everyone is talking about. the orange colored sky. smoke and ash blanketing the bay area creating surreal scenes and bringing down air quality. what will it look like today. team coverage on what you can expect and if all that orange will stick around. plus -- >> i have the very sobering duty to report that there have been three fatalities to date. a wildfire turning deadly. three confirmed deaths in butte county and more missing. thousands remain with no place to go right now. the latest on what's still very real for people and their homes. and businesses everywhere are hinging on a vote today on capitol hill. why more pandemic relief is still far from a done deal. the third hour of "today in the bay" continues right now. and a very good morning to you, thanks so much for joining us i'm laura garcia.

>> i'm markicus washington. but, first, let's start with meteorologist kari hall with a look at that forecast for today and, of course, everybody is talking about that air quality, kari. >> it's looking a little bit more unhealthy for this morning. a lot of that smoke pushing down and also being trapped in our valleys. it's also being trapped in the fog that we're seeing near the coastline and san francisco over towards oakland, as well as parts of our north bay valleys. so, expect their time outside to be very short especially with 6:24 and the countdown is this unhealthy air quality for on. nfl fans who wondered if a everyone. we'll talk more about this and season would even happen during the pandemic really have why the sky was orange. something to celebrate this morning. game day is finally here. that's coming up in a few minutes. mike, how is it looking right >> hard to believe. the super bowl champions kicking now for the commute? >> kari, it's looking better. things off hosting the texans weird to say we have today in the bay's jay gray is improvement, but we do. early slowing on the span itself. let's look at the approach. live in kansas city, missouri, covering all the anticipation by the span i mean the bay bridge. for the players and the fans, as we're looking at berkeley and well, jay. berkeley curve and westbound 80 jammed up here and that's the tough part. >> yeah, laura, marcus.

look at your map. starting to improve for the i think everybody is ready for a speeds through mercury and little football and i think we all need a bit of a diversion. emeryville and early problems on 2020 has been a rough one to the span of the bay bridge this point. caused big backups at treasure look, it's not going to be the same, obviously. island and now back to the toll covid-19 playing a role in that. plaza and the berkeley curve and the rest of the approach through we'd normally be outside the contra costa county looks great stadium. it's locked down this morning with typical slow spots like and only open to the fans and the personnel going into the castro valley and vallejo, back stadium. the parking lot would be open to you. for tailgating for a bit fewer >> thanks, mike. that is what is happening on the ground. what is happening in the air? than 17,000 compared to what would be more than 76,000 the smoke from so many fires normally. making for ominous skies across still, as you talked about, the the bay area. players, the coaches, the fans. we have live team coverage for you. "today in the bay" kris sanchez everybody very excited about this evening. is tracking now what is a deadly >> we're kicking it off we're fire in oroville and let's check in with bob redell live in the head honchos for the nfl and the chiefs to be able to show dublin on this record run of spare the air days, bob. and see what the 2020 season is going to be like. >> and, laura, you'll recall 30 >> they're going to be loud. minutes agdublin. that's the u.n. wione thing i d. i was showing you westbound 580. >> they're winners and they're going to be winners. now you can't see anything. >> yeah, look, not only the visibility has already covid-19, but with the nation dealing with the effects of gotten much worse. but when we were able to see the

headlig social injustice and equality headlights, we were able to see the orange glow to it like we saw yesterday. we are presuming we are going to issues, that's going to play a role in tonight's game, as well. see the orange skies. we do know that the players will today as you mention, another spare the air day and one be allowed to wear helmet tomorrow. the number 24 and 25 in a row emblems and also allowed to wear breaking a new record. the names or initials of those and the forecast calls for winds who have suffered social injustices. we don't know what is going to off of the pacific ocean to keep happen during the national pushing this smoke over our anthem pregame for each team. we do know lift every voice and area. until those winds subside or sing often refer to as the black change, it looks like we'll be stuck with this stuff. we expect sunrise this morning national anthem will be played to be just as weird as not only tonight but before yesterday. you can take a look at this video from 24 hours ago. every week day game in the nfl. this is when we woke up to ash on our cars like we did today. >> we'll be watching. thanks. and an orange glow in the sky. you know where you watch right here on nbc bay area. in san francisco, the smoke and it's a special edition of sunday soot shrouded the towers of the golden gate bridge for several night football on thursday hours. as bad as the air looks, night. however, the bay area air precoverage gets under way at quality management district says 4:00 p.m. and game kicks off a the air quality is still little after 5:00. moderate. another programming note for you it's not the worst possible. nbc bay area will air special doctors are also reminding us this is not only bad for your newscasts at 3:00 and then 9:00 lungs, but your eyes, as well. p.m. following the game. we all have your news covered

