your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. a massive fire emits a gigantic plume of smoke seen across the bay area. the accident that sparked a fiery scene at a plastics plant. a shooting, chase and crash this. morning, one person is dead. the chain of events in the east bay early this morning. good morning. i'm frank mallicoat. it's hump day. we love that. it's july 27. >> i'm grace lee. you can see the end from here. the end of the week! [ laughter ] >> not quite. >> i can see it. >> did you see that plume yesterday? >> amazing. >> i was in walnut creek when they had that big plastics fire in fairfield. i didn't know what it was.

what is that? >> all that plastic and all the smoke headed toward the central valley. we were lucky it didn't blow back the other direction. it could have been acute for the bay area but things settling down there. the weather looking good as we are ready to go back to normal, something we haven't been able to say for quite a while. these temperatures about average this time year. 6 degrees in san francisco. 8 -- 67 degrees in san francisco. concord around 90 degrees this afternoon. more on that coming up. elizabeth has traffic. northbound 880, 29th avenue off-ramp closed due to police activity. there was an overnight accident and police are still out there. they are investigating what happened. it sounds like it may be some damage to the overcrossing in that area. so going to have to use 23rd as your alternate. we have a crew on the scene. we'll have more information throughout the morning. in the meantime, back to you. >> thank you. and we expect to learn today whether there is any health risk from all that smoke

that we have been seeing out of fairfield. you can see it for miles. thousands of plastic crates that were stacked two stories high burned. firefighters from all over solano county had to help fight that six-alarm fire. and three of the firefighters were treated for minor injuries. air quality officials are checking samples to see if anything is hazardous. the fire started at macro plastics in the light industrial area northwest of travis air force base and just east of i-80. the fire is believed to have been started accidentally by workers at the plant apparently using some sort of torch. it took hours for firefighters to contain it. it burned crates which were stacked outside the building. the building was not burned. but the fire was a tough one to fight. >> it's very difficult because the bins are plastic.

they are a hydrocarbon based product. they put out an intense amount of heat. they are similar to a fire tire. i don't anticipate it will take that long but it takes a lot of water and a lot of time. >> the residents were issued a warning to stay inside their homes within a mile of the fire but the smoke rose high into the air but apparently caused no health problems. still, air samples will be tested. the smoke was easily seen from a housing area about two miles away and a lot of people in the golden ridge subdivision decided to stay indoors during the fire. >> early afternoon we saw really thick smoke behind me where the plumes still are and you can see flames shooting out over the trees and buildings from there and so from the backyard you just saw giant black smokestack going straight up kind of coning into a mushroom cloud. as the wind started blowing it started draping the area eventually blacking out the sun.

>> wow. all right. there are no homes in the immediate area of the fire. viewers though have been sending us photos of the flames and smoke. this gives you an idea of how far away that plume could be seen. it was an immense black mushroom cloud as that resident said and it rose about 9,000 feet into the air. you can log on to our website, cbssf.com, anytime to get the latest information and to see more images of the fire as well as that smoke. time now is 4:34. a freeway off-ramp in oakland is closed after a police pursuit came to a deadly end this morning. the highway patrol says the driver fled about 1:20 this morning when an officer tried to pull him over on international boulevard and 55th avenue after an 8 minute chase the suspect car crashing on and off ramp from 880 to 29th avenue. the ramp is closed until further notice. the driver was killed. parts of the eastth and 9th street are -- 8th and 9th

street are also closed. there were open containers in the car. earlier a man was shot near 47th and san leandro. he was taken to highland hospital in critical condition. police haven't made any arrests or released details on this suspect. the deadline is tuesday and with less than a week to go no one in the nation's capital has come up with a sure fire plan to raise the debt ceiling. the house was to vote today on a plan drawn up by house speaker john boehner but the congressional budget office analyzed it and determined it would not cut as much spending as promised. so house speaker john boehner has to rewrite it. the plan has already drawn criticism from democrats and the more conservative members boehner's republican party. >> i am confident that there were not 218 republicans in support of the plan. >> democrats will not vote for it. democrats will not vote for it. democrats will not vote for it. >> boehner as plan calls for a

