Vegetation fire around 2 00 this afternoon and grew. Spreading out over hilly terrain as the winds picked up. The mandatory evacuations followed. At the time the folks leaving homes thought it looked dire. Here is what they had to say. It looked a lot closer than i think it was. It was a little hard to tell. But definitely very scarey. To hear the helicopters, and in two minutes i have seen like six fire trucks coming from all over, not just dublin but you can see them but basically smoke. Reporter the fire chief says some of the area drops helped in all of this. In fact they had dozens of crews on the ground and that really helped, the people power if getting it again 75 containment at this point. We are told the crews stay in place for several hours and some overnight to make sure they keep it contained and folks can stay in homes. Live in dublin roz plater nbc bay area news. Thank you roz. The Santa Cruz Mountain firefighters preparing for a long night. Tough terrain battling the bear fire. Flames broke out at 10 00 last night when the a home caught fire. That sparked a brush fire. Damian trujillo joins with us the latest there. Damian. Reporter jessica, its been a relentless attack by the air here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But theyre taking advantage because any lose daylight in a few minutes and then have to ground the helicopters. The big question remains how much help will they receive tomorrow . The hand crews have been at it all day. Trekking through rugged terrain to get right at the flames. The mounensides are steep and slippery. This team of prisoners was lighting back fires to keep the fire from spreading. We got three out of a camp. The fire broke out at a home here in the mountains and spread to the wild land area. I got everything loaded up right now and were getting the evac, get my stuff out and get going. They are telling everybody to get out. Reporter the air drops are relentless. The crews have been at it all day. They will need relief tomorrow. But with so many fires throughout the bay and the state all the commanders here know is that theyre getting some reenforcements they arent sure how many. We were set for basic initial attack but when you get beyond that attack phase into extended attack like now you got to pull more resources. The air drops continue until it becomes dark. Then its up to the hand crews to keep up the night at night. Reporter a couple of helicopters still in the air right now. And the good news is that there is still no wind up here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That has really helped in the firefight here. There are a couple of wineries here on bear creek road both appear to be okay for now. But its getting dark out here getting ready to ground the helicopter crews. Then its up to the hand crews to see what they can do overnight. Live in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Thank you damian. For a few days things were getting better. Today we took a big step backward. The air quality is bad. In fact right now its the worst spot in the country. The smoke from the Santa Cruz Mountains funneling into san jose and silicon vafl. In fremont, the air quality index there unhealthy. The same can be said for the trivalley, a live picture in dublin here. Our meteorologist rob mayeda joins you now. When does it clear up weve been going through it two weeks now. Really backing off of the strong gusty on shore winds with helped. The winds were light and the smoke pooled down through the central bay area. Most of the bay area under unhealthy air and spare the air day. We saw Dangerous Levels right in middle of the napa. Aqi levels of 250. 100 above the areas in orange which would typically trigger the spare the air day. Two tiers higher than we typically get. Still the areas in red we pointed out unhealthy air across the bay area. That may be helped by the strengthening sea breeze. Look at the smoke model future cast taking more dense smoke and push going away from the bay area as we head towards tomorrow morning. Air quality should start to improve. Increasing humidity levels thanks to the ocean breeze and two chances now for rain in the forecast over the next 48 hours. The time line on the two storms in the full forecasts coming up in 10 minutes. Rob is constantly tweeting updates about the air quality. Including maps showing which areas are the worst. You can follow him at rob mayeda. In the north bay firefighters making progress on multiple fronts. But the focus now is trying to locate 53 people still presumed missing. Most of them reported missing after the tubbs fire. 26 people in santa rosa. 27 others in Sonoma County. Meanwhile firefighters continue to gain ground on containment. The atlas fire and tubbs fire both around 80 contained. Nuns fire 68 containment. And the fokt fire 58 contained. Lots of people are forming bonds in the face of tragedy all across sonoma and napa county strangers are coming together to try to help one another. Today the boundary of the bonds slipped way across the state. Sam brock joins us live from coffey park. Many families lost homes now they are likely a ben he factor. They also share a common fate which is they lost home. A woman in Southern California saw her house go up in flames last week and also nearly lost her life in las vegas all of in given her new found perspective. She says she is one of the blessed ones and wants to come out and help people in santa rosa. In the Anaheim Hills the flames fanned out arbitrarilyism claims dozens of homes. Families still reel from the same feeling. Watching worldly possessions transformed to orange. Find agnew friend seemed farfetched but not in sonoma and. I have never met these people. But theyve offered their home to