that's a big smoke, plume impacting air quality and yosemite valley, even approaching the lake tahoe region as well. so it's becoming closer right now, just to give you some perspective on yosemite valley and where this fire is burning, as you can't see with that fire zone, the oak fire currently temperature 71 degrees . relative humidity 23% so just looking at the statistics of these observations actually not too bad. but as we showed you within that fire zone, though it creates its own weather, and we could easily have some stronger winds and a lot more explosive activity. and fortunately, here is the radar activity throughout the day, and that is not rainfall. that is a smoke plume being detected by the radar beam and that once again upwards of 15 to 20,000 ft up in the sky now here's the forecast for tomorrow morning. this is six o'clock, so this is actually the time fire crews could have a bit of a break in at least some favorite verbal conditions out there first thing tomorrow morning, and you'll also notice this as winds coming in from one direction. this is for the morning ho

visitors are allowed to travel from the south entrance to yosemite valley. reservations are still required. flames have scorched more than 7.5 square miles since the fire started 17 days ago. drew, let's talk about how the weather is affecting does firefight. >> keeping this michael way us for the time in. there, you can see a lot of smoke being emitted from the fire. we will widen the picture and you can see the fog banked along the coastline. the winds are coming out of the north and pushing the smoke east. look at the air quality near the fire, not surprising hazardous air quality under the smoke. our air-quality zone, we expect to stay there for the time being. the future weather shows you that smoke may move around tomorrow afternoon but again here locally, our air quality remains pretty good. for the foreseeable future we will keep the smoke out of our forecast. >> that is good news. thanks. it has been nearly six months since the gabe family has last seen alexis. today, a clue was found. volunteers calmed through the area paired it will be taken by po

. >> the smoke was overwhelming by the time we got down into yosemite valley, ash was raining down on us >> reporter: inside yosemite's famed grove where protective sequoias are more than 2,000 years old and over 300 feet high. >> i'm standing right in front of the grizzly giant. >> reporter: a simple sprinkler system is keeping soil wet around the grizzly giant, the world's most famous tree protective foil also wraps the historic clark cabin, but flames are within striking distance. crews are lining every hillside they can, but this fire is quickly racing from tree to tree in some areas, they're simply going to let it burn tonight that burn destroying everything in its path and still threatening to uproot these iconic natural wonders that have stood tall for generations. >> miguel joining me now. miguel, protecting the massive sequoias is a major feat tonight the outlook on that seems to be good? >> reporter: that's right, lester. incredibly not a sickle sequoia has been touched by fire yet. it is an incredible feat i want to give you some perspective on how massive these trees are.

yosemite. this is a look at half dome from the valley floor. this is just east of yosemite village. the fire crews say today is the smokiest it's been since the flames broke out. air quality there is now considered unhealthy. and now this fire is impacting parts of the bay area. this is a live look at dublin, you can see there tomorrow parts of the northern and east bay will be under air quality advisory as the smoke drifts. the meteorologist is here, you have been keeping track of this. and what can we expect? >> you know we've had this high pressure that's been keeping the heat and also that traps a lot of the smoke right up at the surface level which is what we're monitoring but it looks like with the smoke from this fire, we could see a lot of that stay aloft. now here's a look right now at yosemite valley. you can see it there and it's also starting to look hazy in through the south bay. for the next 24 hours what we're monitoring from that washburn fire is that upper air smoke as it moves north. a lot of that right now drifting over the lake tahoe area. with the impacts shift

yosemite valley. is the fire still moving in the direction of yosemite valley. the fire is still moving primarily to the east and the northeast, which is towards the park. however the ferguson fire scar which burned in 2018 is between the oak fire and yosemite national park. and we expect that the burn scar will aid in fire suppression and benefit. people fighting the fire four years later. alright jonathan pierce with cal fire. appreciate the time, jonathan. thank you. california attorney general rob bonta is warning about the illegal practice of price gouging as residents in mariposa county deal with the oak fire, the governor declared a state of emergency from mariposa county on saturday. under california law, the declaration prohibits price gouging on essential items such as food and gas, as well as building material and emergency supplies. the law also covers services, including repair, reconstruction and housing. violators are subject to criminal prosecution and could face jail time. and or a fine of up to $10,000 county sheriff's office as a militia group

taking aim at the yosemite valley. the walsh burn fire increased in size overnight and the intense fire zone is near the historic community and yosemite. the southern entrance on highway 41 is closed. nearly 1600 acres have burned, a four hundred acre jump since last night. containment is at 0%. fire officials say the fire was active overnight and is difficult. mariposa grove edits giant socorro's -- sequoias is closed. >> afraid for the people of the town and heartbroken about the trees. >> pretty scary and we are going full force on our suppression tactics. dion: all other areas of yosemite are open, but visitors are warned to expect smoky conditions. the marin county fire department as fire season heats up, the marine independent journal reports the department is doubling crews thanks to a boosted budget. annual funding will increase to 13 million for the next fiscal year and that money will allow the department to increase its crews to four teams of 14 to 16 firefighters. do not forget, you can always see a wildfire

