road and mount diablo state park. firefighters are battling the flames right now from the air and out on the ground. they are working on a rural area, and the high heat is a factor in fighting this fire. ken mcgeaver joins us now. ken, what can you tell us. >> hi. >> what's the latest on this fire, what can you tell us? >> it's about 150 acres at this time. it's still moving at a slow to moderate rate spread. we still consider structures threatened but no reports of any structures that have been damaged or destroyed. we're calling more resources in and basically the temperature is definitely we're talking close to three digits if not

three digits and basically there's not a lot of wind at this time. >> we had talkedded to a woman just a few moments ago that lives on curry road, it's a one lane in each direction. a one road, what can you tell homeowners, people who live in that area about the fire, are any evacuations being called right now. are you advising people start packing their belongings, what advise would you give to them. >> anybody who lives in the area should be prepared to leave the area. if we do start evacuations, that's always a good thing. when you are in an area where there's a wildfire that's close to your area, you should be prepared to leave. we will have law enforcement in the area, we don't have any mandatory evacuations going on at this time, though. >> mr. mcgever how many fire fighters are battling the flames right now and do you have any estimates at all as to when you will have this

contained? >> we don't have an estimate on control or containment, basically there are approximately six to seven firefighters that are fighting this fire at this time. >> mr. mcgeaver can you tell us at this hour which direction with the flames moving right now. where's the wind pushing this fire? >> i'm not at the scene, i'm this the command center. and i don't have an accurate idea of where the fire is going at this time. i'm trying to gather that information. >> we've heard that this was moving away from the town of clayton which is about 8 miles away, have you heard that. >> yes, it is moving from the town. it's moving up the hill that's why we're closing the park. and that's why we closed morgan territory road on both ends of morgan territory. so we don't want anybody on morgan territory at this time. >> mr. mcgeaver, when we talked to you at 5:00, you were saying

there was hope that you might have it contained tonight. but now you are saying there's no word on this. >> basically, you know we hoped to contain the fires as quickly as we can. but you know we're dealing with a very rugged area. getting equipment into some of the areas, sometimes can be difficult. we hope to get it contained sometime tonight. but that doesn't mean that we will. we're making good progress on the fire at this time, but because of the area that it's in, it still has a lot of potential. >> any percentage at all as to how much of it has been contained so far? >> i have no reports on the percentage of containment. >> and you have multiple engines reporting to the fire, right. >> there's contra costa fire is

on the fire. other local agencies that are joining us too. >> we have talked to a woman who lived a -t at the base of the hill. i believe she lived at the base of curry creek there. she was saying she was not packing up her things just yet but she was prepared to do so. advice for folks, julie touched on this a few moments ago. could an evacuation notice come at any point. >> i will repeat what i said before. any time there's a wildfire in your area, you should be prepared to move as soon as possible. you should always do that. when you know that there's a fire in the area, you should start getting prepared so that when the notice comes to evacuation you're ready to leave very quickly. >> is it possible that there's an evacuation order coming. >> you know what, at this time i know the fire is moving up

the hill. i don't know if there'll be any evacuations that will be put in place at this time. ken, what about access to this fire. how are firefighters getting to the flames? are they having relatively easy access or is it a hard thing right now for firefighters to get to the flames. >> there are some areas at the fire that we can get to fairly quickly because of the roads in the area. but there are some points on the fire that require a little bit more water to get to. >> all right, ken mcgeaver with calfire, thanks so much for joining us on the phone and give us an update on the fire in the east bay. heat has been a factor in fighting this fire. for the very latest on the fire fighting conditions, let's go to chief meteorologist bill martin in the weather center. >> the good news, i keep

stressing this. they have two of the three things, low humidity, high heat. that's bad, the one thing missing is wind. there's very little wind. for my money, the wind is everything on a fire like this. these fires as we've seen in the past, especially in california, especially out near the delta, especially in this area where it blows 20 to 35 miles per hour almost every night: when you don't have wind you don't have that blow torch situation where the fires get up in the crowns or the top of the trees. this fire from what i can tell appears to be right on the ground. it's consuming a lot of brush, a lot of wild oat. but we're not seeing a lot of big flames blowing over the top of those trees. record heat again today. many cities, we have a heat advisory that should have been dropped a couple of hours ago. that heat advisory has been extended till 8:00 this evening. interestingly enough, there's no red flag warning today.

you see a drop right there on the right of your screen. there's no fire advisories today. we did have the heat advisory, but no specific fire advisories. mount diablo was not closed prior to this. this was not on mount diablo. mount diablo is to the left of this picture, it's a good mile over. this is at the base of mount diablo at a canyon in that area. >> i have one quick question, we're talking right now about the winds being relatively light. what's the possibility that they could pick up overnight. >> that's a very good question. because this time of day, we have a situation with the wind. this weather pattern with the spare the air day and high heat, the air is sinking from the upper atmosphere that's why

it got so hot. san francisco got up to 98, 99 degrees today. the air is sinking. the winds should not pick up tonight. it'll stay warm, the humidity will recover slowly. my concern is the smoke in the area. the aircrafts fighting the fire, probably difficult to see the flames where they want to drop. >> joining us now is beth kline from mount diablo state park. we talked to you during our 5:00 news. you have spoked mount diablo park. >> that's correct. >> are you concerned that there are anybody who was not able to get out of the park. >> as far as we know there's no hikers out there. mostly just bikers, they are on the roads. so we'll be able to evacuate easily. >> just looking ahead to tomorrow, what do you anticipate for tomorrow. do you anticipate the park will be closed. >> i think it depends on how well we can contain it today.

