and even though it's miles away from the bay area, the "rim" fire in yosemite national park could be big trouble for san francisco's water supply. good afternoon, i'm frank mallicoat. michelle griego is on assignment. right now fire crews are making progress against the giant wildfire near yosemite national park. containment of the "rim" fire is now at 15%. up from 7% just last night. he fire shows up in this -- fire clearly shows up in this nasa satellite image. flames have burned hundreds of square miles. the fire threatens 4500 structures and the hetch hetchy reservoir, the main source of clean water for the city of san francisco. just within the past 20 minutes or so, governor brown toured a cal fire staging area, saw how crews are battling the "rim" fire. he said the state will need more federal resources to get the job done. >> california's got real talent and a very expert team to fight fires. but it takes money and it takes more money before we get finished and we are going to have the president probably to pitch in some more before the season is over. >> the governor said he

. >> at yosemite national park some 26,000 firefighters are battling the blaze which is only 7% contained. this map you're about to see those yosemite national park outlined in red. the rim fire is outlined in yellow. here's why there is so much concern about sitting utilities. the hydroplant provides water and pow for 2 million californians including greater san francisco. the flames are burning right next to a reservoir water station. the plant has been shut down for safety. >>> a >>> al jazeera's melissa chan has been there live. melissa. >> reporter: our team tried to get as close to yosemite park by the highway, and we were stopped. it was very interesting to see the firefighters at work. >> reporter: lovely clouds but its smoke over the mountains. this was as close to the fire lines as we could get. we watched teams battle the flames both on the ground and with help from oh above. we're just west of yosemite national park. firefighters have been trying to fight the flames, but they're going to pull back down this road. the fire has jumped the highway. steep terrain has turned this w

the biggest threatening yosemite national park with 133,000 acres already burned. al karlinsky on the front lines. >> reporter: the fight inside yosemite is hot and intense. crews aren't just trying to stop the fire, they're trying to protect a grove of the park's famed sequoias, three dozen in all. the huge trees among the oldest living things on earth and teams have been assigned just to them. >> i'm from virginia. so the fuel types here are different. this is definitely dry. some pretty extreme fire behavior we are encountering here. >> reporter: more teams are inside the park to protect the area around the massive hetch-hetchy reservoir. we saw firsthand, fire is close to the area that applies 85% of san francisco's water. cause enough for the government there to declare a state of emergency and put public utility crews on alert to monitor the water's quality. >> it is still activity burning as we speak. it has affected our water and power system. >> reporter: on the road outside the park -- [ chain saw buzzing ] crews are cutting down burned trees they call wid

crews are saying that the flames are now burning in a remote area inside the western boundary of yosemite park itself. the rim fire is more than 20 miles of yosemite which remains for openers. the fire has charged more than 165 square miles and remains on contained. just how much of this fire has grown, take a look at the map of the burn area back on monday and now look at the amount of today, it is spread across more than 100, 000 acres. the fire is now burning of 4 miles northwest of the reservoir, and that reservoir supplies water to more than 2 and a half million people in the bay area. today crews work to protect that vital resource and setting backfire and keeping it reaching from the water and the reservoir. >> it is moving in that direction so we want to be prepare. >> more than 2000 firefighters are battling the fire tonight and many of the crews is in the area. john is live now and he tells us of the local fire department for the rim fire trying to remain the fire protection at home. >> reporter: the fi stretched thin because of the rim fire, officials say it is still ready. >> but,

teresa garcia is near yosemite national park. teresa, good morning. >> good morning, you know, there are hundreds of fire engines and other riggs stationed right here because of the threat to thousands of homes which is under an evacuation advisory. and this is just one area that this ferocious out of control fire is threatening to destroy. >> reporter: the rim fire near the yosemite national park has been designated the number one priority for the forest service. >> you have a lot of firefighters here trying to get ahead of it. >> more than 3400 firefighters are battling the blaze which consumed more than 20 structures and scorched nearly 1 4,000 acres. >> look at how deep that is. >> reporter: pine needles and dead leaves created a bed of kindling on the forest floor. >> we are inside the fire lines. this is what is being caused a first priority zone. it's an area where the most resources are being dedicated and this is because the blaze has been spreading most intensely along the eastern side of the fire. >> reporter: to the e

to know. >> berkeley's family camp is in ruins because of a raging wildfire burning near yosemite national parkofficials say flames spread into the camp around 2:00 p.m. yesterday fueled by brush. the camp has been in operation since 1922. >> the fire near yosemite national park destroyed two dozen buildings. right now it is only 7 percent contained. abc7 news reporter will have more on this story in a few minutes. >> three, the san lenadro police department has issued a spirit verify alert for an 81-year-old considered at risk. the man was last seen yesterday morning wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans on brookside drive and frederick road at 5' 4" and weighs 150 pounds the. >> caltran is ready to shut down the bay bridge wednesday night at 8:00. the five day closure gives the crew time to finish the bay bridge connecting pavement and striping the new lanes. our news reporter will have more in a report coming up at top of the hour. >> new zealand will face off against oracle team usa for the 34th america's cup and clinched the cup yesterday after it beat italy in the best 13 series takin

