a hilltop what remains of the fire. our viewers at home, have you a better view than what we have from this high spot. from newschopper2, you should be able to see the 300 acres -- about 300 acres of blackened ground left over from the curry fire. even from above, can you not see all of that burned acreage. you can see some of the grass lands turned back. this fire burned essentially under the tree line. you see a lot of the green get close to the green trees. you will be able to see the burn. what that leaves for firefighters is many hard-to- find spot spots that they need to -- hot spots that they need to take care of. the end game's the same on the

curry fire. >> right now the curry fire is 90% contained. the biggest issue we're having, the canyons are very steep. it's very hard. the boildert can't go up there -- bolders can't go up there. >> reporter: in this rugged terrain, downing still burning trees is a top priority. a tree that falls on its own can quickly roll downhill. >> you see a lot of trees that are halfway burned through. you can't help firefighters working in the area where any moment the tree can fall down. >> reporter: the cause and origin of the fire is still under investigation. a downed power line was the focus of attention but it's unclear if that is where the fire started. battalion chief scott lindren

took the high ground watching for any hot spots and signs of smoke. >> right now the heat is on us, the humidities are down and with the wind we're making sure the fire stays where it is supposed to. >> reporter: they will stay on the fire. but miss guess is they are not heading home, but south to riverside county. >> we're getting reports they are having dry lightning, low humidity, wind. very easily we could be headed down there. >> reporter: cal fire today said that there was one structure threatened by this fire. that structure was a farmhouse. that farmhouse was not damaged. of the 200 firefighters that were working the curry fire, cal fire says there were two injuries to firefighters and those injuries were minor. we are just east of mount diablo in contra costa county, ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. as you heard from the

firefighter, the weather really helped out both yesterday when there were no winds and also today when the winds kicked up tonight. bill martin is here to explain. >> normally winds would have been a problem. but the winds were light. the temperatures were up. what's happened today. temperatures have come up down about 5 degrees. humidity's up. there a is a west wind that's cooling us. even though it's breesier, it's a good breeze. temperatures outside are on the cooldown. here is the bay area's air conditioning coming in. you can still see a little bit of this north wind but it's working its way up underneath the offshore flow. let's come in real close and i will show you where the fog lies. you have ocean beach. fog at pacifica, this live camera. we go up and there it is, bay area's air conditioning coming down.

the inland areas are gonna remain hot. no records today. definitely hot inland. i'm gonna have specifics on the weekend. i will see you back here. >> thank you, bill. it's a slow, sweaty ride home for some b.a.r.t. passengers naud. the extreme heat is causing problems on the tracks and in the car. in fact b.a.r.t. admitteds about a third of the trains have ac that fail just when it's needed most. christien kafton has more. >> reporter: right now, commuters are getting off the b.a.r.t. trains. if you take a look you can see passengers are streaming out of the west station. i spoke with b.a.r.t.'s station just a half hour ago and got the figures. so far, 31 delays on the trains. they say b.a.r.t. is running on time now but there were spotty delays tied

directly to the temperatures. some passengers are still recovering from yesterday's problems. b.a.r.t. says yesterday's sky high temperatures caused, causing them to slow to a crawl. >> it was like 94 degrees or something like that. i don't know. it was like 94 but they stopped the trains completely and we were just sitting there for a while. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. directors were candid about the effect the heat has on the transit system. >> the weather makes our train act kind of bad. [ laughter ] >> but it was really hot. >> reporter: b.a.r.t.'s spokesperson says about a third of the fleet has older, outdated air-conditioning units that failed if temperatures get above 95 degrees. >> yeah, that would be when you would want them.

b.a.r.t.'s says the surplus is just a drop in the bucket and that money needs to be prioritized. >> there are more safety- sensitive issues that we need to spend the money on. so whether we have a little bit of money from capital projects such as this. those get priority. >> reporter: b.a.r.t. says it shifted staffing in anticipation of problems yesterday, setting up an all- hands-on deck situation and says that will be the plan for future days. the long-term, storing funds and using that to upgrade systems. >> we're live in oakland, christien kafton, ktvu channel 2 news. the scorching weather has been providing a boost in business for some local air conditioning companies. >> he's my best friend today.

