Leaf the house. I wont go out. Today i was watching. It was about 102, so i put on my tennis shoes and came out. Reporter it was a breath of less toxic fresh air. Good enough for this older couple. Still not clear. I mean, im breathing. Its okay. Its sad that it has gone to this point. It is almost normal. Reporter normalcy for dog walkers. For the last week, you couldnt make out mt. Diablo or the foot hills. They were totally obliterated by smoke. So the fact that you can least see the outline today, thats encouraging to people. 260 golfers seized the opportunity to tee off when the decision was made to reopen today after four days of a complete shutdown. I cannot remember ever that weve ever done four days straight. In fact, before this year, ive never closed due to air quality. So whats the new normal . People and pets gradually coming out of hiding. More grateful than ever to be back outside. In the east bay. Abc7 news. Abc7 news anchor Spencer Christian with more on the changing and we hope improving conditions. We can feel a andee the improvement already. It is a welcome relief for us. This satellite image from a week ago, you can see just how smoky it was all across the bay area. But look at todays satellite image. You can see we have much cleaner air. The fog with a vigorous marine layer blowing the smoke tower east. So things are looking much better today. And were not completely back in the good air quality range yet but improving. Lets move on and take a look at our spare the air outlet. One more day tomorrow. Spare the air will have moderate air quality in the north bay. Still poor in other regions. Thursday, friday, saturday, we expect moderate air quality in all areas. However, lets not get too excited. You can see it going through the next couple days. Well see lots of blue on here. Much improved air quality into friday and saturday until saturday morning, and then well see the smoke returning probably because of the shift in the wind flow. It will be coming down from the north. We expect if that happens, it will bring the smoke back to the bay area. Ill give you a closer look at the sevenday forecast a little bit later. All right. Thank you. Any break would be a welcome relief at this point. The air quality is still at risk of deteriorating as long as we have the fires burning. The north complex has jumped from 26 to 39 containment. The august fire which started in the Mendocino National forest is now at 30 containment. The creek fire near fresno, skill only 16 contained. More than 755,000 acres have burned and several communities are threatened. President trump was in california to get an update. They challenged the president to work the state on climate change. We want to work with you on changing climate and what it means for our forests and with that science. That science is key. If we ignore the science and put our head in the sand and think it is about vegetation management, we wont succeed protecting californians. It will start getting cooler. You just watch. I wish science agreed with you. Well, after the meeting, secretary crowfoot tweeted this with the average temperatures and the readies would, it actually wont get cooler, mr. President. And he joins us now from sacramento. I was not sure if he men it will be cooler in december because it is winter or cooler for years and years and years. Well see exactly what he meant over the long haul. You challenged the president to work the state on climate change. At least the science part, im not sure if there is a resolution to that. Weve been working hard for several weeks to fight the fires. We have a lot of active fires burning. 16,000 firefighters, tens of thousands of evacuees. So we were thankful president came to california and elevated the crisis that were facing, as well as oregon and washington. Governor newsom was very clear we needed to make two points. Number onering with agree, we need to do more forest management. Fuel breaks around communities or prescribed fire projects. But that the federal government needs to do its part to maintain about 57 of the states forests. That federal agencies own and manage. And then point number two, lets be honest about the facts and lets be honest about climate change. It is creating conditions weve never seen before. Thats important as we factor in how we respond. You mentioned the federal lands waffle there acknowledgement that this needs to be a join effort . Yeah. I think we wanted to make the point to the president who obviously is dealing with quite a lot that in fact, again, 57 of our forest lands in california are under responsibility of the federal government. So while it is important, the president an elevating forest management, the way to actually make progress protecting communities is to invest enough federal funding in those forests to reduce catastrophic fire risks. So it is a point that was made, in both instances the president was listening and nodding, for what its worth. All right. Climate advocates are concerned about banning fracking even as he talks about the concern for the crisis. And some feel the governor is using the spot height to say, okay, i want to take a leadership role in climate. The record is not proving to be the case. It is clear we need to do two things in regard to climate change. One is to protect communities from the impacts of these catastrophic wildfires, and other things like drought. So were doing that. We need to ahead to world to transition to a lower carbon economy, reducing pollution. And on that governor brown, nummelin, have delivered. The economy grows and the pollution is reduced. This question around how much oil is extracted that around california is a topic that needs to be discussed. Californians consume 716 billion barrels of Oil Last Year driving from place to place. While there is