put in sprinkler systems. >> reporter: the rim fire moved in to yosemite park over the weekend. although firefighters don't believe the fire will reach the valley itself. the bigger concern is controlling the southern and when edges of the fire to stop it -- western edges of the fire to stop it from spreading to other communities. >> there's a lot of folks that live up here. we're putting a lot of effort to keep the fire as far away as we can. >> reporter: meanwhile san francisco's ter supply is in jeopardy. flames are still moving toward hetch hetchy esvoyeur and crews are -- reservoir and crews are staged there. some people were able to return to their homes in grownland and they showed their appreciation. yesterday, president obama called up governor brown to offer up whatever federal resources are needed to control the rim fire and protect yosemite national park. alex savidge, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. >>> as the rim fire gets closer to the hetch hetchy reservoir, san francisco water authorities are filling area reserves before the supply is tainted with ash. ash ha

this is an overhead google earth view of yosemite national park. rim fire started to the west of the park, last saturday, here along highway 120. the red area that you see here is the perimeter of the fire on monday, when about 10 thousand acres had burned. here's how the fire looked on tuesday when 16 thousand acres were lost. here's the fire on wednesday when it had doubled in size and here's the fire on thursday. on friday the fire just exploded in size and entered yosemite national park. it also grew to the west. and here's how the fire looked on saturday morning. it's burned about 125 thousand acres. about 200 square miles. now i want to focus on two areas.. nasa also collects data on wildfires and they can pinpoint hot spots using satellites and weather stations. so let's add in that data and you can see that nasa is seeing hotspots along the perimeter of the fire. the area in the middle has already burned so the active fire is along the edges. now i want to focus on two areas. to the east, the fire is burning inside yosemite near cherry lake

we are just west of yosemite park and firefighters have been trying to fight the flames but they willback down the road. the fire jumped the highway. steep, tough tur rain and dry conditions transformed the fire into one of the biggest in california history. firefighters and metrologists say it's so immense it possesses weather and able to generate wind, rain and lightning, making it unpredictable. >> we are worried about the fire getting larger and pouring resources into it and aircraft and firefighters and across california and the country. it's the number one fire priority in the nation and hoping to get it out. >> reporter: teams from across the country are here. mapping out plans to evacuate residence if necessary and more help arrives by the hour to relieve those who worked for days. a typical shift lasts 24 hours. >> we spent the first probably 30 hours protecting the subdivision by the fire and air dropping around us. >> out on structure protection trying to prevent the fire from moving from the forest to residential neighborhoods themselves. >> reporter: the fire moves north

we are just west of yosemite national park. fire fighters have been fighting the flames but they are going to pull back down this road. the fire has jumped the highway. steep terrain and dry ones have transformed this wildfire into one of the biggest in california history. fire fighters and meteorologists say it's so immense, it possesses its own weather, able to generate wind, rain and lightning making it unpredictable. >> we are worrying about this fire getting larger, pouring aircraft, engines from all across california and across this country. it is the number 1 fire prior to in the nature -- in the nation and we are hoping to get it out. >> deals from around the country are here mapping out plans to evacuate residents. >> more help arrives by the power to reef leave those who worked for days. a typical shift lasts 24 hours. >> the first, probably, 30 hours out for a subdivision right by the fire. they were air dropping all around us? >> on structure protection, trying to prevent the fire from moving to the forest to the re

everyone is concerned about yosemite national park. what we were told this morning is that about 11,000 acres of the park has been destroyed. to give you some context, the park is approximately 800,000 acres large. the about 1% of the park affectioned but their top priority with protecting billions, making sure people's homes are not destroyed. it's moving north and east but they are getting more resources as a result of the declaration of the state of emergency. >> it will be a busy couple of weeks and hours ahead for fire fighters. melissa chan, thank you. as we know the weather playing a major factor. rebecca stevensen joining us with that. >> we use weather satellites most of the time to look at what's going on weather wise as we look from space down at the clouds below, typically we track a lot of clouds but this time, we are looking at smoke. satellites can tell us where the smoke is traveling. it tells us how thick it is, and it also can tell us how this fire is developing, specifically the rim fire zeroed in here, you can see i

the base wher for firefighters d other teams. >> it's not burning into yosemite park yet but it is movingast to the bark. yosemite is an iconic national park, s the fire team here is doing their utmost to keep it out of the park. >> reporter: for now yosemite remains open. but only a small part of fire has been contained. >> reporter: the fire jumped the highway we took earlier. this is a remote and mountainous part of california, and one of many wildfires happening simultaneously across the western united states. this week the federal government announced a pl 5 situation, preparedness level 5, the highest on the scale, something not seen since 2008. it means that resources are stretched. teams move from fire to fire, hopscotching across states, many firefighters working 24 hour shifts. despite the size of this fire there's been minimal loss to property so far. a few buildings destroyed early on but none damaged in the last couple of days. >> so we're a strike team from sacramento, and we're assigned structure protection in the pine mountain lake area. there are a number of homes that ha

