>>> up next here on a second look, the fires and floods that ravaged yosemite national park get ready for a six month period seven years ago. >>> plus could it be another yosemite. the push to drain hechhechie. rein how rain came and went in the sierra. it is all straight ahead on a second look. >>> good evening and welcome to a second look. i'm frank somerville. tonight wildfires in yosemite. since it began, the rim fire has burned more than a quarter million acres in and around the national park making it the largest wildfire own record in the sierra nevada. and that reminded us of another fire 17 years ago in that same area. it was called the ackerson fire and it burned nearly 60,000 acres and had a devastating effect in that area for months to come. here's ktvu's john fowler as the ackerson fire burned. >> drew to a close as twilight descended on the sierra. this helicopter one of four spent the day in the river valley. it is steep, inaccessible and dangerous and the site of just one of the sierra forest fires now raging out of control. extremely difficult for ground crews. the ba

and one of the main roads into yosemite national park is open again. drivers along highway 120 are advised to use extreme caution. the rim fire is still active so fire fighters will still use 120 to fight the flames. drivers are not allowed to stop along highway 120. and most of the connecting side roads and trail heads remain closed to the public. inside yosemite national park, highway 120, which is also called tioga road, remains closed between crane flats and white wolf. the contra costa county fire protection district launched a new squad to respond to low level medical calls. it's made up of two fire- fighters. they will be under a 90-day pilot program meant. it's meant to help the financially strapped fire district better distribute its trimmed-down staff. budget cuts over the past two years have caused the district to close five- stations and lay off about 20 firefighters. the pair of fire fighters will respond to non emergency medical calls/ this will free up firefighters and engines for more serious incidents and fires. police have released th

with a >> reporter: at noon today, caltrans announced that highway 120 between groveland and yosemite national park has re-opened. this restores one of the four main routes into and out of yosemite national park. e twty was closed back on august 17th when the rim fire started burning out of control. even though the highway is now open, cars will not be allowed to stop along the roadway. also, most of the side roads and trailheads that connect to 120 are still closed to the public. inside yosemite national park, 120, which is also called tioga road, remains closed between crane flats and white wolf. drivers entering the park using highway 120 *will be able to access the yosemite valley. finally, officials say that there's still active wildfire in the area and drivers are being asked to use extreme caution. they are also reminding people that fire fighters are working along the highway. in the newsroom, charles clifford kron 4 news. >> catherine: family members today claimed the body of ariel castro. the convicted cleveland kidnapper committed suicide in prison tuesday night. nbc has now obtained tap

closer look. >> reporter: : on august 17th, highway 120 between the town of groveland and yosemite national park was shutdown, cutting off one of the four main routes into and out of yosemite national parking. eventually the fire jumped over 120 and burned on both sides of the highway for weeks. on friday afternoon, cal trans announced that 120 has finally re-opened but drivers will still have to use caution. there continues to be active wildfire in the area and fire fighters are still using 120 to fight the flames. drivers will also not be allowed to stop along 120 and most of the connecting side roads and trail heads remain closed to the public. the re-opening is good news for business in the towns of groveland and big oak flats, who had seen their customers disappear when they were cut off from yosemite. inside the park, highway 120, which is also called tioga road, remains closed between crane flats and white wolf. drivers entering the park using highway 120 on the western side will be able to reach the yosemite valley. in the newsroom, charles clifford kron 4 news. >> jacqueline: will conti

. >> the fire in and around yosemite national park has a new distinction in california >> covering fremont, palo alto, north bay, and all the bay area, this is abc7 news. >> now the wildfire burning in the sierra the rim fire as yosemite national park is now the fourth largest fire in california history. cal fire says it has blackened 357 square miles since august 17. firefighters are making good progress and have it 60 percent contained. they hope to have it fully contained by next week. the rim fire has claimed 111 structures. 11 are homes. >> now the weather. how is the forecast? >> i hope the rain we have been tracking moves that way. it has been very close without the lightning that could cause more storms. we will watch that. at home it is becoming brighter outside as the dry air works its way in from the north and continuing to push the shield of precipitation to the east. it is just missing discovery bay and brentwood and all the peach and cherry trees and strawberry farms but it is moving across the altamont pass to tracy so some sprinkles are possible and we zoom out and can you

if you are headed over to, say, yosemite national park, today, thunderstorms are possible in the higher elevations. >> low-to-mid 80's for the south bay and mid-to-upper 80's for gilroy and santa cruz at 82 degrees. mid-70's to 80 degrees on the peninsula and warmer in los altos at 82 and 70 at half moon bay is the warm spot and around 67 in pacifica and daly city and colma and near 70 in downtown and south san francisco and sausalito is 74 and the beaches are in the upper 60's and headed inland we have temperatures in the low-to-mid 80's. in the east bay shore we have temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70's and the east bay valley we have mid-to-upper 80's. here is a look at the seven-day outlook, notice the temperatures tomorrow are about same as today and we jump up above average thursday and look at the heat for friday, saturday, and sunday, 70 at the coast and 90 for the rest of us. notice this morning, crossing the bridge the weather was perfect for viewing the bridge with no fog. >> no fog this morning. nobody to obscure the view of whatever you were looking at crossing the bay bri

. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant cost to put out the rim fir near yosemite national park. fore- seen f >>> $100 million, that's how much the feds say it's cost to put out the "rim" fire so far near yosemite national park. never-before-seen footage of the firefight plus details of a new recovery plan tonight at 5:00. >>> hi, lawrence. >> how are you doing? >> you came in at the end of the show. >> of course. i wouldn't leave before that. >> i know. nice weather out there, though, right? >> it should be very nice, a little breezy at night. >> have a great afternoon. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com ,, >> liam: every day that passes, we're one step closer. >> hope: hmm. you sure you still want to marry me? >> liam: indeed, i am. >> hope: oh. [ laughs ] >> liam: you sure you still want to marry me and not my brother? >> hope: oh! >> liam: kidding. i'm totally kidding. >> hope: god, liam! i chose wyatt's company because his mom's designs are exactly what i can collaborate with to sell my clothing. it's all about hope for the future. >> liam: it is. it i

the size and scope of the massive wildfire burning in yosemite national park is staggering. at its peak 5100 firefighters were fighting a blaze larger than the city of chicago at a cost of nearly $100 million. the fire that is destroying hundreds of square miles of wildlife habitat and sensitive eco-systems, california's third largest fire in history was sparked by a hunter's illegal campfire. for assistance, firefighters turn to the u.s. military for help. ca called into service is the mq-1 predator, an unmanned drone. after becoming a household name following tours in iraq and afghanistan, the predator is california fire's important eye in the sky. this remotely piloted aircraft starts the daily mission at an unassuming airfield east of los angeles. it's a completely unusual piece of technology. it looks like a strange alien bug. it's extremely arrerodynamic and sleek-looking, but also comes from almost a different planet. >> it's the mq-1 predator. it has a propeller versus a jet engine. the wingspan on this aircraft is approximately 55 feet long. it's bigger than your av

quiet across the entire state and a slight chance of thunderstorms around yosemite national park and 92 and smoky and 79 in tahoe and we will flirt with 90 in sacramento and same thing in los angeles and 82 in san diego. sue? >> good morning, everyone, we have good news in the oakland area with an accident involving a big rig and three cars just now cleared out of lanes so that commute southbound should begin improving. it was backing toward 980 and accident cleared out of lanes. to the south, southbound 880 from washington to a street, that is picked up at 6:00 this morning. we will look at the drive from the central valley and you will see yellow sensors making your way up to the altamont pass but other it is moving smoothly through the livermore area and a look, now, at the san mateo bridge and it is moving nicely and the alternate to the bay bridge they have the normal commute. >> some greek yogurt is being pulled because of bloating in the cups which could be a type of mold found in dairy. the company says the problems affect less than 5 percent of the their products. the compan

the fire has threatened hundreds of homes, as well as yosemite national park. more than two thirds of the fire is now under control. it could still take more than two weeks to complete knock it out. following wet weather in some parts of the u.s., drier conditions will be moving in. for more on the morning national forecast, lets bring in dave warren. >> dry weather will be here and it's cooler as well. we have thunderstorms in new york, this line moved through. showers and storms could develop this afternoon, leading to the possibility of being severe. we'll be watching that for the next few hours. things are quiet on the forecast, light rain moving through maine in the next 24 hours. after we get an isolated shower today, it is dry and cooler. the temperatures didn't drop too much. they won't be quieting much, either, as cooler air is coming in from the great lakes down to new england. 83, a warm day, then wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday, dry and comfortable, temperatures dropping into the mid 70's for a high temperature by the middle of the week here.

san francisco officials will provide an update on how the wildfire burning in and around yosemite national park is affecting the city's water and power system. damage to the rim fire to the san francisco water and power system could reach $30 million. repairs are under way to the roof and transmission lines at the hetch hetchy river very providing water service to 1.7 million customers. it was not affected. the rim fire has burned a quarter million acres and is 80 percent contained. the cost of the fire is expected to stop $100 million. >> firefighters stopped a grandson fire in livermore from being worse with flames reported after 5:00 yesterday near an apartment complex on spring valley common. a news crew was driving by and got there as the firefighters arrived. an acre and a half bound before the situation was undercontrol and no one was hurt. >> former stand for hospital technician faces sexual battery charges in a case involving a patient. the 35-year-old from fremont inappropriately touched a woman while she was sedated. it happened at least two times in february. police arrested the man

