marci gonzalez: the latest battle scorching in fewer than 12 hours. >> fire was coming right at us. it had spread in minutes. marci at least four injured. gonzalez: the latest battle scorching in fewer than 12 hours. julie: >> it is crazy. 20 homes destroyed. -- fire crews dropping fire retardant, catching the family inside of this house off guard. fueled by fires are wind gusts topping 55 miles an hour. >> as you can see, the fire is pretty far away. marci: the largest fire in ventura county scorching even more. >> the whole town could go down. marci: more than 400 homes and buildings there have been destroyed. the winds are a little bit later today, so firefighters are hoping this will help them start to get these fires under control. marci gonzalez, abc news adrianna:. adrianna:stay with abc numeral -- news. adrianna: stay with abc 12:30 p.m. a massive fire response in jessup overnight. more than 50 firefighters put out flames at a super eight motel on washington boulevard. those flames were contained to just one room, and it was put out quickly. and luckily no one was hurt. ,a fr

marci gonzalez, abc news, sylmar, california. >>> well, the smoke from the wildfires is making its way to the bay area. you've probably noticed that. this was a look towards san francisco late this afternoon from our mountain tam camera. >> meteorologist sandhya patel is here to talk air quality with us in the bay area. sandhya? >> yeah, kristen, that air quality that you were looking at was poor buzz of this. take a look at the satellite picture. smoke from those fires drifting from the southern california fires out over the water, but also some of this was moving up towards the bay area. we do have red flag warnings for southern california, impacting over 7 million people. extreme fire danger until sunday at 8:00 p.m. right now winds, yeah, they're gusty, but not as strong as earlier today. santa clarita, 20. midnight we are looking at wind gusts close to 30 miles per hour. topping 30 miles per hour in the morning. and then really continuing to remain gusty friday night. so, excuse me, smoke from the wildfires come up around this area of high pressure. it's a clockwise flow. smoky sk

marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles county, california. >> all right. of course the weather conditions on the fire lines are absolutely critical in the next few hours and days. >> so sandhya patel is here to check on the winds. they're going to remain pretty strong. >> absolutely. the strong santa ana winds are going to continue to remain very high as we head into tomorrow, dan and kristen. let me show you the current wind gusts right now. 21 miles per hour in simi valley, santa clarita 17 miles per hour wind gusts. but that i have been stronger, up to 85 across parts of ventura county. right now we're seeing some wind gusts in and around southern california between 50 and 60 miles an hour. midnight, you will notice that the winds are still going strong, picking up at 3:00 a.m., to about 43 miles per hour. the strong gusty winds will mean extreme fire danger will continue as we head into tomorrow night, even into part of friday. may see explosive growth of the fire. definitely are watching the visible satellite picture. you can see just how far that plu

abc news reporter marci gonzalez tells us people had minutes to get out of their homes. >> reporter: latest fire erupting in san diego county, racing through neighborhoods. >> the fire was coming right at us. i mean, within matters of minutes it had spread. >> reporter: thousands of residents evacuated. at least four injured while trying to escape from the flames. >> it was just crazy. >> reporter: at least 20 homes destroyed. fire crews tries to save others from the air dropping fire retardant. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: catching the family inside this house off guard. all of the wildfires burning today in southern california are fueled by wind gusts now topping 55 miles an hour. >> these winds gusting, you have embers, as you can see the fire is pretty far away but sailing embers over our head right now. >> reporter: the largest fire in ventura county growing even more, flames scorching 132,000 acres and stud spreading. >> whole town could go down the way the fire is coming around us. >> reporter: more than 400 homes and other buildings there have been destroyed. the winds are a b

mar marci gonzalez is on that scene in washington. good morning. >> reporter: hi, guys, good morning. you can still see that train behind me. this part of the highway is still shut down as officials work through the rain in the early morning hours investigating. that rail car left dangling in the darkness, part of the aftermath of this amtrak train crash that killed at least three people and injured more than 70 others. >> amtrak 501. emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the ground. >> reporter: all but one of the rail cars careening off the track south of tacoma, washington. several crashing onto the busy highway below during the morning rush. >> things started to tip over as it was going around, and all of a sudden ended up on its side and everything went dark. >> the train started to wobble for a moment. and then we were catapulted at the seats in front of >> reporter: chris karnes on board for this, the inaugural run of a new faster route between seattle and portland, tweeting moments earlier, wow, this train is fast. we're

