of about 500 giant sequoias known as the mariposa grove. joining us live is frank dean, president and ceo of the yosemite conservancy, a nonprofit that raises funds to preserve and protect yosemite. thank you so much for your time. guest: happy to be here. kristen: this is one of the biggest attractions in yosemite. it has been 20 years since i visited it i remember it was otherworldly and beautiful. and we need it to be unscathed. so what is the latest? i hear the grove is in a safer position now. guest: it is. the washburn fire started july 7 and it started right on the edge of the grove. unfortunately the winds blew it north almost immediately away from the grove. so the grove has largely been spared. there are a few large trees that were partially burned but we do not think they will die. the flames were not as high as the crowns of the trees, so i think we are in good shape, at least the mariposa grove. kristen: we tend to hear more about redwood trees here in northern california, but we should be just as proud as these sequoias. tells

the fire is threatening more than 500 ancient sequoias in the mariposa grove. that includes the 3000-year-old grizzly giant. it's the largest tree in the park. we have a look at what firefighters are doing to try to protect these sequoias. they laid out the sprinkler systems to spray the trees with water. some of the trunks are also wrapped in special fire resistant foil. >> at 7:36, we are turning now to breaking news out of the north way. police are investigating a homicide out of petaluma. just before 2:00 this morning, and when they responded, they found a man in the middle of keller street. they attempted cpr on the man, but he died on the scene. police are still on scene investigating how that man died, and who did it. >> it has been another week in the protest across the country in reaction to the overturning of roe versus wade. this is a protest in sacramento yesterday near the state capital. demonstrators took over the street carrying signs and chanting. and in san jose, it was a similar scene outside the the hall. students organize this protest in fav

the mariposa grove, home to the largest collection of giant sequoia trees in the park, some standing for thousands of years, now under threat from an out-of-control inferno that has been tearing through drought stricken brush since thursday. >> some of the oldest trees that there are. they are massive giants when you stand next to them. >> reporter: crews are fighting the fire from the air and ground. this is the washburn fire, already ripped across more than 700 acres. parts of the park now closed during one of its busiest times. the summer months here typically attract more than 1 million visitors. the flames have forced an estimated 1600 people to evacuate. i'm a nearby community and popular campground. tonight there's and evacuations may be on the way. >> everybody has been training and preparing for this, that is what everyone asserted you, fight the fire. >> reporter: all of yosemite is under what they call the drought monitor calls extreme. or exceptional drown. with almost no rainfall in recent months, conditions are primed for fires to burn hot and for longer periods of time

the mariposa grove is right here, the donut hole that did not burn. and what that fire did instead, it burned directly to the north first, and then it made a hard right towards all this stuff, which hadn't seen any fire for many decades. and it took off. so the fact that the mariposa grove, which has been treated through a combination of prescribed burns and some tree thinning for decades now, and it came through this unscathed is a wonderful example of what some of the work that can be done here to prevent these worst-case scenarios. that fire didn't go to the north because up here was a fire from 2017. so, the washburn fire is not going to be able to spread north. if you want to see where it has been spreading, we can put the satellite-derived heat signature on here, and those brighter colors of yellow and orange show you the more recent pathway that the fire's going. but you can see down here all this granite. so the fire has nothing to burn here because that's all rock. so, anyway, the fire has slowed and hopefully that helps explain a little bit

well we've, you know, luckily we have 50 years to prescribe fire history in the mariposa grove in part to, to reduce the fuels and in part to, to aden the reproduction, chance credit, siemens because they do need fire to reproduce. and so because the lower fuel loading ticket from all these prescribed fires, and they've been able to engage pretty directly with the fire and keep it from make any progress into the ground. so you know, that means every year there has to be a certain amount of wildfires just to keep these force alive. right. that's correct. i mean there is a chance. quinn grows prior to, you know, fire suppression would experience fire every 10 to 15 years either through lightning fires or. ready indigenous burning. garret digman, forced to colleges with the u. s. national park service get. we appreciate you taking the time to talk with tonight. you and your colleagues are doing very important work. thank you. thank you so much for having me. i appreciate it. oh, in south korea, environmentalists have taken an innovative approach to try to reduce emissions. they've filed a

the washburn fire burning in their mariposa grove had burned around 166 acres by 1pm friday aircrews continued to attack the fire as a grew to 466 acres prompting mandatory evacuations for lower portions of the mariposa grove the wawona community and the wawona campground first time visitors to the yosemite national park having to change plans due to the entrance closures, but hoping for the best. some of that because it's in mariposa was interrupted. but largely, i like think i came in here with just like an open mind other part goers also decided to wait it out plan on staying here at the park for a few days, but i guess we'll see and evacuation center has been set up at new live christian fellowship church in 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

