chris chmura says a federal agency is now taking note. >> reporter: good morning.nal highway traffic safety administration says it's opened a preliminary investigation into select head rests. some are designed to pop open, like this, in a crash to prevent whiplash, but some drivers say some head rests are popping open randomly without a crash. >> all of a sudden i felt a hit in the back of the head and i freaked out a little. is someone in the car? there's nobody back there. no cars behind me. >> reporter: we've gotten reports from jeep, chrysler and dodge owners around the country. so has nhtsa. they've logged over 400 records. nhtsa has left the door open to investigate other models and years. we turned to fiat chrysler for comment. if you've had a head rest burst open unexpected, the national highway traffic administration would lik t hear >>> and coming up here on "today in the bay" more of that breaking news from this morning. that deadly accident on highway 101 and the 280 split where two lanes are now back open. this should make a better commute. >> there's

i'm chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. >>> first happening now, massive fire in eastern pakistanassengers died. the flames roared through train cars. many people tried to jump off while the train was still at full speed. investigators believe it started from a gas cooking stove. a lot more news after this really quick break. deal talk! my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo, comes with... 100% beef and hickory smoked bacon, plus fries and a drink all for just the change in your couch. i found the remote! try my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo. my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo, deal talk! comes with fries and a drink. all for just the change in your couch. what... mr. wigglesworth? i thought we lost you. kevin?! try my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo. >>> welcome back, everyone. it's 4:55. nbc bay area responds to consumer complaints every week of the year. >> consumer investigator chris chmura is here to share our recent wins for viewers. >> reporter: good morning, 2019 is wrapping up to be our most successful year so far at nbc bay area responds. since january 1st have helped

i'm chris chmura, nbc bay area responds. >>> but first, happening now, breaking news that we've beenovering since 2:30 this morning. a fire burning in moraga. now 60% contained. it's about a mile away from st. mary's college. the fire burning in the sanders ranch community of merrill drive and sanders ranch road. at least 100 homes evacuated this morning. many people gathered at st. monica's church. the fire started a little after 1:00 a.m. we spoke to at least one evacuee. they have a lot of power alerts but none about evacuations. more news ahead. 4:53. >>> welcome back. yesterday the county of santa clara declared a state of emergency, and that triggers a vital protection for consumers, protection from price gouging. >> consumer investigator chris chmura has been in touch with the attorney general's office. >> reporter: good morning. price gouging isn't illegal until there's an official emergency declaration. here is what it says. the statute applies immediately after the president, governor, or city or county executive officer declares a state of emergency. that is the case in sa

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," >>> happening now, climate protests are under way in australia and new zealand. thousands of people took to the streets demanding action. police say they arrested 30 people in sydney for obstructing traffic and disobeying reasonable direction. new zealand media reported in wellington, hundreds of people protested outside the country's parliament causing disruption. we'll be back with a lot more news. it's 4:51 right now. there are two types of journeys in life. there are those we choose to take and those that life takes us on. from moments we'll never forget to thdiagnosed with cancerryersn a long-term survivor. donate $25 or more and you'll receive 10 american airlines advantage miles for every dollar you give. visit standuptocancer.org slash american airlines to learn more. visit standuptocancer.org >>> a very good morning to you. it is outlookingicor. it's pretty early, 4:54 right now. >>> you know, the week ahead some of the smartest people in the world will win nobel prizes. over the weekend, or overnight the award

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. help you outsmart the scammers, next. >>> but first, happening now, firefighters mopping up and watching for hot spots east of los angeles. the little mountain fire spread quickly because of windy conditions, leading to evacuations and damage to at least nine homes. five people, including a firefighter, were hurt. it spread to about 17 acres before being completely almost knocked down. the cause of that fire is under investigation. 4:53. a lot more news ahead. we hope you stick around. >>> nbc bay area responds to an uptick in viewers who have fallen for scams. >> it's not that people are more gullible. consumer investigator chris chmura says scammers are getting smarter and personal. >> good morning. we've been talking with security experts who say the bad guys are more strategic than ever to fool you. first they're targeting particular areas. they pick a company that's popular in your city or neighborhood. next, they spoof the caller id so it looks like that company making you more