moving out to the california wildfire season taking aim at the yosemite valley. the washburn fire increased in size overnight. the intense fire zone -- the southern entrance on highway 41 is closed. nearly 1600 acres have burned. a 400-acre jump from last night. containment is still at 0%. fire officials say a fire was active overnight. mariposa grove and its hundreds of giant sequoias is closed. >> afraid for the people in the town, and then just heartbroken about the trees. >> looks pretty scary. we are going full force on our suppression tactics. >> all other areas of yosemite are open, but visitors are warned to expect smoking conditions. and the marin county fire department is adding manpower as fire season heats up. annual funding will increase from $8 million to $13 million for the next fiscal year, and the money will allow the department to increase its cruise from four teams of 14 to 16 firefighters. and a reminder, you can see all wildfires in california using our online interactive wildfire tracker. a husband and wife are in critical condition tonight

can you give me an idea of just how far away the flames are from yosemite valley? that this the park itself could be evacuated? in terms of mileage. i don't have that number off the top of my head like, don't speculate. as of now, i believe the fire is moving more towards the east, which i think would skirt a little bit south park but you were right in speaking towards our aircraft. we do have some what are known as vlad on the fire very large. tankers. it took us tell us a little bit more about the resource is being used jonathan to fight this fire. how are the resources? do you have enough what fire agencies are involved and is more help needed is more help on the way. i'm currently there are a lot of cooperating agencies right now. this fire is and unified command with cal fire and the u. s forest service. like i said earlier. we have over 2000 personnel assigned this fire more on the way that includes 51 hand crews. 17 helicopters 223 engines 58 dozers 23 water tenders as well as others. all right. so just before we let you go tonight, jonathan, you said there

>> yosemite valley everyone is familiar with, a world known place. i would say that areas outside of the valley is beautiful as well. my personal favorite part are the high country lakes and the domes above 9000 feet are stunningly beautiful. mariposa county itself is a great place to visit as well. it is very small, it is large in space, but when it comes to population they're only 18,000 people that live here, towns like mariposa are historic and beautiful. we have a number of museums, great restaurants, good shopping, good recreation outside of the park. the river canyon is beautiful in its own right, there are lower elevation lakes good for swimming and fishing. i think the world's largest floating waterpark is actually here and mariposa county. there is a time to see and do. we cannot wait for people to go comfortable to return as soon as next week. >> we hope so for your sake, i went there for my first time recently and i left it. -- loved it. i cannot wait to go back. it is a massive area and there is so much to see and so much to do. tony, th

one of the main roads that goes to yosemite valley is highway one, 40, which is now closed drivers that are trying to get to the national park. we'll have to go through highway one, 20. >> also and yosemite firefighters have made significant progress in the washburn fire. it's now 79% contained than 7 square miles of forest. the wildfire began july 7th forced the closure of the southern entrance to yosemite and the evacuation of the will want a community. the southern entrance of the park and highway. 41 have reopened this morning. but reservations are still required. >> yeah. we've been seeing these fires burning for the past couple. we now. yeah, even with the marsh fire happening in the east bay. but, you know, these high temperatures that really seem to be creating an issue. yeah, definitely. and it's all about wind direction as well for us in the bay area, even though there any major fires burning. >> in the bay area, we did see smoke impacts from that washburn up fire just about a week or 2 ago. but fortunately, with the oak and washburn fire, we are going to see smoke conditions

. >> by the time we got down into yosemite valley, ash was raining down it was amazing to see how quickly the smoke took over. >> reporter: it's destroyed many buildings. crews are setting up sprinklers around the sequoia giant, more than 200 feet tall normally this area is a tourist hot spot today it's a literal hot spot. the state of california in a must-win situation. >> they're among the oldest living things on earth they're iconic for the national park system. they're in a limited range here. >> reporter: the reality is this is the hottest climate these trees have seen in their lifetime. >> they're really threatened by wildfire in the last two years we've lost 20% of the sequoias. we're doing everything we can to protect them. >>> wnba superstar brittany griner is due back in a russian court this week amid growing pressure for her relief. her teammates used the all-star game this weekend to keep her in the spotlight. >> reporter: the wnba kicking off the all-star game while honoring one of its biggest stars. >> selected as an honorary all-star star, brittney griner. >> reporter: her

