day, whatever of my life. >> the olympic and political fallout. is it fair? plus. >> i'm scott budman, why bay area water experts tell us we didn't get enough rain to avoid an early fire season. also, making it in the bay isn't getting any easier, the new reason housing prices are going up. ♪♪ the news at 4:00 starts right now. thanks for being with us on this olympics edition of nbc bay area news. >> we're going to take you live to beijing but first we want to start with this. months of nearly back-to-back storms was nice but it just wasn't enough. now after weeks without rain, 32 days, to be exact, our water woes are growing. climate watchers say our situation is, again, teetering on being dire. nbc bay area's scott budman explains the concern now. fire season.

>> reporter: yeah, the latest warning comes from the people here at valley water who tell us despite a solid december full of rain, we're facing, yet again, drought conditions and an early fire season unless we get more rain soon. the good news, december rain pumped a lot of water into our reservoirs and turned the hills we see every day green along with a big bump for our snow pack. but -- >> we have had backsliding in the sense of a horrible january, one of the worst januarys on record. february, to date, no rain. >> reporter: and valley water says the optimism we felt just a month ago is waning as our plants and hills once again dry out. >> but it actually wasn't that much net precipitation to us because the ground was so dry, we didn't get as much runoff as we wanted. >> reporter: which means even though it's february, climate watchers are already starting to

worry about fire risk. >> it's the fuel moisture we really worry about because if plants are really moist, they don't burn so easily, so the drier they are, the easier they ignite and the hotter the fires can be. >> reporter: bottom line. >> if we don't get more rain this season, we're going to be in a lot of trouble this fire season. >> reporter: we need more rain soon to keep fire season from arriving early. scott budman, nbc bay area news. >> yeah, it really is puzzling. upper 70s in the winter. meteorologist rob mayeda is tracking a warm-up. he's going to talk about super bowl weekend coming up. what's going to happen after the mask mandate expires next tuesday? will we still be required to wear one? it's actually up to each county. and tonight, many bay area counties remain undecided. each county has to decide by february 15th, that's next tuesday. solano and marin counties tell us they plan to follow the

state's recommendations, meaning no more masks inside for most people. nearly all other local counties have told us they're still not sure. ucsf epidemiologist dr. george rutherford thinks the state and its guidance is correct. >> i think the timing's appropriate. i think that we've seen a 70% decline since the peak of omicron wave on january 14th. >> but other doctors, including a former u.s. surgeon general, disagree, saying it's still too early to ditch the masks. all counties will announce their plans in the next few days based on their local data, no matter their decision, masks will continue to be mandatory in schools, hospitals, and public transit. >> well, the future of more than a dozen schools in oakland rests on what happens this evening. in less than an hour, students, parents, teachers will log on to a virtual school board meeting and that's when the board will approve a plan to save millions by closing and merging some schools. the plan has triggered several

protests, including a hunger strike by two oakland educators. one, in fact, went to the e.r. this afternoon. doctors are worried that eight days of starvation was causing irreversible harm. the district says declining enrollment, budget cuts are creating an uncertain financial future and the two hunger strikers are calling on the governor to use budget surplus money to help stop this closure plan. >> demands are very straightforward. no school closures, no mergers. gavin newsom, come to oakland, just like you do for your photo ops. come to oakland when they're closing our schools. >> we have a heart, and we will stand for what is right. >> the district says it is deeply worried about the health of the two educators but also says the situation requires them to make a decision now. tonight's virtual school board meeting, by the way, is at 5:00 p.m., so just in an hour. the school board has three options, approve the plan, amend the plan, or reject it outright.

jessica, a lot happening at the olympics today. this is a live look in beijing. it is wednesday morning. the olympic flame, it's hard to see there, but it's right there in the middle frame, then that giant snowflake in front of the bird's nest stadium. the biggest headline from beijing is actually rooted in san francisco. freestyle skier eileen gu won gold last night. you might have saw it. but it prompted an international conversation about race, nationality, and money. gu was born and raised in the city but is competing for china. here's nbc bay area's sergio quintana. >> reporter: eileen gu's twists and turns in midair and her solid landing cemented her role as one of the world's best big air free skiers, winning gold at 18 is a huge accomplishment, and doing so with a trick she's never landed in competition before. >> i cannot believe what just happened. >> reporter: but her epic win may be overshadowed by the politics of her situation. many are asking why a u.s.-born

