yesterday. and yesterday was the deadliest day in the state since the pandemic began. >> hospitals across the state are still filling up, so leaders in the bay area are pleading with people to cancel any in-person new year's plans and stay home. some cities going even further, closing down places where people might gather. >> hospital space continues to be an issue because of the covid surge. take a look at these numbers. southern california and the san joaquin valley as they were yesterday. 0% availability. the bay area at 8.5%, not great, but yesterday it was 7.5%, so we're going in the right direction. here's the availability by county. six counties in the red zone as you can see. that means fewer than 15% of icu beds available. napa still at 0%, no beds available. san mateo at 5%. yesterday it was 4%. santa clara county at 8%. yesterday it was 5%. so going good there. san francisco and alameda county, and now sonoma county

all at 30% availability or above. >> nearly 100,000, that's how many vaccines officials say have been given out to health care workers across santa clara county. today firefighters, paramedics, and emts with the county rolled up their sleeves during a vaccination clinic at the fairgrounds. some 200 first responders received their first doses of the moderna vaccine. that's on top of the 170 vaccinated on day one, which was yesterday. the county fire chief says this dose of protection provides him and others with a sense of comfort. >> we have had outbreaks in several of the agencies within santa clara county, and providing this first line of protection for our folks is really critical for them to continue to do their jobs, especially as we're starting to see cases ramp up and our folks are still going out there every day. >> once all of santa clara's 1,600 firefighters, paramedics, and emts are vaccinated, the

county fire department will run a vaccine clinic for law enforcement officers. so how is the vaccine rollout going? well, coming up in about ten minutes, we talk with the head of pharmacy at regional medical center in san jose. he tells us the biggest challenges his hospital has face sod far and what people should expect when getting their second shot. okay. a big announcement from san francisco today. the city is extending its stay-at-home order. >> what that means is only essential travel is allowed. it also means a mandatory ten-day quarantine for anyone returning to the city after going outside the bay area's nine counties. nbc area's christie smith is in san francisco with reaction from the people who live there and work there. >> reporter: well, the embarcadero certainly looks nothing like it usually would on new year's eve. by this time, thousands of people are already starting to gather here. but with the fireworks canceled

by covid and with the city saying the stay-at-home order will need to be extended -- >> disappointment. >> reporter: at cafe sport, jose was disappointed but not surprise to see the stay-at-home order is extended. >> it's sad because we were thinking they could open at least dining outside, and they come and say, no, we don't know when it's going to open. i say maybe a month or after valentine's day. >> reporter: he hopes people stay safe this new year's eve amid the pandemic, but his bottom line will certainly miss the traditional holiday crowd. he says the restaurant is hanging in there but wonders about long-term impacts. >> you have to cut labor. you have to cut employees. that's going to be so hard. that's going to be so hard to ask to do. >> reporter: the local order was implemented december 3rd and then became area-wide two weeks

later when regional icu beds fell below 15%. >> we know first of all for the state side, our icu capacity as a region is still low, and so likely that order will be extended. and for the second reason, we also know that we need to evaluate what happens through december. >> reporter: the city said it would be at least two weeks to know the covid impacts from possible christmas and new year's gatherings but believe the order and travel quarantine have slowed down infections. >> we were hoping that beginning january 8th. >> reporter: francesco is offering takeout and delivery at this restaurant. the parklet here is empty, and he'd like to see that change in the near future. >> now only with delivery, we're back around 40% of business, which is impossible to sustain. >> reporter: in san francisco, christie smith, nbc bay area news. a fitting way to end a rough year. san francisco will be saying good-bye to 2020 mostly in the

dark. this holiday light exhibit at golden gate park has lifted people's spirits all season long, but tonight the lights are going to be turned off. the fireworks show along the embarcadero, that's canceled. b.a.r.t. whether not offer extended hours tonight as they usually do on the big holidays. ocean beach closed. the gates to twin peaks going to be closed tonight. first responders are urging everyone to please celebrate safely. >> this is not a normal new year's eve. please stay home and celebrate with your own household or participate in virtual celebrations. >> one more. police also ask everyone not to drink and drive. oakland police also want you to celebrate new year's eve safely. a reminder, setting off illegal fireworks and shooting guns is dangerous. the alameda county health order shelter in place is still in effect. gathering is not allowed. san jose cracking down on illegal fireworks. the city has doubled the fines. it's now $1,000 for your first