. >> by the time we got down in yosemite valley, ash was raining down on us there. it wasn't a long time to see how quickly the smoke took over. >> reporter: and endangering historic buildings like the galen clark cabin, now protected in fire suppression foil crews today setting up sprinklers around the grizzly giant, the most renowned sequoia in the entire park, more than 200 feet tall we're less than a mile from the busiest entrances to the park. normally this area is a tourist hot spot today it's a literal hot spot the state of california in a must-win situation >> they're among the oldest living things on earth they are iconic for the national park system they're in a very limited range here in the sierra you only find them right here on the planet >> reporter: the reality is this is the hottest climate these trees have seen in their 3,000-year lifetime >> they're really threatened by climate change and wildfire. in the last two or three years we lost 20% of the population of giant sequoias. you can bet we're doing everything we can to protect them. >> cal joins

b by the time we got to yosemite valley, ash was raining down >> reporter: the sequoias are more than 2,000 years old and 300 feet high. a simple sprinkler system is keeping soil wet around the grizzly giant, arguably the world's most famous tree protective foil now also wraps the historic cabin but flames are within striking distance crews are lining every hillside they can, but this fire is quickly racing from tree to tree in some areas, they're simply going to let it burn that burn destroying everything in its path and still threatening to uproot these iconic natural wonders that have stood tall for generations there are 600 of these majestic beauties all across this valley floor. now the fire's gotten very close and actually torched some of them but none have been destroyed the fire at last check was about 25% contained. so it's still on the move. crews here though say they are making progress. back to you. >> okay, miguel, thank you >>> terrifying moments caught on camera at a little league game in north carolina. gunshots ringing out near the ball field east of raleigh, sending

yosemite valley was also preserved in that act. these are spectacular trees, and they are the largest living organisms on earth. kristen: how big do they get? guest: well, they can be 100 feet around. if you were to have several people trying hold their hands and go around, you would probably need about 30 people to circle the tree. they can go about 250 feet high. they can also live as long as 3000 years. kristen: wow. how old are these ones in mariposa grove? guest: there are a few trees over 2000 years old. there are some amusing specimens, including the grisly giant, one of the largest trees in the park. it is a spectacular tree. and i think that tree is 2000 years old. kristen: how resilient are they? they can take some fire, and i am in fact -- and in fact you always hear fire as part of the process of the circle of life, if you will, in the forest. guest: lisa sequoias have evolved over -- the sequoias have evolved over eons to be resistant to fire. their bark is one foot thick, so they are resistant to fire. they also have

highway 140 leading into yosemite valley remains closed because of the fire. and as the blaze continues to grow, many residents are being forced to leave their homes. the explosive oak fire near yosemite national park tripled in size over the weekend. >> we're getting in more resources. we're the top priority fire in the state right now. >> reporter: more than 2,500 firefighters are attacking the flames from the air and on the ground. at least 15 structures have been damaged or destroyed. about 6,000 people forced to evacuate. >> this is fst time ever in my life being evacuated, so this is kind of different. you know, a lot of anxiety. >> reporter: scorching temperatures, low humidity, bone-dry vegetation, and dead trees are fueling the flames. the fire started friday near the mariposa county town of mid pines. >> w to have to rename our town. the pines probably aren't going to make it. >> reporter: in 2021, a usda aerial survey found 9.5 million trees were standing dead in the state. more than 200,000 in mariposa county alone. scientists say most were killed b

they're still moderate amounts of plusa being found in the yosemite valley. but the bay area we've had that sea breeze blowing. and that's just been fantastic for quality down below. now, places up above you get 6,000 feet or so above the surface, starting to see some of that smoke from some of the fire, but really to hadn't factored into our air quality down where we live. looking good again for tomorrow afternoon. good air quality in the north bay, the coast, the east bay and the south bay. here's love fire conditions right now. you can see those winds kind of switch around little southerly component and little monsoonal moisture again moving in overhead that monsoon carries with it. some of the clouds. and of course, you always worry about the possibility some thunderstorms are down below. we have that nice see breeze in the bay area and that as both that nice fresh air right off the ocean's water cut. nice and clean. looks like that's what it's going to stay head into the weekend. guys, back to you. all right. thanks a still to come, governor newsom unvei

we'll unveil a beautiful new trail leading to an improved view of one of the most iconic sites in yosemite valleyug: look it, that is great, that's great. doug: we'll celebrate the inspiring legacy of save mount diablo, whose founders asked, "what can i do?" and the answer it with the preservation of a grand mountain, and we'll learn what's next, looking southward and passing the baton to the next generation of conservation leaders. ♪♪♪

. >> by the time we got down in yosemite valley, ash was raining down on us there it will stick with me a long time to see how quickly the smoke took over. >> reporter: and endangering historic buildings like the galen clark cabin, now protected in fire suppression foil crews today setting up sprinklers around the grizzly giant, the most renowned sequoia in the entire park, more than 200 feet tall. we're less than a mile from the busiest entrances to the park. normally this area is a tourist hot spot today it's a literal hot spot. the state of california in a must-win situation >> they're among the oldest living things on earth they are iconic for the national park system. they're in a very limited range here in the sierra you only find them right here on the planet >> reporter: the reality is this is the hottest climate these trees have seen in their 3,000-year lifetime. >> they're really threatened by climate change and wildfire. in the last two or three years we lost 20% of the population of giant sequoias you can bet we're doing everything we can to protect them >> our thanks to

