Morning . Thanks for giving us that beautiful shot. Thank you so much for joining us on a saturday morning. Im kira klapper. Vianey arana has your microclimate forecast. I havent seen you since. Yeah, it was just me and my boyfriend hanging out. It was cozy inside and as it should have been because it was cold. Right . Its cold right now. Were officially below freezing in the north bay. Fairfax right now is at 28 degrees. That is so cold, can you imagine the patchy frost out there, expect to see it on some wind shields because even in san jose, 34 degrees right now. The winds are light, not really a factor but its so clear. Were not seeing any clouds in sight. Look at how beautiful San Francisco is waking up. 46 degrees. Got nice pink hues overlooking the skyline there. Heres a closer look at what we are monitoring for this weekend. Also heading into the workweek. Dry pattern continues. Full forecast coming up in a few minutes. Wow. Below freezing in the north bay. Thanks so much. A family of seven is without a home after their house caught fire early this morning. It was after 1 15 when the firefighters responded to this house fire in san jose. There was heavy fire coming out of the front of the home and fortunately all seven people escaped without getting hurt. Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring homes. This was the second fire of the night. The crews responded to it and say Smoke Detectors helped to save both families. Smoke detectors alerted the occupants so it was very important with this latest fire. They woke up from sleep, and able to get all seven, four adults, three children out, safely. Captain allreed urges people to change their Smoke Detectors at this time of the year. The red cross is assisting this family. Now to sacramento where police are still searching for a gunman who killed two people at a mall last night. Officers say the shooter opened fire at Arden Fair Mall just after 6 00. They say it was an isolated incident. A 19yearold male was pronounced dead at the mall and just this morning, police announced that a 17yearold boy who was taken to the hospital with life threatening injuries died there. When shots rang out, black friday shoppers ran to find safety. Some people were stuck inside for hours before police were able to determine it was safe. Police do confirm the shooter got away. Theyre only describing him as an africanamerican male in his 20s. Even the pandemic didnt keep shoppers away from trying to find deals on black friday. Nbc bay area found crowds in San Franciscos union square. Even though there was no Tree Lighting ceremony this year and no ice skating rink, its still a popular spot for people to gather and take photos. We found shoppers on the hunt for bargains, this was the line of cars leading into the best buy in colma last night. Many chose to do Curbside Pickup and best buy is changes things this year to prevent too many customers in long lines inside the stores. In addition to new pickup options, theyre also extending sales over the next few weekends. Unfortunately, shoppers told us more options didnt necessarily mean faster service. Its taken close to an hour and 45 minutes just to get one item. If the other item is not ready then you have to come back for that other item. Target has been spreading out sales over the past few weeks so people didnt feel the need to crowd into stores yesterday. And in Santa Clara County inspectors are cracking down this Holiday Shopping season issuing tickets to shoppers and businesses that arent abiding by mask wearing social distancing and crowd control. As of noon on black friday, they have issued 76 citations to businesses. That crackdown as cases continue to climb at an alarming rate in Santa Clara County. Just yesterday alone, the county recorded 545 new covid cases. According to our records, thats the highest daily total since the pandemic began. As pharmaceutical giant pfizer awaits emergency use authorization approval for the covid19 vaccine, the first doses already are being flown around the world to position for quick distribution in the event of getting the green light. The wall street journal reports United Airlines is chartering the shots from inside the u. S. And theyre allowed to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice, five times more than typically permitted in order to store the vaccines. Pfizer requested emergency approval from the fda last week and a meeting is set for december 10th to approval it. That vaccine cant come soon enough. Covid cases nationwide are up 10 . The cdc says the real infection rate though could be eight times higher and we could see yet another spike due to holiday gatherings. Hospitalizations on thanksgiving hit a record high for the 17th straight day and by next week, nearly a quarter of all hospitals could face a staffing shortage. The biggest challenge is that the vaccines are becoming available right at the time that were experiencing another surge. So the nurses who commonly would be the ones to administer the vaccine are needed at the bedside to care for Covid Patients as well as nonCovid Patients. Cedarssinai in los angeles expects some of those first vaccine doses to arrive soon. Theyll be stored in state of the art cold freezers. Covid cases across california show no signs of slowing down. The state reported 12,635 new covid cases yesterday. Its not a record but it is more than double the number of cases we were seeing each day a few weeks ago. The Positivity Rate keeps going up as well. Its currently up 6. 