me. I think what we see right now, humanity, its amazing we need it right now. We need to to see. Sister. Frankly before her son trey step out of the way. Valerie box didnt no ernie. This shot taken by the Orange County register shows the home going up in flames. Displaced by the canyon 2 foor williamson says she is blessed for being a survivor and has reached out to families in need in santa rosa where in her words the need is greater. On monday i lost my home. It pales in comparison to what other people have lost. I have seven different friends that have family members or friends that didnt make it home from vegas. I cant sit around and cry about my house burning down. Reporter ernies campaign to generate donations is called fire to fire from anaheim to santa rosa and she was out here with several of her colleagues today handing out gift card and School Supplies and food to residents here in need in santa rosa. Just an amazing touch as we see these people connecting from all over the state of california, experiencing the same fates. Reporting live in santa rosa this evening sam brock nbc bay area news. She brings up a god point from the las vegas to the fires has been emotional difficult weeks. In the past nine days we have had plenty of aerial footage from sky ranger. What you are looking at here in the sky with National Guard. Vicky nguyen embedded with the National Guard. She took the aerial tour and joins us from the airport what stood out to you. Reporter raj a little loud out here what i want to tell you is that California National guard has 22 aircraft helping to fight the fires, including two drones theyve been dealing with heavy winds, thick smoke in the air. Today was the first time it was safe enough for them to take us on cameras into the sky so we could show you what santa rosa looks like from above. We are continuing on the ridge line. From the air a scarf scorched earth across santa rosa that will take years to heel. From the homes Still Standing in coffey park to the rows of hillside neighborhoods in fountaingrove now destroyed. If the smoke doesnt take your breath away, the sights might. Once colorful rooftops now crumbled ash. Fields of ash across wine country. A fire starting somewhere in calistoga and jumped 101, overpowering everything in its path. 2400 National Guard troops have been dplad to help the north by fires. We flu today with a crew of four from the 129th rescue wing based at Mountain View move it field. Senior airman aaron on his first mission. Unlikely to forgot the disaster that ranks as the most destructive fire in california history. Burning an area the size of new york city taking down more than 3500 homes and businesses and killing at least 40. The toughest part is seeing and knowing how many people have been displaced and lost homes and everything. Pilot Carolyn White is flying recognizance missions to help crews in the air and on the ground. In ten years she has never experienced one like 2017. We just got off from Hurricane Irma and harvey. With that it was heart breaking seeing the destruction in our backyard. Some squadron members had houses burned down. What do you think of the area. Pretty devastating how much it came into the at the. They didnt have time to prepare much. Now surveying whats left veteran responders say these sights in the home state will be seared into their memories. Reporter today officials from fema, helmed and the California Office of Emergency Services also surveyed the damage. They are using what they saw today to help them plan for the rebuilding not just here in Sonoma County but all across the north bay. Reporting live in santa rosa, vicki fiegen nbc bay area news. Up next at 6 00 taking a knee or standing up nfl owners and players meeting to find Common Ground on the protest during the national anthem. Rob mayeda tracking two opportunities for rainfall around the bay area. The time line of what to expect and how much when we come back. Okay we are out of here. Waiting to get become home. We check in with evacuees hoping for the best in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That s exactly what hundreds of people who live in the Santa Cruz Mountains are doing watching and worrying. Thats exactly what hundreds of People Living in the Santa Cruz Mountains are doing this evening. They were forced from homes by fire. Many spent the day looking for a place to watch the battle as they tried to save their homes. Nbc bay area Garvin Thomas has been watching with them. He joins us live from santa clara. Santa cruz border with the latest on the evacuations. We can see the people behind threw watching the rinl to see what happens garvin. Reporter jessica they have been here all day. Its a contradiction that a lot of people face. Last thing you want to see is fire. But once your home is evacuated you want to keep an eye on it. For most people theyre happy doing it on tv or online. But for some people they want to see in person how much danger their home is in. They couldnt have found a better spot to watch the fire. They couldnt be in a worst predicament because of it. Somewhere between this spot on sky line boulevard and the barre bear fire a mile and a half away sit their homes. More than 100 household have been evacuated. Some told to leave. Others not waiting to be asked. I woke up about midnight my wife woke me up, oh, you know, blankety blank. He snapped a few pictures before leaving his home in the neighborhood. His house stayed on the right side of the flames all day. But he and others watch and wonder if it will stay that way. Im really hopeful. I mean the wind is going the right direction for us. I dont know who its not going in the right direction for. All day they stood and tracked the fire progress. Routing