fight today and for the coming destroyed. observatory and freeways move days with the conditions that still no containment. smoothly except for 24 and we're experiencing. in santa cruz county overnight crew late picking up unprecedented and with the resources that we are lacking, overnight. more homes destroyed as the fire the paving work and build we ask you to help us to help there burns closer to santa cruz continues at the bay bridge with nothing dramatic. you to do our job and to keep the public safe. city limits. track all the fires burning thank you. right now on air and online. i-80 reopened overnight. we've got our free nbc bay area >> speaking next one of the back to you. app. >> thank you very much. new video to show you of the unified incident commanders and we'll bring you all the latest also from the sheriff's power of the czu complex fire. department here in santa cruz information right here, right now this morning. county is chief deputy chris clark. it is 6:18 right now. the flames engulfing so many >> morning. want to get a look at the forecast, as well, with goes h. homes in santa cruz county. this morning i want to touch on

fires also burning in san mateo just a few things. these firefighters are in such a county. one, kind of what happened yesterday and what we're those fires actually merged. the wildfire now has doubled in continuing to do and for the fight. we have such hot, dry conditions out there, kari. size, just within the last 24 public to know and be aware of. >> and it continues today, for one, just touching on last hours or so. it has now scorched 25,000 acres night. especially for the inland areas. to give you kind of a break down and, you know what, it is zero we have seen some changes. of what occurred is essentially i wanted to show you this live percent contained. this is a very tough firefight. view looking just west of an organized evacuation of all we're standing by this morning communities from brookdale because we hope to get an update healdsburg this morning. if you have the nbc bay area from cal fire officials. this is where their news app, you got a push alert that conference will take place. through and kind of how that there were orders to evacuate we will, of course, dip back happened involved 160 officers the city and moving through such into it as soon as it get under way. well, breaking news for you othice and from steep terrain. neighboring jurisdictions and as we're also looking at the right now. pg&e now confirming to us that then somebodysk about smoke drifting into the bay area one of its workers has died numbers yesterday. i want to give kind of just a and coming out the door to while assisting in that fire rough estimate of what that another smoky day in dublin and surrounding vacaville. looks like in terms of of the we do need to be careful of that the utility said it happened population of these areas that have been evacuated and really when the worker was trying to as we look at our air quality the amount, the thousands of right now. help first responders and it is we are seeing a lot of yellows believed to b the first death and oranges and reds and that's homes that are contacted so far. in this fire where we have unhealthy air so, boulder creek about 7,200 6:56 right now. cierra johnson with more on the quality. if you're out there for several welcome back. loss and the residents there. hours, it will affect you. ben loamen 7,800 and bonny doon where we're seeing the worst air one last look at our wildfire quality right now in san jose coverage throughout the bay and even just a few minutes of and roughly about 25,000 people area. >> let's bring in cierra johnson cierra? >> very sad news out of exposure is really bad for you who is live in vacaville. so far that are under an vacaville we believe that is the and with people home schooling,

evacuation order and, again, they are looking for the chances first fatality and shows you the thousands of homes that are cierra. >> we learned from pg&e that one to get outside. of their employees killed strength and dangerousness of today is not that day. this fire. we have been out here all going out and make contact with we have to have pe inside and or made contact with and told also looking at a lot of smoke morning and those flames are still in that median on 80 east them to leave. coming in as the wildfires helping firefighters. so, another question came up yesterday. what is the reverse 911 look continue to grow. that smoke still very thick. as we look at our wind speeds. like? how do i know if i want to that is another factor that also cal fire confirming that this here going through. fire burned 124,000 acres and we're going to throw it back fans those flames. evacuate? i want to talk about that for a we haven't had much of a wind, here. i think we have a press release to jump in to. second. that comes a variety of ways. but we also see those fires >> we do. we'll try to come back to you. create their own fire conditions the public alert system. and weather conditions, as well, destroying 175 stru25 structuret as we look at the wind speeds. >> czu stands for the cal fire if you have a cell phone and you're in a specific area an right now only at 10 to 15 miles alert goes out and a mandatory on the peninsula. per hour. it is going to be another hot have been damaged. evacuation order goes out. right now folks still working to lnu in the north bay. if you're in that area, you'll day. get that alert on your cell minor cooling for the coast and evacuate. the hokes in headsburg. that is the identifying for cal parts of the inner bay and we're fire in the north bay. phone. so, that will tell you, hey, you need to leave. still in the mid 90s for inland your area is under a mandatory evacuation order. areas. our inland valleys will show us scu in the east bay, the santa cierra johnson for "today in the clara unit that covers all of mid to low 90s and drifts of smoke coming by and temperatures bay." i'm kris sanchez in scotts the second is through, it's locally here. it's through a program called start to heat up just slightly that diablo range. valley. this is the incident command there are questions on how we as we go up into early next name our fires. code red. week, once again, for san center the czu fire. you can download it through our francisco and our coastal areas. they are about to get their this is the result of a we're coming back to the mid 70s briefing at 7:00 this morning. lightning complex. with fog this morning, as well as the next couple of mornings. the fire exploded in size czu, lnu and scu is why we have dispatch center. overnight. now at least 40,000 acres and but it will clear out quickly. could be bigger than that the unique names. mike, you have been watching the because they can't get a good numbers to share about what roads, any major issues? scr911.org. you can download this to your