the two-week-old blaze is 45% contained, but still creeping farther into yosemite national park.rews have been fighting the fire from the ground and by air, and more than 350 square miles have been consumed by the fire. that's larger than the area of san francisco, oakland and san jose all combined. >> parts of the u.s. will be dealing with welt weather for the labor day holiday. for more on the forecast, let's bring in our meteorologist. >> i have some very good news to report across the northwest. automatic we are not looking at significant rainfall, we do have moisture tracking in out of the southwest. we're looking at lighter showers pushing out of utah something portion of central and southern idaho and across the oregon cascades, you can see rain pushing in. although we are not looking at any significant rainfall around yosemite national park, there is a lot of humidity in the atmosphere. that's good. at least it's not as dry as the left several weeks. that would help those firefighters out there battling that massive in 14 know. the rain in the northeast is on the way. we

. >> the wild part yosemite national park is burning out of control. we will tell you why it's harder for firefighters to battle the flames. >>> plus a battle save a different kind of forest. what they are doing in indonesia from keeping the rain forest from disappearing. >>> temperatures feel like they are in the triple digits. details coming up in your forecast. [[voiceover]] no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. same champs as english and arabic channels. >>> disorder in a mexico court. why this judge lost his cool. saudi arabia for that. ♪ >> the operational plant -- the tokyo electric power company said it was detected during a daily inspection on three water tanks on saturday. one of the tanks storing highly contaminated water sprained a leak spreading radioactive liquid. >>> the wildfire near and ar

burned 237,000 acres and the fire is 80 percent contained but it continues to spread in the yosemite national park. firefighting costs have topped $82 million. the hunter could be financially liable. yosemite national park's camp owned by the city of san francisco was spared from the flames and it will be used as a base camp for recovery operation that starts on sunday. >> students are again attending an elementary school that was closed down because someone stole the water supply over the labor day weekend. this happened in bridgeville using a garden hose to drain 20,000 gallons of water from a tank into a large water tuck without water, the school could not use the bathrooms and it is the second water theft. a month ago someone stole 20,000 gallons of water from other tanks and could have been taken for illegal pat grows. >> the nfl is rushing to win hearts of female fans. >> here is jane king with the bloomberg business report. >> would you like to drive a car without paying for gas? the first of a kind program in orlando shows all customs can champion the electric car positive free. orlando is

more than two weeks after the rim fire started in a remote area more than 20 miles west of yosemite national park. fire officials are still being tight lipped about what sparked the blaze. rim fire spokesman mike williams says the u-s forest service will run the investigation. he says at this time. investigators haven't determined whether humans or nature casued the fire. >> we do not know what caused the fire. as far as what speculation's house panel you lying >> meanwhile. fire fighters continue burning operations to stop the forward spread. a strategy incident commander mike wilkens says has been successful. >> is just a large fire. you have to make sure that there are no hot spots. we make the analogy of in a guerrilla-a guerrilla. you do not stop fighting the guerrillas and stil it is a burned >> reporter: williams says fire fighters have surrounded more than 80- percent of the burn zone with fire lines. the u-s forest service says the fire could be fully contained in less than three weeks and, when it's all said and done. cal fire says the rim fire will rank among the top five largest wildf

near yosemite national park. an army of firefighters remains on the front lines and the costs of battling it and the damage are soaring. a report tonight from nbc's michelle franzen. >> thousands of firefighters are still battling california's third largest wildfire in history. while the rim fire near yosemite national park is 80% contained tonight, the cost of battling the blaze remains out of control. so far, more than $89 million. a tab experts say that could be tens of millions more beyond extinguishing the fire. today, a first look by the federal team in charge of assessing and repairing the damage. >> we're concerned about the infrastructure. on the national forests, the campgrounds, our roads, this stacks up as one of the worst. >> the blaze has already charred nearly 400 square miles. an area larger than new york city. the fire was sparked by a hunter's illegal fire, investigators say, in the stanislaus national fire on august 17th. the towering flames fuelled by hot weather and overgrown brush, threatene

. >> pam: new tonight at 8- the rim fire burning near yosemite national park has charred more than two hundred 57- thousand acres. and it's not over yet. the fire, which started on august 17th, is only 84% contained. full control isn't expected until sometime next month. kron 4's charles clifford spent the day inside the burnzone where the forest service is already working on a plan to repair the damage. >> reporter: the rim fire has burned more than 400 square miles in the stanislaus national forest and yosemite national park, leaving behind charred wilderness.. like you see behind me... with black ground and burned trees. technically this fire is still burning. there are hotspots and smoldering flames still in the burn zone. firefighters are in the area trying to put out those hotspots, but as the firefighting effort dies down, the us forest service and the park service are starting to focus their efforts on forest restoration maggie dowd is the district ranger for the stanislaus national forest. she says the first job that needs to be done, and it's already underway , is clearning o