the rim fire which is burning near yosemite national park is by far the largest. as of this morning update, the rim fire has burned 144,000 acres. it's only 7% contained. almost 3500 fire personnel are on the scene. 23 buildings have been lost. it's not clear how many of those are actual homes. another casualty of the fire though a camp owned by the city of berkeley a lot of people very familiar with that area. coming up at 6:45 we will have a live report on that. that is also in the line of fire. >>> acuta look at the countdown clock. we are in the last couple of days of the closure of the bay bridge. cal tran almost shut down the bay bridge wednesday night. they will make way for the new eastern span next week. tara moriarty is joining us live from the toll plaza with more on the preparations getting ready for that new opening. good morning. >> reporter: there were supposed to be a public celebration but it was canceled. there was supposed to be a bridge walk and fire works but those were canceled when repairs to the broken bolts on the bridge through the timeli

park. yosemite is an iconic park.he fire team is doing their jut most to keep it out of the park. >> for now, yosemite remains open, but only to small part of the fire has been contained. >> the fire jumped the highway with we took earlier. this is a remote and mountainous part of california and one of many wildfires happening simultaneously across the western united states. >> this week, the federal government announced a p.l. five situation, preparedness level high, the highest level on the scale since 2008. many firefighters are working 24 hour shifts. despite the size of this tire, there's been minimal property loss so far, a few buildings destroyed early on, but none damaged in the last couple days. >> we're a team from sacramento and being part of the effort in the pine lake area. there's a number of homes that of residences in them. we're going through the area, checking it out. >> at least every decade, we have a major fire up in this area, and i've been through several and been evacuated, and we did all right

it has shut down highway 120, the main gateway into yosemite national park and it continues to spread through the stanislaus national forest, burning not far from the town of groveland and yosemite national forest. ken wayne joins us now live. he has been going all with fire crews every day. >> reporter: julie and frank, we were stranded here for several hours this afternoon, because the only road leading to this fire camp was blocked by flames. in fact, if you look behind me, you can see a lot of smoke over those trees. the fire is still burning just a few hundred yards from this command post. if there was any doubt about how unpredictable wildfire can be, that was erased this afternoon, when flames almost swept through this command post. fire personnel scrambled as claims moved within a few yards of the fire command center. these workers were told to grab their protective gear and get ready to use it. >> it's a fire shelter? >> yes. >> reporter: fire crews were able to set back fires to keep flames out of the camp. there are 16,228 acres now burned. nine structures have been destroy

highway 120, into yosemite national park, remains closed. another berkeley camp is not in the line of fire despite rumors it burned. >> san francisco camp posted a facebook damage saying the fire spread to the edge of of the camp but there is only "minor" damage. >> the fire is three miles from a reservoir from san francisco gets it water and a small portion of the electricity. so far the water remains clear and crews are monitoring a hydroelectric power station fed by the reservoir. the city is buying replacement activity from other sources. stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage of the fire and we will update you all morning and bring any major developments. you can get updates on abc7news.com and twitter@abcnewsbayarea. >> the bay bridge is ready to close this week to prepare for the opening of the new eastern span after labor day. no traffic will be allowed on the bridge for five days starting wednesday night at 8:0 p.m. crews will align both ends of the span with better state 80 and stripe the lanes. contractors will finish the wes

and as you mentioned, one of the big concerns at this hour is yosemite national park and what it could do to that area, a very popular tourist area. however, having said that, yosemite valley is really where a lot of tourists populate. that's essentially where the tourist area is. this has yet to infringe on that, but fire officials are still very concerned that that could potentially happen. ivan and brianna, back to you. >> nick valencia outside yosemite. thank you very much. >>> after allegations, san diego's mayor finally quit, and he's going outwei with a bang. >> we will take you live to the nation's capitol where thousands of people have gathered to carry on martin luther king's legacy and to pursue his dream. the great outdoors... ...and a great deal. grrrr ahhh let's leave the deals to hotels.com. oh my gosh this is so cool... awesome! perfect! save up to 30% plus an extra 12% off with coupon... now until labor day. only at hotels.com ♪ he's a 20-year-straight, get to work on time ♪ ♪ ♪ he's loved one woman for all his life ♪ ♪ ♪ everybody knows he ain't just tough ♪ ♪ he's st

jerry brown has declared a state of emergency in san francisco because of the wildfire raging near yosemite park. jim kyle, you were describing earlier this is about as much about water as it is about electricity. explain why. >> yes, john, the city of san francisco actually owns the hetch-hetchy reservoir which is the primary water supply for the city of san francisco, services about 2.6 million people. so enable to facilitate a more rapid intervention, to preserve that infrastructure that serves the water supply, in fact, mayor ed lee of san francisco who requested that a state of emergency be initiated so we could cut through the red tape and have the necessary work crews do what they need to do to preserve the water supply. >> what does that mean actually? what will they have to do to preserve the water supply? >> well, it's -- there's one of electrical aqueduct type infrastructure that is being threatened by the fire. these workers will ensure that whatever needs to be done to preserve an uninterrupted water flow will be done. >> so if the fire were to get to that infrastructure, then it co