cell phone and give you local aerial view. >> we, of course, have the new video from bonny doon where happened overnight. information similar. closure zones and i'll mention those coming up. fire is at 40,000 acres. as we look at the map, some still zero percent containment we know several homes were already destroyed. on the fire. and if you have a landline a changes. people will not have a home to we can confirm 20 structures first bay bridge toll plaza. return to. the live look shows you the we don't know if those count destroyed and the damage reverse 911 will come to your landline. backup should start to grow at inspection teams will again go the other thing i want to talk towards the 20 homes that were out there today and try to about, if i live here and have the toll plaza because the clearing over highway 24. destroyed confirmed destroyed as family here, what do i need to be doing now? take a look out there, we see of midnight last night because validate with location if you haven't been evacuated the middle lanes are filled but it's just so hard to track. information about any additional and i said this numerous times also lanes off of 880. the evacuation orders are going structures. currently, we have 8,600 to be aggressive today. throughout the press conference. the lighter volume right now and if you are asked to leave, you structures that are actively please, please, if you heard cal you see the smoke in the air. should leave to make sure that threatened by the fire. firefighters can focus on their fire mention now more than ever the map will show you that safety. people need to be aware of what highway 24 is in recovery mode and we believe we have over is going on and based on the outside of the caldecott. also for you this morning, 20,000 people that have been changing nature of this fire and the scu lightning complex fire evacuated or in an evacuation light er traffic and i-80 has staying in tune with social is expanding. all morning long, we could see area of the fire. media, with cal fire and those flames at the top of the with that we still hold 591 checking their website and then, cleared 128, 221, 116. ridge surrounding mt. hamilton. firefighters assigned to the so far there's no word on new a incident and for a situation obviously, acting on those stillish is in the north bay. update from our operation orders and that advice. over the right side near the so, what to do if i haven't been bottom just where it says milpitas andndick observatory area. evacuated yet. more than 200,000 acres have burned. section. >> good morning. so, you know, important now, here's a look at the map of we had a significant development and all these closures for the the wildfires spanning over documents together. within the past 12 hours since get heirlooms together and make santa cruz mountains, as well. several counties. we'll cover this, as well, sure you can drive your car or coming up after this break. those fires burning all over the bay area and they're filling in last press conference. you have an ability to be able fire throughout the bay to leave. the skies with smoke and looking ahead, finding out, is sometimes ash. yesterday was very active. overnight even more active and there some place i can stay? dangerous conditions can i stay with a family member

out of the area? outside. kari has a look at our forecast. we had significant burning if you can't, then there are conditions that are unprecedented and night and yes shelter locations that are available and i want to provide >> we are still looking at some very warm weather for our inland that number one more time because if you are evacuated, areas today with our high into towevacuation almost last there are places for you to go temperatures in the low 90s. if you don't have a friend or a but this is a break from highs loved one to go stay with. over 100 degrees. we're still looking at some hot weather going into the weekend that phone number is and early next week. for all of those alerts and most recent information, we're 866-272-2327. if you're evacuated and you pushing out that information. didn't have a place to go you have that nbc bay area app get those alerts straight to 866-272-2337. that's what to do. your smart device. if i'm evacuated. mike, how is it looking for the how do i know if i'm evacuated. commute? >> calling out highway 9 and i want to talk about closures highway 1 on this map. the highway closures and lots of really quickly. this is extremely important. local closures through the santa you know, if you have been cruz mountains and heed the evacuation zones and also note that it may be changing in the evacuated, now based there is a north bay, guys. fire activity and allowing fire they may open some of those highways about 9:00 this morning. to get to where they need to go, it's important. there really isn't a reason to >> all right, thank you very go back once the much, mike. thank you for joining us, as evacuated. well. those areas are in a hard closures and no reason to go back. that's for the safety of the fire personnel and our percent