nbc responds to our consumers. >> chris chmura wants to share victories from our responds and responde files. >> good morning, for more than three years we've worked closely with our colleaguing at telemundo 48 responde to assist with our consumers throughout the community. we put more than $3.9 million back into our viewers' pockets. let's talk about some recent additions to that total, starting with leslie in san jose seeing red ink in a dispute over a newspaper delivery. our "nbc bay area responds" team helped her get back $122.71. at telemundo 48 responde guadalupe and norma in hayward ran into a dispute way jeweler. arlen fernandez and her team helped them get back $2,851.31. we'd love to try and help you, too. call us any time, 888-996-tips for the nbc tipline or 844-408-4848 for telemundo. have a great weekend. >> you, too, chris. >>> how about this for great? we're less than a year away from the 2020 olympics in tokyo and simone biles continues to shine. look at her go. superstar gymnast has won another gold medal at the world championships. she dominated yesterday in germany,

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll explain, next. deal talk!combo, comes with... 100% beef and hickory smoked bacon, plus fries and a drink all for just the change in your couch. i found the remote! try my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo. try the all new tyson air fried chicken.! with 75% less fat. it's all pleasure and no guilt. plus we air fry it before you buy it. it's the best thing to happen to fried chicken since... fried chicken. tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything to preserve and protect them. with love, california. my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo, comes with fries and a drink. all for just the change in your couch. what... mr. wigglesworth? i thought we lost you. kevin?! try my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo. >>> welcome back. recently our consumer team wept uuser cover. >> then some consumer advocates did the same and later this morning they'll announce the result of their investigation. consumer investigator

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds" and telemundo 48 responde next. >>> firstappening now, anti-government protests continue in hong kong today. the city is bracing for a full weekend of demonstrations. thursday kari lam was forced out. they are calling for a human chain outside the metro station tonight. 0 >>> good morning, richmond. taking a live look outside, see some cars on the road. mike will help us get through the commute coming up in a bit. not too bad right there. 4:56 for you right out in. nbc bay area responds to consumer complaints from our viewers in english and spanish. >> consumer investigator chris chmura wants to share a few victories. >> good morning, for more than three years now we worked cleesly with our colleagues at telemundo 48 responde to assist our viewers throughout the community. during that time we helped put more than diagnosis $3.9 millio our viewers apockets. leslie in san jose was seeing red ink in a dispute over newspaper delivery. our "nbc bay area responds" team helped her get back $122.71. guadalupe and norma in hayward ran

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. >> and we are seeing clear skies and a cool night around the bay area right now. emeryville 55 degrees. find out when bay side temperatures could climb clot 80s and 90s, back in the seven-day forecast when we come back in less than two minu from the couldn't be prouders to the wait did we just win-ners. everyone uses their phone differently. that's why xfinity mobile let's you design your own data. now you can share it between lines. mix winl it's a different kind of wireless network designed to save you money. antioch after gunfire broke out near a middle school as students were walking home. >>> some frightening moments in antioch after gunfire broke out near middle school just as students were walking home. you can see in the video there it shows the gunman running away with the gun still in h hernands in antioch with exclusive details on what exactly d ks start running and he --. >> reporter: paul dunne describehan the stree his antioch house yesterday afternoon. as a fight involving school kids and adults took a

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. ♪ hey. hey.t be steven's phone. now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network... only with xfinity xfi. download the xfi app today. 5:56. welcome back. we have team coverage on the kincade fire and power outages. in a moment, look at ways to stay safe in the unhealthy air and 6:01, live in the north bay with what the fire is doing right now. at 6:08, families still in the dark but also covering other news. scott mcgrew's business and tech check at 6:15. >>> now to a story you'll only see here on nbc bay area, parents of an american woman killed by isis are speaking out following the death of the top leader. kayla mueller was a volunteer of doctors without borders taken captive in 2013, her remains have never been recovered. the top isis leader was killed by american special forces over the weekend. the operation to take him down was named in her honor. here is what parents of mueller say she would have felt about this. >> i know kayla

