collision,. the beds are filling up. we're not really sure where it's going. >> right now at 4:30, running out of beds, a new covid wave fueled by the delta variant is pushing hospitals to their limits again. the concerns from bay area doctors and the new procedures starting today. flames from the dixie fire continue to ravage northern california. we'll show you dramatic before and after images of that destruction and the new milestone that fire just reached. and giving teachers a housing lifeline. the groundbreaking help today to help them just make it in the bay. this is "today in the bay."

a very good now wednesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. kari has that forecast ready to go, but we want to start with mike inouye with some of the traffic news. >> tragic news on highway 101 to start with. a head's up driving south 101 through san jose. just passing mckee. by our camera north of 680. you see the lights. the taillights going north they are traveling north past the scene. it's southbound 101, only one lane is open south of mckee. i don't see any traffic flow coming through right now. they may have done a teamry stop. there was a deadly crash here early in the morning and slowing, light traffic flow. this is a problem toward 280 and 680 coming off of olds the only for the south bay and issue for the freeways. we're going to track this, the death of any sort at any time of day tragic, but complicated by the darkness. >> we are starting out nice and

quiet in the east bay getting ready to head out the door in walnut creek. it is 63 degrees. we had warm temperatures yesterday and it's going to be very much like that today. in some spots a little bit hotter as we reach into the upper 90s in concord. some upper 80s for santa rosa and napa reaching 90 and 89 in san jose. that's going to be the rend throughout the end of the week. we'll talk more about that and what's ahead with more changes coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you. new impact this morning for the fast-moving delta covid variant. one bay area county out of icu beds. >> doctors are monitoring those numbers closely. cheryl hurd explains the steps being taken to make sure there's a hospital bed if you need one. >> reporter: as we watch states like texas, missouri, and arkansas experience a staggering increase in hospitalizations that remind us of the start of the pandemic, bay area doctors are watching the numbers there

closely. >> if your community isn't well vaccinated, it leads to a lot more people in the hospital and the outcome we fear the most about is not being able to keep up with the people coming into the hospital. >> reporter: the delta variant driving covid cases to dangerous highs all over the country and even here in the bay area. right now, napa county is reporting zero icu beds available with six covid patients in hospitals. solano has only eight icu beds with 15 covid patients and that's 10 fewer than the day before. >> in the bay area, we're kind of like not like the [ inaudible ] but the beds are filling up and we're not sure where it's going. >> reporter: bay area doctors are hoping that high vaccination rates among people here will continue to keep beds available. but there are so many things scientists don't know about the delta variant and its mutation. >> so if we are expecting to

peak in infections in the end of august in the bay area, that means we're going to peak in hospitalizations in the middle of september. >> reporter: some hospitals are preparing by halting elective surgeries and switching over regular rooms to icu rooms. here in contra costa county the nursing staff in many places is stretched thin. doctors say the best defense against a possible surge is to mask up and vaccinate. in contra costa county, cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. starting today anyone visiting a hospital in california must provide proof of vaccination or a negative covid result. that order includes icu and emergency departments, but some exceptions will be made for visitors tied to end of life, people accompanying minors or support people considered essential to care. women who get covid-19 while pregnant have a higher risk of

having a preterm birth according to a new study. the study found mothers infected with covid during their pregnant were 60% more likely to have very preterm birth which occurs at less than 32 weeks and they were 40% more likely to have a preterm birth that occurred at less than 37 weeks. another northern california criminal justice professor is under arrest in connection with a series of fires set near a massive dixie fire that we've been talking about. 47-year-old gary maynard is being held in sacramento. this is where he made a brief court appearance yesterday. investigators say that maynard set a series of fires in lassen and shasta trin national forest since the dixie fire started. he's believed to have worked with a -- worked at california colleges universities. a spokesperson tells u maynard lectured in the criminology and

criminal justice department in 2020. the judge says maynard may have mental issues. as for developments in the dixie fire, it is now the single largest fire in state history having burned nearly 500,000 acres in butte and plumas counties and destroyed more than 1,000 homes,rtructures and it's 27% contained. we're getting a new look at the destruction from a satellite. to the left what the town of greenville looked like before the fire. take a look at your right, right now, that's what it looks like. the cause is still under investigation. the climate in crisis, creating new urgency this morning in the north bay. the press dem reports more water rights holders are losing their ability to divert river water. restrictions kicked in for about 1500 rights holders including clover dale and healdsburg. another 300 or so is ranchers, grape growers or land owners are losing their rights.