offense. the illegal firework acfitivity back on the fourth of july was unprecedented. the city says it logged more than 6,000 complaints. it is the end of an era for a san francisco institution. the cliff house restaurant officially closed for good today. a small crowd gathered to watch as workers unbolted and removed the sign letter by letter from the building. nbc bay area's jonathan bloom spoke with a few longtime san franciscans who came out to bid the restaurant good-bye. >> reporter: the cliff house is older than anyone alive. sure, it's burned down a few times, but it keeps getting rebuilt, always a place where the public could have a drink and a hot meal and enjoy a breathtaking view of the ocean, until now. nearly every san franciscan has a cliff house memory. >> amazing history, amazing views, amazing cha pinot, everything you want. >> reporter: jonathan got married here. >> we come back here for anniversaries. we came here to celebrate the

birth of our children. >> reporter: it's a favorite for natives. >> before they remodeled the old bar, i remember drinking in that when i was a young man. >> those popover rolls were so good, and we would just look at the view. >> reporter: and a destination for visitors. >> people come back from all over the world here. oh, i met my partner 20 years ago, 40 years ago, 50 years ago. can you do the same menu? the chef would do the same menu and give them the same price. >> reporter: but today all visitors would get was a tearful thank you from the chef. >> you're as much a part of our family as our employees. so thank you. [ applause ] >> reporter: a small crowd gathered in the street to watch the unthinkable. the seemingly immortal cliff house sign taken off the roof and carted away. >> it's a heartbreak. >> i think it's awful. >> reporter: the restaurant's 20-year lease ended in 2018. since then, negotiations for a new lease with the national park

service have been on the rocks. >> it's a sad case, you know, that they've taken everything from -- we're the taxpayers. we pay for this, all of this. >> reporter: the park service says it did offer a short lease, 3 1/2 years. the restaurant says last-minute changes to that offer made it unfeasible. >> i hope it gets a rebirth. that's my hope. >> reporter: fortunately rebirth is san francisco's specialty. >> don't forget our city's symbol is the phoenix. we will rise from the ashes as we have many times. ♪ >> reporter: in san francisco, jonathan bloom, nbc bay area news. >> we love you, cliff house! we are following developing news out of san jose where a girl has been killed in a crash. it happened about 11:30 this morning on questen drive. police say the driver of a truck was entering an apartment complex parking lot when she hit a girl riding an electric bike. the girl was rushed to a

hospital but pronounced dead. the driver is cooperating fully with police. it's not clear how old that girl was. this marks san jose's 49th victim of a traffic collision in 2020. new information tonight about a story that we've been following. a vacaville police dog pinned down and punched in the head but its handler. that incident was caught on cell phone video. the department says the k-9 has been removed from that handler and is now in the care of a third party. the department also says the dog was examined by a vet and shows no signs of injury or distress. vacaville police captain matt lydon says it appears the officer was trying to gain control of the dog after it tried to bite him during a training exercise. the department is now investigating that incident. afraid of another disaster. for those who suffered through the wildfires this summer, winter rain brings new worries about what might happen to all that scorched earth. nbc bay area's robert handa

spent his day in the burn zone that runs from san mateo county into the santa cruz mountains to show why the rin couain could t a whole new disaster. >> reporter: the trees that fell during the fires shows you just how extensive the damage was here in the santa cruz mountains and now here in boulder creek, the fear about flames has turned to concern about the rain. today crews were busy as they have been all week taking down huge, often charred trees in the czu fire zone, some literally right above homes. this view from skyranger shows how large that area is, ranging from san mateo county to the santa cruz mountains. but now the worry is rain washing fire debris into creeks and rivers. >> that's what's concerning is that the valleys will gather the debris and funnel it down. >> reporter: travis tree professionals has cut down about 100 trees in burnt areas since the czu fire, many like these 100 to 200-foot redwoods, now

charred black. >> this tree could go right through that house. that was the big -- the scare, yeah. one mistake, and their house would be gone. >> how many trees are like this after the fire? >> a lot. >> reporter: the homeowner was relieved his house was saved. now he's worried that heavy rains could leave his family stranded. >> in terms of now, it is a hilly terrain. there's a concern about debris flow. >> reporter: there are a lot of other nervous homeowners watching the rain forecast, especiallyit w so many trees and brush still to cut and debris already on the ground. in the santa cruz mountains, robert handa, nbc bay area news. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri counting down until 2021. just a few hours to go. while celebrations will be different, i'll show you what to expect in your front or backyard

and what the first week of the new year will bring us on our rain chances. plus no crowds in times square. we'll take you around the world to show how some of the biggest new year's eve celebrations are changing this year because of covid. and the elephant seals return to bay area beaches for pupping season, at least one being closed. give them some space.

