sanchez. >> right now, crews are working around the clock to control the flames. while cases grow in the bay area, the pandemic looks more ominous in other parts of the country, makeshift hospitals are being set up. >> the curve seems to be going up and don't think we have seen the peak of this yet. the caldor fire just east of sacramento continues to grow at an alarming rate. it is now more than ten times bigger than it was just 48 hours ago, forcing thousands of people to evacuate in el dorado county. let's bring in lizee mitri who

joins us in el dorado county with the latest. >> reporter: we're here on mormon immigrant trail a few miles from south park road p we're facing south where you're seeing some fire activity in that area. you can't tell quite right now. we were seeing some flames in the trees over there. but now the smoke is just so heavy you can't see through that heavy smoke. earlier today we went further behind the fire lines to? more remote areas. here's what we saw there. crews on mormon immigrant trail east of slide park road is on the lookout for flames left over when the caldor fire came through here. this crew from idaho got the hose out to put out this fire on the side of the road. >> it's all steep terrain, all hard to access. >> reporter: kevin egger is working here with his dad. >> the nice thing about our piece of equipment is we can get some places that the engines

can't and we have the pump and roll capabilities that they have plus a little more off-road. >> reporter: he says today is their first shift after getting to camp yesterday and they're prepared for 14 16-hour days if they're needed here. >> it makes for a long day, but you know, i like the work. so it doesn't bother me that much. >> reporter: we are seeing more resources on the ground just like them, a new crew out here. so we started with about 240 people assigned to this fire earlier in the week. at the last update it was up to about 650. raj, back to you. >> thank you so much. stay safe where you are. there are multiple fires burning across northern california and the winds continue to push all that smoke down to us. this is a live look across the bay area. you can see multiple locations here, oakland, walnut creek among them. jeff ranieri is tracking the smoke and air quality forecast as we head toward the weekend. jeff's going to join us in about 15 minutes from now.

well, tonight the pentagon says u.s. troops are ramping up evacuations out of afghanistan. so far 7,000 afghan civilians have been evacuated. army officials say the troops now have enough aircraft to get 5,000 to 9,000 people out a day. however, that still depends on how many people have been processed and other factors like the weather. let's show you some video out of the outside gates of the kabul airport. you can see crowds of people lined up, desperate to flee. taliban soldiers are stationed there, demanding to see documents before allowing people to approach the gates. many people say they don't have passports, so when the gates opened dozens tried to push through. the taliban did fire occasional warning shots to disperse the crowds. and check out this video. that's u.s. soldiers helping an afghan woman over the wall into the kabul airport. a journalist working for rise to peace shot that video. once people make it over the wall, though, they still need to be processed to make sure that they have the correct documents. "nightly news" continues our

coverage tonight. richard engel provides a firsthand look at the journey out of afghanistan. he documents his own trip leaving from kabul's airport. a degree of control now in place on the military side of the airport, but just outside the gates the taliban is in charge. richard speaks with people getting out when so many are left behind. that's on "nightly news" with less h.e.r. total right here on nbc bay area at 6:30. another international crisis is unfolding. tensions are going in haiti as people there are waiting for aid to come. the earthquake with the 7.2 magnitude hit last saturday. it killed more than 2,100 people. a variety of factors are delaying the aid to this island, including gangs who abducted two doctors. one of those doctors is among haiti's few orthopedic surgeons, who can help victims with broken limbs. officials say the earthquake left roughly 30,000 families homeless. tense moments at the u.s. capitol. a five-hour standoff ended

peacefully. it started just after 6:00 a.m. our time outside the library of congress near the supreme court and capitol building. officers say a 49-year-old man inside that black pickup truck there was broadcasting lievl on facebook actually, saying he had a propane tank inside that truck with him and he might detonate it. he was upset with the government. he eventually surrendered and was arrested. >> we had information and evidence of what was in the bed of his truck, and there were some things that were concerning. but ultimately we were able to take him in custody without incident. >> capitol police did search the truck and found possible bomb-making materials but no explosives. let's turn your attention to the pandemic. in some parts of the nation covid cases are increasing so fast that some hospitals are forced to set up makeshift facilities again. that's nbc's dan scheneman has more for us. >> reporter: this is what

medical experts across the country are desperate to avoid. a second field hospital going up at the university of mississippi medical center in jackson to handle the onslaught of desperately ill covid patients. >> we're actually really quite concerned. and the curve seems to continue to be going up and we don't think we've seen the peak of of this yet. >> reporter: children like donovan evans, too young to get vaccinated, now in the fight for his life against covid. >> you don't know if he's going to wake up out of his sleep or you don't know. >> reporter: the uncertainty spreading as quickly as the virus across many states. >> we're seeing more covid-19 positive patients in our emergency departments, urgent care centers and hospitals than at any time in the pandemic. >> reporter: as health care experts plead with people to roll up their sleeves. >> please get vaccinated. >> reporter: their calls echoed at the white house. >> do it now. you can save your life and it can save the lives of those you love. >> reporter: wednesday the administration laying out a plan for booster shots for those already fully vaccinated.

