noticed they came from a van. >> today, we are live to set the scene ahead of the showdown. >> now the stage is literally set in this debate. >> plus how ranked choice voting could shake things up, and why the mayor, herself, pulled out of our debate. >> i would love to be out of the debate. i look forward to debating. i will be debating next week. in just 90 minutes, four candidates will make their case to be the next mayor of san francisco, and you can watch that debate right here on cbs news bay area. here is a look at how they're setting the stage right now. the race is getting tighter and tighter. one candidate who won't be there tonight, the mayor herself. today we're asking about her absence and about the issues that could decide this race. we will have that conversation in just a few minutes. but first, a look at

your news headlines. fires scorched an area near highway 4 in concord this afternoon. this was around willow pass road and avila road. firefighters are still there, monitoring hot spots, but they say forward progress has been stopped. that fire has burned about 70 acres. the scene in southern california looks familiar to what we saw near the bay area four years ago. an orange haze painted the san bernardino skyline near the so-called bridge fire. that fire destroyed at least 20 homes and threatens thousands more. it's burned an area the size of oakland so far, and it is still zero percent contained. in nevada, high winds are a concern as crews continue to battle the davis fire south of reno. tows of people have evacuated. 13 homes have been destroyed there. that fire has burned nearly nine square miles, and it is 31% contained. in oakland nine people are displaced after this house caught fire on foothill

boulevard. this is footage from citizen app. firefighters say the flames started on the balcony towards the back of the home. luckily no one was hurt. san francisco firefighters honor the lives of those who died at the world trade center 23 years ago today. they lowered their flag to half staff and observed a moment of silence. and firefighters and police officers in concord honored 9/11 first responders by climbing 110 flights of stairs. it symbolizes the efforts they made to rescue civilians trapped in the twin towers after the attacks. switching gears now to weather. you can feel that wind outside, right? >> it is definitely windier today. it's keeping those cooler conditions around, even though it's a couple of degrees warmer than yesterday. it's not necessarily as cool as yesterday because the storm system isn't directly overhead. but we are still feeling those wind gusts sticking around. temperatures compared to yesterday, definitely warmer. by anywhere

from a couple of degrees closer to the coast. it's actually a couple of degrees cooler for some of our coastal locations, to upwards of 5 to 10 degrees warmer than yesterday. up across our inland communities, santa rosa is 12 degrees warmer than just 24 hours ago. but not only seeing those slightly warmer temperatures, we are also seeing the windier conditions. gusts anywhere from 15 to 25 miles an hour across the bay area. some isolated gusts upwards of 35 to 40 miles an hour. those winds are likely going to stick around into our overnight hours. so by tomorrow afternoon, i have some good news for us all. the winds are not going to stay nearly as windy, nearly as breezy or aggressive as what we felt today. yes, it will still be from that onshore direction, which is good news when it comes in to ushering a little more moisture, but it's not going to be nearly as windy or nearly as impactful tomorrow afternoon. maybe just seeing isolated gusts, anywhere from 10 to 25 miles an hour. kind of what we would expect for this time of the year though. so those winds will be subsiding.

temperatures will continue to gradually warm, but there is really not one day this week per se that's looking necessarily extra warm or extra cold. it's just going to be a gradual warm up over the next couple of days as the onshore flow will continue to bring more cloud coverage and more fog tonight. the marine layer has been holding strong for the past day or so, but we will also see that fog and that marine layer pushing inland overnight tonight. before more of that dry air will arrive from the northwest as you could see it arriving tomorrow afternoon. that's going to offer a little bit more sunshine over the later parts of the workweek ahead of us. more sunshine that will allow the temperatures to warm up a bit. like i said earlier, it's not going to allow anything too warm over the next couple of days. overnight low temperatures, they will be chilly, yes. jacket weather is necessary overnight tonight where our temperatures will be in the 50s all across the bay area. mid-50s inland. upper 50s along the coast. uppers for our inland locations. nobody reaching 60 degrees though overnight tonight, as we are