for you. we continue to track what use the over -the-counte t-the- everyone is talking about when it comes to the bay area skies. lubricating and avoed wearing contact lenses outside, if you you might even say orange is the can. new blue. >> if smoke fwets under the contact lenses and dense enough you may be wondering why orange? it can cause significant irritation. so, look, kari is going to so, in cases like that, you may want to consider wearing glasses explain all of that. what's causing this strange, eerie glow for us. as opposed to wearing contact lenses. plus those wildfires still >> and during any spare the air burning across northern day, you do want to limit your california. we'll talk about the harrowing time outdoors. ordeal for one family as they if you are going to exercise, do escape. a lot more news ahead. that in the morning. you're watching "today in the bay." coming up in a half hour, an explanation to why this soot and ash and smoke is giving us that orange glow. reporting live here in dublin, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> thank you. another look at what we're talking about when bob was talking about the skies. yep, our cameras capturing this across the bay area. this is all day yesterday. the orange i and yellow mostly everywhere and we actually expect more of the same thing this morning as the sun comes up. >> that's just an eerie sight. i know we keep talking about it,

but everyone is. let's check in with meteorologist kari hall because you have a better explanation of why this is happening across the bay area. >> right. and, so, let's take it back to elementary school science when we learn about white light and sunlight. how it's comprised of all the primary colors during the middle of the day, the sun is shining directly through that atmosphere and doesn't have much of that atmosphere to go through. so, it gives us the blue colors. so, short waves. but in the mornings and the evenings, those longer waves travel through the atmosphere when the sun is lower in the horizon and that's basically what the smoke is doing. it's keeping those short waves. the blue end of the spectrum from coming through and we're getting those long waves from the reds, the orange and the yellows and as that comes through, it's also reflecting and bouncing off of everything in and around the b gives us th. most likely they'll see it again today. talking more about that and our air quality coming up in a few minutes. >> all right, thank you very

much, kari. well, there is such concern with all these fires that the wind with the fire burning near oroville killed three people as it exploded in size. at least a dozen others are missing. the fire spread to nearly jean, did you know geico is now offering 100,000 acres in just 24 hours. an extra 15% credit on car and motorcycle policies? that's great! "today in the bay" kris sanchez that's 15% on top of what geico could already save you. so what are you waiting for? joins us live with what we know about those victims and still a john stamos to knit you a scarf? lot of people at risk here, all finished, jean. kris. >> yeah, laura. enjoy! we know at least a dozen people are still missing and that one thank you. of those three people who was i give. the stitch work is impeccable. found dead was definitely trying to get away at the time. it's just a double fleck pattern with a reverse garter stitch. this time yesterday we were no big deal. showing you what it looked like is your hair this soft? for those people who were trying to evacuate. softer. geico. save an extra 15% when you switch by october 7th. the butte county sheriff now confirms that one person was found in a car trying to escape. the other two people who died were found at different locations. the bear fire is part of the north complex, which is now more than a quarter million acres. it's burning in the plumeth national forest and the u.s.

forestry service is in charge. they took a different route than cal fire. they say that the fire was unprecedented which is how two evacuees described it to us, breaking right now at 6:30. too. they told us they spent hours in a swamp escaping the flames. breaking records and bringing skies like we have never seen >> we drove through here and before. here's a live look outside across the area at current just like driving through hell. conditions today marking the just flames everywhere. 24th spare the air alert. >> i have no idea how to describe that. we were trapped for eight, nine this after an eerie, ominous and orange glow filling the skies hours. this bridge was on fire. we couldn't get out. yesterday. our team tracking what's ahead >> containment of the north and when this will all end. complex went from 51% to 24% the air quality all depends because of those howling diablo on the fires still raging out of control. winds and now the evacuation the race to contain the flames warning includes part of the in the evacuation under still under way. here we go on this g town of paradise where so many people died and lost their homes to the camp fire a few years ago. adding to the challenges, the thursday morning. thanks so much for starting it escape route is very dark pau right here with us. i'm marcus washington. because the area is part of a >> and i'm laura garcia. we'll get to traffic with mike pg&e public safety power in just a little bit, but we're talking about this eerie glow. shutoff. the signals are not working and we're waiting the sunrise in