marcie gonzalez, abc news, sylmar, california. >>> talk more about those winds right now. firefighters are saying today could be one of the worst days and part of that is because conditions are just so dry. mike has been talking about this for several days now. we're facing it here. they really don't need to be facing it there because they're trying to set up the fire breaks. that's making it more difficult. >> it's jumping them in most cases. look at the winds, reggie. hi, everybody. they're even faster than they were this morning, especially ventura. look at that, gusting to nearly 50 miles per hour right now. simi valley, 20. san fernando, 33. that's why this entire area, 8.7, nearly 8.7 million people under critical fire conditions. that red flag warning for extreme fire danger from the border with mexico, all the way up to slow. this is going to last not only today, but tomorrow and also most of the day saturday, reggie, until 8:00. evacuations, there could be more coming. >> we'll continue watching it, mike, thank you. >>> world news tonight anchor david muir is goin

marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >> well, "the dr. denying allegations it puts guests on the show at risk and even supplies some of them with drugs and alcohol to get better ratings. a former winner of "survivor" says when he app alcoholism, a bottle of vodka was in his dressing room. in a report by "the boston globe" and stat, todd herzog also claims someone from the show gave him xanax. in the 2013 appearance he was so drunk he had to be helped onto the set. producers told guests where they could buy heroin, they say. so far no comment from dr. phil himself. >>> target has apologized for silling a game that makes fun of torturing jewish people. an expansion pack to cards against humanity is filled with jokes about the holocaust including lewd comments about anne frank. players have to fill in the blanks with prewritten responses designed to be shocking and offensive. target has now pulled the game saying it never actually intended to offend its customers. >>> unusual crash on a highway in texas, 40,000 pounds of avocados spilled acr

marci gonzalez, abc news, sylmar, california. >>> well, the smoke from the wildfires is making its waybay area. you've probably noticed that. this was a look towards san francisco late this afternoon from our mountain tam camera. >> meteorologist sandhya patel is here to talk air quality with us in the bay area. sandhya? >> yeah, kristen, that air quality that you were looking at was poor buzz of this. take a look at the satellite picture. smoke from those fires drifting from the southern california fires out over the water, but also some of this was moving up towards the bay area. we do have red flag warnings for southern california, impacting over 7 million people. extreme fire danger until sunday at 8:00 p.m. right now winds, yeah, they're gusty, but not as strong as earlier today. santa clarita, 20. midnight we are looking at wind gusts close to 30 miles per hour. topping 30 miles per hour in the morning. and then really continuing to remain gusty friday night. so, excuse me, smoke from the wildfires come up around this area of high pressure. it's a clockwise flow. smoky skies from

marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles county, california. >> all right.se the weather conditions on the fire lines are absolutely critical in the next few hours and days. >> so sandhya patel is here to check on the winds. they're going to remain pretty strong. >> absolutely. the strong santa ana winds are going to continue to remain very high as we head into tomorrow, dan and kristen. let me show you the current wind gusts right now. 21 miles per hour in simi valley, santa clarita 17 miles per hour wind gusts. but that i have been stronger, up to 85 across parts of ventura county. right now we're seeing some wind gusts in and around southern california between 50 and 60 miles an hour. midnight, you will notice that the winds are still going strong, picking up at 3:00 a.m., to about 43 miles per hour. the strong gusty winds will mean extreme fire danger will continue as we head into tomorrow night, even into part of friday. may see explosive growth of the fire. definitely are watching the visible satellite picture. you can see just how far that plume of sm

all right, marci gonzalez. marci, thank you. >>> we move on now to the deep tensions between president trump and civil rights activists. that rift heating up over the opening of new civil rights museum in mississippi. president trump taking a tour of that museum and addressing the crowd. but the president's participation such a flash point that major civil rights figures, like john lewis, boycotted the event. here's abc's david wright. >> no hate in our state. >> reporter: today in jackson, an echo of the civil rights struggle. >> hey hey, ho, ho, donald trump has got to go! >> reporter: a peaceful protest of a president who has fanned racial tensions attending the opening of a new civil rights museum. >> if you go this way, you see a confederate flag. if you go that way, you will see a confederate flag. now how are these men standing up talking about civil rights right now, how are they squaring that message with all these confederate flags that are all over the place? >> it really is a beautiful, beautiful pl

marci gonzalez is following the latest from los angeles. marci: bullet hole after bullet hole. ten vehicles left with the alarming evidence from what the investigators in california say is a possible serial shooter. targeting the drivers over the past month. >> we have not determined what a motive is or could be for the shootings. they all appear to be random. >> the shootings have all happened in this 12 square mile area primarily in the morning and the evening catching in driver who didn't want to be identified off-guard. >> i heard the sound and it took a while to register what was going on. i thought it was a blow out. immaterial possible. too loud. you pulled over. the truck was shot. >> he was unhurt. but the other was hurt. >> did she get hit? >> yes. she is bleeding. >> that woman hit in the chest by shrapnel and now recovering as the verdicts try to figure out who the shooter is before anyone else is hurt. >> if this keeps going this is a matter of time before we have a murder investigation. >> they believe it you has come from a pickup truck in the opposite direction.

