. >>> right now in downtown lafayette, firefighters are working to put out some hot spots from a massive building fire. kpix 5's jessica flores is live in lafayette with the damage done. >> reporter: good morning. we just saw firefighters throwing large amounts of water on this building. they are trying to get out those remaining hot spots. they are mopping up right now, wrapping up six hours later after the fire started. no one was injured in this fire here in downtown lafayette. but many people work in the building. it's actually two, two-story buildings. the restaurant connected to an office building through a breezeway which houses the "the chamber." our anchor ken bastida was on the way home after the 11 p.m. newscast took this video for us. it started about midnight. firefighters went into defensive mode to keep the fire from spreading. they knocked it out within the hour. folks downtown could see huge flames shooting in the air in the middle of the night. people were standing outside their homes and apartments watching as the building burned. contra costa county fire protection di

good morning.>> reporter: yes, you can see why and here we are downtown lafayette. this building was at the lafayette circle. you can see it is a total loss with lots of damage and you can see the inside of the building exposed. according to the fire marshal, at least nine businesses including the restaurant and the lafayette chamber of commerce. the fire began around midnight growing quickly in the fire marshal said they had an initial report that the fire may have started in the restaurant on the ground floor in the back of the building. this is a two-story building and it was two buildings connected by the breezeway and both of those buildings are destroyed. at one point the people in the apartment building next door were evacuated as a precaution. the firefighters were very concerned about the fire spreading to other businesses and to the homes nearby. >> the wood building part of it was part of the reason we think that the fire probably spread quickly. it was not covered in stucco or that type of thing, and it was an iconic building if you will in lafayette. onc

right now in downtown lafayette, crews are watching hot spots after a massive building fire. kpix 5's jessica flores is live in lafayette this morning with the details. jessica. >> reporter: kenny, michelle, that's right. right now, fire crews are still on scene working this fire five hours later. they have a ladder up hosting down the building. you can see what's left behind just black charred building. it's actually two buildings. one was a restaurant connected to an office building that houses the "the chamber." no one is injured. people may not be going to work today because that building houses a lot of different things from cpa, there's a waxing facility in there. now, our anchor ken bastida was on his way home after the 11 p.m. newscast yesterday when he saw the flames and took this video. the fire started around midnight and firefighters kept the fire from spreading to nearby apartments. they knocked it down within an hour. folks downtown could see the huge flames shooting in the air in the middle of the night. people were standing outside their homes watching as the b

. >>> businesses gutted after a three-alarm fire tore through a building in downtown lafayette overnight. i drove past that fire about midnight, shot this video just as the flames took over that building and lit up the sky. this afternoon, we sent "skydrone5" up over the top to get a look at the damage left behind. as jessica flores reports, the investigation into what sparked this fire is just getting started. >> reporter: the flames shooting in the air in downtown lafayette seen for miles around. fire crews spent the early morning on the defensive, trying to battle back the flames and smoke and keep embers from flying into nearby apartments. >> we did evacuate three buildings initially because of the amount of radiant heat. we also had some propane tanks that were exploding, and so we wanted to make sure everybody was safe from that. >> reporter: nearly 7 hours into their firefight, crews were still putting out hot spots and dumping water on the charred building, home to the chamber of commerce, a restaurant and a number of small businesses. >> i'm in shock. i just found out about it h

it's the building that's sort of a center piece of the downtown lafayette area, not only did it how's the livermore -- the lafayette chamber of commerce but also the la fa northwest tra restaurant, a hair salon, i cpa and other businesses. so sadly you can see this building is gone. within the past few moments the fire department stopped dumping water on the area because they've been going that all morning long to keep northwest hot spots from flaring back up. and the video this is what it looked like several hours ago. had is what greeted firefighters as they arrived around midnight last night to put out this fire. the building was fully engulfed. the fire marshal tells us they had to go on the defensive. they could not make any interior attacks they had to stay from the outside and fight the fire from that point of view and unfortunate lit building did burn down. it took about 80 minutes to be get it out. they had to call for three alarms so they had to call for backup a few times, that's how much help they needed in trying to get this fire out and keep it contained. there was conce

