With the endracism. The mayor condemned the nooses and allowanced the police would launch a hate Crime Investigation. The mayor said even though there were claims the nooses were used for exercise equipment, that does not excuse them. When officers searched the lake, they found five ropes attached to multiple trees. We spoke to one africanamerican man who shared this video of people using the ropes as swings. He tells us theyve been up for months and the purpose was to have fun, not to instill fear. Maybe that big, just enough to put a harness on it so you can swing yourself. We have to start with the assumption that these are hate crimes. We cannot take these actions lightly. We have to take them seriously. Reporter and the mayor says the findings from opds hate Crime Investigation will be turned over to the fbi. And she was pretty adamant about this, that these symbols of hate crime, regardless of the intention, they will not be tolerated in oakland, especially if a public place. Thats the latest here, melissa colorado, nbc bay area news. Thank you, melissa. Developing tonight, firefighters are gaining the upper hand on a brush fire. The nelson fire, burning at least 95 acres, destroying four houses. The fire is burning in beaut county, north of santa clara east of santa rosa. An Evacuation Order was lifted earlier today was the flames were under control. The heat is here to stay. This is our live camera from walnut creek. It is warm out there. And get ready, because its going to be hotter tomorrow. Chief meteorologist jeff ranieri joins us now. How hot are we talking . Close to 100 for a few cities as we roll into tomorrow. Today, definitely a warmup, from 10 to 15 degrees hotter. I think it was manageable for most of you, as we get a live look right now outside of our skycam a network, looking towards San Francisco. Really no fog at all to show you at this point. You can see the comparison of how we did today compared to the averages, and we were ten degrees above or more above average in santa rosa. 93 the high, average 82. Concord, average of 83. These are the official highs that have come in. No recordsetting heat, but definitely warmer. We also had a dry northerly breeze, up to 27 Miles Per Hour in the napa mills. Oakland hills 25. But the winds are starting to calm. I think it will stay breezy as we roll through tomorrow. But not extremely gusty. So theres a little bit of good new there is with the fire danger. Temperatures to start will be in the 70s. Well be mild tonight and then here we go, 70s by 9 00 a. M. Tomorrow. 75 in livermore, 76 in concord, 75 in san jose. Again, 9 00 a. M. , so quick warming, and you can see once we hit 3 00, not even the hottest part of the day, i have the hottest temperature here in concord at 98. Well talk more about this area of High Pressure and whats on the way over the next several days. Ill see you in about ten minutes. Thank you, jeff. As temperatures rise, we talk about fire danger, as well. We also talk about the damage and the people these fires impact. Today, tears and blame from the loved ones killed in the 2018 fire in butte county. Pg e repeatedly ignored warnings about failing lines and payment nance and putting profits before safety. Yesterday, the utilitys ceo pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Today, relatives of those victims gave heartbreaking testimony prior to the Court Sentencing of pg e. His last words to her were, the fire is two houses away, help me. And then the phone went dead. There were grandmothers, grandfathers, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and in four hours, gone. Its pretty clear that this company wont change until some pg e executive goes to jail. 3. 5 million fine for killing 80 people is not justice. Emotional to hear the testimony and see this video here. One angry relative accused pg e of making empty promises, noting how the utility pledged to do better after the deadly san bruno fire in 2010. He surrendered. The man accused of attacking women on a popular jogging trail in the east bay. Police say this is the attacker. Investigators circulated the photo asking for help finding the man. He grabbed women from behind on the iron horse trail and it happened numerous times between march and june. Today, that individual turned himself in. Coronavirus coverage now. San mateo county lifting its shelter at home order 90 minutes ago. Lots of businesses will now begin the reopen process if they meet the countys guidelines for safe operations. Among them, dinein restaurants, hair salons, barbershops, gyms and fitness centers, and businesses that offer waxing services. They can resume operations friday. Again, the Business Owners must prove that they can reopen safely. In the last several months, it all depends where you live. Hair salons and barbershops have been given the green light for some of us. Salons are now open in counties in green here. Sonoma county, napa and solano county. The majority of the bay area in red, not happening. Today, Contra Costa County did reopen salons. Just like everything else, there are new rules for salons and barbersh barbershops. At the beauty lounge, clients waited outside until the stylist were ready. Staff wear masks and offer hand sanitizers to all the clients. Some chairs are blocked off and stations are six feet apart and theyre all disinfected after each use. But none of that dampened the excitement this afternoon. Im ecstatic about getting my hair done today. Ive been waiting four months. Im pretty much all gray, so if i dont get it hair colored, i have to be gray. A lot of people are excited. Some stylists say they will not blow dry clients hair, because there are concerns it could help spread the virus if its already in the air. In San Francisco, one of the most popular attractions is reopening, talking about pier 39. But