. >> i am marcus washington. sobering new numbers in the dixie wildfire which has already become the state's largest fire ever. about half of the believed to b. firefighters say this morning 30% of that fire is contained. about 14,000 homes are still threatened. >> taking a live look outside of the san francisco bay, we are expecting smoke from the dixie fire to make its way here. an air quality advisory has been issued. how is it looking so far? >> looks good this morning. we have a new fire burning not too far from the dixie fire, the glenn fire that started yesterday so we may see a little more of the smoke coming in. moderate air quality. there's an air quality advisory just below a spare the air alert, and as we look at our near-surface computer model, we could see shades of blue and the worst air quality in parts of the north bay, but quite a few large fires burning to the north and it's going to be settling into some of our valleys as well as the north bay. we'll talk more about it in a couple minutes. >>>

. >> i'm marcus washington. we want to begin with that breaking news overnight, all of south lake tahoe is under some form of evacuation to the nevada state line. this is because of the caldor fire. the city of south lake tahoe is under evacuation warning and bart and memorial hospital is being evacuated as well. evacuation orders for the first time for the people in the tahoe basin and amador county. they were all included in this. more people in el dorado and alpine counties are also under new orders. fire crews say the caldor fire experienced, quote, rapid spread. the caldor fire has burned 263 square miles or an area larger than the size of san jose and oakland combined. containment dropped to 13%. >>> a lot to track of right now. let's bring in meteorologist kari hall monitoring some of this as well. smoke conditions that could come into the bay area. >> yeah. we've seen a lot of smoke over the past couple days and it has cleared a little bit, but then take a look at the fire and what we've seen, the perime

. >> i am marcus washington. and a look at the air quality. >> we have the dixie fire, the glenn fire, the monument fire, and there's a lot putting smoke in the atmosphere that will be settling in as we go through the day. there's an air quality advisory, and if you are sensitive you should limit your time outside. we are going to see some of the drifts of smoke coming in and some of the worst of it will be in parts of the north bay as we fires burning not only across the state but across the region, and the high pressure will push that down. we will look at the changes and heat in the forecast. that's coming up in just a few minutes. >> thanks, kari. >>> 5:01, the mask debate returns in school as children return for the fall term, and many are starting their first day of class in a few hours. >> and bob riddell is live for us in walnut creek. one of the surveys shows masks are okay but not the vaccine. >> reporter: yeah, as far as the survey is concerned, it comes from the kaiser foundation, they found a majorit

. >> i'm marcus washington. kari has that forecast ready to go, but we want to start with mike inouye with some of the traffic news. >> tragic news on highway 101 to start with. a head's up driving south 101 through san jose. just passing mckee. by our camera north of 680. you see the lights. the taillights going north they are traveling north past the scene. it's southbound 101, only one lane is open south of mckee. i don't see any traffic flow coming through right now. they may have done a teamry stop. there was a deadly crash here early in the morning and slowing, light traffic flow. this is a problem toward 280 and 680 coming off of olds the only for the south bay and issue for the freeways. we're going to track this, the death of any sort at any time of day tragic, but complicated by the darkness. >> we are starting out nice and quiet in the east bay getting ready to head out the door in walnut creek. it is 63 degrees. we had warm temperatures yesterday and it's going to be very much like that today. in som

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we'll get a look at that commute coming up in just a bit. first, want to have a look at that forecast for you. >> yeah. starting out pretty good although we're watching our air quality temperature wise we're mostly in the 50s in pittsburgh for your morning commute, it is all clear and temperatures right around 64 degrees, dropping down to 62 by 7:00 and then warming up. it will be a hotter day. take a look at these temperatures that we'll see across the bay area. yesterday we were in the upper 80s in concord but today we're headed back to the mid to upper 90s. in the tri-valley, some upper 90s as well as low 90s for santa rosa and 86, about seven or eight degrees warmer than in san jose. mike, getting out the door it looks busy. >> the freeway almost always busy but these flashing lights on east shore highway the frontage road alongside the of reportedly went off the roadway in the eastbound direction on to the frontage road. there's no slowing or distraction and the frontage road see

. >> i am marcus washington. we begin in downtown san jose where hundreds were forced to evacuate after a gas line break. >> any luck trying to cap this thing? >> reporter: well, certainly we don't smell anymore gas in the air, and apparently it was strong when this happened yesterday morning. we are in the neighborhood right where it happened yesterday, around 10:00 in the morning, and there are more than 300 homes in the densely populated neighborhood that are now empty this morning. there are residents waking up someplace they probably were not expecting. crews were hoping to have the leak capped off by midnight. according to pg&e, this was a third party contractor that hit an eight-inch line. no injuries are reported but about 325 homes and businesses are under that evacuation order. that order is expected to continue through at least 8:00 this morning. the community center down the way is open for shelter, and one evacuee told us it's what people are going through that >> it's not like your house is burning