from yosemite national park. -- yosemite.ity of san francisco owns and operates the reservoir and there's a precaution the sfpd back and waited and shut down on tuesday. thursday afternoon of they said the water supply is safe and the fate of the power system is still up in the air. the fire is currently free throws clifford, kron 4 news. >>james: to a blank closures could have some slowing of the toll plaza. we have three lanes on the right side of the toll plazas shut down this weekend and fasttrack only lanes. this will start at 9:00 p.m. tonight and is rescheduled to open 5 a.m. in the morning. -monday morning. as the bridge construction continues to parade structures are now being correct on the bike and pedestrian paths and will be put into place during the labor day weekend and for the first time, bikes and walkers will be able to cross the bridge from the oakland side. >>: this is a wooden temporary plot will that will be connected at the oakland and of the bike path. right now they cannot finish the bike path heading

look at these flames tearing through acres of woodlands of yosemite national park. officials say it's one of the largest in california history, and that is saying something. the fear now is that millions of people in northern california could lose their water and electricity. we have the latest. >> so to provide us the latest updates on the fire is teen i can't walker from california governor's office of emergency service. she joins us from california. i think what people find the most interesting is this is affecting people as far as the northernest part of the state. could you explain that to us? >> reporter: the rim fire has made substantial impact statewide. we have air quality impacts and we have the fire threatening the watererwater reservoir. we have the impacts of the fire of the county and of the water reservoir that supports san francisco county and they are clean water system. >> are you having to pull in people from other states? ho are you on manpower? >> you know, resources are stretched across the state. we have resources coming not only from neighbor

park. yosemite is an ironic park, so there is a lot of interest on whether or not it will be directly impactedy the fire. the fire team is doing their utmost to keep it out of the park. >> reporter: for now yosemite remains opened. the fire jumped the highway we took earlier. this is a remote and mountainous part of california, and one of many wildfires happening simultaneously across the western united states. this week the federal government announced the highest level preparedness on the scale. it means resources are stretched. teams move from fire to fire. many firefighters working 24-hour shifts. despite the size of this fire, there has been minimal loss to property so far. a few buildings destroyed early on, but none damaged in the last couple of days. >> we are a strike team from za sacramen sacramento. we're going through the area and checking it out. >> at least every decade we have a major fire up in this area. and i have been through several and been evacuated, and we did all right before. with pine mountain lake here, there are so many houses and so many trees, all -- one small are

holly williams, cbs news, istanbul. >>> the massive wildfire near yosemite national park continues to get bigger. but firefighters report progress in containing it, and the danger to san francisco's water and power supplies is lessening. teresa garcia is near yosemite national park. teresa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. now, we're in the mountain community of tuolumne city. it has been under evacuation for many days now, causing firefighters to set up a major base camp here. but while there has been some success building these containment lines, the fire is still running overnight fast. and overnight crews have been battling three spot fires. the concern was evident last night as hundreds of people packed a sonora, california, church to get the latest news from fire officials. >> these are pretty tough people that live up here. pretty independent people. and they're going to want to protect their homes and property, above everything else. >> reporter: they got good news, firefighters have established containment lines along the southeast edge of the blaze. the a

governor jerry brown declared a state of emergency after a wild fire burning just outside yosemite national park nearly quadrupled in size. it is one of 55 major wildfires burning in ten western states. the fire near yosemite called the rim fire exploded yesterday. it's burned more than 99 square miles and is only 1% contained. the park remains open, but one access road has been cut off and residents of more than 1,000 homes have been advised to evacuate. theresa garcia reports from near the fire lines. >> reporter: stands of cedar and pine exploded as the flames jumped from tree top to tree top moving faster than the crew fighting them. u.s. forest service officer, lee bentley. >> we have a monster on our hands. this fire is making its own weather. it's going every which direction. this is one of the worst i've ever been on. i've been doing it quite a few years. >> reporter: the fire threatens hotels, camp grounds and more than 2500 structures. steep hills and rugged terrain have been major obstacles for the more than 1300 firefighters on the line. >> get the top of the tree. >> ready. ready. d

conch, charles clifford shows us where the fire has burned so far and how it is effecting yosemite national park. >> reporter: this is an overhead google earth view of yosemite national park. the rim fire started a week ago last saturday along highway 120. what you are looking at is the perimeter of the burn zone when the fire burned about 10,000 acres. you will see the fire doubled in size every single day. so here is tuesday, where it had grown to the west and the east and this is how it looked on wednesday when it just doubled in size and again on thursday, significantly to the north and friday, the fire exploded into yosemite national park. this is how it looks on saturday. it has burned about 129,000 acres. nasa tracks these fires and can pinpoint hot spot ins the burn zone. if we add that information, you can see the most active fire over the last 24 hours is along the perimeter of the fire. this is an area that has already burned. owe similarity national park remains open. there are a few things in the northern part of the park that have been closed down like the camp parks and the trails