i'm chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. >>> my name is frank jordan. i was the mayor of san francisco in the '90s. i was the police chief in the '80s and i was the police chi during the 1989 loma prieta earthquake in san francisco. at 5:04 when the earthquake hit i was in candlestick park in uniform and i was just walking on to the field to go over to talk to baseball commissioner faye vcent about some of the security issues we were working on together at that time. and i felt the earthquake as i was walking across the groons t grass on the playing field. >> interesting to hear from him. he's been very helpful for us throughout the week reliving all the memories. at this point 30 years ago, we were just realizing the severity of what happened. tonight we're talking about the homeowner's insurance. >> are you covered or will federal aid help you rebuild? no on both counts. chris chmura is here to tell about the myths. >> most homeowner's insurance policies did cover during loma prieta but all that changed after the 1994 northridge earthquake in l.a. dam

i'm chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. the . they took $12.8 billion from big tobacco.go, mint, and menthol flavors, addicting kids to nicotine. five million kids now using e-cigarettes. the fda said juul ignored the law with misleading health claims. now juul is pushing prop c, to overturn san francisco's e-cigarette protections. say no to juul, no to big tobacco, no to prop c. >>> nbc bay area responds this weekend to a man who found himself with two tickets to an nfl game 800 miles away. >> trouble is he's not interested in the game and didn't buy the tickets. we asked chris chmura to help him out of the mess. >> this one begins first thing in the morning. he gets an early morning text, 6:52 saying he had just bought tickets to the seattle seahawks recently and the tab $560. he told game time he never bought those tickets. they refused to give him a refund. we suggested he file a fraud replate. he did, they wouldn't refund it. recontacted the bank and the next day he got the $560 refund. game time told us the purchase was made through a separate payment app and said

chris chmura joins us with why some have power and some didn't. pg&e can't cut off the sun, can they? >> it's not the sun. it's what some people think about the solar systems and what they do. some solar systems were useless when the power went out. take a look at the q&a. will solar panels work during a black out? no, unless you have battery storage. those batteries are optional. they can also be expensive. that means many of the state's 926,000 solar homes don't have that battery. so, they were left in the dark despite their rooftop panels. at solaria, located in oakland, its ceo explained an existing system can be retrofitted. >> i would call your local installer and see what it would cost to put in batteries on top of the system that you have to have back up. most systems, solar systems, that are installed, you can get batteries and back it up and avoid this in the future if your power gets cut. >> that is really good to hear, isn't it? you can actually retrofit that system. now, i should caution that those batteries, they do have some limitat

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. area responds to smarter scammers, next. >>> right now at 6:30, thousands of people are losing power, some are getting a reprieve. a lot of moving parts tonight as it relates to the pg&e power outages. more shutoffs are expected as many parts of san mateo county warned that their lights will go out after midnight. in the last 90 minutes, we've learned many people who are expecting to lose power will not lose power. nbc bay area's robert handa joins us in wood side. deja vu, frustration, and a lot of people have to be prepared. >> reporter: that's right. some are getting a reprieve. many like the communities went through this a couple of weeks ago. pg&e is targeting more narrow pockets of san mateo county since the neighborhood of wood side, about 500 people work and live. even if some are not going to lose power after all, they're not taking any chances. >> lauren -- he spent his time preparing for the worst. the gasoline in the generator had gone bad. he's making sure he has a supply

i'm chris chmura, nbc bay area responds next. ♪ hey. hey. you must be steven's phone. can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network... only with xfinity xfi. download the xfi app today. >>> all of a sudden jerking, pans were flying, food flying everywhere and i run going to the door frame and all of a sudden people are pushing me underneath, we're going the wrong way. we're going underneath the hotel. it was just chaos. >> that's a woman who was working in berkeley when it struck. on this 30th anniversary of the deadly earthquake. in just a few minutes you'll hear from the man who narrowly missed a freeway collapsing around him in the same area where dozens of people were killed. the split decision he said saved his life. you might think your homeowner's insurance has you covered for the next big earthquake or that you might be able to get by with federal aid to rebuild. >> chris chmura is here to bust some of those myths around earthquake damage. >>> good morning. most homeowners insurance policies did cover damag