several buildings including the chamber of commerce in downtown lafayette completely zried zroid. today in the bay bob red dell live there now with a closer look at the aftermath and the emotional reaction that's pouring from n from the community. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning. we spoke with a woman who lives in this area and she's just devastated to see what happened here to 100 lafayette circle. this houses the lafayette chamber of commerce. her father happens to be the executive director. when she looks at this landscape of rescue i, she just sad to know that her father's office is in there and, of course, now sits in ruin. now 100 lafayette sicircle is n only home to the chamber of commerce but also a raurntd, a nail salon rare cpa in here. until just moments ago, the fire department had been dumping water on the site to seep any hot spots at bay. this is what it looked like earlier this morning when this fire started just after midnight. you can see that the build was fully engulfed. it quickly grew to a three-alarm response from the contra costa county fire de

if you we show you down the end of this curved road, that is the main drag, the downtown area of lafayette. but the starbucks, the whole foods across the street. so this is very close to the downtown area of lafayette. this fire happened just around midnight last night. that's when firefighters first started getting the call about it. the fire marshall says it is fortunate that the fire did not spread. it got up to three alarms. the flames were visible from miles away. you could see an orange glow from way out there. there are a lot of trees in the area. a lot of dry grass in the surrounding hills. the fire marshall says the embers were being scattered as far as two miles away from it. firefighters were able to contain the fire and keep the flames from spreading thanks in part to the weather conditions overnight. >> i could see the embers from this fire from a couple miles out so. it was really significant. i mean it was a very large, what we call an ember pass. there were a lot of embers being thrown off of the building. because there was no wind, they were going straight up and then stra

to give you an idea of where this is, this building is very close to the downtown lafayette area. the address is 100 lafayette circle. it is tucked away. there is an apartment building next door to it. all of the people who lived here had to be evacuated as a precaution but have been allowed to go back in. if you go down this curved road where you see the two cars driving up ahead of us, this curved road leads out to mount diablo boulevard. that's where the man drag of downtown lafayette is. in close proximity. the building where the fire happened, very close to the downtown area. and the fire marshal and firefighters say it is very fortunate that the flames did not spread to any other homes or businesses. >> allie rasmus live in lafayette. thank you, allie. >>> it's only been a few days since a 196-unit housing development in oakland went up in flames. >> you were there when it happened. >> yes. >> a string of construction fires that raises questions about arson and why someone would destroy badly needed housing just before it goes on the market. >> candice nguyen sat down with th

wh right now in downtown lafayette, crews are monitoring hot spots - after a massive fire tore >>> gooding. it's 7:26. i'm michelle griego. right now in downtown lafayette, crews are monitoring hot spots after a massive fire tore through a two-story building housing the "the chamber." chamber of commerce estimated damage $1 million. >>> another decade is expected to go before state lawmakers for the cap and trade deadline. the discussion comes as governor brown and lawmakers push for support amid pushback from environmentalists. >>> stay with us, traffic and weather in just a moment. "the chamber." >>> 7:27. an accident on one one keeping your ride very slow heading southbound. all due to a motorcycle crash. that blocking a lane. this is southbound 101 at freitas parkway. you can see traffic backed up beyond highway 37. it's about a 25-minute ride from roland to 580. just a heads up, we have a "sig alert" that remains in effect blocking northbound 29 right at south kelly road. an overturned mail truck, traffic is being turned around at south kelly road. expect delays. >>> thanks, jaclyn