. >> i'm marcus washington. we'll get to traffic in a bit, but back to school for san ramon unified in san jose as well. you know what it's going to be a hot one in the inland areas. >> san ramon is going to feel that today as the kids get ready to head out. we're starting out with a live look in dublin and temperatures in the upper 50s, the early hours, definitely the time to get out there and enjoy those outdoor activities. as we go into late morning into the afternoon it heat up. take a look at these high temperatures, 96 in livermore and concord. we'll see mid 80s for napa and san jose and mid 70s for oakland, san francisco headed towards 71 degrees. we are going to have hotter temperatures in the forecast. we'll talk about that in a few minutes. mike, do you have any good news for the north bay commuters? >> i do. highway 37 was closed. now we've been alternating closures, westbound, your commute direction was closed overnight but it reopened a few minutes ago, scheduled at 4:00 a.m. the island off ramp may

i am here for marcus washington. we want to turn back to the wildfires burning across northern california having an impact here in the bay area. >> let's start out with vianey arana who is tracking conditions we are seeing here at home. >> it has been hazy and smoky, and a lot of people said they could smell it, and mike said it smelled like a barbecue. this is an image from cupertino from pg&e during the day yesterday, and later we will get a look at what today looks like. even though it's supposed to be sunny and clear, because of the smoke and the air quality conditions we will see another day of the orange look depending on where you live. these are the air quality sensors right now which pick up how our air quality is doing. notice we are green down in the south bay and a couple yellow spots in the inland and east bay, and we are expected to see the smoke linger today and into tomorrow. that could all change depending on if there's a new fire that starts, and the conditions of the winds as well, and the northerl

. >> i'm marcus washington. we're going to speak live with a firefighter in that area in just a moment. >> first let's check in with kari hall. set the scene for us. what are we in store weather wise for us today? they really look at those conditions. >> the wind was kicking up yesterday and that fanned the flames and caused it to spread farther. the red dots indicate where we are seeing active fires burning. according to my estimates some of the leading edges of the fire is only at about 4 miles away from south lake tahoe and you can see that we are seeing this, it's been very erratic because some of the embers kicking up can kick those new fires off about a mile away from some of the very active flames and fires we've seen over the past 24 hours. red flag warning as you mentioned going up. they actually extended it from today at 11:00 to 11:00 tomorrow evening. it does look like these conditions will persist where we're getting these west/southwest early winds at about 20 to 35 miles per hour but may be isolat

. >> i'm marcus washington. first let's start out with the lady in pink this morning, meteorologist kari hall with a look at that forecast. >> it looks like it's going to be a nice day. it got a little hot yesterday afternoon in some of our some c temperatures today. this week, though, by friday, we will be heating up and i'm watching the fire danger for the sierra once again. let's take a look at these high temperatures. how about 79 in san jose, 79 in santa rosa as well as martinez and 87 in concord. we'll talk about more of what's ahead as our temperatures go up and down. mike, you're looking at a crash in san francisco. >> kari, it's been there over an hour. about 3:00 this morning, we're told it's going to take an hour until they can get the tow truck on scene. green sensors around the bay. the crash is in san francisco north of 280 that's offs the split there. 101 northbound at cesar chavez, a crash involving what i'm told is a dump truck as well as a dump truck with some debris from a construction site. t

i'm marcus washington. >> there is certainly a lot going on this morning. i'm laura garcia. we'll check in with mike in a moment. want to check in with meteorologist kari hall tracking the really dangerous conditions out there. >> we have the winds starting to kick up in that area as well as some of the smoke coming in, so as you're heading out the door this morning, looking a little smoky, these dots show our air quality sensors and the yellow shows some moderate air quality and around the area of the fire, of course, very unhealthy air quality right now. we're going to monitor that smoke as our temperatures actually cool off. we will have a stronger westerly wind coming off the ocean helping to cool us off around the bay area. mostly 70s and 80s for a lot of our inland areas. we'll talk more about what's ahead coming up in a few minutes. how is it looking for the early morning commuters. >> pretty calm overall. not really a lot of traffic out there. green sensors for the most part. a crash reported west 80. your commute direction around powell may affect the off ramp, no s

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. okay. more schools will go in session today. back to school this morning for oakland unified schools. mike is going to give a look at the commute. but we want to start out with the forecast. >> we were watching the air quality over the weekend got hazy at times and air quality is looking much better. we are starting out this morning with a mostly clear sky, fog near the coast. in oakland reaching 72 degrees. really nice and comfortable and for the coastline we're going to see at times fog and hazy sky, temperatures in the mid 60s and for the inland areas, you'll feel the heat crank back up. we'll talk about that coming up. mike, not clear in san francisco. >> i don't know about the cloud cover, we'll take a look at that, but i'm talking about van ness over at the closure since last week, it's not supposed to reopen until 6:00 a.m. keep that in mind. if you head out there right now you have the intersection closed and crews in the area, getting off the bay bridge westbound around fremo