announcing a new policy to require nursing home workers to be vaccinated and vowing to take on governors blocking mask mandates in schools. >> we're not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children. >> reporter: as additional county school boards in florida voting late last night to defy their zbrofrn and require masks for students. the battle just beginning on a new front in the nation's war against covid. dan scheneman, nbc news. so what about that booster shot in the third dose of the pfizer or moderna vaccine that should be available to us as early as next month. the world health organization is sharply critical of wealthier countries like the united states for rolling out these covid booster shots. w.h.o.'s africa director tells journalists that these booster shots threaten poorer nations with less access to vaccines. >> as? richer countries hoard vaccines, they make a mockery frankly of

vaccine equity. >> african health officials had warned against booster shots in recent weeks since less than 2% of the continent's population there in africa is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. we have new information out today that shows the power of vaccination campaigns across the united states. the study says that the u.s. that i. may have prevented 140,000 deaths. researchers studied total lives saved in each state when the vaccinations started. which u.s. states did the best job? new york saw the largest reduction in deaths. and hawaii had the smallest. california was right there in the middle. scientists from rand corporation and indiana university conducted the study. well, we are now less than a month out of the recall election. some voters in fact already sending in their mail-in ballots. today i spoke with governor newsom about the wildfires, the pandemic, and the recall election. >> you are battling two enormous issues right now -- covid, these fires and now this recall.

do you think that you're being unfairly blamed for these two other phenomenons that are kind of out of your control and that that's impacting this recall? what do you say is fueling this? >> i understand the last year and a half has been hard on all of us, angst ooipt, fear, and anger many of us have and it still remains. uncertainty's presented itself anew with this delta variant. but 18 months ago the world changed as we know it. quite literally the world. not just our own experience in the state of california. we have to pour through that. we've turned the page. $80 billion operating surplus. the fastest growing economy of all western democracies. highest level of reserves. and we have the fastest-growing job creation in america. but not everybody's feeling that recovery and we're still feeling that anxiety because of health risks that still present themselves because of the delta virus. so we have to do more in that space. >> it seems that every day we're seeing more mandates that require either proof of vaccination or full vaccination. the latest is just the outdoor

events, more than 1,000 people. there is some increasing fear in a lot of californians that we're going to be moving back to a stay-at-home order as we continue to require more. is that even a possibility? >> not if we keep getting vaccinated. quite the contrary. we're committed to our vaccine efforts. we have nation-leading vaccine doses administered, almost 47 million. if we can continue down that path, i don't see any scenario where that takes shape. >> i also talked with the governor about a wide range of issues including his plan for booster shots in the state when that starts september 20th. you can see part of that interview on nbc bay area news right here tonight at 7:00. so what if you didn't get your ballot or if you want to vote in person? how do you find your polling place? we've put together a voting guide with those questions and more. all you need to do is head to nbcbayarea.com/recall or click on newsom recall in the trending bar at the top of our home page. one of governor newsom's

closest friends, nathan ballard, avoided a jail sentence for a drunken domestic dispute. ballard's a high-profile political strategist who used to work with governor newsom when he was mayor of san francisco. ballard is from marin county. he pleaded no contest to reduced charges. in exchange he gets to keep his law license and will stay on probation for four years. he's also ordered to stay away from his now ex-wife and two younger children for two years and will attend parenting classes and a course in batterers intervention. up next, burned out and now sold. an update on the home that hit the market in walnut creek. and would you believe it sold for more than asking? you can save money on back to school shopping. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. we'll show you how, next. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. we are all tired of that smoke, but check it out. this system right here is going to be changing it up for the weekend. we'll let you know when things will start to improve for us

coming up in about seven minutes. and there you have it— -woah. wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. wow! -big deal! ...we get unlimited for just $30 bucks. sweet, but mine has 5g included. relax people, my wireless is crushing it. that's because you all have xfinity mobile with your internet. it's wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself. switch to xfinity mobile and save hundreds on your wireless bill. plus, save up to $400 when you purchase a new samsung phone or upgrade your existing phone. learn more at your local xfinity store today.