concern about 48 fracking permits issued this year, the lowest amount in the last four years, lets keep our eye on the prize which is reducing reliance on fossil fuel. Were doing that with expanding heck trick vehicles, renewable energy, et cetera. Let me jump in. Despite Companies Like tesla, were still stuck in an Old School Mod we will petroleum products. You think once it becomes important to invest in solar, wind, et cetera, that well see a large scale change if a national change in approach . Absolutely. I would say this. Solar energy has come down in price so it is among the most affordable new Energy Generation that you can move on. Today in california, almost twothirds of our energy that powers our buildings, it is derive from carbonfree energy, sole ever, a wind, hydro electricity trick. Absolutely this can be done. On electric vehicles, you may know the most powerful export in california is electric vehicles. And tesla as a company, an auto company strgs most valuable auto company on earth right now. So absolutely. California is leading this transition. Continuing to grow our Greenhouse Gas emission but we need to do more. All right. We have to leave 30th for now. Thanks. So for joining us this afternoon. Thanks for having me. Nice to hear from him. A positive sign in california. The state has a 3. 5 Positivity Rate over the last seven days. Thats the lowest since march. According to an l. A. Times analysis of state data, hospitalizations have fallen to the lowest level since early i am a. In the bay area, marin county has moved into the red tier. And looking to halloween, the state doesnt advice traditional trick or treating for kids and mans to put out holiday guidelines. My own kids were asking, can i start planning my costume in i encourage them to do this. It is part of the fun and excitement around halloween. In San Francisco, Health Officials say theyre closely watching case rates following the holiday weekend. Mayor breed said she hopes she doesnt have to turn back the clock after more businesses reopened yesterday. They decided to wait until tomorrow to reopen. This is our third time preparing to open. So after six months, we feel very ready. Reporter mayor land breed urged all businesses to follow the proper protocols if they want to remain opened. We dont want to turn back the clock. I know those businesses will be working hard to stay open. Theyll be following the guidelines and we need your cooperation. Reporter the shonn has had these guidelines in place for weeks. Were working every second station. We are leaving 15 minutes between each appointment so we have time sanitize everything before the next guest gets here. According to the department of republican health, this has been a 29 increase in the number of hospitalizations. Till there are enough beds even if the numbers were to increase. They are anxiously waiting to see the case rates following the reason Labor Day Weekend. Were concerned, were watching it. So much depends on people wearing the face masks. Social distancing and avoiding large crowds whenever possible. Technically schools could reopen on september 26th on a rolling basis and with an approved health and safety plan. Were hopeful that we will get to a better place and our schools will be able to reopen. Reporter it is unlikely San FranciscoPublic Schools will be ready by then. An agreement between School District and the Teachers Union has yet to be hammered out. Abc7 nus. If you want to doublecheck whats open in your county, find the latest on this map. It is on the free abc7 news app. Up next, a major bust. It involves guns, drugs, and a violent street gang. Late details what was going on in the east bay. Plus, the one thing that may have prevented a labor day covid19 strike spike. Ill Michael Finney with good news for air dear california. We know these are challenging times. Rest assured, you are not alone. Weve all had to adapt. And with summer here, your energy bills might go up with rising temperatures. Together, we can save energy and money. Try closing your shades during the day. Setting your ac to 78 or higher. Or cooling off with a fan when you can. United we are always stronger. Stay well, california, and keep it golden. I felt gross. It was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. Four years clear. Real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if youve had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Learn more at cosentyx. Com. Where you can find games, news and highlights. All in one place, right on your tv. The xfinity sports zone. Use your voice to search every stat, standing and score. Follow the teams you love. And, even get notifications with breaking news alerts and more. So youll never miss an update. With the xfinity sports zone everybody wins. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Click, call or visit a store for details. Online from gcu and you could become a leader responsible for Staff Development and patient care outcomes. Gcu offers over 175 high quality online programs. Find your purpose at grand canyon university. Visit gcu. Edu federal and state authorities announced arrests today. A major gang sweep in contra costa county. They showed off weapons like the ones in the arrest of the suspected member street gang. That happened last week. Authorities say the pittsburghs were trafficking firearms and drugs and doing so in plain sight using the parking lot of a strip mall in concord for numerous transactions. What is particularly appalling about this is that the defendants didnt even bother to hide the guns or the drugs. They peddled their products in broad daylight in public spaces. A total of 13 suspects are now in custody. Two others remain at large. Wagts the atf, fbi and Concord Police seized Illegal Drugs and 42 guns. Wildfire smoke may have