mariposa and evacuees are being asked to use the wanna road to evacuate and head north towards yosemite valley tours are sad to hear about the iconic. your trees going up in flames, but officials confirmed firefighters is doing all they can to hold this fire. it was the redwoods like i we're here in like want to see this quest for sure, but we were all so willing to make the trek to see the redwoods too looks pretty scary and i were going full force on our suppression tactics the park remains open, but some entrances have closed now if you do plan on traveling to yosemite this weekend check abc 7 news.com for the latest park. road closures reporting in yosemite national park, nico pain abc 7 news let's bring in abc 7 news meteorologist san diego patel sandy. you can actually see the smoke from a weather satellite that tells you it's got to be pretty big. yeah, it definitely was and it still is as you know, larry but on visible satellite picture the last images i can get showing you that plume of smoke extending all the way out towards bear valley. it was also so intense that it was getting pic

this fire is burning southwest of yosemite valley and south of the town of mariposa. the closest town is mid pines. this one is really taking off. considering this, the fire started at about 2:00 this afternoon. it has already grown to more than 600 acres. and there are reports of spot fires jumping more than a mile ahead of that main fire. evacuations have been ordered for communities in that area. cal fire is scrambling to deploy resources to fight that fire. there is concern this fire has plenty of room to burn. let's check with first alert meteorologist paul heggen with more on the fire conditions in that fire zone. >> the good news is the winds aren't that strong. i do want to zoom in for a closer look at where this fire is burning. again, to the northeast of merced. temperatures in the low 90s, though, so it's hot and very dry. the humidity is only at 13%. the winds out of the west and northwest. that's the direction that's blowing the smoke. sustained at only 7 miles per hour, but there are gusts over 15 miles per hour. a little strong enough to cause some addi

a southwesterly flow aloft and that brought that smoke a further north that affected parts of yosemite valley. and that will continue to be the case there looks like over the next couple days. guys, back to you. thank you, lawrence lawrence just mentioned this tonight. the fire crews working to protect the historic california landmark. the washburn fire burning in yosemite is threatening those ancient sequoias is burned more than 3200 acres. and and allen added challenge tonight. the firefighters losing some ground containment is now back down to 22%. the flames are attacking the southern portion of the some of the national park. >> it is a spot very close to one of the most popular destinations, which is the mariposa grove, that area of the park, the south entrance to yosemite and nearby will want to road are closed reporter. we really shaddox joins us now live from outside the park with the effort to keep the park and visitors safe arena. >> pam and ken, i'm about 2 miles from the south entrance of yosemite national park. and if you take a look just behind me, you can see there is a plume o

unfortunately in the yosemite valley, you can see a spreading right there.rible for people trying to get to a vacation. they're hoping for those beautiful, pristine conditions that you see in the sierra nevada. here we go. overall, though, the pattern looking a little more dangerous as far as weather is concerned. you'll notice here. some of the monsoon begins to work its way back in the sierra nevada. some that begin to pop up. in fact, there's some suggestion that we might see some of that monsoonal moisture work its way back in the bay area. we've got little area of low pressure along the coastline. we've got high pressure. the east kayaking, the funnel. some of that moisture back up our way that could bring a couple of showers. maybe some lightning strikes in the bay area overnight tonight. it's tomorrow morning. i think the best chance will be in the east and also parts of the north bay. that's only a slight chance overnight tonight. guys, back to you. thanks, lawrence. zach or berg. san francisco general hospital has announced that due to lack of vacci

this fire is burning southwest of yosemite valley and south of the town of mariposa.ines. this one is really taking off. considering this, the fire started at about 2:00 this afternoon. it has already grown to more than 600 acres. and there are reports of spot fires jumping more than a mile ahead of that main fire. evacuations have been ordered for communities in that area. cal fire is scrambling to deploy resources to fight that fire. there is concern this fire has plenty of room to burn. let's check with first alert meteorologist paul heggen with more on the fire conditions in that fire zone. >> the good news is the winds aren't that strong. i do want to zoom in for a closer look at where this fire is burning. again, to the northeast of merced. temperatures in the low 90s, though, so it's hot and very dry. the humidity is only at 13%. the winds out of the west and northwest. that's the direction that's blowing the smoke. sustained at only 7 miles per hour, but there are gusts over 15 miles per hour. a little strong enough to cause some additional complications for t

but night, rangers announced they plan to reopen wawona road from the south entrance to yosemite valley. this saturday. the mariposa grove and community of wawona will remain closed. coming up the house votes to guarantee same sex and interracial marriage into federal law. the effort to protect rights from supreme court reversal also had two friends robbed after police say roberts followed them home from a restaurant. they're frightening and counter coming up. her debit cards at retail stores . last night, we told you about four skimming devices found at businesses and atms in petaluma will now in oakland. 7 11 is the latest store where a skimming device was found. neighbor david dinar says he's a regular at the grand avenue convenience stories as he made the discovery sunday while trying to make a purchase . after putting his card there into the machine, he says he noticed something was off and that the buttons felt different. i look really closely and it didn't look the same as the other one and the other register , and i kind of just picked at it in slowly and shirt enough. it was ki

