There may be some pine interspersed in there. But those are mostly eucalyptus. Reporter and the trees that blanket the area couldnt be more flammable. Thousands of nonnative oilladen eucalyptus trees could act like fire torches if ignited. Its a very dry conditions like we have now and wind. Those things together with just the a cigarette butt could cause this thing to go up like a tinderbox. Reporter sal genito with uc berkeley says the university owns about a thousand acres in the hills. They and others have been waiting for years for fema to release funds to remove the invasive trees. But the money hasnt materialized. Those who lost homes in the 91 firestorm know all too well how fire friendly the eucalyptus are. In the firestorm, the eucalyptus trees were sending their flaming seed pods over the top of my car as i was trying to evacuate the community. I dont want other people to have to go through what i went when i lost my house. And were back here live. Youre looking at how dry and dangerous the eucalyptus trees look. Now tonight, fire danger is high in the east bay hills. The oakland fire chief told me a short time ago that theyre going to have extra fire crews throughout the evening, patrolling the area. They want everyone to be on alert. Reporting live in oakland, im jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. You can track the temperatures in your neighborhood on our website. Just put in your city and your personal forecast will come up. Thats at nbcbayarea. Com. A big story developing with a lot of our local leaders. The turmoil within the San FranciscoFire Department continues. A new call today in the form of this letter to do something about the fire chief. This time the pressure isnt from the rank and file but from battalion chiefs. Nbc bay areas Mark Matthews is at the Fire Department headquarters. Mark, what is the response if any from chief Joanne Hayes White . Reporter well, raj, the chief is not responding in person as she did last week when the rank and file sent their letter. And today the battalion chiefs with this letter have joined the chorus, calling on the mayor to replace her. Her own department is turning up the heat on fire chief joanne hayeswhite. Last weeks unprecedented letter of no confidence from the rank and file was followed today by this one from the fire Chiefs Association. Battalion chiefs echoing the crisis of confidence, saying the current state of the Fire Department has become untenable and immediate action is necessary. Were at a crisis point. We have we have real issues that need to be dealt with in the very shortterm. Reporter the initial complain from firefighters focused on the departments slow Response Time on ambulance calls. But the Chiefs Association president says it is far more widespread and much of it has to do with the belief that chief hayeswhite does not push hard enough on budget issues. We in the San Francisco fire Chiefs Association have seen how the Police Department has been able to go and get more recruit classes while were also understaffed. We werent able to accomplish the same thing. Reporter today the mayor said he hadnt changed his support for his fire chief, but he will take the new letter up with the fire commission. You know, Personnel Matters are what they are. So im not going to speak than in public. But i will take everybodys opinion and work with that. Reporter well, today the chief responded with a statement from her office saying that the fire Chiefs Associations letter may have been prompted by disciplinary action that the chief had the take against some of the chief associations members that is similar to what she said about the rank and file letter. She also says the fire chiefs may not have been entirely polled before that letter was sent out. Coming up at 6 00, well look at how the back and forth has played out over the past couple of weeks. Reporting from the Fire Departments headquarters here in San Francisco, Mark Matthews, nbc bay area news. Mark, thank you. Now to another developing story. A shakeup at the secret service. This afternoon, the director stepped down. Julia pearson resigned. She has been under intense pressure for various security lapses. Yesterday lawmakers grilled pierson about a man armed with a knife that was able to charge into the white house after jumping the fence. Several other Security Breaches have also come to light recently. Pierson lasted a little more than a year at the position. She was the first female director in the history of the secret service. There are developments on many fronts tonight surrounding the ebola scare here in the u. S. We are learning that a possibility mistake during the mans first visit to the hospital may have now put others at risk. Nbc bay areas jay gray is live at the hospital in dallas with more on that and the treatment that is under way right now to save this mans life. Good evening, jay. Reporter hey, janelle. Yeah, and youre absolutely right. A lot unfolding here this evening, including an update on the condition of this patient. He seems to be getting better. And more on some of those who may have come into contact with this patient before he was admitted to the hospital here. And then that mistake that the hospital has said they made that could have exposed many more people to this deadly virus. The mission in dallas is now twofold. This is all hands on deck. We understand that. Reporter medical specialists are working around the clock to treat the first patient diagnosed with the deadly ebola virus in the united states. While a team from the centers for Disease Control works on the ground going door to door in the dallas apartment complex where the patient spent several days with his family, trying to identify more than a dozen people who may now be at risk for infection, including according to Texas Governor rick perry a group of schoolaged children. These children have been identified, and they are