unexpected delay for hundreds of commuters traveling through fort mchenry tunnel. >> a fire inside the tunnel just as the evening commute was picking up made for an absolute traffic nightmare. thick black smoke was first spotted just before 5:00. inside the tunnel, the motorists closest to the smoke and flames were told to get out of their cars and get out of the tunnels. drivers, police and fire officials gathered as crews went inside to see exactly what happened and then to figure out what needed to be done next. we have been covering this all evening. we have a live report. >> the dramatic pictures that you just saw were not the result of a fiery crash or any kind of collision. instead, officials tell us a school bus experienced some sort of mcalbreak down and ignited a very scary breakdown inside the

tunnel. a black cloud loomed above the fort mchenry tunnel tuesday as the evening commute got underway. the smoke came the a school bus that caught fire. officials tell 11 news no children were onboard the bus at the time and the driver and assistant who were managed to escape unharmed. >> basically at this point, it is a matter of getting folks out of their cars that were behind the bus. as quickly as possible and getting detours set up. >> people evacuated their vehicles. firefighters attacked the flames inside the tunnel. >> the bus did get fully engulfed and it did cause some damage to the ceiling tiles. >> northbound traffic came to a standstill stranding commuters. >> i live in bel air and work in columbia. probably in my seven years

making the drive this is about the worst. first time i'm walking on interstate 95. >> i've been on the roof all day working. i'm ready to go home. i would pay $20 for a bottle of water. r >> it took four thundershowers reopen the northbound -- hours to reobserve the northbound lane. >> i wish i had a grill. >> if i had left five minutes sooner, then maybe i would be in it so i can't complain. >> rescue workers say it is amazing the bus did not cause a chain reaction crash inside the tunnel. >> just have you to grin and bear it. >> it is structurally sound, however right now two of the northbound lanes are still closed because smoke damage, damage to the light fixtured inside the tunnel, crews are working to repair them now.

it is not clear if those two lanes will be open in time for the morning commute. >> local fire crews haven't dealt with a tunnel fire like that since last year. skyteam 11 was there january 19, 2009. traffic was backed up for miles and motorists were forced to evacuate their vehicles and also stand out in the cold. luckily no one was injured in that fire. another major breaking international news story that we have all been keeping a close watch on tonight. the tests are deend after more than two months deep inside a copper nine chile, 33 men are now just a few excruciating minutes from their rescue. >> can you imagine their familys? 69 days they have been waiting for the men to come up. we know a rescue workers is

below ground and it is hoped in moments the first of the miners would be brought up. they decided they would probably bring up those that were injured the most at first and then more healthier ones and the stronger ones towards the end of it is how they had decided. of course family has been gathering there for days. the president has cheered and celebrated. this has been an international effort. they were drilling in the other day and went back in and refigured how to do it. that tunnel that you are looking at is actually the cap and it takes about 15 minutes for the journey down for the capsule to get and that is one of the families and then another 15 minutes for the journey up. it is expected about 48 hours all in all before they get the last of the 33 miners out. >> that represents the first of the miners, of the 33 miners trapped for 69 days, 2040 feet

below the earth's surface. during the last 69 days all of the family members of the trapped miners created a virtual city outside. you can just imagine the excitement and anticipation and eagerness of this family waiting to see their loved one. some talked about wanting to taste their mom's cooking for the first time. wanting to see their wives and families. this is an amazing effort that has never happened before. 33 men trapped close to past two months and are now one by one being pulled to the surface by this phoenix. one rescue worker had gone down to greet the workers before the first one came up. you can see the elation as we watched it here at the tv station. the elation of the 33 as one of the rescue workers went down. hugs and greeting them saying

you're only a few minutes away. the entire process of lifting the 33 men out will take. 48 hours. we're hoping this process will go as smoothly as possible. never before has anyone been below ground for this long and survived. they sent up notes saying they were doing well. one miner even had a child born while he was down. he will see his baby for the first time. gonzalez is with him. following behind him is roberto rose, a paramedic. the first miner that is to come up is believed to be one of those that has not fared as well as the others in health terms. of course with each miner they want to make sure the jolt to their system coming up out of that mine, that they are well prepared to handle any health situation that might come up. there is his little boy. can you imagine what he has gone through? looked near tears and the