that's what causes that fire there in the yosemite valley. guys, back to you. thank you, lawrence. now to our coronavirus coverage, santa clara county health officials are now strongly recommending people to wear masks in indoor environments and in even some outdoor settings. >> this comes as the county is reporting more than 1000 covid cases a day and health officials say they believe the actual tally is higher due to people under reporting their at-home covid tests. the hospitalization rate has also jumped in the last month to 233 covid patients. the numbers have reached the county's highest since january. the good news is the county has not seen a rise in h officials say most of the cases are from the omicron subvariant ba 5 which originated in south africa and is less serious than past variants. ba 5 is now the most dominant covid strain in the u.s. moderna says its new booster shot offers more protection against the omicron subvariants then is current booster. >> this comes just a few weeks after the fda recommended companies tweak their boosters to better address the omicron

mariposa and evacuees are being asked to use the wanna road to evacuate and head north towards yosemite valleyre sad to hear about the iconic. your trees going up in flames, but officials confirmed firefighters is doing all they can to hold this fire. it was the redwoods like i we're here in like want to see this quest for sure, but we were all so willing to make the trek to see the redwoods too looks pretty scary and i were going full force on our suppression tactics the park remains open, but some entrances have closed now if you do plan on traveling to yosemite this weekend check abc 7 news.com for the latest park. road closures reporting in yosemite national park, nico pain abc 7 news let's bring in abc 7 news meteorologist san diego patel sandy. you can actually see the smoke from a weather satellite that tells you it's got to be pretty big. yeah, it definitely was and it still is as you know, larry but on visible satellite picture the last images i can get showing you that plume of smoke extending all the way out towards bear valley. it was also so intense that it was getting picked upyo

christian fellowship church in mariposa and evacuees are being the asked to head north toward yosemite valley. fears of the iconic sequoia trees going up in flames but firefighters doing all they can to hold this fire. >> it is the redwoods. we want to see the sequoias. we were willing to make the check to see the redwoods. >> pretty scary. we are going full force on suppression tactics. reporter: the park remains open but some entrances are closed. check abc 7 news and abc7news.com for the latest park and road closures. abc 7 news. liz: president biden responding to pressure to protect abortion rights following the supreme court decision to overturn roe v. wade. he signed an executive order friday to enforce existing access to abortion care. christine sloan has the latest. >> stand up, fight back! >> with abided administration facing pressure to protect abortion rights after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade, the president now taking executive action. executive order aims to expand access to medication abortion and emergency contraception, safeguard privacy and bolster efforts to prot

liz: not to the california wildfire season, taking aim at the yosemite valley. the washburn fire is jumping in size this morning, the intense fire zone is near the historic community and mariposa grove. see the southern entrance on highway 41 is closed. here is the latest on what we know this morning. firefighters just updated the acreage, nearly 1600. a 400 acre jump from last night. containment is 0%. there are hundreds of giant sequoias and are under mandatory evacuations. the exact cause of the fire is under investigation. this morning, will car is following the handful of wildfires overtaking the west. reporter: this morning, wildfires intensifying across the western united states. in utah, a fire burning more than 2000 acres, threatening buildings with evacuation orders in effect for the area. yosemite national park, fires blazing through mariposa grove, the largest sequoia grove in yosemite with over 500 trees. >> you feel afraid for the people in the town, then heartbroken about the trees. reporter: hundreds of campers traveling for the summer, between 6

this is yosemite valley so we are asking people to be more responsible. if someone has respiratory issues, be very careful in hiking and choosing activities and just be aware of their surroundings and, of course, stay out of the closed areas and understand these firefighters are working incredibly hard, as was mentioned. it's difficult, deep terrain. we want to give them all the tools and support we can so they can help us suppress this fire. >> looking at these images, the smoke is take in some spots. last fall, we talked about foil being wrapped around the trees in sequoia. we are seeing and hearing a sprinkler system set up near mariposa grove. is that going to be enough? talk to me about how comp located that has been. >> the giants acquires are incredibly beautiful trees and historically important. this is home to 500 richard giant sequoia's. we have been proactive in fire management and we have had prescribed burns in the area in the past. have been lightning strike fires around the grove over the last several years. this has helped us to clear a lo

the smoke was moving into a yosemite valley earlier today, and air quality will continue to be a concern, as we head into sunday forecast is not great, though. for tomorrow we are talking about a warming trend and in yosemite closer to that to washburn fire could be close to 90 degrees with lower relative humidity level, so that's not a good change for sunday. we are talking about a warming trend for tomorrow. we're not more on that with your update in a few minutes, we'll see you then, as we mentioned earlier, there are several wildfires burning across northern california tonight. firefighters containment of the arms be fire, which is burning in morgan hill up to 80% contained tonight that's up from 60% earlier today. anyone with plans to drive in that area is being asked to caution themselves of emergency crews there. we have no reports of damage to any structures the cause under investigation. firefighters also have the bay fire, which is burning in yuba county 80% contained tonight time lapse video shows very little smoke rising from the fire today. cal fire says they work today to s

