Of the ballot in the election system as a whole. Election security begins here with this steel plated and bulletproof ballot dropbox. But even the registrar acknowledges that it will take a lot more than physical defenses. In terms of voter tabulation, not one vote in the United States there were voting tabulation system has been compromised through an intrusion. San mateo county registrar says this is the heart of the security system. Unlocked server room in which no computer is connected to the internet, making it exponentially more difficult for any hacker to launch a cyber attack. We are one step ahead of the bad guys. It is a constant battle, we are getting attacked daily and repelling those attacks very sexily successfully. He says the office works with states and federal agencies, the fbi, the department of homeland security, the department of defense and the secretary of states office. The Registrars Office has two completely separate Computer Systems used for voter registration. It was this type of system the group vulnerable in the 2016 election. The Second System is used to verify and tabulate ballots and its proven more difficult to hack. The good news is that we are one step ahead of the game. I need to let everyone know, particularly our voters and the public that we have invested, both as a county, state and the nation, heavily in our cyber defenses. The first Voting Centers will open in the first ballots mailed out on october 5, 29 days before the election. For more reporting like this and to make sure your registration is uptodate we invite you to visit our vote smart page on kpix. Com. Now a check on other top stories at 5 30. Another day of unhealthy air across the bay area. This is what it is like in the east bay this afternoon. You can even see across the bay, and in many places ash was falling from the sky, yet another spare the air alert is in effect for tomorrow. Lights around for thousands of pg e customers, the utility shut off power for Public Safety because of the high fire danger. Pg e is expected to release new information on the outages coming up, so we will keep you posted. Parents, teachers and students are gathered at Mountain View to push for a safe return to california classrooms. Its part of a statewide rally to reopen schools that started as a small Facebook Group and has grown to more than 10,000 members. Alameda police are on alert after several steps within the city, thursday police say a suspect walked into a store in the alameda shopping center, stole a cart full of merchandise, then pulled out a knife when he was confronted by a customer. The suspect took off in a silver and a cilantro. And then to women attempted to leave a store with unpaid items. This all comes on the heels of this brazen theft. Video shows a group of suspected thieves in action. You see a woman and two men grabbing products from store shelves and shoving as much as they can into bags. So far no arrests have been made. We continue our fire watch with some encouraging move for evacuees who just return home in santa cruz county. Their waterlines should be fixed any day now. They returned to Boulder Creek this weekend to no water. The san lorenzo valley Water District started moving in new pipes by helicopter to replace the old ones that were damaged in the czu complex fires. That fire is now 81 contained and firefighters are making significant progress on all three lighting fires. Two others are both 90 contained, nearly 3 weeks after they erupted. Santa clara county is among half a dozen jurisdictions joining a recent push against them Postal Service streamlining efforts. The nonprofit public rights project filed a brief urging the courts to block the changes. It is very difficult for any of us as private citizens or even local governments to pinpoint exactly what is happening behind the scenes. Part of the purpose of this litigation is to bring some transparency to what is happening and hopefully change it so people can get the service they deserve. Marin county and the cities of oakland, berkeley, alameda and East Palo Alto are among 32 local governments to join in the filing brief. Another facebook employee has quit in disgust accusing the company and profiting off hate. In a lengthy post on the internal employee network, a Software Engineer wrote it is clear to me that despite the best efforts of many of us who work here and outside advocates like color of change, facebook is choosing to be on the wrong side of history. It specifically cites a decision not to remove president trumps post that says when the looting starts, the shooting starts. And a Militia Group encouraging people to bring guns to kenosha wisconsin. We are still waiting to hear back from facebook, and the company told forbes that the company does not benefit from heat and invests billions of dollars each year to keep the community safe. They went on to say that they are in deep partnership with outside experts to review and update our policies. Meanwhile you were making a new pledge to fight climate change. The plan to only offer riders in electric cars by 2030. They released a report admitting that there cars emit more pollution because drivers have to pick up customers so low. It certainly was a lot quieter at ocean beach today. But there was also a big mess left behind by all the crowds this weekend. Between a Burning Man Party and the labor day heat, a lot of people packed the beach. We ran into one local who didnt expect to pick up trash on her walk today. It is really bad. Usually when its local folks, everyone takes care of the beach, but when its a big holiday and the crowds come in, but this looks worse than ive seen