excitement. >> on top of the phoenix, in order to facilitate these miners who have been trapped for so long, in order for them to feel in contact with the folks on the surface, they have installed a television camera and a speaker so that during the course of them being lifted, which would take between 10-15 minutes, that they would be able to at least speak to someone on the surface so they didn't feel alone. remember, this cage is not the largest of cages but we also know in the last two months, plus, most of the men, if not all of the men have lost an average of 20 pounds so there is no concern as to whether or not any of the 33 men would be able to fit in a rather confining cage and be lifted some 2,000 feet taking. 15 minutes. >> this of course as we said will take about 15 minutes. for journey. we are going to break away.

we will break back in if the rescue comes by 11:30 and bring you to pictures live. you can keep up to date of what's going on on our website, wbaltv.com. we have a slide show of the timeline of the events and you can watch the video and we will bring it to you as it happens, all right there on wbaltv.com. >> in other news this evening, we have just learned of a b.g.e. worker in serious condition tonight who was badly burned working on power lines. officials stay worker was burned over 55-60% of his body. he was rushed to bayview medical center for immediate treatment.

>> in our commitment 2010 coverage, the latest tv ads in the race for governor are bringing flux into the mix. the ad opens the door to a new accusation by ehrlich that o'malley is accepting large campaign donations by the gaming industry. dave collins checked out those facts. you can watch that fact and david's other reports by logging on to wbaltv.com and clicking on politics. now there is another race that is slowly gaining a lot of attention here at home. >> the two took part in a debate tonight in catonsville. george? >> this was first debate between former state delegate and

current councilman. no personal attacks at each other tonight. this was a good old-fashioned issues debate. >> they the men vying to be the next baltimore county executives sparred over the big issues like education. >> our tags paris should have the opportunity through the availability -- taxpayers should have the opportunity to send their kids to wherever they think they will get the best education. >> i don't want vouchers. i don't want charter schools. i think that is offensive, quite frankly because it says to us that we're not doing a proper job. >> another big issue, the county budget and taxes. >> this present budget is actually 4% less than last year's budget so i take ownership of the budget process that we already have. >> i think i can ring 3% to 5% waste out of the operating

budget. i'm looking at. $80 million. >> from the larger issues to the local ones. ken wants to build a negro league museum. >> and create a baseball diamond. flanked by two pavilions. that will become the heart and soul of the liberty road corridor. >> frankly my knowledge and understanding of the needs of the citizens of baltimore county, particularly those drents who is reside on liberty road, is not one of symbols but a desire for action and reality. >> and these two candidates plan to debate more before election night. >> thank you, george. going back out now to chile, the miner has come out. celebrations and good news. we see that there has just happened where they have the

phoenix and of course that is the capsule. he is not out of the capsule yet. they have pulled him ip up. he was the miner chosen to come up first. moments before you saw his family gathered there waiting. it is the first glimpse of any of these 33 miners that anyone has seen other than through video for the last 69 days. there was a rescue worker that went down after him as well as a paramedic. we can see any moment, oh, there he is. >> a reunion of father and son. you have to understand that this has to have been the longest 15 minutes in his life. they are being pummed 2,000 feet up a shaft to final -- pulled up 2,000 feet up to a shaft to finally be reunited after 69 days. we assume that is his wife there. there have got to be hugs and tears. this is an unbelievable moment

in their lives and in the lives throughout the world to see an event like in this. 33 miners trapped for two months, all alive and well and one by one in the next 48 hours are expected to be pulled to safety and reunited with their loved ones. >> that capsule is going right back down. it should take a number of hours but everyone happily seeing that end successfully. >> three days more than 100 miles out at sea, six boaters once feared dead, today, reunited with their loved ones. >> how he is teaching local kids a thing or two about staying in shape. >> it was so frightening. >> the reality of foreclosures? are they legit? that's what dozens of states plan to investigate. >> and after a couple of days of temperatures in the 80's, more