. >> reporter: the flames shooting in the air in downtown lafayette, seen for miles around. ken bastida took this video on his way home from work around midnight as the fire devoured the two-story office building. fire crews spent the early morning on the defensive, trying to battle back the flames and smoke and keep embers from flying into nearby apartments. >> we did evacuate three buildings initially because of the amount of radiant heat. we also had some propane tanks that were exploding and so we wanted to make sure everybody was safe. >> reporter: nearly 7 hours into their firefight, crews were still putting out hot spots and dumping water on the charred building. home to the chamber of commerce, the popular restaurant nearby, and a number of small businesses. >> i'm in shock. i just found out. >> reporter: for two decades, marta's skin care business was on the second floor. it collapsed. now a total loss. >> hair salon, all our lives are impacted. >> reporter: contra costa says the damage is at more than a million dollars. everything is gone. no one is hurt. >> there'

gutded, a massive fire tears through several building including the chamber of commerce in downtown lafayette. to your left the height of the flames overnight, to your right, the aftermath. we are live with what's left behind this morning. quite the scene there. good morning, thank you very much for joining us i'm sam brock. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's get straight to the forecast right now. enjoy the cooler temperatures today. we will have temperatures ramping up as we head e head into the weekend and we're going to have a few clouds and fog this morning in san francisco and along the coastline and temperatures reaching into the mid-60s. a little bit warmer tomorrow with a lot more sunshine and bright sunshine for the weekend making it into the mid-70s there while the inland areas will be up to 101 degrees. some dangerous heat on the way and a high fire danger. i'll talk more about that and looking out at a closer look at the weekend coming up. mike takes us out there on the roadways track a few issues. >>> you're looking pretty good overall. we see these centers it's very early. w

. >>> the building in downtown lafayette was destroyed by fire overnight. >> the flames that engulfed the building when the firefighters arrived and christien kafton is on the scene. >> reporter: the firefighting effort is still underway. you can see the crews are hard at work putting water on this fire. it broke out sometime but going to the three-alarm fire before they were able to get it under control. we have robert from the contra costa fire department, and first of all, this is a commercial building and what are we looking at that burned? >> it is essentially an office building that is burning. it was the chamber of commerce in it along with a nail salon and other professional service along with the restaurant. it is two buildings collected by the breezeway and both buildings were fully engulfed when we arrived. >> reporter: how big was the fire when you arrived? >> it was extremely big. we had crews responding from pittsburg and they could see the glowing from the fire on highway 4 which is five miles away. the first crews knew immediately it was a very large fire and they went

the one that destroyed several businesses in downtown lafayette. e beloved italian restaurant and the city's chamber of commerce were among the nine businesses that burned down on lafayette circle. many came out, stopped by to look at the burned out building and reminisced about local history that is now gone. >>> this is part of that old school town that we all grew up with. so leaving something that has been here for this long, you know, it is hard. >> the chamber of commerce is really one that was worried about their own records. i don't know what happened to i am sure they weren't all digital some 50 years or so of recording things, i hope everything is okay with them. >> the fire fighters say because of the the unusual shape and architecture of the building, finding the exact cause may take some time. he will look at video and talk to witnesses as part of the investigation. >>> 7:37 now. fire fights are in san jose urging people do more to protect your homes after tuesday's brush fire. >> fire fighters say san jose's yellow hillsides are packed

be hard to determine the cause of wednesday night fire that destroyed several businesses in downtown lafayette. the beloved italian restaurant, la finestra and the city's chamber of commerce were among the nine buildings and businesses that burned down in a commercial building on lafayette circle. damage is estimated at more than $1 million. yesterday, many people stopped by to see the buildings and reminisce about this part of local history that is now gone. >> this is part of that old school town that we all grew up with. losing something that's been here for this long -- it's heartbreaking. >> the chamber of commerce is what i was worried about. the old records. i don't know what happened to those. i'm sure they were not all digital. 50 years or so of recording things, i hope everything is okay with them. >> firefighters say because of the unusual shape and the architecture of that building, finding the exact cause of the fire it may take a while. they will be looking at video and talking to witnesses as part of the investigation. >>> business owners and west oakland are frustrated about a