n personnel to go therein there a rescued and get cal fire where they need to go. one other thing. if the area has been evacuated, good morning what now in terms of us. so, we obviously security is good morning. blistering attack. former president obama uses his speech at the democratic important. national convention to take we will be doing roving patrol. direct aim at president trump, accusing him of running the we left your home and we understand what that feels like. a lot of us live in this area, as well. so, conducting security throughout these evacuated areas country like a reality show. is a top priority and the most >> donald trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't. the consequences of that failure important priority for us is are severe. >> and urging people to start evacuating those areas under that mandatory evacuation order. and i couldn't stress more the importance of leaving when those orders come out. i really can't. there are people that are planning their vote now. >> do not let them take away unaccounted for that we are your power. do not let them take away your democracy. >> kamala harris also setting looking to try to determine where they are. so, i stress that because with this fire, you just don't know how things are going to go. you know, we operate under the best intelligence that cal fire

provides based on kind of how this fire is acting. so, you know, we will do our absolute very best to make sure that you and your family and everyone is informed and if an order goes out, again, it is for a good reason and you need to leave. and, so, i couldn't stress that more. and, so, yeah. stay tuned. monitor cal fire and monitor social media and continue to stay up to date. welcome back 6:24 right now. thank you. slight cooling on tap and it looks like the threat of rolling blackout has passed. for the fourth straight day >> all right. we will continue to follow any other news that we're getting yesterday the grid held and last night pg&e tweeting thanks to from cal fire this morning. but they updated us. customers for conserving. although there is no flex alert zero percent contained the fire today, people energys much as that they're talking about there where it actually merged from possible especially from 3:00 to santa cruz county to san mateo 10:00 p.m. county, as well. it was really interesting to several districts in the north bay are canceling distance hear them say how overnight this fire became even more affect. learning for the rest of the week due to the wildfires. in sonoma county school leaders unprecedented conditions that know some families may have to these firefighters are dealing

evacuate. with. so, we'll continue to see what others may not even have else they're saying, they're electricity. so, here's the list on your stressing those evacuations of screen. how important they are. forestville union, guerneville at least 25,000 people evacuated from that area. all right. a lot of news to cover on this thursday morning. and m rolling hills elementary we'll take a quick break. it's 6:15. we'll be right back. hi. we're glad you came in. are now closed. tough for these kids, you want them to have normalcy getting back to normal amid covid and now all closed in that area. we'll, of course, keep you posted. a lot of people there were forced to leave their homes in a hurry and some of them not ready to go and not having a lot of time. >> right. consumer investigator chris cmura tells how to be prepared if you get the knock on the door. >> priority one, a go bag. if you don't have one, you have to pack one. have it ready to go by the front door. everyone's list is going to vary, but focus on the essentials to get by for a few

days. a cell phone charger, your id, change of clothes, water, prescription medicine. we have posted a sample list from the fire department for our website. please check it out. now, once you left your home, contact your insurance company. it might pay for you to stay in a hotel instead of a shelter. many policies cover your out-of-pocket living expenses and keep a receipt for every extra penny you pay. speaking of insurance, do a home inventory long before you're forced to leave. that step could save you thousands of dollars if your home is damaged and you have to file an insurance claim. >> start a diary. take those pictures >> and consider sending those photos and videos of your home to the cloud for safe, fireproof storage. we have all this advice and more consolidated on our new web page,

nbcbayarea.com/wildfirehelp. please do check it out. those wildfires are a top story on this thursday morning. again, firefighters are stretched to the limit. for a second night in a row, a lot of evacuee unsure if their homes are still standing. coming up, our team of reporters with the very latest on the overnight firefight. . the lnu lightning complex fire continues to burn and first t fatality of pg&e worker. we'll have that coming up after the break.

