now at noon -- one man is dead after being trapped inside a burning home in contra costa county. what fire officials say was missing that could have saved his life. hundreds of people in san francisco forced to evacuate this morning because of a gas leak. get inside! >> the surprising cause of the leak and how traffic in the area is doing at this time. and why city officials in berkeley say they must get rid of squirrels and gophers to prevent, toens from -- to prevent toxins from leaking

into the bay. a house fire in contra costa county ends in tragedy. one person died after being trapped inside the burning home. it happened here on mountain view avenue in bay pointe this morning. i'm tori campbell. john sasaki is at the scene of the fire and joins us live. >> reporter: take a look amount the outside. you can't tell anything that happened here on mountain view avenue. :00 d.c. county got the call there was a fire and firefighters got it under control within 20 minutes of receiving the 911 call. not a big fire. from the outside, you can't tell it happened. but investigators say it was a smoldering fire that likely burned for some time. the home had no smoke detectors. so the man was in the back bedroom and got no warning of danger. firefighters say they didn't see any burns on this individual. they believe maybe he was just overcome by the smoke. at this point, fire officials think the fire started because

combustible materials were left on the front of a furnace. >> they should have been air ware of what was going on. the gentleman looks like he's in his 80s. sole his status at that point -- we don't have that information at this point. >> reporter: maybe was asleep -- >> he may have been asleep. >> he would come down the store and buy a couple of beers and go home. quiet man. >> reporter: nice guy? >> yes. >> reporter: that man is a neighbor and works at a nearby store. i talked to ten neighbors. no one knew this man at this home. they say they may have been hello or had brief conversations. they say his name jas john. he may have had a son and kept very much to himself. i'm john sasaki, ktvu channel 2 news. a mass gain break near -- main break near at&t park forced the evacuation of hundreds of people this morning. it happened on south park street near third street while crews were working. tara moriarty joins us live to

tell us the surprising way the line was busted. good afternoon, tara. >> reporter: well, good afternoon. the line is around the corner down the sidewalk here. they've already patched it up. but police say that one of the construction workers was actually walking backing up when his foot hit the shustoff valve and -- shutoff valve and bent it. police told hundreds of people to get out or get inside. >> you guys go inside. >> reporter: the odor was unmisache tabl. >> coming down -- unmistakable. >> reporter: coming down second street, you could get a whiff of the gas. it wasn't very strong. construction workers smelled it. >> a very loud song line a jet. >> reporter: this man works next door at the buffler and the chef -- butler and the chef restaurant. >> a major broken line and to evacuate the building. i told my staff to run to the back door. >> we heard a little bit of a

hissing noise coming from around the corn ever. they told us it was better to leave than to stay in place. >> reporter: no one was hurt. pg&e arrived within an hour and capped the line. it turns out the construction workers are building a new restaurant from our team. they will be moving next door in several months. but for now, they are open for lunch. pg&e will be out here later they said for several hours to permanently fix that line at some stage. live from san francisco, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. a gas leak gave students at oakland sky line high school an extra day off following the presidents' day holiday. the school is closed while

crews do an emergency repair. the district says a contractor accidentally caused the break while working on the line yesterday morning. repair work is expected to wrap up today and classes are set to resume tomorrow. the family of a man shot and killed by alameda county sheriff's deputies last night is now speaking out about what happened. ktvu's janine de la vega joins us live from san lorenzo to let us know what they are saying. >> reporter: good afternoon. alameda county sheriff's deputies are still here on the scene show is family. i just spoke to the man's live and son. they are devastated. they are upset that a taser was not used. sheriff's deputies say they had to shoot in self-defense. the family of 60-year-old david gowins describe him as mellow, a stroke victim who walks with a cane. his nephew says he was a retired auto mechanic and lived with his wife. >> i'm still in shock right now. i'm gonna -- i'm gonna miss him. he was a good man. >> reporter: gowin's nephew was told by other relatives that his uncle had a seizure. paramedics were called to the house. gowins was put into an ambulance but a sheriff's spokesman said he became combative and assaulted paramedics. he ran back in the house.

investigators say sheriff deputies were concerned about his medical condition and went in the house with guns drawn. >> the man came out with a baseball bat, hit the sergeant with the baseball bat. he transitioned to his handgun and fired along with another deputy. >> reporter: gowins was killed. the sheriff's deputy provided this picture of the bat they say he used against them. none of the deputies involved were seriously hurt including the sergeant who claims he was hit by the bat. the sheriff's office said they have a history at the home they've been called here 19 times since 2011. we all have our problems. but this right here was unnecessary. they did not need to use deadly force on him. and i sure do hope that these cops are put under investigation.