1 . Two weeks ago it was 4. 2 . San francisco is rolling out a Virtual Assistant tool as part of its Contact Tracing. As the number of covid cases continue to rise. In addition to calling people, they can use this option. Today in the bays Christie Smith shows us. Over the last seven days we have averaged 130 new cases of covid each day. Reporter dr. Susan philip is from San Francisco and an Infectious Disease specialist speaking amid a rise in covid cases. Investigating the cases and informing those with close contact, helping to isolate thats how we slow the spread of covid19. Reporter she says San Francisco has one of the most robust and culturally competent contact traces teams. The department of Public Health is reaching more than 80 of people who test positive for covid and close contact. This tool is part of the states platform. San francisco has just recently moved over our Case Investigation and Contact Tracing system to the state system called cal connect. So this tool is now available to us. Reporter it begins with a text to the number provided at the time of the test. It leads to the Online Survey on your smartphone. The Virtual Assistant is a tool that we use in conjunction with our more than 200 team members and the Virtual Assistant is confidential. Just like a phone call is from the Health Department from our covid team. Reporter we spoke with a few people along the embarcadero who sounded confident. So ideally if we could do the Contact Tracing would be great. Any avenue to use to make sure were all safe. Reporter City Residents who test positive would receive the notification and get a call and some calls will go those disproportionate cases. We are not giving up on reaching anyone. Reporter Christie Smith, nbc bay area news. 7 09, we have much more ahead on today in the bay. Coming up, already preparing for january 20th. The work thats under way in washington. Two months ahead of the Inauguration Day. Plus the holiday tradition continuing despite the pandemic. The major changes that christmas in the park will keep families safe and happy. Welcome back. Oh, gorgeous, cotton candy skies, as we look from emeryville toward San Francisco. It is so clear out there. Transamerica pyramid, it is very clear, which means it is very cold. Freezing temperatures across the bay this morning. Vianey has your forecast and that includes sunshine and a perfect time to get out for Small Business saturday today. Work for the setup for Inauguration Day is taking place outside the white house. They are constructing viewing stands and it will take place on the west lawn. The planning for the inauguration actually began back in july. The theme is our determined democracy forging a more perfect union. Lafayette park and the sidewalks have been closed for weeks to allow for all of this construction. Meanwhile, President Trump continues his twitter claims that the election was fraudulent. Just yesterday, a philadelphia federal Appeals Court weighed in and it rejected the latest efforts to challenge pennsylvanias election results. The court is saying, quote, calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof we have neither here. End quote. If the Trump Campaign appeals, the case could reach the u. S. Supreme court. And in wisconsin, a recount in Milwaukee County finally came to an end. No incidences of fraud were find there. President elect biden won in that county. The recount is an audit of the process, it verifies the balloting process that takes place on election day. I promised that this would be a transparent and fair process. And it was. The republican vice chair of the milwaukee board of canvassers said the recount was quote, exemplary. But added he does expect the Trump Campaign to pursue further litigation. Just shy of 7 14 and we do still have more ahead on today in the bay. Taking up, we take you to the annual christmas in the park. How its been reimagined for covid and spectators say they like it better. Well take you to the Opening Night coming up. Youre going to want to bundle up and head out and support Small Businesses today for Small Business saturday. Its in the 30s in a lot of the bay area so well talk about that. Full forecast in a few minutes. Stay with us. Welcome back. Its 7 16 on your saturday morning. The last weekend of november as we look at the sun rising over san jose. Vianey arana has freezing temperatures this morning, but sunshine and 60s for the rest of the day if youre headed out to support Small Business saturday. Sticking with san jose, a bay area tradition is still happening this year but not how and where it usually does. Downtown san jose is typically filled with trees illuminated for christmas in the park. The tradition which began back in the 1950s is taking on covid safety and people seem to like it. Today in the bays ian cole reports. Reporter its Opening Night at san joses christmas in the park. The line packed with families for a longawaited holiday season. Its pretty awesome. Were quite impressed. Reporter the event moved from downtown to history park so people could stay safe in their cars for a drivethru experience. This couple brought their grand kids who are waiting to do something normal. Its safe and fun. The lights are amazing. Reporter there are old traditions like booths and trees and new ones like a ballerina from the nutcracker. And multiple light tunnels. I think its really cool. Its a good change. Pretty special since