he's back. >> hello, steve. good morning, to you. we are back here looking at the traffic and the roads that are doing pretty well. 101 coming up to the 80 split in san francisco nice drive from candle stick all the way from downtown san francisco. also this morning we are looking at interstate 880 it looks very good. there is no road work here this morning. it's wide open for you past the coliseum. if you are driving in san jose the same thing goes it's light traffic and wide open roads. let's go back to maureen. we're following developing news out of los angeles. they have taken a person into custody. a person of interest in connection with a string of arsons around the city. they are not saying if it's the man seen in this grainy surveillance video that they want to talk about the suspicious fires. most of the fires were set in parked cars. there is a 60,000 reward leading to the arson us. they also may be dealing with copy cat arsonist as well.

a san francisco man is in the hospital after being hit by a car on interstate 80. officers say the man was shirtless on the highway in san francisco near 4th treat. shortly before 11:00 last night. -hit by a car a few minutes later. police say the driver stopped and did cooperate with officers. they say the pedestrian was knocked unconscious but appeared to be breathing when they arrived. police in the east bay are look for what lead up to a two car crash. investigators say one driver lost control slammed into a pole and then clipped the front of the bank building. one person was injured. ktvu tara moriarty will is a live report from the crash scene coming up in our next half hour. crews are still on the scene following a huge fire in san francisco. it started shortly after 8:00 last night on the sonic avenue near hate street. knd joins us live with what

firefighters are saying about the cause. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is a couple blocks south of hate at waller. you can look at one of the houses that was effected by the fire. christmas tree still in the window. look at the stairs a lot of lines going in. we talked to a firefighter this morning. she said they are on fire watch. they are making sure there are no flair ups. investigators say they warned a second alarm because the fire was so intensely between the two homes. they got the call shortly after 8:00 last night. battalion chief told us the flames burned between the two fires. homes that were effected kept a close watch from their windows. homes in the city are tough so close together they touch each other. people in the path of the fire say fire crews quickly gave them the order to evacuate. >> his came out because the fire department knocked on my door and told me to evacuate

the house. i grabbed my pants and coat and came out. i saw a pretty big fire. >> reporter: there were actually three homes effected by the fire. the two homes right in front of us there. the home on the left there is yellow and white trim. there is three addresses in that home. and the home to the left it appears as though the home may not have been effected by fire. although we can't see in the back. there is definitely water dang there. we spoke to a fire crew fire investigators are not on the scene but are due back here. kraig debro. san jose family is looking for a new place to live after a fire left them homeless. elizabeth forest says she and her two teenagers were sleeps inside the home. neighbor shot this cell phone

video. >> i've lived here for five years. milan lords have been so nice. they have always been so great bus. this happening is tragic. >> firefighters say the fire was physical to fight because the -- the cause of the fire is under investigation. a $25,000 reward is being offered to find the guy that shot and killed a five-year-old girl in oakland. gabe yell martinez junior was outside his families taco shop on friday night when a man that ordered food from the struck started shooting. the gunman got in a silver pontiac with a woman. your time is 4:34. a new law designed to protect people from second hand smoke

goes into effect today. it bans smoking in public places. that includes outdoor dining areas around atms, bus stops, and commercial area sidewalks. smoking is also banned in new multiunit housing including on balconies and porches. some people welcome the change, others don't. >> it's crazy. they have bigger fish to fry than people smoking cigarettes out front of businesses like these. >> we respect their smoking privacy. they got to respect our breathing area. >> the ban also covers outdoor work areas and taxis. violators face fines between $100 and $500. air quality officials are calling for another ban of wood burning because of lingering air in the bay area. today marks the second spare the air day in a row and the 12th this winter. it's illegal to burn anything

inside or out unless wood burning is your only source of heat. the unhealthy air is bad for people with asthma and other breathing problems. apple is offering a free spare the air app for iphones. the water is flowing again this morning at two big businesses in the east bay after a water main break in hercules disrupted service. the east bay municipal utility says a break effected some homeowners and conocophillips and s & h sugar. a parallel line is providing water for the businesses. crews will return to the site of the break later this morning to make repairs. antiwall street protestors are not part of the tournament of roses parade but several hundred of them are still likely to join in later this morning. the group has been practicing for more than a week with its own float of the u.s. constitution. pasadena police sheaf says

protestors know they will have to follow the police cars that mark the end of the parade. he adds other groups have followed the parade in other years to get their political messages across. occupy movement supporters gather to remember oscar grant. >> we going to do it for oscar's faith. >> moneys gathered. a few carried signs with his pictures on it. some occupy protestors say their movement faces the same violent treatment from police that lead to grant's death. >> these occupy movements have been sort of really effected by police brutality. >> grant's family lead a memorial service at the fruitvale bart station. his mother says she wants to