chris chmura joins us with answers. this is a big issue when it comes to technology here. >> yeah, because these are vital devices these days, right? we know from the fires way back when that sometimes the service does go out. the bottom line with this event is there might be service but it might not be 100%. we asked the four biggest wireless carriers about their plans. at&t and vicinisprint haven't g back to us. but verizon did. they have generators and back up batteries at the majority of their towers to keep our network up and running if commercial power is lost. t-mobi t-mobile told us it has a fleet of temporary generator trucks similar to the ones on your screen now. on top of those portable power services, cell companies have temporary cell towers they can dispatch by truck in an emergency. there are no guarantees here, so you need to really brace yourself for service to be spotty for the remainder of the week. even if you have four bars, you've got to figure out how you'll keep your phone charged when the power

i'm consumer investigators chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. ♪ hey. hey. must be steven's phone. now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network... only with xfinity xfi. download the xfi app today. hey, shaq. it's a 30 second tour. no man it's like... now it's 26. welcome aboard. ocean! skyride. mini golf. relax! relax! relax! you take this man to be your husband? i do. married. no time for basketball. pool. carnival. choose fun. during a carjacking in emeryville when a woman left her carni her baby in the back seat as she ran in a taco bell. that's when a man stole the car with the baby inside. police say the thief left the baby on the sidewalk a few blocks away. while the mother was calling 911 so was a good samaritan who saw the baby on the sidewalk. the mother is not facing charges but police are still looking for the thief and the stolen car. two walnut creek mail thieves will spend more than two years in prison. prosecutors say the defendants drove from the city to the beacon apartments in

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll explain, next. ♪ ♪ introducing a razor that works differently. the gillette skinguard. designed with a guard between the blades that helps protect skin. n e face.get the shave you've bn twaiting for. gillette skinguard. x1. featuring the emmy award-winning voice remote. stats and scores.s without ve chports - with real-time access to the most 4k content. and your movies and shows to go. the best tv experience is the best tv value. xfinity x1. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. >>> welcome back, everyone. receiptly our consumer team wept of car shopping under cover. at investigation. consum ierestigator chris chmura with a preview of their finding. >> when we went shopping here in the bay area, we found lots of recalled cars for sale even though they hadn't been fixed. about 10% of the used cars we found with a public interest research group just went car shopping, too. they looked at 28 dealers around proble 10:30 the consumer advocates holding a news confere

consumer investigator chris chmura explains that. >> and temperatures already drop in to low 40s in napawhat you can expect for that morning commute when we come right back. welcome to the carnival 30 minute tour. hey, shaq. it's a 30 second tour. no man it's like... now it's 26. welcome aboard. ocean! skyride. mini golf. relax! relax! relax! you take this man to be your husband? i do. married. no time for basketball. pool. carnival. choose fun. >>> during last week's pg&e blackout some families with solar panels didn't have a problem at all their power was never disrupted. >> but not all of them. consumer investigative reporter chris chmura is explaining why some had power and some did want. >> here's a reality check, some solar systems were useless when the power wept out. take a look at this q&a from the solar company sun run. question will solar pams work during a blackout? answer, no, unless you have battery storage. those batteries are optional and can be expensive. many of the state's 926,000 solar homes don't have a battery. so they were left in the dark despite their rooftop pan

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura.elp you outsmart the skae scammers, next. >>> but first, you can celebrate halloween and help out a good cause. actually tonight i'm going to be a part of this bartending event for a good cause, the alpha nu omega chapter alumni chapter out of oakland, they have this big fund-raiser to help with their programs and scholarships they have throughout the year. join me at the osa bar and cafe in oakland tonight starting at 6:30. i'll see you there. follow me and get that information on my facebook, twitter as well as instagram. >> a california native american tribe is celebrating regaining much of the land it lost more than 150 years ago. for years the wyatt tribe has been making strides to regain land on indian island just off the coast of eureka. in tribal lore the island has been considered the center of the universe. many tribe members died in a massacre there in the 1800s. this is a closer look at the island from google earth. eureka leaders approved granting the tribe more than 200 a

chris chmura is here to bust the myths around earthquake damage. >> reporter: most homeowners insurancedamage during loma prieta, but all that changed after the 1994 northridge earthquake in l.a. damage was in the billions so it was dropped from policies. earthquake coverage is now optional and costs you extra. you might think you're still okay because of the federal government. >> fema makes emergency grants available. it is not to be used to rebuild homes so living on the hope is false hope and dangerous. >> reporter: if you're thinking more seriously about revising your backup plan, shop right now for earthquake insurance with the california earthquake authority. it has this tool on its website to help you estimate what you can pay and what coverage you will get for your money. go to nbcbayarea.com/responds. >>> all right. so it is 4:57 right now. a startling new report painting a grim picture of affordable housing. coming up how the numbers compare with the housing options for higher paid workers. >>> at second base, the oakland a's take -- >> we're having an earthquake. >>> right n

