tonight. ktvu's noelle walker spoke with people who were impacted by the heavy smoke but we begin with patti lee and why the fire was extra challenging for firefighters. >> it wasn't just the hazards outside, it started the minute they arrived on scene. black smoke starting from the ground up. these streets are blocked off. there is a one block perimeter around the fire, 23 and mission. we are told this fire is contained but it is still not out. still a lot of potential structural damage to this building that caught fire around 1:00 p.m. and you can see these flames coming through the two story building which was filled with merchandise, a lot of it made out of plastic and that is what caused a lot of problems for the firefighters. it was hard to see, it was hard to breathe and this was a problem they encountered the minute they got on scene, even

blocks away, when they arrived, inside they found this -- this store -- two story retail space, filled with hazards. >> early on in the fire we tried to make an interior attack but we weren't making progress so i pulled everyone out for safety and at this time we are worried about structural problems. we did have a floor collapse down to the first floor and we are concerned about the wall collapsing into mission street. >> reporter: you can see firefighters coming down the ladder. they have been filling this building with water. one of the main concerns is the roof might collapse on to firefighters. this will be a consistent problem. this is a building that was built before fire codes. given the fact there were two brick walls, that definitely helped them.

but as you heard a lot of dangers here today. we are told this scene will stay active, firefighters will be on scene here at least through midnight. reporting live in san francisco, patti lee, ktvu channel 2 news. >> and firefighters had a tough time fighting the fire because of all the merchandise inside the store. you can see from before the fire started, all the items outside and inside the store. this is video from news chopper 2 an hour ago and all that merchandise a burned methand piled into the street -- mess and piled into the street. >> smoke and fumes effected people that weren't even near the fire. ktvu's noelle walker, how bad was the smoke there? >> reporter: well you can probably hear it in my voice it wasn't so great. when we were driving over we

could see the smoke from the bay bridge. right here we are a few blocks away from the fire. and the smoke was so thick. we were using face masks because it was so thick. people were having trouble trying to cope and finding it impossible to escape. >> the air is full of smoke. freaky. >> the smoke was so thick we could see just about a block ahead of us and not much further. from high up it looked like a volcano. that lasted for hours. we saw police and pedestrians wearing face masks and covering their faces. >> i figured we are not safe there. so we will go out for coffee or something. >> i am trying to go to a cafe.

it seems like that is where had smoke is headed. plans might have to change. >> i can't imagine how long smoke like this takes to dissipate. >> reporter: the smoke doesn't seem to be an issue anymore but the smell is definitely lingering. patti lee said it was plastic, a lot of plastics. people far away from the fire are probably going to be dealing with this smell. i have seen a few people open their windows trying to air things out. that smell will be very difficult to get rid of for a few days. reporting live in san francisco, noelle walker, ktvu channel 2 news. >> and our coverage continues online on www.ktvu.com. you can see raw video of the fire as news chopper 2 arrived over the scene. also we put together a slide show of the fire fight. wrapper who was arrested on

suspicion of holding a womannen captain is expected to be ill -- woman captive is expected to be released. charles mitchell, mark sanford, was arrested on tuesday. but investigators decided to release him till they gather more information. they are providing few details about this case. >> the arrest warrant was based on the fact there are charges for kidnapping. false imprisonment. brandishing a firearm. being accused of conducting criminal activity as a member of a gang. >> he had been living in this neighborhood. a neighbor sent us this photo from last month when the sheriff's office raided his home. authorities in san jose say a stabbing victim found dead last week was the victim of a murder-suicide at the hands of her son. the body of the 55-year-old was discovered august 28 inside a car behind a church.

and investigators say later that night they found her son dead after committing suicide near the church. they say neither had any affiliation with the church. police haven't released the son's name or if they know of a motive for the killing. new at 6:00 p.m. the government wants to get tough on drinking and driving by lowering the legal limit on the blood alcohol limit to .05. ktvu's john fowler is in concord where we found opposition and support for a change. john? >> reporter: if this becomes law it could hurt bars and restaurants. but it could also save lives. >> police say a man who was drinking got behind a wheel and cleared her and her mother 10 weeks ago. >> drunk and drive they kill my