right now at 6:00, breaking news. a pg&e worker has died in the fire fight in the north bay. and the out of control fire is expanding. a live report just ahead. those fires are impacting every inch of the bay area by filling our skies with smoke and ash. hard to say it is not going to be very different today. we're hoping some cool weather is eventually coming to some spots and we're monitoring it all for you as "today in the bay" continues. we've been on air since 4:00 a.m. just to give you all the latest on these overnight fires. here's what we're dealing with. fires really burning in nearly every bay area county. thanks so much for joining us, i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. the whole gang is here mike has

a look at the commute and kari hall has a look at the temperatures and conditions we're experiencing today. >> we're waking up to some smoke across the bay area. live look at walnut creek. not much of a view of the sunrise this morning and then as we head over towards san francisco, big changes here. we're seeing the fog is back this morning. and that will provide some cooling for the coastal areas and for the inland valleys, not much of a help. we're still looking at low to mid 90s for today with napa reaching 88 and then some low 70s for san francisco. we'll talk more about this and the weather conditions around those fires, as well quality. that's coming up in a few minutes. mike, how is it looking for the commute? >> the commute we're seeing changes. as we take a live look out there, you see all lanes on the approach and metering lights turned on at 6:22. we look at the map.

highway 22 still recovery and out of orinda. that is really the only issue. the other issues in the north bay, we still have closures for the lnu complex fire but i-80 reopened overnight. that is good news. the rest of the area over near mt. hamilton and the santa cruz mountains. so many fires, back to you. >> certainly, mike. team coverage on all those fires burning across the bay area and kris sanchez is making sense of what we just heard from a live interview or press conference about 20 minutes ago from the officials in santa cruz county. first, we want to start with cierra johnson in vacaville. sad news from one of the irk withers at pg&e dying. >> yes, tragic news. we have confirmed from pg&e that one of their workers have died in the vacaville area from the fire. they were hoping the firefighters with all of this commotion. so, very sad news out of there. now that the sun is starting to

come up, we can tell it is still very smoky. if you look over on the interstate, you can still see some of those flames from when the fire jumped over from 80 west to 80 east. they have been burning all morning throughout different parts of the median. so, it just shows you the strength and the dangerousness of this fire. folks in vacaville still working to evacuate. we have video from the overnight hours to show you the extent of the devastation. right now we've learned that there are 175 structures have been damaged from this fire. 50 other structures or 175 structures were destroyed tures. cal fire saying this containment has already burned about 124,000 acres in the napa, sonoma areas. if they haven't left, they're in the process of leaving. take a listen to someone in the process of leaving has to say.

>> it's just terrible. >> what else is going to it's terrible. but we also think we're lucky. people who lose their house and have no time to get out. we had an hour. >> and back out here, i can tell you, it is difficult to breathe. so, if you're in this area, even if you're in your car, might be smart to wear that mask because this air is really filtering through a lot of those car systems. other good news, they have brought in firefighters from san francisco to knock down this blaze and pg&e is also spraying that fire retardant on some of their utility poles. if you've never been in a fire, fires are very loud and hear a lot of falling and popping and snapping andol falling on people's homes and vehicles. we are live in vacaville, cierra

johnson. >> thank you, cierra. in the meantime, in santa cruz and san mateo county, tens of thousands of people are just sleeping in their cars. maybe at a friends or family's home if they're lucky after being ordered out of the cvu fire zone. it's 0% contained and, unfortunately, some won't have a home even to return to. "today in the bay" kris sanchez returns to join us where cal fire just wrapped a news conference there. it was cool to hear them say, these are unprecedented conditions that they are even dealing with. >> you don't hear often fire am experience be at a loss for words. they just can't describe it any more than saying it is historic and unprecedented and even that doesn't do it justice. we learned that the fire basically doubled in size overnight and that could be a conservative measure because the weather conditions mean that the smoke is laying sideways and so they can't get any penetration

with the aerial views. they don't know exactly how big the fire is and in which direction it is now burning. we do know that some people, though, already have lost their homes. this is fire video from bonny doon that happened overnight. countless homes burning. this is the 10,000 block of empire grade road also near vices road and empire grade road and davenport was evacuated in a really big rush as the fire changed direction and headed in thattures burned as of midnight and we don't know if it includes those that burned in bonny doon. that evacuation order is up to 25,000 people. santa cruz sheriff said that they are going to be very aggressive in their evacuation orders because they want people to get out when there's time to get out safely instead of trying to get out at the last minute. we also talked with the man who evacuated from bonny doon. take a listen. >> i couldn't stress more the importance of leaving when those

orders come out. i really can't. there are people that are unaccounted for. that we are looking to try to determine where they are. and, so, i stress that because with this fire you just don't know how things are going to go. >> what are you calling it? >> covidgedden. it's covid and armageddon together. >> that man was able to get out. he works at a gas station. he felt like he should stay at work, though he did leave his home with his pets. a lot of folks are avoiding shelters at this point because of that concern over covid-19 infection. we know that a lot of folks are staying in their homes. they are also staying with friends and family and maybe going to hotel to use the shelters as a last-ditch resort. santa clara fairgrounds is one that is open and santa cruz also open and there is another