away from yosemite national park.this large always causes air quality. >> the cash in the suit also get into the water sources when there is a huge and extensive fire of this magnitude. >> approximately 1500 firefighters are actively fighting this fire right now. >> the weather is mild in the area but the field are so dry and they are burning quickly which is causing this fire to spread as fast as it is appeared in line there of 53,000 a. being fired at this time. >> san diego teenager hannah anderson went on national television today to talk about the family friend who kidnapped her and murdered her brother and sister. catherine heenan is here to interview since she was rescued in idaho 12 days ago. >>we got a glimpse of her at a fundraiser and read her answers to online questioners. now hannah anderson is talking about how she has changed since her ordeal. >>in the beginning i was a victim, but now knowing everyone out there is helping me, i consider myself a survivor instead on august fourth hannah was kidnapped by

. >>> fire crews continue battle the destruct destructive fire near yosemite park. the blaze has burned more than 10, 000 acres and there is zero percent containment. communities and camps in the area have been evacuated. yosemite park is still opened though, it is unclear of what caused the fire. >>> we are not out of the woods in terms of the thunderstorms and lightning strikes. showing lightning strikes up in nevada. we still have the area of low pressure to deal with that's sitting offshores. you can see a lot of the activities missing us to the east right now. the core is down to the south. it is going to start to track to the northeast as we head into tomorrow and it is going to go right over the north bay so we still have a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow morning and we'll talk more about that and high fire danger, coming up in just a little bit. >>> urging the fda to end the policy which prohibits gay men from donating blood. lou's petition is posted on chain. org. last month, mary low held a blod drive and he was turned away because of his ornamentation. p

california's 11-day-old wildfire now has burn 60 square miles inside yosemite park. >> free at last. free at last. thank god almighty we're free at last. >> reporter: 50 years later a grand celebration of the most famous civil rights speech ever delivered by martin luther king. >> the clock is now ticking on u.s. military action in syria. a probably strike could come within days. u.s. warships are already in position, and the rest of the world is joining the debate on what kind of action should be taken and when. patty tells us what options president obama is weighing to stop the use of chemical weapo weapons. >> reporter: the president obama administration said they will respond to this, the use of chemical weapons in syria. the goal is not to remove bashir al-assad, but to send him a message. >> it is not our intention t for scream changregime change. >> reporter: many feel a strike is unlikely to shift momentum in syria. >> in terms of shifting the momentum on the ground, it's not likely. target strikes are nor powerful in terms of the signally that they achievish and sending a ve

the fire has doubled in yosemite park in the last 24 hours.t is burning in largely remote wilderness areas of the park, and the direction it is moving towards the northeast will have it running into rock, and they hope burning it's a out in the park. there may be some smoke issues around the pass entrance, they have worked hard to secure their singling down and securing the growth of sequoias that people treasure there, but the park is fully open and operational. there is a lot of smoke as you can see around me, ash moving through the air. the smoke generated from the fire yesterday has been pushed down by cool night air, and that will present visibility problems for firefighters at least in the early going today. it is expect as the air warms the smoke will go away. >> is the weather out there cooperating today? >> well, national weather service meteorologists told us that the word for today in weather is change. the cool air keeping the smoke down will -- as the ground and the air warm up, turn the smoke into plumes, columns that generate th

tracy garcia explains from yosemite national park. >> reporter: the fire burning in and around yosemite national park is devouring its way through the forest, becoming one of the largest wild fires in california's history. >> hello. >> se seal in a matter of a couple hours, it crossed three mountain ridges and was within a mountain ridge and a half of the lodge. >> her barn is gone. the fire has destroyed at least four homes and threatened more than 5500 more. one of the main routes leading into yosemite remains closed and just a few miles away, the fire is still raging and leaping across the roadway. the wild fire is even threatening san francisco utilities. the city owns power lines near the fire. and flames are within miles of the reservoir, which supplies 85% of san francisco's water and some of its power. the city says the water quality remains safe, although it fears contamination from ash. >> we came out and served that water unless we filter it. we have local supplies so we can fill in, so there will be no interruption on water service to anyone. >> as nearly 3,000 firefighters

and wildfire burning in yosemite national park. details on park closings and detailed information just ahead. >>> and nuclear plant in new jersey, what that means for people in the area. right after the break. sure that stories don't escape them. >> every day a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you heard angles you hadn't considered. consider this, antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo. stories that matter to you. hi, my name is jonathan betz, and i'm from dallas, texas, and i'm an anchor for al jazeera america. i started in a small television station in rural arkansas. it's a part of the country that often gets overlooked. but there are a lot of fascinating people there, a lot of fascinating stories there. i like that al jazeera will pay attention to those kinds of places. what drew me to journalism is i like the idea that we are documenting history. al jazeera documents it like none other. and to be a journalist, and to be part of a team like that? that's an incredi