the washburn fire burning in their mariposa grove had burned around 166 acres by 1pm friday aircrews continued to attack the fire as a grew to 466 acres prompting mandatory evacuations for lower portions of the mariposa grove the wawona community and the wawona campground first time visitors to the yosemite national park having to change plans due to the entrance closures, but hoping for the best. some of that because it's in mariposa was interrupted. but largely, i like think i came in here with just like an open mind other part goers also decided to wait it out plan on staying here at the park for a few days, but i guess we'll see and evacuation center has been set up at new live christian fellowship church in 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

the mariposa grove sits right there, like a donut hole that escaped the flames. and the mariposa grove has a decades-long history of forest thinning and prescribed burning, and that's why the fire basically avoided it like the plague. it went around it, and it avoided it like the plague in a good way. just to show you the benefits of actively managing the landscapes, by the way, why didn't that fire spread to the north? because that's where there's another burn scar from 2017. that whole area in orange is where we had the south fork fire in 2017. fire had nowhere to go in terms of moving in that direction. and if we just put up the satellite-derived heat signature on where the most recent heat from that flame is being detected, it's out there on the leading edge. so that fire is not out by any means. it's been much better behaved, and it's kind of running into some barriers. can't go north. can't go south because that's granite and it's not going back to the mariposa grove almost certainly because of a long history of boots on the ground, dedicated management to

mariposa grove is closed until further notice. we are tracking the forecast and it seems a lot of folks are headed to yosemite on the weekend. >> reporter: you do want to call ahead to see what's going on there and what is closed and open. we are taking a look at the fog that is rolling over the golden gate bridge in parts of the bay and we are seeing that helping a school off but as you had across it is bright and shiny and shaping up to be nice out there as our temperatures are starting to see a little bit mild weather. 64 degrees in oakland. 61 degrees in san francisco. santa rosa, 76 degrees. we are seeing some low 70s in san jose. as you head out in vallejo it is 70 degrees but only headed for the low 80s for this afternoon. it will be warmer in some spots especially the farther away you get from the coast where fairfield reaches 91 degrees. we will take a look at all of our climate in the forecast and our temperatures will heat up this weekend and that is coming up in a few minutes. chris? >>> the house committee is investig

liz: a larger fire burning near mariposa grove right now. the highway 41 inches is closed. the wall and a campground is evacuated. the washburn fire started thursday, 466 acres. our sister station in fresno is near the line. reporter: the washburn fire burning near the mariposa grove burned 160 six acres by 1 p.m. friday. aircrew continued to attack the fire as it grew to 466 acres, prompting mandatory evacuation for portions of the mariposa grove. the community and campground, first time visitors to the national park having to change plans due to the closures but hoping for the best. >> it is in mariposa, some of that was interrupted. largely, i think i came in with an open mind. reporter: park hours decided to wait it out. >> plan on staying for a few days. we will see. reporter: evacuation center set up at new life 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

the mariposa grove, home to the largest collection of giant sequoias in the park, some standing here for thousands of years, now under threat from an out of control inferno that's been tearing through drought-stricken brush since thursday >> it's some of the oldest trees that there are. they're massive giants when you stand next to them. >> reporter: crews are fighting the fire from the air and ground this, the washburn fire, has already ripped across more than 700 acres parts of the park now closed during one of its busiest times. the summer months here typically attract more than a million visitors the flames have forced an estimated 1,600 people to evacuate from a nearby community and popular campground tonight, fears more evacuations may be on the way. >> everybody's been training and preparing for this and that is what everyone is here to do, fight that fire >> over the washburn incident, yosemite national park, mariposa county. >> reporter: all of yosemite is under what the california drought monitor calls extreme or exceptional drought with almost no rainfall in recent months,

this is about five miles north of mariposa grove. it is important that people know, yosemite national park remains open. the park is open and we are certainly impact did by fire and smoke. the southern entrance is closed , but the other entrances are open. as the fire continues to move, as was mentioned, we are continuing to attack the fire by the air and ground. this is a 100% suppression fire. our top priority is protecting the firefighters, park employees, and residents, and also suppressing the fire as quickly and safely as we can. >> while you spell out that there are some portions of the park that are more vulnerable and dangerous than others, and the park remains open, what are you telling park hours to be mindful of, or do? how do they respect these volatile conditions? >> there is a lot that visitors can do. most importantly, we ask people to be patient. what is happening is that now at the south entrance is closed, that means the other entrances are extremely busy. we have long lines of vehicles waiting to get in. we ask pe