and raised athlete is competing for china. among those raising questions, claire mccaskill, who tweeted, i don't get it and never will. i think it's wrong for an american to compete for china. china represses free speech, is well known for their human rights violations. at a news conference after her win, the newly minted gold medalist says she's trying to be an example for young women and has no interest in the politics or social media debates. >> yeah, if people don't believe me and if people don't like me, then that's their loss. they're never going to win the olympics. >> reporter: it's not unusual for united states citizens or residents to compete for other countries in the olympics. and some fans of eileen gu say it's not fair to hold her responsible for the actions of the chinese government. but china is a special case because it does not allow its athletes to hold dual citizenship, and when gu was asked whether she formally renounced her u.s. citizenship to compete, she chose not to answer. >> i've always been super outspoken in my gratitude to the

u.s., to the u.s. team as well. they have been nothing but supportive to me, and so for that, i'm forever grateful. >> reporter: and when the games are done, it would appear gu is headed back to the u.s. the san francisco university high school grad has already been accepted to study at stanford university. in san francisco, sergio quintana, nbc bay area news. >> it is a fascinating story. eileen gu, by the way, could win multiple gold medals in beijing. here's what's coming up tonight on nbc. shaun white, chloe kim, mass shootings mikaela shiffrin. stanford college republicans hosting pence at an event they call how to save america from the woke left. it will be on february 17th, which is next thursday. it's a timely invitation coming less than a week after pence made that stunning public break with former president trump. last friday, pence rebuked his former boss for pressuring him to overturn the results of the 2020 election. stanford, by the way, is the

third stop on pence's college tour which is focused on motivating the next generation of republicans. golden gate bridge getting a little makeover, you may have noticed today, the bridge is having its lanes restriped. there were some traffic delays around the construction zones. workers are going to finish the striping tomorrow so expect more traffic delays in the morning and afternoon as well. well, making in the bay is welcome backing even more difficult. a new report suggests if you earn between $100,000 to $125,000 a year, there is just one house in the south bay for sale for every 1,200 buyers in that price range. damian trujillo explains the numbers only get worse as housing inventory keeps shrinking. >> reporter: realtors tell me they haven't seen these inventory numbers in years and they're battling with each other to get the winning bid. drive through any street in san jose and you'll be hard pressed

to find a for sale sign. >> it's bottom of the barrel numbers. this is why it's so hard to buy a house, even with qualified buyers. >> reporter: realtors at this keller williams office gather every morning to look at the numbers and if you're looking to buy, they're not good. in san jose, a city of over a million people, this morning, there were only 297 homes for sale. that includes condos and town homes. those that do reach the market are usually snatched up in less than a week, and they're not cheap. >> we are seeing 110% over asking. that's just very common these days. >> reporter: this four-bedroom, two-bath home in willow glen, listed at $1.9 million. >> because we are seeing such low inventory, buyers don't have options. so, if you are a seller, that is thinking of selling, now is the time to capitalize. >> reporter: realtors say it's the same trend around the bay and across much of the state and it's leaving potential buyers thinking twice.

>> it is so far off my radar right now. >> there is this misconception that we have these people leaving california in droves. but the fact is, the jobs are still in california. we have a huge buyer base in the bay area, especially. >> reporter: buyers who are increasingly battling over fewer options. realtors say if you're in the market, you need a lot of patience and a lot of money to make your bid stand out. >> you have to buckle down. >> reporter: in san jose, damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. well, up next, how bad has it gotten? the bay area's rise in freeway shootings. our investigative unit goes in depth on the violent spike that has experts baffled. and we're seeing widespread 70s around the bay area, how about 77 degrees up at scots valley with 88 degrees of possibility for parts of the bay area, record highs.

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care coalition, it's so good to see you all! i would like to start with a quick roll call. funshine bear? care bear in the care chair! snuggie? hiiiii. nick cho. hi, i'm your korean dad! mother nature. here and everywhere. dog and grandma. here. alright! let's brainstorm. any ideas for new members? i'd like to nominate alaska airlines. this neck pillow i'm dating says great things! a caring airline?! wait, those exist?! well, we all believe in a talking sky bear. it says here they were the first airline to switch from plastic bottles to boxed water. wow! they also hire a lot of people from caring professions. i'm seeing former teachers and nurses. okay, i'm loving the sound of all of this. alaska airlines. the most caring airline. it's cute, right? we've never had an airline before. oooo, this is a lot of pressure! deep breaths, funshine bear, like we practiced.