. >> by the time we got down into yosemite valley. >> reporter: in just four days, the fire has torched park and is burning less than half a mile away from some of the most majestic trees in mariposa grove . the area home to the grizzly, a 3000-year-old sequoia that spans from 200 feet tall. crews setting up sprinklers to protect the massive tree from the raging blaze. >> it's really hard to sit here and know that it could mean the groves are threatened. >> reporter: while sequoias are fire resistant, rising temperatures, drought, and a buildup of vegetation has supercharged these flames. climate change is playing a role and how these fires burn. they are hotter, faster, and more explosive than ever before. >> we have hundreds of thousands of wood per acre per ground and it's really dry. >> the forest more than 500 firefighters are on defense trying to prevent centuries of history from going up in flames. >> miguel almaguer with that report. the sequoias out west are one of america's many national and natural treasures. a primetime series entitled america outdoors explores the many diff

a look at the yosemite valley.s improving and we do see that smoke moving away from us. we are waking up to a clear sunrise. san rafael seeing temperatures in the low 50s. it will continue to be sunny and we are matching yesterday's temperatures heading back to the upper 70s and low 80s. >>> and mike has been watching several issues on the morning commute on the roads and the rails. >> we have this issue in san jose. this is not technically an alert from chp. i'm giving you the alert for north 101 which is jammed up. most of the traffic around the be as light right now on the roads so this is a big slowdown and unexpected. we are improving speeds from red to orange closer to the crash scene at oakland road. we have not seen 280 or 87 take up additional slowing but that could ripple out the next few minutes for the south bay as we brother commute. the rest of the drive looks great but the right is the problem. the antioch line has no service between concord and pleasant hill. trackside fire has cut the power in the

american history, nbc news points out president abraham lincoln set aside the grove, along with yosemite valley for public use, resort, and recuperation. according to the park service, it was the first time the government had ordered scenic areas to be protected for public benefit. our own cal perry is on the ground in yosemite, with more. >> stephanie, we wanted to give you a look at a bad place, the anatomy of what's going on here. i'm not far from what would be one of the busiest entrances to the park, it's now tourists, you have firefighters from various jurisdictions closing in on the area, to try to burn some of these areas intentionally. this one has been burned intentionally, they actually set this blaze about 16 hours ago. the idea is to play defense, to get some of these areas burned away, so that those very -- the very valuable national natural treasures, those, acquires can be protected. so much of the stories about climate, change about how the conditions are changing for firefighters on the ground, and how difficult that is making their jobs. take a look at what someone told me on

this is a live look at the yosemite valley looking toward halftone. rethink more smoke will be moving in that direction mother bay area will be improving from moderate to be good to date with numbers dropping below 50 as we measure how much of that particulate matter is in the air . and we will see worsening air quality around south lake tahoe and much of the sierra. as far as where the smoke is blowing, mostly to the north and east as we see a slight shift in the wind. the area around the washburn fire, crews are dealing with hot temperatures and low humidity but the wind has been fairly light. today we see temperatures heading back into the 90s today with some very dry air. we are watching a slight cooldown for the bait area and will talk about that in a few minutes. >>> breaking news just in from the defense department. sources at u.s. central command tell nbc news the leader of isis in syria has been killed in a u.s. air strike this is considered one of the top four isis leaders. the strike targeted his deputy but is not clear whether the deputy w

here is a live look at yosemite valley this morning. all that smoke. we are seeing low visibility, there. parts of the park are closed as the washburn fire continues. right now, those temperatures are in the mid 60s, but it is going to be a hot day, making it very tough for those crews who are fighting that fire. i will send it back to you, kira. >> yeah, kari. thanks so much. we have time-lapse videos of the washburn fire. you can see the glow of the flames burning on the ridge as the sun went down last night . the wildfire broke out on thursday. we had a map that shows exactly where it is burning. you can see it is not too far from yosemite south entrance, near -- can't run. overnight, the fire grew to more than 700 acres. the acreage has tripled in size since 7 p.m. last night. flames also have made their way inside the mariposa grove of giant sequoia's. -- team is headed to the grove to wrap the trees in fire resistant foil. you might remember when fire crews did something similar in sequoia national park last year to protect the trees. so far, we

mariposa, and evacuees are being asked to use a road to affect weight and head north towards yosemite valley. iconic sequoia trees are going up in flames. firefighters are doing all they can to hold this fire. >> it was the redwoods. we are here, and we want to see this for sure, but we are willing to make a drive to see the redwoods come as well. >> it looks pretty scary, we are going full force on our suppression tactics. >> the park remains open, but some entrances remain closed it if you plan to return to yosemite, check abc7news.com for the latest park and road cruisers -- closers. abc7news. >> now to president biden getting pushback from activists on both sides of the issue on -- after signing an abortion access executive order. alex is at the white house with white some say the president is going too far when others say he is not going far enough. >> pressure from allies to protect abortion rights started with the supreme court draft. it only intensified when they overturned roe v. wade. on friday, they signed an executive order while blasting the court's decision. >> today, the supre