the fire broke out before midnight in the heart of downtown lafayette. . within moments, with giant flames flying everywhere, it was clear to firefighters they wouldn't be aggressively attacking the fire. it was soon clear that no businesses could be saved. this view from skyfox shows the devastation. among the casualties, the chamber of commerce, a popular restaurant, a cpa office, and others. the fire appeared to start in a restaurant but the determination of what started the fire may take time. >> we're developing a plan to safely initiate the investigation. there are parts of the building about to fall down or have fallen down. in order to safely conduct the investigation, we need to bring in additional resources. sfwl >> reporter: the heat forced evacuation of nearby buildings. loud booms of tanks used for outdoor heating exploded. east bay had to increase the water pressure. some 12,000 gallons of water were sprayed per minute. the damage at least a million dollars. >> it's a big impact to us. >> i'm sure the board will come together. i'm sure the ci

quickly raced through this complex in downtown lafayette ... destroying everything in its path.hrough the air - nearby residents at several apartment structures were evacuated. fortunately, no one was hurt. it took about an hour of intense firefighting efforts, but crews were able to contain the blaze. however, the entire structure.. with 9 businesses .. was destroyed. la finestra - a favorite italian restaurant was in the back of the building.. and it is now gone. ( pam ) crews had to build a fence around the structure because of safety concerns.. the walls were teetering on collapse due to the fire. no word on the cause.. the damage is in the millions. ( steve ) a fire that destroyed at least one house in san jose and damaged another is under control tonight. investigators are trying to pinpoint what sparked the blaze off lariat lane and claitor w

the fire broke out before midnight in the heart of downtown lafayette. >> we have a large commercial building with a fire. >> reporter: within moams, it was clear to firefighters that they would not be attacking the inferno. it was clear that no businesses could be saved. this view from sky fox shows the devastation. among the casualties, a restaurant, a cpa office and a hair salon and a scun care center. initial reports said the fire may have started in the restaurant. >> we are developing a plan to knitter our investigation, parts of the building have fallen down, noshed to conduct the investigation, we need to bring in additional resources and equipment. >> radiant heat forced the evacuation of another building. there were booms as propane tanks exploded. 12,000 gallons of water were sprayed on the fire per minute. the damage is pegged at $1 million. >> you see this is a big impact. >> i am sure that the board is going to come together. i am sure that the city and the chamber of commerce will come up to a temporary solution. >> reporter: this is the same building where a 200-foot

quickly raced through this complex in downtown lafayette ... destroying everything in its path. nearby residents at several apartment structures were evacuated. fortunately, no one was hurt. it took about an hour for crews to contain the fire. however, 9 businesses were destroyed. the cause is still under investigation... the damage is estimated to be in the millions (steve) san leandro police arrested two 13 year old boys in connection with a series of school burglaries. one of the burglaries happened at washington elementary school. four other schools were also hit. police say i-pads and macbook laptops were taken in all of the cases. a fingerprint at one crime scenes led detectives to a 13 year old boy--who formely attended washington elementary. then a second 13 year old was arrested however the case remains open . police say there may be additional suspects and many stolen items are still outstanding. (pam)hotter weather is heading our way..(steve)chief meterologist brittney shipp has details.. little change in overall conditions expected today with mostly sunny skies away

. >>> there is new information about the fire last week in downtown lafayette that destroyed nine businessesa lit cigarette started the fire but they do not think it was on purpose. the fire started on an outside patio of a restaurant and it spread fast destroying a chamber of commerce building and seven other businesses. >> those are just some of the other morning headlines. >>> a new housing development is moving forward in the city of oakland disiet foir recent construction fires in this area, developers broke ground on the new project yesterday. it replaces an old parking lot. the building is also across the street from a development that burned down two weeks ago while he was being built. investigators also declared three other construction fires as arson. >> we are working with the city and various federal agencies. >> the new complex will have 3200 3200 apartments, -- 3200 apartments. 15% will be for lower income residents. the development is expected to be completed in two years. >>> the san francisco library is getting a face lift. the idea is to make it more friendly while giving t