against the flames and for cal fire. In fact the first tanker run of the day brought a cheer from the crowd. If anybody can fut out and save our house its cal far fire. We watched them do miracles. They do miracles. Reporter virginia becker who you just heard from has quite an story. She is not just an evacuee Petition Works as a red cross volunteer. She was in the north bay counseling fire victims up there. A couple days later she is in there their shoes. Garvin thompson, nbc bay area news. We see all the people behind you. Now to Mendocino County where 8,000 evacuate the residents are being allowed to go home. But for many the only thing they are finding are the memories. Nbc bay area joe rose eta jr. Has the latest from mendocino. The winds came up and came down the hill so fast it was in our backyard if 15 minutes. Reporter the last time she saw her house was in a moment of terror. Its the scareyest thing ive done in my life. Driving through flames i had an oak tree fall in front of me. But for the First Time Since the inferno they laid eyes on the home again. Thats the house right here. There is the pool. You can see the pool melted down to the water. Still has water. They lifted the evacuation orders in Redwood County and mendocino lowering them to come back. We are here seeing whats left. Kind of surreal. Ahmed ashes and debris small reminders of life before the flame. Pottery survived. Our cast iron survived in the stove. Shot putt balls i used in high school. Its something that i can always remember that part of my life with. Residents will tell you the flames may have consumed things and homes but in Redwood Valley the sense of community as sturdy as ever. There is nothing we can do about what happened we are just moving forward. Nbc bay area news. It hit hart up north especially in the bay area too. Tragic. It seems relentless cant get away from the fire. Even if you werent impacted it seems youre impacted by the smoke and the air quality is so bad all across the bay area. We woke up to it again today. The air pollution its tough to maintain the good air quality with the fires burning all around. Across the bay area, the thick veil of smoke more intense as the winds were light during the day. Some of the pollution levels got to the dangerous category at times around the north bay. Unhealthy for all groups. Inald, north bay, south bay, santa clara. Fast forward to the tomorrow air quality outlook. As the on shore winds pick up unhealthy levels linger. But for the rest of the bay area we should see improvement as the wind speeds pick up. Still 75 degreed under the hazy skies. Dublin unhealthy till. Into San Francisco look at the change we see now with the temperatures just two days ago close to 80 degrees in San Francisco now 58. And you can see the low clouds sweeping back in. And a pleasant evening for warrior basketball. 63 at elbowed. And low clouds approach at 10 00 tonight. Wind speeds up 15 to to. Good news for air quality tomorrow for the central bay but notice the inland highs now moviely in the 70s, 60s for highs tomorrow. Around San Francisco. So our incoming storm will bring maybe about a third of an inches of rain for Mendocino County and lake county. Less into the bay area as you can see most places picking up the. 1 irj or less. And snow across the sierra friday afternoon. A big change in the sevenday forecast not us just rain change. But. Up next what do they plan to do about the national anthem, the proses, the results of a meeting between the nfl owners and the Players Association. We re sharing stories of coffey park homeowners returning homes afterhe happening now on nbc bay area. Com we are sharing stories of coffey park home owners going back to houses after the tubbs fire devastated the neighborhood. Also on twitter Novato Police need help find ago man and woman who may have got gone a shopping spree with stolen credit cards. We have tweeted out surveillance photos. Back with more news. Fl players kneeling during the anthem. Owners and the playe a as the debate rages on about nfl players kneeling during the national anthem. Owners and the Players Association met today. They want to find Common Ground. Protesters lined up outside the meeting as the owners arrived. Nfl commissioner Roger Goodell sat down with the two sides to discuss the protests that started last year. Here in the bay area with former 49ers quarterback colin kaepernick. Today the two sides talked about using the unique positions and platforms to create equality and change. This is not anything its not against the military, not against the values of our country but in support of the values of our country and exercising the very things that the military went and fought for. After the meeting a joint statement was released calling the meetings productive and pledging to meet again to continue to work together. Now 49ers owner jed york and safety eric reed were part of the meeting. Reed said he will continue to kneel for the anthem doesnt think the nfl can force players to stand. President trump welcomed the Prime Minister of greece to a the white house as the meeting took place the president signalled support for a new bipartisan plan to replace a key piece of obamacare. The proposed plan would replace the insurance subsidies. The president halted those last week if you remember. With the subsidies gone Many Insurance Companies were expected to pull from the obamacare Network Effectively killing the program. Meanwhile republican senator john mccain offered harsh words for the president during an awards ceremony. Some half baked spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find escape goats than solve problems. The sppt responded saying at some point he would fight back and it wouldnt be pretty