six-month debt ceiling increase followed by a longer one only if there is a major reform to the tax system and medicare. president obama wants the debt ceiling to extend beyond next year's election. the stalemate has halted work on a $31 million construction project at the oakland international airport. the delay put 60 crewmembers out of work and the new air traffic control tower will be the first one built to strict environmental standards and one of seven projects in the country affected by it. training camps begin today for many teams in the nfl and now that the player lockout is over a lot of football business activity taking place yesterday as well as teams were finally able to sign draft picks and free agents, as well. 49ers and this guy quarterback alex smith the star quarterback reaching a one-year $5 million

deal. they will begin training camp at the santa clara home tomorrow. the raiders begin today. and that makes one weatherman extremely happy. >> i think scripted it so they could go to lawrence the biggest raiders fan there is. >> they are back! looking forward to seeing some football here in the nfl. weather normal, fog dense at the coast but not as much today and that's a sign of high pressure building in now. that means the conditions are going to be heating up starting today and into the next couple of days. highs 90 inland today. about 72 degrees in oakland. coast still patchy fog and temperatures in the 50s and 60s. the napa valley where the raiders start camp, great wet next couple of days.

next couple of days, 90s into friday and also into saturday. keeping you a little cool at the coast with a few patches of fog but still pleasant and more sunshine there, as well. as we head in toward sunday, the temperatures start to cool off a tad there, elizabeth. >> just a bit. just a teeny bit. all right, thanks, lawrence. back out to oakland, news crews have been following this story, as well. this was an overnight high- speed chase ending in a fatal crash. an off-ramp is blocked northbound 880 the 29th off- ramp shut down while chp and oakland pd are out there investigating. even if you use 23rd as your alternate the main lines of the freeway near the coliseum you can see the oracle there in the distance it's not impacting your drive time on the main lines of the freeway. still about a 15-minute drive from 238 to the maze. word of this new accident in novato northbound 101 approaching highway 37. sounds like a couple cars involved. one lane blocked. possibly involving a caltrans truck. it is going against the

commute. it is not causing any major delays right now but there is roadwork across that stretch ongoing roadwork on northbound and southbound 101 through novato into san rafael. all right. mass transit so far everything is on time for bart, ace, muni metro and caltrain. we'll have more traffic throughout the morning. in the meantime, back to you. >> thank you. 4:39 now. after years of violations, it's finally told to clean up its act. the stern ultimatum to one of the biggest bay area suppliers. and protestors in the bay area plan to dump trash at a bank today. why they say it's symbolic of a bigger mess. >> if you buy a plane ticket today you may be eligible for a refund coming up.

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activists in san jose say they'll dump a load of trash at a bank today, to protest

blighted reposessed homes. activists in san jose say they are going to dump a load of trash today to bring attention to foreclosed homes. they become a magnet for crime and danger to neighborhoods. they plan to take the trash they cleaned up last night to wells fargo bank around noon along with a demand that the bank clean up all its foreclosed properties. we were unable to reach wells fargo for comment. six years violations and extensions have finally come to a head for one santa clara county business. a state agency is ordering the lehigh southwest cement company to explain how it's going to fix all those violations including unstable pit slopes and the illegal stockpiling of materials. the state set a deadline of august 18. if the plans are not submitted and approved by the deadline, lehigh will be banned from selling cement to state and local governments. >> so far they have got any way

pretty much with everything cart blanche, gotten what they wanted and paid no penalties for it. this is the first time they are threatened with paying a consequence. >> the company said in a written statement that it is in full compliance with the law. it did not say whether it could meet that august 18 deadline and it may request an extension. 13 bay area post offices all on the chopping block this morning. they include five here in san francisco two in oakland, one each in san jose, south san francisco and daly city, two others in san mateo county and one in yountville . the bay area post offices are among nearly 4,000 post offices nation wise that could all be shut down. last year the postal service lost $8 billion. the final decision on any site will not be made until december. usps says most of the post offices on its hit list have very little foot traffic and average less than $50 a day in sales but as patrick sedillo reports, it's news nobody wants

to hear. >> reporter: remember this? it could be how we do mail again. >> we really solicit about 3700 post offices that are going to be considered for discontinuance. >> reporter: internet and email have practically brought the post office to its knees and it's scrambling to stay in the fight. >> we close a small post office in a rural community they want to maintain a presentation, the village post office is the way to do it. >> reporter: this could be closed and reconceived as a postal village, that is a post office inside a larger organization. >> we could use mr. drucker as a visual for that. the proprietor could be selling milk one minute and stamps the next minute. >> i don't like that. >> reporter: sharon gould would rather pick up her mail in person. >> you can take care of business, buy statutes, pay your bills. >> reporter: the post office says it's not going away, just changing. but people are still scared. >> it's better for the young