. >>> we're learning news about last week's fire that destroyed businesses in downtown lafayette.hey believe a lit cigarette is who set off the fire on lafayette circle. they don't think it was intentional. the fires started on an outside patio of a restaurant. the flails spread quickly destroying the restaurant along with the city commerce building. damages estimated at more than $1 million. >>> new housing developments moving forward in oakland despite recent construction fires. rob real -- rob tells us one is going up across the street from where a fire occurred last month. >> reporter: developers broke ground in a major project. >> we're replacing the public parking so we're building a parking structure and 15,000 square feet of retail space and 234 amentized mixed income housing units. >> reporter: sitting across the street is the charred remains of another housing project. this is what happened to the waverly on july 7th as it was nearing completion. the fourth fire at a housing construction site in the past year. the cause is still unknown. the other three were arson. there

> there is new information about last weeks fire, the one that destroyed nine businesses in downtown lafayette. investigators now believe a lit cigarette started the fire on lafayette circle, but they don't think it was intentional. the three alarm fire started at an outside patio of a restaurant. the flames spread quickly, destroying that restaurant, along with lafayette chamber of commerce building and 7 other buildings. >>> and a humpback whale is free. a group of rescuers from the bay area successfully untangled it from fishing nets off the coast of northern california. it was spotted last thursday near crescent city struggling to get out of those nets. a team worked tirelessly to get the fishing lines out of the whales mouth and a line that was wrapped around one of the fins. >> it was grounded. it could not move, and so it was struggling to breathe for four or five days. >> once that whale was tree free, it circled their boat and then swam away. >> that by the way was the 7th whale to be tangled up in fishing nets off the california coast so far this year. >>> we're just three hours away

. >>> we have new information about the fire that destroyed nine businesses in downtown lafayette.ators believe he was a lit cigarette that set the fire but they don't believe it was intentional. the three-alarm fire started outside of the patio at the restaurant but the fire quickly destroyed the restaurant along with the lafayette chamber of commerce building and other businesses. >>> the new housing development moving forward in oakland despite the housing construction fires, the election webster replaces the old parking lot at 23rd and valdes, and across from the development that burned down a few weeks ago while under construction. investigators have declared the three other construction fires as arson. >> we think it is absolutely tragic and we will take steps to hopefully avoid the same issue they had. we are working with the city and various federal agencies. >> the new complex will add 234 apartments, 50% price for low and moderate income and the rest will be at the market rate from $2000 a month to $5000 a month. the development is expected to be completed in two years. >

quickly raced through this complex in downtown lafayette ... destroying everything in its path.y residents at several apartment structures were evacuated. fortunately, no one was hurt. it took about an hour for crews to contain the fire. however, 9 businesses were destroyed.. residents that were evacuated were thankful for the quick action taken by the fire fighters. (steve) the cause is still under investigation... the damage is estimated to be in the millions (pam) search crews looking for a missing man .... found possible clues.. some car parts at montara state beach this morning. crews have been searching for 22-year-old richard moss who was last seen back in may. moss was leaving his home in a blue hyundai tiburon on his way to work but never arrived. now investigators are trying to determine if the car parts are connected to moss's vehicle. his

. >> >>> a possible cause for last week's fire in downtown lafayette. they think it was a let the correct that set off the fire want to get circle. they don't think it was intentional. the three alarm fire started on an outside patio of the restaurant -- the flames spread quickly and destroyed the restaurant along with the chamber of commerce building and seven other businesses. >>>>> we felt helpless. we felt hopeless. >> bright to be delivered a blow when the wedding dressmaker unexpectedly closed. there may be a happy ending after all. >> >>> >>> the wedding gown wishes of thousands of brides-to-be have been crushed after a designer suddenly shut its doors. >> reporter: it's the wearable intersection of little girl hopes and grown did you know reality but the wedding gown wishes of thousands have been crushed since alfred angelo abruptly shut its doors. this woman's daughter is getting married in a month. out of the blue the shop gave her just a few minutes to drive 22 miles from their home to the store or else risk never seeing the dress again. >> w