we have been cooped up all year. Its nice to be with the community. Reporter all of this took about six weeks to set up and its added 1 160,000 new lights this year. Seeing the peoples faces light up is special. Reporter this man had to oversee the major transformation to this one. We have been you know doing this for 40 years. We celebrated the 40th last year. This gives us something new to focus on. Reporter it goes in 4 00 to 9 30 through january 3rd. The cost is 10 to 20 per car. Plenty of tickets available. Just not for tonight or tomorrow night. Reporter you have to buy them for a certain time slot online. Walkups are not allowed. Most families say that for all thats changed in 2020 this one is lifting their spirits. Merry christmas reporter in san jose, ian cole, nbc bay area news. That just made me so happy. All those kids and families. Its nice to see joy in our newscast and in 2020. Lets check in with now with our bit of joy, vianey arana, with a look at the microclimate forecast. Wow, it is below freezing in parts of the bay area this morning you said. Yes. Now ill stop it, kira. Stop it. So lets talk about the temperatures. Because it is cold and, you know, 30s right now in san jose. Theres a daytime view of christmas in the park. 34 degrees right now. Which is why i have got on my white fuzzy sweater of the day today. And we are going to be seeing a Beautiful Day ahead. Plenty of sunshine. Walnut creek, 34 degrees right now. So that was cold, but this is even colder. Fairfax is at 28 degrees. Im pretty sure they woke up to some frosty windshields, especially throughout portion of the interior valleys and the wind sheltered areas as well. Doppler radar, you can see how over the bay area its clear overall. We have a system passing to our north but we have High Pressure thats sort of blocking any sort of activity. Keeping us dry here and thats the pattern, at least for the next several days. Microclimate highs will be comfortable and cool. Talking mid 60s throughout most of the bay area, san jose, 65. Livermore, 63. Look at oakland, 64. San francisco, 63. San jose, 65. So lets take a look at the longrange outlook as we head to monday, we have a system that will pass to the north but that rain is most likely going to stay really far north. But were not going to see any rain out of that. So one thing we will see though is an increase in cloud cover also with a possibility of some morning fog and it will get breezy to window yet again. Especially for the mountain areas heading into monday night. Pushing the time line ahead towards thursday, any chance of rain is not likely so it looks like were going to end our november and head into december with another dry start even though we definitely need the rain. Thats for sure. Over the next seven days, heres a closer look at what you can expect. For tomorrow, 62 degrees again, another gorgeous sunny day. Breezy conditions expected for monday night and well monitor some wind gusts up in the mountain area, because of the system passing by. And then expect to see some pretty chilly starts for tonight and also into monday morning. Again, monday morning is very likely that well see the return of some fog but saturday for today, Small Business saturday, a fantastic day to support the locals. Thanks so much. It is just shy of 7 22. Still ahead on today in the bay you see the we continue with our good news, bringing life back to campus. How a local School Janitor turned muralist is bringing kids back to the campus in a way since theres still Distance Learning from home. To support a strong immune system, your body needs routine. Centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. Season, after season. Ace your immune support, with centrum. Your happy place. Find your breaking point. Then break it. Every emergenc gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergenc. So are we. Prudential helps 1 in 7 americans with their financial needs. Thats over 25 million people. With over 90 years of investment experience, our thousands of Financial Professionals can help with secure video chat or on the phone. We make it easy for you with online tools, esignatures, and nomedicalexam life insurance. Plan for better days. Go to prudential. Com or talk to an advisor. Of course there are many children and parents who are eager for schools to reopen. And we found a local School Custodian who feels the same way. So hes bringing kids back to campus in a remarkable display of artistry. Today in the bays Garvin Thomas shows us in this mornings bay area proud. Reporter eight months into this this pandemic and few things have been as disquieting as the quiet of an elementary school. James herrera has heard it and felt it. So every time i walk by the play ground i see it empty, i forget what my job is. Reporter james job for the past seven years has been custodian at holly oak elementary in san jose. He says nothing has felt quite right around here since the day the kids went home in the spring and didnt return. James of course cant bring them back. But he could he decided do the next best thing. Yeah, im going to make my own. Reporter now to understand just what james means, theres something you have to understand about james. He is much more than holly oaks custodian. He is something of an artist in residence. His creations are all over holly oak, from the tree in the library, to the flag in the cafeteria, to sculptures and mosaics all over campus. So i was reporter the inspiration