a wildfire is threatening homes in calaveras county. the fire is burning near the town of mountain ranch, not far from san andreas, burning about 50 acres since it started 90 minutes ago. this is called the facero fire, there are structures threatened in the area, and some evacuations have been ordered. we have seen the fire burning close to homes and out- buildings, as well as air drops, where they are helping to put out the fire. chief meteorologist bill meyer it's -- is tracking the weather conditions. >> i grew up a few miles away from there, but the terrain, i spent time there north of coraopolis, you have oaks and pines in that area, in the transition zone as you move up into the forest area, the pine area. the area here, there is not a lot of roads, what we can see from the helicopter, the maps, there is a lot of dirt roads. so what we're looking at is a fire that is being driven by terrain. there is not a lot of wind, you're looking at the smoke right now, seeing it go straight up. there is an indication, of course you know that

the only one this is significant is calaveras.give you an idea of the incredible amount of work being done in the field, i want to show you these photos. this tunnel that stands between us, located between the faults, that construction project started last summer, and is making great progress, the we have encountered some difficult situations in the field of geology. we have encountered methane gas in, which modifies the construction on this project, expanding to the middle of 2014. the work taking place in the water treatment plant is making great progress as well. it is one of the three main treatment facilities here, a massive amount of work is taking place in this reservoir. we are about what have we done with construction on this project -- we are about halfway done with construction on this project. as i mentioned, construction on the calendar is them -- calaveras a damn project, this will control the overall completion of the program, july of 2016. the bay tunnel is by far one of our most technically challenging projects. 5

the present dam has a big problem. >> the name calaveras comes from the calaveras fault that runs right below us. >> reporter: hundreds of people gather together today to watch as bulldozers begin the ceremonial first dig of a brand-new dam, a dam that will cost $416 million. engineers believe the calaveras dam could fail during a major earthquake. ten years ago, officials ordered the lake lowers and they have good reason to be concerned. the lower san fernando dam was severely damaged in the 1971 san fernando valley quake, forcing the evacuations of people. >> that one failed and we want to prevent this from experiencing the same thing. >> it's actually the best dam type for this particular site. >> reporter: daniel wade is the project manager. he says that once the dam is replaced, the lake will be safely rebuilt to its historic levels. the san francisco public utilities commission say it will take possibly up to four years to finish this dam, and depending on the weather, a couple more years to fill the lake. at the calaveras reservoir, don ford, cbs 5. >>> we are continuing to follo

calaveras is located along the alameda county line. crews started on the project to replace the earthen barrier. it's considered since the old dam was ruled unsafe ten years ago. it's san francisco's largest local source of drinking water. $416 million project is said to be completed in 2015. >> can you handle one more day of this weather. >> it's out there waiting for you. a lot of sunshine in our neighborhoods, look at the glow of the sun over oakland and the fireworks that will be display as the as are in town and warming trend through the weekend. >> 4,000 miles and five years later the message in a bottle, a sailor found on a beach. >> the iphone business is in high demand for a doctor. >> and parking space, sparking parking spots, no why finding a place to put your car may be a little harder in san francisco today. @ >>> a message that bottle washed up on a beach in hawaii. petty officer spotted the glass bottle during a cleanup project on the island. he found a letter from a sixth grader dated march 26,

chp has shut down calaveras on-ramp and should be open by 8:00 this morning.n earlier crash in san francisco, lanes blocked on 17th street between belvedere and roosevelt. for the latest traffic go to abc7news.com and click on the latest traffic link. >> listen to this one. if you are child of baby boomers don't count on getting any inherited answer. they are spending it. a survey showing only half say it's important to leave money to their children. one-quarter of boomers worry their kids will become lazy and one in five kids will waste the money. they range from 47 to 65 years old, after years of hard work, paying tuition they should treat themselves to vacation. what do you think. >> bill gates and warren buffett is leaving their kids to make their lives comfortable. >> check it out on facebook page. we'll be talking about it this morning. >> coming up, up side to a down economy. why america's financial issues could mean good news f hi honey, what are you doing? just having some chicken noodle. starting my progresso soup for lunch plan, huh. nope, just havi