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds" and mel tune dough telemundo 48. ♪ hey you must be steven's phone. now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network... only with xfinity xfi. download the xfi app today. >>> 5:56 for you right you know. new this morning, contra costa county sheriff is asking for your help in a homicide case. 40-year-old william tate of san pablo was found dead yesterday near the train tracks at giant road and parr boulevard. in unincorporated part of the county near north richmond. at first investigators thought tate was hit by a train but turns out that he was shot. s give police a call if you can help them lead to that shooter. >>> a small plane made an emergency landing in stockton last night. look how it ended up. the crash was a few miles away from the stockton airport. two deputies were training when the plane lost power, prompting them to land in a field. the plane had skidded off into a fence and hit the side of a diesel truck. thankfully no one was injured. >>> new this m

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. tv just keeps getting better. how you watch it does too. this is xfinity x1. featuring the emmy award-winning voice remote. streaming services without changing passwords and input. live sports - with real-time stats and scores. access to the most 4k content. and your movies and shows to go. the best tv experience is the best tv value. xfinity x1. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. >>> a bay area man is accused of spying for china. you're looking at surveillance video used to build a case against edward pong. investigators say it shows him taping bundles of money and important information to the bottom of a drawer in a bay area hotel for another secret agent to retrieve, but there's a twist. the u.s. attorney says that the chine spy working with pong was actually a double agent working for the u.s. >> the precise information conveyed was cleared and controlled by the united states for passage to the prc. >> pong was arrested at his home in hayward on friday. the u.s

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next.here are those who will say that you're: too fat. too skinny. too hard. too soft. too old. too much. too unexpected. too limited. and to them we say too bad. because at kaiser permanente, we believe that everyone deserves the right to thrive. >>> 6:24 and a sacramento uber driver is in a coma, after police say what happened last night. police say he fought off a knife attack. police say that driver and his passenger had an argument late last night. when officers arrived they found a passenger swinging the knife. the driver at that point had no injuries, but later suffered a heart attack. he's now in a medically indupsed induced coma. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san francisco student whose cross-country shipment went missing. >> he asked consumer investigator chris chmura and his team for help. >> good morning, marcus recently enrolled at the academy of art in san francisco. he paid $156 tgreyhod, the bus line, to ship two suitcases from connecticut to here. inside, personal items in

chris chmura has some expert advice. you have some tips about what's going on here, chris. >> reporter: every hardware store we called this afternoon told us they just sold out of portable generators. that means we have several hundred, possibly a couple thousand novice generator owners around the bay area right now. so let's talk about some of the risks. they seem like a life saver, but they do pose serious hazards. first, there is a shock risk for sure. also carbon monoxide poisoning, heat and fire. let's talk about that shock, though. today we talked to a brisbane electrician who emphasized how dangerous an improper hookup can be. he said only a pro should wire a generator directly into your home's electrical system. >> not only could you cause anyt also a fire if you do have a short. youbackfeed pg&e's supply. if a pg&e gentleman is working up on a pole to restore power, so that worker could g serious . safely venting a portable generator c the generator inside your home or garage. it must go outside to be safe. here'

. >> and chris chmura is focused on the future and the one question is, are you ready for the earthquake. >> good morning. it is a big question. now a small oakland business aims to help you answer it. meet sarah yoens, she calls herself an earthquake coach. she's visit your home and create a customized top to bottom report to help you assess your earthquake risk. >> it tarts with small things like having some things by the side of the bed and it goes all the way up to retrofitting and ensuring. >> tonight at 6:00 we'll follow the quake coach as she inspected a home and what customers get and what she charges and where you can find free help. if you have a consumer tip, head to nbcbayarea.com/responds. our call us at 888-996-tips. i'll join you again tonight at 6:00. >> well tonight as well nbc bay area janelle wang has a story of heroics of how people came to the rescue of a young boy stuck under a collapsed deck during the loma prieda earthquake. tune in tonight at 5:00 on television or our digital or set your dvr. >>> earlier kari was telling us about the origins of the earthquake. yo