generation but not the old generation. i don't even know how to use a computer. >> reporter: if the idea works it could be beneficial to more people and more efficient. >> it draws people into the business so there's increased foot traffic for business. >> reporter: and maybe even more like the old days. in san francisco, patrick sedillo, cbs 5. >> you know who that guy on the left is? >> no. >> mr. drucker. >> oh, he did mention that. >> petticoat junction. guess how old i am. you're not old frank. >> the [ indiscernible ] dominique strauss-kahn goes public. how she describes the alleged attack and the questions about her credibility. and who is happier, rich or poor? the study that shows the more money you have, the more problems you have. >> and if you bought a plane ticketed lately, you might get some money back y it all depends on the date of your flight. good time to travel, then. we are looking great at sfo. 71 degrees just a couple of

passing clouds toward the afternoon. you're traveling to the south we are looking at some hotter temperatures there and could get a little steamy as you make your way into houston. 30% chance of showers expected high of 97 degrees there this afternoon. continuing on to the atlanta area, we are going to see some passing clouds but then clearing things out as we'll see some sunshine into atlanta and about 95 degrees by the afternoon. the rest of your forecast is coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

against the former imf chief has gone public with her story. in an exclusive interview with abc the hotel maid behind the rape allegations against the former international monetary fund chief has gone public with her story. in an interview with robin roberts that aired last night on abc, she explains what happened. she got out of her seat to demonstrate how she was attacked. >> he push me like this to the floor. he push me. and i was like this to the floor. i was -- my hand. i was like this and the wall was behind me.

and it was too tight. i can't get up. >> prosecutors are weighing whether to press the case and the concerns about her credibility. they had been forced to acknowledge inconsistencies in her account of her encounter with dominique strauss-kahn and expects of lying in her past. it is 4:49 now. it was busy day for the coast guard off marin county coast. three people yesterday afternoon after an 18-foot boat almost capsized near point reyes, the boaters managed to maneuver the troubled boat to the shore by the time the coast guard arrived none of them needed medical attention. santa cruz county was hard hit by storms last spring but fema refuses disaster aid. now the county and state have produced a video they hope will convince federal officials that aid is needed. the video was produced by cal ima and shows how extensive the rock slides and flooding were.

santa cruz county sustained about $19 million in damage. >> it's one thing to describe the impacts on paper in a letter. it's an entirely different thing to show it on video hear from the people directly impacted and actually see real- world footage of the disaster happening before your eyes. >> the state is conducting a key -- contesting a key point of fema's denial that it was hit by three different storms. meteorologists discuss how california was hit by an atmospheric river, one single event. millions of airline passengers may be entitled to refunds up to $50 and more. several taxes on airlines expired on friday because the faa reauthorization bill was not passed. if you paid those taxes you're entitled to a refund. purchasing them during the legislative lapse doesn't guarantee a refund. it's when you fly that counts. >> so according to the treasury

department, the u.s. government only collects taxes after the person flies. so anyone who bought a ticket before july 22nd and is flying while the taxes are no lockner place deserves a refund. >> that would be me. the treasury department says taxpayers don't need do anything and that the irs will be providing information in the near future about that. all right, folks. around the bay area today we are headed back to normal something we haven't been able to say for a while. dense fog near the coastline, patchy fog inside the bay and some of the fog making its way into the valleys this morning. 50s and 60s to begin the day. by the afternoon, warmer temperatures beginning to show up as high pressure is building in overhead. warm to hot in some spots inland maybe low 90s interior valleys. sun and clouds at the coast. more sun than we have seen at the beaches. sun for most, still a little

fog at the coast, high pressure squeezing a trough to the north. not fog-free but still patchy fog in the morning hours but after that lots of sunshine on the way. how about this? 95 degrees hot in the sacramento valley there. 81 in lake tahoe and gorgeous. 97 degrees ukiah, 65 degrees partly cloudy toward monterey bay. 91 degrees morgan hill. 86 degrees and sunny in los gatos. 66 in half moon bay a little sunshine showing up there, as well. still cool at daly city with patchy fog and a couple of glimmers of sunshine but only 58 degrees by the afternoon. east bay temperatures they are going to start getting hot in spots. about 90 pittsburg, 91 antioch, 91 brentwood and 90 livermore today. you get the idea temperatures heating up in the interior valleys. inside the bay still going to have a nice sea breeze to kind cooler, 68 degrees in berkeley, 72 and sunny very nice weather into oakland today, and about 74 in san leandro.