just about 15 minutes. the advice here is that if we're in a pandemic, as well. you're asked to get out, you should do it because you don't know what the conditions are or fires. oh, kari, what's going on? going to be once you hit the road. kris sanchez, "today in the bay." >> good advice, thank you. >> well, i'm looking closely at closer to the bay area, the this walnut creek shot. it looks a little grainy but i'm czu fires now 84% contained and more evacuation orders are being wondering if that is ash falling or the camera looks that grainy. downgraded toern warnings. of course, we've seen ash san mateo health leaders are falling around the bay area because of the fires that continue and we should at some declaring a health emergencies. point start to see the sun also declaring a local rising, but we haven't so far yet. emergency. the fire destroyed some 1,400 and as we look into the day, structures. well, full containment now temperatures, who knows. it is like we have a lot of forecast for saturday in this smoke and that's going to keep those temperatures down for today. scu fire. it destroyed 138 structures, we'll talk about this, our air quality and, of course, why the burned nearly 400,000 acres in skies are orange. seven counties, including santa that's coming up. mike, how's it looking for the clara, alameda and contra costa. morning commute? >> well, we're looking at a lot new data showing more people are having trouble making it in of green from the sensors. the bay. that's good news. the number of tenants who but the orange on my map shows couldn't pay rent jumped this the slow down. the little slow down popping up month. that's according to the data in usual spots like san jose and hayward heading down towards the firm real page reported by the san mateo bridge. "mercury news."

rent payments in the three the big focus has been for most of the morning, the bay bridge largest cities dropped nearly approach, the bridge span itself 10% over the year. one of the largest drops is clear. the metering lights are on and actually in the nation. the number of renters making at now as we look at the berkeley least some payment fell to 84% and emeryville camera things in the south bay. continue to build and a lot of in the east bay, san francisco haze or something going on in and san mateo county, they're this view. >> thank you very much, mike. now all slightly lower than that. so, those orange skies are i can tell you right now -- expected to return to the bay >> it is 6:09 right now. area when the sun rises this morning. check out this time lapse video. >> i was going to say, now is this is taken by one of our not a day to move because the air quality out there make it photographers on treasure island looking out towards san hard for those movers. meteorologist kari hall tracking francisco. this really ominous and eerie. what we can expect from the air "today in the bay" bob redell is and the quality of it. kari, how is it looking out live above dublin this morning there? >> okay. and, bob, you can say you we need some changes, right? we're looking at our overall already see how bad that air is weather patern and what's going on. so, we had high pressure just to out there. >> you can. that's one reason why today is the north of us and bringing in a northerly wind with this going to be another spare the air day today and tomorrow. clockwise wind flow and what's coming down the line is low tomorrow will make it 25 in a pressure and as that storm row. that would be another record for system moves in, it will bring in some cooler temperatures but the most consecutive spare the air days that we've seen. haven't seen that many since, itscounterclockwise wind flow we've never seen that many.

will bring in more westerly wind we saw 14 in a row back in 201 to the bay area which will help during the camp fire. this is a record. you can see with your own eyes improve the bay area and that just how bad the air is. happens this weekend and also bring in cooler temperatures. looking at video from earlier this morning. this is a viewer in gilroy who we'll talk more about the impacts of that and what is shot this video around 2:00 this ahead in the forecast coming up. let's head over to mike where we're telling people turn that morning of ash falling in her air conditioning in the car and backyard. we saw it again on our cars this morning as we were coming in. recirculate. >> that's right. the smoke and soot coming from recirculate. keep that air going because that ash is outside. the bear fire which is burning over 100 miles away in oroville overall, we're looking at a pretty smooth drive outside but north of sacramento. the focus has been on the bay yesterday was a strange one to bridge toll plaza and the span. early this morning, we had say the least. much of the bay area was basked problems getting across the span in this orange glow and street because i believe a crew that lights well into the morning and was there at treasure island. you notice the focus on the some places to the afternoon. a lot of comparisons to the approach towards the bay bridge where the metering lights are martian sky. we caught up with san jose state still on. 580 westbound and 880 northbound meteorologist professor craig and 80 all slow feeder route in clemens who showed us the smoke towards the maze and berkeley layers. he said it will take a change in curve. starting to ease up a bit as the wind direction for this stuff to go away. traffic continues to flow to the area, though. a little bit of slowing on the san mateo bridge. >> off the pacific or some southerly winds approaching that the live look showed a flashing would push it up to the north. light set right there and that now, there is smoke over off the look like it was cleared coast so, as we get our sea whatever was going on.

