to the next level with nbc bay area. right now at 3:00, bracing for fire season but insurance companies are trying to help you before it's too late. new service some companies are offering customers. if you're outside, probably smelled it, smoky skies hitting bay area, fires rage in the north, where is the air quality worst? chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking it all. back to school unlike any other, cases surging across the state but school districts moving ahead with in-person learning. what your students could see when they head back to campus.

news at 3:00 is starts now. i'm janelle wang. >> i'm garvin thomas. we're on early because of the olympics. in-person learning. >> school districts are getting ready to return back to the classrooms. opening doors throughout the month. >> oakland unified starting monday. palo alto and pleasanton, mountain view, los altos, wednesday. governor newsom says it's time to get the students off zoom school. >> want the kids safe, back in person for in-person instruction. we don't want our kids back on zoom school. don't want kids back online with all the disparities that were self-evident. another classroom, young child in first grade talking it about

download speeds suggests everything you need to know about the nature of the impact of the pandemic and how disproportionate it's been. >> right now there's no talk of vaccine mandate for teachers. oakland schools returning to close monday, more than 35,000 in the district. some first time in classroom in more than a year. two school districts have already reported cases among students. what are districts doing? >> here in oakland, school starts on monday, and if this is your art class at madison park academy, masks on all times, wash your hands and if you come down with symptoms, school will offer a rapid test, results in 15 minutes. >> disinfecting spray, wipes, gloves, anything a student might

need. also have face shields. >> reporter: high school art teacher has as many cleaning as art supplies. across the oakland unified school district, teachers are wiping down desks and preparing the classrooms to welcome students back. >> going to focus on community building, learning who the students are, decompressing because they haven't been in classroom a year. >> a little nervous but i'll get over it. >> reporter: out of 36,000 students, 850 are still sticking to virtual learning. district is not requiring all teachers to be vaccinated, and for those who choose to be unvaccinated, mandatory testing is not required unless they're potentially exposed. do you have percentages of staff vaccinated? >> we don't. we're in process of gathering that information. >> reporter: social distancing is not a requirement. but with brentwood and oakley

schools reporting students testing positive already, what is is the plan in place if student gets sick? >> quarantine spaces. student not feeling well will move to the health clinic, the native american health clinic, assessment will be made and parents called. >> reporter: she can't wait until the students fill the seats. >> will be filled with artwork. that's my favorite part. >> reporter: nbc bay area news. state's positivity is 17.1 percent. climbing for several weeks. but county by county, santa clara county, two months ago, 0.3%. now 3.2. san francisco, another surge going on. two months ago, 0.5%, now 5.7.

alameda is 5% rise. and contra costa county is now nearly 8%. >> more clarity on the supplemental covid shots some folks are getting. zuckerberg hospital has offered a supplemental shot to anyone who received johnson & johnson vaccine, since it's a single shot, some people want a second shot for more piece of mind. cdc guidelines say they're not necessary and city san francisco's director of public health reinforced that. supplemental shot is not recommended. given to courtesy to people who got j&j in san francisco and have consulted with doctor. >> things are starting to get canceled again. castro valley not holding its fall festival. regretfully we believe canceling the fall festival is in best interest for the community,

including students just returning to schools and concerns for all attendees, and growing delta cases even among the vaccinated. city is looking at organizing for next year. download the nbc bay area app to stay up to date with all the changing covid-19 guidance there. dixie fire in northern california is largest in the nation. burning in butte and plumuth counties prompting evacuations. 432,000 acres burned, 3 1/2 times the size of lake tahoe. 134 structures destroyed, thousands threatened and four people unaccounted for. 35% contained, third largest in state history. if it seems like we've been experiencing more massive fires like the dixie fire, that's because we are.

that has some insurance companies changing how they do business and what they do coverage. in the east san jose hills, some of it has firefighters cheering. >> reporter: evacuated last year in large scu fire. now safeco insurance is giving policy holders here peace of mind. dixie fire is almost half a million acres, on track to be one of the largest in california history but records it will break are only a year old, that's how bad fires have become in the golden state. >> facing up precedented fire behavior. >> reporter: just got a crew back from the front lines. in the south bay, alexander family knows too well the fear and uncertainty those in the path are feeling. >> we had to be evacuated twice. first time we went to friends'

house and got lucky. >> reporter: home was spared by scu last august and at least one company, safeco insurance has new plan. no cost benefit called wildfire response benefit. some of what they'll do ahead of a large fire. cut weeds around your property to create a defensible space. carrier will bring in a temporary sprinkler system to protect home if you're in the evacuation zone and apply a firefighting gel or foam to insulate from the fire. >> wow, i want that. that's great out here, we're on our own. >> reporter: used to offer the policy to high value homes, but now free benefit to all policy holders and other companies are starting to offer benefits. >> happy to see that action from

insurance carriers. >> reporter: county fire relies on homeowners to create their own defensible space and glad that insurance companies are thinking outside the box. >> good investment by the insurance company. if it becomes a sound financial decision for them to clear the vegetation on your behalf with your permission, absolutely. >> reporter: changing thinking as climate change is changing the fight. damian true nbc bay area news. smoke moving into the bay area, smoggy and hazy and you can smell smoke. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking the air quality. what we can expect today and this weekend. >> really thick across the north bay and east bay. really beginning to notice the smell of smoke. this current view is what we're seeing in contra costa county.

