leak. officers are going door-to-door to help people get out. so right now they're trying to cap this leak and pg&e estimates they won't able to cap it until midnight tonight hopefully. we are also following breaking news of eastern contra costa county of a freight train collided with a car at main street oakley. a 12-year-old boy died at the scene. >> a 19-year-old woman was air lifted. she's in critical condition. melissa colorado is joining us live with the latest situation. >> reporter: jessica, you can imagine a terrible tragic accident. i did get a chance to speak with the grandma of the 12-year-old boy. here is what she was able to

tell me. i want my grandson back. i am going to move out of the way. you can take a better look at the scene happening behind me. you can see the neon vests and crew, trying to find out what went wrong here. one witness says the back end of the suv was stuck on the train track when the crossing arms came down. that witness was in a car right behind that suv. here is what she said happened next. >> i just heard a big crunch and i looked over and the car flew off the road and a tire were going and debris was hitting my truck and i called 911. >> reporter: shaken up and terrified. that's how this woman described this surreal moment after a freight train crashed back into a vehicle. >> i saw a big cloud of dust and

i saw a train come to a grounding halt. >> reporter: inside the car was a 12-year-old boy and a woman. the woman was air lifted to the hospital and the boy was pronounced dead. it is unconfirmed if the 12-year-old was a student there. >> i have a grandson that attends that same middle school. >> reporter: the fire district says this is the third time this year that crew had to respond to a train verses car condition. >> they are down at a reason, the train comes through at a high rate of speed and they don't stop for a long time. never try to beat a train. >> i don't know what the solution, more signs? we have kids walk those tracks everyday to and from schools. >> reporter: back out here live looking at that banged up mangled vehicle. one consistent thing we heard

from residents living in the area, traffic builds up here in the afternoon. that's because when school is out, you got a line of parents picking kids up. one thing we have been hearing is that something needs to be done to address that traffic issue especially when you are talking about a risky intersection and so many young children involved. i am melissa colorado, nbc bay area news. all right, thank you. we are the first to send out a breaking news alert about this traffic incident. you can download our app to get alerts to your phone. to our coronavirus coverage. santa clara is still in the middle of a covid surge. the seven-day average case rate is 350. take a look at this graph that shows the number of cases since the beginning of the year. january was the holiday surge. a dramatic drop as people got vaccinated. in july and august you can see

cases started climbing again. despite a high vaccination rate, this fourth wave is stubbornly sticking around. robert handa is speaking with dr. cody. >> reporter: that's right, everyone a year into this battle, it is interesting to hear from dr. cody about this virus one that she says we better get use to. >> i believe we are the most highly vaccinated county in the country. >> dr. sarah cody is quick to point out the good and the bad of santa clara county covid fight while she's proud of the south bay's 80 plus percent vaccination rate. >> it spreads more easily,

that's why we are seeing uptick cases. >> reporter: i asked if the normal precautions of masks and social distancing. >> reporter: enough these days? those layers of protection are still important, choosing your circumstances is just as crucial. >> i am no longer in-door dining or go to a place outdoors where a lot of people are mushed together. it changes the probability. all those layers remained very important in preventing spread. >>. >> reporter: i asked dr. cody whether families should be planning trips over the labor day or holidays especially when they have children too young to get vaccinated. >> adults around the younger children, are they vaccinated? that'll help protect the children.

are the children going to a setting of a high vaccination rate. will the children be wearing masks? >> reporter: again, dr. cody emphasize that had we are going to learn to live with covid, it is not going away any time soon. come up at 6:00, more on what dr. cody recommends to do. . >> we have posted the full interview with dr. cody. she talks about the long-term impact and the county's early response when the pandemic hits. go to nbcbayarea.com, we have a link to her full interview. johnson & johnson may soon be offering a booster shot for its covid-19 vaccine. tl company released new data of early stage clinical trial showing a booster dose resulted in a nine-fold increase in antibodies. the company is in discussions of

the fda. tonight on "nightly news" with lester holt, tom costello speaks to lester holt that he got the johnson & johnson shot. what med as a whole experts say you should do. that's coming up in less than 30 minutes. cal-osha encouraging all worker to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. that follows a recent guidance update from the california department public health. the move made because of recent surge of covid cases in workplaces. now to our continuing coverage of the caldor fire in el dorado county. more than 126,000 acres have burned and the fire is just only 11% contained. a 40 miles stretch of highway 50 remains closed between slide

