>> reporter: tourists started he recording video and snapping pictures. the street turning in toy to a waterfall. >> one car stopped to take a picture and a couple cared braked and instead of rear ending her they went over and knocked over the hydrant. >> i just bought a new rug for the bathroom and it's complete flooded mess. >> reporter: lisa said she came home from shopping to this. a muddy mess from closet to the family room and bathroom. >> reporter: they cleaned the water. they -- damage to the stuff that you had in the garage. >> reporter: as soon as the water got shut off the water department got to work. they had a new hydrant on in place in less than three hours, the old one thrown in to the back of a truck.

the tourists were happy as they drove down again by late afternoon . >> and to see more of the raw video of the break go to the website. >> an old elderly man has died after driving in to a creek. it happened this morning. officials say the 86-year-old donald lawrence drove down an 80-foot drop. it appears he had been stranded there for at least four hours before he was found. he was taken to the hospital where he later died. >> three robbery suspects arrested this week are suspect in dozen of other robberies. all across northern california. the sheriff's deputies say the three are responsible for 30 robberies last month throughout the bay area and as far as santa cruz. our cameras were there when they were arrested on tuesday after an armer robbery and high speed chase that stretched in martinez to near the bridge.

there are new details about this skier who died after being swept up in avenue an avalanche. today the nevada county coroner identified the skier as 29-year- old benjamin brackett. the avalanche sent him and two friends falling nearly 300 feet down the mountain. a rescue crew finally found brackett pinned against a tree with a number of broken bones and barely awake. unfortunately he died later at the hospital. the two other skiers survived. here is what that slide looked like. it was 300 feet wide and 500 feet long. it happened at the 7600 feet. >> safety experts stressing caution this weekend as a lot of people head to the mountains to take advantage of the snow. jade hernandez is live in blue canyon with how ski resore

sorts gearing up. >> reporter: we can talk about two perfect thing this is weekend. road condition, you can see 80 is clear tonight. of course, most important ingredient for skiers, shredders and snow boarders, snow. cheryl usually brings her son to donor ill the time once winter hits. >> we were going to get a snow pass and no snow, no snow, kept putting it off. i'm not going to buy one now. i don't think i will have enough time to get the most use out of it. . >> reporter: that's what hurt business here. a 60% drop across the board. the we went on a tour showing the bare essentials kept on hand, anything more he said would just sit unsold. >> nothing makes it more optimistic about the short term future than seeing a large crowd on the slopes. >> lot of people made the right decision and took the day

off. >> reporter: four feet of powder on more than 5,000 acres keeps him, these receivers and boarders happy . tony took advantage of his daughter's day off from school. >> a one day we came this year and i think we hit the jackpot. >> reporter: shredders spread out, they built snow men. jeff and his family know what the perfect mix of snow and sun means to the lake tahoe area. >> got to be 50, 52 degrees and in wind and blue bird skies, it's perfect. kind of day everybody hopes for. it's good for the economy, gets people up here, gets all the lifts going and put them to work. it's just a god send. >> reporter: caltrans is still working even though it's not snowing. just about an hour ago a crew came by and cleared the side of 80 for drivers tonight and over the weekend. reporting live. ktvu channel it 2news.

>> water concerns prompting officials in the north bay to do something they haven't done in 20 years, that is in ten minutes. >> after a closed hearing today a judge still hasn't decided if a former girlfriend of the san francisco sheriff will be allowed to testify in his trial. we were the only news crew to see her. she is alleged that during the relationship he displayed a raging pit bulla greasiness. the judge is deciding if she can testify in the domestic violence trial. a second hearing is set for monday. >> police in san rafael released surveillance video in hopes of finding an armed robber. the two robberies appear to be done by the same person. both happened during the day in one case the man hit the cashier in the head with his gun. the suspect is described as a

white man, tall and thin between 20 and 30, with a light mustache and stubblefield. >> a man accused of stabbing his roommate is in court. he was charged with murder but he didn't give a plea. he stabbed his female roommate authorities say in pittsburgh after they reportedly argued. investigators aren't releasing any details about what may have started the fight. >> uc staff members rallied for public education as part of a march to sacramento. staff members joined the march for about an hour at bay front park. the rally called for lower tuition, affordable textbooks, access to classes and more full time staff. the 99-mile march started yesterday in oakland and will end monday morning with a rally at the state capitol. >> many students at san

francisco city college are rushing to figure out what to do after learning dozens of classes have been canceled in the middle of the semester. 67 classes were canceled after learning their budget would be cut by $3.6 million. most of them affect students taking english language classes. >> i thought, three years, so, i go to school every day so my english can -- speak english, is hard to find a job here. so is a big problem. >> the college's is ate isn't chancellor said midsemester can is hiations are unheard of. >> new, california prisons hit a milestone. the image of prison over crowding a thing of the past. >> reporter: california prison officials happy with the program that helped them get