. >> as it winds its way up towards yosemite valley. so get in the half dome and all that beauty up in parts of the sierra nevada and 70 valley. and you can see all the smoke billowing from the oak fire. they're not so much this. the washburn fire located a little further to the south and the east, not as active today as firefighters kind of get a handle on that. but we've got some winds gusting over 20 miles per hour. so that's pretty breezy out there right now, hoping that will subside overnight tonight. it looks like it will somewhat but not all parts of california. southern california. also look at the potential for some fires. we've got red flag warnings up along. i-5 there as you make your through a los angeles over parts of that area are seeing some very gusty winds developing tonight. maybe some 40, maybe some 45 mile an hour very low humidity down to about 10 to 20%. some fire conditions are right. things are dry. and if the fire were to start in those kind of conditions, of course, that could be very dangerous. all right. back

rangers plan to reopen rhona wona road from the south entrance to yosemite valley, the mayor opposed to grove and the community of owona, though, will remain closed. the bay area air quality management district is extending its air quality advisory for eastern contra costa county once again due to the smoke from the marsh fire. that fire has been burning near pittsburgh and bay point since the end of may, a millions of gallons of water have been pumped into the marshy area since last week to try to put out the fire. three additional pumps were put into operation just today and will continue with hopes that the fire will finally be extinguished by the end of the week. for the first time in 50 years, cal fire is relaunching its night flying program. this gives fire crews the ability to fight fires. 24 7 , heather waldman gotta look inside the new helicopters, and she shows us how they're already paying off. every fire is different. every fire has its own unique personality. california's fires get more destructive. they require every tool. cal fire has, as we've seen the last few years.

here's a live look down in yosemite valley. >> got a little trickles still flowing there. 70 falls. but overall, you can see. >> how improved air quality is looking actually see the other side of the canyon. now. and even though there is still some haze from the washburn fire, definitely some better conditions out there here in the bay area are conditions are also about to get hot later on today. looking at san jose, you can see the gray there in the distance. still hovering across much of the bay itself. but now you are firmly under the sunshine. thankfully there's your grey on the peninsula. parts of the north bay as well as up in the san pablo bay trying to stretch out the solano county. this is that cooling effect that were being enjoying for our coastal and bay shore cities the past few days while inland areas been scorching hot, really along with the rest of the country, that high pressure ridge building in from the shattering records from the central valley all the way over to the south and up into the midwest of the united a lot of the countries in the midst of thi

rangers plan to reopen owona road from the south entrance to yosemite valley, most of grove and the community of one about wona will stay closed. the bay area air quality management district is extending its air quality advisory for eastern contra costa county due to smoke from the marsh fire. that fire has been burning their pittsburgh and be point since the end of may, millions of gallons of water have been pumped into the marshy area since last week. three additional pumps were put into operation today and will continue with hopes that it will be extinguished by the end of this week. for the first time in 50 years, cal fire is relaunching its night flying program gives fire crews the ability to fight fires. 24 7. heather waldman. gotta look inside the new helicopters and shows us how they're already paying off. every fire is different. every fire has its own unique personality as california's fires get more destructive, they require every tool. cal fire has, as we've seen the last few years, the fires have just gotten bigger and bigger to the point where we're getting these mega fires, so

there is yosemite valley and as we go down to 1 40 here, that's how he won 40 there.ation, temperature of 90 degrees, so it is hot. we're not talking about triple digits, but still the hot side. relative humidity still pretty low, 20. and winds out of the northwest, at least at this one site eight miles an hour, so winds are not extremely strong. as far as the smoke forecast. you can see the bulk of the smoke right to the surface is kind of rally right around the fire, as you would expect, but some of that smoke has been traveling toward the bay area and the upper levels of the air quality advisory we haven't talking about is in place through thursday extended for one more day, so there's a chance you might see some of that hes in the upper levels of the various guys for tomorrow as well. i'm watching two things. this area of high pressure to our north portland's be close to 100 degrees over the next few days, a place like reading. could be topping 110 degrees. also this monsoonal moisture this moisture moving in from the south, we could pick up a few high clouds for

