now at noon, calls for the resignation of san francisco's fire chief grow louder. the selfs they are taking and who they are asking to help them. and lanes are back open after a wet mess on 680. we'll show you the crash that involved six vehicles and brought traffic to a crawl. and investigators hoping surveillance video from a car dealership will lead them to thieves who drove more than a dozen luxury cars off dealership lots. good afternoon.

i'm tori campbell. san francisco firefighters are asking mayor ed lee to remove fire chief joanne hayes-white. firefighters say they have lost confidence in their leader. tara moriarty joins us live to explain the action firefighters are now taking to call for the chief's resignation. >> reporter: this is an unprecedented move. they are asking the mayor to replace the ze's first female fire chief. >> every day, we train for this. >> reporter: she's been running the department for a decade now. but that could soon come to a halt. >> the people of san francisco pay the fire chief over $300,000 a year. i think we're entitled to expect a minimal level of service an safety. >> reporter: on the heels of the supervisor's no vote of confidence last week, about 1400 firefighters and paramedics with local 798 and

various associations came up with a u nan must decision. they've drafted a letter to mayor ed lee expressing a grave crisis in leadership within the san francisco fire department. firefighters are fed up with an shortage of ambulance hitting a critical stage over labor day weekend when crews had to wait more than an hour in the field for ambulances to take pash patients to the hospital -- to take patients to the hospital. >> what's going going on is a reflection of failed leadership in a failed system. >> reporter: the chief said i'm very pleased to see while the dispatch center's medical call volume continues to rise, the transport unit response times are improving. firefighters say adding 16 new medics to the streets two weeks ago has helped but 90% of the wait times for life-threatening calls are still more than 12

minutes. the maximum time allowed is ten minutes. now, there is a fire commission meeting thursday. we've learned the chief is asking people to testify on her behalf. coming up david stevenson will have more at 5:00. he will get reaction from the mayor and possibly the fire chief. i'm tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. all right. thank you. the san francisco sheriff's department meanwhile plans to discipline five employees connected to the lynn smalling case. she disappeared from her hospital room at san francisco general one year ago. she was missing for 17 days before her body was found in a rarely used hospital stairwell. investigators concluded the case was poorly handled. the sheriff's department confirmed that five notices of intent to impose discipline have been prepared but not all have been served. happening now, traffic is moving again on interstate 680 in san ramon after a truck carrying wet concrete crashed

causing a major backup. this was the scene from newschopper2 as the northbound lanes were forced to merge down into just one lane. ktvu's alex savidge is live along the freeway to explain how this was caused by a truck carrying barrels of a concrete mixture. good afternoon, alex. >> reporter: good afternoon. those barrels weighing several hundred pounds each flew from the back of the work truck and went bouncing down the freeway with cars coming toward them. the chp sergeant told me this morning, he was simply amazed that no one was seriously hurt in this chain reaction crash. this happened about 8:30 this morning along 680 between bollinger and the chp says this construction truck was carrying nine of those barrels when the driver drifted first into another car and then slammed into the center divide. those barrels fell onto both the northbound and southbound sides of the freeway. some cars did hit them. at least eight cars were damaged but incredibly, there

were just two people treated here at this scene for minor injuries. we talked to the man who was driving that work truck carrying those barrels of the concrete mixture and also another driver involved in this accident. it was a frightening situation for everyone involved. >> i saw the barrel went to the other side. the northbound, and it hit someone else, the cement -- not the cement, but the stuff inside the barrels. >> it was all shock. it was my first car accident like this. >> reporter: that concrete slurry mixture from the barrels spilled all over the freeway. both sides. firefighters had to come in and spray down the road and sweepers had to be brought in for the cleanup. that left thousands of frustrated drivers stuck in a huge backup this morning in both directions on 680 but as chp sergeant told me, he's thankful the major traffic jam was the worst thing they had