for james latest project though came from a painting he bought at a flea market. And when i saw that picture, it reminded me of the playground, you know, during recess. The light bulb went off in my head. Reporter so james has been cutting out images on cardboard. And sending them home for students like winona it looks good. Reporter gia. Fancy. Reporter and others to decorate probably flowers. Reporter and return. James has more than a hundred now. And hopes to display them all on the schools playground. Bringing life in a way back to holly oak. He knows that learning from a distance has left many students feeling disconnected from their school community. And he wanted to help. The morale was down, you know . And so thats i wanted to build them up. Reporter build them up by letting the students know that even though they cant be here in person, they are here in cardboard, paint, and most of all spirit. Thanks to a custodian who cares about so much more than just cleaning. Garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. That man is a gem. Just a magnificent display. 7 27. We do have much more ahead for you on today in the bay. Coming up, families heading out to choose the perfect Christmas Tree amid a pandemic. The new protocols in place. Plus, no ppp required. A new robot that tests people for covid19. Todays ways of working may work differently tomorrow. But you can work out anything with comcast business. Get fast, reliable, and secure internet on the nations largest gig speed network. Flexible tools like wifi you control. Voice solutions that connect you from anywhere. And expert advice here, here, or even here. Be fast. Be flexible. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. Good morning. It is saturday, november 28th. Here is a live look outside at the Christmas Tree in union square in San Francisco where it is near freezing out there this morning. We hope our photographer norbert is staying bundled up and warm. A beautiful shot of that tree. Even though its not the same as it usually is. No Tree Lighting ceremony, no ice skating rink. Thanks so much for starting your final weekend of november with us. Im kira klapper and vianey arana has a peek at your microclimate forecast. You said below freezing in the north bay. Yeah. Down to the 20s right now in fairfax which is really, really cold. You know, its at least seasonable for november, right . At least starting to give us that winter feel like around here. San jose right now is at 34 degrees. So i slept with the window open last night. It helped keep the apartment nice and cool but i definitely need to bring out some of my heavy duty blankets now. By 9 00 a. M. Well be at 44 degrees in san jose. And by heavy duty blankets i mean the big mexican ones that my mom buys me with the tiger or the werewolf on it. Lets talk about the forecast. Right now, 32 degrees, one of the colder spots. Temperatures in the 60s by about 1 00. Thats going to be sort of the trend for this weekend. Dry, sunny, cool and comfortable. And i know were heading into december, so are we monitoring or tracking any rain . Thats a great question. Ill have a closer look at your extended outlook coming up in just a few minutes. I was going to say, i know youre the queen of heavy duty blankets but it sounds like your mother is. So you might be the princess of heavy duty blankets. Yes. A family of seven is without a home after their home caught fire, it was after 1 15 when san jose fire med 30 responded to this home on stainer road in south san jose. Crews said there was heavy fire out of the front of the home and fortunately the entire family escaped without getting hurt. The firefighters kept it from spreading to neighboring homes. This is the second fire of the night that crews responded to and say Smoke Detectors helped to save both families. Both of the incidents tonight, smoke detecters alerted the occupants. So it was important with the latest fire, they woke up from sleep and were able to get all seven, four adults, three children out safely. Captain alreed urges people to change their Smoke Detector batteries this time of the year. The red cross, by the way, is assisting that family. Now to a developing story in sacramento where police are still searching for the gunman who killed two people at a mall last night. The shooter opened fire at Arden Fair Mall just after 6 00. They say it was an isolated incident. According to police, a 19yearold male was pronounced dead at the mall. And just this Morning Police announced that the 17yearold boy who was taken to the hospital with life threatening injuries died there. When shots rang out, black friday shoppers scrambled and ran to find safety. Some people were stuck inside stores for hours before police were able to determine it was safe. Police say the shooter got away and they are only describing him as an africanamerican male in his 20s. Even the pandemic didnt keep shoppers away in trying to find deals on black friday. Nbc bay area found some crowds in the union square. Even though there was no Tree Lighting ceremony or ice skating rinks, people were gathering and taking photos. We found shoppers on the hunt for bargains. This was the line of cars leading into the best buy in colma. Best buy like many retailers is changes things this year to prevent too many customers and long lines. In addition to these new pickup options, theyre extending sales over the next few weekends. Unfortunately, shoppers said more options didnt necessarily