. right now, the scene is pretty quiet in the bay area. we don't know how long that quiet will last. >> right now at 4:30, concerns over the delta variant growing as covid restrictions continue to ease across the bay area. what california officials are revealing about its rapid spread across the state. >> illegal fireworks putting fire crews to work. where problems are persisting for first responders post-fourth of july. the new video of an inmate near tahoe tries to pull off a fourth of july great escape. how he was able to get behind the wheel of this fire truck.

this is "today in the bay." and good morning. thanks so much for making us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm cierra johnson in for laura garcia. i know folks are getting ready to go back to work and hopefully a mild day. we'll get to traffic but first meteorologist kari hall is here to talk about what folks can expect for their return to work. >> yes. it's going to be like the past few days we've had. really nice weather for the bay area, so as you're starting out the door this morning, expect it to be back to where we were yesterday. it's going to be the last mild day before our temperatures heat up. unfortunately tomorrow we are heading upward with a lot of our inland valleys reaching into the upper 90s for the week starting on wednesday. we're going to be watching out all of that to work? >> where i was yesterday us.

welcome back. no commute right now, very easy drive. we expect folks easing back into the week, but we see a little bit of slowing out of the altamont pass and this is more traffic than we had all morning yesterday through the 7:00 hour. we're looking over here towards the bay bridge toll plaza. i-80 no slowing but there is debris around hilltop drive. there may be clothing in the roadway but i will check to make sure it's nothing more. back to you. new concerns closer to home over the rapidly spreading covid-19 delta variant. state health officials say it accounts for more than 35% of the new cried cases in the state, up from 5% in may. here's dr. peter t's not only the most common but th a few months, if not a few

weeks. >> top health officials remind the public people who are vaccinated are mostly protected from this variant. nearly all patients with severe illness were not vaccinated. we checked in with local businesses and some fear the state will eventually issue a new mask mandate and others like a nail salon in walnut creek are not taking chances and still requiring everyone to wear their masks when they come in. >> the concerns come as more covid-19 restrictions start to ease across the bay area. here's a live look at san francisco. starting today you won't have to wear a mask at city hall. face coverings will no longer be required for fully vaccinated visitors. it falls in alignment with the updated guidelines. anyone can continue to wear their masks for added protection. and santa clara county is reducing the county's covid-19 death toll by over 20%. according to the chronicle this comes after officials concluded some people had died mainly of other causes that had been

listed as disease victims. the death toll stands at over 1600. officials say they were able to investigate the deaths because of declining case rates ant hospitalizations. a russian plane with 28 people on board crashes into the sea and officials say there are no survivors. that plane crashed off of russia's far eastern peninsula. the twin engine turboprop plane lost communication with air traffic control. an investigation is happening now. it wasn't as intense as fourth of july but illegal fireworks made appearances in the bay again last night. >> crews in contra costa county say that they were much better off after admitting they were overwhelmed with the number of calls on independence day. "today in the bay's" cheryl hurd has more from martinez. >> reporter: illegal fireworks continue to light up the night sky in contra costa county. >> we did respond to 53 fires in

a three-hour period between 9:00 p.m. last night and midnight. of those, 48 of them were grass fires. >> reporter: here is a still photo of one of those grass fires in unincorporated martinez. it made it to a fence line and almost burned down this home on vine hill. when john came home after celebrating the fourth of july at the lake, he was terrified. his home is just down the hill from where the fire burned. >> sparks do crazy things and gets in these little weeds. like i said hopefully when it made the jump the stucco would have been helpful. >> reporter: fire officials were prepared but their resources were stretched thin. >> we didn't lose any homes but there was some damage done to homes either because of grass fires because of this one burning into the home or fireworks landing on roofs and gutters. >> reporter: illegal fireworks were a problem throughout the bay area. oakland was overwhelmed and the san jose fire departments says

it responded to close to two dozen firework-related calls. contra costa county fire protection officials say despite the number of calls the crackdown on ill fact that structure fires were down 40% compared to the same time last year. that's something suemnick is thank you fofl. i'm a fan of fireworks but not a fan of people doing stupid things that causes problems for other people. >> reporter: cheryl hurd, "today in the bay." let's talk about this wild ride here. new video showing you an inmate firefighter trying to escape on independence day. police say that this prisoner was part of a crew fighting a vegetation fire caused by illegal fireworks in the nevada foothills. that inmate stole a cal fire engine before crashing of a fence of a nearby business. he eventually crashed into a ditch making a run for it. one person living nearby saw it all unfold and knew he had to

act quickly. >> first it's like evacuate the house and then call the family and say there's a convict on the loose lock your doors. it was a strange day for everyone involved. >> investigators say after running if police the inmate tried to carjack a second vehicle but it was unable to start. authorities caught up with him and he was taken to the hospital after getting hurt in the chase. several police and fire agencies are now investigating. >> a wild ride. >> a lot of questions. we were talking about those fires and you can tell how dry things looked in that video. really kind of disturbing here, kari. >> yeah absolutely. we still have to be really careful. i even heard some fireworks last night. let's be done with those things. as we are starting out this morning in san francisco, getting a look at the golden gate bridge, visibility is clear so it's looking good if you're heading out in novato into san francisco, temperatures in the

