nbc bay area kimberly tere joins us live from san jose this evening. imberly, what is cal fire asking people to do? >> reporter: they are asking homeowners to create what's called a defensible space around their home. this is a warning we usually don't see until the spring. but there has been no rain. so let me show you, you can see the vegetation is very dry out here. and that's what they're afraid of. in fact, in just the last three weeks, cal fire says it responded to about 300 calls, 300 wildfires. that have charred over 700 acres total. that compares with about 50 fires that burn about 100 acres total in a normal year. cal fire says the fire season which typically ends in november, never ended. in northern california, stations are already in the process of hiring additional seasonal firefighters to help. >> this is unprecedented in the history of the memories of the people who work around here. us staffing our -- some of our fire stations this time of year in the wintertime. so we ask citizens to take the time to look around, see what they can do t

live in santa clara, kimberly tere, nbc bay area news. >>> classes will revolume at del mar high tomorrow. danika garcia was hit and killed by a light rail train last friday. her friends have created an online donation site for her funeral. she was riding her bike across the tracks to get to school. >>> a mother in the east bay is mourning the killing of her two sons gunned down within 19 days of each other. lee was gunned down on 100th avenue and his brother was shot and killed yesterday. lamar was with his best friend when they were ambushed. both died. broussard's mother says there are no words to describe her grief and is begging someone to come forward with any information about these killings. and she has a plea for the public. >> what i do ask is for no retaliation at all. i want to see this in the court. i want retaliation through the court system. so, please, no retaliation. >> police have yet to identify any suspects. >>> it is unclear if it is vandalism or a hate crime. a flier showing libby schaaf with swastikas on her face. she wants to build a domain awareness center. schaaf

nbc bay area's kimberly tere joins us from the scene of one of the fires with more on the investigation and a sketch of the possible suspect. >> reporter: diane, this is actually the sketch released by investigators today of a person of interest. it is based on witness descriptions, and also on images taken from surveillance video cameras in the areas where the fires were started. the most recent fire actually started this morning, just before 4:30 a.m. san jose firefighters say it was a jogger who alerted them to the fire, by banging on the door of their station, which is actually very close to the home which was on fire near the intersection of east st. john and 17th street. a couple in their 70s were inside the home. but firefighters say neighbors were able to alert them and they were able to get out safely. this is the latest of several fires in the area since wednesday, and firefighters say they believe the same person may be responsible. according to investigators, the fires have all been set within a small geographic area, during the early-morning hours, and are similar in nature

nbc bay area's kimberly tere joins us from the scene of the latest fire with more. >> reporter: diane, i'll show you the damage caused by that most recent fire on east st. john's street here. investigators say that all of the fires have been set on the exterior of the buildings and all have been fast moving, putting both residents and firefighters at risk. so far, there have been no serious injuries or deaths. but firefighters are concerned there could be, if the suspected arsonist is not caught. a $10,000 reward is now being offered for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for starting these fires. a sketch of a person of interest has also been released. investigators say it is based on witness descriptions and also images taken from surveillance cameras. he is described as a white or hispanic man, 25 to 40 years old, 6 feet to 6'2", weighing approximately 160 to 180 pounds with dark medium length hair and wearing distinctive large frame glasses. the fires have been set in a small geographic area in the early morning hours and are similar in nature. >> at th

kimberly tere is live in belmont with the latest for us. kimberly. >> reporter: the 19-year-old graduated from carlmont high school last year and students tell us today the school was abuzz with talk about the circumstances surrounding the arrest. on friday, police in altoona, pennsylvania, began searching his apartment. they were looking for a marijuana grow operation, but say they found something far more dangerous. >> officers came across a briefcase, and within that briefcase there were a number of bomb-making materials and two bomb devices, one being small and the other one being much larger. >> reporter: police say the penn state engineering student admitted the drugs and bomb materials were his, telling them he bought some of the materials from amazon. >> he indicated they were for blowing things up. what he intended to blow up, he really hasn't elaborated on. >> reporter: according to a criminal complaint, he told police he only intended to set the devices off in a remote field like he had done in california. his family, who lives in

nbc bay area's kimberly tere's in san jose with the latest. kimberly? >> reporter: diane, fire crews are still out here at this hour. just a short while ago, they were spraying down the gutted restaurant, making sure any smoldering embers are put out. the four-alarm fire, which caused all of this damage, started just before 6:30 this morning. some workers were inside getting the restaurant ready to open when the chef says the wall started shaking. he walked around the kitchen, and that's when he says he saw the flames. knowing it was spreading quickly and beyond what he and his co-workers could handle, paquin ran across the street to a fire station asking for help, but by that time it was already too late, in a matter of minutes, fueled in part by grease in the kitchen, the fire took over and destroyed the building. multiple sections of the roof collapsed. >> we've all been here, you know? i've been there 17 years. these other guys 20 years. i mean, it's our life, you know, it's -- i don't know what i'm going to do now. >> reporter: this was a neighborh