starting next week, the first health care workers to get the pfizer vaccine will need to get their second shot. that's because the vaccine requires two doses 21 days apart. our chris chmura talked to david

huang, the director of pharmacy at regional medical center in san jose about the vaccine distribution. >> doctor, thank you for your time. what do people need to know about this second shot? >> thank you for having me. the second shot really is more about the timing, making sure that we're getting it about 21 days apart from when you initially got it, if you got the pfizer, and 28 days if you got the moderna vaccine. >> are there any side effects associated with the second shot? >> probably similar to the first one, there's reports of pain at the injection sites, some general just achiness or fatigue that you might feel from it. >> what's your assessment of how a vaccine rollout is going so far? >> i think we're doing the best that we can with what we have. the vaccine rollouts have been really new to a lot of us, and i'm really proud of how we've organized and have a lot of

communication within the organization and outside of it. >> what do you think the public needs to know about the vaccine going forward, specifically with it being in two doses? >> that it's a good vaccine, i think. the vaccine itself does have some side effects just with any kind of vaccine that you get, with some achiness and soreness. but, you know, there's always people who might be a little hesitant and want to see, and that's, you know, within decision to make. and, you know, we just hope that we can demonstrate that the vaccine is effective and is safe. >> so far, what's the biggest challenge you're facing, and thousand are you overcoming it? >> i think the biggest challenge has been just organizing. we are using a lot of our own internal resources to help stand up our clinics, to get these immunizations out to as many of our staff as possible, as

quickly as possible. >> doctor, thank you so much for your time. happy new year to you. if you're wondering when it will be your turn to get the vaccine, check out our interactive tool. it will ask you a few questions, including where you live and if you're an essential worker. then it will give you a rough estimate of your place in line. we've put the link to that interactive tool right on the front page of our website. it's nbcbayarea.com. make sure you click on where you stand in the vaccine line at the top on our trending bar. new year's eve celebrations here in the bay area and across the world looking a lot different this year because of the pandemic. believe it or not, this is a live picture of times square. you know those hundreds of thousands of people usually there? no one's there. no one's there. it's eerily quiet, shut down to the public on new year's eve for the first time in decades. only a handful of selected frontline workers and their families going to be watching

the ball drop at midnight tonight. in sydney australia, fireworks lighting up the sky. spectacular. just spectacular. it always is. but very few people there to watch it in person. the show usually draws up to a million people. not this year. popular viewing areas were closed off so a lot of people watching this on television. in dubai, celebrations went on as normal. i'm going to have to go look up that word normal. despite a surge of covid-19 infections there, images of masked health care workers there lighting up the world's tallest tower before fireworks exploded from the skyscraper. spectacular there. wuhan, china. yeah, wuhan, china, people rung in the new year by releases balloons into the air. they had a pretty good crowd there. the city where the coronavirus first emerged celebrated with a light show by the river and an electronic music festival. they are back. drakes beach is closed today because the elephant seals have returned. it is elephant seal pupping

season, and the point reyes national park service says it wants to give the baby elephant seals a safe start to life. drakes beach is closed starting at the southern end of the cove in front of the visitors center. other parts of the park remain open to the public. take a look at these waves from the pacifica pier. now, if you plan on walking along the beach to ring in the new year, make sure that you are careful because a beach hazard warning is in effect. that's because of dangerous sneaker waves and rip currents. here's some video taken from our drone. this is at steamer lane in santa cruz earlier today. the big waves came in sets followed by a few sets of smaller waves. pretty cool stuff. >> here's some pretty cool pictures right here. mr. jeff ranieri, you know, our director michelle and our producer alicia were saying, geez, ter, jeff sure outclassed you today. >> you know what?