of the mariposa grove and it has backed a little ways into that but has not backed intensely into the grove. >> 10 times the size. >> reporter: brian fenske he is a bay area arborist who said the trees are several thousand years old. >> the fire is going to help the cones and the tree open up and drop seed into the ash from the fire and that's part of its lifecycle for giant sequoias to generate a tree. >> reporter: he said bark on those trees can be two feet thick allowing the trees to protect themselves from fire. >> out of all the trees, those are probably the most by a resilient trees and i think people are really concerned about these trees mainly because there are so few of them left >> reporter: firefighters say the flames have passed by the grove. they believe the trees are no longer in danger. cheryl hurd, today in the bay. >>> 4:34. we are diving deeper into home prices as many struggle to make it in the bay. the cost of a home is rebounding in downtown san francisco but in other parts prices are struggling to recover. i spoke with a senior economist to find out more. >> san

but the mariposa grove is the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park. it is home to over 500 of the towering trees. one named grizzly giant estimated to be up to 3,000 years old and is counted as the 25th largest tree in the world. and yosemite has their oldest trees protected. >> we wrap the trees to give them an extra protection and barrier there. we sprayed them down. we've done some scraping of mineral soil down there. we've also had some prescribed burns in the grove over the last many years. >> one twitter user shared these photos from a campground where he was staying in wawona about five miles from the grove. he said the air quality yesterday was getting very bad and that there was ash falling on their campsite. so he packed up today and went home. it is an all-out effort to battle this fire, and the cause is still under investigation. sara? >> all right, anne, thanks for update. >>> lake tahoe looks pretty clear right now, but the national weather service says winds could push smoke from the yosemite fire into tahoe over the weekend. kind of ba

grove, and the heart of the grove is up here, and down here, and yesterday the fire was moving into the grove, but overnight, it has turned east and working around the edge of the upper grove. this is -- it is a little too close to comfort to some of the most impressive parts of that grove, and it is still growing. by the way the community of the wawona including hotel of the 1880s is right there, and so a good sign for that community as the fire is progressing to the east there. and there is something to watch from home here from that fire in terms of the direct impact, and that could be some of the smoke. if this fire is still putting off as much smoke over the next 24 hour as it did over the previous 24shgs and it is producing a lot of smoke unfortunately, the general flow in the atmosphere is ogoing to want to take the smoke our way, so by tomorrow morning at this time, we may be seeing some to higher smoke in the sky. doubtful it would be a thick concentration at the lower elevations, but it is going to be certainly visible, and it might even reduce the air quality here at home

. >> some flames are closing in on the iconic sequoias of the mariposa grove. firefighters working to protect the thousand-year-old trees. sprinklers set up to increase the humidity and soak up the base of the trees. >> the fire is on the outer skirts of the mariposa grove and it has backed into that, but it has not backed intensely into the grove. >> the biggest concern is we still have active fire outside the grove and that fire is a concern for coming into this area and the communities in the area, as well. >> wildfires have threatened the spots for centuries. other temperatures linked to climate change create a perfect storm for these blazes. conditions that are hotter, drier, and windier. abc news, los angeles. ama: smoke from the washburn fire is impacting air quality here in the bay area. here is sandhya patel with the latest. >> right now, we do have green, which is good air quality, but it has not been like that all day today. just before the sun was setting, you can see layers of smoke and haze from the tower camera. certainly saw some of the smoke. t

thank you to all the firefighters working around the clock to save yosemite mariposa grove and prevent further damage to the park. well, coming up on the kron, 4 morning news fire crews in oakland. >> respond to an encampment fire causing several explosions. how firefighters get a handle on the flames. and employers are spying on their employees who are working from home. we'll show you the tech companies are putting on their computers. plus the continuation of the january 6 committee hearings today. we'll have more details in a report from washington, d.c.. will be right back after the break. after my car accident, i wondered what my case was worth. so i called the barnes firm. when that car hit my motorcycle, insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. at the barnes firm, our injury attorneys work hard to get you the best result possible. call us now and find out what your case could be worth. you might be surprised. ♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪ ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ to the kron. 4 morning news it time

