started having them boarded up. the cause of the fire is under investigation though late today we learned new detail. >> just confusion. it's not even real. we couldn't get the phones, anything. >> reporter: residents of two devastated buildings today tried to save their belongings as firefighters revealed new details about where the fire started. >> the area was at the rear of 1015 pierce in an alley where the trash was collected at the bottom of a trash chute. >> reporter: more than half of the city's force responded. firefighters say they haven't seen a similar one in the city in almost seven years. this one was fanned by winds that blew it from a 27 unit

building to this three story one. >> the wind conditions were extraordinary, that wind condition later in the condition but at noon yesterday we had gusts of up to 35 gusts. . >> reporter: classes will have to be relocated before the new semester starts. they think is cause eight million dollars in damages. not including the possessions lost by 41 residents. >> we don't have driver's license, medical card, our bank card. >> reporter: and late this afternoon we learned the red cross will reopen a service center at 1455 golden gate afternoon after the holiday next tuesday to help the fire victims. david stevenson. >> the bay area's dry weather is causing fire concerns in rural areas. in ten minutes an unusual order

just issued by a state agency. it could impact anyone who wants to spark a match outside. >> reporter: police in berkeley on the scene of a shoot that sent go to the hospital. the shots happened at 66th and sacramento. police say officer as lived just three minutes after getting the first call but by that time the gunman had already taken off. a portion of sacramento street remains closed as officers continue to process the scene. police have not released the names of the victims or the extent of the injuries. san francisco police have arrested a man accused of pretending to be a doctor while operating a practice in the city's mission district. the 49-year-old allegedly headed up a clinic. he is facing felons for allegedly stealing the identity of a person and then preforming medical procedures on two women. >> we want to make it clear

that if you are going to have a medical procedure, like any other professional work make sure that you verify that the person are you using is someone that's licensed. >> reporter: if convicted he faces up to 12 years in jail. >> bay area airports busy today with air travelers. thousands arrived at san francisco international airport to catch early flights today. an airport duty manager says crowds were heavy but have been dying down as the day goes on. officials at oakland and san jose say passenger traffic has been normal. now here is a live book at interstate 80. it's thought 90% of the 92 million are traveling season and they will do it by car. that's despite higher gas prices than last year. traffic was backed up on the upper deck of the bay

bridge after a deadly accident. the accident happened shortly before 11 this morning. the chp said the motorcycle slammed in to the back of a toyota. the motorcyclist was thrown from his motorcycle and died. speed was likely a factor. >> last minute shoppers crowded in to bay area malls and stores or starts their holiday shopping. the target is open early and will be open until midnight for all those late shoppers. they expect big crowds and brisk sales. >> we expect about ten thousand guests, to come through the store throughout the day, tomorrow about another ten thousand. that will be great. >> reporter: the three say sales this season will make retailers happy because they are positioned to be up over last year. >> chaos and violence at bay

area malls with groups of shoppers trying to buy the latest release of the air jordon sneaker. in richmond one was arrested at the hilltop mall when he fired a gun in the mark parking shot while waiting for that mall to open. nobody was hurt. police were called to the salona mall when a crowd broke windows. two people were arrested there. and desperate shoppers crowded the doors of a shoe store on market street today pushing and shoving to get no that store. >> loud crowds -- in several other cities across the united states in search of that shoe. . at the westfield south center mall about 2,000 people showed up for the shoes which

were being sold at four different stories. police from five agencies had to use pepper spray to control the surging crowd as this tried to get people to line up, one person was also arrested. arrests were also reported in michigan and in georgia. in just a couple minutes tom will report on what an expert says about why that type of madness may happen. he will talk about that herd mentality. police have arrested a school custodian on suspicious of child molestation. he was arrested last night. he was arrested at his home. police say the victim is a boy under the age of 14 who was not a student at any of the schools where he worked. police didn't release the list of those schools, he is being held for $1.5 million bail. >> the hospital locked out thousands of nurses who who

took part in a strike. they say they locked them automatic because it was to hard to hire replacements for just one day. they will be able to return starting at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. >> met a lot of people -- did not expect it. >> that smile says it all. how bay area people are making things better for a family in a hopeless situation. >> farmers aren't used to turning on sprinklers in december but starting today the dry windy fire conditions are force forcing them to do a lot differently. >> temperatures cooling rapidly. we have another freeze warning. the coolest day of the holiday weekend and when shower chances could be added to the five-day forecast.