mean faster service. Its taken close to an hour and 45 minutes to get one item. If the other item is not ready, then you have to come back for that other item. Target also has been spreading out sales over a few weekends so people didnt feel the need to crowd into the stores yesterday. Inspectors in santa clara are now cracking down and issuing tickets to shoppers and businesses that arent abiding by mask wearing, social distancing and crowd control. As of noon yesterday, they issued 76 citations to businesses. That crackdown comes as cases continue to climb at an alarming rate in Santa Clara County. Yesterday alone, they reported 545 new cases thats the highest daily total since the pandemic began. Pfizers covid19 vaccine has yet to be approved by regulators. But the first doses are being flown around the world for quick distribution. The wall street journal is reporting that United Airlines is chartering the shots. The faa is allowing united to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight, five times more than is typically permitted in order to safely store the vaccine. Pfizer requested emergency approval from the fda last week and a meeting to review that request is set for next month. That vaccine and any others cannot come soon enough as covid cases nationwide are up 10 . The cdc though says the real infection rate can be eight times higher and we could see soot another spike. The hospitalizations hit a record high for the 17th straight day. By next week, heat experts predict nearly a quarter of all hospitals can face a staffing shortage. The biggest challenge is that the vaccines are becoming available right at the time were experiencing another surge. The nurses who would administer the vaccine are needed at the bedside to care for Covid Patients as well as nonCovid Patients. Cedarssinai in los angeles and here locally ucsf and zuckerberg General Hospital are three of the hospitals that expect to receive the earliest doses of that vaccine. Covid cases across the state show no sign of slowing down. California has reported 12,635 new covid cases. Thats actually not a record. But it is more than double the number of cases we were seeing each day a few weeks ago. The Positivity Rate keeps going up. Its currently 6. 1 . Just two weeks ago it was 4. 2 . Combating the spread of coronavirus using technology. One man says he has created a robot that can test humans for covid19. It can take patients temperatures, draw blood, take xrays. Its then displays the results on a screen. The idea is to test people for the virus without exposing hospital staff to a covid positive patient. The robot is being used at a private hospital in egypt. Back here locally, Santa Clara County is ramping up testing to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. The county is opening several new free testing locations. They want to identify people who have the virus but dont show any symptoms to keep them from spreading it around. The walkup and appointment only testing sites are located in cupertino and palo alto. With thanksgiving behind us, many are heading out to find the perfect Christmas Tree. As they do it, local tree farms are adds covid19 protocols to keep people safe and this means capping the number of people allowed at the same time. One was so busy it had to close the gates. Reporter this is how dozens of east bay families burned off their thanksgiving meal calories by heading over to the alhambra Christmas Tree farm in martinez. So many people are here, buying their trees because we all want hope. Reporter even though theres plenty of fresh air circulating here, the family owned tree farm is requiring customers to wear face masks and stay six feet apart from others. Another addition, sanitizing stations. We wash all of our tools, we wash the saw before we give it to them and get it back. Reporter the farm had to close their gates in the middle of the day to limit the crowds. Some people are feeling frustrated so that makes it harder. Reporter no frustration from this family of four from berkeley who waited 15 minutes in their car before they were allowed in. Id rather wait and have less crowds than come in and have it be super packed. So i think theyre doing a great job. Reporter customers can also order precut trees and have them delivered to their homes. Hoping for a great season. Everybody is upbeat. I have been telling everybody lets make it the best christmas season. Reporter it has been a dark year for many. That is on my familys agenda this weekend. Still to come on today in the bay, reclaiming the act. The wild ending to yesterdays big game. Did you see it . Coming up next in sports. Its one of the oldest and most storied rivalries in college football. Cal and stanford, the 123rd big game looked and sounded different this year, of course. There were no fans allowed inside memorial stadium, but still there was plenty of excitement. Cal scored a touchdown with under one minute to go in the fourth. The extra point would have tied the game but it was blocked. Stanford held on to win, 2423. Reclaiming the ax from the golden bears. We wanted to put a complete game together. Still didnt play our best. Still much more that we can improve on. But a good team victory. Really excited for the ax to come back to stanford, california. Cal drops to 03 on the season. A major upset in College Hoops thanks to the San Francisco dons. They beat number four ranked virginia, in the home light classic in connecticut. This is the dons first win in nearly 40 years. And its saturday and the weather is looking good. Plenty of sunshine to start out the morning, although its cold out there. What do we have in store for today . Stick with us. Wild thing, you make my heart sing wild thing i. Think i. You know what i think . I think you owe us 48. 