. >> i'm marcus washington. we want to get to meteorologist kari hall with a look at our air quality conditions this morning. kari, are we seeing any improvement? >> it is improving for part of the bay area. we've seen the smoke shifting around and yesterday was pretty good in the north bay, but today air quality will be moderate. for the coast and the bay, it will be improving and that means san francisco will have better air quality today as well as the south bay looking pretty good, east bay with the hazy sky and santa clar all of the smoke it' not surprising that the tahoe area has the worst air quality in the world. number two is chile with the air quality index at about 389, that's well below what we're seeing in tahoe. we're going to continue to monitor this as we go through the next few days. it will be changing and unfortunately it does look like a lot more of that smoke comes into the bay area. an update on that in a few minutes. >> thank you. >>> speaking of lake tahoe, wildfires in and around lake ta

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. well, we are expecting the smoky and hazy weekend. meteorologist kari hall is here. let's talk about how long we can expect this to happen or when can we expect this to happen? >> yeah. it's going to be a smoky weekend for the bay area and hotter too. our near surface smoke model. we've been using this a lot because unfortunately it's been changing day by day and today we go from the light blues which indicate some moderate air quality to the reds which indicate some unhealthy air quality. this will not just be bad for people who are sensitive to the smoke, but pretty much everyone as we go into today as well as tomorrow, only some minor improvements near the coastline. it's all because of all the fires burning across the bay area and a slight shift in the wind direction is going to push that smoke in. this as our temperatures will be heating up. we'll talk more about all of this in the forecast coming up. mike, how is it looking for the early morning commuters. >> a live look at san

. >> i'm marcus washington. first, a look at the smoky and hazy bay area weekend as wildfires continue to rage on. let's get right to meteorologist kari hall. kari? >> yeah. we are seeing the caldor fire burning many acres across the tahoe basin and sierra closer to the tahoe basin as we've seen over the past few days, over the past 13 days, over 139,000 acres have burned. right now it's about 12% contained. this is an outline of the perimeter of that fire and how much has burned over the past several days as it moves a little bit closer. as our weather pattern changes we're going to see more of that smoke coming into the bay area starting today and continuing throughout the weekend as we get hot temperatures and that smoke drifting right in, making it unhealthy to spend long periods of time outside. we're monitoring that and also what's going on in our forecast in a few minutes. >> thanks so much. we'll check back with you. >>> discouraging new developments this morning in the frontlines of the caldor wildfire

. >> i'm marcus washington. first, america's fight against covid-19 now growing critical with a few shortage in hospital beds for the sickest patients. covid cases hit a new high, 36 million rising in every state and california is quickly approaching a total of 4 million cases. florida hit a daily record for the third time in a week. >> this comes as more vaccine mandates are being rolled out. we've got live team coverage starting with "today in the bay's" tracie potts live in washington with a new requirement we're hearing from the pentagon. tracie? >> and it's coming soon, laura and marcus, good morning, everyone. the pentagon will require all service members to get the covid vaccine by mid-september. now making that announcement, president biden says he supports it. in a statement he said he strongly supports this move to ensure force readiness. some republicans disagree, though, saying this isn't the government's job to tell people to get the vaccine and knowing it's not yet fully approved by the fda. >> the

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. developing now a report overnight says governor gavin newsom is set to announce this morning new vaccine mandates for all school employees. >> it comes as thousands more return to in-person this morning here in the bay area. we have team coverage on all fronts. >> we begin with "today in the bay's" cierra johnson live in mountain view with what we know at this hour. quite the controversy, cierra. >> that's right. in just a matter of hours there will be students and teachers streaming into this elementary school here in mountain view but walking into the school building amid a bit of controversy. governor gavin newsom is expected to make quite the announcement regarding a possible vaccine order for teachers and staff at all california schools. now, california employees must either be vaccinated against covid or submit to a regular test proving they are not infected with coronavirus. this is according to the "l.a. times." the governor has issued a similar policy for employees of state a

. >> i'm marcus washington. governor newsom declared a state of emergency for nevada and masser counties as wildfires rage out of control. the smoke has triggered an advisory. the air quality management district is getting word out on social media at one santa rosa hardware store, that smoke won't last very long. >> that's when the masks and air purifiers go fast. >> when we checked in last night there are only three air purifiers left. the smoke advisory is expected to last through today. >> let's bring in meteorologist kari hall tracking the smoke and haze olympic. -- overnight. >> everything looks pretty good. we are going to continue to monitor this, even though we're starting out with a lot of green sensors. this is near the surface. it does show as you're walking out the door this morning it's pretty good. but then going into today, a lot of our models are showing some bright red. that indicates the unhealthy range or even very unhealthy at times. it's likely we'll continue to see our air quality going dow