back to you. coming up on "today in the breeze, some smoke might come back in. but it won't be this dense. bay," thousands of new jobs at it won't be this thick. the job fair. i'll tell you all about it coming up. >> we asked our own nbc bay area sometimes moms have to ruin everything. details, yep, behind that meteorologist due to the t interruption that has gone viral. smoke and ash particles i'm bigad shaban and we just filtering out and emphasizing the longer wave length orange and red light from the sun. released our second season of "derail" digital series about all things b.a.r.t. similar to what we see at s sunrise and sunset. how b.a.r.t. is coping with the reporting live in dublin, bob pandemic, financial fallout and racial reckoning and you can redell. four of those major fires binge watch all our new episodes raging out of control. primary on our app, youtube and apple tv and nbcbayarea.com/derail. give you my world ♪ culprits causing the bad air quality. tens of people have been forced to evacuate and hundreds of buildings have been destroyed. the bear fire exploded earlier wednesday. this is east of oroville advancing nearly 100,000 acres in just 24 hours. the sheriff there announcing

three people have died. in butte county, this is the same area hit by the camp fire two years ago. about 20,000 people are evacuating. one family, they tried to escape their bear creek home. this was on tuesday night. but they had to shelter in a swamp. this wasn't until fire crews were able to clear the path across the bar bridge. >> i have no idea how to describe that. we were trapped for eight, nine hours. this bridge was on fire. we couldn't get out. >> meanwhile the creek fire east of fresno still out of control. the national guard telling us they rescued 385 people by helicopter. this morning all new video to show you inside one of california air national guards helicopter as it was actually flying over fresno. they were trying to rescue people that were there from the creek fire. for days, crews have been working just to get people out that have been trapped by the

flames. on twitter the guard said visibility has been very low, making it difficult for them due to all the smoke from the fires. a vast majority of othose who had their power shut off in the north bay until tuesday are now waking up this morning with the power restored. now, the current outage map you can see right here and the triening aals you see in purple up here towards the north part, those are the area where customers are still in the dark. pg&e has now restored 97 % of te power. in total, some 22,000 people in the north bay were without electricity and the utility says that crews did find some ♪ how can i, when you won't take it from me ♪ potential trouble spots that are now being repaired that otherwise should have caused some problems. of course, we know right now ♪ you can go your own way ♪ is not the time to lose electricity, kari. you know, just tough out there ♪ go your own way for a lot of people. the air quality even right now is not great out there at all. your wireless. your rules. unhealthy in some spots, too. >> yeah. only with xfinity mobile. it's looking a lot worse this morning compared to yesterday as we take a look at a lot of these numbers here.

especially in the north bay, as well as san francisco. over towards oakland. and down to redwood city where it's unhealthy for everyone. we are seeing some moderate air quality that will be unhealthy for people with breathing problems in the east bay, as well as the south bay. but this will change as we go throughout the day as the plumes of smoke come through and settle in to the bay area. so, i'll continue to monitor right now at 6:13 our that. we'll talk about what's ahead in the forecast coming up. mike gets us out the door with a hundr unhealthy air quality and as we look at the commute. head out the door in antioch >> yeah, kari. tough commute and for many spots today temperatures in the lower getting a little better towards 60s and slowly climb today. the bay bridge. little bit cooler but still a should say the visibility may be lot of smoke. more on that and what is ahead tough because of that haze in in the forecast, coming up. the air. as we look at the live shot we and what's ahead if you're have at the bay bridge toll plaza. driving through berkeley is the the backup here which is moving berkeley curve and the backup better in the middle lanes. again, you notice all that haze holding at about powell and here could barely make out the that's better than it was east shore freeway. before. heading towards the bay bridge we'll look at the map and show which is actually moving better you the speed censorssensors ar than it was before. you notice the middle lanes have improving but slow drive through better movement. i notice because i stare at this albany and berkeley and same all morning long, scott. thing for west 580 and across all morning long. over to you.