while the fire has burned some part of the yosemite national park it is not the popular parts of the yosemite. >> reporter: flames and scorched land cover 150,000 acres, similar to the size of chicago. 30 to 40 mph winds are whipping the fire sending embers flying: it's area is a venerable tinderbox. homeowners watch from a nearby ridge. >> we'll see it on the ridge and it will make a run to is he nora. >> reporter: listening to radio traffic between helicopters and firefighting ground cruise. >> i'm concerned. i've got animals, so i need to get them out. >> reporter: the fire only 15% contained is one of the worst in california history. the jumping blaze is now threatening major roadways. more than 3,000 firefighters are on the ground hoping to save some 4500 homes and businesses. inaccessible terrain makes fighting this fire all the more arduous. three ancient sequoia trees are not at risk and they're working to save them. despite the fires' immensity it has not hit the popular parts of yosemite national park. the forest service said they'll do everything to preserve this national t

a nearly two-week-old wildfire burning in parts of california's yosemite national park has exhausted fire crews, resorting to using drones to try to detect new flames. >>> the stance is death for the fort hood soldiers who gunned down 14 of his colleagues four years ago. >>> getting your fast food fix may take time, workers wage against their employers. >> president obama speaks out on syria. the president said there needs to be international consequences for the alleged use of chemical weapons it in an attack that killed hundreds of people. he dismissed a syrian request to extend chemical weapons exception as a delaying tactic. he has prepared to attack with u.s. warships in position. now the world waits for more from the u.n. >> reporter: on thursday the obama administration is expected to give a classified briefing to members of congress detailing what they call evidence and proof that the assad regime used chemical weapons on their own people. now a declassified version is expected to be released soon after. the administration is trying to turn around public opinion. the majority

the huge wildfire devastating much of yosemite national park is this morning threatening something much bigger: san francisco's power grid. that has prompted the governor of california to declare a state of emergency for the region. >>> the suspected chemical weapons attack in syria that killed hundreds has the u.s. considering possibility military options. president obama meets with his top advisors today and u.s. war ships are on the ready in the mediterrrainian. >> i have a dream. my 4 little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colors of their skin but by the content of their character. i have a dream today. >> fifty years after martin luther king's most famous speech, americans descend on the nation's capitol to keep his dream alive. >>> california's wildfire raging out of control and moving further into yosemite national park, the fire so menacing, a state of alert has been declared by governor jar brown. for san francisco, the flames are tearing through acres of pristine woodlands. the fear is that million dollars of people in northern camer

the fire continues to work its way through yosemite national park. with 4,500 homes threatened residents near the perimeter have been asked to evacuate >> i could come home to nothing tomorrow. >> the fire has been raging, four homes and 12 other buildings have been destroyed. kilmani duchart, access. >> now to the evening lathing tensions in syria. the u.n.'s head of weapons disarmament is on a mission to gain access to the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack. according to defense secretary chuck hagel, events there have prompted president obama to ask for military options. there are new images from wednesday's alleged attack and we want to warn you, the video is extremely graphic. charles stratford has the report. >> the two tiny bodies hang limp in his arms. "what will i do now?" cries the father, a man destroyed by grief. pictures like these of the many men, women, and children indiscriminately killed by what all evidence suggests was a chemical weapons attack continue to shock the world. the syrian government still refused access to syria

it's also the 100th anniversary being allowed into yosemite national park. george watson introduced us to a man who is once again giving people the opportunity to drive a model t in yosemite. >>> at the turn of the 20th century, good old horsepower was still a valued method of transportation. eight short years later in 1908, henry ford would take the horses out of horsepower and put 20 of them in a block of iron under the hood of his new model t. ford brought his motor car to the masses and reinvented america's pioneering spirit. by putting people on the road in, he was however putting the car before the road sort to speak. in 1900 there was 144 miles of concrete paveed roads in the whole country. so almost all of america's motorized trips were by necessity in the back valleys. one was here to the granite of valley domes. everywhere americans drove their model ts it was a challenge. >> coming to yosemite it was the same kind of adventure. you would have blow outs, engine problems. one of the great things about these cars was that they were easily fixed. >> re

the massive rim fire is growing by the hour and raged yosemite national park. the

a wildfire burning east of groveland has closed east 20 the main road to yosemite park. we get the latest from ken wayne. he's live near the front lines in the stanislaus national forest where fire crews have their hands full tonight, ken. >> reporter: frank and julie, we have a front row seat to the power and devastation of this fire. that is still burning out of control just outside of yosemite national park: you look over my shoulder, the flames are burning about a half mile to 3/4 mile away from us. fires generally lay down at night and that has been happening here but every once in a while we'll see what is called torching where individual pine trees or groups of trees will suddenly burst into flames and believe it or not in the middle of all that flame, the orange area that you see on the side of that mountain lies highway 120 and that road of course is closed. we want to show you some pictures from earlier this evening. these photos were shot about an hour ago so the intensity of the flames as they are burning even after the sun went down. as i mentioned fires gen