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia.th that devastating and desperate situation in el dorado county. the caldor fe closing in on lake tahoe right now with flames threatening thousands

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. okay. we will begin with history made at the tokyo olympics. a teenager and a preteen are the new champions in the sport making its olympic debut. >> raj mathai is in tokyo. skateboarding brand new and a breakout moment for some of the young ladies. >> i mean 12, years old, laura and marcus. that is incredible to have a 12-year-old olympic medalist. what were you doing at 12? i was playing hide and seek and baseball and that's it. skateboarding making its debut at themuch fun to watch. a big success big reason why, the kids dig it, 12-year-old kakona haraki of japan. she wins silver. this is park skateboarding. sky brown wins the bronze, from the uk. the podium, sky brown who is 13, you have 12-year-old haraki, really cool to see the youth movement here in tokyo in skateboarding. here back in tokyo everyone is still buzzing about simone biles, the bronze medal, never felt so good. simone biles and the u.s. gymnastics team now mid flight back to the united states. in fact, we will see

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. movement on the medical front. for its vaccine. >> a san francisco hospital is now offering up supplemental vaccine doses possibly the first health care system in the country to do so. >> cierra johnson is live with developments on both of these stories. >> good morning. there are two huge stories in the world of pharmaceuticals, the world of vaccines. let's start with the fda inching closer to potentially approving that pfizer vaccine. the fact that pfizer vaccine had not received full authorization was a reason many folks decided not to get vaccinated but with the fda saying they're getting closer, this could sway more folks to get vaccinated according to some new reports, the fda says they have an unofficial target date of early september to give that full approval. the move could push more skeptics to get vaccinated and that full approval could have more businesses and entities issuing vaccine mandates when the full approval is granted. that second big story in the world of vaccines, san francisco general is ge

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. >> our other big story, mask requirements back in effect indoors for most of the bay area. >> "today in the bay" cierra johnson is live in san francisco. this goes for everyone, even if you're vaccinated or not. >> reporter: good morning, yeah, that's exactly right. the last couple days a lot of health leaders in some of the bay area counties have been alluding to the fact that this could come and it is officially here. as of 12:01 tuesday, while you were sleeping, the indoor mask mandate in several bay area counties is officially back in place. take a look at your screen, we have a breakdown of where you can expect to wear those masks indoors. so alameda county, contra costa county, marin county, san francisco, san mateo, santa clara, and sonoma counties as well as the city of berkeley, they all took part in a joint statement bringing back mask wearing indoors. now this order was issued mainly in part to that surge of covid cases in the highly contagious delta variant. as it stance n

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. >>> that breaking news right now, a new wildfire ravaging another neighborhood with evacuations and rescue efforts under way in el dorado between sacramento and tahoe. >> this is with cal fire resources stretched so thin by the dixie fire and other out-of-control wildfires. kris sanchez is here with the latest video coming into our newsroom and we're hoping everyone is okay and this new one to erupt. >> we always ask what is the human toll, at least one person was burned by the fire which started on saturday but which exploded overnight. our crews spotted an ambulance headed into the danger zone to reach that person and we know that several structures have already burned, though cal fire is still fighting the fire, not stopping to take stock of that. the fire at least 2200 acres and there are mandatory evacuation orders in effect. here's where the fire is burning in el dorado county. if you are familiar with this area, grizzly flat and happy valley are now under evacuation orders. it

i am laura garcia. >> i am marcus washington. >> a fast-moving wildfire, the dixie fire started to flare-up yesterday afternoon. take a look at the size of these flames. just engulfing a large part of the small town of greenville. greenville has a population just under 1,000 people. about 125 miles northeast of chico in the sierra. there's a large part of the downtown area literally destroyed. homes have just been leveled. the dixie fire has been burning for about three weeks now. it's california's eighth largest fire. some bay area firefighters are trying to help on the front lines as well. >> 150,000 miles south of greenville, more devastation, the river fire burning in placer and cal fire says the biggest challenge for firefighters right now is trying to stay ahead of up there as well, and there's haze and smoke that we could be seeing in the bay area. >> yeah, we've had a nice cooldown in the area, with a stronger ocean breeze. today in those areas we are going to see the temperatures still not too high, reaching into the mid