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> but first, happening now, massive protests under way in chile. clashes broke out in santiago. police fired tear gas and deployed a water cannon towards thousands of protesters. anti-government protests started earlier this month over transportation fare hikes. demonstrators calling for better pay, schools, housing and medical care among many other demands. a lot more ahead, stick around. my parents never taught me anything about managing money. the amount of student loan debt i have, i'm embarrassed to even say. we just decided we didn't want debt any longer. ♪ i didn't realize how easy investing could be. i'm picking companies that i believe in. ♪ i think sofi money is amazing. ♪ thank you sofi. sofi thank you, we love you. ♪ >>> having the same fears all over again. >> you have approximately a thousand birds and animals, yes, and so fires do make us very, very nervous. >> just like the tubbs fire, peter lang says he plans to stick it out, vowing to leave none of the animals behind. >>> we are also following

chris chmura while the utility does have a shutoff. >> and the big part of the threat is the wind that we could have here in the bay area. meteorologist kari hall is telling us about that throughout the morning. kari, you mentioned that on "today in the bay." >> yes. so we're starting out with a cooldown and it is still warm. tomorrow is when the cold front comes through and we'll see our winds picking up. as we take a live look outside at clear lake, we're looking around the bay area and there are several new cameras set up around the mountaintops from the north bay to the south bay and the santa cruz mountains so we're able to get a bird's-eye view to see if there is smoke rising up from any we're still looking at above-normal temperatures reaching into the low to mid-80s, for the inland areas and upper 80s in spots like antioch and morgan hill but much cooler air moving into the coast. going into tomorrow, once again, that front startsrigh colors in where the winds will start to gust. and we take you through tomorrow morning at 2:00 and we'll start to see the winds picking up but th

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura, "nbc bay area responds," next. >>> and happening now, the unitedtates and north korea will resume nuclear negotiations on saturday. talks have been stalled since the february summit between president trump and kim jong-un. after those negotiations, north korea started testing short-range missiles again. the trump administration says it will continue to pressure north korea until the country ends its nuclear program. this program is going on, a lot of news ahead. it's 4:52 right now. is skincare from around the world better than olay? olay regenerist faced 131 premium products, from 12 countries, over 10 years. olay's hydration was unbeaten every time. olay, face anything. tto harrison, the wine tcollection.. to craig, this rock. i leave these things to my heirs, all 39 million of you, on one condition. that you do everything to preserve and protect them. with love, california. the juul record. they took $12.8 billion from big tobacco. juul marketed mango, mint, and menthol flavors, addicting kids to nicotine. five million kids now using e-cigarette

chris chmura found the answer is no. while the utility does have an outage reimbursement program, they tell us it does not apply to the so-called safety shut offs. we have a lot more on the possible black outs on our website including a tool to find out if your address is in that potential outage zone. go and check it out at nbcbayarea.com. >> this is the peak of fire season, and the heat and the wind making for a dangerous mix. this is the live look now in dublin. let's bring in our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. jeff, what are you seeing the next few days? >> i really think at this point, i want to get this out here. it looks like the worst that of wend would come on wednesday night into thursday morning. so that's what you want to be thinking about, staying alert just in case any kind of fires were to start. that's when the winds would be whipping up the most. you see the fire weather watch here. all the areas in orange, that includes most of the north bay, east bay and the higher elevations of the south bay. that'