mends's water levels are 30% of what it usually is this time of year. >> time to get a look at that forecast today. meteorologist kari hall has a look at the hump day forecast. >> it's wednesday and temperatures are actually going up. we're not about to go down. like we normally do for a workweek. as we take a look at our temperatures starting out this morning, at least we do have these cool starts to the day and it's 51 degrees. we're going to see our temperatures headed towards the low 70s at 11:00 and then continuing to climb from there. headed up to 87 today. 90 in napa. san francisco is up to 70 degrees. 75 in oakland. lv up to 98 degrees. concord 99. a few isolated spots in the east bay hitting 100 degrees and farther to the north, but this along with a little bit more humidity as we go into the next couple days, so we'll talk about the surge of monsoonal moisture and how it could affect california as we go into the

next couple days. mike, you're tracking a crash. >> a deadly crash in san jose, but this requires a reroute for folks who are trying to make freeway transitions. here's south 101 just shy of the 680/280 interchanges heading south down towards story road off mckee. you see traffic is getting by again in the one lane. we saw it stop for a couple seconds. heading down towards this area trying to make the transition from 101 to 280 or to 680 you can't make that transition because of that closure and the cones and the flairs that are coming out the as well in a few minutes. you see traffic starting to slow through the area. if you can get off at mckee you can access that exit and get over there or take 680, that is a better route heading south, 680 will move you back to 101, just south of that crash. the rest of the bay looks fine. the deadly crash is still an issue. back to you. >> we know you'll keep tabs. bart leadership wants your take on the rail system's ongoing recovery from the pandemic.

general manager restarted a listening tour where he gets input from riders at stops across the bay area and he's listening at oakland's fruitvale station and san francisco's embarcadero station. he's planning to visit the ten busiest bart stations. a development, groundbreaking this morning for teaches struggling to make it in the bay. a special affordable housing project will be dedicated to teachers and staff in daly city. that property will serve the jefferson elementary school district. when it's done it will include 56 housing units surrounding the courtyard including a community building and play area for children. up to 70 district workers will be able to live there. daly city's mayor is among those expected to attend today's groundbreaking. coming up next on "today in the bay," the pandemic taking a toll. >> it just really starts to wreck your soul. >> nurses overwhelmed by covid. inside one california woman's journey to concur the trauma tied to treating patients.

the holidays just got pricier. why shipping will likely cost you more this holiday season and why it probably shouldn't come as a surprise. and taking a live look outside, bay bridge toll plaza, doesn't seem to be a problem right now, but there is a major freeway problem in the south bay. we'll take a look at it. mike inouye keeping tabs this morning.

trinity,. happy wednesday morning.

we have more kids heading back to school today in pittsburgh starting out temperatures in the mid 60s. nice and comfortable. but hot. at pick-up time, ac on full blast in the car pick-up line. we're going to talk about more heat ahead and where we're seeing the cooler temperatures coming up. yeah. deadly crash in san jose to start your morning for highway 101. better news is we confirmed you can access the transition from 101 to 680 and 280. that's better news. we're following this, but hopefully can bring you positive energy with our friend dom. >> good morning. i'm all about that positivity. i'm dominic chu from cnbc global headquarters. wall street is set to open lower after the dow and the s&p 500 closed at record highs following the senate's passage of that $1 trillion infrastructure bill. energy, materials, industrial and financial bank stocks got a boost from both the infrastructure bill and a move

higher in interest rates. in focus today a report on consumer prices. they are expected to have risen at a slightly slower pace in july after posting the biggest monthly increase in 13 years in june. analysts say a big jump in inflation could impact the timing of when the federal reserve may start to pull back on that massive amount of monetary support it has providered during the virus pandemic. hyundai is expanding its robo taxi joint venture to california. it plans to start mapping public roads and testing the self-driving vehicle in los angeles this month. that venture called motional is texting robo taxing in boston, pittsburgh, las vegas and singapore. the company and partner lyft plan to start a robo taxi service in several u.s. markets in the year 2023. the initial tests around the l.a. area will take place in santa monica with a driver safety concern there being alleviated with the driver at the wheel.

the u.s. postal service is proposing some temporary price hikes during the holiday season and going to be in effect from october 3rd through december 26th. the increases would mostly affect online sellers who print their postage online with priority mail prices going up by roughly 6%. the postal service says the rate changes are similar to those from last year. now marcus and laura, i've gotten used to paying higher prices for just about everything shipping wise during the holidays but feels like this year i'm going to be more attune to how much it costs to send things to like my folks in california. >> hopefully you should come visit them. you should be the gift. >> it is. i'm going to try to bet gak. we'll see what happens with the pandemic. i would love to get back and see my bay area family. >> your presence is our present. >> thanks. 4:45. coming up here on "today in the

bay," it's starting to heat up as kids head back to school. meteorologist kari hall keeping an eye on the conditions today. >> starting out in the upper 60s in brentwood. cooler in san francisco with mid 50s. right now 55 as you head out doors in santa rosa. we'll get a look at our microclimates and talk about our highs coming up. >> we're watching our commute even though we're focused on the deadly crash in san jose, 101, interstate 80, the bay bridge, moving smoothly, so are the approaches. we'll give you the composite picture coming up. plus a rock legend pulling the plug on performing at bottle rock. her reasons why after the break.