marcy gonzalez, abc news. sylmar, california. >>> the road to recovery is long and hard. but we'll get there. >> grit and optimism in the face of a tragedy faced not once but twice. a bay area couple who lost their home in the north bay fires watched in horror as the hole they recently left in ventura also burned to the ground if you can believe it. >> it is very overwhelming. it was overwhelming with one fire. >> like thousands of others, dr. wong and his wife lost their hole in the north bay fires. exactly two months ago, their split level was one of many leveled in santa rosa's fountain grove area. >> there was a 20-foot tall tree lit up like a torch. then i realized, oh, this is really bad. >> that was bad enough. >> i'm watching the house burn. it's horrible. >> but then it happened again. on us the, the house they left behind in ventura just six months ago. the one they rented out, hoping to return to someday also burned to the ground. the wongs saw it engulfed in flames on the website of a southern california tv station. >> it was surreal. more like numb. did this

. >> marcy gonzalez looks at what went wrong. >> the railcars hauled from the scene of monday's deadly amtrak accident. >> emergency, emergency. >> the train was on an inaugural run. rounding a curve over i-5 in dupont, washington when it derailed. >> people are flying, you're like, oh, my god, this is real. >> the train was going well over twice the speed limit, 80 miles an hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. >> it's crazy. >> railcars sent spilling over the overpass, some crashing on to the busy highway during the morning rush. crushing 7 vehicles. >> that train is derailed over the freeway. >> one of the trains had tipped up side down and spilled the passengers out and then the train came down on top of them. when people were pinned under the train, i grabbed the dude's hand and i was rubbing his back, i'm like i'm so impressed by you, you're a champion. just talking to him. >> more than 70 people injured, three on board the train killed. among them, transit employee zach will hoyt. >> we have crew members who have survived, interviewing them to understand what was going on immediately

. >> marcy gonzalez looks at what went wrong. >> the railcars hauled from the scene of monday's deadly amtrak accident. >> emergency, emergency. >> the train was on an inaugural run. rounding a curve over i-5 in dupont, washington when it derailed. >> people are flying, you're like, oh, my god, this is real. >> the train was going well over twice the speed limit, 80 miles an hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. >> it's crazy. >> railcars sent spilling over the overpass, some crashing on to the busy highway during the morning rush. crushing 7 hicles. >> that train dailed over the freeway. >> one of the trains had tipped up side down and spilled the passengers out and then the train came down on top of them. when people were pinned under the train, i grabbed the dude's hand and i was rubbing his back, i'm like i'm so impressed by you, you're a champion. just talking to him. >> more than 70 people injured, three on board the train killed. among them, transit employee zach will hoyt. >> we have crew members who have survived, interviewing them to understand what was going on immediately prior

marci gonzalez reporting that the train may have been going way too fast for the turn. marci: the crumpled and ripped apart rail cars are being hauled from the scene of monday's deadly amtrak accident. >> amtrak 501. emergency, emergency. we are on the ground. >> it was traveling from seattle to portland on the inaugural run of a new faster rail service rounding a curve over interstate 5 when it derailed. >> people are like oh, my gosh, this is real. >> the train was going well over twice the speed limit. 80 miles per hour in a >> it's crazy! marci: rail cars sent spilling over the overpass. some crashing on the busy highway in the morning rush, crushing seven vehicles. >> oh, my god, that train derailed over the freeway. marci: commuters jumping from the vehicles to help. >> one of the train had tipped upside down and spilled the passengers out and came down on top of them. i grabbed a dude's hand and rubbing his back. i'm like i am so impressed by you. you are a champion. just talking to him. >> more than 70 people injured and three on board the train killed. among the

abc 7 news reporter marci gonzalez is in santa barbara with the latest. >> reporter: this relentless wildfire exploding in southern california. >> the fire was racing so fast. >> reporter: more than 10,000 acres burning just since friday. flames like a glowing gash cutting through the hillside, threatening homes, forcing 16,000 new mandatory evacuations. weather conditions creating a huge challenge for firefighters as we saw firsthand. the major concern out here is the wind. you can see just how strong it is gusting right now, carrying these flames in unpredictable directions. those gusts reaching 65 miles an hour. >> it burned a lot today. >> reporter: more than 267,000 acres charred since the thomas ago, and it is still spreading fast. >> i'm shocked that we don't have a hundred homes on the ground right now. >> reporter: among those forced from their homes in santa barbara county, actor rob lowe putting these pictures on instagram of these flames appearing alarmingly close. and oprah winfrey tweeting, still praying for our little town. p katy perry's little brother tweeting, the f