>> ryan's been making many friends in the pleasanton air. temperatures are close to 100. he's been busy going from customer to customer. fixing air conditioning systems that people just can't cope without in these hot temperatures. >> i know yesterday i went on about six, seven calls. today this is my second one out of five so far. >> there were cooling companies that tell us many people are holding off on air conditioning repairs since summer is really almost over. during these hot spoel, demand for electricity always surges but the california independent system operator is not calling for conservation or planning to declare a flex alert just yet. it says there are enough power resources right now, but it is still encouraging californians to reduce energy consumption, especially in the late afternoon. that's when air conditioners drive them to the highest point of the day. why aren't officials concerned

amid this heat? coming up at 5:30, the changes making things easier on the power grid. >> you can find the forecast where you live by going to ktvu.com. click on the weather tab. state regulators okayed a controversial rate hike that will affect hundreds of thousands of californians. the state department of insurance says rate hikes for blueshield and anthem bluecross customers will have average 14% but could go as high as 20%. anthem intends to put the new rates in effect october 1st about -- for about 800,000 policy oldholders. that plan was crit sti sed by members and even president

obama. in an intervie with our political editor, randy shandobil, meg whitman said the state capital is filled with politicians. but is it? >> in two interviews at ktvu, meg whitman pointed out the state is in its 5 6th day without a budget. she blamed her fellow republican, governor schwarzenegger, if we were governor -- >> well, we would not be in the position we're in. i would have started to work on this in january. >> didn't governor schwarzenegger at least try to get something done, back in january? >> it seemed to me not with enough energy and enthusiasm. nothing really happened until he submitted his may revision of the budget. >> the former ceo of ebay talked about her new ad which characterizes sacramento as a stale place filled with career politicians, a praise in -- a

place in freed of -- in need of fresh blood. >> in sacramento complex problems seem to create gridlock and an inability to get anything done. >> six years ago when governor schwarzenegger was running, first running, he said he was fresh blood. he said he had a business background. he said he had a business background and here we are. >> well, governor schwarzenegger and i have entirely different backgrounds. i have led and managed very large organizations. and he was a brilliant actor and investor. >> he didn't know how to balance budgets. she does. as for the "career politicians" we point the out only 19 of the 120 state legislators in sacramento have southerned ten years or more. two-thirds have served five years or less. >> midwest of them are -- most of them are career politicians. most of them understand what it

takes to create good jobs. >> how do you find a career politician if they've been there five years or less? >> well, they probably ran for office prior. most legislatures, biographies list teachers, farmers dentists. well, tonight jerry brown will be giving his campaign a boost with appearance in the north bay. he will be at the santa rosa's sleart's memorial building for a fund-raising rally. so far he's spent about $775,000 on his campaign while meg whitman has spent millions of her own money.

more bad news about the housing farther -- market. new home sales dropped to their lowest level on record. the commerce department said sales fell 12% in july. they are blaming this on the expiration of the tax credit and builders having to compete. >> builders have to compete with foreclosures. >> the weak sales mean fewer jobs in the construction industry which normally powers exwhik recover -- whik

recovery. mortgage applications went up 5% last week. it was fueled by more people trying to refinance and take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates in decades. the low rates help homeowners reduce their monthly payments but they don't seem to be helping too much whether it comes to national -- whren it comes to -- when it comes to -- the stocks fell below 10,000 for the second straight today. in all the dow rose more than 9 points to end at 10,060. the nasdaq closed up by almost 18 points. for more financial and consumer news any time, go to ktvu.com. san francisco police say the driver lost control of her suv and then crashed into five people yesterday, she did not have a driver's license. the victims ranged in age from their 30s on up to their 80s.

they were wait forks a bus on san bruno avenue when the suv jumped the curb. two of them were critically injured. the other three remain in serious condition. the 24-year-old female driver told police her brakes failed. she was cited for driving without a license and then released. [ chanting ] >> reporter: oakland families are gathering here to protest a plan to close the city's child development center just days before the start of school. that story is coming up.

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>> reporter: dozens of parents, teachers are protesting out here in front of the oakland school district. they are angs gri about closing -- angry about closing down seven child development centers. parents say that will leave hundreds of students' parents trying to find afterschool care. >> where are our children gonna be when school lets out? >> reporter: this woman says she relies ons the centers -- on the centers. >> the politicians should be ashamed of themselves. here we are. you have working families. we're working families.