being monitored. Reporter this afternoon, parents at a Dallas Elementary School that one of those students attended were told to pick up their children before the final bell. What are you worried about . About them getting sick. Getting that virus. Reporter this afternoon, hospital officials also confirmed that the Patient First visited their facility days before he was admitted, and told an intake nurse he had just traveled to north texas from liberia, but was only sent home with a prescription for antibiotics. Regretfully, that information was not fully communicated throughout the full team. Reporter potentially putting even more people at risk. We wish it were somewhere else. But the fact is its here and we have an Extraordinary Team of men and women passionately and compassionately delivering care to this individual. Reporter this afternoon, the patients condition was upgraded to serious but stable. Stability doctors hope to maintain as they work to save their patient and prevent the spread of the deadly disease. Yeah, now doctors here will not discuss at all their treatment protocol, including whether or not they intend to use experimental medicine as a part of that treatment that is the latest. Live here in dallas, jay gray, nbc bay area news. Thank you. Well, its here in california. The enterovirus 68. We have learned there are two confirmed cases down in l. A. The first involves a child treated in long beach. The child was in the hospital for a week and is now home. Also today, Childrens Hospital los angeles confirmed a second case. The patient is a child who has developed the acute limb weakness, which sometimes accompanies this illness. Earlier this week, a rhode island child died from the virus. More than 400 cases have been identified in 40 states in recent weeks. New at 5 00, some call him the facebook vigilante. A south bay man is working his own case. No longer is he the victim but the detective. He is sending a message to the thieves. Here is marianne favro. Reporter when he returned to his condo in this North San Jose neighborhood on september 22nd, he realized his home had been burglarized. They took my dee ceased mothers jewelry, my camera equipment and my gear and my imac. Reporter he reported the crime to san jose police, then went to work on his own, trying to find the suspects. I tracked them down using the ip address on my computer. We did reconnaissance where the suspects live. We physically have seen them, made a positive id. Reporter he then posted this on facebook, a message directly to the burglars. Let me tell you what i have done in the past three days. Ive tracked down where they live. Ive seen them. I know what type of car they drive. I know the hackers home as well as the buyers home. If i can do that in three days, imagine what i can do many a week. Reporter he asked the burglars to turn themselves in and return his stuff. That didnt happen, but he did get 400 likes. Police admit they are short staffed. Its unfortunate that its come to this point. But, again, we realize that people are frustrated. Were doing the best we can with the personnel that we have. Reporter for the suspect himself. Marianne favro, nbc bay area news. Happening now, the giants do or die playoff game is getting under way. Fans have packed at t park, even though the game is being played more than 2500 miles away in pittsburgh. The giants are hosting a watch party there for fans to cheer on the orange and black. San francisco is facing off against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a onegame wild card. It is simple. Win tonight and move on the face the Washington Nationals in the next round. Lose tonight, the season is over. Some fans got to the park at 2 00 this afternoon. 3,000 fans are expected there. You get to be with your friends, your giants family. Watch big screen watch them win on the big screen. Admission into the ballpark is free. Im Michelle Roberts in palo alto. One of the most congested roads in Santa Clara County, page mill road. Coming up here with the city of palo alto may do to improve the commute when youre heading home. I run by this every day. Its pretty sad. Hazmat teams called to a south bay river where schools of fish are dying. Well tell you why. Well, new at 5 00, rush hour traffic is common across the bay area, not just on freeways. One of the biggest trouble spots is along page mill road and 280. You see that intersection there in palo alto. It seems to be getting worse, though, by the month. So what is the solution . Tonight Santa Clara County will present plans for a new study about traffic. Part of the plan is a report card. And the grades arent good. Nbc bay areas Michelle Roberts is at another traffic spot in palo alto. Michelle . Reporter im near page mill road in El Camino Real. Definitely a rough spot in palo alto. Its 5 00. People are heading home. Its starting to fill in and slow down a little bit. In some cases drivers are waiting a couple of cycles of the light to get through this intersection. Tonight Santa Clara County officials will be talking about this very intersection and others. Theyll present plans for a new traffic study at a Public Meeting in palo alto. It starts at 6 00 at city hall. And experts will be looking at traffic patterns and considering ways to ease the rough congestion. Things like adding turn lanes, bike lanes, or even widening the road. According to a city report, the 280page mill interchange received an f for rush hour congestion. Page mill and El Camino Real slightly better with an e. Some commuters in the area are just not hopeful about this, and theyre skeptical those ratings will improve. Im not sure if widening is going to work. But somethings got the change. 