fall-like weather moving our way. 63 at the airport now. 68 downt

>> with that, the first ever ed reid fitness day was underway. schools were led by ed reid in a day of fitness, fun and nutrition. the day was sponsored by reid's eye of the hurricane foundation. >> word of economic support when the federal reserve -- the dow finished above the 11,000 mark. the nasdaq and the s&p finished up the day in an upward trend. some 40 states including maryland are teaming up to make sure that every foreclosure in

this country was legit. it comes on the heels of announcements from several companies saying thousands of filings were signed without verification. lawmakers are pushing for a foreclosure moratorium but there is fear doing that could set back the economic recovery. >> that means houses and neighborhoods remain empty even if they are buyers ready, willing and able. >> in maryland, court officials have yet to respond to the request for a 60-day foreclosure halt. >> when you think about google, wind energy is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. it is known for taking risks. that's why it is getting behind a massive clean energy project along the eastern seaboard. >> today, google and a group of investors pledged $1.8 billion toward the deep water renewable energy system to support wind farms along the atlantic coast.

>> it is in line with our commitment to a clean energy future, we believe in being good environmental stewards makes good business sense. >> a good opportunity for states to create a new industry for jobs. it is company behind the $500 billion venture that would lead to a grid that powers 15 states. >> we're talking about building a system that is going to result in thousands of megawatt s of offshore winds being delivered to the east coast. >> it is the latest for google and the latest venture. they have been testing a fleet of robo cars, high-tech machines able to stop, steer and navigate using program routes. >> i get excited doing this project because it shows that google is taking big bets for the future. >> bets that they say they are

used to taking. >> they are not afraid of failure. the complication for them is that these sectors of business outside of web development and silicon valley innovation may not see failure in the same way google does. >> along with new technology and wind to change life as we know it on and off the internet. >> the project to build deep water transmission lines for wind farms could take well over a decade to complete and supports say it will need the backing of congress and funding legislation. >> three days, stranded 120 miles off the new jersey coast in a boat taking water and without power, it is safe to stay six friends are very lucky to be alive tonight. it was a tearful reunion in atlantic city for the neand loved ones they thought they would never see -- they left south jersey for what was

supposed to be a 24-hour deep sea fishing trip. their 32-foot boat was left without power floating further into the atlantic. a coast guard station heard a disstress call and they somehow found the boat last night. the boat was towed to shore. they seemed in good spirits and not one single fish was caught. >> well, a little taste of summer here in mid october, just about over now. the cold front went through this evening. a couple of isolated showers popped up but it is beginning to change the temperature pattern around. we hit 81 degrees today at b.w. marshall. with the scattered showers pushing south, a good independence tchation the cool front has moved -- indication

that the cool front has moved south. 60 in harrisburg. we're going to see the temperatures coming down from the north in our region tomorrow morning. chilly air moving south. already some temperatures in the 50's to the north and west of baltimore at this hour. it will be in the 40's and 50's at dawn. son culping up at 7:15 -- sun coming up at 7:15. there is that front sliding south into southern virginia now and high pressure is coming out of eastern canada. this time of year could bring cool air. that means some cloudy, wet, chilly conditions tr thursday as that system approaches. tomorrow, not too bad. thursday, the rain moves in from the west. there might be a period of two of moderate to heavy rain. strong, gusty winds and chilly air will follow this storm

heading into the upcoming weekend. computer models cranking out good rain in spots anywhere from a half inch to an inch and a half of rain. some areas 1 1/2 to three inches of rain possible thursday as this system moves through. so it is going to get wet. tomorrow, though, enjoy the sun before that front arrives. we're keeping an eye on hurricane paula very close to cosea medical now. it is a potent little hurricane. winds up to 100 miles an hour. looks like it is going to brush the yucatan and hit the western tip of cuba and it is a pretty good storm right off the yucatan peninsula of mexico at this hour. 63 degrees tomorrow. partly cloudy skies. good chance for rain. temperatures in the 50's. windy conditions it is a showers taper off friday and still

rather blustery on saturday. good running temperatures for the marathon. saturday's high, 62. the ravens will put the game plan phenomenon line. we'll -- plan on the line. we'll explain next in sports. ask 36, 43, 31, 37, and 10.