marcy gonzalez has more from the burnrhoods lit up for the holidays as the lilac fire scorched 141,000 acres as the fire spread. ten thousand people evacuated. four people injured while trying to escape. 85 homes and other buildings damaged or destroyed. crews racing to save others. catching a family inside this house off guard. all six wildfires burning in southern california are fueled by strong santa ana winds. >> winds are so strong, strongest that i've ever seen it. >> the dust carries smoldering embers making it difficult to contain. when santa wind comes in there's no stopping them. >> reporter: the two fires in los angeles county 3040% -- 30, to 40% contained. the largest fire growing more, flames destroying 400 structures across 132,000 charred acres threatening communities all the way to the coast. >> the whole town could go down the way the fire is coming around us. >> reporter: while it's breezy here the wind is not as powerful as yesterday however wind warnings remain in effect through the weekend. marcy gonzalez, abc news california. >>> a political consultant for congres

marcy gonzalez, abc news, k. >> well, fire fighters are closely watching the wet we are, particularly the winds which have been just fueling these fires so ferociously. meteorologist about sandhya patel is here with the latest. >> i want to show you the winds right now. they have eased since earlier this afternoon when they were very strong, so right now still gusty. santa clarita 17 miles an hour as we take a rook at the wind forecast. winds will remain on the gusty side 11:00 tonight, over 30 miles per hour at 5:00 a.m. and the gusty santa ana winds are going to continue really beyond friday all the way through sunday. red flag warnings until sunday night at 8:00 p.m. and more than 7 million people impacted in southern california. extreme fire danger conditions. i want to show you what's going on with the satellite picture. the smoke has been drifting into our skies a little bit as we have a clockwise flow and that has allowed this to happen from our time lapse. mt. tam's cameras. look at smoke geiss skies. this smoke is isn't just from southern california. we've had cold night and

marci gonzalez, ventura, california. >> in southern california, that smoke has reached all the way toay area. a spare the air alert is in effect through today. that means you should stay indoors, especially if you have asthma. sky 7 shot these pictures of smoke on the horizon. remember, no woodburning during spare the air days. >>> victims of the north bay wildfires face an important deadline tomorrow. monday is the last day to sign up for federal disaster relief. people can apply for fema to cover losses that are not covered by their insurance policies. businesses and non-profits can apply to the small business administration for low interest loans. you can find more information on our website abc7news.com. >>> well, lisa here now talking about our chilly start to the day. >> another frosty start out there. and hopefully you slept through it over here in the east bay. started out at 37 in oakland right now. how about 50 degrees with some hazy sunshine? we are in the upper 40s in san jose. still plenty of 30s in the valley, so another mild afternoon with some haze around. i'll have a

marcy gonzalez has more from the burn zone. >> reporter: neighborhoods lit up for the holidays ravagedflames. $4,000 acres were scorched in fewer than 1 hours. >> the fire was -- 12 hours. >> the fire was coming right at us. >> reporter: ten thousand residents evacuated. 4 injured trying to came. 85 homes damaged damaged or destroyed. crews racing to save others camping the family inside this house off guard. all six wildfires burning in southern california are fueled by strong santa ana swindz. >> -- winds. the winds are so strong stronger than i've ever seen it. >> when it hits the midwest there's no stopping it. when the santa ana winds come in there's no stopping them. >> reporter: two los angeles fires between 30 and 40% contained. the damage left behind is overwhelming. >> not out of the woods just yet. >> reporter: in ventura county the largest of the fire growing more. flames destroying 400 structures across 132,000 charred acres threatening communities all the way to the coast. >> the whole town could go down the way the fire is coming around us. >> reporter: the it is breezy

marci gonzalez, abc7 news. >>> donald trump tweets. our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of california wildfires. i encourage everyone to heed the advice and orders of local police. >>> sky 7 caught the aftermath after the apartment complex. the santa clara county fire didn't says the fire started just before 10:00 last night. the flames wiped out seven vehicles in carport. ten other vehicle were damaged. no one was hurt. and that cause sunday investigation. >>> happening now, day two of a major strike in oakland. 3,000 employees are staying home or taking to the picket lines as the city is trying to figure out how they can possibly end this. amy hollyfield live. amy? >> reporter: hi, reggie. look at the big rally going on at city hall as they try to keep the energy going for day two. i'm hearing hope from both sides this could possibly get resolved today. both sides want these employees to get back to work. as they picket on day two of this strike, some workers are thinking about their jobs and how the work for the c