>> because life travels faster than sound. >> reporter: this is one of the centers closing. the problem is california have yet to pass a budget. the school district spent $400,000 to keep them open this month but can't afford to do that again. >> the children are losing out with all of the politics going on. i know a lot of people say they are here for the children but they really aren't here for the children. >> reporter: the school district is working on -- >> we are dealt a really bad hand by the government which continues to cut. >> reporter: school starts in just five days. parents are sceapt cal the plan will work. i happen to know that most of the afternoon school programs are actually full. we're back live at this noisy but peaceful rally.

the district is concerned about liability issues. there will be development centers available to children but the district plans to consolidate om of those programs -- some of those programs. reporting live in oakland, rob roth, ktvu channel 2 news. critics say an accounting controversy at cal state proves the urgent need for greater transparency. they are mixing private and public dollars and have lost track of what's what. they say this is the mixing of money to deliberately attempt fraud. cal state says they are working to fix it but the union says the documents prove otherwise. san francisco police are looking for vandals who seem to have it out for plants and have struck again in golden gate

park. this time officials say nine trees were cut down on park presid grow boulevard -- pri presidio boulevard. since may, nearly 50 trees have been deliberately killed in golden gate and lincoln parks. police don't know if all of the vandalism attacks, though, are related. firefighters say they are starting to get a scandal -- handle on an out-of-control wildfire in concern county. the fire has burned 300 acres so far. cal fire says the fire is now 30% contained. no homes have been lost. and none are threatened. some evacuation orders were issued yesterday. what parked the fire has not yet been determined. >> on to the weather. what a difference, bill, much cooler today than yesterday. >> that's right, frank. if you are up in the valley,

temperatures are about as warm as they were yesterday. about 20 degrees cooler in oakland and hayward than it was yesterday at this time. the reason why is the fog which has made its migration up the coast. it's hugging the coastline because high pressure is still creating an offshore flow. this is fip typical it runs right up the coast. let's take a peek. for tomorrow, we've had -- we've had some coastal weather the last 48 hours, tomorrow the fog is in. we'll see temperature thes back at the coast in the 50s, maybe a low 60 if we're lucky. there's even drizzle possible. dense fog on the highway. you know this area well. i know a lot of you live out here. fog is going to come in to about oakland it will make it into berkeley. look at the cooloff today.

santa rosa 14 degrees cooler. san rafael, 10. san francisco, 15. oerktd was the big cooloff at 24 hours degrees -- oakland was the big cooloff at 24. inland cities still really hot. tomorrow it will be a mild day. the coastal fog will work its way further east each day as we move into the next 24 hours or each day as we move into the weekend. pardon me. the extended forecast calls for an unusually cool weather pattern for your bay area weekend. this is really unusual. i'm gonna show you some graphics that pertain to this. it will be important because you want to plan your weekend. it will be different. i will have your forecast. i will see you back here in a minute. tiger woods and his former wife speaking about the text scandal that -- sex scandal that ended their marriage. there are concerns that eggs that have been recalled could still under up on your

dinner table. and the heat involving the president of a university and the owner of a home.

eggs from iowa that are at the heart of a major recall could still find their way to a table near you. producers say there's no reason not to use the eggs while federal officials investigate the outbreak. they say the eggs will be patch ourized whatever the case, the

egg recall is putting more pressure on congress to toughen food safety laws. >> there's no way in the united states of america consumers should die from something they ate. >> despite having bipartisan support, a bill na would give the fda more power to monitor food safety and protect the public has been stuck in the senate for more than a year. it's been on the back burner. but some say we cannot afford to wait any longer. that includes people in the food industry. >> we support whatever the fda needs to make sure the consumer confidence is at the highest possible level just to make sure that we have a safe food supply. >> harry reid had wanted to pass the bill before recess but ran out of time. his spokesperson says the senate may revisit it when congress returns to washington next month month. aaa says more americans plan to get away for labor day

this year. while the number of travelers is planning to go up 10%, the average distance traveled is expected to go down ten miles. 91% of travelers are taking road trips. with the holiday weekend approaching, the government has launched an ad campaign to wash people -- to warn people of the dangers of drunk driving. one in five people confess to having driven less than two hours after drinking. 8% of drivers said they've drivgen drunk at least once in the past year. for 2 to 24-year-olds, the average alcohol consumption was more than frowr drinks in -- four drinks in a sitting. yesterday, we had the first bay area power alert in quite

some time. why is that? that story is still ahead. today, the epa announces a proposal that could dramatic change california's coastline. we'll tell you how coming up. droiiiid. what this droid does will change how you do web connections.