now for megaball. 15. tonight's winning numbers are 36, 43, 3 1,37 and 10 and the megaball is 15. [ laughing ] hey, let me see that map for a second. just drive, we'll get there! adventure runs on dunkin', with our maple cheddar breakfast sandwich. hurry in for all the sweet flavors of breakfast in one delicious sandwich. sweeten up your breakfast with a delicious maple cheddar breakfast sandwich today.

i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. the real andy harris. his past attacks have been called deceptive, his new attack, false. harris voted for deregulation increasing our electric bills by 72% it's not surprising, harris always sides with the big guys. he opposes cracking down

on wall street and supports tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. harris even opposed making big insurance cover cancer screenings. andy harris' extreme ideas will cost us. eaks to send jobs over seas. i think we need tax breaks to send kids to college. so i worked for a $2,500 tax credit to help pay for college. fought to get pell grants expanded and insisted that college loans go directly to kids instead of through banks. i'm barbara mikulski. i approve this message. because it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation. right? yeah!!! >> skilled position players get a lot of attention for the ravens. 133 yards rushing last sunday and the ravens have to stop new

england quarterback tom brady this sunday. a lot of the responsibility for the 4-1 start belongs to the offensive line. when the ravens have the ball, tom brady can't do anything with it, right? they have the second most touchdowns in the nfl and have given up the fewest sacks. when you control the line of scrimmage like that, you control the game. >> the offensive line is always going to be the key, you know? the game is built -- you start in the trenches. when you build your team you start in the trenches and the game is won and lost in the trenches. if you can't win in the trenches, you can't win. that's what we have been built on from the beginning and that is never going to change. >> much more from the ravens head coach tonight on the john harbaugh show.

patriots love a new challenge waiting for the ravens sunday. branch gives tom brady the deep threat the patriots lost when they traded randy moss to minnesota. he won the super bowl m.v.p. as a patriot in 2009. >> they didn't come to that. i thought i can just really get in there but they didn't call any of those plays. >> the series between tampa bay and texas. texas beat tampa bay 5-1. rangers win their first playoff series in franchise history to advance and face the yankees.

we can't show you the broadcast while the broadcast of the post game continues with that. typically high school football scores, 46-6. the top ranked team in the state winning 46-0. top ranked river crest high led in the final minute of the coach where the two head coaches agreed to led dylan who has slesh really a cerebral palsy. >> the players left the game talking not about the outcome, not about the score, but about the power of seeing dylan galloway's impossible dream galloway's impossible dream coming true.

woman 1 sync: i knew what bob ehrlich did as governor. man 1 sync: raised my property taxes 60 percent. woman 2 sync: let utilities hike our rates 72 percent. woman 1 sync: but i didn't know what he's done since he got fired as governor. man 2: ehrlich's raked in millions. man 3: he worked for a wall street bank that took 10 billion dollars from the bailout. woman 3: 10 billion of our money. woman 4: our money. woman 5 sync: and he worked for another bank that collapsed. man 4: costing tax payers 17 million. anncr: tell bob ehrlich big banks don't need help. middle class marylanders do.

>> all right, so cooler temperatures are on the way. the front moves south of us tonight. we'll see partly cloudy skies on this high of 67 tomorrow. only in the 50's for thursday, friday. windy conditions for the marathon, but great running temperatures. a high of about 62 on saturday. >> all right. >> only if the wind is at your back. >> we'll take it. thanks. have a good night, everybody.

bob ehrlich says he wants to fix maryland. but he increased state spending by record amounts. ehrlich raised $3 billion in taxes and fees... including property taxes... and a 40% increase in college tuition. and now he's made over $1 billion in new promises... with no plans to pay for them... except for cutting education. cuts that will lay off teachers and increase class sizes. that's not a budget. and bob ehrlich's not the kind of leader... we can trust. ande