that western span. have you jammed up towards treasure island and those have cleared for the last 40 minutes. i believe it, mike. meanwhile, the rest of the bay good morning to you. just starting for slowing and very happy thursday, as well. through concord and little build as you know, on thursdays we get over in the south bay. back to you. >> thanks so much, mike. the first-time jobless claim numbers. 6:38. a big announcement about the let me throw a bunch of numbers at you. future of the san francisco salon where nancy pelosi 884,000 americans ask for received backlash from across unemployment benefits for the first time last week. the nation. that was a bit higher than the difficult decision the salon owner says she's now being expected. forced to make. 22,000 of them were california. now, a little bit more than 13 well, president trump trying to explain his comments on tape million americans stayed on the unemployment rolls last week, as well. that he downplayed the amazon says it needs to hire coronavirus. tens of thousands of new workers so it will hold a virtual job plus, as the nfl gets ready to begin its season, pac-12 fair next wednesday. that will be the 16th. the companies say that the total college football still far from reality. why the game plan is still compensation is around $150,000 causing so much uncertainty this morning. average, which that average is a 6:38. little hard metric to work with. a median would have been more helpful from amazon. but one way or another it says amazon needs to fill 33,000 positions.

is going to order facebook to stop sto hey, my twitter is blowing up! dear jack box, bring back the spicy chicken strips, still waiting for the spicy chicken strips, data on irish citizens and on so many about spicy chicken strips. irish users in the united states. only to do it ireland. wow, i hear you. ireland is concerned it has no so i'm bringing back my juicy 100% control over the u.s. government all-white meat spicy chicken strips combo surveilling irish citizens. for only $5.99! this is important because if every company did this to every high-tech firm, that would be a huge headache for the tech industry. speaking of countries, united airlines announced their service between sfo and india creating united's longest flight more than 17 hours in the air. those flights start in the spring. martha stewart is starting to sell cbd. products include gummies in raspberry and hucklekeberry and flavors from her own kitchen, she says. stewart says my wellness gummies

closely resemble rather than the sticky overly sweet versions you might see else where. >> sounds luxurious. >> fancy. >> i know. thanks, scott. 6:17 for you this morning. a live look for you at capitol hill. in a few hours, senate republicans are expected to vote on the coronavirus relief plan. but that proposal faces an uphill battle. house democrats say it falls short and they vow to block the bill. the $300 billion proposal includes unemployment benefits and funding for schools and liability protections for businesses and health care facilities. okay. so, this is kind of funny and trending this morning. a rude interruption for a texas teenager. she was recording a song for a is it the juicy 100% all-white meat? school audition but take a look at what happened. or because you can spice them up or cool them down? or because a little birdie told me you wanted them back

really bad... get my spicy chicken strips combo for only $5.99. >> and the special effect. she'. but don't worry mom is okay. everyone had a good laugh at all of this. that video has more than 8 million views on tiktok. >> what a bizarre thing to happen. >> i know. right now at 6:41. and it was all caught on camera. our morning in dublin starting the way it did yesterday. dark despite the fact that the sun is rising and so we'll see >> she grabbed the phone. she didn't say, mom, are you how things shape out today. still looks like we have heavy okay? she grabbed the phone. >> we have to show it all. smoke lingering over the bay >> call a contractor. area with cooler temperatures. more on this and the air quality leading into the weekend coming >> they need to. up in a few minutes. >> she got the clicks. >> hey, kari, you were asking earlier. >> and it may look tough, but what was the mom doing? maybe she was working out inside the east shore freeway and the berkeley curve moving better now because of the stay-at-home as you head towards the bay order in so many places. bridge. things loosening up at the toll possibly. i don't know. >> don't go there, marcus. plaza although it's tough to see through this haze. the woman jumping around falls a live look just a little