. >> let's check in with chris chmura and you've been reporting about what to do and how to prepare. >> make sure you're ready. give me about two and a half minutes. some things you probably know but other things maybe not. run through them any way to reinforce what we should do and as we've heard over and over again, it seems like this is the new normal. if you are not in the map or over here or over here. it might be you next time. so here is what we should be doing now. first and foremoment, you are informed and keep your cell phone plugged in now. as long as you can and keep it fully charged. the cellular companies have generators and battery back-ups at key towers. not all towers but key towers. service is spotty but there nonetheless. so make sure you are connected with that phone charge. also make sure your car, if it is gasoline-powered, has gas. service stations don't all have generators to power the pumps and they lose power and you can't fill up. tesla owners got this message last night on the computer screen on the car in the console advising them to override the default

that's where we bring in consumer investigator chris chmura. chris? >> good evening.lways ask your doctor for a personal recommendation, especially if you have lung or heart trouble. in general, though, the epa recommends the n-95, which is a type, not a brand name. the 95 means it's designed to block 95 of particles from getting into your lungs. all right. did you see this online? a bride and groom posing in their wedding gash and their n95s. a castro valley photographer posted this photo and it went viral. kudos to the coupe form trying, but i do have one bit of criticism here. let's zoom in, because the newly wednesday are not wearing the n95s properly. both of them failed to attach the lower elastic band. it's dangling around their chin. no, no, no. that should be wrapped around the back of their head. the manager of my n95, 3m says you've got to have a good seal around your face so smoke doesn't seep in on the side. and the elastic bands are essential for a good seal. there are two of them. i'll give this couple a pass. the photographer says they're from chicago.

we want to bring in chris chmura. chris, a couple of things for you, one, where do you go if you can't go on i 80? what are the options? and two, when all this settles a little bit, the next question people are going to be asking is is this going to impact my gas price? this is not a refinery, but it's a storage price. >> people are already asking that question all over social media. let's cover that. why is this going to remain closed so long. this is a zoomed in area of the map. this pen represents about 400 feet. these two are the runs that burned. here's the pen, 400 feet, that's how close intertate 80 is to this scene of the fire. they certainly don't want to let drivers run through here so close to a situation where as jessica describes where if a little bit of oxygen gets under the blanket of foam we could see another flare up. we see i 80 closed perhaps until midnight. that's what the red and exciwhi line is on google maps. the more red, the more bad news. there is tons of it. drives try to go north and east. i

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.agazine reports: "the new american addiction. how juul hooked kids and ignited a public health crisis." other news outlets report- juul took $12.8 billion from big tobacco. markets e-cigarettes with kid friendly flavors and uses nicotine to addict them. 5 million kids use e-cigarettes. juul is "following big tobacco's playbook." and now, juul is pushing prop c to overturn e-cigarette protections. vote no on juul. no on big tobacco. no on prop c. >>> today a family ended up with a medical bill she shouldn't have to pay for. >> consumer inves gator and his team for a helping hand, chris. >> we get tons and tons of hospital bill complaints. this one involves elvi. she had to go to the emergency room. she didn't expect a bill at all because she's a disabled navy veteran. the v.a. picks up the tab. but she got a bill for $1,038 from a radiologist. what did she do? she took that bill and sent it to the v.a. here's what happened. nothing. it didn't get paid at all, so she went ahead and paid

i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.very drivers have complained to our responds team that their cars ) headrests have forcefully >>> okay. over the past year many drivers have complained to our response team that their car headrests have forcefully popped open without warning. >> some say they were smacked in the head. the federal agency is noticing. chris. >> the national highway traffic safety administration says it's opened a preliminary investigation into select headrestsment some of them are designed to pop open like this in a crash to prevent whiplash, but some drivers say some headrests are popping open randomly without a crash. >> all of a sudden i felt a hit in the back of the h freeaed ouy in the back of the car. i looked and there was nobody back there. >> we've gotten reports from jeep, chrysler around the country. now federal investigators are looking at 2,014 jeep grand cherokee and dodge durant goes. they've also left the door open to investigate other models and years. we turn to chrysler for comment. th

i'm chris chmura.bc bay area responds next. >>> well a partnership with our sister station in los angeles, we were the first to tell you about california drivers whose headrests forcefully popped open without warning literally smacking them in the head. >> after that other drivers across the country started speaking up about the same experience. federal investigators are taking a look. our initial story now has national implications. chris. >> good evening, some headrests are designed to pop open like this. that popping action is supposed to combat whiplash in a crash. but some headrests are popping open randomly without a crash. federal investigators are asking why. >> all of a sudden i felt like i was hit in the back of the head. >> shawnalen jer wount up in the er with a concussion after his jeep headrest burst open. in l.a., laura told the same story. she was parked with her chrysler's headrest popped open. >> i got hit very hard in the back of the head and it pushed me completely forward. >> after