our friends in the north bay going to enjoy plenty of sunshine by the afternoon, as well. we are planning on 80s and low 90s into fairfield. about 67 degrees in san francisco. and about 62 at stinson beach. as we look out over the next few days, high pressure really building in now and that means we are going to see some warmer days ahead. temperatures soaring to the mid- 90s as we get into friday and saturday. then it looks like the numbers are cooling down a little but right now looks like we are in a very nice pattern beautiful weather ahead at least for the next five to seven days. >> that's great. all right. thanks, lawrence. let's go out to oakland where we're still following this traffic alert and we have live pictures to show you of the scene. you're looking at northbound 880 that 29th avenue off-ramp shut down for several hours after a chp chase and crash. so in the meantime you are going to have to use 23rd as your alternate. main lines to the freeway are okay. they hope to finish the investigation about 6:30. this could cause some delays as the commute builds.

we have a reporter on the scene so we'll have a live update for you as to what happened coming up in just a couple of minutes. in the meantime another live camera of 880 closer to the coliseum. main lines to the freeway no major delays if you are coming up from hayward you should able to get into downtown oakland okay. you cannot access the 29th avenue off-ramp hours. san mateo bridge looks great commute direction, traffic light heading towards foster city and the peninsula. fog kind of an issue across the golden gate bridge but no major problems through marin southbound 101. we are following that accident northbound 101 at highway 37 as you approach novato. again not causing any big delays because it is against the commute. mass transit if you want to use it everything is on time for bart, ace, muni metro and caltrain. remember kcbs, our radio partners, at 740-am and 106.9- fm. we pool all our information with them. so once you hit the road tune your radio to them. that is your traffic.

back to you. >> thank you. do they really work? we're talking about those calorie listings on restaurant menus. they may help you eat healthier. one in six fast food customers has bought lower calorie meals since the introduction of nutrition labeling in the u.s. that's according to a study in the british medical journal. researchers polled more than 15,000 customers at fast food chains in new york city where calories are posted on menus and signs by law. people in wealthier parts of the world are more likely to suffer from depression than those who live in places with lower incomes. a stuffed 18 countries shows -- study of 18 countries shows more than 30% of the population in the u.s., france and the netherlands have depression. it affects an estimated 121 million people worldwide. it is 4:55 now. the closing of borders might provide a big opportunity for another company to expand. whole foods is expected to lay out its expansion plans today

which may include opening stores at soon-to-be vacant borders books locations. the upscale grocer reported earnings after yesterday's closing bell. and the struggling clothing company american apparel is teaming up with ebay to create an online store within ebay's auction site. the store will debut in september. american apparel says ebay gets more than 30,000 searches for its clothes every month. and a 200-year-old bottle of white wine has been sold for $123,000. yeah, that's a record for the most expensive bottle of white wine not bought at auction. the 1811 chateau du kim was sold to a french collector. he plans to drink it in the year 2017 to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a sommelier. a wine guy. >> $30,000 in glass. >> now, white wine i don't think it really -- does it get better with age?

>> i hope so. >> i would be willing to try it with him. i'll volunteer. 4:56. they have less than a week to cut a deal. >> we have heard about the dire consequences if lawmakers don't agree. how the battle to raise the debt ceiling is already impacting a bay area airport. and a fire that burned-out of control for hours yesterday is finally out this morning. we are waiting for air quality test results. i'll have the latest from the scene coming up. and the 29th avenue off- ramp on 880 shut down this morning after a young man engages in a high-speed chase with chp crashing his car. we'll have a live interview with the chp getting all the details on this investigation of a possible dui coming up. ,,,,,,

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only lysol neutra air sanitizing spray sanitizes the air and kills 99.9% of bacteria at the source. two reasons why with lysol a fresh home is the sign of a healthy home. your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. the fire was intense, the smoke thick and black, could you see it from everywhere. this morning we know what started that fairfield plastics plant inferno. >> a high-speed chase turns deadly what prompted officers to go after the driver and why they