rid of extra inmate beds today but it's still county jails like this one that have to take up the slack. there are now more than 400 inmates at santa clara county jail that would have been sent to policeon but went here because of a law. today during a news conference the california corrections secretary announced the diversion of less serious offenders to jails reduced the state prison population by 19,000 inmates and reopened vocational program. > >> a safer, less expensive, more effective prison system. >> it's -- a good day for us here to see these programs soon reestablish themselves here. we currently are operating eight education programs. >> you know as much as -- it's -- i can feel a difference. . >> reporter: many jails have absorbed the shift. in san francisco county officials say the average monthly inmate population rose

more than 200 since october 1st. the santa clara county sheriff said it has a space to accommodate morin mates but. >> it's the ones -- a year of their sentence, two years that we are looking at different alternatives, rehabilitation, and different programs. >> some family members think the realignment works. >> i feel that they are putting the people together that haven't done so much or they aren't violent. >> reporter: santa clara has launched other programs to help inmates and will relook at them after analyzing results in six months and they may have to, california still needs to reduce the population by 17,000 by the summer of 2013. live in san jose. >> a group opposing a detainee law urged the board of supervisors to do the same. the 99% coalition gathered in

front of city hall. they want a support of a resolution that urges noncompliance hack. it require that certain terrorists go before a federal court. >> a chad griffin ged the no on either campaign and later was key to the federal court challenge that has so far supported same sex marriage rights. it is winning praise from local leaders. a city attorney said his boundless energy and passion for justice will be huge assets to the lgbt community and it's allies. >> san francisco based yelp held its initial public offering and it was a huge success. employees helped ring the opening bell at the new york stock exchange as soon as it

was available stock soared. today's ipo is expected to race as much as $96 million. yelp stock closed at 2458. it started at $15. . wall street ended on a down note. the dow slipped three points while the nasdaq lost 13. >> a tech firm is facing fines after a deadly explosion. last september's explosion killed a worker. they said the worker was mixing dangerous gases and lacked the proper relief valve. they are impose penalties of $56,000 this he have declined to comment on the report. >> this pump a new sign of our dry weather. and i will tell you what will happen to this lake. >> and more devastation across parts of the midwest and south. what we just learned about the death toll as tornadoes slice a

path through several states. . >> back here, the bay area weekend forecast in view and i think you will be pleased with how warm it'll get.

. a bay area woman who rescued a truck driver from a fiery crash is now a national hero. she was named a finalist in the citizen beforeself honors. last october she was driving on highway 101 when she saw the crash and immediately stopped to pull the truck driver to safety. the winner of that award for extraordinary heroism will be announced march 12th. >> new at six it's not been done in two decades. marin water officials tapping in to a rarely used water reservoir. we are live where we are finding people using more water. >> reporter: this car wash has been busy all day and around town you won't find much evidence of people saving war but they are now starting to

get a new message. this is phoenix lake. the next to last back up among seven marin reservoirs. that pump you humming today for the first time in 20 years moving drinking water here to the water plant. >> our rainfall is about half of what it is normally for this time of year. because of that our reservoirs dropping lower than average. >> reporter: three quarters of the water comes the reservoirs, from rainfall and about a third of that filtered here. even though is this the dryest year in 20 years, the district said it's still not time to get alarmed. some people who have seen the reservoirs are worried. >> shocked to see how the water levels had gone down so absolutely concerned. >> reporter: some recall the drought of the 70s. >> take showers with friends and other -- less mentionable things about toilet use. . >> reporter: no rationing expected this season. >> i don't use a lot but i

shower every day. you know, i could cut back on that. >> reporter: i have learned water use is actually up 15%. many apparently not concerned. >> i didn't know there was a problem. >> reporter: over the next two and a half weeks pumping is expected to drop about ten feet but that could leave room in case there is more rain. >> long time supervisor howell brown has died. he was 66 years old. colleagues call it a sad day. he serves for 29 years. they remember him for his sense of humor and his steady support of nonprofits. veterans crowded a job fair today in san francisco. companies including chase and ups were on hand. the unemployment rate for veterans was at 13% in december with thousands more coming back to california each month.