marci gonzalez, abc news, ventura, california. >>> happening now, a reminder that the bay area is under a spare the air alert until tomorrow. sky 7 shot these pictures of smoke from the southern california fires on the horizon. weather conditions there are trapping wood smoke pollution close to the ground. remember, no wood burning during spare the air days. >>> happening today, a candlelight vigil in san francisco will honor the 26 people killed at sandy hook five years ago. a 20-year-old gunman shot 20 children all between the ages of 6 and 7 and six adult staff members at sandy hook elementary school in the city of new town, connecticut. today more than 200 events across the country are commemorating sandy hook and asking lawmakers to do more to end gun violence. the san francisco event begins at 2:00 at st. dominic's church on bush street. house minority leader nancy pelosi is scheduled to attend. >>> buying ammunition off the internet will soon get more expensive and more complicated in california. a new law takes effect starting in january. right now, stores that sell ammo are see

marci gonzalez, abc news, santa monica, california. >> our thanks to marci there. >>> a winter stormng across the northern plains overnight bringing snow and strong winds. by tomorrow morning it will be much colder throughout the midwest. it will feel like single digits in many areas. the cold air will keep marching east as they do and may trigger lake-effect snow off the great lakes. woo-hoo! we expect temperatures below average for much of the eastern u.s. for the next two weeks. 19 in burlington, vermont. >> zero in minneapolis, chilly! >> that's the feels-like temperature. >> that's the important one. >>> christmas is a few weeks away, but for some, santa came a little early this year. >> they hit the slopes for the sunday santa charity event. they've got some speed. >> lots of santas. and check out what happened in north carolina. one kriss kringle there apparently wanted to practice coming down the chimney. >> yeah. >> he rappelled down the mountain in chimney rock state park. >> how big of a chimney does he expect? >> the climb is 300 feet, and he's going to be doing it again

. >> marcy gonzalez has the latest. >> track 501, emergency. emergency, we are on the ground. >> reporter: that amtrak train from seattle to portland went off the rails south of tacoma, washington just after 7:30 a.m. crashing into the busy highway below during rush hour. >> the train started to wobble for a moment and then catapulted in front of us. our car had crumpled. >> reporter: at least 86 passengers and crew members were on board. several people were killed, dozens of others including motorists whose vehicles were hit by the railcars were injured. other drivers jumped out of their cars to help. >> we climbed underneath the train as best we could. there were people with half their bodies pinned, couldn't move. they were in a lot of pain, a lot of them were screaming and moaning. but there's nothing we could do to help them really. so we just stayed with them. >> reporter: the passengers on board were the first paying customers on this debut run of the amtrak cascade service using tracks recently upgraded to carry passenger trains up to 7

marcy gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. >>> do you like cars, do you like science fiction?g new cheer about. nissan has unveiled a fleet of "star wars" themed customized cars at the l.a. auto show. last year the automaker produced one of the cars. now there are seven. sorry, folks. not for sale. they are meant to get nissan attention. i not that's working. the models -- i think that's working. the models include dual wings, undermodel lighting. even one has a droid peeking out of the back. disney produces "star wars." it is also the parent company of abc7. >>> and then there's this -- a museum that officially opened today in southern california. features products that didn't quite catch up with consumers. as reporter rob hayes from our sister station in los angeles found out, curators are hoping a museum about failure is a success. >> reporter: these days l.a. is overflowing with popup museums. we've got one for shattered love, one for frozen desserts -- >> ice cream -- >> reporter: even one for inner joy. okay, settle down. way down. that's where our latest museum is going

marci gonzalez is on the front lines with details. >> reporter: a new wildfire now spreading fast in san diego streets as residents rush to evacuate. >> i've been going up and down the roads, making everybody leave. i've got one left. i need to tell the sheriffs to go get him, he won't leave. >> reporter: to the north, 150 square miles scorched. the thomas fire closing in on this beach front community, the heat melting glass over what was the back glass of this car and over staircases leading to nowhere. over 400 structures destroyed. >> hospitals, homes, people's livings destroyed. >> reporter: across all of the while fires, the flames are fueled by low humidity and powerful santa ana winds with gusts up to 60 miles per hour. >> mother nature decides when we are going to be able to put the fire out. >> reporter: until then, a scramble four so many to grab what they can. and get out. >> mandatory evacuation! >> reporter: nearly 200,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders. for the firefighters and showing their appreciation. >> one turkey. thank you. >> reporter: for their days o