keep his memory alive. the police officer convict the of involuntary manslaughter for shooting grant complete his sentence in june. time is 4:37. a new warden begins work tomorrow at san quintin. kevin will step into the top post after walking as deputy warden. she will replace acting warden mike martel that has been in charge of san quintin -- quentin for the past 11 months. the the hunt is on this morning for a man suspected of gunning down a park ranger at mount ranier national park. the pierce county sheriff says 24-year-old benjamin barnes sped past a snow chain check point and shot the ranger after being pulled over. a photo shows him showing off

automatic weapons. he's also suspected of a shooting at a new years eve party. hawaii made state history when a new law went into effect allowing same sex civil unions. >> we now pronounce you are legally joined as partners in life. [ cheering and applause ] >> four same sex couples exchanged vows in the opening moments of 2012. hawaii's governor signed allow allowing civil unions. the couple says official recognition of their unions is important. >> it means that our state supports us. and that is a really good feeling. after all this time. and it will be that much easier for those to come after us. >> five states now recognize same sex civil unions. six other states in washington, d.c. allow same sex marriage. your time is 4:39. we want to turn over to sal. sal is back from vacation.

happy new year sal. it's looking good on the roads. >> it is. happy new year to you maureen and everyone. traffic is doing pretty well as you might imagine. i think a lot of people do have today off. monday after new years. for example ace train is not rung. they must know something we don't. as you move along let's take a look at the to plaza. take a look at toll plaza. it is light. we will let you know about northbound 280 right now. that traffic moves very well getting up to highway 17 hello steve. >> sal how are you? >> i'm good. how are you? >> i haven't talked to you since december 20th. >> i any since last year. >> that is right. we have a different pattern today. gilroy was 72. mountain view was 70 and oakland was downtown or was it the airport? i can't remember. they all had record highs

yesterday. it was 84 down at ucla. 80s all the way down there. tahoe 54 record high. and the driest december for reno one of the driest ever for tahoe and of course we came in at the second and third driest all over the place. we start a new month. maybe a new weather pattern. had a little system there knocking on the door. it will give us a little clouds and fog and haze. a little breeze up in the hills. south wind up ahead of it. the biggest impact will be cooler weather. a few returns on radar. again this is pretty high based stuff. i doubt much happens. the ground is dry. the atmosphere is dry. this will juice things up a little bit. give us a lot of clouds and not much else. 30s and 40s. at the surface we're even with the cloud cover. some 30. the system will continue to weaken as it runs into the ridge of high pressure. the low is ejecting northeast. that will take the energy away from it. cloudy skies. again north bay or the coast in

line for maybe a few light showers. i will say it but i doubt much happens. cloudy, cooler. a lot of fog out there. 50s and 60s on your temps. coming down about 48-degrees from yesterday. and really there is just not much going on here weather wise after today it looks like back to hoe hum. seven and ten day outlook are very, very dry. >> thank you, steve. time is 4:42. wildlife lovers in the south bay will be on the lookout for birds today. santa clara county christmas bird count continues on mount hamilton. it's the final outing of the season. the organization says birders of all ability levels are welcome to help out. over the past two weeks they have counted birds in san jose, palo alto and morgan hill. disappearance caused quite a stir at the san francisco zoo. now that banana sam the monkey is safely back home. when he will be allowed back in

the cage. a violent start in the new year. what police say about a string of crimes at the beginning of 2012.

good morning. well not as nice as yesterday when we had record highs. it will be cloudy today and cooler. there could be a few light showers. look for cloudy hazy skies. your time is 4:45.

no word yet on when the san francisco zoo plans to show off the beloved squirrel monkey. the zoo says the 17-year-old named banana sam was taken from his enclosure late thursday night or early friday morning. a man found the monkey a mile away saturday evening. banana sam was scared and hungry, it may be several days before he's allowed back in his cage with fellow squirrel monkeys. a $5,000 reward was offered for the monkeys safe return. it was a violent start to the new year in san jose. that kept emergency responders very busy. several stabbings and shootings happened on new years eve. one man was stabbed before midnight while walking along the river. then on ridge glen way gunfire wounded a man and juvenile. and on skull drive a fight broke out among teenagers. six went to the hospital with stab wounds. >> i have been here more than 15 years and it's not like

that. it's not like that. maybe it's people that come and decide to make parties and it happens. >> three more incidents happened in the early morning hours. police call the violence unfortunate but not unusual for new years eve. dozen of occupy wall street protestors spent the night behind bar. more than 60 people were arrested. about 500 protestors gathered in the park saturday and rang in the new year chanting we are the 99%. many have been charged with trespassing, and disorderly conduct. the first contest of the 2012 presidential race is under way. they are making their final big push before the iowa caucuses tomorrow. everyone is hoping a big show in iowa will give a boost to their campaign. the iowa caucuses are not necessarily a good predictor