i just -- i had to get ready for 2021, you guys. >> looking good. >> do it right. i know i'm like -- thank you so much, sir. you know, i had to do this all the justice it needed, right? we've all been waiting for that new year, and we're all ready. i already had my christmas tree up in the background, so i figured why not share a few new year's eve vibes with all of you back there at home. i'm wishing everybody a really happy and healthy 2021. here's to that. let's get you into that microclimate forecast tonight. you know, we can't have the big gatherings but you can still do it with your immediate household tonight. maybe you put on the tux yourself. send me your pictures. i'd love to see it. if you're going out in the front or backyard, down to 44 at midnight, so make sure you have that jacket. mostly clear skies. no rain in the forecast. excellent weather coming our way. as we roll through tomorrow morning, i am expecting a little bit of patchy ground fog for the south bay and the east bay and some cold 40s to start. but really through most of new

year's day, it looks good. and then as we head through the evening hours, you can see my weather headlines here, we'll get a shower hitting the north bay by about 10:00 p.m. ahead, the better bet of rainfall is pushing back into next week. as we roll through tomorrow, if you are up early and out and about, ready to get the new year started, 44 in the south bay. 41 in the peninsula. 41 in the tri-valley. most of that fog should be contained to the central valley. but for the south bay and east bay, we could see a little bit of it build your way. we'll start off with 44 in the east bay. san francisco 47. mighty fine in the north bay at 43. daytime highs tomorrow, i think we can deal with this. we're at 59 here in santa rosa. a cool day with partly cloudy skies. 57 in martinez. 58 in santa cruz. we've been chatting about that rainfall. we've been talking about it a lot. i think as we move through tomorrow, we're dry through the day. once we hit the evening hours, a weak little system will bring us

some showers. but the better bet of rainfall as i've been talking about goes into next week. so sunday night, that next storm system lines up out here offshore. you can see it right there. then as we roll through monday morning, that's when it would bring widespread rainfall back to the bay area. also some snow to the sierra. so monday is the first storm. then as we hit late tuesday night but primarily on wednesday, we'd see that second round of rainfall pushing back into the bay area. so you'll see on my extended forecast this weekend it's only some spotty chances of rain. nothing to worry about. monday is that first storm. the second storm on wednesday. rain totals a half inch to two inches. i think t bheter bet of those two-inch totals would be up in the north bay, especially in the mountains. ou temperatures look very similar here with lots of0s 5 coming our way and morning lows in the 30s to also 40s. terry and anoushah, i got to say when i first had the idea to wear the tux on tv, i thought, well, maybe, kind of, sorta.

woke up this morning and says this is right. it feels good, and if i had run word to describe 2021, it would be together. i'm getting kind of mushy here but it would be great to be back with you guys, great to be back with other family, and here we go. a few hours away, right? >> great sentiment, and you look fantastic. jeff, you look great. >> you do, jeff. great way to start 2021, in a tux. >> thank you. coming up, of course this is how 2020 would end. a new year's eve earthquake. yes, an earthquake. woke up some people in parts of the bay area. i'll tell but that when we come back.

♪

the holidays are a time for giving. to your friends... your family... to your teachers. in that spirit of giving, chevy's proud to give our employee discount to everyone. the chevy price you pay, ...is what we pay. not a cent more. because giving, ...and giving back, is what the holidays are all about. use the chevy employee discount for everyone to get a total value of over eight thousand four hundred dollars on this silverado.

get the chevy employee discount for everyone today. wouldn't you know it? 2020 is going out with a bang or, in this case, a shake. a 3.6 magnitude earthquake

hitting off the coast of muir beach in southern marin county. it happened about 5:40 this morning. one viewer sent in this video showing his experience. a 3.6 quake doesn't sound that strong, but if you live in that house, it's strzong. you see the earthquake started rattling his chandelier. reports of people as far away as napa, all over san francisco feeling that quake. no reports of anyone hurt. they were so close. san jose state's hopes of a perfect season came crashing down today. the 7-0 spartans were in tucson to take on 6-1 ball state in the arizona bowl. with five starters ruled out just before kickoff likely due to covid, spartans found themselves down big early, trailing 27-0 at half. sjsu would show a little life, scoring 13 in the third, but that's all they'd get as ball state would go on to beat the spartans 34-13. it was a disappointing end to a very impressive year for the sjsu football program, which

claimed its first ever mountain west championship. we'll be right back.

coming up tonight at 6:00, taking a break after a takeout big night. why some bay area restaurants already hit hard by the pandemic are choosing to close for a

while in the new year. that story and more tonight in our 6:00 newscast. anoushah, i will see you then. >> i will see you then, terry. it's a date. "nightly news" is next. tonight, the end of a catastrophic year and hopes and fears for 2021 the streets of times square nearly empty. new year's celebrations cancelled across the country officials warning americans not to gather as icus hit capacity the video out with people partying, and the country is able to celebrate where they're packing the streets. growing concern about a new, highly contagious strain of the virus now in at least two states are there more cases than we know about long waits to get vaccinated dr. fauci with the strongest criticism yet of the vaccine rollout. and