i'm kira klepper. >> and i'm scott mcgrew. you're looking at live pictures of a fire in san jose. this was a brushfire that was burning really big. it was bad for quite some time. as you can see, the san jose fire department is on the scene taking care of it near o'toole. you can see the earlier pictures. one of our producers spotted this fire at about 3:00 this morning on the way to work. we don't know if it hit nearby buildings. you saw the video live where it's ow. cierra johnson is headed out to the scene. we'll have a live report when she arrives. vianey arama is tracking the commute. >> that's right. any time you see fires around highways and freeways, there could be an impact on delays. i'm not seeing any reports.

you could catch slowing as fire crews are actively working on the scene. as of right now, you might be a little bit backed up in through this area, but we aren't expecting to see anything as far -- hopefully, right? they're already on the scene work through that. walnut creek, i have a new crash to tell you about. this one happened a couple of minutes ago. traffic is being diverted off the area because of a solo spinout right near southbound 680. if that's part of your morning commute, you're going to catch delays there. the good news is we're not seeing any major traffic delays on any of our bridges this morning. san mateo bridge rolling along and in through the bay bridge plaza. i'll have another update what to expect when you hit the roads coming up in a few minutes. back to you. a lot less people out this

morning. maybe you'll have a bit more time to enjoy your coffee. here's look at the tri-valley as you head out on 5850. we've seen patches of fog, but bob redell is out there. first of all, stores are opening -- they were closed last year, but opening much later this year. >> reporter: correct. and, yes, they were closed yesterday. look at stoneridge mall behind

me. this is not unusual for black friday because typically on a black friday, they don't open until 6:00 can anyway. that's what they're going to be doing anyway in about an hour. they were not opened yesterday. they reopened at 6:00 this morning. this year like last year is different because of the pandemic. target stores will not reopen until 7:00 this morning for black friday and has announced they will be making -- being closed on thanksgiving permanent. walmart which has stayed open on thanksgiving since the 1980s also closed. same goes for electronics retailer best buy. across the bay area, most malls like stone ridge are closed with the exception of movie theaters. this is a move made last year in the height of the pandemic in an

effort to flatten the curve of covid-19 pandemic. now the labor market is part of the reason. they're giing workers time with their families, which is good. some are unis about venturing out because of the recent events of flash mob robberies. >> i've seen it. we started doing things online. it's a little risky to come out and do door busters in the city, and that's why we're not doing it this year. >> reporter: san francisco has increased police presence in its shopping quarters including union square where a mob of thieves struck wednesday night. if you are one of the many heading out to do shopping, you're probably wondering what's open and at what time. the earliest we saw 5:00 a.m.

for best buy, kohl's, and walmart. what about the malls? many of the outlets open at 6:00 a.m. that includes the gilroy, napa, vacaville outlets and westfield at 7:00, westfield san francisco at 8:00. hillsdale and stonestown at 9:00 a.m. many americans instead choose to avoid the stores and shop from home today and over this holiday weekend. adobe analytics says customers are expected to spend upwards of $5.4 billion online on thanksgiving day. that would be a record. shoppers already have spent $75 billion online since the start of november. that's up 20% from last year. that's also more than a third of the total 270 billion in online

shopping. live in san francisco, will free parking bring you back to the city? starting today the city is offering free parking for two hours. the deal is good for three garages, the sutton-stockton garage, ellis-o'farrell, and another. there will be a special world health organization meeting to discuss the new variant..1.1.529 may affect cone and make it more contagious. the variant has been found in south africa where case rates are surging from 200 a day to nearly 2,500. ucsf infectious disease expert monica gandhi says the new

variant may spread more rapidly than delta. >> it looks like it's more transmissible than delta was and may be more trance mibls than delta. hopefully it won't overtake delta, but we have to get everyone vaccinated as soon as we can. >> it's been identified in south africa, botswana, hong kong. doctors with the world health organization say work is under way to understand how those mao tags will impact virus beige. now, this new string could be a bumpy day on wall street. u.s. futures dropping sharply amid the new strain. s&p 500, nasdaq, well into negative territory. asian markets hit hard in the friday trade. both japan's and hong kong's market ended the day low jeer.

