upscale animal preserve in sonoma county could have saved the life of a little girl. and certainly comforted her grandmother in the final moments of her life. >> we heard a huge crash and we thought it was lightning and then we heard screaming. >> reporter: a 50-foot oak tree had fallen on the luxury tent cabin of a 70-year-old woman and her 7-year-old granddaughter while they were reading stories together. grandma was trapped on the bed. granddaughter not hit was hysterical. >> we had to cut through the canvas to get girl out. no one had a knife. a man next door had little scissors that we got and kind of stabbed holes through it and started cutting and ripped it aparted. the little girl went back to play with brian's little brother. she kept asking, is my grandma

okay? they put off telling her. >> we just kept telling her help was coming, the granddaughter was okay and we're here and after that... she was unconscious and then she passed away. >> this wasn't a stable situation at that point. it was windy and rainy. they didn't know that this tree was stable. they actually risked their lives to get there and get the 7-year-old daughter out and to comfort the woman as she was dying. >> we weren't really thinking. i would hate to have to do it again but we would do it again probably without thinking. >> reporter: it wasn't a holiday anyone imagined. the creeks went back to burlingame early. the family drove up to pick up the little girl after a night no one here will ever forget. this is quite a place up here at safari west. it's the largest private zoo in

the united states. and there are cabins, very nice cabins. the situation is now pretty much back to normal as normal as they can be. >> a truly up story. mike sugerman in sonoma county, mike, thank you. well, it is one big clean- up across the bay area. all the rain and wind triggered mud slides like this one in castro valley. a giant boulder blocked palomares road at p alo verde. crews cleared mud that closed the road last night. this is brisbane where a tree hit a power line across the parking lot of brisbane elementary school. no one was hurt. school is out for winter break. in san francisco, a fallen tree slammed on a car in the presidio heights neighborhood. no one was inside the car. in san bruno, anne makovec shows us one home other than has a huge mess on his hands.

>> i didn't think it was that old that it would fall. >> reporter: but this 100-foot- tall pine tree came down at 5 a.m. right under the roof of the torres family home. >> i thought it was an earthquake because when it hit the house, it was just a big bang. and then i ran out towards the front. i looked out and i saw something and i turned around and looked in the kitchen area and it was just oh, no. >> reporter: he found the kitchen full of insulation and sheetrock. the family got one piece of good news today. the city inspector came this morning and said they can still live in the house while it's being repaired. they just need to stay out of the kitchen. as for the fence, ripped out of the ground and the roof damaged to an unknown extent, eric says it will all be fixed once he hears from his insurance company and in the future, he may invest a bit more in landscaping. >> we were going to have it cut down this summer but it just never happened. and then -- no.

now we're having it cut. >> reporter: in san bruno, anne makovec, cbs 5. yesterday's heavy rain is now hitting southern california. some roads are shut down because of flooding and rock slides. and there is fear mud could start sliding down saturated hymns. this comes just a week after another storm triggered mud slides in the town of highland. crews have begun the clean-up but more rain is in the forecast and that threatens their efforts. >> it might be a couple months before we can get to work physically here. >> volunteers have been working to save what's left of their town. they set up 100,000 sandbags in hopes of keeping out even more floodwater and mud. we have learned the cause of a house fire that killed a world war ii veteran in walnut creek. 85-year-old keith brooks, sr., died of smoke inhalation following monday afternoon's fire on drayton court.

investigators say an electric blanket ignited the fire. so far official recommend unplugging electric blankets when not in use and replacing older models with newer ones that have fail-safe devices. a home invasion, a police shooting and a marijuana grow house, a wild chain of events in san jose last night. it all started with a call for a robbery in progress in the downtown area near the children's discovery museum. mark sayre tells us what happened next. reporter: san jose police returned to search the house on locust street where it all started. it was just after 11:00 last night when a 911 call came in of a home invasion robbery in progress. louis lives across the street. >> well, i was just watching tv and i didn't really know what was going on. i saw the commotion outside. >> reporter: there was a marijuana grow operation according to police. at least one shot was fired during the robbery and an

