overnight. three firefighters died fighting those wildfires out west. this morning, we have new information about how the flames overtook them and sent a town running. and preparing for the pope. nbc10 is about to embark on a journey similar to what tens of thousands will see when they go to see the holy father in philadelphia. looking at radar here, a few showers out there to the west. nothing to worry about, though. but another hot and humid start on the day here. we will have the timing on wet weather in your forecast to help you plan your day. good morning, this is "nbc 10 news today" on a thursday already. i'm chris cato. we begin with meteorologist bill henley and his first alert forecast. you have a pretty clear radar

picture there, right? >> we are tracking showers moving into the western suburbs but certainly clear in philadelphia. showers moving through maryland and they are moving into lancaster county area. scattered light showers heading toward lancaster and stay to the west most of the morning but maybe not all. could see late day showers and thunderstorms. the first showers could arrive before noon time. 76 degrees at 6:00. steamy again today. near 80 at 9:00. then middle 80s as though first showers stop popping up at noon today. we will will through the future cast hour-by-hour to show you when the showers are more likely to move into your area when i'm back in ten minutes. here is jessica boyington watching your first alert traffic. around 24th street we do have some road work on the eastbound side. not blocking out in lanes but off the exit ramp, though. heading eastbound toward 95 but no backup behind that scene.

three minutes from 95 toward the schuylkill expressway or if you have to head 30th street station, take a look at the rest of the drive time here's. no delays for the new jersey or mat ko or septa speed lines. three firefighters were killed in washington state. tracy davidson is live for us in our digital operations center with new information on how this happened. >> the new information we got the three firefighters were involved in a crash and then the flames swallowed up their vehicle. the three were battling a fire in north central washington near the town of twist. four other firefighters were hurt. one is in critical condition. officials have ordered people in several nearby towns to evacuate as the flames continue to advance. 29,000 firefighters in all are battling about a hundred

wildfires burning throughout the west. the fast moving flames forced a television reporter to clear out of area. this is gabe cohen from the nbc affiliate in spokane. he was in the middle after live report when he was ordered to evacuate. drought and heat have combined to make this fire season the most active in the u.s. in recent years. live in the digital operations center, tracy davidson, nbc10 news. was yesterday's heat responsible for the death of a runner in south jersey? investigators are trying to figure that out. the man died while running in ft. washington state park and white marsh -- i'm sorry, not south jersey. montgomery county. a group of friends went for a run last night and the man got separated from that group. police think he got disoriented from the heat and fell down a ravine. his body was found hours late. the coroner will perform an autopsy today. he is one of philadelphia's

most beloved athletes. arguably the greatest second baseman in phillies history and this morning he is heading to another team. chase utley is now a los angeles dodger. that news came down late last night after trade rumors had swirled all day. the six-time all-star made his major league debut in 2003 and helped lead the phillies to five divisional championships and the world series title in 2008. during a news conference last night, utley expressed what it really means to be leaving the city he calls home. >> it's not so much changing uniforms, but it's really about leaving the city that has given so much to me over the course of the 12 or 13 years that i've been here. >> the phillies, in exchange get outfield darnell sweeney and minor league pitcher jon ritchie in the trade. jimmy rollins was traded to the dodgers in december so he rejoins him in los angeles.

4:04. preparing for the pope. if you didn't get one of those septa regional rail passes for the weekend of the papal visit earlier this month, you have another chance. tomorrow, septa will begin one-day sales and $10 each and riders can purchase up to ten passes for each day, that is saturday and sunday, until the passes sell out. this morning, we have learned that thousands of first responders will use parking lots under the ben franklin bridge as a staging area during the papal visit. that area will include a mobile kitchen and canteen, a live look at the bridge here which will be closed to vehicle traffic while the pope is here. the bridge will remain open to pedestrians as we know. and thousands of them are expected to make that pilgrimage across the bridge to see the pope. transportation officials told us last week this is not an easy walk but we wanted to give you a better idea of what at least a portion of it will look like. who better to do that? nbc's matt delucia who is live