kept residents indoors over Labor Day Weekend possibly preventing a future spike in covid19 numbers. Melanie woodrow dug into the data and has this report. Officials warned of increased covid19 risks. But large gatherings were at risk. They analyzed mobility data looking at the typical distance traveled by people labor day for each of the bay areas nine counties, the distance traveled was especially low. The lowest distance traveled was for People Living in Alameda County with the typical person traveling less than a quarter of a mile. The greatest distance was for people in ma ridge county with the average person driving a little more than a mile. The professor of epidemiology. We tried to assign it. Peoples lively hoods with it. I would see this as more of a collaborative benefits. They forecasted travel would be down 15 as compared to last year. Obviously the cdc still recommends we dont travel at this point because of the pandemic. But youre right. There are several other things going on in Northern California that people may have decided to stay home about. The air quality being one of them. Aaa Northern California spokesperson said travel,are making a lot more decision . Theyre deciding to travel within a week. He said theyre a short distance away. Anywhere between four to six hours. When deciding to hunker down or a road trip to get to fresher air, he says its all tradeoffs. The decision could be reflected in the states covid19 case numbers over the next week. People stayed home for whatever reason. There is less chance for transmission and we see it in lower numbers of cases and lower Positivity Rate. All right. Lets get to some consumer news. Michael . Hey, those still paying on Student Loans might soon get some very good news out of washington, d. C. A freeze on student loan payments scheduled to end in several weeks may be extended to the end of the year. Not everyone is covered. Some 9 million have not been included. However, possible good news there. Washington lawmakers are being urged to offer relief for all student borrowers. College students will have a facebook section called facebook college. It will be separate from their main profiles. The section would be adfree. Those flying in pairs can get two seats for the price of one through tomorrow on alaska airlines. The company is also promising the third seat in your row will remain empty meaning youll get the whole row to yourselves when you fly as a duo. It is only good for travel through october. Alaska Airlines Says they want to give the passengers peace of mind. Meantime, mcdonalds is offering a two for one deal. This for the new spicy chicken mcnuggets. The deal is one day only tomorrow, wednesday. And we have a two for one anchor deal right here. There you go. Wow my favorite is the chicken mcnuggets deal, not the anchor deal. You get the anchor deal every day. Thanks. Now lets turn it over to spencer. Look. We have 3 for 1 now. We have improving air quality. Starting in the north bay, where we have the best air quality right now. This is one orange spot there. The air quality is still poor. The air quality is moderate. San rafael, concord, redwood city, fremont, poor in livermore and san jose and even unhealthier in the santa cruz mountains. We have improvement ahead of us. It is a nice onshore flow with surface winds gusting to 21 Miles Per Hour right now at half moon bay. And 21mileperhour winds in San Francisco as well. So that has brought a refreshing change in the air. We can see bluish skies here in this view from sutro tower looking out over San Francisco. There is some smoke there. 67 degrees in San Francisco. Upper 70s right now at oakland, mountain view, san jose, 88 in gilroy, and 68 at half moon bay. And heres a bluish sky view. Also from the Golden Gate Bridge looking northward. Temperatures now, 82. 79 in napa. It is pretty warm. The view from our roof top camera here they are. Smog and drizzle will be with us overnight. The sea breeze continues tomorrow with even better air quality. Continuing to improve air quality. And it will be cooler with morning drizzle likely. Heres our coworker an administration for tonight. Notice marine layer will deepen and there will be lots of green showing up indicating areas we expect to see drizzle. It might be across the bay and locally inland as well. And then the marine layer will pull back for most of the day tomorrow. During the overnight hours, look for temperature in the low 60s. It will be rather mild. There will be a few locations where generally low 60s will be the lows. 71, San Francisco. Mid to upper 70s around the bay shoreline. As for spare the air, tomorrow will be our 30th consecutive spare the air day with poor air quality likely in the inland east bay, South Central bay and santa clara valley. Going beyond that, we expect good weather over the weekend. Breezy and cooler, thursday and friday. Maybe some drizzle both days. We have a bit of a warmup coming our way. Sunday, highs may reach up and then well cool down a little more early next week. I used to get very excited when you say warm up. Now i think, no, please. What has happened . Just happy to breathe. Ill take that. I know. Expectations are so low now. Apple held its annual september release ms. Williams weve been working hard. Ms. Robinson . To make learning fun again. Ms. Duncan and making sure our students can succeed. Ms. Zamora were with you every step of the way. Ms. Robinson i know its a challenging time. Ms. Zamora no one wants to be back in the classroom more than teachers. Ms. Williams we have missed you so much. Mr. Hardesty but we all have to be safe. Ms. Robinson because were all in this together. Narrator making our School Buildings safer. Ms. Robinson working together, we can make it a great year. Narrator because the California Teachers Association