expecting more of this cold air to infiltrate our inland communities. the darker the green, the cooler the temperatures. we are all going to be seeing the dark green conditions overnight tonight. tomorrow afternoon, it's going to get a little bit more with some of these deep reds beginning to build in. slightly warmer temperatures. but again, it's not going to be anything excessive. we'll be seeing the highs getting into the mid to upper 80s for those inland communities compared to the mid-80s this afternoon. coastal communities will still be in the mid to upper 60s, maybe san francisco in the low 70s. a degree or two warmer than what we're feeling today. but really, it's not going to be anything like a substantial warm up as that onshore flow like i talked about is only going to persist over the next couple of days. so really throughout the rest of the workweek ahead of us, we are going to continue to see more of the seasonable conditions. upper 80s through the rest of the week ahead of us. but by the end of the weekend into early next week, look at these temperatures in the upper 70s to the low 80s. that is going

to feel really nice. kind of setting the stage for maybe the on set of more fall-like conditions, sweater weather just around the corner. even for areas near the bay that will be sitting in the mid-70s today and tomorrow, getting into the upper 60s by the later part of the weekend. a little bit more of that cloud cover and more of those cooler conditions. so kind of the roller coaster that we would expect this time of the year, liz, will be on the way. it will let you know we're transitioning to fall, and i'm getting excited for it. >> yeah, you'll start to see the leaves change and the colors have turned. >> the mountains. >> that's right. this will be the first fall in the city? >> i'm excited for it. >> you're in for a treat. >> thanks. all right, the stage is set for the san francisco mayoral race. this is a live look at the julia morgan ballroom. in less than two hours, four of the top candidates will have a chance to discuss issues that will matter the most to voters. the candidates taking part in tonight's mayoral debate

include mark farrell, daniel lurie. and citing time. mayor breed said she had to be selective about the number of debates she participates in as she continues to run the city. ryan yamamoto will be one of the moderators there, joining us live from the debate ballroom. ryan, what can voters expect tonight? >> reporter: well, we are inside the beautiful and historic julia morgan ballroom, and the stage is now set. let me give you a tour of what we will be dealing with once that debate starts at 6:00 p.m. this is the stage right now. this is the debate order, where we will go with daniel lurie, it will go anapest aaron peskin. and downtown revitalization, housing, and the big topic, it will be crime. lauren toms has been following that story. >> reporter: this was designed to be a deep dive. one of the

big issues is crime and safety. while crime is going down across the city, i spoke to one local business owner in the castro, saying crime might be going down, but he isn't feeling it. >> reporter: for nearly 20 years, they've patrolled the castro as part of the oldest neighborhood watch groups in the city. in partnership with police, they haven't let up on their safety efforts in good times and bad. >> we are a part of the overall solution. the fact all these different groups are approaching the same problem from different perspectives is a big part of life. >> reporter: tay say a slow night is a good night. that's become a more common occurrence. property crime across the city is down more than 35% compared to last year. that's according to sfpd. violent crime is down more thanh tuyen huynh 13%. the lowest decreasing crime has been seen in the mission, where rates are down 10.7%. the steepest decrease is in the richmond, where crime is down

nearly 45%. and while those numbers are promising, they are not felt by all. just a few blocks away in the outskirts, reeling from the fourth break-in of the year. it's his seventh between the two san francisco locations. >> and it is a sense of helplessness and something you didn't sign up for, right? so we are passionate about food, we love making food, and then you love bringing people to the tables. we didn't sign up to be crime fighters. this is just something out of our wheel house. >> reporter: his sense of security is shattered, but the sense of hope isn't lost. >> we love the city. we want to see it come back. we're going to fight for it. >> reporter: now that will be one of several pieces that will tee up some of the candidates tonight. the latest polling numbers are showing breed, farrell, and lurie are taking really the top dominant spot. the second or even third spot

is really a wild card in this race. tonight, these candidates are going to have an opportunity to make their case to try to slide in and take back part of the majority. but more on that at 5:00. >> yeah, it will be an interesting debate, lauren. you're in such a great setting. not only is this debate going to be live on our air at 6:00, but it is also going to be in front of the studio audience, the studio audience, a live audience there. how many people are they expecting to be there? who will be invited? >> reporter: well, they're expecting about 200 people that might be inside the ballroom. i think each of the candidates were given a group of people that they could bring in and then the san francisco examiner also invited some people to come in. so it should be a lively audience. a respectful audience, but also a very lively audience. you mentioned this at the top of the show, there is only four podiums as we can see. you had a chance to actually speak to mayor london breed on why she will not attend? >> reporter: i did. yesterday i had a chance to speak to her