kimberly tere has surveillance videos. >> reporter: so far two banks have been robbed, three others and the fbi has been brought in to help local detectives track down the suspect and also figure out whether that person is a man or a woman. police say this person is responsible for robbing at least five banks in the south bay. the most recent, this comerica branch yesterday. police say despite surveillance pictures, they can't be 100% sure if the suspect is a man or a woman. >> we know it's the same person because of their physical description. we've had some tellers that say that they believe that it's possibly a male disguised as a female. other tellers have told us that they believe it's a female. bottom line is we don't know, but hopefully, as people look at the videos or footage or photograph of the suspect, that maybe someone will come forward with information. >> reporter: the suspect appears confident, waits patiently in line and engages the teller in small talk before handing over a note for money. the suspect has shown a teller a gun and most recently pointed it and made verba

kimberly tere on "today in the bay." >> the snow on the field, the visible breath from fans.ld be. >> if you could, i guess, feel the difference between five degrees below zero and maybe six degrees above zero, we're just going through the numbers this morning. a little warmer when you talk about a little extra moisture to the atmosphere. enough we could see a few snow flurries late in the game. the problem is the wind speed plus that air temperature in the single digits. it will feel like 12 degrees to 20 degrees below zero by the time it gets towards the fourth quarter. it doesn't look like this is going to be in the top five of the coldest of all time. perhaps in the top 10 or 15, but the windchills will certainly continue to get a little worse as the wind speeds pick up. it's possible if we get into overtime, we could really see those windchill factor numbers drop below 20 degrees below zero for the end of that 49ers and packers game. the weather system that's pumping in this cold air, you can see, it actually will cause more flight delays out towards chicago and it's bee

nbc bay area's kimberly tere joins us from the san jose police department with more this evening. kimberly? >> reporter: the last two months, two banks have been robbed in san jose, three others in milpitas, the latest yesterday. show you photos now released by police of the person they believe committed all five of those robberies. detectives say the suspect patiently in line, then engages a bank teller in small talk before handing over a note demanding money. police also say the suspect has shown the teller a gun and in the most recent probable his, has actually pointed it at someone. they also say the witnesses can't be 100% sure if the suspect is a man or a woman. >> we know it's the same person because of their physical description. we've had somers that say that they believe that it's possibly a male disguised as a female. other terms have told us that they believe it's a female. bottom line is we don't know. but hopefully, as people look at the videos or at the footage, at the photographs of the suspect, that maybe, you know, someone will come forward with information. >> re

kimberly tere joins us live from san jose this evening. what is cal fire asking people to do? >> reporter: they're asking homeowners to create what they call the defensible space around their home. usually this request doesn't go out until the spring. but it's been very dry. it hasn't rained at all. the vegetation out here is dry. they're concerned it might cause, or if there is a wildfire, it will just go up. and in just the last three weeks, since the beginning of january, i can tell you that cal fire has responded to 300 wildfires so far. that have charred over 700 acres. that compares with about 50 fires that burned about 100 acres total in a normal year. >> fuel conditions for fires, that we would normally see in august, this is unheard of this time of year. particularly in northern california. >> reporter: many of the fires over the last month is

nbc bay area's kimberly tere joins us from the scene of the latest fire with more. >> reporter: diane, i'll show you the damage caused by that most recent fire on east st. john's street here. investigators say that all of the fires have been set on the exterior of the buildings and all have been fast moving, putting both residents and firefighters at risk. so far, there have been no serious injuries or deaths. but firefighters are concerned there could be, if the suspected arsonist is not caught. a $10,000 reward is now being offered for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for starting these fires. a sketch of a person of interest has also been released. investigators say it is based on witness descriptions and also images taken from surveillance cameras. he is described as a white or hispanic man, 25 to 40 years old, 6 feet to 6'2", weighing approximately 160 to

kimberly tere is live in belmont with the latest, kimberly? >> reporter: janelle, this is very close, carl moth high school. i spoke to the principal today and she couldn't comment on the case or say much of anything. she would only confirm the 19-year-old did, in fact, graduate from the school last year. news of the arrest of the alumnae spread quickly across campus on the peninsula today. >> my heart goes out to his family. it must be really hard to hear that. i hope they get to talk with him and like clear things up because i'm sure there is his side of the story. >> reporter: the 19-year-old now an engineering student was arrested in pennsylvania friday after police found a homemade bomb and explosive materials in his apartment during a drug search. >> i don't think he would hurt anybody. >> reporter: local and ted real authorities aren't talking chances saying while they investigate him, a russian national is being held on a half million bail. police say the penn state engineering student admitted the drugs and bombs were his telling him