abc 7 news reporter cornell barnard is live with more. cornell, good morning. >> reporter: liz, good morning to you. smoke is everywhere here at silverado trail and deer park road. this is as far as you can go if you're heading up the this is part of the evacuation order which includes mark mead road and glass sad smoke is pumping into the napa valley fast and furious. a lot of people are very stressed out. there are a lot of evacuees here. behind me we have horse trailers, we have people with furniture who basically grabbed what they could and they ran. people like jan who liven crystal springs road, correct? >> correct. >> reporter: it's been a very stressful morning, i know. please tell me what happened. >> we woke up in the middle of the night. there were flames. we could see flames. we ran to the car. i was in my underwear. there was a car on fire blocking the access out. we opened the car door. our dogs fled. we were screaming for help. the fire department had to cut through a fence and we -- i still haven't -- i still haven't found

helena, cornell barnard, abc7 news. >> what an uphill battle. cornell, many thanks to you. >>> our team coverage continues with abc7 reporter luz peÑa with more on the evacuation cornell just mentioned. luz, how frightening has it been of a day for these people? >> dion, we're close to the fire. that image is surreal. it's incredible to think many residents in this area woke up to the sight of flames outside of their windows. i want to point to st. helena hospital. you see the fire engines getting ready to go up the hill. many of the patients inside were evacuated earlier today, 55 patients. i want to show you what's happening here at the hospital. the strategy is they're watering the roof of the hospital as they gear up for those fire engines to go up the hill. i want to point to the hillside here, deer park and silverado road up the hill. we spoke to residents who said they are going to evacuate, they're packing up. we spoke to a 22-year-old carlo who says he's lived here his entire life and with tears in his eyes, he said he's hot ready to see

cornell barnard found a few people to see how they're getting ready for this. >> reporter: temperatures will sizzle sunday and monday, bringing red flag fire danger, high winds, low humidity. fire crews getting ready. >> any time we see red flag conditions it raises our awareness and concerns. >> mandatory evacuation zone. grab your belongings and leave the area. >> reporter: the red flag fire warning comes weeks after mass evacuations in sonoma county as the wall bridge fire forced thousands from their home. firefighters are urging everyone to be careful. >> limit outdoor activities that could potentially spark a wildfire locally. >> reporter: officials say a landscaping crew may have accidentally sparked this 12-acre grass fire in north santa rosa thursday. cal fire stopped it in less than an hour. >> good to test it out. >> reporter: dave barcado isn't taking chances. he has the generator ready to power his oakmont village market in case pg&e shuts the power off. he lost power in early september during a planned power shutoff. the stress has been terrible. >> we've had three years of

cornell barnard, abc 7 news. >>> a los angeles radio reporter detained by l.a.heriff's deputies last night says she identified herself as a squlour journalist and was wearing a press pass before she was taken into custody. reporter wong disobeyed orders to clear the protest outside the honest where deputies were being treated. the department said she did not identify herself as press. wong was eventually cited and released. l.a. county's inspector general has promised to investigate the incident. >>> now, to the campaign trail. just seven weeks until election day. >> this man is totally unfit to be president. up here. he's totally unfit. >> president trump hosted this ray,indoors,nderson, despite ob officials. it was the president's first indoor rally since a june event in tulsa, oklahoma, that preceded a spike in coronavirus cases in that city. democratic nominee, joe biden, was seen leaving church today. earlier, he responded to bob woodward's new book that says the president downplayed the impact of covid-19. >> he didn't do a damn thing. think about it. thin

in san francisco, cornell barnard, abc 7 news. >> it's not just here.hkting much of the pacific northwest. this was the air quality as one man returned to the site of his oregon home this morning. it's now reduced to ashes. george lives near salem where the creek fire has killed at least four people and burned 187,000 acres. he said they didn't take a lot of important documents with them because they were so focused on getting their pets and livestock. >> we seen the fire that close. >> we just grabbed the animals. left all but the cat we cooperate fincouldn't find. and then, the cat, we came back two or three days later and we found him. burnt paw squs belly but other than that, we got him and he didn't die. >> that's bigger than the state of delaware. >>> facebook is taking down posts suggesting the wildfires were set by extremists. the fbi and law enforcement officials in the pacific northwest say those claims are false. conspiracy theories and other misinformation have been shared on facebook and other social media sites. facebook says it's removing