walnut creek to concord, visibility down to 3/4 or 1/2 mile in some locations. talk about the air quality. north bay is unhealthy. coast is good, we have fog. bay is moderate. east bay is unhealthy, south bay is moderate. north bay and east bay doing the worst. in smoke forecast through tonight, 5:00 p.m., smoke over the north bay, east bay, some moving to the south bay, then tonight we are expect the fog to pick up. watch what happens, this heavier smoke should push off east. we'll take you through the weekend smoke forecast and temps in about eight minutes. go back outside to tokyo. olympic cauldron still burning as we count down the final days of the olympic games. american team of april ross and

stanford's alix klineman, first gold for u.s. since 2012. and women's volleyball beats serbia. and stanford's grant fisher finished ninth in the 5,000 meter men's event. >> it's off the field moments we remember after the games end. >> sharing the best of the moments. look back at some of the most memorable like this one. who is going to ferret this? not for long time. australian swim coach goes wild after his swimmer titmus defeats ledecky. he said this was ve years of ha.

he really wanted to jump tokyo symbolizes sportsmanship that shines in the olympics. team usa's thoigs and another, both fall, help each other up, continue together, at times arm in arm to finish the heat. jewett said it's what mom taught me. finish what you started. judges ruled that amos was interfered with, was put in the final, finished eighth. tom daley is a passionate knitter, hobby helped keep him sane in competition. first showed the cozy he knitted for his medal. and sitting in the stands worked on something else. showed off to the world.

>> wow. >> the sweater he's wearing. says in japanese, tokyo on the front, has great britain and union jack on the sleeve and on the back, entire great britain team logo. >> i saw him knitting in the stands, didn't know he was doing that. impressive. >> knocked it off in a few days' time. couple of moments. other one, fans cheering in seward, alaska, for the swimmer. >> gold medal for her. so many wonderful moments. love the camaraderie between the countries too. amazing. tonight, draymond green and team usa go for gold, look for redemption against france, only team to beat them. 7:30 tonight. then brentwood's own competes in the rhythmic group qualifying on usa at 7:40. >> another sign we're in a

drought. low reservoir levels forced a power plant to shut off near lake orville. we'll explain. >> one of the biggest airlines and bay area employer is mandating vaccines. what passengers have to say and why others are likely to follow.

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you now have a chance to fly the vaccinated skies, united airlines the first to mandate that all employees be vaccinated for covid-19. joins growing number of companies and state and local agencies. scott budman explains why this likely will be copied by other airlines. >> reporter: having just wrapped up surf camp, about to travel through california in search of the best wave. hearing that united airlines is mandating that all employees get vaccinated, the israeli tourist

is on board. >> as a passenger, i would feel safe. i'm agree with that. >> reporter: among the biggest airlines and bay area's biggest employers, united's move is likely to be followed by other carriers. >> i think next 72 hours, if you don't see a lot of hue and cry from people in the industry or traveling public -- i think the public is probably supportive of this. gives them assurances. >> reporter: as more companies from video streamers to health care giants mandate vaccinations, their customers say they approve. >> yeah. i think it's a good idea. >> reporter: in a letter to employees, united's ceo admits some may disagree with the decision but nearly 90% of the pilots and 80% of flight attendants have already been vaccinated. in san jose, budman, nbc

bay area news. yelp has new tools that allow businesses to communicate vaccine requirements to customers. can list whether they require workers to be fully vaccinated and whether customers have to show proof of vaccinations. only businesses can add it to the yelp page. they'll monitor backlash. lake orville, seconds largest reservoir, it's fallen so low that adjoining power plant was shut down. not enough water to generate electricity. first time since 1960s. can be replaced increasing production at natural gas power plant. governor newsom has issued emergency order waiving some air pollution rules to natural gas

plants can generate more power. quite the warm-up today, jeff. poor air quality, quite a difference. >> heat helps to cook the pollutants in the atmosphere, compounding that smoke that's moving in throughout the bay area. sky camera network at worst locations, and that air quality. start you off over the tri-valley. this is our camera from dublin out to livermore, you can see just how smoky it is. we should say that the very unhealthy air remains up near the fire but seeing some unhealthy conditions moving close to the bay area. other spot is walnut creek looking towards concord, visibility down to 3/4 of a mile and less in some cases. current air quality, way things are shaping up right now, at this very second, unhealthy air over the north bay and also east bay.