occupant of the house was injured. a short distance away one of the possible suspects was seen getting into a waiting car and the confrontation with police began. >> the vehicle sped towards the officers. one of the officers was able to discharge his firearm at the vehicle in order to attempt to stop the immediate threat. in the process, he moved out of the way, causing some pretty moderate injury to his knee. >> reporter: tonight, police are releasing these photos of four of the five suspects one man from east palo alto and another from san francisco are under arrest in connection with the robbery. police say a woman from san jose was driving the car that swerved toward officers. police are still looking for another man from east palo alto and they are not yet identifying the man who was riding in the car and was shot by police. >> because obviously, we are not 100% certain we have everybody. but we're definitely should i

say identifying individuals as we go. >> reporter: marijuana grow houses are such a problem in san jose that police have developed a special training video that teaches officers how to spot and handle such calls. and tonight, police are trying to determine if there is any kind of relationship between the people who lived in the house and the suspects under arrest. as for the officer, we are told he is a 15-year veteran of the san jose police department. he has been released from the hospital, robert, and is helping in the investigation. >> mark sayre live in san jose, thank you. missing in the sierra for more than a day, what a young snowboarder had with her that could offer hope of making it out alive. i don't ever remember not paying. >> hounded by debt collectors, the legal loophole that could keep old debt from coming back to haunt you. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

sierra for a young woman who has spent more than 24 hours lost in the well, rescuers are searching the sierra for a young woman who was lost more than 24 hours in the snow. she disappeared while snowboarding in alpine meadows. maria medina reports. >> reporter: searchers were hoping for a break in the wind and snow to get a helicopter in the air but it never happened. now a spokesman says they are

taking rescuers off the mountain because of weather is so bad. no doubt that the biggest battle for them has been this weather. this is what searchers had to say this morning. >> we have had helicopters attempt to coming up, but due to the low cloud cover and the high winds, they cannot get up to the area. >> reporter: and now another challenge for them from the beginning was that willis' boyfriend did not report that his girlfriend had been missing for several hours because he thought that he would just wait for her to come down. when she didn't, that's when they reported her missing. the weather has been so bad that rescuers are being taken off the mountain. they will be back out again here tomorrow morning. >> maria, thanks so much. meanwhile, the fresno county coroner has confirmed a body found at china peak ski resort is the snowboarder that went missing earlier this week. search crews found peter shelby

yesterday afternoon off a ski run in deep powder. he separated from his cousin while snowboarding monday afternoon and never returned to his car at the end of the day. a continental airlines flight from cleveland landed at sfo this morning 11 hours late. the plane's crew was stuck in new jersey because of the blizzard. but in a way, those passengers were lucky. some stranded travelers might not get home until the new year. patience is running thin at airports. other travelers at the cleveland airport were so desperate to catch a flight that police had to push them back from the gate. sunday's storm cancelled more than 7,000 flights across the country. days later hundreds are still waiting. >> found out just now that they rescheduled my 6 a.m. flight that was supposed to leave this morning for thursday. >> take it one day at a time. pretend like it's some expedition like a camping trip. >> some passengers are facing a

different nightmare. at least three flights at kennedy airport were stuck on the tarmac for up to 10 hours because all the gates were being used. as if all the delays aren't bad enough, many travelers will have to pay even more the next time they fly. several carriers including united, delta, american and continental are raising fares on domestic flights by $10 each way. the increase comes as fuel prices are spiking yet again. it takes effect immediately. an old unpaid bill turns into a nightmare for one bay area man. what you can do to keep old debts from coming back to haunt you. it's not just bad for your bank account. why the down economy may also be making you fat. hi, i'm meteorologist lawrence karnow in the cbs 5 weather center. after a pretty impressive storm system last night, cold brisk winds blowing all around the bay area. boy, it's going to be chilly

tonight. just how cold? we'll tell you coming up next.