. a family escaped a fire at their home without injury this afternoon. that fire was reported at 12:20 at the home. spokeswoman said it took 20 minutes to contain the one alarm fire. the fire department said the cause is still under investigation. >> back to the nike shoe that caused so much chaos across the country. tom talked to an expert who said the thrill of competition drives shoppers to such extremes. >> reporter: these incidents have marched what is usually what you see here at bay street emoryville. that -- hustle and bustle. these 200-dollar shoes lead to the latest in the long line of

shopping showdowns. back in the 80s we saw teddy and cabbage, later tickle me elmo, beanie baby boxing and wars oar star wars figures. kit says it's because there are to many shoppers. >> it's a set up for competition when people know that there aren't enough products to go around. that's why they get fooled on e- bay. >> reporter: we found many pairs available for as much as $500. >> what people wants not just the product itself, that's maybe 50% of the deal but they -- they want to win. >> reporter: even if they have to pay a huge premium. >> a hundred or thousand --. the increasing fighting suggest that the me me me society trumps polite society. >> we are seeing the erosion of the rules of appropriate

behavior. people showing their own emotional upset. >> they better be magic. that's ridiculous. >> recession -- why are they. line for shoes? >> reporter: in a few days even those will be yesterday's news. reporting live. channel 2news. >> new at six the unusual order issued by a state fire agency. a ban on outdoor fires related to the bay area's dry weather. robert honda says how the ban will have a special impact on one major industry. >> reporter: here is the san jose foothills you can see the reason for the ban, dry, brown vegetation, normally for summer, dangerous in a dry winter. this is a site bay area farmers don't always see or want to, irrigating crops in the winter. the die conditions are also the

reason cal fire officials banned so-called open burning, burning material outside and won't give anymore burn permits until further notice. a farmer says it's strange he is he watering during the rainy season and can't burn. >> it can cause some havoc with deceased wood sitting around that you aren't getting rid of and the only way to is to burn it. for a farmer it's important to be able to get rid of that material as quickly as you can. >> reporter: cal fire said it had no choice. at 8:00 the agency suspended open burning, including in santa clara, alameda, san mateo and contra costa. they say to many open burns escape the planned containment areas. they point out fires like the one yesterday convinced them any fire, no matter how it starts can spread fast. >> we have been having

escapes, so, in effect by putting this ban on we are trying to reduce the number of escaped control burn that turn into wildfires. >> reporter: cal fires say some differences can be made like camp fires on private property but only after inspection. they say anyone violating it facing a citation and possible jail time. the ban won't be lifted until it starts to rain and new vegetation starts to grow. live in san jose. robert honda. >> the state is fine tuning a new fee for rural firefighting that will affect thousands of bay area residents the state board was supposed to get final approval of the fee this month. the board made a few changes and will vote in january. taxpayer advocate section saithe will challenge the fee in court. >> after weeks of gridlock the president signed the payroll

tax cut. he praised congress for coming through on that legislation and stressed the effect it'll have on american households. >> because of this agreement, every working american will keep their tax cut, about a thousand dollars for a typical family. that translates into another $40 in every paycheck. >> reporter: the president left washington on air force one to celebrate christmas with his family waiting for him in hawaii. >> also, new at six the new chapter in the life of a family we told you about earlier this month. they were homeless and seemed hopeless. now rob roth says things are looking up because of the christmas spirit. >> for them life is getting better, finally. >> people have been helping out. >> reporter: she is homeless. we met her several weeks ago. >> i was in -- every day and

they were saying me to change it and go home. >> reporter: you couldn't. what would you do? >> cry. >> reporter: my heart just sunk. >> so a total stranger got a motel room for them for two weeks. >> me petting them up was a christmas present to myself. >> reporter: other viewers have been offering donations, toys, support,. >> it's not expected, did not expect it. >> reporter: beyond the gifts they got even better news, we will let them tell what you it is. >> we just found out we will get stable housing. . >> reporter: the housing authority where they lived found them a two bedroom apartment that will open up next month. they are just one of two hundred homeless families in san francisco with a waiting list just to get into a shelter

seven months long. because of a recent donation the city is providing permanent and temporary housing. the bill says after years of staying with relatives and sleeping in shelters they can't wait to have a place of their own. >> i'm looking forward to working, to going to school. >> they care about other people. >> reporter: in oakland. rob roth. >> santa put in an appearance in san francisco today to give toys to needy youngsters. saint nick joined san francisco police department this afternoon to hand out presents as presents. the police chief was also on hand. the yearly give away provides holiday gifts for 5,000 children who live in the public housing. >> a coast guard unit made a special delivery today. they loaded up a cargo plane