. >> some flames are closing in on the iconic sequoias of the mariposa grove. firefighters working to protect the thousand-year-old trees. sprinklers set up to increase the humidity and soak up the base of the trees. >> the fire is on the outer skirts of the mariposa grove and it has backed into that, but it has not backed intensely into the grove. >> the biggest concern is we still have active fire outside the grove and that fire is a concern for coming into this area and the communities in the area, as well. >> wildfires have threatened the spots for centuries. other temperatures linked to climate change create a perfect storm for these blazes. conditions that are hotter, drier, and windier. abc news, los angeles. ama: smoke from the washburn fire is impacting air quality here in the bay area. here is sandhya patel with the latest. >> right now, we do have green, which is good air quality, but it has not been like that all day today. just before the sun was setting, you can see layers of smoke and haze from the tower camera. certainly saw some of the smoke. t

the rest of us, 70 outside of the mariposa grove area is open to tourists. >> an air quality advisory is still in place for contra costa county because the marsh fire, which sparked back in may continues to burn quite forcefully to go reports from pittsburgh on the effect this is having on the residents. >> central pittsburgh is surrounded by and in some cases in both in smoke and residents are growing tired of it others. he's been really bad section of stink by wire every single day for >> have been worse than others, depending on which way the wind that will come to it all in my garage day for yesterday. >> and it was bad. so bad. the bay area air quality management district has extended its air quality advisory through thursday contra costa health services is also monitoring the situation and has also issued a health advisory. health services says the air quality is measuring as unhealthy to hazardous in some parts of pittsburgh and further east in the county. right now, the prognosis we hear from our fire colleagues is that this could go on >> for which is quite concerning. health

the rest of you 70 outside the mariposa grove for now. and lawrence is back and you're watching these conditions that have you noticed any smoke? some people have? >> they're seeing some of that in the air, especially at around that fire, the washburn fire. but those trees are tough. they've been around for a couple 1000 years for a reason. right? so fresh and yeah, they're great. an going to be around 3 longer. so here's a look in and around the fire right now. you can see again, we had more of a southerly component to win that is taking that smoke up across the spine of the sierra nevada and actually making its way over toward the nevada section. so not as a smoky today, but still if you're in and around that fire, love that smoke actually headed up in toward your 70 valley as well. here's the forecast for that smoke plume. and you can see most that again taking more of a northerly trend as it moves in that direction. it will keep it away from the bay area skies. and that's good news. of course, they're still not done with this fire jus

well, the large plume of smoke above mariposa grove didn't look as large or menacing. but firefighters did lose a bit of containment on the washburn fire going from 25% to 22%. >> helicopters are still dropping water as the flames have spread to more than 3200 acres. we're seeing active fire behavior because of the hot dry weather. >> and also the fields out there behind me is an example of what train is like. so those combination of factors are causing flare up and that hot dry weather is putting more focus on the air attack rather than boots on the ground. the hot, dry conditions. that's something we're always taking account of when it comes to firefighter safety. and this is also part of the fire were ground. crews can't really that's why the air attacking the fire from the air. so important. >> locals know the risk of living near beautiful yosemite, but trust that the fire will be put out soon facing 5 years. you i feel safe here. >> or that is a drop. you see the color. color, all the fire return. >> all right. we're having some difficulty, obviously with the audi

for perspective, the mariposa grove pretty much sits here. technically, this fire is in the grove. it's on the lower elevations of it. most of the flames are getting pushed off in this direction. it's way too close for comfort. because this is such a near and dear location to so many of us, and in light of the fact that in the last two years, we have lost 20% of all of the giant sequoias in the world because of this new fire regime we're in, it is a concerning fire for a lot of people. we'll watch it closely. i'll be back with the rest of the forecast in a few minutes. back to you. >> thanks, darren. >>> back in the bay area, cal fire jumped on a fire in morgan hill. broke out near armsby lane. the flames got close to one house at the bottom of that hill. >>> to the north and lake county where a fire started in a structure, and it spread to 20 acres in lower lake. cal fire is mopping up the fire. >>> a plan is in the works to help women in states where abortion is banned. betty yu introduces us to the north bay doctor who wants to offer services at sea. >> this is all about bodily

they say, the fire has entered the famous mariposa grove with its grisly giant, but the good news is these efforts have basically taken the trees with protection. number one, they put up a speaker system to put into the mariposa grove for the famed giant sequoias, and then they went at it with a ground attack. this is extremely important. i'm told by the public information officer that not only firefighters, but volunteers started going after any underbrush that could catch fire and then lead to these majestic giants catching fire. so, they went through there, and they cleared out logs, branches, all sorts of dead leaves and underbrush, and they were told, an ecologist with the park services, employee for, because he says, it's clear in there. that's important, because you don't want anything that can catch fire there. so, they've made progress. containment was at 0%. they expect that number to basically increase a little bit, to have some containment later in the day. they're fighting fires. they want to update the numbers probably for us, but they are encouraged by the progress bei