there will be restrictions on how many people can visit. Our janelle wang joins us with more on that. So no restrictions for the sea lions being on top of each other, just restrictions on us watching the sea lions be on top of each other. Reporter right. School is done, a lot of people and families excited to get back to their favorite attractions. Pier 39 says please come and visit us. The biggest change now is entry gates at the beginning, before you get on the pier, so they can limit how many people will be at pier 39. Youll notice social distancing markers around the pier, especially in front of the sea lions. Theyre implementing all major protocols. Every teach point on the property will be cleaned throughout the day. There are now 20 sanitizing stations on the pier. People ages 13 and over must wear face coverings. The restaurants have moved outdoors and retail shops are open, but the number of visitors inside will be limited. Pier 39 is back open for business. Please come down and see us. Its a spectacular day on the water front. Were here in your backyard. This is where people should be to spend time with families. Were open, were safe, were welcoming. We want you back. Please come and see us. Reporter the pier is hoping to get the green light to open Indoor Dining in early july. Okay. Meantime, the San Francisco zoo will be ready to open as soon as it gets the green light from its health officials. Visitors will notice oneway guidance markers and social distancing markers, hand sanitizing stations and mask requirements. During the shutdown, the zoo is losing 70 of revenue right now, which comes from admission tickets. But fortunately donations have helped zookeepers stay on board to take care of and feed all the animals still there. The oakland zoo is hoping to reopen june 29th, but they are still waiting for approval from alameda county. I also spoke to happy hollow zoo, and they received no word yet when they can reopen, so no target date yet. But they are all ready to reopen as soon as they get the green light. Still to come, im going to be switching gears and talking about the other hot topic in america, racism. Specifically racism in the workplace. Well have that story coming up in about 15 minutes. Janelle, well see you shortly. Social reform in realtime. Across the nation, people are reexamining everything from the names of their streets and schools to statues and monuments that have stood for decades. Are they critical pieces of our history or monuments representing oppression and hate . Tonight, people are gathering in larksburg, demanding the statue of sir Francis Drake removed and a road named for him be renamed. Theres also an issue in San Francisco relating to another explorer. Lets bring in christy smith. Reporter a demonstration is planned there this evening, but there is concern about the Christopher Columbus statue here in San Francisco. Sir Francis Drake boulevard could use a name change according to laura brown. Right now with the Francis Drake name all over the county, it symbolizes we respect his legacy, and his legacy, in fact, is filled with hate, racism. Reporter she would like to see other symbols tied to the british explorer changed, too. A petition aims to reinvest police funds into Services LikeHealth Crisis intervention teams and remove drake references, and take down a sculpture. The first thing i see coming into the town is a celebration of a man who sold over 1400 people in slavery. Reporter the creator of the sculpture disagrees, saying by phone its about an event. A western european global adventure that would bring their frag to the shores here, not a tribute to a man some see as a slave trader. Others are taking matters into their own hands. In San Francisco, the statue of Christopher Columbus was defaced again last week with paint. The italianamerican one Voice Coalition is speaking out, worried that some people in the city might take matters into their own hands. Its very distressful to hear about this and the others going around the country, because this is based upon a false narrative. Reporter they want the statue to be protected. In San Francisco, christie smith, nbc bay area news. Okay, tomorrow night, we have another version of our nbc bay area news special, race in america, the conversation. Were devoting another hour to exploring the ongoing racial divide in the country, the call for change, and were going to talk about the issue deeply of police reform. We invite you to join myself and Marcus Washington tomorrow night at 6 30 for an honest conversation about what happens next. We are looking forward to that. Up next here at 6 00, new details released about that Helicopter Crash that killed kobe bryant. What we now know about the final moments inside the cockpit. Plus, more people willing to leave the house during the pandemic. Well look at the surge of rioter riot surge of riders on Public Transportation. Im chief meteorologist jeff ranieri, tracking those warmer temperatures. Ill have a brand new up stadat seven minutes. You say that customers make their own rules. Lets talk data. Only Xfinity Mobile lets you switch up your wireless data whenever. I accept 5g everybodys talking about it. How do i get it . Everyone gets 5g with our new data options at no extra cost. Thats good. Next item corner offices for everyone. Just have to make more corners in this building. Chad . Your wireless your rules. Only with Xfinity Mobile. Now thats simple easy awesome. