and then there wasn't any place to get coffee in maraga, so i was making it forom inby. >> reporter: the owner of tas p beat the clock, trying to get a new generator up and running before thousands of dollars in food spoiled. >> it's been crazy because first they said 12:01 a.m. that they were going to turn on the power -- turn it off. and then they said they'd be on. itat stayed on until at least 9:30 last night so we could have been open yesterday. >> reporter: at sleepy hollow school, classes were in session. many kids brought their own sources of light. >> the students came ready for now pour. the teachers have been super flexible. we've had a day, it's novel, but a day like any other day without any technology. and actually that's been a really nice time for us to unplug and enjoy other ways to lern. >> reporter: we're back live here at the hardware store. the owner here, bill, told me it's an interesting thing here today. normally they would have the lights on. 'dy slou he told me that the business was actually up today with no lights, no credit cards, about we're still awaitin

right now i'm showing the inside of the maraga hardware store. there are reports that the power's going back on in this area. not yet here. however, it was a good place to be today because they did everything they could to accommodate the customers who came in looking for last-minute supplies. [ siren ] it was a close call for residents of sanders ranch as a grassfire came recording toward several homes, scorching up to 60 acres and prompting evacuations to a nearby church. >> the first sound i heard was it sounds like a freight train. it really does. the fire is gathering so much air. >> reporter: the cause of the fire still under investigation, but it started two hours after pg&e deenergized lines in the area. >> no power. >> reporter: this morning at the hardware storks a generator allowed the owner to keep the doors open for customers but also to make a little morning brew. >> i just brought it this morning for my staff. there wasn't any place to get coffee, so i was making it for the customers who were coming by. >> reporter: employee arthur

that includes the high schools in maraga, lafayette and orinda. even the elementary schools, if power goes out they feel they can provide a safe environment. laura anthony, abc7 news. >> thank you. >>> in san mateo county, caltrans is working with pg&e to install generators to keep tom lantos tunnel open. >> caltrans tweeted last night that motorists can expect the devils slide tunnels along highway 1 to be open during the power shutdown. previously caltrans said t tunn wou beloseha until thursday afternoon. >>> hospitals say they are ready for public safety power shutoffs. next, why one medical office in the south bay is trying to get pg&e to allow them to keep their power. >>> and it is all hands on deck. how oakland police are preparing for the shutoffs. all of that is ahead. first it's headquarter 38. we're checking in with mike. this is all because of this fire danger. where do we stand now? >> this happens every fall that we have one of these events. the winds down the surface, 13 at fairfield, 16 in san francisco. 28 at half moon bay. they

covered too large an area, and i was very much upset about it, but then i heard about the fire in maraga and i thought, well, no, i guess it is the risk. >> and power is restored to about 98% of affected customers. >>> inspections are still under way, but pg&e said it found 30 instances of weather-related damage to power lines. the company's ceo bill johnson says he believes there would have been a fire had the power not been shut off. >> i think the question then would be, what would the scope of it be? particularly given the dry conditions? i mean you can see the branch with dry leaves on, it it hits that line, there's an arc, the arc causes a spark, and you have a branch on fire, that drops to the ground. >> pg&e expects it will find more damage. safety patrols and inspectors already are out at work this morning. >>> we of course have been following this story all week. and we will continue to bring you the latest information both on air and online. you can down lone our app. you can go to our web site or follow us on twitter and instagram for the ver latest. >>> now, to another fire,

impressed people a couple of weeks ago including the gavin newsom when it stopped a brush fire in maraga. they are ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. >> they are on 24-hour shift and depending on the need in the county or the surrounding counties throughout the state we could go as we need to. >> the department adds just because the county may not be under a red flag warning it won't let their guard down. >>> we are under a fire weather watch. a live look at our traffic cam in fremont, the american flag lower left breezy now and drier gustier winds are on the way. let's bring in our chief meteorologist jeff ranieri and it could be a frustrating week for a lot of people. >> we are looking at what looks to be gusty winds in the higher elevations of the mountains. we started warning you about this last week. so here is what we have right now. a fire weather watch from 5:00 p.m. wednesday until 5:00 p.m. on thursday. that could likely be upgraded to a red flag fire warning and hills for 5,000 above for the north bay, east bay and south bay and the highest wind gusts are possible

maraga, pleasant lhill, richland -- >> want to take over? >> saratoga, el sabrani, lafayette and san ramon. it's happenening as we speak. >> see it in concentrated pocket, walnut creek, the whole la mari inda area we've been concerned about. alame alameda, oakland, that whole -- el cerrito, that chunk as well. >> santa clara county and saratoga as well. >> that goes along with a lot of the elevations associated with those cities. get up abo 500 feet, get to 1,000 feet in a lot of orinda and beginning to see wind gusts. let's bring you into the microclimate forecast and get you everything you need to know about this wind, if you're watching us on the phone, thanks for downloading our app. of course, we're going to keep you up to date as we head through the overnight hours on an kind of developing news. you can turn those alert on on the phone. just check the settings tab. and you'll be able to, of course, figure all of that out. so, it's been definitely very interesting today. we've been watching this wind just like we would any kind of storm

news for this thursday >>> blaking news a brush fire breaks out and evacuations issued overnight in maragames are under evacuations orders. let me show you where this is. around the area of merrell circle road and holland's drive affected by the fire that broke out around 1 a.m. you can see that glow burning so close to those homes. at this point this is 50% contained. it's burned about

today larm an ar today, large an area and i was too upset about it and then i heard about the fire in maragal, maybe it was a good idea. >> and power is restored to 98% of affected customers. >>> coming up midday, fleet week, and we have a preview of the blue angels and the events happening and that and the top stories with weather. at 7:00. coming up. we hope you join us. in the meantime we will send you back to the "today" show. in the human brain, billions of neurons play in harmony. for people with parkinson's, some neurons change their tune, causing uncontrollable tremors. now, abbott technology can target those exact neurons. restoring control and harmony, once thought to belost forever. the most personal technology is technology with the power to change your life. >>> it's beautiful. we're back on a saturday morning, october 12th, 2019. take a look at this. it's one of the sure signs that colder weather is on the way. the legendary rockefeller center ice rink, just outside of our studio, officially opening this morning, for its 83rd winter season. >> i can't believe it's skating seaso

. >> reporter: that's right, also in areas like maraga, orinda, walnut creek, pleasant hill, any of those hilly areas that normally experience these wind events are in danger but pg&e also warns that evening a shopping center or other neighbors nearby the areas could have their power shut off. it really depends on where they determine they have to shut the power down. this is the height of the most dangerous part of the fire season, according to a long time contra costa county firefighter who i talked to yesterday. his crews were on the tubbs fire after it started two years ago today, just like so many in the bay area, and they train and prepare for this time of year specifically. they also work with pg&e, which monitors the conditions of its equipment from an emergency control center in san francisco. pg&e will ultimately make the final call on when power will be shut off, and it's asking the public to do its part to be ready to prepare at home. one lafayette woman i talked to in the shopping center said that she's ready with extra ice in the freezer to keep her food fresh and portable p