facebook is headed to court again over antitrust allegations. this marks the second time the feds have filed a lawsuit against facebook. a federal judge dismissed the first lawsuit back in june. today the ftc filed a more detailed case as it claimed facebook is a monopoly. the lawsuit claims the company illegally bought or crushed competitors. in a statement facebook says its acquisitions of instagram and whatsapp were cleared years ago and are lawful. okay. as kids head back to school it means homework for parents. >> yeah, i'm slammed. we're talking about getting all those school supplies. our consumer team wants to help you save money. here's chris chmura. >> reporter: sending the kids back to class will cost the typical family $848.90 according to the national retail federation. that's $59 more expensive than

it was a year ago. our team whipped up a few ways to save money on back to school supplies. first check your invebtry, open the junk drawer and empty your closets. see what you have left over from the past school year. and use it. so you aren't buying supplies you don't need. that's especially important right now because some school supplies have been in short supply. if you have to buy new items and find empty shelves, don't give up. just look beyond the big box stores. also compare prices. see if stores big and small will price match. look for deals and discount codes in your social media feed. coupon apps might help out too. if you have enough supplies to get the kids started, you might want to hold off. here's why. prices might fall soon after school starts, when the back to school shopping frenzy slows and stores can increase their supplies or put stuff on clearance. if you spot a deal on an essential item, consider stocking up for the whole school year. planning ahead is key. it's especially smart with clothes. buying between seasons, when stores swap out their inventory,

might save you a bundle. okay. remember that burned shell of a home in walnut creek that we showed you that was listed for $850,000? it sold. for a million. the listing for the four-bedroom two-bath notes extensive fire damage from fire on both floors. the home is down to its studs, but netted at least eight offers in the first few days it was on the market. that's with the requirement that you pay in cash. cash only. zillow reports the average home price in walnut creek right now is 1.1 million. >> they're going to rebuild it. it's going to be a bargain ultimately. the a's won their game today but that wasn't the big story. all-star pitcher chris bassitt visited the team before the game in chicago. bassitt is recovering after being hit in the face by a line drive on tuesday. manager bob melvin said bassitt feels remarkably well following the injury. this was the scene a couple nights ago. the timeline for when he's going to travel back here to the bay

area and he still needs surgery for a fractured cheek, that remains unknown but bob melvin adds bassitt is in good spirits, which is great news. his presence today visiting his teammates gave the a's a lift as they snapped a four-game losing streak. speaking of the a's they are back at the coliseum tomorrow evening to take on, oh my goodness, the giants. the bay bridge series. you can watch the game right here on nbc bay area at 6:30. john miller, mike krukko with the call. jeff, we're going to ask you what the temperature's going to be at the coliseum. there's also going to be fireworks after the game. so that might be interesting with the haze in the sky. >> it's going to be one of those you look up and you see some color. >> orangish. >> we're still going to have the smoke out there. it's going to be a continual problem as you roll through tomorrow. but the good news is we do have some changes in the forecast that's eventually going to kick this out of here. at least give us? sort of a break. and i had to show this view

again. look at all of this smoke. not just in the bay area. but across all of northern california, even down into central california. as these fires just continue to pump out the smoke. and the wind direction, the surface wind bringing it right down into the bay area. so when it comes to that air quality, another top spot today where it has been unhealthy, especially for sensitive groups, if you have asthma, any kind of respiratory problems right here is walnut creek. visibility really limited back toward the hills. no blue sky at all. when it comes to the air quality, unhealthy in the north bay, moderate for the coast and the bay. and that's because of a little bit of an ocean breeze there. and for the east bay and the south bay it's also unhealthy. but let's get you a closer view of some of the most unhealthy locations. clearlake is the number one top spot with the worst air. livermore number two. pleasanton comes in third. danville fourth. and concord at fifth. so what's going to help clear this out? let me show you the weather charts here and what i'm tracking as we head into this weekend. it's all about this system that's going to drop down and

really kind of move more off to the north of us once we hit friday night and saturday. it will kick up the wind in the mountains. right now it looks like it will be below red flag fire warning criteria. a little bit breezy in the mountains. then once that system starts to pull away on saturday it looks like it could help to push some of this smoke off toward the east. i can show you this better on the smoke model. you'll see through tomorrow out of this orange and red color that's the unhealthy smoke, especially over the north bay, east bay and south bay. but when that system starts to get here late friday night and into saturday you can see how that smoke would start to move off toward the east, making it better for us. still see some of this blue color on saturday. that's some hazy conditions. but i think overall the weekend should be improved for us and that certainly is of course better. as we move through tomorrow's 230erk we're going to start it off way little fog near the coastline. that smoke lingering as we just talked about. temperatures in the 50s and 60s. by the afternoon at least temperatures aren't too hot. i have you in the 70s here through napa and santa rosa.