still in the bay area, we're seeing nowhere near the number of hospitalizations we saw this time last year. here's the problem. this time last year in san francisco, we were seeing 149 cases per day. this year the average is 59. as for hospitalizations, last year san francisco hospitals were treating 71 covid patients this. year, 18. well, taking a live look at downtown southeast, you can see the big tree in the middle there. christmas in the park back open today. the weather is going to be fabulous. meteorologist kari hall tracking your weather has the latest. good morning. >> good morning. we start out with some chilly temperatures, and we'll also see the temperatures cool off quickly tonight for christmas in the park. we're at 42. it's 44 right now in concord if you're getting ready to head out. we know people will be shopping early in the morning. in palo alto, expect the

temperatures to be rising. we'll see a high of 66 in palo alto, 67 in oakland and 67 in san jose. vianey is tracking situation. >> that's right. northbound 101 near vermont, around 3:21 a sig alert was issued. chp's latest report shows the number two lane is now open, is they're starting to let some traffic flow through that area. expect heavy delays until that investigation is complete. also we have been following that brushfire, this one in the south bay. our very own cierra johnson on the way. a couple of trees on fire. this along the southbound 880

area. the call came in at around 3:17 for chp. we'll have an update on that. we could be seeing fire activity on the actual highway, so you might have to keep moving. i'll send it e back over to you. >> vianey, thank you so much. apple stepping into the virtual worrell. next on "today in the bay," the major update on the company's new headset, and how this will differ from the rest. >> giving back the way local organizations made sure those in need got a warm thanksgiving meal. stay with us. you're watching "today in the bay."

small businesses like yours make gift-giving possible. now, comcast business has an exclusive gift for you. introducing the gift of savings sale. for a limited time, ask how to get a great deal for your business. and get up to a $500 prepaid card with select bundles when you switch to the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. or get started with internet and voice for $64.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee. give your business the gift of savings today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

happy friday. it's 5:12. you can run later on this morning. we're starting out with temperatures in the mid-40s. we do have another really nice afternoon ahead as our high temperatures reach into the low to mid-60s. we'll get a look at the weekend forecast. that's coming up in a few minutes. and i did want to give you all a quick look at your tri-valley drive times. westbound 580 to grant line road, 16 minutes, southbound 680 to vargas, 10 minutes there.

let's check in with bertha. good morning. happy good friday to you. i'm bertha coombs from cnbc. we've got wall street set to open sharply lower at opening bell. right now the dow looks to open down more than 750points. the big issue is a new covid variant found in southern africa. this one has 30 mutations that could make it much more transmissible. travel and hospitality-related stocks are down, 8%, 9%. britain airlines has banned six countries from traveling. we could see another pullback from the energy demand. one thing to bear in mind, the market will only be open a half day today. it often exacerbates any moves

one way or the other. we've got trading ending today at 1:00 eastern. meantime apple's long-rumored mixed reality headset could be a standalone device that actually double need to be tied to an iphone or a mac, that according to a top analyst with a strong track record who says the headset will run on a semi-conductor chip with the same computing power as a mac. i'm thinking it's that apple m-1 chip that's so powerful. it will be able to augment reality and virtual experiences, and the headset will arrive sometime late next year. apple will make sure it supports a range of apps with the ultimate goal of replacing the iphone in about a decade. this is the hard part i have trouble wrapping my head around. meantime spotify testing a new tick tock feed experiencing

full screens as video is played. it's in a new tab on the navigation bar called discover. spotify has confirmed the tab but isn't saying whether it will be rolled out more widely to a wider audience. it comes as net flex has been testing a similar feature, to help people discover new content to want i still can't wrap my head around it that some augmented virtual reality device will replace my phone. it becomes a minority report, right? >> it does sound that way. what you'll be able to see for it and what will be the killer app. >> i can't. i'm too old-fashioned. bertha, i'm right there with you. trening this morning, it's not really a galaxy, but it's not too far away. the collection of "star trek"

memorabilia is right here in the bay area. rancho obi want is located right in bless an tount. right now it's closed due to the pandemic. they plan to reopen to visitors sometime next year. tours are open to members who pay a monthly fee. the owner began amassing his collection in 1976 before the first major movie "new hope" debuted. my husband will flip here. so will my son. >> that's great. that's cool. let's check in with a great bit of weather here on planet earth. good morning, kari. >> it does look great here. even as we go into this afternoon, the sky will clear and it will basically be a repeat of yesterday.