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we had what are fairly rare conservation alerts as record high temperatures caused power consumption to go up. ten years ago, we were plagued with polling -- rolling blackouts. what's changed here?

we go to tom vacar for some answers. >> well, the recession is a big reason right now. but we've come a long way from those dark days of the blackouts. from here pg&e controls the power grid. on really hot days too many air conditioners can alert the system so alerts to major users to conserve power work. >> and also ensures that 2003 have enough energy running through the system to meet our customers' energy demands. >> today customers say they think most folks are more aware. >> i've been reminded how

important it is to make sure the lights are all turned out before you leave, make sure the bulbs the one -- make sure the bulbs that are you using save energy. use of solar systems on homes and businesses is way up. >> we have had a record amount of customers who are investing in solar-generating systems on their holes. >> pg&e is already building or contracting for up to 500- megawatts of solar panel. the equivalent of one gas powered fire plant. >> investing in reflewable energy but also seeking to rebuild renewable generation sources. >> biomass will soon be a major contributor. a wet winter has given us an abundance of hydropower. add to that, company, including ktvu, have and are installing power plants of their own.

grant total so far, 18,000. many of those megawatts are still coming from a new fleet of gas powered plants statewide. some developing news right now about power outages. about 2700 customers in the antioch area are currently without power. the air conditioning and lights went out about 4:45 this afternoon. no word on when the power will be back on. at this point we do not yet know what caused that power outage. now to the south bay where alum rock park is off limits because it's too hot and dry. the city of san jose is keepingth park closed because of extreme fire danger. the city says it will reopen the park tomorrow if weather conditions are better. the temperature in the park topped 100 degrees with 14% humidity. you can find the forecast in the area where you live just by going to ktvu.com and clicking on the weather tab right near the top of the page. the federal government is

stepping in to help keep california's beaches clean. a measure was signed today that will keep large ships from dumping sewage off the state's coastline. claudine wong has our report. >> reporter: as erin brown played with her two boys passing ships -- sewage from massing ship -- passing ships is the last thing on her mind. >> no, i didn't know that. >> the marine environment is under siege. >> reporter: but just yards away officials from the epa gathered to sign a rule that would establish a no-discharge zone under the clean water act for vessal sewage. that rule would stop cruise ships and large ocean going ships from dumping treated and untreated coastline. >> we estimate that of 25 million gallons a year that this rule would stop 20 million

gallons of year of treated and untreated sewage from entering the coastal waters. >> it's really important. >> the epa says those millions of gallons of sewage contribute to unhealthy water in the beaches. >> this makes it very clear that you absolutely should not do that. it makes it enforceable for us as the federal government. the epa says the agency hasn't gotten a lot of opposition. erin brown says it's hard to imagine the downside. >> i feel better. i guess there's always another side of it. they have to dump it somewhere so hopefully it won't go anywhere worse than our beaches. i can't see any downside. >> the epa will be taking public comment for the next 60 days but officials say if all goes well this prohibition could be in place by the end of the year. in san francisco, claudine wong, ktvu channel 2 news. the cruise lines

international association released a statement regarding the proposed rule. in it, the group says "its members follow -- 72 people found dead at a ranch near the mexican border are believed to be migrants kiferped by an armed group. the bodies of 58 men and 14 women were found yesterday after marines manning a highway checkpoint were approached by a wounded man. that man provided the kidnapping account. there's new information tonight in the vicious bidding war between dell and hewlett- packard to claim a from monthigh -- free -- fremont company.

a person says dell -- a

person familiar with the situation says dell will make a bid that will top hewlett- packard's bid who are competing for the company. sources say hp could counter that offer by tomorrow. walmart today asked the u.s. supreme court to throw out a class action lawsuit brought by employees. the suit says walmart faces -- plays men more money than women. the lawsuit started back in june of 2001 also alleges walmart discriminated against women in promotions, training and job assignments. walmt said the claims were too diverse. anan appeal has been filed in massachusetts in. boston university grad student joel tenenbaum is seeking to

have $70,000 paid for illegally downloading songs online. he was sued already and was ordered to pay over 75,000. music companies appealing the decision. the obama administration says sometime this week it will file an appeal of a judge's decision that blocks the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. the injunction affect the 22 projects across the country including some in the bay area. they were due to get their annual grant checks next month. the research is aimed at fighting parkinson's disease, final -- final cord injuries -- spinal cord injuries. the judge's ruling says the stem cell this -- there's promising news for patients with cornea disease. in studies of ten patients,

scientists found inserting a sliver of collagen could hurt restoring vision. scientists say the new technique could help ease the demand for donated corneas. a new study suggests that too much technology could be depriving your brain of much- needed downtime. scientists say if you are constantly keeping your brain busy with digital input you are forfeiting the quiet time that's better needed to learn, remember or come up with new ideas. research shows rats remember better whether they have a moment away from their regular pattern of activity. tiger woods and his ex-wife speak out about their divorce. what he says is the main focus now and why she says she's still strong. wound earn seeing some

double-digit temperature drop in -- and we're seeing some double-digit temperatures.