shelter that opened up in half moon bay and that one is also available. i will put this information up on our social pages so you can keep track. again, to reiterate that critical warning. if you are asked to evacuate, evacuate because you want that fire personnel and the local law enforcement to be able to focus on getting people out and saving homes rather than trying to go back and forth pleading with people to leave a danger zone. this is a disaster. in scotts valley, kris sanchez "today in the bay." >> hard to believe, but oh, so important that they have to evacuate. thank you so much, kris. we have help with that, as well. if you have it, download our free nbc bay area app. the thing is with this, you will get those evacuation notices, as well. we have weather alerts, as well. any breaking news alertsnd real. you can download it for free. as soone ed as today san francisco released from the

state's watch list. open the door for more businesses to reopen and soon lead to students returning to in-person classes. counties are put on that list when they exceed any one of a handful of metrics for three straight days, including case numbers and hospitalizations. taken off that list of three days of positive trends. that list is constantly changing. the counties you see right here highlighted in yellow are now on the list. it's all 40, it's 40, i should say, in total. including all nine bay area counties. well, developing for you right now, uber and lyft still threatening to suspend business here in california att. last week a judge ruled by tomorrow that the companies have to fall in line with the state's new gig economy law requiring drivers receive benefits barring some kind of late reversal or injunction. the companies are vowing to halt operations, at least until november. that's when voters they overturned that new law.

6:39 for you this morning. time to get a check of that forecast for you. kari, we know air quality out there is not a good thing and really unhealthy in a lot of spots. >> yeah, because the wind is so light and variable at times, it's clear like we're seeing right now. it's pushing that smoke away from the south bay, but a slight shift in the wind direction could change things very quickly. be mindful of that as you're about and about today as temperatures come down slightly to the upper 80s in the south bay and we still see mid 90s for the inland east bay as well as the north bay. we'll have another update on this in a few minutes. mike, how is it looking for the commute? >> for the morning commute, kari, things are improving. highway 24 as you look at the maps back at speed out of the caldecott. bay bridge toll plaza has the only delay now. the clear up for the crew was the issue for 24, again, was. this still is an issue. marsh creek road is still closed between deer creek and found out it was a tree in the roadway. not related to the fire, but

that is coming to some of the area where you'll definitely see thicker smoke through the area and watch for that. marcus, the fire, the smoke, the closures, that's the big story this morning. >> certainly is, mike. up next for you, brief break from the wildfire coverage for you to show you another big headline this morning. bay area's own senator kamala harris accepting a history making vice presidential nomination. coming up, her message overnight for her home state. plus -- >> breaking news. i just got off the phone about this. steve bannon has been indicted by prosecutors in new york, federal prosecutors. we're working to get the very latest. we'll take you out to the big board this morning. dow industrials losing a business morning after the fed said it would take action but wouldn't say when.

right now at 6:44, let's get a live look in the east bay with walnut creek still a lot of smoke overhead. as we go into our temperature trend low 60s reaching into the mid 80s and slightly cooler day ahead. we'll look at all our microclimates and a look at the weekend forecast coming up. some of the worst of that smoke could be seen in the south bay as we take a live look outside over downtown san jose. that smoke is thick and there's ash in the air. it is dangerous breathing conditions. in fact, the spare the air alert

has been issued through the entire weekend through sunday. we want to focus on the area above the alum rock hills where another fire has been burning. people have been evacuated from the hills area. want to check in with nbc bay area bob redell has more on what is going on there and all the concerns of what firefighters are up against with this one, bob. >> yeah, good morning to you, laura. as we look towards mt. hamilton and the east foothills. you can see one of the several fires that are burning as part of the scu lightning complex. this is a series of about 20 fires burning from up north in brentwood towards the central valley and the san joaquin area and sunol and, of course, santa clara county, which is now quadrupled in size over the past 36 hours. cal fire saying it has burned through 2,000 acres and only 5% contained. you're looking at video from our downtown camera in downtown san jose.