visibility is at about 4 to 5 miles. it's not too bad. we've seen some mornings where it's a lot lower than that. looking to our temperatures and where we're headed as the seven-day forecast coming up at the bottom of the screen, 70 in santa cruz and morgan hills reaching 71. we start out with patches of fog that keeps the temperatures down a little longer as it takes a while before it mixes out. we'll see a temperature of 68. then we go from mild weather to quickly cooling off tonight for christmas in the park. if you're going out there, at sunset it will be about 60 degrees. you can see the trend going down

into the mid-50s and even lower 50s if you'll be out there late as far as what else is going on f you're traveling, have family back home, we watched showers across the pacific northwest. in portland and salt, we've been dealing with ray. this dry weather looks to continue even into next week with these store systems passing to the north. we also saw the update to the drought monitor. even though we haven't had rain recently, we're seeing a lot of improvements. notice the area in the red. it's the highest level of drought. and wei r we saw some improvements. 10% were taken out of the high drought category, which includes parts of the north bay. we're going back into a stretch of dry weather for at least the next week. as our temperatures warm up,

we'll head for the low 70s. not much next week. san francisco has had mild weather for the tree lighting and all of the holiday celebrations going on this weekend. vianey has travel news for us. what's the update? >> we still have some delays. if you're traveling in the area, a couple of trees were on fire. cierra johnson will be live to give us a report. in san francisco, a deadly crash. a sig alert was issued. it looks like the lane has been reopened. northbound 101 from highway 85, 19 minutes. no major delays on peninsula roads either. however, the bay bridge toll

plaza. we can play the game of i can count how many cars i see. back to you. next, nbc bay area responds. >> it's such a great deal. you love it until we return. before we head to break, i want to share this awesome video. our own marcus washington is showing his dancing videos online. he's on instagram, twitter, and facebook. we'll be right back.

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this is it, the weekend when buyers pack the stores. next week they'll have buyers' remorse. every holiday season we return billions upon billions upon billions of mrds. it doesn't work for us. a few stopped accepting returns altogether. can they do that?

yes. california stores does not require stores to have a return policy. don't assume a store will allow a return of items if you change your mind. can california stores charge a restocking fee? yes. can they offer only exchanges? yes. can they offer you store credit? >> yes. >> can they deny a refund if you don't have a receipt? yes. can we see a pattern here? bottom line, if you're not impressionable moments when the store design has captivated you. some stores do loosen their return policies around the holidays, but they don't have. to please check the rules. they should be posted in writing at the service desk. if you have trouble, please let

us not at nbc bay area responds. it was a busy weekend as volunteers spent their day giving back to those in need. volunteers prepared more than 2,000 meals. volunteers at the salvation army delivered about 4,000 meals to seniors in their homes. across san mateo county, family after family lined up to get a hot plate. and to south bay where 300 dinners were handed out at the team headquarters in the bare a ya. we here along with telemundo are once again teaming up with safeway. you can make a donation at any local safeway store when at the checkouts. our nushing ifs neighbors food

drive runs through christmas day, so plenty of time. next, the top stories we're following including the growing reward for information that can help catch a security guard in oakland. plus -- >> reporter: small business saturday is on its way, and retailers are stocking up. we'll she you what they're doing and what they say this holiday season could mean for the business.

breaking now at 5:30, look at that. a fire and the report on putting it out. plus -- >> reporter: the retailers who stay closed this past thanksgiving. "today in the bay." good morning. it's 5:30 on the dot. i'm kira klapper. >> let's begin with the breaking news, the brushfire in the bay. >> cierra johnson just arrived on the scene. good morning to you. what are you seeing out there? >> good morning. good news. it looks like the firefighters are packing up. you see behind me some are rolling up hoses. we've been out here for about 45

minutes, and right now we're not seeing familiars. we did smell smoke, but we're no longer seeing flames. one of our producers drove by this area, not too far from montague expressway near 880, close to i-580. once again, one of our producers spotted the flames on the way in to work. it does not appear any of the businesses were impacted. it was limited to a stretch of brush behind the parking lot between the road and those buildings, so the parking lot acted like a barrier to protect some of the building. kind of an industrial park type of vicinity. in the distance i'm seeing fire trucks pull off. that's good news. we're smelling a bit of smoke, like a eucalyptus fire burn.