daughter and granddaughter. >> reporter: they are heartbroken. districter drunk living laws -- districter drunk driving laws could save others. officials said drunk driving is a national shame. 10,000 deaths in 2012. in california 800 dead. 28% of all highway fatalities caused by drunk driving. we found strong backing for a stricter law. >> i would support it. i don't think anyone should drink and drive. >> when people drink they are not aware of what they are doing. >> at .05, a 125-pound woman could have one glass of wine and be over the limit. >> makes me feel relaxed. maybe i shouldn't drive relaxed. >> reporter: mothers against

drunk drivingler takes no position -- mothers against drunk driving takes no position. [ indiscernible ] >> fewer than 1% of traffic fatalities occur at that level. >> reporter: this proposal is still new. expect lengthing hearings even if it --lengthy hearings even if it is brought up. this may now force people to think device before driving even after having a single drink. john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >> and ktvu channel 2 news viewers have been debating on facebook. long on and join the conversation. governor jerry brown and his challenger will face-off in their first and only scheduled debate in the race for governor. it will take place across the street from the capital and

ktvu's ken pritchett is here now with a preview of what we can expect this evening. ken? >> reporter: we are outside the hotel, we are joined by protesters unhappy with governor jerry brown on the ground of fracking. both candidates should arrive shortly for a 58 minute long debate and it could be the only time we see the two of them side by side. the debate will take place in a small room in the studios of the california channel, which is one of the sponsors along with the los angeles times and telemundo. they will field questions from three reporters. they cannot engage each other. governor jerry brown has little incentive to participate in this debate. the polls show him with a 16 point lead with little room for

movement. he can use any free media he can muster. he says sharing a stage with governor jerry brown could prove valuable. >> he has to be aggressive. i am sure his campaign folks are saying look, this is your one and only shot, you got to be aggressive, push the governor, try to push his buttons. get him to blow his top. >> reporter: the campaign pointed out their challenge tonight, saying this was his first debate and governor jerry brown was debating before he was even born. we will have the details and highlights of the debate for you tonight on the 10:00 p.m. news. in sacramento, ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. new at 6:00 p.m. it is official, as we reported last night california will not

be home to tesla's first battery factory and tonight nevada is celebrating a huge victory. had we gather today as a nevada family to share in a monumental announcement that will change nevada forever. >> the car maker chose a site near reno and is expected to bring thousands of jobs to nevada. texas, new mexico, and arizona were also considered the front runners. california's topper environment aral laws -- environmental laws may have worked against california. the raiders are settling a lawsuit by cheerleader whose accuse the team of wage theft. 90 cheerleaders from 2010 to through the 14 season. -- 2014 season. most will get $6,000. the two leading plates will get

$10,000 -- plaintiffs will get $10,000 additional. it will be finalized on september 26. bay area schools are back in session but not all students are showing up. >> the work is about supporting families to get the kids to school instead of saying you are not bringing your kids. >> the new ways schools are targeting truancy and succeeding. >> i am tracking a warm up. weekend around the corner. i will have the timing on it.

too many children are missing school and kamala harris wants to change that.

today she highlighted to cutdown on the -- cut down on the number of absences. >> cristina rendon has more. >> reporter: kamala harris paid them a visit. she says they are increasing attendance rates. 1million california students were truant last year. >> reporter: california does not track truerancy rates on a statewide level -- truancy rates on a statewide level. she is hoping legislation will change that. >> so we can know when our children are in school and when they are not and then we can engage when they are not. >> reporter: the school provides resources to parents to curve absences like bus passes. she knows there is a collation

with attendance rates and the family's status. >> figuring out what families needs and make sure the needs are met. >> that is your job to come to school. >> the importance of attending school is a lesson they have already learned. they will release the report next wednesday. and will address truancy and transfers. cristina rendon, ktvu channel 2 news. police say they arrested a high school seenerrier for -- senior for selling pot cookies on campus today that sickened 5 students. the student was charged with selling marijuana on campus and child endangerment. investigators determined a cause in the crash of a plane in idaho last year. the national transportation safety board says ice build up let to engine failure causing

the plane to go down december 1 and the plane was not suited for the icy conditions. it took a month to locate the wreckage. in san francisco today we got a look at the challenges as police try to reduce the number of -- the high number of pedestrian accidents in the city. our ktvu channel 2 news crew went along as officers looked for speeders in the richmond district. we saw one woman almost get hit in a crosswalk and the driver give her an obscene gesture. >> she saw me coming and then pulled up on me and almost hit me. to the point where i could tell her this is a crosswalk and people are crossing. >> by the end of the day two offenses made 100 traffic stops