through the ceiling. farther north shows you the >> i didn't think about that. build, though, from richmond to >> kari, take it away. san rafael and this may be a ripple because of the backup at let's talk about all this smoke the toll plaza. that we have because we are thanks so much, kari and working out inside. mike. you definitely don't want to be 6:42. and breaking this morning. new job numbers to tell you out in this. this shows how much smoke in the about. upper levels of the atmosphere 884,000 people filed for the past 24 hours and basically first-time jobless claims. hasn't moved. and we're not the only ones that's actually a little higher experiencing this. than expected. some analysts say that it shows take a look at how this smoke that the recovery is slowing traveled across the country and, so, it's everywhere from parts down. right now another 13.3 million of texas all the way up to americans continue to receive maine. so, this is how far that smoke unemployment benefits. travels as it moves away from that's down more than 1 million from last week. those wildfires and now we're another top story for you this morning. just stopped in with all this the san francisco hair salon at smoke and it makes it unhealthy the center of nancy pelosi going in and getting their hair done out there. take a look at our numbers that are looking a little bit worse well the doors are now closed. compared to yesterday, i think, security footage inside of e because the smoke is kind of salon went viral. the salon owner now saying, sinking down especially in parts of the north bay, as well as san rafael being trapped in that she's done. she's out. "today in the cierra marine layer with that fog in san francisco over towards oakland. but it is not as bad in parts of johnson in front of cow hollow the inland east bay as well as salon to explain what's going on.

the south county. >> yes, good morning. so, we're going to continue to see that changing, as we go into last week i put in this exact spot to explain that this salon today. and we've been saying limit your time outside. going to be pretty much be the is where nancy pelosi was seen same tomorrow but then as we go getting her hair done. into the weekend, the spare the that salon was then thrusted in air alert may, may expire, but the national spotlight in a new development this morning we we've had it for so long i do learned that the owner of this salon took to fox news to share think we'll still at least have that she will be closing the drifts of smoke because it's going to be unhealthy for people doors of this salon. with breathing problems and we're not going to see much now, owner erica kious initially improvement here as long as those fires are burning. released the video to show the we know they won't be out soon. our temperatures will cool off contradiction of how pelosi can feel safe enough to visit a heading into the end of the weekend and early next week. salon for a blowout, but more fog and temperatures in the considers dangerous for others 60s for san francisco. to visit. the security footage went viral with the politicians and other mike, what's the update on the business owners weighing in, commute this morning? calling the visit hypocritical. >> you know, overall, kari, she also said in the days that looking pretty good. followed she was bombarded with i'll pull your attention to this negative e-mails, calls and yelp side of the screen. as you're looking at it highway reviews and late last night she 84 in towards sunol and little told tucker carlson the pressure extra slowing there. was simply too much after a crash on the shoulder for a spending a decade and a half here at e salon. while and that may be a take a listen to why she said distraction. but it's not bad for the specifically she's closing the doors.

trivalley. not bad at all. recovery over here for the >> i'm actually afraid to go approach towards the bay bridge. 880 now back at speed and 580 back just because of the still slow and from the top of the screen down towards the bay messages and e-mails i've been bridge toll plaza. getting. so, yeah. live look shows you still slow there. it's a little scary and sad. the issue was on the span we had early slowing across towards i do have a lot of positive treasure island and that cleared up as crews from overnight crews calls and text messages from, you know, clients. but other than that, nothing but cleared up from ov cleared up. >> thanks, mike. get those wings and beers negati ready and if you have one of n negativity. >> in a statement following that incident, pelosi's team believes those foam fingers, why not point it up right now. that the speaker was, in fact, because nfl returns to nbc following the rules. her team explaining, quote, this business offered for the speaker to come in on a monday and told tonight. we go live to kansas city with her they were allowed by the city to have one customer at a the changes that you're going to see during the game and the fans time in the business. the speaker complied with the that can be expected to sit in rules presented to her by this those stands. establishment. we know that at that time only but certainly not like we're using to seeing, laura. hair stylists were able to work >> all right. well, we're not using to outdoors. the inside portions of the seeing these orange skies salons in this county were not either. this is what it looked like in open. it is important to note that lafayette. just about 24 hours ago. the orange glow really showing. this isn't the only e selawn in

meteorologist kari hall posted that photo taken from the cal the city. it is unclear if the other fire camera. location will remain open. make sure to follow her and the rest of the team. right now this e salon in cow we're all on facebook, twitter and instagram. hollow thrust into the national we'll be back in just a bit. spotlight because of pelosi's appearance here will be closing. it's 6:21. you're watching "today in the bay." experience the ultimate sports hub. we're live in cow hollow, cierra johnson for "today in the bay." >> thanks, cierra. moving on to decision 2020. joe biden said president trump endangered americans by not telling them the truth about coronavirus. >> scott mcgrew, that accusation backed up by the president's own words. >> yeah, the president's own words on tape. good morning to you. bob woodward says that he and the president talked at least 18 famous where you can find games, news and highlights. reporter in the world did tape all in one place, right on your tv. the president. the president knew he was being recorded. this was all for a new book that the xfinity sports zone. is coming out next week about use your voice to search every stat, standing and score. trump by bob woodward. it was during conversations in follow the teams you love. february, early march, where the