we're trying to find out how the fire started. good news, people are leaving. the buildings nearby do not look damaged. the fire looks like it's been knocked down. when we find the cause of the fire, we'll let you know. >> good new this morning. thank you. let's get over to vianey arama on the morning commute and the impact it's having or not since's been put out. >> cierra said it was limited, thankfully, to that stretch within the parking lot, but you could see some delays as the fire crews were there. for example, on the right-hand shoulder, you could see some of the activity. if you're looking to avoid the

area, take oakland road instead of hopping on the freeway and also mccarthy and ringwood avenue would be your best bet to get around the mess. aside from that, the good news is everything else in the south bay, i'm not seeing any impacts there. and also a sig alert on the 101. a tough situation. they now have opened the slow lanes so traffic is going to continue to push through as they reopen this area. kari, how is the weather going to be for the weekend? >> yeah. it looks really good for us. we're starting out with cold temperatures. right now areas are only 40 degrees in morgan hills and livermore. 43 in san francisco. a nice day if you're heading out for a hike, trying to work off some of that turkey dinner from yesterday. we'll see temperatures in the

mid-40s for 7:00. there's a lot going on this weekend, and we'll talk about some of those events coming up in our weekend forecast coming up. scott and kira? >> thank you. there was this trend that the night after thanksgiving dinner is when black friday began. most retailers were closed on thachlg "today in the bay's" bob redell is outside stoneridge mall in pleasanton. there are no crowds. >> reporter: correct. this is not typical. they still have another 30 minutes. they were not open yesterday, which was unusual because pre-covid, that's something that this mall and other locations didn't.

retailers are paying more, up to 17% more for things like toys, clothing, appliances, and especially tvs. target stores will not open until 7:00 this morning and has announced it will be making being closed on thanksgiving permanent. it was not open yesterday and it's something that will continue. and also a retailer closed for black friday and the same for electronics retailer best buy. this is a move first made last year during the height of the pandemic. that was in an effort to flatten the curve. now there's a tight labor market. that's part of the reason. and it gives retail workers time

to spent time with their family. others are afraid to venture out because of flash mob robberies. it's something the mayor of san francisco is hoping to try to ease. >> even though the stored have closed, they're still out there. we're going to continue to make sure there's a large police presence, that will are ambassadors when they come to the city that is correct will there are additional sources. and it's 24/7. >> reporter: mayor london breed said the increased police presence through the shopping corridors will continue through the new year and possibly beyond. in san jose, the mayor will be asking for city council's help to set up a fund for license readers to track get away cars.

reporting live in pleasanton, bob redell, "today in the bay." get out there and shop local. >> it's a great opportunity to do it because tomorrow is small business saturday. as "today in the bay's" kris sanchez shows us, they're hoping to give people an alternative to supply chain disruptions and shipping delays. >> reporter: whatever happens during that holiday season could make or break them for this year. >> at bella james, they're rolling out the welcome matt. >> this time last year we were only allowed to have three or four customers in the store at a

time. this year we don't have that limitation so we can gear up with extra staff. >> reporter: there will still be protocols in place like masks indoors. >> there's some amount of certainty, knowing stores have inventory, online, there always seems to be delays. >> reporter: some people did plenty of online buying during the lockdown last year and now they're looking to get out and about. >> i think that is what i'm looking to, maybe finding some good things, planning for roadship for christmas. >> reporter: as far as the

supply chain issues go, the folks at this store have been able to get the inventory they've wanted. the problem is reordering something. they say if there's something you really like, that's the way to do it. >> we're seeing heightened shopping security. you can watch more about the safety measures being taken. 5:39. a followup for you. a reward growing for the shooting in oakland. the $25,000 reward is for information if you can help catch the person who shot a security guard. the security guard, former police officer, was protecting a kron 4 news crew in front of the prime 56 clothing store. that's the one that got robbed. the reporter was interviewing the owner of that store when

more thieves tried to steal the equipment and camera. police say he's in stable condition. the reporter was not hurt. people are starting to fly home. more than 2.3 million travelers passed through the nation aisle -- that's more than before nafg 2019 before the pandemic. the next busy day is expected to be saturday and sunday. speaking of saturday and sunday, what can we expect? >> you did say yesterday might be a copy and paste. yesterday was a gorgeous way to spend our thanksgiving.