in a long time. The crowds were so bad that those who shutdown the beaches and parking lots did reopen today. Coming up next, and olympian under fire for bragging about not wearing a face mask. Its lights out for part of the north bay, coming up new at 6, why a backup generator for one napa county town is not being used. We are heading into week four of terrible air quality in the bay area, and ive got to ask, have you checked your air filter lately . Well i did, and like cordless phones. phone ringing big button, and volumeenhanced phones. Get details on this state program. Visit right now or call during business hours. Propit provides property tax mostfairnessble. For disabled homeowners like cynde, stuck living with a broken elevator. Nineteen helps wildfire victims, like ellie, one of 24,000 whove lost their homes to fire. And seniors like pam who need to move closer to family or medical care, without a tax penalty. Prop 19 limits taxes on our most vulnerable. Yes on 19. And accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. Like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. phone ringing get details on this state Program Visit right now or call during business hours. When it comes to curbing training, one way to return to a more normal way of life is to rapidly detect how the virus is spreading. A new test in the toolbox made just do the trick. Check this out, the amazing new image of the coronavirus at its most infectious state wreaking havoc on the humans respiratory system. Seen in red, the virus is actively invading. For harvard researchers, this is the window of opportunity. We care about infectiousness, and infectiousness only seems to happen when a person has a very high viral load. The department of genetics at Harvard Medical School has developed a new test using an old method and she says it is highly accurate when people are infectious. We want to stop transmission and spread. The method is already used to detect viruses in animal tissues, west nile and hepatitis b. In a paper published today in a prestigious scientific journal, the harvard test works extremely well to detect the coronavirus with a saliva sample or nasal swab. It starts out pink and then turns yellow in 30 minutes if the virus is in there. Very quick and easy to read out. It is fast, easy to run, accurate and very inexpensive. Just over two dollars for each test. The fact that it can run so much more quickly sounds great. With this method you still need a lab and lab technicians, he is hoping for a home test. That you can do every day after brushing your teeth, then the kids can brush their teeth and go to school if negative. Late today we spoke to randy trew who runs a Company Called flood limb, and they will have a pilot to screen schools and workplaces in the bay area. Still ahead, are you ready to catch a flick on the big screen . Details on one place opening up in a movie theaters have always been a place to escape reality and starting today the blosser county studio movie grill is also providing some relief from the smoke. They opened at 25 capacity after lacquer kenny moved into the red tier. Now they are sanitizing the seats and trays, and encouraging patrons to order tickets and snacks online to minimize holdups. Kerri Walsh Jennings is apologizing for not wearing a mask at the grocery store. In instagram oshie wrote i went shopping without a mask on and this is why. I read a quote the other day that shook me, this is not being enforced. She said that statement woke her up and she wanted to stand up for her rights and freedoms without putting others in danger. Jennings was criticized for her comments and later wrote to those ive upset so deeply, im sorry. To those open to hearing where im coming from, i appreciate your openness and civility. You think the weathers been mild in the bay area recently, colorado says challenge accepted. They had a 60 degrees temperature drop in just 18 hours. Our former kpix 5 producer that now lives in colorado tells us it is blowing sideways. Back home, a lot of heat mixed with smoke and ash, many of you are sharing photos with us of what it looks like in your area. And another shot of the orange glow in san jose and look at this erie sky from silicon valley. We like to see your pictures, too. And it seems like weve been talking about the bad air for so long, what really has to happen for the skies to clear . Its a matter of getting the wind to shift to an offshore direction long enough and Strong Enough to push the smoke out of here. Or, we get some rain which does not happen very often in september. We will see some improvement tomorrow, especially through the peninsula and santa clara valley. The smoke blowing down from the north will still be a factor. Lets switch over to this experimental smoke model, we are going to go from 7 00 this evening with plenty of smoke in the bay area, to 7 00 tomorrow evening. We will get a slight improvement in air quality, but once the wind changes direction, we will get the smoke blowing in from a different direction late tomorrow into tomorrow night. The cold front really squeeze the atmosphere and the wind gusted up to over 60 miles an hour. The winds have backed off a little bit over the past few hours so our fire danger index is not as high, the darker colors indicate we are at 7 and 8. We will still see those levels through the rest of the night. And then the wind will start to calm down, shifting to an offshore direction tomorrow afternoon. So a reasonable in terms of fire danger by late tomorrow into tomorrow evening. Still not great, but at least headed in the right direction. The red flag warning goes until tomorrow morning, dry