that will become the party nominee. >> iowa doesn't have a terrific record of predicting winners and losers. >> despite all the hype surrounding the caucuses, the majority voters in the state don't participate. only 17% of registered voters showed up for the democrat and republican caucuses in 2008. south korea's president says the divided korean peninsula is at a turning point. in a nationally televised speech south korea's president said there is an opportunity to improve relations between the two countries but also vowed to hit back hard against any provocations from north korea under its new leader king jong un. iran's navy says it successfully test fired two more long range missiles today. that is after iranian tv

reported the test fire of a surface missile. an iranian lawmaker says the maneuver practice for closes the straight if the west tries to block iran's oil sales. this morning there are two nasa spacecrafts circling the moon and sending back information. the someone space -- the twin space probes are studying lunar gravity. one thing that puzzles them is why there are more hills on the dark side of the moon than the side that faces earth. new figures are out showing how hard the recession has hit the bay area housing market. an analysis for the mercury news local homes lost more than a third of a federal dollars during the past four years. homes in oakland lost $350,000.

in concord $289,000 with 267 lost in san jose and 205 lost in san francisco. home equity loans have dropped 90% since 2007. time is 4:49. it's the tale of two football teams in the bay area. when you can see the 49ers play their next game. let's introduce you to the bay area first baby of 2012.

welcome back. 4:52. a teenage raider fan is in the hospital after falling to the ground below. juan was leaning over the coliseum railing trying to attract the attention of players after yesterday's loss. raiders spokesman says he fell less than 15 feet on to soft dirt.

he adds the fan never lost consciousness. the season ended with a win for the raiders. all they needed to make the playoffs was to beat the san diego chargers yesterday. but in front of a sold out coliseum the raiders lost to one of their main rivals 38-26. the defeat included giving up 105 kickoff return for a touchdown. the raiders have not made the playoffs now in a decade. but across the bay the 49ers are relaxing with a well deserved day off. they earned a first round playoff bye 34-27. the most memorable plans when the 49ers dug into their bag of tricks and taking a field goal. throwing a touchdown pass to a wide open michael crab tree. 49ers don't know their opponent yet but we can tell you ktvu channel 2 will play saturday, january 14th. coach harbaugh will watch

his pro toe jay. the fourth ranked cardinals are taking on the third ranked oklahoma state cardinals. the game starts at 5:30 this evening. luck has already said this will be his last game before turning pro. he sure is fun to watch. >> i'm sure we will enjoy -- that is probably where he's going after he's drafted. good morning, everyone. let's take a look at the commute now. traffic on 880 north and southbound. there are no major problem there is. no problems here in front of the coliseum. and traffic looks good on 580 as you drive up to the mccarthur maze. also this mornings commute westbound bay bridge looks good. i think people today will have the day off. it will be a pretty nice drive across the bridge. as we look at contra costa county we have no slow traffic. it's a good sign things will be

lighter than usual. you may not have the day off but some people do. 4:54 let's go to steve. we have a little change today after yesterday's numerous record highs. i tweeted it out there. 85 down in ucla. 54 in tahoe. 72 in gilroy. 67 oakland. today it will be cooler though. fog, cloudy cooler. there is a few returns on radar. i doubt much happens. a little breeze out of the south and some of the higher elevations. trying to get his act together. it's running into tremendous resistance. there is the system. as the low moves north that will stretch it out. at least cloudy today and cooler after our third driest december ever in san francisco. the second or third driest for almost everybody across the board here in the bay area. 30s, 40s on the temps. some of the temperatures dip in the 30s here before the cloud cover came in. they will be trapped for awhile. our system won't do much.

it could produce a few light showers to the north. mainly the effects are cloudy and cooler. after that high pressure builds back in. cloudy and cooler. a few showers. a lot of fog and haze. 50s for some. low to mid 50s for others. so instead of low 70s we will get more mid 60s. back tonight morning fog. hazy dry. one little system to the north. maureen. >> thank you very much, steve. 4:56. a family will not have any trouble remembering the birthday of their one and only daughter. sofia was born just after the stroke of midnight new years day in castro valley. that made her the first baby born in the bay area in 2012. her mother told ktvu she wasn't due until tomorrow but went into labor saturday evening. >> fingers roed she would -- crossed she would make it to

midnight. she has lots of older brothers. whenever she came would be the right time. >> sofia weighed in at 7 pounds five ounces and has four older brothers. 4:56. three san francisco buildings caught fire on new years night. plus we are following overnight developments in the string of suspicious fires in los angeles. and we have just learned there have been 12 more fires this morning.

interstate 80 the overnight accident that caused a major traffic backup on the bay bridge. and a new year brings new law where is shoppers in the bay area need to bring their own bags to store. it's all ahead on ktvu channel 2 morning news. good morning, to you. welcome to monday it's january 2nd i'm dave clark. >> a brand new year i'm maureen