that's where you might need to limit your outdoor exposure if you have respiratory problems. some of the smoke particles are coming down to the surface. move this forecast ahead, get you into what you can expect for tonight. through 5:30, still have smoke over the north bay, east bay, some over the south bay and peninsula. later on this evening and early tomorrow morning, expect fog to pick up. as i advance this, foggy breeze begins to return and worst of the smoke moves east. we'll continue to see that pattern for tomorrow morning which will keep us with haze through the bay area, blue and green color, but worst of the smoke should be staying out there to the east of us. as we roll into saturday night, hazy conditions remain and same thing on sunday. i think this weekend we're going to get sun in here. but as you look towards the distance, see that haze. at this point doesn't look as

bad as right now for entire weekend. good news coming our way into the weekend forecast. here's other thing. going to have fog at the coastline tomorrow morning and spotty drizzle. everything is mixed in. tomorrow morning not the best morning view-wise, but overall setting ourselves up with a better day. as we begin, start with cool 50s over the south bay, peninsula and tri-valley at 60. 57 in san francisco, 58 for the east bay, north bay at 55. daytime highs tomorrow, begin to cool down four to seven degrees, so more comfortable that way as well. 92 in livermore, 84 in napa, 83 in san jose and 60s for san francisco and coastline. seven-day forecast in san francisco keep with the 60s through the next several days, those are good because that keeps us out of a heat wave.

we'll have plenty of 80s rolling in next week. tokyo weather, since the games are winding down, that's coming up at 4:00 tonight. >> looking forward to that. coming up, congratulations, now get out. what's behind the rush to get olympians out of japan after they've competed. ahead for us, criminal complaint filed against new york's embattled governor cuomo, what his lawyers are saying today. with more mandates coming, how can you prove your vaccination status? "nbc nightly news."

now trying for a top, would be first top of the competition. and he has got it. >> nicely done by nathaniel coleman. >> what a moment for the sport and in particular usa climbing. nathaniel coleman winning the silver in men's sports climbing.

>> announcer: brought to you by by prudential, sponsor of usa climbing. apple will soon scan iphones for images of child sexual abuse. will use neural match to scan images before they're uploaded to icloud, searching for child pornography, a hit will flag a human to review and notify authorities if necessary. also going to scan for explicit

content. protection advocates are hailing the move and advocates for civil liberties are opposing. as the games wind you don't know, athletes are getting rushed out of the country. they have 48 hours because japan is worried about spread of covid-19. >> i leave the village at 1:00 p.m., flight at 5:00 p.m. >> watch the story on nbc lx. after the olympics are over, back to our normal schedule on monday, midday news at 11:00, and "california live" at 11:30, local news at 5:00 after "ellen," followed by 5:30 and "nbc nightly news," back at 6:30 and starting at 7:00. >> returning to normal.

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might want to grab the kids, dinosaurs are roaming >> giant dynos and babies, audio tours describe the action for junior paleontologists, zoined to be more immersive than learning from fossils. >> learn about the habitats, where they were discovered and fun features. >> is it really dino? that's crazy. buy tickets online, $39 per car, august 22nd, after that, dinosaurs will be extinct again in san jose. eyes move too. >> i think it's a stage name. another look tonight, draymond green and team usa go

for gold on nbc bay area, look for redemption against france, only team to ever beat them. 7:30 tonight. brentwood's own competitor in the rhythmic group qualifying round. two more days of action and closing sunday. >> basketball game is must-watch tv. >> certainly, and you know what, said i was going to give the olympics forecast at 4:00? we've got time now. we'll get look at seven-day forecast. after temperatures that felt like 105 to 109 this week, will be cooler saturday and sunday, feel like 99 and 98 with chance of thunderstorms. all relative there. back at home, tracking the smoke, doesn't look as thick tomorrow but still will remain hazy. temperatures begin to cool off a few degrees tomorrow, much more comfortable sunday and monday.

but you can smell it out in contra costa county. limit your exposure. >> lester holt from tokyo next. we'll be back at 4:00, hope to see you then. tonight, the major milestone in the fight against covid. half of americans now fully vaccinated. new vaccinations rising, and new word that booster shots could be authorized for at-risk americans within weeks. it comes as the delta variant surges. florida hitting a new daily record, with nearly 23,000 cases. new super spreader fears as the sturgis motorcycle rally returns. 700,000 expected to attend. plus, what nbc news has learned about an alarming spike at nursing homes, and major news