at the ben franklin bridge in camdenton. you're not wearing your dress shoes this morning, matt. >> reporter: no, i'm not. i got the sneakers on because we are going to be doing a lot of the walking and a lot of the executives and city officials open the past several weeks have been telling us you have to be prepared to do a lot of walking. here is the thing. philly is xeexpecting 2 million people to pack the park and i'm told hundreds of thousands of people could be expected to walk over the ben franklin bridge to get here. the bridge is shut down during the papal visit and only pedestrian traffic and most of camden is shut town to traffic. this bridge alone is 1.8 miles long one end to the other and then you'll be walking through the city, through the crowds and to your spot to see the pontiff and that can add, from what we can calculate, about four miles. here is the kicker. only half of your journey. keep in mind you have to walk back once the mass is over and

almost everyone will be doing that statement. it comes down to planning. i'm calling it the three w's. plan for walking, plan for weather, and plan for water. it could be raining or it could be hot and humid, or it could be a beautiful day. it's a good idea to bring a lot of water with you as well and stay hydrated throughout this whole thing. right now, we are at the base of the ben franklin bridge and we will be back again in 30 minutes. we have been talking to some of the officials the past few days as these meetings and as the planning still comes to fruition is now a little more than a month away until that papal visit. then we make our way over the bridge and up to the art museum to give you an idea of what this pilgrimage will be like if you so choose to do that. for now, live in camden, matt delucia, nbc10 news. >> we will check back in with matt as he makes his journey the next few hours. the pope is reaching across religious lines. the story we uncovered in the pope's homeland of argentina.

at 4:30 we will look how delaware is preparing for the crowds and a look at security at 4:45, the plan outside of philadelphia to make sure everyone stays safe. happening today, a new york man will be sentenced for letting his underaged daughter drive vehicle that crash and killing three teens from bucks county. these three died in that crash in the poconos last summer and they were students at council rock high school south. michael admitted letting his 15-year-old daughter drive his suv last august and it flipped several times on a road in wayne county. ware could face up to 21 years in prison. if you're driving near university city in philadelphia today, get ready for some extra traffic. that is because it's move-in day for freshmen at penn. freshmen starting this year will graduate in 2019. that makes me feel old this morning! philadelphia university will begin its school year with a special ceremony today. the school's president will welcome 600 new students.

the university will award medals to four high school educators nominated by incoming freshmen. nine minutes after 4:00. another steamy morning. another morning that we are tracking some showers. and some thunderstorms and a potential for heavy rainfall coming through overnight tonight and into friday. but then later on, friday, we start clearing out. we are headed to a warm, not a hot, weekend. a break from the high heat. but not the high humidity. that is still with us. 76 and steamy at reading and cape may warm again this morning at 75 degrees with clouds. scattered clouds overhead. no sign of fog at the shore. we will see sunshine fade there. we are seeing some fog in northern burlington county.

wrights town down to half visibility. the showers are heading into lancaster county and during the morning hours, late morning hours we could see scattered showers developing in delaware. as we go into the afternoon, a better chance of seeing the line of showers and possibly some thunderstorms developing. that's at the 2:00 hour. that line will be on the move and into the philadelphia area, paengs just potentially just in time for the afternoon commute. tonight a chance of heavier rainfall and the extended future weather when i'm back in ten minutes with more on that. >> ten minutes after 4:00 now. time for a check of traffic if you're heading out the door. we want to give you a heads-up on anything that may slow you down this early in the morning. jessica boyington is here with that. >> we are pretty empty so far this morning on 95. right around betsy ross bridge you can see that reflected here if you're heading northbound or southbound, all lanes cleared. the southbound drive time from

wood haven road towards the vine street expressway 14 minute trip as of right now. the p.a. turnpike nice and green cars moving and westbound eneastbound, 24 at the most minute trip. next 20 minutes a check-in with new jersey road. i hope you're not eating breakfast now. we will talk about restaurant roaches. almost a week since the insect invasion at a popular chinese restaurant on the main line. this morning, we have new information what health department inspectors found when they returned for another inspection. plus this. >> that isn't what anyone wanted to go through what i went through. >> a different kind of trouble for a south jersey restaurant. what one customer says was written on her receipt that is so bad, we can't show it to you on tv. a motel explosion. this is what it looked like after the blast but, next, we have new video showing the exact moment it exploded. you got to see it.