to deal with. >> this is a traffic story instead of a tragedy story, it's just a matter of -- [inaudible] >> reporter: looking ahead now, the chp's commercial vehicle inspection team will be examining the truck involved in this accident to try to get a better sense of whether those barrels on the flat bed were properly secured by the construction company and then at that point, a decision will be made on whether anybody will be cited in connection with this morning's crash. again all of the lanes of 680 were just cleared within the last hour. the freeway is back open in both directions in san ramon. alex savidge, ktvu channel 2 news. police on the peninsula and in the south bay are searching for car thieves who stole at least 15 vehicles over the weekend. in one case, the thieves didn't even bother to cover their faces. janine de la vega joins us live from san jose to show us the

video and tell us where police are at in their investigation. good afternoon, janine. >> reporter: good afternoon, toeshry. we're -- tori. we're here at formula one motors. this vehicle specializes in high-end luxury vehicles. we're told the owner has not been able to sleep since the break-in. here's some surveillance video showing that break-in. the staff says that one of the suspects kicked in a glasser to a little after 3:00 on -- glass door a little after 3:00. the burglars waited for about an hour before coming back in and stealing five vehicles which include range rovers, bmws and mercedes-benzs. the thieves tested different keys and tested which one of the lights came on and that's how they matched up the cars with the keys. >> feel mistreated.

the big problem is that they do not -- they currently have access to some of our car inventory. because of that we were forced to tighten up security by providing a live guard 14/7 and adding cameras. >> reporter: the dealership has also changed together the vehicles through the car rims and blocked one of the entrances with a dumpster. san jose police have the video and are investigating the theft. at this point, they don't have anything to connect it to a similar break-in at auto bond motors in belmont. car thieves scaled a fence there sometime between 1:00 and 3:00 a.m. on sunday and broke into an outbuilding, grabbing cars keys that belonged to vehicles in the repair shop. police say nine customers' cars were stolen. >> we're looking into all possibilities. i wouldn't think that this was a random event, that there had to be some sort of organization

behind this. >> reporter: police are working with the dealership to confirm if more cars were stolen. so far, one of the stolen cars was recovered in oakland. we're hearing that another mercedes-benz dealership may have been hit in santa clara. we're working to confirm that. my colleague will have much more on this story coming up at 5:00 and 6:00. reporting live from san jose, janine de la vega, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. the pentagon is being tight- lipped about an imminent attack against the u.s. that was apparently disrupted overnight. the top military officials are sharing details about airstrikes on isis targets inside syria. ktvu's kyla campbell explains what the pentagon is saying and what it will not reveal. >> reporter: ships firing tomahawk missiles. fighter jets dropping bombs. the u.s. and five arab allies

teamed up against isis targets inside sirah. >> the strength of this coalition makes it clear that this is not america's fight alone. above all, the people and governments in the middle east are rejecting isil. >> reporter: they sit a dozen targets including command centers and training facilities. the pentagon says isis will adapt. the terrorist group is ordering militants to spread out and plend in with civilians. the administration says the u.s. acted alone dropping bombs on an al qaeda affiliate facility in syria. that disrupted an imminent attack against western targets and pope tensionally the u.s -- potentially the u.s. homeland. >> it must be clear against anyone who would plot against america that we'll not tolerate save havens for terrorists. >> reporter: but the pentagon would not give specifics on the threat to the u.s. or if it's

been averted. >> give us some time to assess this before we can answer that. >> reporter: the pentagon is starting the training program approved by a bipartisan majority in congress. the pentagon wants americans to be prepared saying it will take years to defeat isis. in washington, kyla campbell, ktvu channel 2 news. an airport parking service under fire. how the company used a man's death to try to promote its business. and it's mostly sunny and warm on this first day of fall. but ktvu's rosemary orozco will be here to tell you about the wet weather on the way. firefighters in el dorado county finally gaining ground against the king fire. conditions they are expected to get today and relief on the way.