marci gonzalez is live on the scene there in dupont, washington. and joins us now. marci, i know it's been several hours since the accident took place, but have emergency crews accounted for everyone there? >> reporter: you mentioned you can still see the train behind me. they have managed to secure it. state police say emergency responders have now gone through all of those rail cars. they've not found anymore victims. sohe >> i know the ntsb is on the scene now, what will they be looking at in the beginning part of this investigation? >> reporter: they have a lot of questions. one of the main ones, of course, is speed. how fast was this train going when it derailed? we know that the speed limit at the curve is 30 miles per hour. they want to see if the train was exceeding that speed limit. they'll also look into whether there was anything on the tracks that it may have hit before the derailment, if there was a problem with the tracks, and because this was the inaugural run of this route, they want to look into whether this was tested enough ahead of time. kendis an

abc's marci gonzalez has more from the fire zone. >> reporter: neighborhoods lit up for the holidays ravaged by flames as the lilac fire in san diego county, scorching 4 how that i canners in fewer than 12 hours, spread. >> the fire was coming right at us. you could feel the heat from the fire. >> reporter: 10,000 residents evacuated. at least four people injured while trying to escape. in this fire alone, 85 homes and other buildings damaged or destroyed. crews racing to save others. >> oh, my god! >> reporter: catching the family inside this house off guard. all six wildfires burning in southern california are fueled by strong santa ana winds. >> the winds were so strong. strong as i've ever seen it. >> reporter: those double digit gusts carrying smoldering embers, making the flames difficult to contain. >> there's no stopping it. when a hurricane hits the east coast, there's no stopping it. when the santa ana winds comes in, there's no stopping them. >> reporter: now between 30 and 40% contained. the damage left behind is overwhelming. >> we're not out of the woods just yet. >> ab

. >> marcy gonzalez has the latest. >> track 501, emergency. emergency, we are on the ground. >> reporter: that amtrak train from seattle to portland went off the rails south of tacoma, washington just after 7:30 a.m. crashing into the busy highway below during rush hour. >> the train started to wobble for a moment and then we were catapulted in front of us. our car had crumpled. >> reporter: at least 86 passengers and crew members were on board. several people were killed, dozens of others including motorists whose vehicles were hit by the railcars were injured. other drivers jumped out of their cars to help. >> we climbed underneath the train as best we could. there were people with half their bodies pinned, couldn't move. they were in a lot of pain, a lot of them were screaming and moaning. but there's nothing we could do to help them really. so we just stayed with them. >> reporter: the pasngers on board were the first paying customers on this debut run of the arak casde service using tracks recently upgraded to carry passenger trains up to

marci gonzalez, sylmar, california. abc 7 news. >>> happening now, a reminder that the bay area is under a spare the air alert until tomorrow. sky 7 shot these pictures of smoke from the southern california fires on the horizon. weather conditions there are trapping wood smoke pollution close to the ground. remember, no wood burning during spare the air days. >>> happening today, a candlelight vigil in san francisco will honor the 26 people killed at sandy hook five years ago. a 20-year-old gunman shot 20 children all between the ages of 6 and 7 and six adult staff members at sandy hook elementary school in the city of new town, connecticut. today more than 200 events across the country are commemorating sandy hook and asking lawmakers to do more to end gun violence. the san francisco event begins at 2:00 at st. dominic's church on bush street. house minority leader nancy pelosi is scheduled to attend. >>> buying ammunition off the internet will soon get more expensive and more complicated in california. a new law takes

marcy gonzalez, abc news california. >>> here at home, delaware state police are looking for two shoplifting suspects who got away with $4,300 worth of designer clothing. the investigators released the pictures of the two women. store employees say they saw the women take off with merchandise they did not pay for around 2:00 p.m. the women came back an hour and are 45 minutes later and stole more items. they say they got away in a red 2017 hyundai sonata with new york tags. >>> a bank robber left a trail of cash when they fled the scene on rising sun avenue. the robber entered the bank wearing a ski mask and demanded cash. he ran out the back door. >>> we know where the barclay friends senior inferno began. it started outside the buildings in the area of a covered patio. how it started is not known. atf said they will release the results of testing next week. 4 people died in the fire. >>> a police officer is recovering after being wounded by a bullet in north philadelphia. this happened after he shot a dog attacking an 80-year-old woman. 34-year-old officer kevin at a is -- kevin fay is out