and, even get notifications president acknowledged to with breaking news alerts and more. woodward how deadly coronavirus so you'll never miss an update. was and that it would be a big problem while publicly saying it with the xfinity sports zone wasn't a big deal. everybody wins. now that's simple, easy, awesome. click, call or visit a store for details. >> to be hoppest winest with yo. >> sure, i want you to. >> i still like playing it down because i don't want to create a panic. >> now, the president says that he downplayed the virus. remember, he repeated said it was much more like the flu. that it would disappear and we had it under control in order to not to panic the public. as you heard joe biden countering saying it left americans confused about what to do. remember, we have the highest death rate in the world by several multiples. here's biden. >> he had the information. he knew how dangerous it was. now while this deadly disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job on purpose. it was a life and death betrayal of the american people. >> i think if you said in order

to reduce panic, perhaps that's so. the fact is i'm a cheerleader for this country and i love our country and i don't want people to be frightened. >> now, woodward says not only did he talk to the president 18 separate times on tape, he talked to other high-level staffers in the white house on the record and with the president's permission. maggie haberman who works for "new york times" covering the white house said this. there is an epic amount of finger-pointing going on at the white house right now about who's to blame for a group of grown adults in serious positions in government and in one case the president talking to woodward. here's the white house press secretary. >> the president never downplayed the virus. once again, the president expressed calm. >> of course, the president did downplay the virus. he said so himself. he used the word several times. downplayed. here's that phone call, dpen.

. >> to be honest with you -- >> sure, i want you to be. >> i wanted to, i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> the president will be in michigan today. we'll be covering that campaign stop. we can talk about it on twitter and you can find me there. i'm @scottmcgrew. >> all right, scott, thank you. 6:48 there yfor you this mo. back to the coverage of the bay area, scott. something everyone is still talk about this morning. the air quality. i want you to check out all of these live shots. this is across the bay area. laura, we have been looking all morning. >> that's right. we're finally in the sunrise. we have been waiting and it looks a little more gray to start our day compared to yesterday. our entire nbc bay area team posting on social media probably like you, as well. filled everyone's social mediaardy about those ominous

and eerie skiz. as we have been mentioning, today marks the 24th day in a row for a spare the air alert. during a pandemic, kari, it seems like my one little relief is being able to go outside and you're kind of hesitant with the air quality out there. >> absolutely. we went outside for a couple of minutes yesterday. i was thinking, okay, well, the sensors aren't looking too bad. but we stepped outside and there was ash falling and i just grabbed the kids really quickly and we went back in. that's what we're seeing still today with all of this smoke. this showed the upper levels of the atmosphere over the past 24 hours and just hasn't moved. this is also being transported in the upper levels of the atmosphere across the country. we're seeing it over towards denver and extending towards iowa and michigan and see it all the way up through maine. we are seeing this traveling across the country, but we're the ones really in the middle of it and getting those orange skies. i have to take you up a little bit higher and into the north

bay. where we are starting out another morning with an orange sky here. but it does depend on how high or low in the atmosphere that smoke is and how that white gets basically allows band widths or wave lengths of the light to come through. yesterday we had those orange skies and i had a lot of pictures on social media pictur can't be everywhere around the bay area. we want to see what is going on. my friend bruce jones sent this picture and we're not the only ones confused here. the deer are out in the middle of the day and just trying to make their way around. as we go into today, we're starting out with some fog near the coastline and also a lot of smoke. so, we're going to see that smoke and smoggy conditions along the coast and in san francisco today. i've actually seen the air quality looking a little bit worse for us this morning. so, as we see the fog returning for tonight, we're in the same weather pattern. but things will change as we go

into the weekend. the storm system, this area of low pressure approaching the pacific northwest will bring us more of a westerly wind. that's an ocean breeze and slightly improved air quality. but, of course, these fires are still burning. so, we are still going to have more smoke coming through even into next week. but our temperatures will come down and we're looking at some cooler air on the way over the next few days. no really extreme spikes in our temperatures, that's good. and san francisco will stay in the 60s over the next seven days. mike how is it looking for drivers heading outthe door right now? >> overal smoothly. as far asnd rippled back out. let's talk about what we see here. the maps show mostly green everywhere. a little build for san jose right on schedule as you approach the 7:00 hour. now, over here, real big problems because of a slow down across the westbound deck for the bay bridge. now, that cleared early on but the backup has just now