abc 7 news reporter cornell barnard has more. >> reporter: amanda tyler is reflecting on the life of legal luminary and judicial icon ruth bader ginsburg. >> she was my idol. >> reporter: she had the honor of being ginsburg's law clerk at the supreme court. >> it was incredibly inspiring to be able to watch her at her work and to work with her on opinions and other matters of the court and to learn from her. >> reporter: there are tributes hailing ginsburg's work as a champion of equality on the high court. >> she was a fell nminist icon. >> reporter: representativeras . >> we sent her a necklace to wear as a color and she sent me the note. >> reporter: now an epic political battle with the balance on the court hanging in the balance. this republican said naming ginsburg's replacement should go forward. >> now the president says he's going to nominate her successor and i support him in that regard as well. >> reporter: the president could nominate someone in the coming days. senate republicans are vowing confirmation. democrats are saying not so fast. in san francisco, cornell barnar

cornell barnard spoke with ginsburg's former law clerk. >> i'm devastated for our country.e have lost a national treasure. >> law professor amanda tyler reflecting on the life of an american icon, justice ruth bader ginsburg. >> she was my idol. she was incredibly kind. >> reporter: just last year professor tyler hosted a talk on the cal campus with justice ginsburg, heyears earlier the honor of being ginsburg's law clerk at the supreme court. >> it was incredibly inspiring to be able to watch her at work, and to work with her on opinions and other matters of the court, and to learn from her. >> reporter: there are tributes hailing ginsburg's work as a >> sheas af equality on thcour >> reporter: congresswoman jackie speier has this handwritten note from ginsburg. >> we sent her a necklace to wear as a collar and she sent me a note back and i have it framed in my office. >> reporter: her death just weeks before the presidential election triggers an epic political about the ale, the ideological balance of the court hanging in the balance. >> she is a legend. >> reporter: bay

in san francisco, cornell barnard, abc 7 news. >> the pacific northwest is also dealing with a historicfires there displacing tens of thousands of people. take a look at the air quality as one man returned to the site of his oregon home on saturday. now reduced to ashes. he lives near salem where the beach creek fire has killed at least four people, and burned 187,000 acres. he said they didn't take a lot of important documents with them because they were so focused on getting their pets and livestock. >> we've seen the fire that close, we grabbed the animals, left all but the cat, we couldn't find and the cat we came back two or three days later and we found him, burnt paws and burnt belly but other than that, we got him and he didn't die. >> wow. more than 2,500 square miles have burned in oregon and washington in recent days, more than the state of delaware. >>> and there are of course also dozens of fires burning across california, if you want the very latest, including the stat you was the bay area lightning complex fires, you can use abc 7's exclusive wildfire tracker, right on ab

abc 7's reporter cornell barnard spoke with ginsburg's former law clerk. >> i'm devastated for our countrywe have lost a national treasure. >> reporter: uc law professor amanda tyler reflecting on the life of an american icon, justice ruth bader ginsburg. >> she was my idol. she was incredibly kind. >> reporter: just last year professor tyler hosted a talk on the cal campus with justice ginsburg, ye honor of being ginsburg's law clerk at the supreme court. >> it was incredibly inspiring to be able to watch her at work, and to work with her on opinions and other matters of the court, and to learn from her. >> reporter: there areributes hailing ginsburg'soras a chamon of equalityn e gh court. >> she was a feminist icon. >> reporter: congresswoman jackie speier says one of her most treasured processions is this handwritten note from ginsburg. >> we sent her a necklace to wear as a collar and she sent me a note back and i have it framed in my office. >> reporter: her death just weeks before the presidential election triggers an epic political about the ale, the ideological balance of the court

we have to be. >> reporter: in sonoma county, cornell barnard, abc 7 news. >>> president trump nominated amy coney barrett to replace ruth bader ginsburg on the supreme court yesterday. the senate will look to hold confirmation hearings the week of october 12th. abc news reporter kristine sloan has the reaction this morning. >> reporter: hours after nominating federal judge amy coney barrett to the supreme court, president trump touting his pick before a packed crowd in pennsylvania. >> judge barrett is a brilliant legal mind and extraordinary scholar. you know that. number one in her class. you know, the professor, one of the most respected people, he said the greatest student he's ever had. that's pretty good. >> reporter: if confirmed, the 48-year-old who would fill the seat of the late justice ruth bader ginsburg who died earlier this month amid a bitter election battle. during saturday's rose garden ceremony, judge barrett, anti-abortion and pro second amendment vowing to adhere to the constitution. >> judges are not policymakers and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy

more from abc 7 news reporter cornell barnard. >> cal fire aircraft pounced on this fast-moving grass fire thursday afternoon off ursiline road in santa rosa, the same spot where the tubbs fire burned homes in 2014. >> poor people, all these new houses that they built over here, sad. we've got a great team out here though. cal fire. >> reporter: it burned close to rosalind college prep school. it was too much for superintendent amy jones kerr. >> we're in full distance learning, my staff is back here. to have this happening right now, it's heartbreaking. trying to hold it together right now. >> reporter: luckily fire crews stopped this fire at 12 acres. no homes or buildings were lost. a new round of dangerous fire conditions. >> the concern for us is things continue to remain dry. conditions are not getting better right now. we have concerned with the conditions this weekend, primarily being the heat and winds. >> reporter: fire crews are ready but the timing is bad. weeks after the mass saf wall bridge fire forced thousands from their homes in sonoma county. lawyer are crutchfield s

in san francisco, cornell barnard, abc 7 news. >>> well, we have the president's short list of supreme court nominees on our website. also, how her hometown of brooklyn plans to hon orror her. that is all at abc 7 news.com. >> your health is one of five areas abc 7 news focuses on in our effort to build a better bay area. and tonight, the very latest on the coronavirus pandemic. covid-19 has claimed lives of nearly 200,000 people in the u.s. there is some good news. the cdc says traps mission is either on the decline or remaining stable. in california, the seven-day positivity rate is just 3%, which indicates the spread is slowing. bay-area cases have just surpassed 100,000. more than 1,400 people have died and the majority of cases and deaths in the bay area are in santa clara county and alameda county. >> despite those milestones in the bay area, some health spefrts say there aspefr experts say there are signs of improvement. >> as the months go on, numbers go up. santa clara county now registering more than 20,000 people infected with covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. >> it'

cornell barnard in san francisco, abc 7 news.with deadly wildfires displacing tens of thousands of people. take a look at the air quality as one man returned to the site of his oregon home on saturday, now reduced to ashes. george lives near salem where the beach creek fire has burned 187,000 people and killed 14 people. he says they didn't take a lot of important documents with them because they were focused on getting their pets and livestock. >> when you see the fire that close, we grabbed all the animals, all but the cat which we couldn't find, we came back two or three days later and found him, burnt paws and burnt belly, but other than that we got him and he didn't do i. >> more miles have burned in oregon and washington in recent days, more in the state of delaware. for the latest including the status of the bay area lightning complex fires you can use abc 7's exclusive wildfire tracker on abc7news.com and y abc 7 news app. >>> some people are turning to military grade gas masks. a surplus store in mountain view tells us s

. >> reporter: cornell barnard, abc7 news. >> you think of all the visits. i have been there and so many people have been there and to think about it being destroyed or partially, it's really tough to see that. >> it is. they've already had such a tough time in sonoma county especially this year because of the previous fires all the smoke destroying so much of the grapes that are already on the vine. so now seeing this, this is definitely not any of us, what any of ous wanted, mike. >> yeah, so many iconic places. so many locally owned businesses and what we've seen before is they may not rebuild. and there's some really neat maps on our website showing just how much has burned the last ten years or so. just when you thought there was nothing left, these fires find another spot. go to our website or our app and check out that map and you'll just be stunned at the acreage that has burned across the north bay in the last ten years. all right. let's focus on our forecast real quick. significant changes especially across the north bay and into san francisco anyw

many across the bay area, but some did decide to venture outside, and as abc 7 news reporter cornell barnardre was no escaping the bad air. >> when i try to get 14 in, maybe 15 today. >> reporter: we caught up with jamie hailpern after he ran eight miles along the san francisco waterfront on a day when the air looked like this, unhealthy. >> keep the fitness up and just use the tools that i have, and so far, so good with this mask here. >> reporter: experts say smoke from wildfires is giving the west coast the worst air quality in the world this week. >> we can feel that it is not healthy. >> reporter: that bad air prompted alcatraz to cancel tours of the rock. did you want to go to alcatraz? >> we wanted to, one of the main spots that we planned but we are disappointed. we came all the way and spent a lot of money to see the places but yes it is what it is. >> we had gotten an email it was canceled so came in to see if we could reschedule. >> reporter: the city was invisible above chrissy field and the bay bridge appeared to vanish in the smoky haze. san francisco public library branches ar