130,000 cars a day that travel on that road. And so the county is looking at alternatives to help us kind of manage transportation demands in that area to the future. Reporter the 100,000 study was paid for by the palo alto city council, and its expected to be completed by early next year. Anything that may come of it like Construction Projects could be years in the makings. For now people will just have to deal with this rough traffic. Report living in palo alto, michelle robert, nbc bay area news. Usually a problem right where you are. Thanks, michelle. Another traffic hot spot, this one in the south bay near santana row. In just a few hours, at 8 00 tonight, Stevens Creek boulevard will be closing right there at 880. Drivers going eastbound can detour on the monroe street. Westbound drivers can detour on the westbound 880 ramp. The area will reopen at 5 00 a. M. Tomorrow. Here is a look at the affected roadway. The closure is part of the effort to open three new onramps at the Stevens Creek boulevard880 interchange. 15 million. That is the settlement for the family of a woman killed in a San Francisco park. You might remember this case. A young mother, Christine Svanemyr was relaxing in Hollywood Park with her dog and baby last september when a recreation and parks truck ran over her and killed her. The Council Approved the settlement in july. The man charged in this case has pleaded not guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter and felony hitandrun. Swifter justice for sex assault victims. Governor brown signing a new law today that will clear up a massive backlog of rape kits across the state. The law speeds up testing and says results need to come in less than 30 days. Alameda county Officials Say in 2012, the county had more than 1900 untested kits. Its a disturbing trend and a Public Safety threat that lawmakers hope to fix. The fact is that every day a rape kit remains in storage is another day that a rapist is out on the street potentially attacking another victim. Lawmakers hope the law sets up a National Precedence to make Sexual Assault crimes a priority. What is killing the fish . Thats the question scientists have set out to answer in san jose after the discovery of dead fish in the guadalupe river. In a story youll see only on nbc bay area, Damian Trujillo joined the scientists as they looked for clues. Reporter the Water District called out a hazmat team to look into the deaths of the fish. But as it turns out, it seems the weather had a lot to do with what happened here and the recent storms may have contributed to the deaths of the fish. They swim downstream on the guadalupe in dark waters made murky by last weeks storm. But not far from them, this is what youll find, dead fish on a dry riverbed, carp, large mouth bass, and the native fish called sacramento suckers. Its very sad. I dont know. What can we do . Reporter after nbc bay area called the water valley district, they brought out a team of expert cease what is causing the deaths. After studying the riverbed, biologist jay abel said he has seen this quite a bit, and he blames the drought. As the water table drops, all those pools will shrink. Reporter abel says last weeks storm may have also contributed to the deaths. Thats when temporary pools formed on the guadalupe from street runoff water, which sometimes contains contaminants. And that stir fish up to move around. And then they just got stuck as the creek went back down to its intermittent condition. Its just sad. Its so incredibly sad that its filthy, everything is dying. All the bird are going. Its sad. I hope we get three months of rain. Reporter the Water District says there might be a day when the water guadalupe runs dry downstream as well. But jay abel feels it might not be wise to relocate the remaining fish because there is simply nowhere to put them. Abel says it might be a case where you simply let nature take its course. Some folks might ask well, why doesnt the Water District do something about what is happening here . But folks can also do something at home with that 20 water use reduction. Right now we are still at 11 . Were in san jose, im Damian Trujillo, nbc bay area news. So sad to see that. So many byproducts of this drought. And its going to be hot this week. Not good for our drought situation. Lets get a check of our microclimate forecast with jeff ranieri. The most Important Information the newly issued heat advisory by the National Weather service from thursday at noon all the way through friday evening at 9 00 p. M. Temperatures that could range as high as 100 degrees. And the thing i want to stress here is that the coastline. No, were not going get tripledigits here. But for those of you at the immediate coastline, youre rarely included in a heat advisory. And again, it includes the entire coast. So be prepared for the warmer conditions. Not only for thursday, but into friday and saturday. Well take you outside of the Sky Camera Network right now. And you can see a byproduct of the heat is the blue sky were getting right now. And also some much warmer temperatures. At this hour 89 in the north bay. Thats our warmest average. 78 in San Francisco. Dry air, no fog. And then back towards san jose, sunny skies and 83 degrees. Now for the east shore, were still dealing with gusty winds up in the hills, keeping the fire danger on the increase. And back toward the trivalley is where were also finding fire danger. The numbers for our thursday, what youre going to notice is yes, its going get hotter. Another 4 to 7degree jump. Here is the thing. Tomorrow is just kind of the second wave of the heat coming our way. As youll see in that scrolling 7day ticker, numbers hotterer for fridays forecast. San jose 93 degrees, approaching 100 up into morgan hill. For the peninsula, weve got 88 in pacifica, and also 93 and sunny skies in palo alto and those 80s continue in San Francisco. Its not just downtown, the mission, and also the soma district. Forest hills 84 degrees. Also against the marina at the golden gate bridge, 86 for tomorrow. Lets bring you into the north bay, east bay and trivalley. 