i think people will be heading out shopping. headed for the mid-60s by this afternoon. make sure you have sunglasses and a warm jacket. later on this evening, a coat for half moon bay. they're going to be lighting up the town and having lots of activities going around for the kids as well as just enjoying the holidays. we're going to start out at 3:00 with temperatures in the low 60s and head down for the low 5s. we have christmas in the park downtown in san jose. we'll see temperatures dip into the low 50s. i would probably have a nice warm coat and some hot chocolate in hand. that's also a nice way to celebrate the weekend. this weekend if you plan on heading out and showing the family around the bay area, temperatures in the upper 60s. san francisco will also be very

comfortable with highs reaching into the low 50s. santa cruz will also be very nice. nice and cool. the dry weather continues. don't expect a lot of snow. it will be more like hiking in taho this weekend. we'll see temperatures in the mid- to upper 50s. a nice weekend for a hike as we see the temperatures going from 63 to about 64 for highs for tomorrow as well. great weather in the forecast this weekend. we'll take a look to see if there's any rain coming our way. vianey has been watching the breaking news going on this morning. what's the update? >> things have been wrapping up for the south bay. this is that brushfire we reported earlier. it looks like that is wrapping up. i did ask cierra if there are

any roads actively closed. there are not. there could be slowing as the crews work to clear out the area. aside from that, let's get to your drive times. westbound 580 to grant line road, 16 minutes. no delays from southbound 680 to vargas road, 10 minutes. no metering light for the bay bridge. only seven mingts. not too bad. i love the cold starts. i don't know about you. >> oh, yes, vianey loves her cozy sweaters, cozy blankets. next on "today in the bay," the call an east bay business owner got while he was giving back on thanksgiving. and right now on nbc bay area, old toxic cables are set to be removed from lake tahoe after conservationists push for their removal. how much that's going to cost. it's on our website at

nbcbayarea.com. we'll be right back.

5:46 as you're heading out. crank up the heater inside the car. we're feeling temperatures in the low 40s and then going into the rest of the day, we go into the low 60s with sunshine, and it's going to be another really nice day. we'll talk about the weekend in

and the forecast coming up in a few minutes. >> southbound 101 from van ness to sfo 1rks 1 minutes, sfo to highway 92, 6 minutes. more drive times coming up. >> thank you both. this morning america has a new top dog. clair, get this, she made history. she's the first-ever repeat winner. clair beat out hundreds of dogs representing 180 breeds and varieties recognized by the american kennel club. wheers claire's owner said went through her mind the moment she heard once again. >> it's pure joy. you work with the dogs you have. they're a part of our lives, so it's just totally amazing when things like this happen because

it just makes for a wonderful time together. >> you can watch the full interview with claire's owner coming up on the "today" show right after "today in the bay." did you ever think how yo can turn a photo album fromsome something that's worthless to priceless when you get it back into the hands of somebody that it belongs to? >> i like this story. that's what one south bay man is doing. turns out it's a tip of it. >> sadly we'll have no world war ii veterans riding in our jeep. so many have passed away in the past two years. >> but the passion he has for preserving the stories of those who fought in it, that's already lasted more than 15 years. >> there's many times i say i'm done. i'm done doing these events. i'm done doing these programs, let somebody else do it.

>> reporter: robert may say that, but there he is once again, leading a convoy of world war ii vehicles in this year's veterans day parade through the streets of downtown san jose. robert is leading the spirit of '45, a group he started in 2007. you'll find them wherever, whenever there's an opportunity to preserve and promote the stories of the greatest generation. >> right now that's my thing. let's make these stories last forever. >> reporter: which is all just a long-winded way of saying that at the alameda point antiques fair in september, there could not have been a more perfect person on the planet than robert to walk into a booth and discover this. between the covers, the life of a world war ii veteran, joseph giampino, for a few bucks. >> it's his whole life,

airplanes, vehicles, pictures with their girlfriends. >> reporter: robert might have bought it for the historic pictures, but the inscription on the inside cover told him what he should have done. >> this book will go to christopher. >> reporter: robert got to work online and tracked down joseph's son, christopher, living in north carolina. >> a week later i got a message saying, how do you know my grandfather. i don't, but i think i have something that belongs to you. >> reporter: robert plans to travel there to deliver it in person. he doesn't trust the mail. in the right hands, it's priceless. >> this is the quintessential what is keeping the spirit of '45 alive. this veteran passed away in 2002, and his spirit is still in this album, and it's literally passing it on to the next

generation. >> that was garvin thomas for us. in oakland there was a food drive given and the good deal was noticed by the vice president. >> i'm so proud of you. i'm sending all the best wishes for a wonderful thereaftering to all of you. and, please, take care of yourself, and thank you for taking care of your neighbor. >> well, that was vice president kamala harris herself talking to derrick johnson, the owner of homeless chicken and waffles restaurant in oakland. he's a longtime friend of the vice president, and he teamed up with volunteers from city team at the christian nonprofit organization to hand out 400 meals. so well deserved recognition there. >> what a great phone call as well. >> yeah. >> that's fantastic. >> yeah. >> reporter: kari's been talking about the weather we're going to have for this weekend. that sounds fantastic as well.