tom, paula, back to you. >> marci gonzalez for us this morning, marci, thank you. from those wildfires to wintry weather here on the east coast, a storm that brought heavy snow to the south is now moving through. >> rob has been tracking it all out in galloway, new jersey, this morning. what is it doing out there right now? >> good morning, we're in southern new jersey where the snow just started to fall. that precipitation shield beginning to reach towards the north and east. it was a mild and quiet fall for most of the country. well, all things have changed and this storm has been winding up for a couple of days hitting the south first with a vengeance. overnight winter weather taking aim at the east coast from delaware to virginia, residents prepping for the first significant snowfall of the season. >> it is snowing like crazy here. >> reporter: treacherous conditions continue across the south. in san antonio, icy roadways causing this massive 20-car pileup. parts of texas blanketed with a half a foot of snow. houston greeted with this unusual sight. it's been e

marci gonzalez with the details. >> reporter: apple responding to complaints and backlash after acknowledgingntionally slows down older model iphones, the world's most valuable company now says we know that some of you feel that apple has let you down. we apologize. the tech giant calling it all a miscommunication, saying about a year ago it software to intentionally slow functionality during peak work loads to avoid unintended shutdowns, insisting it was never to force consumers to upgrade their phones. >> the battery lasted me a day and a half, now half a day. they made the battery wear out a whole lot faster. >> reporter: now multiple class action lawsuits have been filed here in the u.s. while agencies in south korea, france and israel are also examining claims be against apple. one suit alleges customers were never given the opportunity to bargain or choose whether they ran slower than usual. there will also be a software update allowing users to check the health of their iphone's battery. marci gone saul izalez, abc new angeles. >> we always knew, didn't we? there with their popcorn goi

marci gonzalez with details. >> reporter: those raging flames threatening commuters along the busy 405 freeway. and charring multi-million dollar homes in l.a's elite bel-air neighborhood. just one of four major fires burning out of control in southern california. >> of course i'm worried. that's why i'm putting everything in. >> reporter: nearly 200,000 people ordered to evacuate in los angeles and ventura counties, including at this nursing home. the number expected to climb as the flames spread. more than 80,000 acres scorched so far. fueled by strong santa ana winds expected to intensify. >> the wind is expected to kick up in some places to70 miles per hour. that's hurricane-force winds. >> reporter: neighbors stepping in to help save pets. and homes. this horse rescued from a ranch where nearly two dozen others died. >> when they pulled him out, this stable was on fire. >> reporter: an emotional, exhausting few days for residents and firefighters. the firefighters are up against another long, tough morning. and the winds aren't expected to let up before the end of the week. aga ag

here's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: tonight in costa rica, 12 people presumed dead, including 10 foreigners, 5 of them, reportedly from the same family after a small plane crashed soon after take-off. >> it made a really hard left-hand turn and then nose-dived straight into the ground. >> reporter: dawn wolfe and her family vacationing from utah watching in horror. >> reporter: her husband rushing towards the flaming wreckage. costa rican officials say the plane owned by nature air took off from punta isilita, heading for the capital san jose, when it crashed around 12:15 local time. from above you can see the scorched woods where it came down. the plane's colorful tail, some of the only recognizable debris. costa rica's former president laura chinchilla tweeting that her cousin, juan manuel retina, was the pilot. the state department now working to confirm whether there were any americans on board. telling abc news, "we express our condolences to all those affected by this tragedy." and tonight, investigators are still looking into the cause of the crash. tom? >> marci, thank you. >>> now

marci gonzalez is there. >> reporter: this fire raging up the southern california coast and still growing. overnight, the powerful santa ana winds intensifies. >> this area was under evacuation two days ago, and we lifted the orders because we thought we were in good >> reporter: residents startled this morning to find the fire was at their doorstep. >> my neighbor pounded on the door, debbie, get out! >> reporter: the flames closing in fast. >> in ten seconds, the fire was around us. >> reporter: this man decided to stay, grabbing a hose in the overpowering haze of smoke, trying to keep the fire from spreading. his efforts paid off. the fire came dangerously close, but he was able to help save some of his neighbors' homes. now, the fight to make sure others fare as well. but tonight, a glimmer of hope for the rest of southern california. crews getting the upper hand on four other fires, and one is now completely out. but the devastation left behind is hard to swallow. >> just absolutely >> reporter: these women in disbelief. only their mailbox left standing. >> i was hopeful, a 50/50 cha

we get more from marci gonzalez. are your fi . >> reporter: firall-out war. crews climbing the california hills with chain you saws, axes and shovels, desperately trying to get the upper hand. the inferno now burning for two weeks. the wall of smoke to thick it blocked out the sun. nearly 800 homes destroyed. several more lost over the weekend as wind gusts topped 60 miles per hour. it brought the flames in so quickly fire crews didn't have time to get up here to save this home. >> it was really the most severe fire behavior i've seen. >> reporter: that new threat forcing mandatory evacuations. celebrities among the thousands of people in the fire zone. rob lowe posting photos of his home and ellen degeneres writing our home is still standing. one of those who died was cory ievs iverson. colleagues mourng but still on the front linesaking a break in the winds. >> the winds are expected to kickback up severely o wednesday. >> the holidays are coming. everybody wants to really, they want to get home. >> reporter: and you can see the holiday decoration still han