95 in napa. 94 in santa rosa. And a rare day when sausalito is going to be hitting 90 as well. Here is the deal. Were under this threeday heat event. It really begins to start cranking as we head throughout thursday. Its going to last for friday, also into saturday. And its also going to bring, again, those offshore wind, helping to increase that fire danger. And as we have been mentioning, its not only the interior valleys with the heat, but check it out in pacifica. Upper 80s thursday and friday. Mid 80s into saturday. And of course thats going to translate to that hot weather for the interior valleys. Walnut creek expecting the peak with 95 degrees. Saturday still hot. But as we head throughout sunday, were expecting cooler weather. Seems like basic information, but that hot weather and you, dont forget yourself. Its hard when youre rushing around, you have a lot of stuff to do during the day. Dehydration can happen quickly. Remember the water, eight glasses a day is usually the minimum. And dont forget the spf. Skin damage can occur in as little as 30 minutes. The air quality approaching unhealthy levels over the next three days in all areas across the bay area. Of course, you remember you can get more on that weekend forecast any time at nbcbayarea. Com. Just take it slow, you guys the next couple days. Sit back and enjoy at least some of these clear skies. You cant get the rain, weve got sunny skies. A red hot start to october. Thank you, jeff. Well, coming up here at 5 00, an aboutface from facebook. The issue with drag queens has apparently been resolved. And connecting to the internet in San Francisco is getting easier. The new free wifi. With you can get it and who is behind it. The painted ladies of alamo square today became a blend of San Franciscos colorful past and cutting edge technology. The adjoining park is now one of 32 city plazas and open spaces with free wifi. San Francisco Mayor ed lee and supervisor mark farrell announced the expansion of the citys Wireless Internet Network in the tenderloin. A gift from google makes access possible, along with a fiveyear maintenance program, no strings attached. Facebook backtracking tonight, apologizing for their efforts to enforce the use of legal names on the social media site. The new real names policy was met with backlash by several Community Groups last month. Activists argue Abuse Victims and transgender facebook users would be put at risk under this new policy because they would have to identify themselves. Drag queen performers often also go by their stage names instead of their real names. Today facebook employees met with activists and promised to continue working with members to find a solution. However, the company stopped short of outright removing this policy. An automatic pay raise if you work in berkeley. Minimum wage is now 10 an hour. The first in a gradual rise in the minimum wage. Next year workers will make 11 an hour. And in october of 2016, 12 53 an hour. Oaklands minimum wage could soon match that amount. There is a measure on novembers ballot that would increase oaklands minimum wage to 12. 53. Coming up, twilight is back. Well explain. Hey john check it out. Whoa yeah i was testing to see if we really can turn any device in your house into a tv and the tablet worked just fine but i wanted to see if the phone will work as well. So i shrunk sharon. Every channels live just like on tv but its my phone. Its genius. Shh im watching tv. Tiny sharon is mean. Im right here. Watch any channel live on any device around your home. The x1 entertainment operating system only from xfinity. Trying to mislead you about the effects of proposition 46. Well heres the truth 46 will save lives. It will save money too. Im bob pack, and im fighting for prop 46 because i lost my two children to preventable medical errors and i dont want anyone else to lose theirs. The three provisions in 46 will reduce medical errors and protect patients. Save money and save lives. Yes on 46. themstan om cheers hey guys stan the man hey, hows it goin stan . Can i get 55 on pump three . You got it, stan gas stations. Just that. Where nobody knows your name. The Chevrolet Cruze eco. With an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon highway. Its the new efficient. Well be back with you in about 30 minutes from now. Here is what were working on for our 6 00 news. An oscar winning actor is in the Silicon Valley on a recruiting mission. Why jared leto is looking to invest in tech and the conference that has heavy hitters in san jose. The love affair with vampires and werewolves will return as mini movies on facebook. The twilight Facebook Page announced a new film competition for women filmmakers early will create short films on bella, edward, jacob and other characters. Meyers and Kristin Stewart will join others in hollywood to select the winning work. Twilight is never going away. Its vampires. They live forever. How are we looking outside . Its warm today. Even hotter over the next couple of days. You can see we average mid 80s for a lot of the east valleys today. But then by thursday and friday, temperatures approaching 100 degrees. Its hot. Yes, it is. Oh my goodness. Brian williams is next. We hope to see you back at 6 00. Good night, folks. On our broadcast tonight, ebola emergency on american soil. And now the search to find everyone who came in contact with a dallas ebola patient including at least five children. And tonight, some tough questions for the hospital that initially sent him home. And our other major health story tonight, this growing mystery now in 42 states, the virus striking children, new cases of sudden paralysis. Stepping down, the embattled head of the u. S. Secret service resigns under intense pressure as were still learning more about the latest security lapse. And at home with joan lunden speaking candidly about Breast Cancer and the private battle so many women know all too well. Nightly news begins now