will be hard to determine the exact cause of the fire that destroyed several businesses in downtown lafayette. the italian restaurant, la finestra and the city's chamber of commerce were among the nine businesses that burned down in a commercial building on lafayette circle. damages estimated at more than $1 million and many people stopped by to look at the burned out building and reminisce about the local history that is now lost. >> this is part of that old school town that we all grew up with. we are losing something that's been here for this long. is heartbreaking. >> the chamber of commerce is one i was worried about. the old records -- i don't know what happened to those. i'm sure they were all digital. 50 years or so of recording things. i hope everything is okay with them. >> firefighters say because of the unusual shape and architecture of the building, pinpointing the cause of the fire may take some time. they will look at video and talk to witnesses as part of their investigation. >>> a possible break in the case of a missing san mateo county man after car parts were found at monte

will be hard to know the cause of wednesday nights fire that destroyed several businesses in downtown lafayettehe beloved italian restaurant, la finestra, and the cities chamber of commerce were among the nine businesses that burned down in a commercial building on lafayette circle. damages estimated at more than $1 million. yesterday, many people stopped by to see the building and also they remembered a bit of a local history that's now lost. >> this is part of that, old school, town we all grew up with. losing something that's been here for this long, is heartbreaking. >> the chamber of commerce is the one i was worried about. the records. i don't know what happened -- i'm sure they weren't all- digital. 50 years or so of recording things -- i hope everything is okay with them. >> firefighters say because of the unique and unusual shape and architecture of the building, finding the exact cause of the fire it may take some time. they will be checking video and also talking to witnesses as part of the investigation. >>> business owners and west oakland are frustrated over a homeless camp outsid

. >>> at least nine businesses are destroyed after the fire crews to the downtown lafayette office building weather conditions overnight actually help the firefighters keep the blaze contained. >>> getting the oakland police department back on track following the scandal and what the judge is doing to make sure it does not happen again. >>> mornings on 2 continues. this is ktvu mornings on 2. >>> good morning and thank you for waking up with us. if you are just joining us, a mild day but hot inland on this thursday, july 13, i am pam cook. >> i am dave clark. good morning. >>> we are talking about the pizza we love but we still have to talk about steve paulson who knows more about the weather. >> we have fog and there you go. for others you want to send it farther east.>>> the south and north having a bigger

. >>> a three-alarm fire in downtown lafayette overnight destroyed a two-story office building. "skydrone5" got a view of the charred shell left behind. blackened rubble and a big mess, the building used to house the city's chamber of commerce and a restaurant and several small businesses, but not anymore thanks to these flames that could be seen for miles away around midnight. fire crews worked into the morning to battle the fire and embers. at one point they evacuated buildings to protect people from the heat and because propane tanks were exploding. the damage is about a million dollars. >> there's a hair salon in the building, all of our lives are impacted. >> there's financial loss, emotional loss. you know, when tragedy happens, i'm sure that the community will come together. >> fire investigators say it could be days or even weeks before they can determine the cause of the fire. >>> paul, are we headed for a warmup? >> now we go back up with the temperatures. once again, most of the warming will be found away from the water where you'll see triple digits starting saturday

. >>> we continue to dig for answers in yesterday morning's destructive fire in downtown lafayette. we brought you live breaking coverage yesterday. this morning, the question is was it arson or just a very unfortunate incident. it ripped through multiple businesses including the chamber of commerce and housed a nail salon and a restaurant. city loaders are calling the fire one of the worst in lafayette's history. >>> good friday morning. we are coming up on 5:08. if you can get the weekend started early and head to santa cruz today, it is nice and cool. at least to start out in the morning as we will be in the mid to upper 50s and then late morning lunchtime 63 degrees. some low 70s there today and then if you want to head to napa valley and enjoy the sunshine, and some warmer temperatures, we will have a nice cool start. we'll be at 61 degrees noontime temperature 78 and 85 later today. we're going to have some very hot weather this weekend. temperatures ramp up quickly. i'll talk about that. mike starts us out with a crash in sarahtoga. >> the croatia and the big delay in oakland