marci gonzalez is there. >> reporter: this massive inferno raging up the southern california coast and still growing tonight. >> look at how big that is, how dangerous it is. >> reporter: overnight, the powerful santa ana winds intensifying. whipping the flames towards homes. >> this area was under evacuation two days ago, and we lifted the orders because we thought we were in good shape. >> reporter: residents startled awake this morning to find the fire was at their doorstep. >> my neighbor pounded on the door at 3:00 a.m., debbie, get out! >> reporter: the flames closing in fast. residents sent scrambling. >> in ten seconds, the fire was close to us, 30, 50, 100 feet high. >> reporter: this man decided to stay, grabbing a hose in the overpowering haze of smoke, doing what he could to keep the fire from spreading. his efforts paid off. the fire came dangerously close, but he was able to help save some of his neighbors' homes. now, the fight to make sure others fare as well. >> this fire is going to keep spreading for a while. >> reporter: but tonight, a glimmer of hope for the rest o

here's abc's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: the flu spreading fast and hitting hard. now experts say it's going to get worse. >> i went to the doctor and got tested. i felt like i had a sinus infection. >> reporter: it turns out vince does have the flu, so does his son. now they're spending christmas quarantined away from the rest of their family. >> it's sad that i won't be with the family today. it's the best thing for everybody. >> reporter: the cdc telling "the washington post" there's a 30% chance the flu peaks next week. ten states already reporting high flu activity chiefly from one powerful strain of a contagious illness. >> the influenza virus can exist in the air three to six feet in the air. it can be spread by talking or breathing. >> reporter: it's not just the very young. old and people with weakened immune systems who are at risk. this 20-year-old was killed by complications from the flu last month. >> never in a million years would we have thought that we would have lost her that day like this. >> reporter: >>> a terrifying ordeal for skiers in the fre

here's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: the flu spreading fast and hitting hard, now experts say it's going to get worse. >> i went to the doctor and got tested, and that i felt like i had a sinus infection. >> reporter: it turns out vince blea does have the flu, so does his son. now they are spending christmas quarantined, away from their family. >> it's sad that i won't be with the family today, it's the best thing for everybody. >> reporter: the cdc telling "the washington post" there's a 30% chance the flu peaks next week. ten states already reporting high flu activity chiefly from one powerful strain of an alarmingly contagious illness. >> the influenza virus can exist in the air three to six feet from a person who is infected and that does not have to be spread by just coughing or sneezing. that can be spread by talking or breathing. >> reporter: and it's not just the very young, old, and people with weakened immune systems who are at risk. 20-year-old alani murrieta was killed by complications from the flu last month. >> never in a million years would we have thought that we would ha

here's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: tonight, fire crews waging an all-out war against this massive, unrelenting wildfire, now the size of new york city. crews climbing the california hills with chainsaws, axes and shovels, desperately trying to get the upper hand. >> we're hitting this thing with everything we've got. >> reporter: the inferno now burning for nearly two weeks. the wall of smoke at one point, so thick, it nearly blacked out the sun. nearly 800 homes destroyed. several more lost over the weekend, as wind gusts topped 60 miles an hour. you can see just how powerful the wind is here. it brought flames in so quickly that fire crews say they didn't have time to get up there to save this home. once they were here, the heat melted their hoses. and up here, you can see where they dropped fire retardant, but that wasn't enough to stop the flames from spreading. >> the most severe fire behavior i've seen. forcing new mandatory evacuations. celebrities among the thousands of people in the fire zone. rob lowe posting these photos of his home. and ellen degeneres writing, "our home is still s

here's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: tonight, brock turner is appealing his conviction. the former star stanford swimmer served just three months behind bars. now more than a year later his attorney filing this appeal, claiming the actual evidence does not support any of the three convictions. saying turner, who maintained the encounter was consensual, didn't get a fair trial. >> she was completely unconscious. >> reporter: the district attorney argued the then 22-year-old victim referred to as "emily doe" was intoxicated when then 19-year-old turner sexually assaulted her after a frat party in 2015. two students, who say they witnessed turner on top of the woman, testified that they chased him away. >> i was quite in shock for quite a long time. >> reporter: the victim read a powerful statement in court that went viral. in part telling turner, "you tried unyieldingly to save yourself, your reputation, at my expense." tonight, the district attorney telling abc news, "turner received a fair trial and was justly convicted. nothing can ever roll back emily doe's legacy of r