park and myers. more than 460 homes have been destroyed. popular resorts we have been mentioning, they are closed for the labor day weekend. zephyr cove resort and meeks bay resort and edge wood is staying open for now. lake tahoe had the worst air quality today. tourists are staying away. thom jensen is in south lake tahoe. you can see the gray thick skies behind you. this is a punch in the gut for those businesses suffering during the pandemic. >> reporter: it sure is. you are right, you can see just how thick it is this afternoon. it is getting worse and worse through the day. you really can see out into the lake. maybe a few hundred yards about a quarter of a mile.

visibility is way down because of the smoke is dangerous and hazardous. a lot of business owners we talked to here today that this smoke has chase away almost all of the business that they normally see in august. >> reporter: thick smoke from the caldor fire hovers above. no chance for visitors to see the rest of the lake's scenic vistas. >> we got a lot of smoke all the way to salt lake city. >> reporter: among the few tourists kept tahoe in their plans despite the heavy smoke. >> we are trying to get away before fall comes. >> reporter: some days are too important no matter what. business owners tell us it is clear most tourists have changed plans. >> we had a lot of cancellations. >> reporter: air quality and visibility is better.

on a normal day they would be sending out four boats packed with nearly 70 paying customers each. this morning, only one boat went out with 21 guests. >> people come to town because they want to see the beauty of the lake, it is spectacular. it is a spiritual place. if you can't see it and people get discouraged. >> reporter: it is that way next door with restaurants and hotel and souvenir spots. >> we were really surprised. >> reporter: more struggles to keep their businesses afloat. they're hoping for a break from the caldor fire which is getting closer to lake tahoe. >> if there is ash falling, it makes breathing dangerous. >> that means less business. we talked to another shop owner today who says this smoke had

really been the one-two knock-out punch for a lot of businesses who were barely making it coming out of the pandemic. join us for that part of the story at 6:00. thom jensen, nbc bay area news. president biden declaring a major disaster in california for areas hit hard by the dixie and the caldor fire. the help is in place in placid and nevada county. the white house says it is assessing the damage in other parts of the state and more aide could be on the way. a few light rail trains are running today. only test trains, no passengers yet. this train was running at north street earlier today. vta plans to start limited

service this weekend. light rail service had been suspended since the mass shooting in late may. trains are expected to be running for the niners' pre-season game on sunday. the staff at the county register of voter's office started verifying signatures. two staff members to be with ballots at all times and allowing observers to come in and watch as the ballots are processed. the actual voting machines are tested to. >> every single equipment that voters are voting on have gone through a testing process before the election and before they are distributed to the center for accuracy. and then the ballots come back and we do all the counting and

after we are done processing the ball ballots, we do a 1% tally. >> voting center will be opened on september 14. the people will be participating on a recall debate. you can watch this debate starting at 7:00 on.com cast channel 76 or over the air, 11-2. the judge is ruling this and forcing schools to freeze enrollment. a milestone for an iconic business in san francisco's china town, we'll take you out to the celebration at the golden gate fortune cookie factory. overall a comfortable day, you can see some of the haze back here if san jose, i am talking about heat and when

thicker smoke can return. i will have the full update coming up in about 6 minutes

. you can see how bad it was, the water main broke monday afternoon sending a powerful geyser of water into the air. mud all over the lawn. the plan fundraiser concert on sunday is now cancelled. one of san francisco's china town's most famous businesses marked a milestone today.

it is something the community there needs after a year of covid and increasing attacks on asian-americans. here is christie smith. >> reporter: it started with a bang tucked away on ross alley outside the china town landmark. people come here all over the world to see and buy fortune cookies made by hand. >> i am looking for more and more. next year will be back to normal. >> reporter: evan chan receiving certificates and proclamations. it had been 59 years. >> thank you on behalf of millions of families for enjoying your cookies and our american community and on behalf of california. we wish you 59 years of success but 888 more years for the golden gate fortune cookie company. >> in celebrating 59 years of resilience, because this past 16 months have been challenging for

our city and for this country with this pandemic. >> last year and a half, we had no business, we depend on tourism. only the locals and locals went back to school. >> reporter: now he looks forward to the future. >> it takes service, when you have service, people come to you. >> reporter: in san francisco, christie smith, nbc bay area news. some startling side by side photos showing historically low water levels at south bay reservoir. the second largest operated by valley water. compare the levels of the water in 2017 to the summer. you can see it is now just at 23% capacity. santa clara county largest jerez