. >>> and the raging wildfire burning around yosemite national park hit a historic new milestone. and a big question looms. what sparked it. in minutes, why the answer may be linked to mexican drug cartels. >>> also, a front row seat to a terrifying experience behind the wheel, and if this landslide isn't bad enough, look out for that boulder! i am harris faulkner. >>> action tonight from capitol hill on the crisis in syria. within the past few hours, roughly 70 house lawmakers wrapped up a classified briefing with top intelligence and military advisers from the obama administration. the meeting lasted we're told more than an hour. one lawmaker telling fox news the room was split, virtually 50/50 on what to do, raising questions about whether congress will back up the president and his adamant call for action against syria. this comes as the president announced yesterday he will seek congressional approval for any military action in to syria's civil war there, his secretary of state john kerry made the rounds on the sunday those today revealing new information on the alleged chemi

the clips were shot from yosemite national park and are posted on the park's u too page. we have a postal link on abc7news.com. >>> this weekend the burning man festival is at capacity with morning 61,000 people jamming the desert. last neat was one of the main events, the burning of the man. this is video of the annual event from you-stream. last night burning man neared it's permitted capacity. the music and arts festival was allowed to increase size this year after agreeing to new security, safety and cleanup rules. all the fun ends tomorrow. >>> one in four products on the shelves these days is a store brand. consumer reports has partnered exclusively with 7 on your side for a report on name brands versus store brands. michael finney has the results of the taste test. >> saving money at the supermarket is no easy feat, but buying store brands can help. >> buying store brands can sava small fortune. anywhere from 15 to 30% on average, depending on the category. >> consumer reports just taste tested 57 store brand foods from five major retailers. costco, sam's club, wal

the clips were shot from yosemite national park and are posted on the park's youtube page. we have posted link on abc7news.com. >>> this weekend the burning man festival is at capacity with morning 61,000 people jamming the desert. last night was one of the main events, the burning of the man. this is video of the annual event from you-stream. friday night organizers had to shut down gate entry has burning man neared its permitted capacity. the music and arts festival was allowed to increase size this year after agreeing to new security, safety and cleanup rules. all the fun ends tomorrow. >>> the first-ever red bull youth america's cup racing starts today on san francisco bay. the fleet racing will include ten teams from eight countries. two teams representing the u.s. are from right here in california. you can watch the action through wednesday from the america's cup village that's at the marina green. young sailors will race the same high-performance catamarans that are used in the america's cup world series. the america's cup finals between oracle team usa and emirates

these clips were all shot from yosemite national park and are posted on the park's youtube page. we have posted link on abc7news.com. >>> this weekend the burning man festival is at capacity with more than 61,000 people jamming the desert. last night was one of the main events, the burning of the man. this is video of the annual event from you-stream. friday night organizers had to shut down gate entry has burning man neared its permitted capacity. the annual music and arts festival was allowed to increase size this year after agreeing to new security, safety and cleanup rules. the festival ends tomorrow. >>> the first-ever red bull youth america's cup racing starts today on san francisco bay. there are ten teams from eight countries, including a pair from california represent being the united states. you can watch the action through wednesday from the america's cup village that's at the marina green. those young sailors will race the same high-performance catamarans that are used in the america's cup world series. the america's cup finals between oracle team usa and emirates tea

investigators believe that hunter set an illegal campfire in this area to the west of yosemite national park, near the town of groveland. within hours the fire had grown out of control. this is an animation of how the wildfire has spread since then, expanding out in all directions and eventually reaching into yosemite. the forest service also said today that they do not think the fire was started by an illegal marijuana grow. no arrests have been made.and the hunter's identity is not being made public while the investigation continues. although containment is at 80 percent, firefighters say they probably wont have full control of this fire until september 20th. in the newsroom, charles clifford kron 4 news >> some new, really compelling pictures are emerging today from crews who have been battling the rim fire from the air. these picture come to us from the california air national guard based in mountain view. this crew of six airmen flew 73 missions and dumped roughly 450 bucket-loads of water on the fire for a total of some 210-thousand gallons. the crew has returned to mountain view as fi

what to file charges against a hunt are accused of igniting the devastating rim fire around yosemite national park. the massive blaze was started by the illegal fire that gout out of control and burned 237,000 acres and 80 percent contained but it spreads in yosemite national park. the district attorney is not revealing the hunter's name. >> drivers appear to be getting used to commuting across the new bay bridge but we still have some delays. this is a look at our yerba buena island camera with headlights coming into san francisco doing well for after 6:00. we did not see the long backups in the evening stretching into the night yesterday so we have the early problems with the bridge so may that is behind us. to the toll plaza, leyla gulen was talking about this, car pool lanes are great and you can still see a backup but it is better, as well. traffic on saturdays and sundays going into san francisco can be daunting, right? this week, perhaps, especially daunting and we will check back with leyla gulen for the traffic. >> abc7 news has learned the nbc round of contract talks on significant issue