we have new video of an explosion in washington state. there it went. the building behind the one in front of the camera looked like a bomb hit it, doesn't it? authorities are looking into the possibility now that a person leaving the motel damaged a gas line. here is what is left behind this morning. the building completely gone. the gas injured a gas worker minutes after the hotel manager wisely evacuated the building after she smelled the gas leak. two firefighters were injured in the explosion but no guests were hurt. philadelphia is preparing, of course to welcome pope francis. in the meantime, in his hometown of argentina the pope is known for reaching across religious

boundaries. he wrote a best selling book with one of his closest friends. he embraced conversation here. here is in buenos aires. he talked about working together on common goals. jim rosenfeld spoke with one of the religious leaders at that event who is the rabbi at the oldest synagogue in argentina and a member of argentina's parliament. >> reporter: how do you think he will be accepted and play there, if you will? >> i think that he don't make any distinction about the countries because he connect, not with the country, he connects with the people in every place. to outreach, to outreach the people that have nothing, that capitalism is a way, it's not the end. >> nbc10 news was the first

local station to visit the pope in argentina. all this morning we are sharing stories about jim's trip there where he learned about the culture and experiences that helped shape the pap pas papacy a local church had agreed to let a group of gay catholics use their space for workshops on lgbt issues but now in statement to nbc10, the archdiocese says they decided to rescind that offer after asking the archdiocese for guidance. the archdiocese shays sponsored activities should sponsor the teaching of the church and gay catholics say that is against the pope's teachings. >> this is a clear illustration that the pope's teachingsc are not being accepted by the archdiocese of philadelphia.

>> t4 actor 16 now. food delivered with a side of vulgarity. in cumberland county, a woman says she was shocked by a receipt she received last month at danny's pizza pizzazz. it included racial and sexually explicit comments on the receipt. >> i was very offended and upset and disrespected to get those words on a receipt. >> the owner of danny's pizza would not talk on camera, but he did tell nbc10 he can't be entirely sure where the vulgar receipt came from. inspectors don't know where the roaches came from but they say they found more of them at yangming restaurant. five days after a customer reported finding roaches in her food. investigators gave them five days to clean up but when they

went back yesterday, they found more bugs and containers of moldy food. the wilmington fire department is going door-to-door to make sure people have working smoke detectors and they will give out fire prevention pamphlets and small smoke detectors if people need them. today they are out on the streets of wilmington. over in camden county the big concern is keeping kids safe as they walk to school. the county is giving away signs that say yield to pedestrians. the county says it's critical and the law that drivers stop for people in crosswalks and school crossings. coming up on 19 after 4:00. it is getting ready to get us a bit showery this afternoon.

right now, it's dry. no sign of any showers or thunderstorms in the immediate philadelphia area, but the humidity is back for another round. you can feel it in the air and that is going to help fuel showers and thunderstorms. the first arrive later this morning. 77. humidity is even higher than yesterday at 88%. you can see the cloud over the city. this is a live view from here at the nbc10 news studios. a warm muggy breeze this morning. a warm start all around. 77 in northeast philadelphia. wilmington is at 75. look at blue bell, 77 degrees this morning. 76 in reading and 70s across delaware and south jersey. a warm, muggy start and keep an umbrella handy. clouds to our west and you'll find showers and thunderstorms and the heavier rain is moving through the ohio valley and that is due in tonight. look atooey that line of shower moving through the ohio valley. before that line comes in in the evening showers we will see spotty showers in our area later this morning and into the afternoon. future rainfall shows by 9:00 this evening, here comes the