and police say this wasn't a crack down, just a standard day of enforcement. some folks like to see more stop signs to slow down traffic. nice looking day out there again today. more of the same. started out with fog. antioch 90 degrees. 87 fairfield. 89 livermore. highs tomorrow will be warmer than these. a few degrees and saturday will be the warmest day on your bay area weekend. the fog is -- look where it is. pushing inland. you can see it flying across here. we have winds driving the fog and the marine layer. tomorrow morning when you wake up the fog coverage is significant like this morning. burns off quicker tomorrow and temperatures warm up. you can see numbers already dropping quickly. fairfield 83 degrees. temperatures tomorrow at this

time will be about the same. fog forecast for the morning. santa rosa, concord. livermore. model hasn't been sticking it but it turns the corner and gets in there. that is friday morning. fog. temperature in the afternoon, like today. cool along the coast. lots of 80s tomorrow. more 80s than today. even in the spots that saw 70s today. this low-pressure system which has been stationary, lingering up here, it will start to migrate a little bit so temperatures will come up a couple degrees tomorrow and then migrates further east and the high gets stronger and saturday ends up being the warmest day. not going to go from 92 to 98, will go from 92 to 95. fog along the coast. 95 clear lake tomorrow. that is the spot that is the

warmest. stenson beach, nice, doing okay, plenty of sun, 60s. 82 castro valley. 90 livermore. 90 morgan hill. the warm up on saturday provides variation. sunday drops back down. there is the five-day forecast with your bay area weekend in view. almost here. the fire danger will come up a little bit more tomorrow. more of the same. pretty soon we will be talking about rain. we are coming into september and october. >> thank you. a big donation today to help fund new cancer research. they donated $250,000 to the hospital to honor national childhood cancer awareness month. some of the young patients took

part in a ceremony that is a reminder of the program. >> support from the program has enabled us to take a step closer to finding a cure for childhood cancer. >> hope on wheels donated more than $1 million over the last 16 years. big college football game this weekend in the bay area involving two top 25 teams. usc and stanford. even though the season is just beginning there is a lot on the line. scott is up next with sports.

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scott reese is in for mark. we have a big game this weekend at stanford. >> looking forward to this one. nothing like a game of the year contender. stanford hosting usc on saturday. the latest chapter in a real page turner of a rivalry. [ music ] >> stanford such. my goodness -- touchdown, my goodness. >> they don't seem very happy with each other. >> this is for the game.

down the middle. >> keep it. touchdown andrew luck. >> loose ball. >> usc-stanford always great rivalry game no matter how good the teams are. this year they are both in the top 15. we are in for quite a ride. >> big game. always been a big game or a close game. enjoy playing a team that has lot of great athletes. >> physical game. it will be a lot of plays. they got talent. we got talent. trying to be the kings of california. >> go back and further. exciting games to watch. >> be able to be a part of that

and that rivalry is really special to me. gets guys fired up. they are a great team and we are a great team. it will be a battle. >> take it back to last year. we have that bitter taste in our mouths. we are just looking for this moment on saturday. 12:30 p.m. stay tuned. [ music ] >> of course, before they kick it off we will be waist deep in high school football. tomorrow night archbishop at milpitas. high school football coverage all season long right here on ktvu channel 2 news. >> high school football, college to believe -- college football, pro football. >> thank you. firefighters still on the scene at the mission district fire in san francisco. the fire flared up and is now smoldering. at 10:00 p.m. the questions about when the

streets will reopen and when businesses will be able to open their doors again. >> quite a scene from news chopper 2. we are always here for you on www.ktvu.com, facebook and twitter. thank you for joining us tonight. good night. >> good night.

whoa. what's all this? mom heard us say we were bored. suckers. she heard us from outside. she has super good hearing, like a seeing eye dog. they have overdeveloped hearing to make up for the fact that-- wait, the dogs aren't blind. wait. are they? no, that wouldn't make sense. you're right. if i wait long enough, she can get there by herself. (cell phone rings) quick, girls-- famous danny from "moonstruck." (beep) aiello? hey, phil. i'm glad i caught ya. what's up? uh, it's about steven and stefan. they wanna see that house on briar again. really? i showed it to them five times. last time we were there, i think they got mail. yeah, well, that's why i'm calling. they hate upsetting people, unless, of course, it's me. then they don't mind waking me up at 7:00 a.m.,