. >> smoke-filled skies are greeting visitors at yosemite national park labor day week.we have new numbers. >> the new progress firefighters are making and when the flames could finally be put out once and for all. we just got per spottive from an insider of how the work is going on the new bridge and we will give you that update next. >> in the abc7 news traffic center, we will be waiting for that as we lock right now at the golden gate bridge with fog hugging the bridge coming from sausalito to san francisco and a main alternate but it looks like a labor day light holiday drive. >> i am tracking sprinkles with live doppler 7 hd and i will show you how much longer they will hang around for the h >> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news i am katie marzullo leader for kristen december. >> i am eric thomas. we start with the bay bridge closure and preparations for the opening scheduled for tomorrow. you can see yerba buena island and on right the bay bridge toll plaza and both are extremely quiet. a chain-cutting sermon takes place tomorrow and traffic wi

forest service says a hunter's illegal fire sparked the enormous wildfire in and around yosemite national park 3, the feds say last week the number of americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level since june of 2008. number two, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations accused russia of holding the u.n security council hostage by blocking the action against syria. and number one, a top advisor says president obama has been pushing u.s. lawmakers to support military action against syria even as he attends the g-20 summit in russia. that's the fox report's top 5. >>> and on this day in 1957 viking press published jack's classic novel "on the road." it was his second book, but it would become the one that made him a literary giant and an icon of the budding beat movement. the story documents a cross country road trip that he took with a friend fnlt he logged much of the journey in notebooks such as late night parties and drunken poetry readings as they happened. in 1951 he tied up the firs draft of a continuous -- on a continuous scroll of paper in just three weeks. he later s

the clips were all shot from yosemite national park and are posted on the park's youtube page. we have posted a link on abc7news.com. >>> new at 11:00, bay area law enforcement agency are cracking down on drunk drivers this labor day weekend. checkpoint like this one are apparently having an affect. one driver has already been taken into custody tonight. authorities say there have been fewer arrests this year than in 2010. than in 2012. santa clara county is reporting 43 fewer drunk driving arrests. it ends monday at midnight. palo alto police released a sketch of a man suspected of robbing two people at a post office this week. they say this man pulled a gun on a couple in their 50s. they were dropping off mail just after midnight at the east bay shore post office. the suspect and another man drove off with a wallet and cash. >>> the burning man festival is at capacity with 61,000 people in attendance. tonight was one of the main event, the burning of the man. organizers had to shutdown gate entry as burning man neared capacity. they were allowed to raise capacity after agreei

most of yosemite national park is open. a relatively cool and humid labor day allowed fire crews to make major progress along the edge of the park. several roads are still closed. full containment of the fire is not expected until septembe september 20th. >> what a difference a day makes for the north the east. on monday night we saw some flooding as well as thunderstorms pushing through much of this region. we had few showers on tuesday evening going through parts oh of cape cod. that's going to to offer the cold front off to the eastern sea board. because of the cold front that means colder air is going to be coming through behind it and that means your temperatures are going to be quite low in the morning. those are higher and also going down 40 or even lower than that. we talk about northern ham shire. rain wise we don't expect see anything. maybe some light showers across the state and also across northern parts of maine. the rest of you, we're looking quite nice. boston at 80, new york at 83 degrees and we will see at

as for temperatures it is going to the the rim fire burning near yosemite national park.e than 257- thousand acres. and it is not over yet. the fire, which started on august 17th, is only 84% contained. full control is not expected until sometime next month. kron 4's charles clifford visited the burn zone. where the forest service is already working on a plan to repair the damage. r >> reporter: the rim fire has burned more than 400 square miles in the stanislaus national forest and yosemite national park, leaving behind charred wilderness. . like you see behind me. . . with black ground and burned trees. technically this fire is still burning. there are hotspots and smoldering flames still in the burn zone. firefighters are in the area trying to put out those hotspots, but as the firefighting effort dies down, the us forest service and the park service are starting to focus their efforts on forest restoration> maggie dowd is the district ranger for the stanislaus national forest. she says the first job that needs to be done, and it's already underway , is clearning out a

protecting structures inside yosemite national park. fire fighters say this fire backed up the hill naturally. putting them in a defensive position. >> we want to make sure that all of the hot spots are taking care of. if it would start burning we would have another problem. >> reporter: the structures threatened? the big oak flat information station and offices. at the highway 120 entrance into the park. >> the direction from our chief has been to mop it up, from 100 ft. in. to make sure that none of the structures are threatened. >> reporter: crews are constantly spraying water onto the ground. wetting and cooling the soil - making it tougher to burn. but fire fighters have to work carefully. they're surrounded by snags. trees that have caught fire from the base, on top. or, in this case - the fire burning directly through the tree. >> those are very lethal. you must keep the workers away from them. by that time it gets to the ground, it is too late. >> reporter: for now, the buildings are safe. but fire officials say that weather. in