recovered from 580 and 808. still slow down the east shore freeway from about golden gate field. because of that backup that has been there for about an hour, some folks may be in rodeo, richmond, san pablo and getting towards the richmond bridge. let's get over to the toll plaza slow for westbound 580. back to you. >> all right, thanks. happening now for you, a huge fire breaking out at the port of beirut triggering panic among residents as months after that massive explosion. now, we still aren't clear on what caused this fire but the staterun media saying it is burning an entire storage warehouse. 3,000 tons of chemicals exploded injuring another 6,500 and flattening a huge section of the downtown area. 6:52 right now. coming up next on "today in the bay" a look at the top stories. sunrise as we're mentioning across the bay area.

will the skies today still have the same orange hue. team coverage of what your morning commute is looking like, as well. you're watching "today in the bay."

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6:55. welcome back. one last look at the story we're all watching for this morning and it's all happening right out our window. >> sunrise officially happen little less than ten minutes

ago. here's another live look from all our traffic cameras. you can see views from san francisco and the east bay and the south bay. they want to get straight out to "today in the bay" bob redell live in dublin. what are things looking like out there? not too bad where you are this morning. >> i have seen the ash. i saw that on my car earlier this morning. but we are not seeing the orange sky. it's very gray out here. regardless, the air quality is not good. there is another spare the air day today and tomorrow. so number 24 and 25 in a row. a new record. so far, though, you remember what we saw yesterday and take a look at the video where you have the weird, orange glow throughout the bay area. you will recall that the towers of the golden gate bridge were shrouded in that smoke and soot well into the morning and afternoon. street lamps were still on late morning in some places in the afternoon. but, again, we're not seeing that here in dublin right now. in spite of the fact that there is the spare the air day in

effect and air quality management district said that the level of severity is moderate, not the worst possible. reporting live here in dublin, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> and i'm cierra johnson in san francisco. much of the same here in the city. many folks woke up to that orange haze, but this morning the sun rising at 6:48 and it appears to be a normal day in the city. the clouds, well, you can't see the clouds in the sky rather still very gray with the headlights showing. you can show a little bit of ash and a little bit of mist. but it appears to be a regular day complete contrast from what we saw yesterday. really that eerie feeling. those pictures making national headlines. even being shared internationally on social media. today appears to be a normal day. air quality you can tell is a bit strange, but, visually, things appear to be back to normal here in the city. we'll throw it back to you guys.

>> hopefully they're getting some containment on these fires. >> absolutely. we heard bob saying looks pretty normal out there today, but you can't certainly, the air quality not the same, kari. >> right. we've seen changes in the air quality. and we do have to remember that yesterday at the istiis time it started off like this and as the day went on, it turned more of an orange color. we'll see how this shapes up. our temperatures cooler over the next few days. how is it looking getting out the door, mike? >> kari -- >> well, we've been looking at the traffic cam. >> well, right now, look at this, all those traffic cameras that we do have out there, the cameras that we have across the bay area, you can see what it looks like throughout the bay area this morning. but also we can see those traffic cameras, mike, so how is the traffic moving out there for us this morning. >> yeah, i'm sorry, guys. reducing the backup. they are gray orange view becauk at all particulate matter in

the air. it's built over the last few at the bay bridge toll plaza. folks heard about all the slowing across the span which is now clear and some of them went up to the richmond san rafael bridge up to the north and that is showing more traffic than we often see at this time on a thursday. there you go slowing getting out of the east bay heading west across those two bridges, as well as highway 37 out of vallejo. >> never knew we'd be so happy to see carl the fog. that will do it for us this morning. >> thanks so much for making us part of your morning. "today" show is next.

good morning. on the record. >> i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down. >> yes. >> because i don't want to create a panic. >> growing falut after journalist bob woodward releases his interviews with president trump at the start of the pandemic. the president acknowledging the risk of the virus but downplaying it to the american people. this morning, his defense of that decision. >> you cannot show a sense of panic. >> and the new questions facing him and his administration over their handling of the crisis. breaking overnight, unrelenting.