the area around the mariposa grove is now closed. all visitors there have been told to evacuate. hundreds of firefighters on the ground are digging lines and clearing dead brush. the extreme drought is only fueling the fire. crews are setting up sprinklers to protect the 3,000-year-old grizzly giant, that tree the second tallest in the park, reaches well over 200 feet. the fire currently spans nearly 1600 acres with hot and dry conditions expected to persist. will carr leads us off tonight. >> tonight, the urgent battle to save the iconic giant sequoias in yosemite national park. from the air, planes dropping water and that bright red fire retardant. the intense flames and heat sending debris hundreds of feet into the air reportedly causing a near miss for one plane. >> a branch went right over top of us, pretty good size. if we keep seeing that we might have to knock it off, i don't want to take a chance of busting a window on an airplane or hurting an aircraft. >> reporter: on the ground, firefighters digging lines and clearing dead brush. the active flames of the washburn fire

sprinklers are send -- set up around oldest tree in mariposa grove with an estimated age around 3000 years old. >> we have had no sequoias burn, which is wonderful. >> this one just feels a little different because it is so close to any part of mariposa grove. j.r.: a grove first protected by abraham lincoln during the civil war. as crews battle the flames, smoke concerns will be felt by more people in the days to come and an air quality advisory has been issued for the bay area on monday. orange, smoky skies like the ones seen during the 2020 fire are not expected at this point. >> we hope to not have any serious smoke impacts to the community. most of the smoke we see will not be at the ground level. >> thankfully there is a river where the cabin is and it is concerning, but hopefully everyone who is involved is able to put their best efforts and thankful to them. j.r.: yosemite is still open, but it is still smoky, so if you go, you will see and smell that smoke did j.r. stone, abc 7 news . dion: firefighters continue to make progress controlling the electra fire is an and calaver

experts say there is hope for the giant sequoias at mariposa >> grove colleges believe the 2000 plus year old trees will survive. sprinkler systems have been small installed in the mariposa grove area to keep those trees, moist smoke is pouring out of the park, reaching all the way up to the bay area, parts of the bay area and prompting air quality advisories here at last check. the fire has burned more than 3700 acres. containment is now down compared to previous reports. it's now just 17%. the rest of yosemite park outside of mariposa grove is open for tourists right now. >> an air quality advisory in contra costa county will stay in effect through tomorrow. the bay area air quality management district extended that advisory because of the marsh fire that has been burning since may. the contra costa county fire protection district says the marsh fire started in a homeless encampment in bay point. it has since burned into large amounts of pete in inaccessible areas underground. the fire protection district says pete fires are notoriously stubborn and are often left to just burn them

and they are very concerned about protecting the mariposa grove, which is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoia trees. >> the fire is on the outskirts of the mariposa grove and it has backed a little bit into that, but it doesn't backed intensely into the grove. >> 10 times the size -- >> reporter: ryan fenske is a bay area arborist who says those trees are several thousand years old. >> the fire is going to help the cones in the tree open up and drop seed into the ash from the fire. and that is part of its lifecycle. for giant sequoias to generate new trees. >> reporter: he says the park on those trees can be two feet thick allowing the trees to protect themselves from fire. >> out of all of the trees, those are probably the mostresi and i think people are really concerned about these trees, mainly because there are so few of them left. >> reporter: tonight, firefighters say that claims have passed by the grove and they believe the trees are no longer in danger. cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >>> we know these weather conditions are critical to the firefight, let's bring in jeff

mark: now to another fire, larger one that's burning near yosemite's famous mariposa grove. woeworn and the wawona campground are evacuated. the cash burn fire started friday afternoon and grown to 466 acres. our sister station in fresno is near the fire line with the latest. >> the washburn fire burning near mariposa grove had burned around 166 acres by 1:00 p.m. fire. air crews continued to attack the fire, as it grew to 466 acres, prompting mandatory evacuations for lower portions of the mariposa grove. the wawona community and the w wawona campground. community having to change plans due to park closures, but hoping for the best. >> some of it because it was in mariposa because it was interrupted, but i came in here with an open mind. the reporter: oh parkgoers also decided to wait it out. >> plan on staying here at the park for a few days, but i guess we'll see. >> an evacuation center has been set up at new life christian church in mariposa and residents are asked to use the wawona exit. people are worried about the sequoias going up in flames, but firefighters doing a