county, . >>> back now to that breaking news, an out of control wildfire breaking out in calaveras county, the two closer towns, san andreas and mountain ranch, some type of house there, looks like a house, the flames are getting very close to some of these buildings. we saw pictures a moment ago where you can really see the flames jumping from tree to tree. the fire has burned anywhere from 30-50 acres, this is a relatively remote area. but as you can see here there are some homes in that area. and they are asking some folks there to evacuate because of this fire. we want to bring in our chief meteorologist big mauer now. >> i know this area pretty well, grew up in the foothills north of here. you're in the foothills, a little higher than the foothills, this is a terrain- driven fire, look at the smoke, not a lot of winds there. light and variable, sorry about the picture there, the largest gust is about 10 miles per hour. the winds are light, variable, near mountain ranch, the population there is just under 2000 people. when i saw terrain driven, now, this is different. when you think o

calaveras is located along the alameda county line. crews started on the project to replace the earthen barrier. it's considered since the old dam was ruled unsafe ten years ago. it's san francisco's largest local source of drinking water. $416 million project is said to be completed in 2015. >> can you handle one more day of this weather. >> it's out there waiting for you. a lot of sunshine in our neighborhoods, look at the glow of the sun over oakland and the fireworks that will be display as the as are in town and warming trend through the weekend. >> 4,000 miles and five years later the message in a bottle, a sailor found on a beach. >> the iphone business is in high demand for a doctor. >> and parking space, sparking parking spots, no why finding a place to put your car may be a little harder in san francisco today. ababababababababababababab >>> a message that bottle washed up on a beach in hawaii. petty officer spotted the glass bottle during a cleanup project on the island. he found a letter from a sixth grader dated march 26,

ground was broken during the past hour in the calaveras dam replacement project. the ceremony is still underway. chopper 2 sent this video a short time ago. the 1920 dam has major problems and lies near a major earthquake fault. it is parts of a $4.6 million overhaul at the water system which serves millions of people in the bay area >>> the nfl wants all of its teams to conduct full patdowns before games. right now, fans are only checked from the waist up but the nfl now wants security to search ticket holders from their ankles to their knees. the league is responding to violence in several parks. including the shooting in san francisco and someone got tazered inside jets stadium. >>> raiders and a's were among the most in dropping fans. the raiders attendance dropped 21% and a's dropped 40%. both teams have struggled on the field and there is a threat both teams could move to another city. >>> san francisco can now move forward with its massive redevelopment plan for the hunter's point naval shipyard. a judge ruled in favor of the city in a long legal battle wit

if you are commuting through the sunol grade, the on-ramp is closed southbound 680 calaveras road.ig went down the embankment overnight so apparently four tow crews are out there now still trying to clear things up. but the on-ramp is likely to remain shut down for at least another couple of hours until 8 a.m. >> we could all go to the baseball game. >> we could. >> if it wasn't so late. >> then tomorrow -- >> good morning, it's 4:30 . >> it happens. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >>> who is the best of the best? the california school that nearly cracked the 10 ten best colleges. >>> san jose state police warning students to be on the lookout after a report of a sexual assault here on campus yesterday morning. we have the details coming up. >>> will the supporters of prop 8 be able to appeal the overturning of the measure? what same-sex marriage supporters are doing coming up. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

. >>> a fire comes dangerously close to gnome calaveras county. >> dozens of members of a hockey teamkilled in a horrible plane crash. there's a bay area connection to at least one of the victims. >>> northbound 280 getting slow traffic. we'll tell you more coming up. [ man ] it's big. responds in a moment's notice. supports in times of need. same with aladdin. aladdin became the biggest in bail by treating people right. no one has lower prices, is faster or more professional than aladdin. that's why more people turn to aladdin than anyone. aladdin bail bonds. bigger because we're better. >>> evidence of a super nova in space last night will be visible on earth tonight and tomorrow night. this galaxy is only 21 million plight years away. astronomers said that's like income our backyard. it's the closest super nova in 25 years. you can see light exploding in the big dipper constellation. the best time to look is after sunset and when the moon is visible. >>> in california firefighters have stopped the forward progress of a wildfire in calaveras county. the blaze is burning in an area b