it's settled! alaska airlines is officially in the running! round of applause! okay jack, these recipes aren't gonna create themselves. it's crunch time! but first, it's heinz dip & crunch time! i'm dipping into the latest innovation by combining heinz secret sauce and potato chip crunchers for the perfect bite. my heinz dip & crunch bacon cheeseburger combo. only at jack in the box. sadly, we're seeing a lot of this a lot more often, shootings on our bay area freeways. our investigative unit found there's a significant jump in highway shootings over the last three years and tonight we hear from the sister of one of the recent victims. >> this is so hard. senior investigator steven joins us with why they're happening. >> it is baffling. we obtained the location of every shooting that took place along a major highway here in the bay area since 2019. then, we mapped them to see

where most of the shootings occurred. here's that map. the green triangles show the shootings in 2019. purple squares, 2020. and all the orange circles represent the most recent shootings through mid-december of 2021, the latest that data is available. and you can see some clear hot spots. i mean, just look around. down here on 580, if you zoom in, the cluster of shootings along 580 in oakland from the intersection of fruitvale avenue southeast to malcolm avenue, the exit to the zoo. there were 31 shootings along that stretch. then, a second cluster moved closer to downtown oakland along i-980 and 580 and 880, that whole circle. you see it. 21 shootings. then there's a cluster of shootings on i-80 in san pablo and look at state route 4 from bay point through pittsburg on to antioch in contra costa county. 23 shootings there. then there's another grouping on

i-80 in vallejo. freeway shootings in the bay area are up 117% just in the last three years alone. why? the experts who study these trends tell us that gun crimes are up nationwide and especially here in the bay area. but that only partially explains such a huge jump in freeway shootings. the second part of the answer is gangs. investigators working tell me these cases that gang members are choosing freeways because they're often few or very few or no eye witnesses, getaway is easier, and few are ever even caught. in fact, the data shows in 2021, someone was arrested only 11% of all the time in the cases. that's only 1 in 10 cases. so, what are some solutions? obviously, more community involvement. police tell me witnesses must come forward, but then take a look at this. another solution may be what the city of pittsburg did, add more

surveillance cameras along the freeway. five years ago, after a spike in shootings there, they added some 200 extra cameras and they say they saw a dramatic drop in freeway shootings. but it's not cheap. pittsburg's cameras cost more than $3.5 million. chp would not talk to us about whether they are considering requesting more cameras along the freeways, but they say they are trying to solve all these shootings, and roz, as you mentioned, we talked to the sister of one person who was killed and you can go online and hear her interview there. >> it was very emotional. thank you, steve. >> you bet. >> it is startling to see that cluster the way you've broken it down, steven. thank you. you can watch the full report on nbc bay area, our streaming app. you want to see steven's report, download our app for your apple tv, roku or amazon fire. all you need to do is click on, investigations in the playlist. let's talk turkey here. actually, turkeys, plural. about 20 of them pecking cars

and impacting flight operations at nasa aims in mountain view. marianne favro explains. >> reporter: nasa says moving the birds will protect both the turkeys and the ames community. the usda tells us it's starting the process this week by luring the turkeys into one specific area. these wild turkeys are a common sight at nasa ames research center in mountain view. they have been hanging out for the past couple years. they tweeted this photo last thanksgiving. but in addition to showing off their fancy feathers, the united states department of agriculture tells us the birds are causing trouble, pecking at cars, stopping traffic, and leaving poop everywhere. nasa says the birds have even gotten close to the airfield where they could potentially pose a threat to aircraft operations. so nasa ames decided it's time for the turkeys to movement >> nasa is teaming up with the u.s. department of agriculture,

who has licensed trappers, and they're going to be working on relocating the turkeys. >> reporter: the usda says about 18 turkeys will be relocated with the process starting now before nesting season. california department of fish and wildlife is helping, providing the birds their new home. >> the release site for these turkeys is going to be the san antonio valley ecological reserve which is about 3,000 acres. >> reporter: how do you catch a turkey? the usda says the birds will be lured to a walk-in corral with food for a few days, then a funnel will be put in so the turkeys can't escape. they'll then be placed in individual carriers. >> every turkey that gets trapped, at least, is going to be tested for disease, and you know, only the turkeys that pass the test, that test negative for disease, are going to be relocated. >> reporter: the usda anticipates these gobblers should be gone by the end of this month. in mountain view, marianne

favro, nbc bay area news. >> in case you forgot, valentine's day is next monday and this year cupid's arrow may hit your wallet a little harder. you can expect to pay 15% to 20% more for bouquets this year. wholesalers try to ship flowers internationally but the pandemic is cutting the number of available flights and cargo space is also limited. timing is particularly bad because the pandemic is having a positive impact on sales. >> instead, as people are staying at home, they're realizing this flowers make them feel good, and the day-to-day, the daily consumption of flowers has increased dramatically. >> market experts also believe there will be enough flowers to satisfy demand but they say you should consider ordering sooner rather than later. raj and rob. >> when is it? when's valentine's day? >> i just said it. it's on monday. >> february 14th this year? >> yes. so you have a couple of days, raj. >> thank you. rob, take it away. i just got browbeaten here.