offshore winds, with the strongest wind gusts in the past but potentially gusting up to 60 miles overnight. Combined with the dry air, just a bad combination. At least not all of it concentrated at the ground level. Upper 90s for napa, fremont made it up to 86 degrees. But all of these numbers are lower than where we expected them to be because of the thick smoke. Current temperature of the 67 at sfo, 94 for livermore and fairfield and low 80s for napa and santa rosa, low 80s in san jose, and temperatures will gradually continue to head in the right direction. Low 60s by tomorrow morning, and then we will climb once again, plenty of 90s for inland portions of the bay area, but this is closer to what is normal into the work week and weekend. Still above average inland, but not as far above normal. Around the bay the smoke will still be an issue for everybody but slowly improving air quality levels into the weekend. Still something that folks with breathing difficulties will have to keep an eye on as we head into the weekend and early next week. Temperatures along the coast, the marine layer making itself known as we head through tonight. We will check in on the progress of that fog coming up as well. And napa county town tried to be reactive ahead of a planned power shut off. How their efforts ended up backfiring. Santa clara county has moved from the purple to the red tier level for the current virus threat and businesses are allowed to reopen for indoor service. Plus, what it could mean for schools in about two weeks. Houses in the sierra are wrapped in tinfoil. The important reason why. And some hamilton weve always put safety first. And we always will. For people. For the future. And there has never been a summer when its mattered more. Wherever you go, summer safely. Get 0 apr financing for up to five years on select models and exclusive lease offers. We sand my heart fell. Oke i knew wed lose our home. And we did. Over 24,000 homes have been destroyed by wildfires in the past few years. Wildfire victims need help so im voting yes on 19. It limits property taxes on wildfire victims so families can move to a replacement home without a tax penalty. You never know what youll be faced with. Please, vote yes on 19. On a recent evening students rising above held their annual fundraiser. But this time, with a twist. Reporter it was a much smaller affair than the galas of years past, but students rising above 17th annual fundraiser at the Ritzcarlton Hotel in San Francisco brought star power with a lot of heart. It gives me great joy to spend this evening with you altogether. Lifestream event treating the virtual crowd to a special appearance by none other than George Washington himself. They had the production of hamilton. This event says we have not forgotten about you, the hard work and sacrifice youve made. This is your moment. My father is a hardworking auto mechanic. It was an emotional moment for the featured speaker, who teared up recalling how the nonprofit helped her as a young teen cope with the loss of her father from aids and her mother from breast cancer. Pugh the organization has meant so much to me over the years and was pretty much the reason why college happened for me. I was just honored and humbled that i would move people in a way that people actually want to hear my story. We hear these voices that are unheard, and we see people that are invisible most of the time. Its important to tell the stories. Stories that kpix 5 has brought to bay area viewers for nearly 20 years thanks to our former anchor and cofounder. When we started, we said would anyone like to send in money, and they did. The people wanted to volunteer, and it kept growing. The nonprofit expended on this night, too. The ritzcarlton opened its doors just for this event. Everyone that is a part of this cares deeply for the students and the community at large. Darnell abraham believes and agrees. You are building a legacy and making a positive impact that will stay with the students for the rest of their lives. Ahead the pleasure of meeting and interviewing darnell, he is a great guy. The nonprofit reached out on social media with an invite to the fundraiser and of course, he accepted. To learn more about students rising above and its scholars, go to our website, kpix. Com sra. Now it 6, these students are classroom trailblazers. How the rest of the bay area will learn a lesson from them. Some lights went out in places where they were supposed to and in some areas where they were not supposed to. So what happened . With the calistoga grew great, i think we have an answer. And our top story, a haunting orange glow and raining ash outside, no proof that the wildfire smoke is having a huge impact indoors as well. I live look at downtown san jose right now where sick white smoke hangs heavy over the skyline. The National Weather service shared this photo along the pacific coastline. And this bad air seems to be finding its way into our homes as well. Reporter it earns your lungs and gives you a headache when you are outside, but not much better when you are indoors. There is just no escaping this bad air. Its never a good day when you can actually see the air you are breathing. This is a long 680, from the fremont foothills you are supposed to be able to see the bay waters and the berkeley hills, yuck and in San Francisco the skies rained down ash overnight. This hot, muggy grayish orange has become the unofficial color of 2020. It is a very strange day, it is hot and humid, we are ready for the fall and we would like to see some sunshine and the sky. And that has just not been possible. As we head into week four of crappy air it is