>> we can all work together with helping to bridge this divide between veterans coming home and not having jobs. >> the san francisco armed forces community organized the fair. >> a food bank got a big and unexpected donation today. the workers at the food bank say they received 7500 pounds of coffee donated by starbucks. they said they also got a surprise donation of 12-tons of broccoli. that donation was helped by kaiser. less than 30 minutes ago the death toll was race from a series of violent storms. this is home video of a funnel cloud in indiana. 14 people died in the storms including five in kentucky and one in ohio. alabama and tennessee were also hit. earlier this week more than a dozen people were killed in tornadoes in the same area. >> the damage from the tornadoes is just incredible.

over now to bill martin who has more on the situation there and the weekend forecast. >> nasty time out in the midwest. they are getting hammered. it's not a daytime thing. they will get nighttime thunderstorms. we will come in closer here and you can see the line of thunderstorms, severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warning as long the line with all the oranges and red. this -- it's a big story. it's a long line. stormsms and severe weather. tonight at ten we will talk more about the storms and try to give you details on how long they will last and some of the damages. in our area there is nothing like that. you usually don't -- that's a fat ridge and it won't break down any time soon. the bay area weekend will be warm. it rained yesterday. forgot about that because today was such a nice day. looks what happens on saturday. temperatures back in to the

70s. temperatures on sunday, maybe mid-70s. maybe a little warmer than that. you saturday off cold. frost and freezing conditions, you had a little bit of frost. there may be a little patchy fog but i know i'm not a golfer but i know golfers cause you problem because of frost delays on the golf course and the greens in the morning. you may get frost delays in some of the authority and east bay valleys and the kids going off to the game itself will be a cool start. nice weekend ahead in the bay area. the high pressure sets up. we get one of the finer weekends in terms of combined saturdays and sundays, like both day also be really nice. tomorrow 70s. sunday, perhaps mid-70s. very nice. the mountains, very nice up there. they have three to five feet of now snow and in the bay area, not the bay area they will be

mostly sunny. the forecast highs, the bay area weekend in view. a nice looking weekend and it is march. it's still winter but we are winding down here on opportunities for rain. look at the long range model. there is a good five, six days with nothing. coming up down the road. this weekend an indication of what is to come. >> and it goes through -- march. >> you look at march, april. we will get good rains in may but we have to get a lot of rain for the month of march to really make a dent in this thing. we are way behind. >> even in next week into next week. >> dry next weekend. >> i guess enjoy the weekend. >> yeah. enjoy it. >> thank you bill. >> practice got underway for a benefit concert featuring a familiar face from film and television. gary moon lights as a bass player for the lieutenant dan

band. it's headlining for military members. they >> coming up, what started as a rescue effort later turned tragic for anedderly driver. we spoke to some of the people who first got to him. and the bad situation tonight for some storm ralph aged communities in the midwest and the south. a live report at seven on tv36. >> giant fans listen up. when and how you can get your hands on a brian wilson garden gnome. >> and the warriors play the sixers. sports is next. anyone who grows things for a living will tell ya...

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. giant fans who love the beard may have a chance take them home in the form of a gnome. today the design was released. on may 20th the first 20,000 through the park will take home that it. long time fans say it's a lot like the minor league version with a lot more orange. >> very cute. >> wow. >> it is. >> makes you laugh.

mark now, a big night in basketball. >> 50 years ago tonight. the great will chamber lane did something nobody else had ever done. 100 points in a single game. hats what they used to play in philadelphia and that's where they are tonight make that occasion it was against the sixers. no video of that game but the famous picture there and the warriors go to it. clay thompson with the -- it is fa, putting back in. the warriors trail by three at half time out on the road. they are well in it. full highlights tonight at ten. baseball stuff. you won't see him until june when they start playing for real. so a little exhibition manny on display as the a's get the cactus league schedule going. above man manny takes to the plate it's a familiar leftover from last year, coco crisp.

manny is the next batter. this is something we are hoping as an a's fan would, you don't see a lot of. the 6-4-3 double play with manny just jogging down the line. he was 0-2, second inning sander was a shot deep off godry and they loose but not a big deal because it's just exhibition baseball. take to down to west palm beach. tournament tiger used to turn his nose up at but looking pretty good there. birdie at 16, shot of the day though, rory, looking to be the number one golfer in the world, his approach at 14 sets up the easy bird. is he just one back of the leader who happen to be justin rose and tom gillis. full warrior highlights tonight at ten. that is the sporting life for the friday night.

>> tiger, seven back. >> yep. >> ain't the old tiger. >> nope. >> thank you. >> the president spurred into action today after controversial comments from radio talk show host rush limbaugh . and at then what limbaugh said. is this a chevy volt? [ stu ] yeah. it's electric.

i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here. electric tank, right over here. an electric tank? really, stu? is that what you pour the electricity in? it's actually both, guys. i can plug in and go 35 miles gas free, or i can fill up and go a whole lot farther. is that my burger? oh. i just got bun. i didn't even bite any burger. (car horn) paying with your smartphone instead of cash... (phone rings) that's a step forward. with chase quickpay, you can send money directly to anyone's checking account. i guess he's a kicker... again, again! oh, no you don't! take a step forward and chase what matters.