. >> i am marcus washington. we begin in downtown san jose. this is where hundreds of people forced to get out of their homes after a gas main break. they are still not home this morning and the streets closed that could impact your commute this morning. >> how long are they going to wait as this break happened yesterday. it's causing problems in the south bay. we will check in with mike in moments to get around the area with the roads closed, and first let's start out with kris sanchez. any progress on fixing this? >> reporter: well, we hope they are making progress, and the goal was to have that capped by midnight but the barricades are still in place and hundreds of people are waking up someplace else, they are out of their homes. crews also have to repair holes they dug to vent the gas that leaked here in the area. according to pg&e, a third party contractor hit that line and ruptured it. the evacuation order is expected to continue through 8:00 this morning. the baskin community center is open for folks that needed shelter but one evacuee

. >> i am marcus washington. >>> the fast-moving dixie fire destroyed a small town in california. it started flaring up yesterday afternoon. look at the size of some of these flames. they just engulfed a large part of the small area of greenville. greenville has a population of just over 1,100. it's about 120 miles northeast of chico in the sierra. a large part of the downtown area that is completely destroyed. homes are leveled as well. the dixie fire has now been burning for about three weeks. it's already california's eighth largest fire ever. some bay area firefighters are lending their help on the front lines. >>> 150 miles south of greenville, more devastation from a new fire that started yesterday afternoon. the river fire is burning in placer and nevada counties. cal fire says the biggest challenge for firefighters right now is trying to stay ahead of the new spot fire. it has already burned at least 1,400 acres. >>> let's check in with meteorologist, kari hall, and she has been covering the weather conditions up there. >> as we look at the weather conditions around those

. >> i am kris sanchez in for marcus washington this morning. the cache fire in clearlake has burned one neighborhood. 50 homes burned to the ground. many of them in a mobile home park. 1,600 people were evacuated, but now have been allowed to return. another 800 people still on standby. here's a live look at the situation this morning. the fire is said to be 20% contained. >>> and the dixie fire continuing to blow smoke into the bay area. our team coverage is picking up right now. we are checking with sharon katsuda, and first let's check in with vianey arana who has more on the smoke we have been talking about, the air quality not getting better. >> yeah, the northerly winds yesterday did not help the situation. what happens is as the winds blew from the north that pushes it down into the region, and that's why a lot of people probably noticed how hazy it was and you could smell it in the air. we have your color index between hazy and unhealthy, and a lot of green and blue mixed down through portions of san francisco. the marine layer is helpi

i am marcus washington.lin, and later today we are expecting to see the air quality get much worse. there's an air advisory for today and tomorrow because of the wildfire smoke coming from three wildfires burning north of us. that smoke initially to move into napa, marin, alameda, contra costa and solano. it will not be at ground level and not expected to affect your breathing. >>> and then i am cierra johnson. a booster shot from moderna showing the vaccine booster shot produced a robust response against the highly contagious delta variant. the drugmaker says it produced a promising immune response against three variants including the delta variant. >>> and now for a look at our weather. meteorologist, kari hall, standing by. >> we have the clouds and the fog right now. it's going to gradually clear out for the inland areas but stay foggy near the coast. the temperatures reach into the 80s and then tomorrow it will be hotter and possibly smoky. as we go into early next week, a little cooldown with the stron

i'm marcus washington.ries including new covid cases impacting bay area schools that returned to the classroom. >> i'm bob redell. san ramon valley unified school district which returned to in-person instruction this past tuesday is reporting seven cases of covid in its schools, one case at california high behind me in san ramon, two more at san ramon valley high, one at los cerros. it's not clear if they are among the staff or the 30,000 students who attend this school. those people who have been infected will have to quarantine for ten days. >>> good morning. i'm cierra johnson in san francisco. this is going to be a busy weekend in the final push for that california gubernatorial recall race. governor gavin newsom spending california urging californians to vote no on the recall. for the republican frontrunner headed to calvary chapel in san jose yesterday in his final push. you may recall calvary chapel ended up in a legal battle with the city as they dea fide public health orders. >>> time to get a look

i'm marcus washington. here's today's top stories including the bay area responds to events in afghanistan. >> i'm kris sanchez in fremont's little kabul. a u.s. veteran's organization is planning a day of action tomorrow to support the afghan people in the light of the suicide attack outsides the kabul airport. veterans against the war is mapping to gather at 2:00 if san francisco's union square, while other similar gatherings are planned for other major cities across the country. if you are looking for the latest news or looking for a way to help the afghan people, go to nbcbayarea.com. >>> i'm bob redell here in dublin. the bay area air quality management district has issued air quality advisories for today and tomorrow because of wildfire smoke burning in other parts of the state like the caldor fire. we can expect hazy skies, possibly the smell of smoke this weekend, but the air quality is not expected to be the level of spare the air days like we had last week. the district expects air quality today a