a $3500 reward is being offered to catch whoever is vandalizing stores in downtown los gatos. the owner of out of the envelope says her store windows have been splashed three times costing her $5,000. the latest incident was a month ago. a restaurant, cafe and rice financial were also vandalized. business owners say the vand at should pay for the damage and face a little humiliation. >> i want them to wear a sandwich board that says i'm

the idiot that's been vandalizing downtown los gatos. i want them to walk up and down los gatos. >> reporter: the local police foundation and the mayor of los gatos offered a $2500 reward and a long-time resident, larry walker, added another thousand. he said if everyone chips in, the vandals could be caught a lot sooner. an airport parking website is pulling a controversial e- mail after outrage over its incense sensitive nature -- insensitive nature. they sent out the promotion with the subject line can on airparking kill? it suggested the death of a man two weeks ago in a parking lot at chicago's o'hare airport was linked to the aggravation and stress travelers can experience at the airport. it even included the line, don't be late and end up in a crate. >> i think that was horrible. that was the biggest mistake ever. you don't use nobody's death, i

think so. i think they could have went around that a little more professional. >> the company pulled the ad yesterday after many customers complained. it also issued an apology. oakland's trash pickup war has officially ended with a deal that splits the responsibility between two companies. the city council voted to reverse an agreement with lome startup california -- local startup california waste solutions for the ten-year recycling contract and is now handing garbage pickup to long- time service provader waste management. the smaller company which has been doing recycling pickup for about half of the city will be responsible for 100% of recycling in oakland. the texas-based waste management had sued and this will prevent a costly legal battle and some feel that waste solutions was not prepared for such a big job. in about two hours, a big turnout is expected at the commission hearing in san francisco. consumer rights groups are expected to fight pg&e's plan to add a $10 charge to every

utility bill. this meeting also follows last week's disclosure that pg&e went judge shopping in a critical rate-setting case directly tied to the pipeline disaster. three top pg&e executives were then fired and a top aide to the puc chief resigned. today, another red flag warning is in effect where firefighters are battling the king fire. despite the dry heat and erratic winds crews have doubled containment. sal castanedo has been monitoring the fire and joins us live from the newsroom. >> good afternoon. this is the biggest fire in california. this season it's burning in a very dry area of the forest affected by the drought. many firefighters are working 24-hour shifts and are starting to see some progress. >> the fire has burned almost 90,000 acres more than 130 square miles. that's larger than the city of atlanta off philadelphia.

it began september 13th. officials say it was intentionally set. calfire says firefighters had reached 35% containment as of early this morning. much of the work is getting rid of fuel along the fire's path and making backup plans in case it jumps containment. more than 5,000 firefighters were all over the state are here fighting this fire. some crews take breaks at this command center in emdorado -- el dorado county. >> it's very labor intensive as you can imagine. we need to feed them well and stay healthy. >> reporter: staying healthy is on the mind of everybody. several are reporting trouble breathing because of the bad air quality. >> coughing, you know, it's just -- your eyes are burning and itching. and you feel congested. >> reporter: merchants who rely on lake tahoe area business are

also out of luck. most people who don't live in the area are staying away. a red flag warning has been issued for northern california and that may take -- might make it harder for firefighters today. live in the newsroom, sal castanedo, ktvu channel 2 news. >> all right. thank you, sal. outside our doors this afternoon, another beautiful day for the first day of autumn. we have mostly sunny skies around the bay area. and temperatures slightly warmer for some. giving you a live look there. a fabulous view out towards the golden gate. you can see alcatraz and just a slither of fog there holding on close to the coast. i want to start here with the king fire smoke once again. the dense fog in place. sal was talking about a moment ago. poor visibility here. if you know anybody or if you yourself will be traveling that direction and poor air quality once again. that expiring at 8:00 this evening. want to take you to the -- to this part of california where