>>> we're learning new information about last week's fire that destroyed nine businesses in downtown lafayettevestigators now believe a lit cigarette set off the fire on lafayette circle but they don't think it was intentional. the three-alarm fire started late thursday night at an outside patio of a restaurant. the flames spread quickly, destroying the restaurant, along with lafayette city of commerce building and seven other buildings. damage is estimated at more than a million dollars. >>> here in this san francisco neighborhood, a small dog is killed by a coyote. the owner has a warning for others. >> chief meteorologist bill martin is working up his forecast. he's back with how the latter part of the week will play out. summer things are heating up on the wta time to play when the us open series hits stanford... for the bank of the west classic, join the celebration of summer. where the action off the court, is just as hot as the action on it. july 31st through august 6th join us monday, july 31st for net generation kids' day. the ultimate family tennis experience! don't miss the wta acti

. >>> we continue to dig for answers in yesterday morning's fire in downtown lafayette. we brought it to you as live breaking coverage yesterday morning. now, this morning is the question, was it arson or just a very unfortunate accident? so far, investigators aren't saying anything. that fire ripped through multiple butzs including the chamber of commerce. the building housed a nail salon and accounting office and popular restaurant. city leaders are calling the one of the worst in lafayette's history. >>> well, to paris we go this morning where celebrations are well under way. president trump attending the celebrations with french president macron this morning. nbc news learned more about donald trump jr.'s meeting last year with the russian insider who promised dirt on hillary clinton. >> today in the bay tracie potts joins us live from washington this morning. good morning. >> reporter: sam and laura, good morning. we learned and confirmed there was someone else in the room ties to russia. president trump overseeing those bastille day celebrations today, unable to sh

the burning fire quickly raced through this complex in downtown lafayette. destroying everything.earby residents at several apartment structures were evacuated. fortunately, no one was hurt. it took about an hour for crews to contain the fire. however, 9 businesses were destroyed. residents that were evacuated were thankful for the quick action taken by the fire fighters.<> (tiffany) the cause is still under investigation. the damage is estimated to be in the millions (tiffany) still ahead... president trump defends his son's meeting with a russian lawyer. what he thought of the meeting.

. >>> news this morning, the fire at the downtown commercial building in lafayette in the east bay is described as a total loss. this occurred just before midnight at the lafayette circle at highway 24 and the bart station. julie saw the flames from the freeway driving home from work and took this video for us. reportedly several businesses and the office spaces were in the burning building. firefighters called in extra help to battle the flames but no injuries so far are reported. we do not know the cause of the fire as in the case of several large local fires recently. this was a multi-story wood frame building in the news crews heading to lafayette and we will have a live update coming up. >>> it is 4:03 am. >>> late last night the grass fire outside of petaluma was fully contained in started on a private ranch and sky fox through it and the flames were being battled from the ground and the air. you can see the smoke and it was seen from san rafael and novato and the cause of the fire is under investigation. >>> in butte county making progress against the wall fire and the evacuati

quickly aware the building is, it is tucked away in lafayette down this road about a block away from mount diablo boulevard which is this main downtown area in the lafayette. you can see there are a lot of businesses and shops are here with a lot of folks in the neighborhood and live or work nearby with other businesses coming by to assess and take pictures, to look at the damage for themselves. >> reporter: investigators say that the plan going forward is to fence off the area and they will do evaluations to the structural stability to come up with a long-term plan. they said they had to figure out and investigate to figure out how the fire started and where it began, but for now they are in a holding pattern until they assess the structural stability of the building. >> it is tough that they cannot get inside that building and thank you, allie rasmus from lafayette. >>> the police in the south bay holding a man after reporting he shot a man around 7 am this morning at saratoga. the man called up 911 after the woman was shot and is now cooperating with the investigation. officers will not say whether the shooting was an accident or