man in the portola neighborhood. the man is in the hospital with what police say are life breaking news in san francisco. san francisco police have shot a man in the portola neighborhood. these are live pictures from chopper 5. the man is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. this happened an hour ago on the corner of bacon and hamilton. police say that officers responded to a 911 call and were confronted by the man they say had a knife. the suspect allegedly approached the officers and at least one officer opened fire. we have a crew on the way and we will pass on any breaking information as it becomes available. if you have ever watched a horror movie, you probably know zombies are hard to kill. the same could apply to old debts. on the consumerwatch, julie watts is here to explain what zombie debts are and how they

could come back to haunt you. julie. >> reporter: yeah, zombie debts are old debts purchased by debt collectors not debts you may have owed but were written off in bankruptcy or too old to collect on. we found out that doesn't stop debt collectors from trying. simon isn't much of a shopper but the cbs 5 employee remembers his last trip to mervyns vividly. >> it was a going out of business sale. >> reporter: now he is getting a debt collector saying he has an overdue mervyns balance of $250 but offering to setting for $170. >> i don't ever remember not paying my mervyns bill. >> it's not unusual that the wrong person is targeted for the collection of the debt. >> reporter: attorney mark chavez says anyone to gets a debt collection notice should contact the debt collector immediately and ask for written proof of the debt. >> if they can't come up with that proof, then they are not entitled to collect the debt. >> reporter: financial experts say consumers should also take advantage of a right to a free

annual credit report. that will give you an idea of any black marks justified or not on your financial record. >> hi, i got a letter in the mail that says i owe some money on an old mervyns card. >> reporter: when simon called the debt collection company he got another surprise. >> they said it was from july of 2001. >> reporter: and that may well be debt that's too old to collect. under california law, debt collectors are barred from taking legal action on debts that are more than 4 years old provided no payments have been made during that time. so for now, simon's waiting for the debt collector to make its case. a move he hopes will pay off. >> it bothers me that someone would say you owe us money. >> reporter: now, bottom line, debt collector has to prove that you owe the debt and you may be able to prove that you don't owe that debt by checking your free credit report. the only truly free credit report is annualcreditreport.com.

hey, if you have a consumer complaint or question, give us a call. we'd love to help. 1-888-5-helps-u >> thank you. well, we saw all the rain yesterday. now the wind is left behind. lawrence is standing by to tell us what we can expect for our new year. >> it was howling around the bay area still blowing pretty good a lot of gusts up to 35 miles an hour. we have some gusts over 40 early on today and yup, you have a nice clear sky out there tonight across the city of san francisco right now. there is still a slight chance we could see some showers but boy, with these clearing skies, the colder a in place we are going to see some chilly temperatures outside for tonight. the latest satellite image showing the storm system that raced through the bay area into southern california and some kind of storm here. now behind it you have these speckled clouds out here so we could see some scattered showers. rainfall was impressive. over 1.5" in san rafael, same in santa rosa. about an inch and a quarter in

san francisco. over two inches in oakland. some of the mountains over 3." over 4" of rain at ben lomond. so you get the idea, this was a very impressive storm system. how about numbers right now? we have some chilly temperatures already in the 40s in many spots especially as you head to the north and inland valleys and it is going to be very cold in some spots overnight tonight. looks like that system is going to continue to head eastward and it was some kind of storm racing through. catching a brief break but we are still under this trough so we are going to see at least a chance of scattered showers. the cold temperatures going to be the main story. and with the cold air in place and the showers, hey, if we do see some showers tonight, we could see some snow down to 2500 feet. that would be impressive but that's going to be widely scattered. so with that in mind, as we take you through the night tonight, there is a chance you could see a couple of these pulsing systems rotate through but not much. best chances closer to the coastline. tomorrow, slight chance of showers, but it's going to be one of those cool brisk days around the bay area again tomorrow so if you are headed out, not a rainout but there is a chance of a few light showers and the temperatures are going