>> yes, we've got work to do. right now, it's clear skies, 73 degrees in san jose. warm temperatures from north to south, we're giving you a little bit of a california live forecast for you here as we show you the warm temperatures around the bay area and the weather we're expecting around the super bowl this weekend down near los angeles. right now, 71 degrees in livermore. you got hazy skies in walnut creek, 69 degrees and now dropping to 65. it was 70 earlier in san francisco. now, places tomorrow that will likely break record highs would be santa rosa if we get up to 79 degrees, the record is 78 tomorrow, oakland too only has to pass 74 degrees to break a record, and from here, temperatures are going to climb even more. i think we have a better chance of breaking more records thursday into friday. now, check out southern california. our own raj mathai is going to be out there enjoying the heat around sofi stadium. just to give you an idea, from wednesday through sunday, l.a. is expected to see 80s and 90-degree temperatures, so it's good news.

sofi stadium being a mostly indoor stadium, you're going to want to stay out of that sun if you have any travel plans heading into southern california because the valleys around l.a. are going to be looking at temperatures in the 90s as we head through the super bowl weekend. so, back to the bay area, we begin with some mild temperatures, cool for the morning, 40s and 50s to start. then as we go through the afternoon, by lunchtime, look at that, already 70s around santa cruz and scots valley and san francisco over to oakland, into the 70s tomorrow, mid-70s around san jose, warmest temperatures around sonoma county, some of the valleys around calistoga could be close to 80 degrees. the band of high clouds passing by from about noon to 6:00, probably make for a nice sunset, just not the type of cloud cover that's going to bring us any rain and that's the big story moving forward. no sign of any storms nearby. in fact, the only storm that comes close has potential for wind for us. you see how it by passes us, drops in east of the sierra?

this is the classic pattern where we get high pressure, which is anchored to our west and as the low drops south, we'll have to watch out early next week with the warm temperatures leading up to this. so, about the rain. let's take a look at the next ten days, and fortunately, this take us all the way out to the 18th, so if that holds, keep in mind today now the 32nd day without measurable rainfall so we put it on the calendar for you. if we go through another ten days, through the 18th, we could be looking at 42 days of dry weather, still nothing in the cards for any rain chances. in the meantime, we're going to be breaking record highs. look at those temperatures. that's san francisco. that's the san francisco seven-day forecast. we're going to be about 15 degrees more above average over the next few days and inland locations in the 70s to near 80-degree temperatures. cooling next week but that cooling could also come with some wind, so as folks watch the

super bowl from here and the super bowl parties outdoors around the bay area, temperatures will be pretty nice, but got to say, in southern california, with 80s and 90s this weeks, folks visiting from cincinnati are going to be surprised by that heat. >> i'll wear a coat and tie and shorts. keep it professional. thanks, robbie. speaking of the super bowl, touchdown in l.a. the bengals arrive in sunny southern california for that big showdown. we'll check in next.

all righty, here's a look at where the medal count stands right now. the russian olympic committee leading the pack, followed by norway. u.s. not breaking the top ten yet. are you ready for the super bowl? maybe the question is, are you ready for the halftime show >> are you going to be watching the halftime show? >> dr. dre, mary j. b live doppler network blige. >> who's playing? >> bengals. >> and the rams. robbie saying it's warmer in l.a. than it is in cincinnati. the bengals fighting off that image that they're the underdogs and they don't belong in this game. forget about it. like that little fashion statement there? all wearing the same white jumpsuits, pretty cool, like a real team. meanwhile, over in inglewood, where that awesome new stadium is, it's kind of indoor/outdoor, not really a dome but it has a dome effect. preparations are under way at

sofi. >> this is the biggest show on earth right now. i mean, it's just the biggest sporting event that we have, so we want them to come in here and just absorb all of this and make them feel as special as we do. >> lot of special people in there. you can watch super bowl lvi right here on nbc bay area, kind of an epic day for us, the olympics and the super bowl all in one day. >> all right, ross and malou join us next. >> hi, guys. ""olympic zone"" is next. good night. olympic zone"" is ne. good night. is next. good night.

coming up on the "olympic zone," this speed skater's last-minute sprint across the globe. we're with the team usa athlete racing to the winter games as time runs out. >> i don't know if i'll be able to make it for my individual 1,500 meter. >> and they ride, they glide, they slide. meet the members of team usa's elite five-timers club. and take a look. >> there he goes. >> the tricks that changed snowboarding forever. >> and when it happened, i was like, did i just see something i've never seen before? >> the "olympic zone" starts right now. ♪♪