twice. once was inside city hall, where she wouldn't talk about the campaign. and then i caught up with her later at a debate watch party, and she told me that her decision to drop out really came down to timing. she has participated in four other debates. this is a commitment we received from her campaign back in april. i did ask her if anything has changed since then. she told me no. but at the end of the day, she's telling us her reason for not being here tonight really comes down to timing. >> so when that debate happens, liz, it will be interesting to see if they will go on the attack, if they try to point out the fact she did not show up or do they just stick to their talking points and stick to their message? it will be interesting to see how this plays out. once again, four candidates, we are missing the main candidate, mayor london breed, but the show still goes on. >> no doubt her absence will be addressed tonight. ryan and lauren, thank you so much. all right, coming up, a political expert joins us next to talk about these san

francisco mayor's race. we'll ask how the recent shooting of 49er ricky pearsall is having an affect on violence in the city. stay with us. we'll be right back. i came to bayview hunter's point, where there was only one pediatrician to serve more than 10,000 children.

daniel lurie said, i'm going to help. we opened a clinic for our most vulnerable children. i have worked shoulder to shoulder with him as we have brought solutions where people thought the problem was unsolvable. daniel doesn't take excuses. he holds himself accountable. and i know that he can do it for the city of san francisco. (intercom) flight deck we are go for launch! (ethan) is that the one? (janet) so much space! that open kitchen! (tanya) ...is that a walk in closet? (ethan) i want those tiles! (intercom) boosters engaged. (ethan) wait! we've got a problem! (janet) problem?! (ethan) how can you sell your house when we're stuck on a space station for months???!!! (tanya) no, no! bad timing, janet!!! (janet) but that was the one!!!! (brian) no, no, no... opendoor!! (tanya) don't open the door. (brian) opendoor gives you the flexibility to sell and buy on your timeline. (all) really? (brian) yea!!! (intercom) we have liftoff. (janet) nice! (janet) houston we have a playroom!

we are counting down the minutes until four of the top mayoral candidates take the stage in san francisco. they

include two supervisors, a former interim mayor, and a non-profit executive. mayor london breed will not be there after saying she would appear months ago. she pulled out at the last minute. joining me now to talk about all of this is sonoma state professor, david mccuan. nice to have you, sir. >> thank you, it's nice to be with you. >> and those issues are about quality of life. what it is like living in san francisco, what it is like in the future of san francisco, where things are headed. that is one reason why you don't show up to a debate. if you take all the issues, the quality of life issues that will revolve around crime, it's front and center. and obviously while the crime rates are down as you saw in the data and the previous segment, the perception of the crime is not down and the shooting of the 49ers wide

receiver, ricky pearsall, changes that calculus quite a bit. when you look at housing, homelessness, the conditions on the streets, all of that will revolve around the quality of life issues. that issue is not just particular to san francisco or oakland, but we would see a common place in cities all across the country where it is a tough job to be a mayor. a tough job to direct services and to turn around the perception of where things are headed. then you're going to hear a lot from the candidates that are on stage about their future direction of san francisco if they were to be elected. >> and now this race will come down to rank choice voting rights. how do you think that will impact the candidate's strategies when it comes to campaigning and raising money? >> that is a fabulous question and here is why. the first choice for many voters will be looking at the incumbent and then looking at some assessment. so let's say you're not voting for the incumbent. you're going in a different direction than london breed, and you are make some assessment where they will slice and dice and cut the

candidates across different tiers. this is where mark farrell, for example, someone who like daniel lurie, they will rise into that top tier. but then the second tier of the folks that are up there today, tonight like, for example, aaron peskin or ahsha safai, they are second or third tier choices. and san franciscans, because they are so heavily political and hyperpolitical, they are often multiranking candidates because they are familiar with rank choice voting. that's the difference between first and second and second and third hugely important, but also third and fourth. it is the gap that we are particularly interested and nervous. >> yeah, we are getting so close to election day. it is worth noting again mayor london breed will be absent from this debate. you would think she would want to be there to defend herself in the wake of the ricky pearsall shooting, since overall crime rates are actually down in the city. you would think she would want to take that opportunity to