to stay pretty chilly outside. how about chilly? overnight lows going to be very cold in spots. probably some 20s and 30s for overnight lows in some of the interior valleys. so frosty start to the day, 30s and 40s inside the bay, 50s by tomorrow afternoon. and looking out to the new year, yup, we have that system we are going to have it in the bay area for tomorrow, another chance of showers looks like by new year's eve not good news there. and then looks like new year's day scattered showers, unsettled in through the weekend. but robert, what an impressive storm and coming up at 6:00, we'll let you know where we have for rain totals to date so far. they are impressive so far. >> lawrence, one word, brrrr. >> yes, cold out there tonight. >> thanks so much, lawrence. >> all right. coming up, the diet decision new moms make that could impact their babies' weight forever. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

parties. gaining weight? well, you can no longer just blame those holiday parties. the economy might have something to do with it. listen to this. according to a new study, people who are unemployed or fear they might lose their jobs eat more junk food and fewer fruits and vegetables. they had a study for that?? [ laughter ] >> in fact, just a 1% increase in a city's unemployment rate equals a 4% drop in produce consumption. why? well, the study says those who are depressed do not worry about their health as much. speaking of diets, what you feed your baby in those first months of life could impact their weight for the rest of

their lives. now some experts say the kind of formula you clues can make a difference. dr. kim mulvihill is here to explain what this is all about. >> reporter: well, robert, i often say that breast is best, but not all babies are breast- fed. formula-fed babies can gain more weight than breast-fed babies and now a new study shows the type of formula makes a difference. nathan is a formula fed baby. >> he was 6 pounds 15 ounces when he was born and he is up to over 12 pounds now. >> reporter: weight gain is a milestone every new parent watches in the first year of life. and now a new study shows the type of formula a parent chooses can have an impact. new research in the journal "pediatrics" looked at about 60 babies and found those with regular cows milk gained weight more quickly than those fed formula with predigested proteins. those are easier for babies to

tolerate. babies on this formula ate less. >> one of the theories is that the predigested proteins actually are better at stimulating the brain to understand when the baby is full. >> reporter: experts say when babies gain too much in the beginning, it can have an impact for a lifetime. >> we know that weight gain early in the first year of life actually does have implication for obesity later on. >> reporter: amy and seth know the possibilities of nathan's weight gain and are keeping an eye on his growth. >> we want to be sure he is gaining the right amount of weight but not too much. i often want to make sure he is satisfied and not hungry. >> reporter: finding that death cal balance is key to keeping baby happy and healthy. now, predigested formulas like the one in this study are usually only fed to babies with malabsorption or significant allergies to milk and soy. we don't know if it's best for healthy infants and don't know

why the babies ate less. did they get fuller faster or not like the way it tastes? there is quite a taste issue going on. >> that leaves the question medically what do you think? should parents switch from cows milk form huh? >> i think this study just raises a lot of questions. and i don't think it's time to do that. right now you have to look and say, fine, the ones who gained less weight were they healthier? who knows. the ones who gained more weight, were they gaining muscle, bone or fat? was it fat around the middle? we don't know. too soon to switch. >> something a lot of parents are going to be watching. dr. dr. kim mulvihill, thank you so much. ravaged bite recession. coming up, how one city is reinventing itself from the bottom up. we'll have that and more on the cbs evening news. ,,,,,,

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civil disobedience over smart meters. the bay area i'm dana king. here's what we're working on for eyewitness news at 6:00. civil disobedience over smartmeters. the bay area community drawing a line in the sand and the protestors facing arrest as a

result. and you can't escape those year end ad campaigns. on the consumerwatch, why the push to sell cars may put you in the driver's seat when it comes to bargaining. we'll have that and more at 6:00, robert. >> dana, thanks so much. well, if you are going out to celebrate this new year's, i have some good financial news for you. you can ring in 2011 with a free ride. muni trains and buses in san francisco will be free from 8 p.m. on new year's eve until 6 a.m. new year's day. and caltrain is offering free rides after 11 p.m. on new year's eve. the countdown is on to the biggest new year's eve party in the world. this is a look at times square, where crews are busy putting up the stage and setting up barriers. they have even tested the confetti that will be thrown during the celebration tossing some out of the window from an office building earlier today. millions will crowd into manhattan to see the crystal ball drop friday night. well, next on