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus get 200 off a new Samsung Galaxy s20 ultra. Today, hundreds gathered at Santa Cruz County college to grieve and honor a sheriffs deputy who made the ultimate sacrifice. The memorial for Sergeant Damon gutzweilor was held with a police with deep ties to the fallen deputy. Robert handa was there as family, friends and fellow deputies offered a tribute to the man they say helped stop a rampage. Reporter the investigation into the suspect accused of killing the sergeant turns up more information, but today at the memorial, that case was overshadowed by the love, affection and grief the officer left behind. The procession brought Sergeant Damon gutzwiler here to a return of his hometown. The start of a 14year career, a career that ended abruptly on june 6 during what investigators call an ambush and shootout with suspect steven carillo, who was arrested and who the fbi claims is linked to an antipolice extremist group. We got lost in questions and pursue an endless search of the whys and the hows and the what ifs about that day. I dont know if well ever get what were looking for. Reporter friends and fellow officers tried to explain how much he meant. There are no magic words that i can say. Thats no tricks that i can offer to make the pain go away. But we must remember that damon is counting on us. Reporter a tearful wife thanked the sheriff and the community. Dam op was happon was happiw were together as a family. He loved what he did. It wasnt just a job. Reporter and then it was the end of watch. Sergeant damon gut vshz wile may he rest in peace. Well have the watch from here. Reporter robert handa, nbc bay area news. We have new details tonight about the Helicopter Crash that killed kobe bryant, his daughter and seven others. The pilot may have been disoriented. Documents released by the ntsb says that he told air Traffic Controllers that he was climbing to get above the clouds but the chopper was plugging towards a hillside. He may have misperceived the angles, which can happen when a pilot is disoriented. The report does not offer a cause of the crash yet. The final report is expected later this year. Have you noticed traffic is back . Not quite as headache levels but enough to slow us down. This is the evening commute across the san mateo brincdge. Probably the most amount of cars weve seen in months. Its also Public Transportation like b. A. R. T. Heres our business and tech reporter scott budman. Reporter a pair of new stations opening in the south bay, b. A. R. T. Saw ridership shoot up above 43,000 passengers on tuesday. Its celebrated in a tweet. Speaking of public transit, vta says it is coming back. Working to make sure people feel safe on board. We are making sure we have the vehicles on our most populated lines and we want to make sure that everybody understands that were doing our part, were clean, were safe, we need them to do their part. Our riding public needs to wear masks when on board. Reporter and if youve noticed more cars on the road, youre right. After freeway traffic dropped by 90 things have significantly improved. Reporter the Bay Area Council says bay area roads are now back to 52 of prepandemic lefts. Theres more and more travel and more and more Economic Activity thats happening in the bay area. And thats very important for those that, of course, want it are out of a job right now. Reporter more Economic Activity and more people back on the move. Another interesting statistic from the bay area, counsel for years here in the bay area, peak traffic day has been wednesday. But since the pandemic with so many working from home, they say peak traffic day is now saturday as people try to get away. In san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. I was stuck in traffic today coming to work again. So people are back on the road. Ban on the road and trying to get some of that sunshine out there, too. Yeah, it is beautiful, you guys. So nice down here. Didnt even want the sunglasses, just soaking up these rays of sunshine, warmer out here today. Temperatures anywhere from 10 to 15 degrees above average and also a 10 to 15degree jump above where we were yesterday. Lets take you outside of that skycam a network in san jose, and just a beautiful shot here. Plenty of blue sky and currently 83 degrees after the official high at the airport of 87. Its going to stay mild through 10 00 p. M. With 70s in the mix and well drop down to cooler 60s. As we bring you into the larger pattern, this is what is helping to produce the heat and its definitely going to kick into high gear through tomorrow. Take a look at the forecast here. Up to some of the hottest temperatures out here in concord and livermore, in the upper 90s. Santa rosa 95. San francisco, 78. Oakland, 89. My foerecast in palo alto, 93. And mid 90s for south bay into sj san jose and morgan hill. Where do we go from here . Well see a dropoff, but remaining warm for the upcoming weekend as summer arrives on saturday at 2 44 p. M. And we do drop down to some 80s next week. Now, one thing that might just be bothering you, continues to be the pollen, grass, channel pods, juniper and weeds all in the moderate category. So with covid19 happening, certainly gives you a little bit of alarm, but you take the allergy medicine and hopefully hell be okay. So were out here in my yard, soaking up the sun. Its one of the advantages of working from home. I was getting stir crazy, so im very happy to be outside right now. Lets just put it that way. Looks beautiful, jeff. Doing a beautiful job with the yard by the way. Up next, fighting discrimination. Janelle rejoins us with the story of one womans mission to fight racism and sexism at work. Oh, we love our new home. Neighborhoods great. Amazing school district. The hoa has been very involved. These shrubs arent board approved. You need to break down your cardboard. Thank you. Violation. Violation. I see youve met cynthia. At least geico makes bundling our home and Car Insurance easy. And it does help us save a bunch of money. Two inches over regulation. Thanks, cynthia. For bundling made easy, go to geico. Com that could mean an increase byin energy bills. You can s