highlight her successes? >> okay, now she has been in previous debates and had been around in talking about these issues. but this is taking a pause for her campaign to assess what's going on. to get passed the fallout from the pearsall shooting and the fallout from the perceptions about crime to turn the page. so in that way, she will step off the stage. she comes back next week in a subsequent debate. it's all about timing, 95% of the politics is about timing. you would see that today. she will be talked about in her absence. crime will be a big deal. her opponents will go after her in this regard. you step back from that and take a pause, and you point to the data. you will also rehash the message moving forward, particularly in the last 50 days or so. >> all right, i can't let you go without talking about the presidential debate last night. kamala harris found a way to really get under donald trump's skin, multiple times. but do you feel like she got her platform across or does that even matter at this point? >> and so there is a small segment of voters that are

interested in the specifics about policies and what's going on with immigration, crime, the economy. the pocketbook is huge. she didn't do that because she didn't have to do that because donald trump was taking the bait. five more minutes of air time than she did, 43 to 38. that's important because he is responding back and forth. but also, he kept taking the bait. she met the stature test. she appears to be presidential. she does the power handshake there and that power handshake move. that will help elevate her. he looks to be, if you will, off the rails a little bit. that'll continue throughout even the coverage. and he shows up in the spin room, all of this, it's not necessarily in his wheel house. and look, obviously what happens 27 minutes later with taylor swift endorsing her, she couldn't ask for better timing as well. again, timing, hugely important in politics. and kamala harris held her own, even though she didn't have to be specific, especially the purple people

swing voters that are so critical in the outcome of the election. >> real quick, i thought this was interesting. they found 63% of the voters thought harris won that debate. but when it comes to the economy, the most important thing to voters, trump still leads. how significant is that? >> it is significant in this sense. she will get a small bump out of the play here. she'll get a small bump from the swifties. but donald trump, he's still, you underestimate him at your own. and so there is a sense here that the race will move a little bit to her side. it will give her a little bit of a boost. that's true. but can she hold that and especially headed to the next debate? maybe the only other debate that we would have with the vice presidential debate on october 1. so you underestimate donald trump. they are worried about that privately, but they need to be really happy with how they did last night and with kamala harris and where things are for their campaign moving forward. >> professor david mccuan, thank you so much. >> nice to be with you. >> always good to see you. again, the mayoral debate will start in just over an hour

from now. it airs right here on cbs news bay area in partnership with kcbs radio and the san francisco examiner. we'll be right back.

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are spirits are high in the locker room. our vern glenn has the details in the red and gold report. >> reporter: the 49ers have

plenty to be happy about after the season opener. after returning to practice on wednesday, not everyone in the locker room was in a joking mood. iowa took on brock purdy's iowa state cyclones. but the walk off 54-yard field goal here sealed the iowa state comeback. and so come wednesday, it was time for the people to pay up. >> how quickly did brock reach out to you? >> this is a small helmet. pretty quickly. and i said thank you. you ruined my whole weekend. >> is that his old helmet? >> yes, it smells like it. >> with the red and gold

report, i'm vern glenn. coming up tonight here at 5:00, we are counting down tonight until san francisco's mayoral debate when four of the top contenders will lay out their vision for the future of the city. we're going to also take a look at how the rank choice voting system could impact the outcome of the race. we've seen some surprising results in the bay area. experts tell us it could happen once again in november. the

right now on cbs news bay area, in one hour, top contenders in the san francisco mayoral race square off in a live debate right here on kpix with one notable absence. how the voting system could lead to a surprise winner in november. infernos raging across southern california right now. we'll have the latest from the growing threat here in the bay area. one east bay city launching an aggressive push on the two most dangerous encampments. some community members are pushing back. the nation marking 23 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. how the bay area is remembering the lives lost on that tragic

day. good evening to you, i'm elizabeth cook. just one hour from now, four of the top contenders for san francisco mayor will face off on the debate stage. you can watch it right here on cbs news bay area. >> reporter: good evening, i'm ryan yamamoto inside the historic ballroom, where pretty soon, this entire ballroom will be packed with more than 250 people getting ready to watch the mayoral debate. that debate and stage is now set. let me show you what we're looking at right now. yesterday, the numbers were drawn, and the debate will follow like this. daniel lurie will go first, ahsha safai followed by aaron peskin, and then mark farrell. one podium is missing. that, of course, mayor london breed who decided to step out of this debate. that could have an impact on tct