chris sanchez, today in the bay. >>> it is 5:04. new this morning, investigators trying to figure out if a brush fire in oakland was started on purpose. the fire burned bushes and trees in an area half the size of a football field. several roads were temporarily shut down near the intersection of courtland and brooke dale avenue. that fire several miles away from where crews have been patrolling the oakland hills. five separate fires broke out tuesday afternoon, all within a couple of hours of each other. they think three were intentionally set. and the two others were started by embers. investigators say burn patterns suggest someone may have even put gasoline on wood to get those fires going. >>> a judge has approved pg&e's plans to raise their rates, though not as high as the utility might like. a law judge agreed to allow pg and e to hike it year and every year through 2016. under the plan, rates will go up enough to increase the utility's profit by almost 7% this year, 4.5% in 2015, and 5% in 2016. since the increases are to re

chris sanchez is live in sunnyvale.investigators still don't know how it even started. >> reporter: no, initially it sounded like perhaps it started inside one of the homes, but then investigators later said that it appeared that it started outside between the two homes that are now a complete loss. you might be able to hear in the distance there some tree trimmers. one of those guys is one of the heros of the day. yesterday he went around knocking on doors as soon as he saw the flames shooting through the roof and helped people to get out very quickly. so normal for them, not normal for the folks who live inside these two homes. firefighters moved quickly, but the flames were for a fast. t it could have been way worse because inside one home, there was a home daycare center where one of the children was sleeping when the fire started. again, that tree trimmer knocked on doors in the area. another neighbor also helped folks to get outside. fortunately, everyone made it out alive. >> it took off so fast. >> the heat comi

chris sanchez joins us live from china basin with how the mta and union is responding. chris, you could say it was a train wreck of a commute, but really not enough trains for that to happen. >> reporter: you know, a lot of the things that are parked are the cable cars. a lot of disappointed tourists this morning, but also a lot of frustrated people who could not get to work on time because of that stalling in the talks. a lot of them waiting a very long time to get onto those cars, and many of those cars packed like sardines. >> it sucks. >> reporter: he's just one of the many commuters caught in the middle of the labor talks between muni operators and the san francisco metropolitan transportation authority. two-thirds of muni operators did not show up for work today. >> more operators called in sick. we're trying to adjust the best we can to provide service across the city. >> i'll definitely be late to work. but i don't mind walking. i probably should have left the station earlier. >> reporter: it's a delay that the union representing the operators and fmta have not w

chris sanchez, today in the bay. >> there is no controversy over what to do with this historic theater. >> so it was a late night under this dome here at city hall. we'll tell you more about that coming up around 6:50. >> excellent thank you very much, chris. the city council also appeared to over recall another ruling. the ruling struck down key parts after several unions sued to block it. the city hopes the measure will save hundreds of millions of taxpayor clol ldoll lore ardoll. cities ed nyzrze offering better benefit packa packages. >> according to the emergency news, san jose theater has been facing new financial troubles and could be in danger of closing. the closure could be a hard loss for san jose state university which uses that theater for performances. it was founded back in 1980. 6:06 on your wednesday morning. a time now to look at the forecast as we give you this live picture shockingly foggy this morning. maybe we have something in store for you. one thing is for sure, it is going to feel chilly out there in san francisco only reaching 61 degrees this afternoon. good

let's start our coverage right now with "today in the bay" kris sanchez joins us live from the neighborhood. chris, we don't really understand what the suspect was planning to do with these bombmaking chemicals. >> no. and the fbi does go out of its way to say that there is no imminent public threat, though the manhunt does continue and ryan chamberlain is considered armed and dangerous. let's give you a look at him, once again. 42 years old. best known for public relations and savvy media and work on pretty high-profile political campaigns including gavin newsom. this is what it looked like outside his home on saturday and sunday as fbi agents along with san francisco police and fire swarmed the russian hill home and found those explosive materials that you mentioned inside. the fbi not saying what precipitated the search, only that it is part of a criminal investigation. the former head of san francisco's republican party knew chamberlain well before he switched parties to the democratic side and said he can't imagine what his plans are but hopes he will turn himself in, something echoed by the

we still have jeb bush, chris christie, a lot of good candidates that as time goes on, they're going to develop their foreign policy chops. >> okay. >> congresswoman sanchezthe president has assisted over and over again that al qaeda has been decimated and the world is a safer place and i think a lot of us would disagree. he's fond of one particular metaphor to use when it comes to reasons why we should not be fighting terrorism abroad. take a listen. >> rather than try to play whack-a-mole, wherever these terrorist organizations may pop up, we have to build effective partnerships, make sure they have capacity. >> you know, i remember playing whack-a-mole, and it's a fun metaphor, but it's not completely honest. that implies that that's not what's happening right now. these terrorist organizations are multiplying and expanding. they're not just in iraq. they're in syria, they're in the magreb, indonesia. isn't he being dishonest about how serious and wide ranging this threat is? >> look, threats are all around the world. and if we're smart, we understand that our military is just one of the tools we have in our bag of tricks to be able to handle situation