on the edge of yosemite national park.here we find reporter katherine barrett. >> monday was a challenging day for firefighters, the rim fire grew an additional 17,000 acres bringing its total air to 170,000 acres and the fire is pushing hard to the east into yosemite park. crews from as far away as florida, north carolina and arkansas will be battling this blaze right through the night. they'll focus on protecting small mountain towns in the area. reservoirs include hetch-hetchy which feeds san francisco's water supply, hydroelectric facilities and of course the treasured giant sequoia trees. >>> in california where the new school has gun with 50 fewer schools. budget cutbacks forced the closures. john hendren reports. >> it looks like a scene out of a war movie. security guards escorting children to school. but this is chicago. >> violence has become the norm in chicago. violence has become a big big problem in chicago like a lot of cities in the united states. >> the victims often innocent bystanders. 15 people were gun

as of the last update the fire had burned 15,000 into yosemite -- yosemite national park. the flames are moving towards rock and granite and it will probably burn itself out. some resources are in place at the southern edge of the yosemite national park that's to protect the rare giant sequoia as there. some of the trees are 2,000 years old. we'll take you live right to the fire lines. we'll get the latest information on the fire fight. >>> happening today prosecutors in the east bay are expected to wrap up their case in what's being called a dirty dui trial. a sheriff's deputy is facing extortion and conspiracy. he's accused of taking bribes in exchange for setting up men for drunk driving arrests. it was set up by women looking for leverage in divorce cases. >>> a man was accused of sexual assault. she said he tied her up and sexually assaulted her. the judge called the allegations ridiculous -- ridiculous. he was skeptical when he said she could dial the police with her tongue and called it ridiculous. >>> the bridge opened # 5 years ago. some are looking forward to the

in yosemite national park the fire remains contained in a remote wilderness area. it has got wildlife, like this mother and cub on the move. but for the city of san francisco, some 150 miles away, the concern is the water supply. most of which comes from the hetch hetchy reservoir in the fire zone. >> when you burn down everything you have a moonscape out there that with floods can contaminate the waters. >> oh, man. >> reporter: just outside of yosemite national park today, 80-year-old louis peyton returned to the family cabin his father built. >> this was the main cabin here. >> reporter: all of it gone. >> we're going to do our best to get it back, you know? for our grandkids and their grandkids can enjoy it. >> reporter: meanwhile across this region, whole towns have turned out to thank the thousand of firefighters who have come from as far away as san diego and the oregon state line. the fight continues. >> somebody has got to put this fire out. unless it starts to rain we have to fight this thing aggressively. >> reporter: fire commanders think they're making

. >>> strong winds could complicate efforts to battle a giant wildfire near yosemite national park. winds of up to 40 miles an hour could push the fire into the park's northwest edge. so far, the rim fire has burned 203 square miles, an area about the size of chicago. governor brown has declared a state of emergency, and not just for the fire zone. the state of emergency also covers the city of san francisco. teresa garcia has the latest. >> reporter: the fastest- growing wildfire in the nation is now raging in parts of yosemite national park. at nearly 200 square miles, the massive fire is swallowing everything in its path, threatening more than 4500 homes, buildings and camp sites. >> we've got so many memories. >> the fire is actually moving to the north. >> reporter: officials in san francisco are monitoring the situation closely. the fire is threatening some of san francisco's vital utilities. 85% of the water comes from the hetch hetchy reservoir, about four miles from the inferno. the city is fearing ash contamination to the water supply. michael carlin is with the public uti

. >> a state emergency issued for yosemite park where wildfires continue to rage. fox and friends first starts right now. >> mid town manhattan lacking busy for this early hour. good morning everyyou are you are watching "fox & friends first". i am patti ann browne. >> lots going on out there. >> i am heather nauert. thank you for starting your day with us. >> a manhunt is underway for two teenagers accused of brutally beating a world war ii set veteran and leaving him to die. the teens jumped 89-year-old albert delton beating him so badly he suffered major injuries to his head. cops found him to the car and took him to the hospital where he died yesterday. he was not just migrate uncle. he was a great person. >> police don't believe >> polie arresting two men overnight. they were planning to grab officers and execute them in a vacant house that's where they built a makeshift jail. they belonged to a group of sovereign citizen extremists. that's a group classified as domestic terrorist. listen. >> i never intended to harm orchid nap any within. >> i wanted to be ab