right now it's just breaking 100 acres burned. if they can get it contained the park will be opened tomorrow. i'm really not sure. >> how close is it, how close are the flames right now to mount diablo and are you concerned they could spread into and up the mountain? >> right now, they seem to think that it's burning downhill, so that's a good thing. it's in curry canyon so seems to be pretty contained but that area is all just grass and chaparal so it's going to burn pretty quickly. they said they're going to get the helicopters out here, but i haven't seen it yet. >> from where you are is the smoke impacting a lot of people on the ground. is it smoky in your area. >> i've been relocating the north end of the mountain. so i can see all the smoke but it hasn't reached us yet. so i'm not sure how it is in the middle of park. >> right now mount diablo state park is closed. it's up in the air as to whether or not the park will be open tomorrow. >> yeah. >> all right, beth kline from

mount diablo state park. we appreciate you taking the time. to recap here, what we have is a fire that is burning out of control near mount diablo state park, specifically in the curry mountain area. they are attacking it from both the air and the ground. it's a very difficult fire to get to on the ground. from what we heard just a moment ago, from mr. mcgeaver from calfire, they have six to eight firefighters battling the fire. we've heard an estimate of 50 homes, ranches, and outbuildings in the area. for people in that area should be prepared to evacuate in a moment's notice if necessary. meantime near the grapevine, evacuations are under way. officials say flames are threatening rural homes and

more than 50 homes have been evacuated. this fire started shortly after noon today just west of interstate 5. so far no injuries have been reported and no structures have burned. the hot weather is literally overheating bart at this hour. bart is experiencing 20 minute delays because track side equipment is malfunctioning from the heat. the problem has forced bart to run trains manually. that means they have to slow down from 70-miles-an-hour in some instances. system delays are 25 to 40 minutes. the heat likely contributed to a power outage in vallejo in afternoon. the electricity went out about noon at the marina towers senior housing. it was an unfortunate timing as the mercury hit 107 degrees there. >> there's no electricity, no air. there's people on oxygen, i

imagine they are having problems. >> reporter: pg & e is asking customers to conserve energy until 7:00 p.m. tonight because of the severe heat today. you can always find the latest weather information and information as well on that breaking news. the fire near mount diablo just go to our website ktv u.com and click on the weather tab. new details are emerging tonight after a run away suv plowed into a group of people standing on a sidewalk in san francisco. the crash occurred around 9:30 this morning near arletta sending five people to the hospital. ktvu's sal castaneda is in the city with the latest, sal -- >> reporter: this hill here is pretty steep, the car lost control and rammed down the hill here into that bus shelter where five people were hurt. as soon as rescue crews arrived they issued a yellow alert to let hospitals know of multiple casualties. a woman driving a gray ford

explorer told them she lost control of the vehicle after it lost power. >> she lost the ability to break to steer the vehicle and as the vehicle was coming down the hill it gained speed. >> reporter: the suv eventually crossed the street and hit five people who were standing in the shade next to a bus shelter. the injuried were taken to the hospital. >> it'll take several weeks to several months to see what can be found about the vehicle. >> reporter: robert espinosa lives next to where the crash occurred. he says he's glad no one from his family was hurt, his

vehicle though, was totals. on any given day in san francisco, thousands of kids who should be in school are not. and today the mayor and school officials launched a campaign to track down truants and get them back in class. paul chambers is live in the city tonight with more on this, paul. >> reporter: frank, an effort to keep kids in school. you will see a will the of signs like these in english and in spanish sprouting in many stores in san francisco. major gavin newsom and other individuals were placing signs. >> we just want to encourage you to call those guys so that we can reach out to some of the folks, because we'll see these kids hang out all day. and you be our eyes and ears to support this, or this is going to stay the same. >> this is not just a school

district problem, this isn't a parent problem, this is a community and city problem. it's everybody's problem. >> reporter: carlos garcia knows firsthand, because according to school officials, nearly 5,000 students are truant in san francisco at any given school. the city has created tart. which stands for truancy assessment and resource center. tart is said to be the first in its kind, dropping facility r students. >> we want to wrap our arms around them and get them back into school. whether that's working with the counselor, the school or parents. >> reporter: tarc has already asked several students, children youth and their families are all on board, tarc and the school district plan to go out to other area business to put up signs like these and help people join the effort to stop truancy. on treasure island, i'm paul

chambers, ktvu news. what's good fopedestrians may bring more frustration to drives. that's because pedestrians in the city may get more time to cross the street. >> reporter: as we zoom across the street, you're going to see what's part of a pilot program here. it's actually a sensor which can alter the light time based on pedestrian speed on the crosswalk. the next time you hit a crosswalk button you could be getting more time to cross the street. california is in the process to change lights in the crosswalks. >> if we had more time it would be excellent. because you almost feel like your life is at stake if you don't get cross before the period of time. >> reporter: the busy crosswalk between valley fair and santana road won't change until later this year. >> it will be nice if you get