with 1200 toys. that plane took off for fort campbell texas. they will go to troops returning from deployment to go to their children. >> there won't be chestnuts on an open fire tomorrow. air quality officials have declared another spare the air day. that means the burning of wood, manufactured fire logs or any solid fuel inside or out is banned unless it's your only source of heat. tomorrow will be the 9th winter spare the area alert this season. last year there were only four. >> last year we had more storms to help mix up the atmosphere. we all know its been a very dry month and dry for today. this was a time l aps e looking out toward the tower. the clouds starting to clear out and temperatures are

cooling off. as far as current numbers look at the 6:00 hour in to the upper 30s in fairfield. right now 38 degrees, concord at 44. livermore checking in around 46 and most of the areas down to the 20s, neighborhoods down to 20s for tomorrow morning. as a result freeze warning kicks in at 11:00 tonight. the inland valleys north bay, east bay, san jose, overnight lows in to the lower 20s to the lower 30s. here is a look at the projected numbers. santa rosa 26, napa -- san jose around 31 degrees. the plants form and the animals form. if you thought it was cold this morning which will match it, could be just a little warmer but not by much. only three days of rainfall, last week has been dry. the last week has been dry.

it'll be dry in to the holiday weekend. areas of frost, sunday morning for christmas. 20s and 30s and fair skies, afternoon highs on track to reach the upper 50s. bundle up, first thing tomorrow morning. plenty of sun into the afternoon and temperature around 57 to 62. most neighborhoods come up a few degrees, at least for the afternoon highs, that means san francisco topping out around 61 and san mateo in the upper 50s at 58. here is a look ahead. the extended forecast, the weekend always in view. partly cloudy skies for christmas day and into monday as well. we will slowly thicken up the cloud cover into next week and there is a slight chance -- a few light showers, we will watch that potential shower maker but testing out the toys first thing sunday. want to bundle up. the temperatures could have frost. >> thank you.

>> prince phillip had emergency surgery for a blocked artery. the 90-year-old was taken to the hadn't after having chest planes. they had just return from a tour of australia. a spokeswoman said he will stay in the hospital for a time. >> a holiday tradition going strong in the south bay. the line went out the door today at the tamale factory. they are a popular christmas time treat there mexico and latin american cultures. the owner said production kicked in to high gear about two weeks ago. the factory is not taking more orders over the phone but people who show up can buy them at the store for orders of three dozen or more. >> coming up, on tv36 more on the man accused of running an unlicensed clinic in the mission district. what we learned about him. and a bay area sold year

making it home just in time for the holidays. the emotional reunion with his family. that's tonight at seven. . >> when we come back new information on this week's blackouts at candlestick. two admissions have been made about who is responsible.

. officials say two power outrages that struck candlestick had two separate causes and everybody involved is promising it won't happen again. pg&e said a splice on a wire fired causing the first blackout that delayed the start of the game. in a letter to the teamed mayor said the second was because of a malfunctioning switch. >> mark is here with sports. lot of great football and nba basketball. >> christmas day and the warriors on national tv. they will go at it against the clippers and the showcase game but in the meantime the warriors have issues to deal with of course -- the number one issueon the court, that would be seth currie. he sprained his ankle against sacramento. he isn't being ruled out for the game and the word is he is apparently feeling better and then the off court activity of

ellis and his harassment case. fred talked to him and asked if he will be able to focus and be ready for the opener. >> 100%. what's going on, it's out there but -- it's a -- i won't comment on it and i will continue to live my life and go through every day, go home, go to sleep, wake up, smile, come to work, get my job done. >> in the meantime the cal bears team got a rude awakening, wake up call. you think -- you think jerry, the sharks because -- retired for many years but they have it rolling again. as core, assisting bryce. jam, 17-4 run. a 13-0 run. he led cal to 20 but everybody else having a rough go of it. here is anthony marshall.

do all, be all for the rebels, 22 points -- 85 -- 68, easy win and easy to see why they are ranker ranked number 23 in the country. cal has work to do before the pack 12 opener. that's the sporting life. >> all right. thank you. >> and a reminder before we go that you can always get updates on the day's top stories on the website and mobile ktvu. that includes the latest on what investigators learning about that five alarm fire in the western edition. [ male announcer ] citibank's new app for ipad

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