>> reporter: gowin's wife told me that there is no way her husband would use a baseball bat to combat bliss. the deputies are on leave while this shooting is investigated. reporting live from san lorenzo, janine de la vega, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. friends and family are remembering two chp officers who were killed in a crash yesterday on highway 99 in fresno county. 33-year-old juan gonzalez and 34-year-old brian law both graduated from the chp academy in 2008 and started their careers here in the bay area before transferring to fresno. officer gonzalez worked in san jose as a field-training officer. and was described as hard working, reliable and never lost his cool. officer law started his career in oakland and his colleagues there say many of them looked up to him. >> general standup guy. when i first came to oakland, he welcomed me here as a brand-

new officer. i had no clue what i was doing. he helped me out. >> reporter: coworkers say when they both ended up in fresno, they became close friends. law leaves behind a wife and three children. officer gonzalez was planning to marry his girlfriend. governor brown said he and his wife extend their deep sympathies to the families of the officers. he says they join the entire state in honoring the officers for their courage commitment and service. you can express your condolences by sharing our facebook badge. go to our ktvu channel 2 facebook page. east bay regional wark police believe they know the -- park police believe they know the identity of a woman found burned in the oakland hills over the weekend. but so far have not released her name. her body was discovered at the entrance to redwood regional park late saturday night. police found evidence near her remains and contacted her family who had not seen her

since last week. autopsy results are expected in the next few days. sunnyvale police are asking for the public's help in a child molestation investigation that's led to the arrest of a 28-year-old man. police arrested michael alexander anthony last week on charges that he sexually assaulted four different minors. investigators believe the assaults took place from 1999 and 2005. detectives say there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with information about this case to contact sunnyvale police. an intense search for a couple of men caught burglarizing cars in marin has been called off at the san francisco presidio. it started around 8:00 last night when a ranger spotted a man breaking into a car in the marin headlands. he jumped into a black mercedes where an accomplice was waiting. they sped off and led the officers on a chase on the

golden gate bridge. >> they hit two of our officers as they were leaving the area. when they got to the golden gate toll plaza, they rear ended another vehicle. >> after crashing at the toll plaza, the men got out of the car and ran towards the presidio. the highway patrol joined in the search. it was called off after midnight and neither suspect was found. >> berkeley tackles squirrels and gophers. why authorities say the rodents could cause toxins to leak into the bay. cloudy all day but will it mean any rain in the forecast? steve paulson will be here with the answer. several local law enforcement agencies are already using license plate scanners to combat crime but now there's word the federal government wants to tap into that information ♪

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president obama rolled out a new plan today for a u.s. trucking industry. he spoke from a safeway distribution center in maryland saying that medium-sized and heavy-duty trucks account for 4% of all vehicles on the highway but are responsible for 25% of fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. he wants members of his administration to develop

higher fuel standards for these trucks over the next two years. >> every mile that we gain in fuel efficiency is worth thousands of dollars in savings -- savings every year. that's why we're investing in research to get more fuel- economy gains. >> automakers are working on a plan to double the economy to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. the president spoke at a safeway location because the pleasanton-based chain is known for using those trucks. license plate readers are used to crack down on crime, but now the department of homeland security wants to tap into that information. justin gray joins us live from washington, d.c. to tell us how the proposed program to work. >> reporter: yeah, tori.

homeland security wants the police officer to be able to snap a picture with their smartphone, immediately see if that number is on a nationwide database. we first learned about this after spotting an ad the department placed looking for a contractor to develop this technology. according to the ad, homeland security wants use this database to search for suspects and undocumented immigrants. i reached out to homeland security, a spokesman said they would only use the database as part of an ongoing criminal investigation but privacy advocates warn there's no guarantee of that. >> people who trust the government might say what matters, i have nothing to hide. people who don't trust the government think it does matter because they worry about a future where the government is. >> reporter: homeland security telling me this information would not be held by the u.s. government. instead, the outside contractor would collect it and take care of it. live in washington, justin gray, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. more california college students are applying for

financial aid. there's been a 74% increase in the number of college students applying for such aid just in the last six years. a new study from the department of education shows future students want to pay full price for college education and there's even financial assistance for families earning up to $150,000 a year. students are encouraged to aplay -- apply by march 2nd, the deadline. and the san francisco mta is ready to unveil its two-year budget expected to include fare increases. muni could climb to $2.25 for a single ride as part of a scheduled fare incease. many riders -- increase. many riders feel they are already paying enough. >> i think i would want to know the reasons why they are doing that. i feel like fares have already increased since i moved here several years ago. >> muni could face a major extense as it -- expense as it

gets ready to negotiate a new contract. muni still has the brightest budget picture in years due to a booming local economy and a $5 million surplus. it's considering using some of that money to the skids ride free to include 18-year-olds and middle-income teens. thousands of fans come to you watch them but some minor -- come to watch them but some minor league ball players are struggling to survive. they are being paid below the federal minimum wage. a class-action lawsuit has been filed in san francisco on behalf of the players. it claims that minor league players only earn $2100 a month even though they work 50 hours or more each week. one of the players is oliver

olde, a former player, he lived with a host family. he said he could not afford to pay rent. >> i hope it helps and sheds light to people to see there's such a disparagement between the major leagues and minor leagues. >> mlb is expected to respond sometime next month. the city of berkeley is not messing around when it comes to a serious problem involving hundreds of squirrels and gophers due to concerns of toxins being leaked into the bay, the city plans to get rid of the rodents. cesar chavez park was converted from a landfill. now the area is covered with holes. city and water officials worry when it rains water goes through the holes and takes the remnants of landfill waste into the bay. some say they are really not a problem to them. >> i understand if it's causing pollution that that would be a