heavy rainfall in the area. a potential by 2:00 tomorrow morning of an inch in pottstown. look how quickly that ramps up. close to 2 inches in northeast philadelphia. by the time this one is starting to move away later tomorrow morning. get some wet weather ahead and it begins today. mostly cloudy skies with showers developing later this morning. the best chance of showers and thunderstorms, this afternoon and into this evening. temperatures will be in the 80s today. got the weekend forecast and full seven-day forecast the next half hour. >> we always look forward to the weekend forecast. thanks, bill. we also look forward to checking on roads at 4:20 with nbc10 news's first alert traffic reporter jessica boyington. anything popping up this morning? >> still a little quiet, chris. definitely good news for drivers heading out the door right now. 295 belong the black horse pike everything moving along. northbound. southbound into the philadelphia area still 13-minute drive time from 38 up towards this point at the black horse pike. if you're heading out the door on the 42 freeway in new jersey

as well, five-minute drive time heading northbound from 55 up towards the walt whitman bridge and no problems on the walt. taking a look at the rest of the area bridges no problem on the ben and betsy is doing okay as well and back in ten minutes with more drive times. 4:21. in the race for the white house, taking aim at number one. >> look. mr. trump is clearly got talent. i mean, there is no denying that. >> and the compliment ended there. this morning, the main reason former governor jeb bush says republicans should not be supporting the current party front-runner. a popular picnic returns to philadelphia today. what you need to know about dinner enblanc and how to find out the secret location.

4:23. decision 2016 now. the race for president, donald trump and jeb bush held dueling town hall meetings in new hampshire last night and both, of course, took shots at each other. trump criticizing the former florida governor as a low energy candidate who drew a smaller crowd than he did. >> you know what is happening at jeb's crowd as you know, just down the street? they are sleeping! they are sleeping now. >> trump talked about other issues, including iraq, immigration and building a wall along the border. as he mentioned just down the street, jeb bush held his own town hall meeting and he fired back against trump and said that trump is a flip-flopping democrat. >> people are very angry about how washington is not working. he has tapped into that. i respect people that feel the way they do for sure. but when people look at his record, it is not a conservative record. let's support someone who you

don't have to guess where he stands because he is consistent. >> trump and bush are currently first and second in polling in the critical primary state of new hampshire. in pennsylvania this morning, progress to report in the effort to end the state's seven week long budget stalemate. after meeting with governor wolf yesterday in harrisburg, top republican lawmakers said they will meet one of wolf's key demands to boost aid to public schools but they still have to iron out those details and it's not clear yet when the two sides will meet again. pennsylvania has been operating without a budget now for more than seven weeks. president obama says he will visit new orleans to mark the tenth anniversary of hurricane katrina. the storm slammed into that city on august 29th, 2005. the president says he will meet with loved ones who lost their loved ones. the storm killed 2,000 people

ten years ago. judges announced the finalists yesterday after going through 350 entries. these are renderings of the design. congress has dedicated a park near the white house to become a national memorial for the first world war. the design is expected to be picked early next year. >> happening today. anticipation is building for this year's dinner on enblanc celebration in philadelphia. an estimated 4,500 people will gather at a still vet location. this is a look at last year's event in center city. don't get mustard on you. find out minutes before it happens of where it's happening. we have a link on nbcphiladelphia.com if you want to know more. a muggy morning and a showery afternoon.

showers, thunderstorms, even possibly at the shore. right now it's dry on beach avenue. currently at nbc10, 76 degrees at 4:27. jessica boyington has your first alert traffic. easy for me to say, jessica. >> we are doing okay so it's a good thing. we like to see this on 202. empty roadways around route 30 coming up at 4:30. we will check in with the schuylkill expressway and see how that is doing. we are live outside citizens bank park where a few hours ago, the end of an era for chase utley fans. coming up, we will show you the classy send-off by the second baseman.

number 26 traded. this morning, philadelphia fan favorite chase utley is headed to his hometown of los angeles. we are live with reaction from philly fans. new this morning. a runner found dead at a local park. investigators believe the heat and humid contributed to his death. another steamy start if you take a live look outside. 76 degrees. late today the heat and humidity may give way to showers and storms. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm chris cato. we could use rain out there too. it's dry the past feud. bill henley is standing by with his first alert forecast. >> it is steamy again. temperatures are warm. 77 in philadelphia right now. we are watching for some showers. the first showers of the morning just started in chester county,