so there is -- oh, we're in lafayette looking back toward downtown. a pretty robust breeze this afternoon. you probably noticed it out there. so the cooling which started yesterday continues today and just sets us up with this low, and this pattern of better fire conditions, easier on the fire danger. when this low parks itself offshore, you can kind of -- well, you can't ever relax in july, because of high fire danger but it definitely takes the pressure off the fire and air district. tomorrow should be a little bit warmer. you will see a couple of 90s back in the santa rosa area. so that low is going to weaken and move off, then the high will kind of slowly build back in towards the bay area weekend when temperatures will go boom, boom, boom back up. not hot, but back into the mid- 90s as we get into sunday. that's your tomorrow. a lot like today but warmer a couple degrees. then we will talk more about the five-day forecast when i see you after the break. >> all right, bill. tonight the oakland a's host their annual root beer float day before the a

downtown is gone. >> all the way from monroe down to lafayette and three streets in between were leveled. >> reporter: it wasn't an earthquake or fire, it was the hand of city leaders in the 1960s, they said yes to a plan to wipe the downtown clean, part of an urban renewal craze sweeping the country. preservations drew a line in the sand here in front of the u.s. post office. today it is the only building that survives in tact from the old downtown. but now there is a new movement under foot, and it is gaining momentum, to rebuild downtown santa clara. rodney dunham and dan and ruseck leading the effort, using old photos to remap where builds used to be. >> right over here was washington street, you could take a look. >> reporter: finding hidden treasures that survived the wrecking ball. >> this was back to like the early 20s. >> reporter: they want to exactly rebuild some key historic buildings like the santa clara theater and old town hall. it is not just nostalgia, restored downtowns like campbells are money makers for the city. >> santa clara has downtown envy. >> that is true. >> reporter: big

lafayette. now we continue to dig for answers in the wake of that fire in the downtown area of the city.brought you live coverage of the fire yesterday on today in the bay. this morning the question is was it arson or just a very unfortunate accident? so far investigators aren't saying. the fire ripped through multiple businesses there, including the chamber of commerce in lafayette. that building also housed a nail salon, an accounting office and a popular restaurant, la finestra. they are calling the fire one of the worst in lafayette history. >>> san francisco's planning commission reportedly approved a controversial plan for a marijuana dispensary in the outer sunset. not everybody is on board with that plan which calls for a pot shop and medicine clinic on 32nd avenue. the group heading it is headed in part by mayor jean quan. they tried to address the commission at yesterday's meeting which followed protests earlier in the day outside city hall. the report is that planners approved that project by a vote of 5-1. >>> palo alto homeless has surgeried 26% in just two years. that figur

lafayette. a cigarette may be to blame, and it led to all of this. a three-alarm blaze that gutted a downtown business overnight. this happened last week. at least nine businesses were damaged. the chamber of commerce was burned and an italian restaurant was gutted. investigators believe someone was smoking a cigarette on the patio of that restaurant. no arrests have been made. >>> coming up at 6:00, will o.j. simpson be released from jail tomorrow is this and what some people are doing to make sure he stays where he is. 811 is a free service to keep our community safe. before you do any project big or small, pg&e will come out and mark your gas and electric lines so you don't hit them when you dig. call 811 before you dig, and make sure that you and your neighbors are safe. 811 is available to any business our or homeownerfe. to make sure that you identify where your utilities are if you are gonna do any kind of excavation no matter how small or large before you dig, call 811. keep yourself safe. we )re continuing to follow breaking news. arizona senator john mc d >>> happening now. across o

. >> >> in lafayette, new information about last week's fire that destroyed nine businesss in downtown area. they now believe a lit cigarette lit the fire: they do not think it was intentionally set. the three alarm fire started at an outside patio of a restaurant, the flames quickly spread destroying the restaurant along with the claim ber of commerce and 7 other builds. >>> a humpback wheel is free after they successfully untangled it off the coast of northern california the whale was first spotted last thursday near crescent city. the team worked tirelessly to remove fishing lines from the whale's mouth and a lain wrapped around his fin. >> it was grounded and could not move. so it was struggling to breathe for four or five days. >> once the whale was free, they say it circled their boat and swam away the is the wereth whale to get tanged in fishing net off the coast this year. >>> all right. the time is 7:56: coming up at 8:00, more on that huge wild fire burning near yosimite. we will get a live report from mariposa county and latest on evacuations and progress being made by fire