we were told, right now, the flames are within a mile or two of mariposa grove. no actual damage to it in the tree area the yet. i believe there is an error of cautious optimism. what they have been doing to try to protect these trees as they have been basically spraying them down. there's a kind of spangler system they have set up around the grizzly giant, one of the biggest of these trees. 209 feet high. what they're try to do is obviously wet the bark and increase the humidity around the tree in the hopes that that keeps it safe, because of course, the issues here, not just the flames, it is the embers. the embers can rise and fly, you know, a mile or two and sparked more hotspots and potentially endanger these trees. that's what they're trying to do right now, is keep the trees as humid, as wet as possible and keep the flames as far away as they can. they're digging trenches, fire lines, trying to protect the trees. the issue, it is very hot here right now. it's going to continue to be hot over the next few days. that's their concern. what might be -- one oth

flames are on the edge of the world famous mariposa grove, where roughly 500 towering sequoias are at risk. these are national treasures, and it's a priority to protect them. the u. s forest service shared these videos showing what they are doing to protect trees like the famous grizzly giant, which is arguably one of the most famous trees on earth, and we've got a sprinkler systems set up around it, and we're trying to give it some, you know, preventive first aid really keep the area wet, cool flames and increased humidity. brown crews have been removing logs and other pieces of large debris that could act as fuel. already lots of dead trees in the area. here crews used chainsaws and rakes to remove dead branches from the path of the surviving tunnel tree, which was tunneled back in the 18 hundreds to let horse drawn carriages through. we really don't want to leave this one to chance, because this really is such an iconic tree. there's hundreds of fire personnel on the ground aircraft fighting the flames from above. we're here to serve the community. we're here to protect you. so tha

the washburn fire has been burning through the lower part of mariposa grove. i want to show you the wry this thing has moved. it started down here. if you are familiar with this grove at all, the grizzly giant sits here. from going to this map, it has escaped the worst of this. the real enter. that sits there and if we use this, most likely the way it wants to burn is this way. it kind of wants to start heading back over this way but it looks less likely to do that. just to give you the yoefr view on what this looks like now from the air because there is possibility we could be seeing smoke in this. it's still putting a lot of smoke over the sky. the connection here at home besides the fact we all care about those trees. that's by tomorrow morning the upper levels of the atmosphere will be pooling pulling in smoke. this is the first one where the bay area gets its inundation. look at the ground level smoke. that's what we care about. while we will see the smoke in the upper levels, likely tomorrow there won't be a whole lot of it down at lower elevations. at l

that's the mariposa grove. you can see the upper grove and lower grove. the footprint of the fire is down on the lowest elevations of the grove. yosemite national park has had a progressive and prescribed burn program for the last several decades, so most of this terrain does have a healthy fire regime to it. that should help too outf lk at the marine layer. we have a warm-up coming. >>> the fmta says the 160 million in grant funds will go to making improvements. the extra cash will also fund two phases of the train control upgrade project, which includes an automated control system. >>> community leaders gathered for the brand new opening of the community center. it honors dr. albolita. her work addresses the root causes of health disparities and improving outcomes for people with economic inequities. >> i respect you so much. you have done so much for our beloved hometown. there's no one i can imagine out of the nearly 40 million californians who deserve this honor more than you. >> the award also comes with a $250,000 grant to continue growth. >>> a ne

but what wona and the mariposa grove will remain closed for now? calls are getting louder for san francisco school board member to step down following comments many have condemned as racist and shoe was among the people the mayor appointed to replace three recalled school board members earlier this year to responded in a candidate questionnaire for the november election that it's a quote major challenge and educating black and brown students and that quote that their problem was quote, unstable family environments and a lack of parental encouragement. more community groups say shoes. apology is not enough. francisco labor council issued a statement saying quote we as a labor movement, stanford equity and against racism and all forms in line with these standing principles we appeal to and shoot to not drag san francisco into yet another controversial election, and we asked for her to do the right thing and step down from her position. the city of berkley says all five eastbound lanes of interstate 80 at the gilman exchange have reopened this morning

in yosemite national park, fires blazing through mariposa grove, the largest sequoia grove in the region. >> heartbreaking. you feel afraid for the people in the town and then just heartbroken about the trees. >> reporter: hundreds of campers traveling for the summer. between 600 to 700 people staying nearby given evacuation orders. some choosing to stay in the area hoping the flames will pass through. >> plan on staying here at the park for a few days. i guess we'll see. >> reporter: according to officials over 1,000 acres have burned already. firefighters arriving on the ground, cutting lines and planes dropping retardant to retain the flames. >> it looks pretty scary and we're going full force on our suppression tactics. >> reporter: the fire began thursday afternoon with park officials saying it was fueled by dead and downed trees. the historic park home to grand meadows, deep valleys and vast wilderness, all now threatened by this devastation. >> it's terrible. i mean, every fire is scary. our hearts to go out to folks who had to be evacuated. >> reporter: both the fires in utah and