i'm chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. >>> nbc bay area responds to a student who's cross country shipment went missing. >> we did step up here but it wasn't 100%. i'll get to the catch. let's talk about marcus. he recently enrolled in the ad 156 bucks to greyhound to ship two suitcases fulf personal items and $4,000 worth of cameras and lenses. here's the route. california. here's the thingment after seven weeks, they still had not found his bags. they were missing. seven weeks later, no sign of those bags at all. marcus says greyhound couldn't tell him where they were. we asked greyhound to review marcus's lost items claim. it did. it offered a total of $300. here's why. greyhound told us we do not accept any shipment with a declared value of more than $1,000. if he did not declare the value at the time of shipment, $300 is the maximum amount of coverage he would have been able to receive as a customer at least bucks back. here's what weea risk. greyhound specifically says it doesn't offer add

investigator chris chmura has been looking into recalled cars for months, and you've been bringing up this issue. >> and visiting lots and lots of car lots. when we went used car shopping undercover, we looked at more than a thousand used cars for sale around the bay area and found roughly 10% of them had safety recalls on them. well, the california public interest research group and another group, consumers for automotive reliability recently did the same research nationally. they researched 2,400 used cars for sale and found roughly 10% of them had an unfixed safety recall on them. federal law prohibits the sale of new cars with recalls, but it is mute on used cars. consumer advocates is a they needs to change and dealers should stop selling all recalled cars. >> we believe that if you wouldn't be allowed to sell a toy that could poison your kid or a microwave that could explode when you use it, you should not be allowed to sell a car that could kill you on your ride home from the dealership. >> this is an industry-wide question, and yet the consumer advocate stood in front of an au

here is chris chmura. >> robo calls may seem random but the next one may not be random at all.s scammers tailor their calls to personally target you and you may be helping them. >> most of us block or ignore robo calls but scott is eager to answer them. >> i like talking to those guys to see what the latest scam is. >> he studies scam force a living at first orion security. he says scammers are better than ever at spoofing caller i.d.s and pretending to be businesses, where you might actually have an account. >> they can make you believe that they're a representative of that company and then use that to their advantage, to extract data, information, or even money. >> we've already seen this scheme in action. in the bay area, in august, several viewers alerted us, that a savvy robo caller had faked his caller i.d., posed as pg&e, and targeted the 415 area code. >> called the direct billing department and 888 number to avoid power disconnection within 30 minutes. >> the threat was bogus. scammers, the other new trick, getting personal. >> they have also acquired data, generally t

chris chmura joins us with helpful tips to help everyone acted by the fire try to move forward. >> sohat do you do right now? really depends on your situation. so let's run through a couple different scenarios. your home is damaged or evacuates. if your home has been damaged. hopefully there are few in this camp but we know there are some. call your insurance agent and start the process of a claim. it is incumbent upon you to get that moving as quickly as possible. if you are able to access your home, take photos of the condition right away. and if you need to make emergency repairs, go right ahead and do that. but don't do anything more. don't start to try to repair the home. insurance agents like to see and the adjustors who come with them like to see the property exactly it was damaged. again only emergency repairs. so let's say that you have evacuated. and you're wondering what going on with your home. go ahead and call your insurance company and let them know about the evacuation. also ask about expenses that you incur during the evacuation. some insurance policies will help you

let's bring in chris chmura with tips how to navigate. we want to put in the address of our home and know is the power going to go out. >> let me tell you thou do that. first and foremost, here it is. nbcbayarea.com. you can zoom around like so. you can use your fingers. if you have a touch screen or move around with your mouse and check out neighborhoods. here is what most people want to do. let me reset it. we're going to go to this box right here. a magnifying glass, type in the address, hit the enter key which i'm going to do and it takes me right to this address in santa rosa. i can see that the people on this side of the street will likely lose their power. people on that side of the street probably are not going to lose their power, so if you are in either place, let's say you're here and the power is on or over here and you're really close we would recommend you good ahead and get prepared right now, just in case th. this is a very fluid situation. this is nbcbayarea.com. our web team worked hard and we hope it's a useful resource