by the time we got down into yosemite valley, ash was raining down on us. >> mariposa grove, where protectede than 2,000 years old and over 300 feet high -- >> i'm standing directly in front of the grizzly giant. >> a simple sprinkler system is keeping the soil wet along the grizzly giant, arguably the world's most famous tree and protective foil around the clark cabin and flames within striking distance. and crews are lining every hillside they can but this fire is quickly racing from tree to tree. in some areas, they're simply going to let it burn. >> that burn destroying everything in its path. and still threatening to uproot these iconic natural wonders that have stood tall for generations. hoping for the best there. we will keep you posted in the days ahead. >>> elsewhere, this is a cool story. president biden has unveiled the first-ever image from nasa's new space telescope. the image offers the deepest look at the universe ever recorded. part of it shows light from nearly 13.8 billion years ago. the image was taken by the james webb space telescope. the largest space telescope ever bu

so likely to see some further impacts in yosemite valley. there. fire making its way our direction. but the past couple of days, most of that smoke plume has been picked up and sent right over the sierra out towards nevada itself. as we move into the weekend in this high-pressure ridge builds in. it's going to settle smoke down into the central valley and some of that will filter out into the bay area. so we're going to continue to see some air quality impacts as we work our way through these next several days as temperatures warm up due to the high pressure, ridge is going to cut off a little bit of the access to this coastal air. that means inland areas going to get hot and also going to dry out further. that means fire danger is going to become more and more of a concern specially come saturday and sunday. as for today, misty conditions just along the coastline this morning. cloud cover already burning off in doing so quicker than it did yesterday afternoon. highs today will be pretty comfortable like yesterday. tomorrow temperatures will warm u

said to taft, the indians can no more live there than they can upon the precipitous sides of the yosemite valley. dawes supported hayden surveys. he was one of the people that would lobby directly, he was one of the most powerful man in the house. his son, chester, had joined hayden in yellowstone. he was one of the political boys. so, on that day, february 27th, the vote was called 89% of republicans voted yes on the yellowstone act. 70% of democrats voted no. this was not unanimous, clearly. the ones who are the outliers, there was no real regional breakdown. people were voting for and against from all different regions. it was just breaking down on those issues of white settler rights and overreach. the republican strong majority in the house though meant that that yellowstone act, which was bipartisan, had certainly not unanimous had passed. on march 1st, 1871, the bill landed on president ulysses s grant's desk. he signed it without any fanfare. most newspapers reported on, it reported on his passage, were pretty much added and positive about it as we see from this from the new york herald.

taft was the indians can know no more live there than they can upon the precipitous side of the yosemite valley. so does, you know had always supported hayden surveys? he was one of the people that hayden lobby directly. he was one of the most powerful men in the house. his son chester had joined hayden in yellowstone. he was one of the political boys. so on that day february 27th, the vote was called 89% of republicans voted. yes on the yellowstone act 70% of democrats voted. no, so this was not unanimous clearly the ones who were the kind of outliers. there was no real regional breakdown people were voting for and against from all different regions. it was just breaking down i think on those issues of white settler rights and federal overreach the republicans strong majority in the house, though meant that the yellowstone act which was bipartisan, but certainly not unanimous had passed and on march first 1871 the bill landed on president ulysses grant's desk and he signed it really without any fanfare. most newspapers reported on it reported on its passage where we're pretty much positive abo

. >> by the time we got down into yosemite valley, ash was raining down on us there also. >> reporter four days, the fire has torched more than 2,000 acres in yosemite national park and is now burning less than half a mile away from some of the most majestic trees in mariposa grove. the area home to the grizzly giant, a 3,000-year-old sequoia that stands some 200 feet tall. crews setting up sprinklers to protect the massive tree from the raging blaze. >> it's really hard to sit here and see that smoke and know that it could mean the groves are threatened. >> while sequoias are fire resistant, rising temperatures, drought, and a buildup of dense, dry vegetation has super charged these flames. >> climate change is playing a role in how these fires burn. they're now hotter, faster and more explosive than ever before. >> we have hundreds of tons of wood per acre on the ground, and it's really, really dry. >> reporter: now is the scenic forest is smothered by the uncontrolled inferno, more than 500 firefighters are on defense trying to prevent centuries of history from going up in flames.

noticed a trail of smoke all the way dow joaquin valley. 101 yosemite.ees above average for the triple digits. as we get a strong onshore push along the shoreline, the smoke continues to be pushed to the north and to the east throughout your sunday afternoon. a really unhealthy air with the haze and the smoke entering the mountains into parts of novato where it is dry in northeastern california. low clouds and fog even though you see the low clouds, probably -- upper elevations 5% to 20% relative humidity. 65 in oakland. 60 in san jose. you can see the low clouds. it is getting dense and it scatters for a breezy and bright afternoon on the peninsula. 55 in napa and concord in livermore. a 24 hour temperature change. not as chilly as yesterday morning. it was colder in the north bay. now we have that in the east bay. 52 santa cruz and sunshine on the way throughout the low 70's today. fog and drizzle at the coast. you may need your wipers. cold temperatures at the beaches. warm inland. we are taking the mid the upper 90's out of forecast so temperatures a