. >> we want to get the latest update on the wildfire burning near yosemite national park. joining us live now on the phone is the u.s. force services. what's the latest? >> caller: today is going to be a critical day. we continue to have hot and dry conditions the fire is going to be burning progressively. we have pockets of areas of concern. hopefully, those are going to be burning hot and they will be also be able to be contained around the containment lying. yesterday, we did make more progress. we expect success today and we can start wrapping this up. >> are you still looking at a september 20th date for containment? >> caller: yes. that is still the goal. we think that it will happen by then. yesterday, was very key and today will be key. we are making good progress it is going to be a while before get the smaller pockets taken care of. >> and how about the giant sequoia trees? >> caller: us, they are safe. yes-they are safe. some of the scattered sequoia's i cannot speak about but the larger groves of sequoia's survived. they have accustomed to it. >> let us look ah

francisco and oakland all one degree of yesterday's temperatures with poor air quality to yosemite national parkcloud cover and lack of thunderstorms compared to year across the sierra, much more quiet and we will have 90 in yosemite national park. sunny and 83 in los angeles. headed to tahoe, here is the weekend forecast, a lot of sunshine and near 80. we have a crash at the bay bridge toll plaza that is possibly overturned in the number five lane. san jose shows everything running at top speed but 101 between 280 and 680 and the nimitz we see a buildup of traffic to the san jose airport. other than that, the rest of hose is clear. on the bay bridge number 12 lane we got word in the number five toll lane an over town with more details on that coming up. you can see the traffic is running smoothly in the westbound direction. >> thank you. the woman accused attacking a bay area hue -- a bay area musician faces arraignment, assault and battery charges. she attacked a musician lester chambers in july who dedicated a song to the family of trayvon martin, the florida teen shot and killed by a volunte

. >> the rim fire burning near yosemite national park is 70 percent contained.rews hope the cool temperatures and higher humidities will help to make additional progress. full containment is not expected until september 20. >> the white house is in full lobbying mode today making the case for military action in syria over the government's alleged use of chemical weapons. president obama has invited lawmakers to the white house for a candid talking including house speaker per and democratic leader of the house of representatives nancy pelosi. >> it is a clear start. no fog if you travel across the new bay bridge. i have warm summer-type temperatures in the 15 day forecast. south bay health officials trying to get a handle on mosquitoes infected with the west nile virus with trucks rolling out the hot zone around north san jose and milpitas. it will be a record 10 the time vector control will spray for kilt mosquitoes in the county. they did it seven times last year. officials are not sure if there is an increase in infected mosquitoes or if they are fining more w

the rim fire burning on the western side of yosemite national park has grown do 255,000 acres. a seem 70 scientists now is in the area to assess the damage to the natural habitat and figure out a recovery plan. it could cost tens of millions to restore that area. today the state senate is expected to take up a resolution to rename the western span of the bay bridge after former san francisco mayor willie brown. the state assembly unanimously passed the resolution. brown was assembly speaker for 15 years. governor brown says he were opposed the name change and says the bridge should remain the bay bridge like it has always been but the governor may not have were say in the matter. he cannot veto a legislate i resolution. >> president obama has nominated congresswoman barbara lee of oakland as representative to the u.n. general aassembly. her term in the house ends next year and will not be affected. she is an antiwar advocate and announced her opposition to the plan for military action in syria. the nomination needs senate approval. >> you can feel the steam kicking up today. >>

. >>> progress report on the massive fire burning near yosemite national park. the fire is 45% contained but not before growing to 225,000 acres. that is huge. it's an area bigger than 350 square miles, some 5,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that has destroyed 11 homes, caused five injuries. this is the fourth largest fire in modern california history. >> wow. indra petersons is tracking the forecast. are fire crews getting help from the weather? >> a little bit. moisture is the biggest thing. they want the humidity levels up. this is the one thing we are watching. this is water vapor satellite. you can it in a dome of high pressure. the moisture is slowly getting into the area. it bring as chance for thunderstorms. this is yesterday's satellite. these are thunderstorm that is have been popping up in the area the last several days. today, we have the threat in the forecast for showers. winds, keep in mind, could gust stronger when you have thunderstorms in the city. there's the threat for dry lightning as well. a mixed bag. temperatures warming up and dr