. >> i'm marcus washington. >>> we start with that breaking news right now for you. some unbelievable images coming out of south lake tahoe this morning of evacuations and flames and the worst may be still to come. >> kris sanchez is following the latest developments on this fire fight to try to keep it at bay. the flames are fierce. >> there's not a lot the firefighters can do right now. it is burning unchecked this morning out of control driven by winds and fed by dry fuels. this is the reason 56,000 had to flee south lake tahoe and the surrounding area. the tahoe basin. flames moving into small towns nearby just picking up cabins as it went along and people as they were packing up some of them were leaving on sprinklers on hoping they would have something to come back to. in the last half hour a firefighter told us that south lake tahoe's scenic terrain is part of the issue and part of the reason firefighters can really do little more than watch. >> i wish we could say that attacking it was what western doing. right now we're just kind of following it and trying t

marcus washington.f people in downtown san jose. kris, it sounds like people that live in the area need to be plan on being out even longer. >> reporter: yeah, this is not the news they were hoping for. the folks evacuated from the neighborhood are going to have to stay out until at least noon. that evacuation order was expanded by the length of time and number of homes. now we know the fire department added 15 more homes to the evacuation order for about 340 homes and businesses in total. this is a neighborhood not far from the sap center, and district nine in the city of san jose. a third party contractor ruptured a gas line and that's the reason for all of this, so do remain out of the area if you can. >>> now it's time to get a look at the microclimate forecast for you. meteorologist, kari hall, has a look at the numbers. >> we are waking up this morning to a hazy sky. it's going to be a warmer afternoon for inland areas, headed up towards the upper 80s, and we are going to seat return of smoke for

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. we de smoky skies over the weekend as people were out moving about. how are we looking for today. >> it's going to be smoky at times and i know kids will be walking to school, first day of school, temperatures in the upper 50s in oakland. happy first day. by the time you pick them up, upper 60s, looking hazy but we are going to see some improvements in our air quality this afternoon. mike, you're watching the patterns change. >> we're back to the similar pattern i guess the timing is a little different as we see folks back from vacation, back to school, some back to work. the bay bridge is showing a slowdown already over at the toll plaza. not enough to be an issue for the sensors but they may be turning the metering lightses on any second. a smooth drive for the rest of the bay. laura, we've seen blips for the tri-valley and east bay. things are calm and we'll see if it kicks in over the next 15 minutes. back to you. >>> now to the pandemic and back to school. one of the bay area's l

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. new video to show you this morning the caldor fire is burning in el dorado county right now, air quality is at the worst level on record. there are fears the fire may soon breach the lake tahoe basin. here's the latest of what we know. it's 11% contained. it has burned 122,000 acres. cal fire now says 637 buildings including 461 homes destroyed. some17,000 structures are still threatened. >> as that continues, meteorologist kari hall, of course, been monitoring the air quality that we're seeing from the smoke coming from those fires. >> yeah. we've seen some pretty good air quality here compared to what they have around the tahoe basin and it's moderate for parts of the north bay where you had a break yesterday, moderate for the east bay as well as santa clara va in parts of the south bay. as we mentioned tahoe does have the worst air quality in the world and you compare that to some other spots where it is not even close. unfortunately, some of those fire crews do expect that fire to

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. first at 6:30, sick students in several schools during the third week back to school. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is here sifting through new numbers from brentwood and oakley. >> schools in east contra costa county were among the first to return to that in-person instruction this school year, so they're giving us a glimpse of what we might expect at schools all around the bay area because by law schools have to report those covid-19 numbers and stag spike in the brentwood staffers are showing symptoms of covid-19. not testing positive at this point. as of last week, that number was 45, so you see the increase there. there are now 19 total confirmed cases up from 10. in the liberty union high school district there are 48 confirmed covid-19 infections half at liberty high school. in oakley district, cases went from 3 last week to 19 this week. elementary and million school students are still too young to get the vaccine though the american academy of pediatrics is pleading to

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. >> let's start out with that breaking news. south lake tahoe we're watching it closely as the evacuation orders are out. the caldor fire burning as it heads into the tahoe basin. "today in the bay" kris sanchez joins us now with more on the evacuations under way and the fire fighting efforts have been ongoing for some time, kris. >> this is surreal for folks who spent a lot of time in lake tahoe. right now bart memorial hospital in south lake tahoe is being evacuated, though notes the city of south lake itself. cal fire saying this fire more aggressive than they anticipated. this is the evacuation map, the areas in red are under mandatory evacuation orders, now including christmas valley, echo summit and myers, kirkwood ski resort. the areas in yellow under evacuation warning. that means folks need to be ready to get out. of equal concern dots on the screen we will zoom into at some point, the red and white icons, the roadways close. i-80 the only way out to the west. highway 50 is al