, the valley water implemented mandatory 15% water cut back for customers. let's bring in jeff ranieri. we have been talking about the drought and lack of water we are experiencing. it feels like it is historic. >> it really is on so many different levels. it is going to get worse here. the thing that we are looking at is maybe by the end of september we could start to get our first storm system in here. it is not going to be everything to solve our problems. but, certainly some good signaling here towards the end of september for maybe some changes. >> let's go ahead and bring into our forecast. i want to start off with tomorrow morning and get you ready to go for thursday. we have less in the way of fog. it will start off in the chilly side. plenty of 50s here to the south bay and peninsula. east bay at 55. the north bay at 56. temperatures start to warm up tomorrow. about a 3 to 6 degrees increase. down in the south bay, a lot of

70s like we had lately. we are back in the 80s. 72 in downtown san jose. 88 in morgan hill. you will start to feel the heat certainly back to in land contra costa. 94 in antioch. 91 in walnut creek. east bay hills, closer to the water, it is cooler and a warm day for you. peninsula, 77 here in san mateo. let's move it off to the north bay. 87 here in napa and right up to 94 at ukiah. things are going to change and fast once we hit friday and saturday. let me show you why. a high pressure is going to kick into high-gear here, bringing in some heat and the circulation around this unfortunately. looks like it could bring us some smoke as we head into

friday and our forecast. let's take a closer look. tomorrow, the blue color, that's what we have been dealing with lately. it is hazy conditions that you can see on the key here. as we shift this into friday's forecast. watch that smoke likely will move down to the north bay and east bay and the south bay. friday, we could be looking at more unhealthy air. seven-day forecast in san francisco, we warm things up, low 70s. friday and saturday and sunday. it cools off next week. the heat is going to be a short stint here of that hot weather. up to 98 on friday. 99 on saturday. sunday, 96. we have some 80s returning as you roll into next tuesday and wednesday's forecast. >> janelle and jessica, hot water is what we need right now. at least it is not an extended heat wave. a new round of stimulus checks are about to be sent out. we'll let you know who is qualified to get one. next.

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enrollment froze at 2020 level. the judge's ruling -- that construction though will move forward. check your bank account, a new round of stimulus money is being sent to many californians. governor newsom's office says nearly two-thirds of those living in the state will eligible for $600 check. the governor signs a bill in july that included 5 billion

families. you must have 75,000 lower for the tax year. you can't be claimed as a dependant by another taxpayers. they are being millennials with dual responsibilities caring for their kids as well as their parents. >> 40% of caregivers are millennials. >> the numbers are trending in a way that there will be more gen z. >> the money spent for caregivers is coming out of millennials' pockets and on average we are looking at 6,000 to 7,000 per year easily. >> you can stream the story and more any time by heading to

lx.com. you can watch lx over the air on channel 11-15 or channel 185 on xfinity cable. it is an historic garden and now is ready for you to visit. we'll tell you more when we come back. i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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for the first time in 100 years, you can tour and enjoy ft. mason's black point historic garden. >> the national park service began clearing a century's worth of overgrowth, most of the work done by volunteers during the pandemic. >> we went about restoring these terraced gardens and pathways, and adding modern amenities like railings, so the public could come out and enjoy this. >> the gardens have a bonus spectacular view of aquatic park around san francisco bay and do great bird watching with several great big blue hairons. what johnson & johnson is saying about a booster dose.

>> a second shot of the j&j has a profound effect on your anti-body levels. >> another announcement from pfizer. less than a week until the deadline, president biden sticking to his plan to get americans out by the entd of this month. >> we're aggressively reaching out to them multiple times a day. >> the president also working on plan b if the military needs more time. we go behind the scenes to see how election officials in the south bay are preparing for the recall race. good wednesday. thanks for joining us, i'm janelle wang. >> not so much here in the bay area but across the country covid infections are up 12%. hospitals are scrambli