temperatures will run in the upper 70's and near 90 in sacramento and 92 in yosemite national park ands angeles and 82 in san diego. sue? >> we have new things to report. the good news at 80 westbound at powell street in emeryville an early stall cleared but look at the damage: slow traffic is going from 580 merge beyond goalen gate to the macarthur maze with metering lights turned on early this morning so you can expect delays behind the bay bridge. westbound 80 this is coming off of the cartinez bridge we have big rig and a car off to the shoulder and not seeing any significant slowing. the wrong-way driver southbound 280 at woodside a driver driving in the northbound direction southbound 280 with c.h.p. in pursuit. things are moving nicely as you come 50 of the bay bridge and western span at 5th street in san francisco over the skyway traffic is moving nice both dresses into and out of the san francisco. >> new details about a popular greek yogurt pulled from the floor shelves, chibo in i says to dairy, and the company says it affects less than 5 percent of the products. we have mor

it burned 400 square files in and around yosemite national park.he damages huge. 40% of the land is charred and dead. researchers are now mapping at the damage through satellite maps and soil samples. they describe parts of the sierra nevada as a baron moon scrape unseen at least since ice age. >> a team of 60 scientists will turn in a plan destroyed by the fire. we know that a hunter's illegal fire sparked that fire. >>> a trip home turned into a nightmare from vallejo. vloepatra williams is usually picked up in a taxi. she took a bus and got off in an unfamiliar neighborhood. a stranger saw her cry asking called her mom. the she has nightmares and saying i left her. >> the district is apologizing and says it is reviewing its policies to make sure something like this never happens again. >>> the closure of san francisco city college could not only impact students and staff, but the economy. the school could lose $300 million a year. students would have a difficult time finding educational opportunities in a comparable cost and a crediting associat

.® >>> firefighters working of the rim fire of the yosemite national park and now the fire is 80% containedstarted 17 days ago. there is word from san francisco puc the -- providing electricity to the city to san francisco. >>> president obama to approve the military strike to syria. craig boswell reports, the president has the support of the republican and democrat leaders. >> he's asking for authorization to degrade and detur to use chemical weapons. >> this is not a decoration of war declaration of our value of the world. >> even though president obama says he's already decided the use of military force is necessary. >> >> i want once again that what we are doing is important. >> i am going to support the president's call for action. i believe my colleagues should support this call for action. >> i don't think it is necessary, i do think it is a good thing. >> after a closed door classified briefing, other lawmakers are not so sure. >> i keep on hearing but the objective is, well, we have to do something, well, that's not good enough f. >> the debate continues as president obama leaves t

. >> the sierra fire is sometime burning at yosemite national park and coming with a staggering price tag this morning $100 million. that is the early cost estimate four weeks of a it was started by hunter's campfire. so far it has burned a quarter million acres and is 80 percent contained. stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage of all the california wildfires including the mt. diablo fire and the latest on abc7news.com and you can get the breaking news updates on twitter@abcnews. developping news in berkeley we know the identity of the man who died after an early morning fire in an apartment house. investigators say the 56-year-old andrew goodwin was found in his apartment. he died at the hospital. the home was engulfed in flames when crews arrived. the red cross is helping several others would live in the building. >> it is scary to see your house on fire and the woke front of our house the top floor was in flames and stuff was flying off, burning, and more. >> no official word on a cause of the fire although he smoked and liked to burn sandals. >> part of the bleachers at amer

we will be in triple digit to palm springs and at love the smoke is still hanging around yosemite national parkhang around yosemite national park with light winds. away from tahoe it is sunny and 81 and 82 in los angeles. leyla gulen? >> we are tracking the accident in san jose causing quite a bit slowing northbound 101 on the expressway we have bumper-to-bumper traffic by highway 87 blocking one lane. you have top spreads and c.h.p. is making their way out there with slowing. the nimitz in the southbound direction we have slowing there, as you come up on highway 101 but everything else is moving along at top speed. >> thanks the a historic movie theater in san francisco's richmond district is getting a new digital projector because of outpouring of community support. they need $75,000 to upgrate the print to digital and the hollywood standard. there was a fundraising campaign and supporters have now contributed in you have to place the conversion in one of two ought attorneys. -- one of two auditoriums. >> a study from harvard suggests many women who die from breast cancer never had a mammogra

. >>> firefighters are making progress battling the wildfire in and around yosemite national park. 236,000-acres have burned since the fire started august 17th. the blaze is 80% contained. that's up from 75% earlier today. the san francisco public utilities commission says the hetch hetchy reservoir remains unaffected despite the ash falling on the reservoir. >> very similar conditions weather wise as we head into wednesday. big changes by the week's end. thursday less fog, that means warmer conditions. by friday a reversal in the winds bringing hot temperature away from the coastline. near 100 degrees for the inland valley. 80 this the bayshores and 70s at the coast. mainly clear skies over the bay area. patches of fog developing. patch ely clouds tonight. we're -- patchy clouds. it's heading to the pacific northwest. warmer, drier air will build in to the bay area. out the door tomorrow morning. not going to see the warmer drier air yet. fog in the livermore valley. patchy fog in the north bay. clearing by 8:00. we'll see clear skies at the coastline. temperature tomorrow very similar to