>> good morning. take a look at the live view of the bay bridge as you're heading out. if you will be heading to work this morning, it will be clear. we've only seen light patches of fog around the area. there's clear visibility and then it drops to five miles in parts of the east bay. a great day to enjoy more time outside. in the south bay, temperatures start out in the mid-40s. at 11:00, we're at 60 degrees. then we'll see the high temperatures into the mid-60s with a breezy wind. once again, a pretty perfect day, and we're basically watching the weather. morgan hill is headed for 71 degrees. 68 in san jose and 68 in hayward. overall across the region, we have some scattered showers up around the pacific northwest and that continues to weaken and doesn't make it into the bay area. our dry weather continues even

through next week. so we're stuck in this wet weather pattern where we're not even getting a slight chance of rain here, but our temperatures are holding steady, and we'll continue with sunshine in the forecast. cool mornings and mild afternoons, with highs reaching into the low 70s for the weekend. vianey, how is it looking for commuters who do have to head out on this friday? >> now it is 5:53, and we have seen things start to clear out on the south bay. smooth commute through the east bay as well. northbound 880 from marina boulevard to broadway, 9 minutes. that's not the san mateo bridge, but it is oakland. this is the bay bridge. you're going to be noticing the metering lights may or may not come on at all. they usually come on at 5:20, 5:25. on a typical day, you may have to head back to work. you can probably have that second cup of coffee at home.

you don't have to worry about heading out too fast. i'll have another update on what's going on with the rest of your drive times coming up in a few minutes. back to you. >> 5:53. check your freezer. t.j. farms select is voluntarily recalling cases of its frozen cauliflower. the product has the potential to be contaminated with listeria. if you've got these products, throw them out or return them for a refund. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. that's the first time you've heard that this year. we'll take you to christmas in the park. you're looking live. did you know the annual tradition is back in person for the first time since the pandemic? plus, we're following developing news. a fire exploding overnight near the 880 freeway in the south bay. we are live with the latest next.

the xfinity black friday sales event is happening now on xfinity mobile. now new and existing customers can get our best wireless deal of the year - up to $1,000 in savings - for a limited time only. on the most reliable network nationwide, plus nationwide 5g. act now and save up to $1,000 with xfinity mobile. so you can go all out on gifts for the family - during our best wireless deal of the year... the xfinity black friday sales event. click, call or visit

welcome back. christmas in the park is back.

we have more on what you'll see. >> reporter: it's beginning to look a lot like christmas before the pandemic hit. >> we are still decorating it. we're not fully done yet, but this is a tree. >> i was excite because we got to decorate the tree. >> reporter: crowds of people walking turned into thousands of cars driving through a display of lights at cunningham park. that exhibit is here to stay, but this year families are getting back to the in-person experience. >> every year we do something different now. i'm glad it's back in the park. >> reporter: organizers are expecting pre-pandemic crowds. to keep everyone safe, they'll provide hand sanitizing stations and voluntary lists and a visit with santa claus. >> it's a new outdoor setting, something we've never done before. >> reporter: both events will have extra volunteers and a

police presence at all times. >> reporter: also new is what organizers call the biggest bounce house. of course, there will be a tree reaching 65 feet. this year there will be a tunnel that will allow you to go inside and play lights every hour. bringing back the magic to this community. you probably paid more for pumpkin pie this year. apparently pumpkins like many foods on the thanksgiving table are pricier because of too much rain in the midwest causing a pumpkin shortage. the average price of a pumpkin was 15% higher this fall. cherries, apples, dairy, and

crusts were also up. who knew. >> who knew. a brushfire erupted on the south bay. we'll have the latest. and we have a live report on what to expect if you're planning to go out shopping on this black friday, and the increased security being put into place at bay area malls after the recent smash-and-grab robberies. plus -- >> the more this fire circulates, the more opportunities the fire has to change, and the more mutations we'll see. >> new fears about the covid variantses spreading overseas and the reason global leaders fear it could spread out of control, already having an impact here in the united states especially on the stockmarket. this is "today in the bay." a very good friday morning to you. i'm scott mcgrew. >> and i'm kira klapper. marcus and laura are off today.