problem. the people who come here and the dogs who come here that would be a problem, too. >> the city says previous attempts to get rid of the animals have been unsuccessful. the officials say the plan is to fence off the park one acre at a time and trap the squirrels and gophers. it's unclear whether they will let them go somewhere else or just kill them. a lot of cloud cover. a few little breaks here and there. and temperatures chilly. even with the cloud cover, the lows were not as cold but it still felt cool out. downtown oakland is 53. other locations are near 60or slightly above. a lot of cloud cover but not much else and if there's any rain it would probably be a drizzle. that's going to be it. the system doesn't have much except cloud cover and there are some breaks in it. cloudy, partly cloudy, partly sunny, mostly cloudy. there's not much left. maybe a little low cloud deck. overall, this is a very weak system. mostly cloudy. if you can get enough of the sun there will be mild

temperatures. darned chilly this morning. things are beginning to slowly warm up. cloudy to mostly cloudy but not much rain if any unless you are watching well to the north. maybe some drizzle. 62 walnut creek. fairfield 62. antioch, one observation says 64. 58 san francisco. 60 mountain view. a lot of 50s, 60s. napa dipped to 39 and the cloud cover came in. everybody came up. there might be a little bit of drizzle. you can see some off point ray yuts. not much in the way of precip but there will be increase in the breeze. the wind kicks up up in the sierra, they have a wind advisory. well, it is official. temperatures have been warming up. finally. look at that surge of warmer air. it won't last long. it will melt all of the snow. the problem, it looks like it will be brutally cold next week. it will be a false alarm. it's official for new york's central park. they have the snowiest january/february ever. i think the old mark was 47.

for some it keeps going on and on and that's a lot of snow but it's much, much warmer. a lot of high clouds. 50 up in tahoe which is one better than reno. sacramento at 61. exeam for the high cloud -- except for the hide clouds filtering through, maybe mist or drizzle. probably to the north that would be it. mostly cloudy, partly sunny. kind of increasing clouds throughout the day. a little haze there. patchy low clouds. upper 50s or very low 60s. probably more sun here in the afternoon which is why we'll get into mid-60s. a couple of locations are close right now. so temperatures by the water's edge probably cooler. we'll carry that into early wednesday morning and clearing out, it looks nice thursday into friday. temperatures 60s, near 70. all quiet here. everything is east of us. no change for about 13 months. [laughter] >> seriously. >> and nothing coming up. >> no. european olive oil company

is being accused of taking advantage of american consumers. ♪ i got the eye of the tiger ♪ >> it wasn't karaoke night. but colin kaepernick and cam newton belted out their rendition of a popular katy perry song last night.

stock markets still mixed

in afternoon trading. healthcare stocks have been higher following a big merger in the pharmaceutical sector. coca-cola has slumped 3.8% after turning a disappointing -- turning in disappointing quarterly results. the dow has been waiving back and forth and is down 11. nasdaq is down 31. s&p up 3. california's olive industry is demanding federal tests of imported olive oil. only 3% of all of the olive oil is grown and used here. industry leaders are accusing companies of mislabeling their products and often selling lower trades. they add that most americans don't know the differences between olive oils so they usually just buy whatever has the lowest price. colin kaepernick hosted the hall of game awards ornd cartoon network and demonstrated why he should keep his day job as the san francisco 49ers' quarterback. ♪ i got the eye of the tiger

dancing through the fire ♪ [ cheers ] >> good try. he and cam newton both attempted to sing as part of a friendly competition to see who was the better show host. they ended up having a lot of cheesy fun which -- during the show which was killed with a lot of -- filled with a lot of silliness. are you satisfied with the way this project has been handled? >> well, of course, i'm not satisfied. >> gail murrey was not elected to the b.a.r.t. board when planning started in 2005 on the $38 million project to build two crossovers between pleasant hill and walnut creek that was completed in 2011 but the tracks are still not up and running. the tab on the project is now $5 million over budget.

tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00, 2 investigates, examines where all of the money has gone. plus what is still molding the project up. again -- holding the project up. again, that's tonight at 5:00. thank you for making ktvu your choice for news. we're always here for you at ktvu.com. you can follow us on twitter and facebook.

and adventures in the air, are the best. that was awesome! that is me elizabeth. and today my friends: rob pinkston, jennifer veal , lucas cruikshank and i are making discoveries in the world of air travel. we will fly in spirit of america. hey! look at that! also know as the goodyear blimp. then will suit up for combat training . i am obsessed! i'm excited! let's go! i am ready. and test our mad dog fighting skills. uh-uh all this and more and you are coming with us. so,if you're ready to fly& let's do it! i always see this big flying football in the sky flying over events and stuff. well, technically it'sn airship , in fact this is the goodyear blimp. doesn't it fly over the super bowl and stuff? yeah, and guess what? what? we are going to go for a ride right now. no way! ahem ! do you want to check it out? yes! let's go! elizabeth: welcome to elizabeth stanton's great