we show that to you because this is a fire that is now visible in the santa clara valley basin on the floor. it did burn through mt. hamilton last night. take a look at this video provided to us by the fire department with the san luis obispo. they have been called up to help fight this and they were defending historic structures around the lick observatory. no word yet on whether any of those structures or the observatory itself were damaged or destroyed. we're under the impression it did make it through, but we don't have confirmation yet because we're not up there. again, this is a fire, a series of fires that were started by the lightnie said that makes fighting these fires unusual is that there are a lot of areas that have no previous fire history. meaning that there's a lot of growth there, fuel that are old growth and well established and very dry, which makes them even more conducive to combustion.

reporting live in san jose, bob redell. >> thank you. even though democratic vp candidate kamala harris was far away her mind was very close to home. overnight she tweeted her concerns about california's wildfires. saying, quote, when i visited firefighters in california who were battling the camp fire and some who lost their own homes, i was struck by their sheer bravery and commitment to protecting the communities they served. thinking of all the firefighters in california and their families right now, end quote. now, decision 2020 and tonight is the final night of the democratic national convention and tonight joe biden will take the same stage where kamala harris made that historic moment. that virtual convention from his hometown of wilmington, delaware. that's where last night the bay area's own kamala harris accepted the nomination and first black indian american on a major party ticket. >> there is no vaccine for

racism. we've got to do the work. >> the harris headline a night loaded with the heaviest of hitters in the democratic party including former president barack obama, hillary clinton and house speaker nancy pelosi. now, today, president trump may try to steal some pot of the spotlight from biden. he is also supposed to appear on a national tv interview tonight. the gop convention takes place next week. we've got some breaking news for you, the latest weekly jobless claim numbers just came out. they actually show a slight set back. first-time claims now, once again, surged past the million mark with 1.1 million. that's higher really than forecast and above the 200,000 above last week's numbers. also nearly 15 million americans

actually filed for continuing claim. startling news out of new york city this morning as well. as steve bannon has been indicted. >> scott mcgrew tells us what you know. tell us what you know about this. >> yeah, good morning to you. this is all very quickly moving news. we just got word. this is coming out of the southern district of the federal prosecutor in new york. that would be vance jr. the man who has been desperately looking into president trump's information and tax returns and what not. now indicting steve bannon. bannon, of course, was the ceo he called himself of the trump campaign. worked in the white house for seven months. he was instrumental, in fact, you could really make the argument that steve bannon invented the trump presidency. he was the first person to really work with trump on a legitimate candidacy. we believe cnbc says that he's been indicted with something to do with raising money for the

wall on the southern border. that there was a charity or a nonprofit that was trying to raise money and he has been charged cnbc is reporting, with defrauding donors in that fund-raising scheme. we know that bannon has been in contact with the white house, but hasn't been actually working at the white house for quite some time. this is really startling news coming out of new york city. it does not seem to be related specifically to his work in the white house. again, cnbc reporting that it has to do with a fund-raising scheme and he's been indicted there. we're certainly monitoring this. we'll have the very latest for you. but, again, if you're just joining us, long-time presidential adviser steve bannon has been indicted by federal prosecutors. we'll be tweeting about it. i'll guarantee you that. you can find me on twitter @scottmcgrew. >> a lot of people talking about

that. everyone in the bay area talking about this because they're experiencing it. taking a live look outside. smoke and in some cases ash having a major presence across the entire bay area from all these fires that are burning. in fact, we want to show you the air district's current air quality map. just about everywhere in brown indicating the poorest air quality. if you don't have to go outside today, you certainly shouldn't. spare the air alert is in effect through the weekend. in fact, i heard that we're having some of the worst air quality in the world right now, kari. >> yeah, i mean, we're seeing so much of the wildfires burning, as well as that high pressure that has been keeping it trapped near the surface. but it just changed at a the next few minutes, slight shift in the wind brings that smoke in your direction. we've also seen some more fog near the coastline this morning and we know that fog can trap that smoke and create even worse

air quality conditions in the city. as we look at our temperatures for today, san francisco will reach 73 degrees. it will be cooler there, as well as right along the immediate coastline. the inner bay will also be slightly cooler with oakland today reaching 80 degrees and upper 80s for the south bay. but notice as you go down to the south county inland east bay as well as far north bay, we are still looking at some hot weather. just not as hot as it has been. we're still looking at highs in the mid 090s for today. we go through the next several days. the record breaking heat will not budge. just kind of jogging east to west just a little bit allowing for us to now get some of that marine layer to return to the coast and the fog. but we'll see if this can happen to some tropical moisture as we go towards the end of the weekend as well as early next week. but this continued heat will stay with the bay area. mike, what's hap pening out thee on the roads? >> kari, the commute is