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 600 to 700 people given evacuation orders. some are choosing to stay in the area, hoping flames will pass through. according to officials, over 1000 acres have burned already. firefighters are arriving on the ground, cutting lines and planes are dropping retarded to contain the flames. -- retarded to contain the fish retardant to contain the flames. the fire began with park officials think it was fueled by dead and down trees. the historic park is home to vast wilderness, all threatened by the devastation. >> it is terrible. every fire is scary, our helps collect all the folks. -- hearts go out to all the folks. reporter: in los angeles, will car come abc news. liz: it is considered the most renowned of the giant sequoias, the grizzly giant. it is under threat, firefighters are taking those trenches -- no changes in their stra

the famous mariposa grove, more than 500 majestic sequoia trees have been growing for thousands of years. a sprinkler system has been installed around one of the most photographed of these trees, the towering grisly giant, in hopes of keeping it safe. the greatest challenge for firefighters? record heat. let's go to chad myers. chad? >> temperatures are above 100 degrees. low humidity and a little bit of wind. they are getting no break. this fire is almost 1600 acres and growing quite rapidly. all of the stress is put on the firefighters. all of the dead trees in the area, also burning the underbrush. it will be 107 tomorrow. it is higher in the mountains, maybe 103. trying to be fighting a fire at this temperature, there is the rainfall to the east. the monsoon comes into arizona and new mexico, but certainly, no rain for california. 61 major fires in nine separate states. here is the number we need to focus on. 4.6 billion. 4.6 million acres already burned in 2022. the average for this date, over the last 10 years, is 2.2 million. we are double the number of acres that have already bur

and mariposa grove are still closed. some people impacted by a vegetation fire in the north bay wait tonight for power to be restored. the park fire burned about five acres this afternoon near 18th avenue and highway 53 clear lake, all evacuation nobos hurt and no structures were burned. power outages tied to the fire linger on tonight. as many as 49 customers are waiting for their power to be restored. utility crews expect to have service back up by three in the morning. the cause of the fire is under investigation. new antenna music video recording in fairfield turns deadly after shots are fired officers were called the enterprise drive near woolner avenue about 11 15 last night. police say they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. one man died at the scene. the other was taken to the hospital and is now in stable condition. no other information has been released. anyone with information should call fairfield police. the white house said today that president biden has likely contracted the rapidly spreading b a

the mariposa grove is closed. for now. we'll get it open as soon as it's safe, but the rest of the park is open. it's a big place. visitors should expect some longer wait times at the gate. because all those folks who are coming through highway 41 are now coming through highway 1 20 or highway 1 40, but come on up and enjoy yosemite. it's beautiful. we're enjoying some beautiful photos of half dome right now, and you've got some pretty incredible photos of the area as well, including what i believe you took just this morning. what can you tell us about conditions up there today? we were talking with roberta gonzalez earlier about weather conditions, she said. warm weather. what can you tell us about conditions up there today? well i just came up from the valley this morning at the fire camp. it's absolutely beautiful as you can tell from that photo of that is up. i've been taking a picture in that same spot every morning since the fire began on my commute up in the morning. and some mornings, it's completely smoked out. yo

last night it did reach mariposa grove. you can see how smokyvalley floor was and they set up sprinklers around the most renowned sequoiina wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. through project up, comcast is committing $1 billion dollars so millions more students can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. >>> this morning on the third hour of "today," look out for sharks as we're all heading to the beach, a rise in attacks from new york to florida. what do you do if you spot one in the water? and do you need a bigger boat? >>> plus, runway scare, teying moments for passengers as a plane's brakes go up in flames. >>> then, the dog days of summer from paw protection to staying hydrated to sunscreen, we're going to help yo

moving away from the mariposa grove of ancient sequoias, still near the community. >>> more on nature photographer who set up trap in national forest and captured pretty good video. >> reporter: wilfred is taking a nap. >> nicknamed him wilfred the bear after the actor. >> reporter: martinez is the photographer who caught the bear making bed and laying in it. >> he spent four hours lounging, stretching, doing some of the cutest poses you've seen. >> reporter: been here two hours, apparently needed to kick up feet on a tree. next, yawn and stretch. then thinks of getting up to forage, changes mind and snoozes a few more minutes. hadn't realized until then how dirty his paws were, he grooms himself. >> they love him more after this video. >> reporter: martinez capturing wild animals for years, hopes of creating a stronger connection for people. >> want them to appreciate local wildlife, feel need to protect them. >> reporter: wilfred got up and went on his way. >> took a while. >> that's how i feel sometimes. >> that's how i get out of bed in the morning. >> lounge. >> try to get into i