right over to concord 84 degrees. down to san jose 79. morgan hill 2. 70s from oakland to palo alto. and 60s right here at the coast. let's bring it into my seven-day forecast. san francisco we've been really lucky the past several weeks. we continue with this nice cool pattern on our temperatures with 60s as we roll through the next several days and 50s for morning lows. and across the inland valleys that's a little bit of an ocean breeze in san francisco is also helping keep us out of the heat wave. we're going to stay at this point with the mid 80s all the way through next monday. then once we hit next wednesday and also on thursday we see some low 90s coming back into the mix. so we've got to get through tomorrow. and at this point the weekend is looking better for us. i can't wait for it to get out of here. i know it's going to be someone else's problem when it movers out of here. but it's been a rough go for sure. >> so maybe saturday, maybe sunday things will look better. >> certainly. >> thanks, jeff. up next, rethinking the future of work. facebook has a new app to keep you connected with co-workers. it's pretty interesting here.

stay with us.

okay. get ready for this. forget zoom meetings. what about virtual reality? facebook is testing a new app called horizon workroom that offers a virtual meeting room where people using oculus quest headsets can gather in a virtual conference room as if they were in person. each person has a cartoon-like avatar. facebook says the pandemic's shown how important this technology is. okay. could be a sign that people are eager to celebrate halloween. it is not even september. home depot says it gave shoppers a zmaek peek this week at halloween decorations and every single one of them sold out. what was the most popular? a 12-foot skeleton with blinking eyes. it also sold out last year. it costs $300, takes an hour to put together. that didn't stop anyone from buying it. home depot says it will restock halloween decorations in a few weeks. maybe in september. okay.

spacex is revealing some details about the next generation of satellites for its starlink internet system. elon musk's company intends to use starship rockets to send satellites into orbit. the project's goal is to build an internet network available to anyone on earth. spacex has launched more than 1,700 starlink satellites so far with nearly 30,000 set for the next phase. a big night at santa clara. the national champs begin defense of their title. coming up we'll have a season preview. >> sports is next.

all right. the national champs are ready to defend their title. it is opening night for the santa clara women's soccer team. >> we've seen this for decades. it's a powerhouse program, and many star players are returning. nbc bay area's anthony flores is on campus with a look. >> reporter: throwing out the first pitch at last friday's giants game was a dream come true for san jose native riley burrell. >> being out on that field i never thought i would have that opportunity. it was one of the most amazing things and i'll remember it till the day i die. >> reporter: she got the opportunity to show off her arm. because of her feet. the santa clara junior is a member of the broncos' national championship women's soccer team. >> i feel like we really were able to bring a lot of pride to our area, to our school. it's just such an awesome feeling being able to come back

and everyone wearing the santa clara logo. >> reporter: burrill played last spring. cracking the line-up will be just as challenging this season. because of covid players were granted an extra year of eligibility. allowing the broncos to return some key starters from their championship run. including the team's leading goal scorer, kelsey turnbow. >> everybody's going to be coming for us extremely hard. everyone wants to play their best game against the defending national champions. that motivates us every single day to work our butts off in preparation for those tough games. >> reporter: despite losing just two players from last year's championship squad the broncos are ranked second in the preseason poll behind florida state. the team they beat to win the national title. >> it is extra motivation. i think we had a lot of motivation last year. so to kind of have that again just really is driving us now. >> reporter: adding even more motivation for this season? fans are back in the stands. spectators will be allowed at home games for the first time

since 2019. >> this is almost two years before we've had our families and our fans in the stands while we play a game. we're definitely looking forward to that. >> reporter: the broncos kick off their season tonight at home against bay area rivals san jose state. in santa clara anthony flores, nbc bay area. >> can you juggle a ball like that? >> i cannot. >> five times maybe? >> i don't even know when they're offsides. but i love the game. >> it's great watching them. let's tell you what's coming up on our 6:00 newscast now. the smoky skies hovering above the bay area. it's not getting any better. and the haze is actually putting schools in a difficult spot. >> we know for covid it is better to be outdoors, it's better to have good air circulation. >> it's a catch 22. jeff ranieri tracking when he with might get a break from all the smoke. plus a truck carrying propane tanks catches fire on the bay bridge. and the gridlock it caused was enormous. and he describes himself as a cowboy living in chinatown.

>> i remember screaming at him during the fight while i was bear hugging him. >> reporter: we talk to a man who jumped in to stop an attack. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening and thanks for being with us. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. you've seen it. smoky skies. everyone's talking about it. the skies sticking around with us for a long time. at least till the weekend. here's a live look across the bay area at this hour. the bay area quality management district has issued a spare the air alert for today and tomorrow. so if you smell smoke you're being told to stay inside, close your windows, close your doors. let's bring in chief meteorologist jeff ranieri who's tracking the smoke. and jeff, you told us earlier you're expecting maybe the weekend? >> yeah, certainly looks like we're going to get some changes in here that would help to push the smoke out of here as we head into this weekend's forecast. look at this view. i've shown it a couple of times tonight but this really illustrates what