an accident that occurred overnight in sunol has shut down the calaveras on-ramp.n the meantime, time it doesn't affect your drive along 680. speeds are still moving at the limit in both directions. check in with mass transit, bart caltrain, muni and checking in problem free. for the latest traffic go to abc7news.com and click on the bay area traffic link. >>> danielle, thank you very much. >> three minutes into muni's fiscal year the transit agency is project ago $23 million deficit. more than $14 million will come from salaries and benefits despite some savings from muni's new contract with transit operators. fines and parking meter fees are down but the new chief says riders are no mood for fare increases so that option for dealing with the short fall is off the table. >> if you are a child of babyboomers don't count on getting inheritance. they are spending it. they are surprised only half say it's important to leave money to their children. one-quarter say they fear their kids will be lazy. they also believe after years of hard work, they should treat themselv

the new calaveras dam.cal because it was ruled unsafe ten years ago. the project will not only ensure the safety of our water supply but also provide construction jobs. >> the timing couldn't be better. the economic outlook is looking more positive. a lot of our folks are starting to work again this will be a shot in the arm to bring the regional economy back into shape. >>> the reservoir which is the largest local source of drinking water. $416 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2015. >>> you probably didn't notice it but san francisco bay got a little big they are week and so did the habitat for several endangered species as jonathan bloom reports a little digging is reversing decades of damage to the bay area's coastline. >> the photographers and conservationists gathered to watch one big machine to dig a hole. reaching the levee to make a salt pond. >> as the tides fill in the pond we'll start growing the plants and bringing the wildlife in behind them. >> this pond and others like it were

if you are commuting by the sunol grade, southbound 680 on- ramp shut down at calaveras road.rnight we had a big rig go down the embankment. just minor injuries but the on- ramp will be closed until 8 a.m. back to you. >> thank you. >>> just how safe are the nation's natural gas pipeline? the ntsb says there are serious problems. now a new report from a different agency paints a more positive picture. holly quan joins us by phone from kcbs radio. good morning. >> reporter: last week we heard from the national transportation safety board the group that investigated the san bruno explosion. it made tough recommendations to tighten up on the gas industry and allow for harsher fines for violations but those are only recommendations. the panel that can change regulation is the pipeline and hazardous material agency. it's designed to allay public fears. a washington state pipeline expert reviewed the report. >> that draft report may be a classic example of a group of very smart people in a room coming out with a stupid solution. >> reporter: there are technical errors in the report

only moments ago the right lane was reopened on 680 southbound at calaveras. lanes are open to traffic is still backed up to the dublin interchange. that drive time is still running 53 minutes from the altemont pass to the dublin interchange. it also backed up a westbound 580 ride. it is still jammed to the altemont pass. the drive times are running over an hour, close to 80 minutes from the 205 interchange heading back towards the dublin interchange. there was an accident on the golden gate bridge and a crash inside the walled old tunnel, both of which have been cleared. heavy traffic remains with a one hour drive time as you head south from central san rafael. the drive time from nevada to central san rafael is running at about 45 minutes. both of these committees have been ravaged this morning. a wall the finder can of the east coast of the united states, it is turning away from the united states moving in between the u.s. coastline and a bermuda we have a video to show you what troubles tourmaline did around the atlantic area. this damage most likely cause

so in calaveras, imperial, san bernardino, siskiou, fema promised the money, they met the criteria, they'reaiting and right now they can't receive the $3.5 million they need to recover. that's what this impasse is about. this isn't about make-believe. this is about real people cut off, shut off, businesses shut down, people laid off, suffering, and let's not have a political spat around here. this isn't a partisan issue. when your neighbor's house is on fire, don't haggle over, you know, the price of the garden hose. get the hose out, connect it and put that fire out. now, the good news is, we have people from both parties starting to realize we have to do this. we have to send a message to the house. an emergency is an emergency. we have to put aside politics for the good of our country. so i'll close where i started. the dictionary definition of an emergency, serious situation or occurrence that happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action. we all agree we have serious situations in our great land. we all agree we didn't expect all this. although if i might say, with a different hat