mariposa grove has been closed until further notice. we are tracking the forecast and of course yosemite a popular destination for the weekend's. >> it is such a large part so check ahead to see which part of the park is closed. is not all of yosemite. if you plan on hiking closer to home in the south bay we are starting out with nice and temperatures in the low 60s. 11:00 bright and sunny with mid- 70s but quite warm this afternoon with some of the hills reaching into the upper 80s. we will see some valley temperatures reaching up to 91 in fairfield, 88 in concord as well as 88 degrees in santa rosa. we will get even hotter by the into the weekend, coming up in a few minutes. >>> mike, where can we find lower gasoline prices. >> a more pleasant start to keep more money in the pocket the feel up the tank, 5:89 $5.89, $5.83 at milpitas, $5.49 at the valero on sacramental street. >>> early slowing in san jose kicking in earlier than we thought. on friday, get in to get out early so early slowing, ready for the second wave to kicked in at

the mariposa grove of sequoia trees are safe. evacuees in wawona could return home tomorrow. >>> following up on the pictures of the marsh fire, air quality. these are the right now, updated readings. bottom right-hand corner toward antioch and brentwood. we are reading unhealthy levels from smoke coming off the marsh fire. go easy on yourself this morning if you're there. most other locations, the air quality is great this morning. it's just clouds. that's the view from the top of the salesforce tower, looking at the marine layer. everybody gets sunshine late morning and a warmup. inland locations are seven or eight degrees warmer than yesterday. we will cool down, back below average for much of next week. >> thank you, darren. >>> thank you for watching kpix 5 news this morning. don't forget the news continues all day on cbs ews bay area. narrator: today on "lucky dog", three rescued shelter dogs are trading in concrete kennels... stan: look at you, buddy! narrator: ...for wide-open spaces as eric and rashi prepare them for lif

a sprinkler system was set up to protect hundreds of ancient therese in the iconic mariposa grove. >> how often are sprinklers brought in as a solution? >> i've been here 20 years. i don't recall that happening. >> so far there are no reports of severe damage to any of the names trees. the area under threat in the southern part of yosemite is closed to visitors and the rest have left. the rest of the park is open. firefighters say higher humidity at night and lower winds are helping the fight. >>> president biden leaves tonight on his first trip to the middle east since taking office. the visit begins in israel where the president will focus on israel's security, closer ties to its neighbors, and the threat to iran. he'll also meet with palestinian leaders and be the first to travel from one to the other. a reflecds of a historic shift in the region's politics. >>> we have a stunning new view of the universe this morning. the colorful first image from nasa's new james webb telescope was unveiled at the white house yesterday. it is the deepest view of the universe ever captured. >> you

>> we were told the flames reach within a mile or two of mariposa grove, home to these 500 majestic giant sequoia trees. the fire blew up over the weekend, doubled in size in the space of 24 hours, and that is what got people very afraid for the fate of those trees. right now, the firefighters are trying to basically give this fire nowhere else to go. there are air drops, of retardant, from the air, from dc-10's, there are hotshot crews on the ground digging trenches around the mariposa grove as fire lines. so, they are trying to get rid of as much fuel, as well, they are doing controlled back burns to get rid of the fuel to the fire has nowhere else to go. you mentioned, grizzly giant more than 200 feet high, now grizzly giant has a sprinkler system around it keeping the tree wet and trying to keep the air around it very humid and moist, so that the flames don't attack that tree. listen, these giant sequoias have been around 2000 years, the have survived many fires in their time. but generally, they are smaller fires. what has officials worried is just the intensity of the blazes we are

charred trees were chopped down in mariposa grove monday afternoon. the base of some of the giant sequoias were damaged, but not destroyed. fire officials think preparations in years past helps prevent this blaze from being more damaging to the ounts.>> we did some burning ine grove in 2017, so things are looking pretty good in here. we just hope to continue that way. jessica: a sprinkler has been set up in the hopes of preventing a fire at the base of the second tallest tree in the park. nearby, mandatory evacuations remain in place. the meadows and hillsides, normally visible, were blanketed in smoke. the historic hotel typically filled with guests, eerily silent. >> everyone is spread out throughout this entire part of the park. just putting priority on protecting the community of wawona. >> the threat is not far away. just down the road, crews were fighting fire with fire. while they were controlling the burn, the conditions were picking up. fire officials are depending on the people on the ground today. you can see the speed at which the fire is