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a very good wednesday morning to you. taking a live look outsides this morning. it's a nice cool start. i'm saying that because the temperatures are rising. at the time you're picking up the kids this afternoon they're going to be stinky and sweaty. >> bring back memories. >> and they are spending a lot more time outside. they're giving them the opportunity to get some more fresh air, so, yeah, they're going to be sweating throughout today. let's get a live look outside in san jose. now we're seeing our sky looking a little hazy right now. our air quality is still moderate and for the south bay it is looking pretty good. we're right at that 50 where they measure their particulate matter, anything above that is moderate air quality. i'm showing you that first. it may affect how you're able to view the perseid meteor shower this morning.

we are right now at the peak of the perseid meteor shower and it does continue through friday morning. if you have time before work maybe lay out there and just look up at the sky. it could be a really nice way to start your day, if you see a few streaking across the sky. we're going to see our temperatures heating up today for the south bay reaching into the upper 80s for san jose. 94 degrees in morgan hill. for the east bay, it's going to be hot. antioch reaching 99, also 99 in danville, but in hayward, nice and warm, in the low 80s there. we have some cool temperatures near the coast in daly city reaching 66. san francisco up to 71 in the mission district and 91 in novato, ukiah, 104 degrees. we've had some really hot temperatures for the inland areas and now we're getting ready to combine some humidity. this is the reason why we have two tropical systems, kevin and linda, that are out there in the pacific. well to the south of us. but what will happen with this

high pressure over the desert southwest and its clockwise wind flow will draw in that tropical moisture and cause a surge of some monsoon moisture over the sierra. it could also develop some showers and thunderstorms. but the remnants from those tropical systems will be right over us over the next couple days. they're going to see some high clouds and it's going to feel muggy and watching out for a chance of thunderstorms there that could unfortunately spark some new fires. the humidity coming along with temperatures in the low to mid 90s. it's going to feel more like miami around the bay area. then as we go into the weekend, some upper 90s. there is no significant cool down here, but where you can find the natural air conditioning along the coast. san francisco, some highs in the low 70s and upper 60s over the next few days. mike, you're tracking the deadly crash. it's to cover any death on the freeways. we have the closures of the majority of our lanes, south 101, just before 680 just after

mckee and alum rock. you're able to make the transition from 101 to the freeways 280 and 680, southbound 101. the coroner was culled before 4:00 a.m. i'm going to say this probably will clear closer to 6:00 than 5:30 but looking at the slowdown south past the area. from oakland be prepared to tap on your brakes and move to the left where you have the center lane getting past the scene. if you join on at 680 or 280, 101 south is fine. take 87 down to 280 and back over to the area, that's completely clear. so is 680. coming around the bend from alan rock. just the one short section is really affected by this tragedy in the south bay. the rest of the bay is clear, including the bay bridge. back to you. >> all right. thank you very much. a bay area nurse opening up about her own crisis with ptsd while treating covid patients. cassandra alexander said she

spent months watching patients die from covid-19. she wrote about the trauma she experienced in a recent op-ed in "the huffington post." she says, quote, most americans will never understand what it is like to look someone in the eyes as they pant in increasing terror forced to choose between talking on the phone with a loved one they may not see enough and breathing enough to survive. this is something many nurses have had to experience during the pandemic. alexander says it really took a toll on her mental health. >> it wasn't necessarily one particular incident that set it off, but just this slow increase sorrow over 15 months where we couldn't get ahead of a disease that we didn't have any answer for and then once we started having answers for it, people are still needlessly dying from it. it just really starts to wreck your soul in a way that you maybe can't fully appreciate

until you're almost at the edge. >> alexander says therapy was able to help her start her recovery process. you can watch a full story on nbc lx, comcast chanel 185 or 11-5 over the air. governor newsom is dominating at least one special election race, campaign funding. according to media aggregated numbers of financial election finances, newsom and anti-he recall groups have raised nearly three times as much as his opponents and pro recall groups. you're looking at "l.a. times" numbers from donation disclosures. john cox has raised the most among recall contenders but most is his own money. stevie knicks has canceled her appearance at the bottle rock festival, blame the growing threats of the variant. chris stapleton will replace knicks. the fest vallejo was canceled by

covid. this year's festival set to take place in napa. knicks has canceled all upcoming performances this year. coming up on "today in the bay," you get a seltzer, another brand hopping on the trend. mountain dew's line of hard dews. >> can't wait to see that. happening now for you, people in the south bay seem to be listening to santa clara water district which declared a drought emergency back in june. the first three weeks of data showing less water use. homeowners are using about 9% less water, but the district is asking for a 15% reduction. it says if people cut irrigation by half, the county would easily reach its goal. outdoor water use accounts for about half of the county's water total. 4:55. we'll be right back.

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trending for you this morning seems like these days every alcohol brand has a seltzer. mountain dew is getting in on the action. >> pepsi and sam adams teaming up to create a new dew called hard mountain dew, contains 5% alcohol and zero sugar, original, black cherry, watermelon and they roll out early next year. >> laura, we've heard that you have never had a mountain dew. >> no. >> we may change that before the end of the year. >> not happening. a lot more coming up. stick around.

developing now at 5:00, vaccines mandates may be coming in a matter of hours for teachers up and down the state of california. new reports overnight that will have all school employees buzzing this morning. breaking now, the united states senate passing a blueprint for transforming america. the big investment that could be coming. how they will actually impact all of us and what's next. this is "today in the bay." and a good morning to you, everyone. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. developing now a report overnight says governor gavin newsom is set to announce this morning new vaccine mandates for all school employees. >> it comes as