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. we begin with the breaking news that we're following, unbelievable images coming out of the south lake tahoe region this morning. evacuations, flames, and sadly the worst may still be to come. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is here with the latest on the fight to keep the caldor fire at bay, kris. >> the caldor fire burning unchecked this morning out of control, driven by the winds and fed by dry fuel and now the fire is even threatening the containment lines at highway 50. 56,000 people had to flee south lake tahoe and the surrounding area. 186,000 acres are already burnt and those flames continue to move into the small towns leading into south lake tahoe proper. as evacuees were getting out some of them were leaving sprinklers on hoping they would have something to come home to. we talked with a firefighter who told us the scenic terrain is part of the problem and the reason that firefighter can only do so much. >> i wish we could say attacking it was what we're doing. now we'

. >> i'm marcus washington. first we want to get a look outside because we've been talking about the smoky and hazy bay area weekend ahead as the wildfires continue to rage. want to get right to meteorologist kari hall who has been tracking these conditions for us. >> yeah. we are expecting some more unhealthy air quality to start to move in. as you wake up and head out the door, more of us are seeing good air quality. the real-time sensors and green dots good air quality. as you travel to the east we are seeing more of the yellow dots, moderate air quality and more of that smoke pushing in today. our model by 3:00 this afternoon, it's going to be very unhealthy. long periods of time outside. we're going to be smelling the smoke and possibly not seeing a lot of sunshine as more of the smoke moves in. >> such a tough time. thank you. it's discouraging new developments on the front lines of the caldor wildfire. it is advancing towards lake tahoe. evacuation warnings are in place for people who live close to the ta

. >> i'm marcus washington. first we want to bring in meteorologist kari hall with a look at our weekend forecast ahead. >> we're still monitoring the air quality as you make plans to get outside and we're starting out with a live look outside in dublin before you head out the core. we've seen the hazy conditions and moderate air quality. if you're sensitive to the wildfire smoke you may need to limit your time outside and wear an n-95 mask and in the north bay where we will see the most unhealthy air quality. these numbers measure the particulate matter and how unhealthy it is. once you get above 50 we're going from good to moderate. seeing some of the worst in the north bay today and still looking a little hazy. we'll talk about temperatures that's coming up in the forecast in a few minutes. >> looking forward to that. thank you. >>> nbc bay area is your back-to-school station and this morning a large school district in the bay area is reporting its first case of covid just days after returning to in-person in

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. developing now, a report overnight says governor gavin newsom is set this morning to announce new vaccine mandates for all school employees. >> this comes as thousands more students return to in-person learning this morning here in the bay area. we have team coverage for you on all fronts. let's start with cierra johnson, live in mountain view with what we know this hour. quite the controversy. >> good morning. it is pretty controversial in a matter of hours, teachers and students will be returning to class here in mountain view, but it's amid that controversy in a number of hours governor gavin newsom is expected to make an announcement regarding a possible vaccine order for all teachers and staff at california schools. now california school employees must either be vaccinated against covid or submit to regular vaccine or excuse me regular testing proving they do not have covid. this is according to the "l.a. times." the governor has issued a similar policy for employees of state age

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. we begin with that devastating and desperate situation in el dorado county. the caldor fe closing in on lake tahoe right now with flames threatening thousands of homes. it's still burning, mostly out of control and the air there is toxic. >> while the situation in the bay area is not as bad, all of that smoke continues to drift. we are under another air quality advisory. want to turn to meteorologist kari hall and we're smelling it and breathing it in and will we get a break from all that smoke at some point? >> this is actually our break. we're seeing some good to moderate air quality across the bay area and an air quality advisory has stepped down from a spare the air alert. with a wind we are seeing clearing in parts of the north bay where it's been smoky. elsewhere we are seeing some moderate air quality for parts of the peninsula down to the south bay into the east bay. now we are going to see once again today at times some clearing, some fresh breezes and even a clear blue sky,

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. time to get a look at that forecast. meteorologist kari hall has been monitoring what we can expect today and air quality still a concern. >> we're still watching the air quality because the fires continue and some of that smoke moving into the bay area. we've had these hazy skies, especially that we see for the start of the morning and the end of the day and as we take a live look outside in dublin right now, air quality has been fairly good but will turn moderate through the day. particulate matter,ir and some the most unhealthy air quality will be in the north bay. these numbers below what they use the issue a spare the air alert day, an air quality advisory, so today it's going to be hazy at times, a little bit of smoke coming in as our temperatures reach into the upper 80s and low 90s. santa rosa headed towards 90s today, 92 in martinez and hayward reaching 78 degrees. 85 today in san jose. our weekend will be slightly hotter and we'll talk more about that as well as our air qual