upper 50s. cloudy for the start of our morning but we will be clearing out as our temperatures here reach into the mid 60s by 11:00. we're going to keep it mild today. we'll talk about that warmup in the forecast in a few minutes. any problems for the commute? >> no. i checked in near hilltop drive. as you see from the sensors it's green and contra costa county overall long drive from the north bay as well. east bay, you sees the mall mark on the map right there. clothing reported in the middle of the roadway so there may be a traffic break. again i'll warn you, chp lets me know if they're going to do that. shouldn't be a problem. light traffic flow shouldn't add much time. watch for flashing lights through the area in the east bay. coming up here on "today in the bay," how did they do it? more details emerge this morning on how russian hackers were able to pull off a global ransom attack. who the cyber criminals were targeting and the political plea that seems to have fallen on

deaf ears. a vehicle many considered their dream car. the volkswagen is pumping the brakes on all in the name of the environment. and taking a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza, not too busy right now. mike keeping us updated throughout the morning with a look at that traffic and commute. kari has a look the at the forecast and we have much more news ahead for you this morning. 4:39. you're watching "today in the bay."

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right now at 4:40 on your tuesday morning a lot of people heading back to work this morning and as you're driving maybe going through the tri-valley here's a live look outside in dublin. our temperatures in the upper 50s and it's going to be a cloudy start but clearing out quickly for a really nice day. we'll take a look at all of our microclimates and the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> san mateo bridge traffic flows smoothly. haze, it could be just me because it's 4:42. we're all waking up. the search and rescue efforts are ongoing after the unstable remnants of south florida condo tourre that collapsed was brought down. a live look at the scene in surfside. the death toll is at 28 and 117 remain unaccounted for. the search for survivors resumed after demolition of part of the building still standing sunday

night. crews imploded it due to safety concerns for workers on the ground as tropical storm elsa heads their way. >> we still have to watch out with some gusty winds with these passing showers and thunderstorms and also some heavy rainfall, which could aggravate some of the flooding that's already going on out there as well. >> about 4.8 million pounds of concrete have been removed from the pile. we're getting more insight on voters mindset ahead of california's gubernatorial recall elections slated for september 14th. a poll from berkeley institute of governmental studies shows republicans are more enthusiastic about the decision. voters were asked if they have high, moderate or low interest in the recall election. we want to -- we have more information, 36% here we go, you can see a look at this, 36% of democrats said that they have interest in the special election

while 75% of republicans said they have a high interest in the recall of the governor. we asked is nbc bay area political analyst what this means. >> what that really boils down to then is somehow the democratic side really getting their act together because if newsom is heading in the polls and the democrats don't out and vote for him it doesn't matter. >> it's expected to cast taxpayers $276 million. all right. now we have contessa brewer. >> good morning. i'm contessa brewer from cnbc. wall street is set to open slightly lower this morning as traders kicked off a holiday shortened week. i'm right now looking at the dow implied open down about 30 points or so. we saw the nasdaq and the s&p 500 closing at record highs on friday. the s&p coming off a seven-day

winning streak, the longest since last august amid a series of strong economic reports including the better than expected jobs number friday and hey, keep a watch on oil prices today. they're at the highest levels since 2018 because opec and its partners like russia called off a meeting yesterday in a dispute over how production quotas should be installed. focusing today on a report on the services or nonmanufacturing sector. we're seeing a lot of fallout from the world's single biggest ransomware attack. more details emerging how a russian criminal game breached kaseya in miami. tens of thousands of computers, hackers reportedly demanded a $70 million ransom from jps a month ago.

this after president biden pressed russian president vladimir putin to stop providing a safe haven to ransomware xwangs. gangs. volkswagen is selling bugatti as the auto industry shifts to electric vehicles. vw owns bugatti for two decades, one of the most recognizable names of luxury cars. the flagship vehicle sells for about $3 million. it is the fastest street legal car at a top speed of 304 miles per hour. the powerful combustion engines are out of step. volkswagen said it would phase out gas powered vehicles over the next decade. bye-bye bugatti. >> i wanted one for christmas. it was on my list. >> better than a -- >> thanks, contessa. coming up you're heading back to work.

meteorologist kari hall has an update on what you can expect. >> and the temperatures as you're stepping out the door to mostly upper 50s and low 60s, kind of a mild start but we're going to hold those temperatures down today before it heat up. we'll talk about that in the forecast in a few minutes. >> her bugatti is not in san jose. she's not getting it now. [ inaudible ] over here, a smoother look at traffic coming up. bracing for impact. tropical storm elsa inching closer to the florida coast. the preparations under way this morning on the ground ahead of that storm. you're watching "today in the bay."