we have a flash flood watch. it starts tomorrow. ends at 5:00 a.m. on thursday having to do the burned areas and the wet weather coming our way. so that going on for tomorrow for those roadways and the homes sort of in the vicinity and below the burned area there. this is the system that's going to bring some rain, much-needed rain to northern california. could see a good amount for us here at home, we'll pick up -- i think amounts very similar to last week. i'm gonna show you in the afternoon. mostly sunny for today. by tomorrow we wake up with partly to mostly cloudy skies. notice where the rain line is, already entering northern california there. ride along the northwest corner into the corner. here we are at 8:00. it begins to creep in over parts of the north bay. late wednesday we may see the showers develop over the north bay and then while we sleep, it begins to slide south right over the bay area. thursday morning still on track

to be the wet time and definitely that possibility of having slick roads on the morning commute for thursday. temperatures right now, 69 in oakland. 77 in novato. 67 san francisco. for the afternoon today, upper 70s to low 80s to the north bay. we have 70s along the east bayshore line. low to mid-80s for our inland communities. how about the south bay? 79 san jose, 82 saratoga. for the peninsula this afternoon, 80 degrees, redwood city, 74 san bruno and san francisco, you will go to 72. nice weather there. again, wednesday, it looks like late in the day, showers do begin to develop over the north bay. most of us seeing a little bit of rain by thursday morning. we're going to leave in a very slight chance come friday morning and then we're drying out for the weekend. temperatures ranging in the upper 70s to low 80s for the inland cities. 60s and 70s around the bay. amountwise, we're looking at perhaps up to .25. >> okay. >> and that would be nice. it will be the north bay that usually gets some of that. >> thank you, rosemary. >> you are welcome.

police in arizona are investigating a large brawl that broke out during the 49ers/cardinals game. this is some video posted on youtube. witnesses say the fight involved a large group of people. they say punches were being thrown. fans were tossing chairs. glendale police were called to help security to try to get the situation under control. >> they were verbal confrontations. they were -- somebody said something that offended somebody else that somebody else considered rude. >> arizona police say two people were arrested for assault. one from southern california. the other from arizona. several fans were ejected. police say they are still looking at the video to determine who else was involved and whether more charges will be filed. street parking could soon be more difficult for drivers in san francisco. what the city is now doing with more than 900 parking spaces and how they say it could mean

more parking in the long run. prescription drugs. i was an addict. i'm recovered now, but an estimated 500,000 medical professionals are still out there, abusing drugs or alcohol. police, airline pilots, bus drivers... they're randomly tested for drugs and alcohol... but not us doctors. you can change that: vote yes on proposition 46. your lives are in our hands.

u.s. stocks mostly lower following disappointing economic news and u.s.-led airstrikes against islamic state militants. the world trade organization has sharply reduced its forecast pointing to uneven economic growth in china and the u.s. taking a live look at the big board, the dow is down 85. the nasdaq is down 10. s&p is down 8. parking in san francisco is already a challenge but it

could become even more difficult as the city works to convert 900 parking spaces into car share only spaces over the next two years. along clement street near 24th avenue in the city's richmond district, already 20 parking spaces have been converted to car share spots. so drivers and business owners are not happy. >> i think it is a waste of a parking spot. >> i think it's ridiculous. >> everybody kills each other for parking. it will have a huge impact. >> transit officials say every shared car takes dozens more off the road which could result in more parking spaces. car share companies will have to ping up the tabs for the -- pick up the tabs for the permits. dilapidated housing in san francisco has been renovated an will provide new homes for more than 100 veterans. we'll get a knew tour of the facilities tonight at 5:00.

thank you for making ktvu your choice for news. we're always here for you and you -- and you can follow us on twitter and facebook. have a great day.

(music) - [voiceover] there's fast food. there's even slow food. but how about future food? - we should be concerned about the future of food. beyond simply what it will taste like. - [voiceover] future farmers are manipulating light for indoor farms. our motto is "a photon is a terrible thing to waste." - [voiceover] one day your hamburger could be grown inside of a test tube. and your next snack, could be one of these creepy critters. - it kind of just tasted like fried bread or something. - [voiceover] what's the future bringing to your dinner table? we'll find out in this week's episode of earth 2050. hi, i'm joe penna and welcome to earth 2050. i'm at one of the premier food emporiums in the country. the famous reading terminal market here in philadelphia.