tiger woods is speaking out for the first time about miss just finalized divorce from elin another degren. she's going public, though in a different way. one thing that appears they share is grief over the end of the marriage. >> you never go into a marriage looking to get divorced. that's the thing. that's why -- it's sad. >> today, woods returned to

golf at the bar clave in new jersey, two days after his divorce was finalized. his personal life has been in turmoil ever since it was revealed he was cheating on his wife. "people" magazine talks about the anger and grief she felt towards woods and the desire to want to forgive him. i certainly understand that she's sad. i feel the same way. >> reporter: tiger is trying to get his game back on track. he's not been playing particularly well since returning to competitive golf four months ago. in nine tournaments he's played so far, he's not come close to winning. woods says he has no plans to take a break from golf saying this is my job. this is what i do. he added golf is second to my children. >> we're trying to get our

children situated to our living. >> nordegren told "people" magazine she did not hit her husband with a golf club. she says despite the betrayaler, she feels stronger than ever. the beachfront home rented by the obamas during their last two christmas vacations was sold to paradise estates. wineberg and his wife have contributed at least 73,000 to mostly democratic politicians over the last decade. the listing agent says the new owners hope the president and his family will continue to visit the property. coming up next at 6:00, healthcare costs are about to go up for 800,000 policyholders in california. who is affected and how much more they will have to pay? julie haener's in the noom with a look at some of the other stories we're working on. continuing coverage on the

fire near mount diablo. we'll have rate details on where things stand right now an when firefighters hope to have it completely out and what we're learning about how it may have started. also hey head, you might call it back to the future. a concert tonight in the bay area is doing something completely different whether it comes to tickets. some people waited in line for more than five hours. and why a band is offering counseling to anyone who attended a concert here. it's all because of something startling that happened on stage. see you at 6:00. a turf war is underway in scenic lake tahoe pitting man against the wild. homeowners are dealing with almost nightly bear break-ins. the animals are destroying property residents are reminded not to leave their trash outside. let's go to bill martin to

see if a change is coming in the weather. >> big cooling around the bay. oakland was down 20 something degrees. san francisco down 20 degrees from yesterday. but inland it's still hot as heck. temperatures are in the low00s. 102, 103. there's the fog. it's shooting over to sausalito. that's the mechanism for cooling over the next few days. it's the most obvious one. there's another one dropping in that will bring much cooler temperatures toward the weekend. look at the forecast. the highs from today. 106 in fairfield. 05 in antioch. still hot but you get around oakland. it cools oakland off, got santa rosa, not napa. the cool air moved in but couldn't get in the inland bay valleys. further cooling as the inland bays start to feel some of the change. we'll see upper 90s. a lot of upper 8 as around the

bay. cooler, no heat advisory, no spare the air day tomorrow. we started today slightly cooler. thursday it will be coolerrer still and friday and saturday temperatures drop down. it's not gonna freeze. it just won't be as hot as it was yesterday. we had multiple records. a heat advisory that got extended and spare the air day two of them in a row. we're moving through the bay area microclimates tomorrow. you can see the warm spots, temperatures upper 80s. low 90s. this week we had the record heat, we had the spare the air day. this is the system i'm tracking. it's gonna be bring clouds and wind. it will impact us as we head friday into sunday. your forecast highs. 88 out in fairfield. you'll find 88 in antioch. you will find 88 in pleasanton. these are right about where they should be. a little cooler than average. certainly dealer than they were

today. as you look at the forecast highs tomorrow, it was something. the big buzz was the fire near mount diablo. the thing that everyone noted, bas see yaw, julie, frank all of us said it's weird. you get one hot day. boom, you get a fire. we've had such a cool season we haven't had that. >> this late in the summer would we get another heatwave? >> i suspect we could. >> i live in oakland. i got home last night around 11:15. i looked at the thermometer inside my house. 83 degrees. >> yeah. >> at 11:15. it was a hot one. >> yeah. >> thank you, bill. why university of california president mark yudof and his wife have beens forced out of the man sthun she lived in in the oakland hills --

mansion they linked in in the oakland hills. does this look like a vacation? actually, it is. we'll tell what you these folks are doing and explain why. woman: did you bring the camera phone? man: i did. do you wanna go first? i've been waiting for this all day.

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the oakland hills mansion that's been the site of at least one fro -- protester other -- over the last year is no longer occupied by mark

yudof. >> he and his wife have been forced to move out of their home after their landlord reportedly refused to extend their lease because of unmayed -- unpaid damages.