going into the yosemite national park that is the key area. d you can see the burnt area up to the edge with the ranger house. as such this the on the road below shawn see dam and the park service dropped the fire retardant and this is did picture of the retardant again outside the watershed and it was important that we had coordination with our other agencies to protect of the watershed. this is to give you an idea this is dpoiltd around the dam to protect our facilities. you'll notice the ground is clean they raked up the fuel and took care of of the trees. i'd like to say this is the fire team going up into his place. we were very, very grateful to all the firefighters for whatever they came from that we had close 2 to 3 hundred firefighters in the major protection area. this is good to know on top of the dam there's a lot of concern about the ash. those are light piles of ash this is right after the height of the fire. again, it didn't burn that much into the water system we didn't have a lot of ash in the watershed. but it didn't compromis

. >>> a major route in yosemite national park back open tonight after the rim fire closed it off more than two weeks ago. highway 120 from groveland reopen around noon today. that is the main entrance to the park from the bay area. and we just learned the estimated fire damage to san francisco's water and power system is about $30 million. crews are now working on reestablishing the transmission lines, the reservoir serves 2.6 million bay area residents. >>> we are learning new details about reckless driving complaints at san francisco's holly park. that's where witnesses saw a maintenance worker run over a woman and take off. joe vasquez has the papers showing what is happening. >> a monk, 35-year-old, cristie moved to san francisco about a year ago to work alongside her husband as a life quote and new ventures west on gary boulevard. her friends are devastated. >> she's very generous and she has given her life to service. to being a mentor, a coach, and now a mother. >> she was sunbathing yesterday with her 11 month old baby when a city park maintenance pickup truck ran her over and

plus, officials say they know what caused that massive wild fire near yosemite national park.e the latest on the conclusion of this investigation. where would you go? woman: 'greece.' woman 2: 'i want to go to bora bora.' man: 'i'd always like to go to china.' anncr: download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. expedia, find yours. starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family. and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it. and their friends do it... soon we'll be walking our way to awareness, support and an end to alzheimer's disease. and that? that would be big. grab your friends and family and start a team today. register at alz.org >>> getting through airport security lines could soon get a bit easier for many passengers across the country. that's because the tsa is now expanding its expedited screening program to 60 more airports this year. that means more passengers who have been

an update on the cost from all the damage in and around yosemite national park.irefighters have it 80% contained. it's now grown to be third largest wildfire in california's history. the rim fire. has burned 394 square miles. that's larger than the size of dallas, texas. and as it is entering its fourth week more than 3400 people are working it. trying to put the last hot spots out. we now know that fire was started by a hunter although officials have not released the name of the suspect or what type of fire was set. meanwhile scientists are assessing the damage, a very large group of scientists. they are laying plans to protect habitat and waterways as the fall rainy season approaches. dominic is live in our west coast newsroom. exactly what are they looking for? >> well they basically want to see what damage is being done the environment that could actually lead to mudslides. we got 50 multiagency experts that have been brought in, twice the number they typically deploy for a big wildfire. that's because this fire is just so huge. it has the potential to trigge

the two-week-old fire has been threatening hundreds of homes and the yosemite national park.ire officials say more than two thirds of the fire under control, but it could still take more than two weeks to completely knock it down. >> the humidity is a common headline across the u.s. with many which you returning back to work today. here is our meteorologist. >> higher humidity out west, good news for the firefighters there, getting a chance to really set some more fire breaks and continue to fight this. it's under 70% containment. that is the good there out west. looks like the conditions are improving just a bit as the firefighters continue to work hard there out in the west. the temperatures are down just a bit and we have rain in the forecast, light rain out west and heavier showers and stronger storms coming across the northeast. a look at that and the national forecast coming up a little bit later. >> the japanese government announcing today it will spend $470 million to help clean up the fukushima nuclear power plant. the new plans include pumping refrigerants undergrou

route 120 one of the main routes into yosemite national park. drivers are advised to use caution in this area. the fire now the third largest in california history. it's burned more than 385 square miles since it began on august 7th. officials say the fire was start bid a hunter. >> hotter temperatures today and into the weekend. >> yes. really hot. spencer christian is hire with a spare the air alert. >> that is true. shire look at live doppler 7. notice absence of low clouds and z.fog near the coast. it's warm to hot. high temperatureso far. we've got blow lowe to mid-90s in the north bay. low to mid-90s inland east bay. and up to 97 so far in morgan hill. and let's talk about air quality. spare the air day tomorrow, ground level ozone producing poor air quality insanity kbla ya clara valley z moderate in other locations around the bay area. three days of heat coming our way may not help at all. i'll give you a look at the weekend and beyond in just a few minute autos yeah that. won't help, thank you very much. pg&e under fire again tonight fo