longer to cross. >> reporter: the new guidelines slow the walking speed from 4 feet percent to 3.5 feet percent to address the elderly population. but longer time for pedestrians means longer red light time for drivers. >> i have to say red lights are already long as they are. >> those drivers are sitting at red lights looking around wondering, why am i waiting, what am i waiting for. you look down the street you will see a pedestrian that has waited crossing 10 or 15 seconds ago. >> reporter: extra crossing times only added when the sensor detects someone taking longer to cross. this one paid by funding. reporting live in san jose,

maureen naylor, ktvu news. a chestnut tree that offered hope to anne frank and her family while they were waiting for the nazi's during world war ii may live on in the bay area. a powerful storm toppled the original tree yesterday. but now a number of sapling are being planted across the united states to offer hope. >> reporter: not only is sonoma state university a new home for one of the cuttings, it's also the first u.s. sight out of 11 to get one. >> just basically a stick with bare roots on it. >> reporter: that was in september when the cutting arrived with it paper pedigree. now the chestnut tree has grown half a foot and is thriving. >> i am always checking on it, everyone when i go away on vacation i do think about it. >> reporter: he's got a long time to think about it and

nurture it. the tree will be in quarantine for three years that's to make sure it doesn't have any of the three diseases, one unique to europe that infected the mother tree in amsterdam before it was toppled yesterday in a wind storm. >> this is where the anne frank sapling will be planted. >> reporter: sonoma state officials think the school was selected for one of the prized cuttings because of this holocaust and genocide memorial. just as jewish teenager and mother and father died in a concentration camp. >> everyone though the tree has already fallen down, and we have already gotten a sapling, a cutting from it, says to me, that it's supposed to happen.

>> reporter: in the two years anne frank and her family hid from the nazis in amsterdam, she wrote in her diary that this tree gave her hope of the future in its growth. now that tree will hope in sonoma. >> if we don't learn from our past, then we are doom to repeat it. >> reporter: sonoma school officials hope that the sapling will grow to 80 feet tall and tell its story to many generations. rita williams, ktvu channel 2 news. >> that is really something. sonoma state being picked for that. on to our weather now. boy it was hot today and we set a will the of records. >> a lot of records. santa rosa 106, 100 san rafael. 99degrees record in san francisco airport. san jose downtown 102 degrees.

check out more daytime highs, frank, you looking at that? julie. look at that, that's crazy. that's like some where else not the bay area. >> we haven't seen those in a long time. >> 102 in san jose, these are big big numbers. not just inland but in redwood city, at oakland and san rafael. this is more like a fall weather pattern, we have heat at the coast. i tell you something as you look at the overnight lows which will be warm upper 60s. when you're downtown san jose or downtown san francisco and it's 100 degrees, it feels like about 120 because you got all that concrete, reradiating the heat. you folks out at livermore it's hot. but if you're in downtown san francisco on mission street, it's as hot as it gets. tomorrow is not going to be that hot but it's still going to be hot inland. we will find cooler weather, that's kind of big weather story. after today, and tonight i'll talk about it. interesting weather system is going to move in here and really cool us off. it will cool tomorrow coast and

bay side. but we're still going to see temperatures in the inland valley. we're still going to see some 100s tomorrow in the inland bay valleys. most of us will be cooler than that. your five day forecast then breaks out like this. we're looking for plenty of sunshine tomorrow. certainly cooler along the coast. temperatures in the 80s coast side will be back into the 60s. the cooling has begun. the major cooling as we head into the end of the week. more coming up next on the grass fire burning out of control in contra costa county. we'll be right back. droiiiid.

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sports director mark ibanez joins us now. the a's in progress. they're not at home but they are doing good. >> they're in beautiful cleveland tonight and fairing well as they take an early lead against the indians and they are holding on to it. early one of those unknown a's have you heard of jeff larish? well, maybe you'll start to. it's a two one hot -- two run shot to get him started.

gio gonzalez is throwing a shut out right now. the a's well in control of ball 5-0. and manny ramirez, you don't hear about him much. word out of los angeles is the dodgers are going to put him on waivers tomorrow and he will pass through the national league in quite a few american leagues interested in him. but looks like the chicago white sox will have a crack at him. the warriors, good news for their star curry he has been selected to represent team usa as the world basketball championships are about to get started. those championships start next saturday. that's the sporting life for right now. before we go just a recap of our top story. that gas fire that has burning -- that grass fire that has burning out of control in the mount curry area.

65 firefighters are battling the flames. it's a rural area, some buildings may be threatened. it's unclear right now but there are no evacuations. people who live in the area have been told to be prepared to evacuate probably in a moment's notice. at this point no estimate on containment. they are hoping to have it contained by tonight but there's no word. temperatures high, but if there is good news is that the winds are not a factor for this fire. more coming up tonight. i'm frank somerville. >> and i'm julie haener. good night.