i'm marcus washington. want to get right out live for us. this is nbc bay area's cierra johnson who is in the city and the nation could be watching how all of this unfolds. >> reporter: yeah. good morning, marcus. i would imagine that all eyes right now on the city of san francisco of the right now we're waiting for mayor london breed who is expected to give specifics of what this new rule would entail, but what we know right now i can tell you is being reported by "the chronicle." so far a proof of full r one johnson & johnson shot against the coronavirus will be necessary. proof will be required for some indoor activities including bars, restaurants as well as gyms, and this mandate would be citywide. again, we're still waiting to see when this will officially go into effect and learn the specifics. will this apply to outdoor dining? will there be a deadline for the workers at the businesses impacted to receive a advantages own? as we reported before, new york city became the first to require proof of at least one vaccine for indoor activi

i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. >> first mask requirements now back in effect indoors for most of the bay area. "today in the bay's" cierra johnson joins us live in san francisco this morning. cierra, this goes for everyone vaccinated or not. >> good morning. yeah, that's exactly right. the last couple days several health leaders have been alluding to the fact that these indoor mask mandates would be reinstated and officially at 12:01 while many of you were still sleeping, many counties did make it official, reinstating those indoor mask mandates. take a look at your screen. we have a breakdown of where those mask mandates are implemented. alameda, contra costa, marin, san francisco, santa clara and sonoma and the city of berkeley are all part of a joint statement bringing back that indoor mask wearing. this order was issued mainly in part to that surge in covid cases in the highly contagious delta variant. as it stands now, half of the state is under a mask mandate. take a look at an infectious disease physician sp

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm kris sanchez in for laura garcia. we're going to check in with mike because things start to pick up. first we want to check in with kari hall because we're going to start waking those kids up. >> first day of school, san francisco, west contra costa county, a lot of school districts. we're still dealing with the hazy sky and the smoky conditions we've seen from over the weekend. even though we are starting out with moderate air quality we are expecting improvement today as our temperatures will be heating up for some of the inland spots. 70s for the inner bay and some 60s near the coast. what are you watching for the commute? >> the bay bridge starting to slow down. the metering lights were turned on before 6:00 like last week. the metering lights may be slower a bit because there's an incident as you enter the treasure island tunnel. see slowing there. recovery may have started already. they may have cleared that. the rest of your commute westbound look at that, highway 37 just a little slowing toward mare island. be

. >> i'm marcus washington. the breaking news, people in south lake tahoe now under an evacuation warning with the caldor fire threatening more homes as the flames push into the tahoe basin. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez jones us with more keeping track of what is going on with all the evacuations under way. >> an evacuation warning is you better be ready the minute those turn into orders. evacuation order you have to get out now. cal fire saying the fire is more aggressive than they anticipated and memorial hospital in south lake tahoe is being evacuated, though not the city of south lake tahoe itself. let's take a look at this new video we got into the newsroom in the last hour or so, this is what the area east of summit in el dorado looked like conditions and winds that were setting spot fires as far as a mile ahead. this is the evacuation map. the areas in red are under mandatory evacuation orders that include echo summit and myers, kirkwood ski resort. the areas in yellow are now under that evacuation w

i'm marcus washington. our top story, the weather, smoke and fires. right now a red flag warning is in effect for the area where the firefighters are battling the dixie wildfire. this is due to the threat of lightning storms, firefighters managed to hold their ground on the fire overnight. right now the dixie fire is 31% contained. 515,000 acres burned so far. meanwhile, the evacuees who feared losing their homes to the fire have a new tracking tool. california's department of forestry launched an interactive map that shows the status of homes in the fire's path. the fires destroyed at least 1,100 buildings. half of those are home. >>> meteorologist kari hall is here. should we be concerned about those conditions making their way here this weekend? >> we are watching the surge of monsoon moisture. yesterday morning we had a couple isolated showers but the lightning stayed offshore. all quiet across the bay area right now, but there's still the chance as we see the rep nantz remnants of a tropical storm moving closer to southern california but we're se

i'm marcus washington. >> i'm laura garcia. let's check in with meteorologist kari hall in just a bit. >> but we want to go to that fast-breaking story before we get to kari because the wildfire is burning to our east. that wildfire ravaging another neighborhood with evacuation and rescue efforts underway. this is in el dorado county between sacramento and tahoe. this with cal fire resources already stretched thin by the dixie fire and other out-of-control wildfires. >> "today in the bay's" kris sanchez here with the latest covid into our newsroom and new information. so concerning with these fires breaking out across our state. >> we know that at least one person was burned by the fire that started on saturday, but which exploded overnight. our crews spotted an ambulance into the danger zone to reach that person and we also know that several structures have already burned although cal fire is still fighting the fire and not stopping to take stock. there are mandatory evacuation orders in effect in that area. this is the area w