they are already deployed in yosemite park trying to keep a small number of trees that are believed to be the oldest on the planet earth unburned. >>> and there is serious flooding in china. soldiers moved in on saturday to move villagers to safety. >>> and nor a look at the weather across the nation, we now turn to jalelah. >> the weather across the nation pretty dry while we continue to see a lot of rain across florida. unfortunately we will not be seeing that in the northwest. red flag warnings in effect till tomorrow. very drive terrain, brush, fuels instigated by the wind. across the southwest, the heaviest moisture up the i-17 and i-40, expected on into the early afternoon and evening hours as far as stability. use precaution if you are traveling there. as we make our way to the southeast, you will see showers across the eastern part of the east gulf coast. a tropical storm warning in effect and we could see some gusty winds in effect with those storms. across the gulf of mexico, a 50% chance to see this area of low pressure form into a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. that w

yosemite national forest. now, that fire is the largest of the 50 wildfires currently active in the western states and since this morning, the flames have reached the parkcbs reporter teresa garcia joins us live on the front lines with the very latest. teresa. >> reporter: frank, began. yes, indeed, the fire has pushed into the borders of yosemite national park. we are at pine mountain lake airport. now, behind me this is the community that is under evacuation orders. we have been seeing some flames just pushing up and then subsiding a little bit so you may well see some behind me eventually but what the fire crews are doing is staging around this area. they are on standby to protect hundreds of homes and this is also really becoming an air war because accessibility, they have had to put up more than a dozen aircraft to fight the fire. the wildfire near yosemite national park is racing in multiple directions burning out of control. the "rim" fire has nearly quadrupled in size since wednesday and is now twice as big as the city of san francisco. >> it's a monster. it's beating us up right at the moment. >> reporter: columns of smoke some 40,000 feet high

the largest fire is raging on in and around yosemite national park. the rim fire has charred 230 square miles since it erupted nine days ago. that is roughly the size of chicago. the firefighters are slowly gaining ground, they have a line about 20% of the fire. not only is it threatening homes and campgrounds, but this map shows how close the fire is to the reservoir where the bay area gets much of its drinking water. cbs reporter tells us the tough choices firefighters may have to make if the fire doesn't slow down. >> yosemite national park is in flames. a wild fire the size of the city of chicago is burning in and around the park. threatening buildings, homes, and groves of giant seqioas. >> what we are really worried about is a high intensity burn that would damage the trees and potentially kill some of the large adults. these trees, as you know, could be up to 2,000 years old. >> crews are using water to save the trees. but they might soon try to use fire. >> we are clearing around the bases. we are doing the sprinkler system and over the next c

. >> reporter: the violent blaze seared close to 200 square miles including a corner of yosemite park. >> the fire is in the park, they just too volatile for the firefighters to attack it with any degree of success. >> reporter: the flames are far from cam sites and tourist areas but highway 120 through the park is closed. a half dozen aircraft and more than 2600 firefighters on the ground are battling the wildfire where and when they can. but like the blaze, the conditions are extreme. >> we've had to pull firefighters out because their lives are in danger. >> reporter: so are the lives of those who live here. >> fire on both sides of the highway and our house is surrounded by fire. >> reporter: hundreds of homes have been evacuated and 5,000 are still in jeopardy. >> you're scared and stressed like you want to stay and guard your place, then you're like we need to be ready to get gone. >> reporter: because they can't be sure when the severe conditions might ease or where the intense flames might go next. jay gray, nbc news. >> the fire is burning about four miles from the hedge hetc

a wildfire burning east of groveland has closed east 20 the main road to yosemite park. we get the latest from ken wayne. he's live near the front lines in the stanislaus national forest where fire crews have their hands full tonight, ken. >> reporter: frank and julie, we have a front row seat to the power and devastation of this fire. that is still burning out of control just outside of yosemite national park: you look over my shoulder, the flames are burning about a half mile to 3/4 mile away from us. fires generally lay down at night and that has been happening here but every once in a while we'll see what is called torching where individual pine trees or groups of trees will suddenly burst into flames and believe it or not in the middle of all that flame, the orange area that you see on the side of that mountain lies highway 120 and that road of course is closed. we want to show you some pictures from earlier this evening. these photos were shot about an hour ago so the intensity of the flames as they are burning even after the sun went down. as i mentioned fires gen

we want to update you on the wildfire burning in yosemite national park.ng us now on the phone is daniel berlant, he is a spokeperson with cal fire. call at 8:10 916-599-6347 ♪ [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be great if all devices had backup power? the chevrolet volt does. it's ingeniously designed to seamlessly switch from electricity to gas to extend your driving range. no wonder volt is america's best-selling plug-in. that's american ingenuity to find new roads. right now, get a 2013 chevrolet volt for around $269 per month. [music] [music] let's take a quick look outside this morning. let's check in with janu for your saturday forecast. you can see that it is going to be another breezy afternoon. >> we could see a slight chance of rain in the north bay today. >> temperature is right now upper 50s in antioch appeared >> 59 right now in half moon bay. >> by noon time will be in the high 60s. >> also will be in the '80s in some areas by noon time this afternoon appeared >> this evening we will see a gradual increase in cloud coverage and temperature star