good tuesday morning. getting started with your day. this is a live look at the san mateo bridge. see, pretty busy there this morning as we get started. we'll get a look at that commute coming up in a bit. first the forecast for you today. we're starting off with another beautiful one. >> yes. i'm so looking forward to spending more time outside today, getting in on that sunshine, but we're going to see a lot of changes here as we go through the week. let's get it started with a live look outside in san jose with clouds and our temperatures in the upper 50s as you head out the door. this is a look at our high temperatures today reaching up to 78 in san jose,85.

the seven-day forecast is coming up at the bottom of the screen. let's head towards the east bay reaching 88 in antioch, martinez 79 and still keeping it cool in oakland with upper 60s here. foggy near the coast, half moon bay stays only at about 60 degrees. you head over to san mateo we're looking at a high of 70 today. some mid 60s in san francisco, the fog is hanging around with some gusty winds and breezy winds in much of the north bay sonoma reaching 80, 94 in clearlake. by the end of the week we're all going to be heating up except for the immediate coastline. the high pressure is going to be building and return the heat for the inland areas. you probably already seen that. let me show you brentwood as we get a look at our temperature trend this hurts as we head into tomorrow. it's going to warm up into the mid 90s but we have triple digits for the rest of the week reaching 106 as we head towards thursday and then only gradually

cooling off next week. so our inland forecast get ready for highs near 100 degrees over the course of several days. we're going to be talking more about that. mike, what are you watching for the commute? >> i'm watching what i'm going to say are cool roadways and it's cool as far as traffic flow goes. one incident over here, it is near the dublin interchange going away. look at that counter commute eastbound 580. there may be an issue off of the roadway. i think it's completely cleared from the lanes but i'm checking on people involved and a little slowing out of the altamont. make a friend with a boat on the water, i have suggestions there. a nice easy drive from the water on the north bay the venetian and carquinez bridges moving smoothly. tropical storm elsa is heading towards the florida coast at this hour. here's a look at the storm's path. severe winds and driving rains have blasted the keys and that

system is taking aim at the central golf coast. >> clearwater beach is in the potential of the strike zone. jay gray has a closer look at the conditions now andwinds, he surf and flooding rains elsa takes aim at the florida gulf coast. some on the western side of the peninsula bagging sandbags and stocking up. >> freshen ups the batteries, check, make sure that the radio works. make sure that we have extra lights. >> reporter: crews pulling in chairs, tying them down in clearwater beach. a closer look at the shoreline shows more partying than preparing. the conditions picture perfect to close out the long holiday weekend. >> we've been through several storms, but i don't think it's going to be that big of a deal. >> reporter: but forecasters

warn conditions could slide dille pretty quickly as sale gets closer to landfall. >> once you start seeing the winds pick up and the rain starts go inside, buckle down and hopefully this tropical wave will bring. jay gray, nbc news, clearwater beach. coming up on "today in the bay," the boss's daughter going for gold. ♪ born in the usa ♪ i was born in the usa ♪ >> like her dad she may have been born in the usa but bruce springsteen's daughter is hoping to pull off a win for team usa. the sport she's set to take the stage in tokyo. the san francisco unified school district and ucsf are looking forward to a new school year. the first of three virtual health and safety town hals, the

district is expecting all students to return in person for learning on august 16th. the school district is facing questions about receiving funds for opening early. more ahead for you this morning. 4:54.

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there's lots to love about california. so put off those chores and use less energy from 4 to 9 pm when less clean energy is available. because that's power down time. this morning our countdown to the tokyo olympic games is on. relative of rock and roll royalty will represent the united states at the summer games. >> the u.s. equest stre yan team announced their jumping team and a familiar name appears. 29-year-old jessica springsteen, daughter of bruce springsteen, made the squad. jessica springsteen trained in

riding since 4 years old on her famous father's farm in new jersey. some say she was born to ride and don't forget, nbc bay area is your home for the olympics. watch the games here starting july 23rd. >> going to be so much fun. coming up here on "today in the bay," state leaders are set to meet today as bay area's quickly deteriorating drought situation worsens. >> the bay area county primed to see some major water restrictions.

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right now at 5:00, the drought is rapidly worsening across the state. california's reservoirs going bone dry. the bay area a tinderbox for flames. another bay area county is preparing to ban water restrictions. not giving up the fight. >> double down on our efforts to vaccinate millions of more americans across july and august. >> the white house says the war against covid is not over as concerns rise against the delta variant spreading. the warnings out and how you can stay safe. a display of gratitude in a special way. one oakland firefighter got to spend the fourth of july thousands of miles away from home. this is "today in the bay." >> good morning. i'm cierra johnson in for laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we begin this morning with live team coverage on the drought stricken bay area as another county prepares to restrict residents' w