50. Wild thing. If you ride, you get it. Geico motorcycle. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. Good morning, buenos dias. A good day, its a good day to shop local. Youll have a lot of sunshine to go out and support local businesses. A quick shoutout to some local businesses. My earrings from ill have the locations on the instagram page. Look at the mug, plant mama and my plants are from a couple of local nurseries. The weather is not going to be in the way. I will be noticing though that the temperatures are warming up a bit. So you want to bundle up headed into this afternoon. Because even though its in the 30s right now by the afternoon its still going to be chilly in the 50s. So San Francisco actually one of our warmest spots right now. 47 degrees. But its so clear and calm. 34 degrees in san jose. The winds not really a factor this morning and lets take a look at the walnut creek temperatures. 34 degrees. But its the 30s thats in fairfax, that was in the 20s earlier today. That was definitely cold. Below freezing, couple of frosty areas there. High pressure is helping us stay dry and clear of any sort of cloud cover. So lets take a look at Doppler Radar because you can see the system to our north and notice how over the bay area were clear. Well stay that way for today and tomorrow. So lets take a look at your microclimate forecast for this afternoon. Mostly sunny temperatures will be in the 60s for San Francisco, 63 degrees. San jose, 65. Morgan hill, 65. Look at concord, 64 and lets take a look at the long range outlook. The rain is expected to stay to the north, thats going to keep any chance of rain really far off there. For us, the biggest impact on monday is going to be an increase in cloud cover, an increase in winds and also some foggy conditions to start our workweek. Fast forwarding this time line all the way through thursday, we stay fairly dry. So definitely expecting to end november and start december on a dry note. Breezy conditions on monday. Overnight lows in San Francisco will be in the 40s. A couple of high clouds heading into thursday. But check out inland temperatures, 60s for daytime highs and the 30s are hanging on plus for overnight lows over the next seven days. Join me on Instagram Live so we can keep on chatting about the weather. See you on instagram. Still ahead on today in the bay private firefighters were only reserved for the rich and famous, but spreading in neighborhoods like yours to prevent homes from burning down. Im chris chmura, what that means for you and how to figure out if you have the services for free. I got it all from you im always pushing through i know well make it to the finish line i know youre waiting on the other side im like you ondemand glucose monitoring. Because theyre always on. Another lifechanging technology from abbott. So you dont wait for life. You live it. Do you have a private firefighter on stand by watching your home right now . Most of us would say no. But consumer investigator chris chmura found the answer increasingly is yes and you might not even know it. This morning he shows us how private firefighting is quietly spreading. Sir, you have to go reporter this summer as wildfires raged and families hurried away from their home. I was 300 feet from the house burning. Reporter a small group of firefighters raced to the neighborhoods. The Insurance Companies sent them. Its where the fire is imminent and which homes can we save. Reporter angie orban oversees the insurance and they privately added Firefighting Services to all of the homeowner and landlord policies about a year ago. We made the decision to apply to all of our customers equally. Reporter we were curious how it works so travelers connected with us the vendor it hired. Wildfire Defense Systems in boseman, montana. We track fires as you can see on the board behind us here at operations center. Reporter it cross references imminent threats with homes that travelers insurances and when an Evacuation Order kicks homeowners out, the private groups move in. They clear debris. Theyre not fighting the fires themselves. So were not a first responder. But were a supplemental resource to help with these insured structures survive the fire. Reporter the private firefighters extinguish the piles of embers and they leave. This happens all behind the scenes. Reporter travellers says its saved a number of homes but wouldnt share where. How many does it cost policyholders like you . This is something we provide to our customers at no additional cost. Reporter travelers was fairly open and the cost of the service pays for itself, and the company doesnt have to pay to rebuild the homes. We asked how much money is it saving . I would have to reserve like how much we save, but you know proprietary. Honestly its not really necessarily about the money that we save from it, but clearly obviously if theyre able to save a home thats a loss were preventing to your point, those losses go back into the analysis on how much we charge for home insurance. Reporter possibly more stable insurance rates and less burned down houses but theres one group thats opposed to private firefighters public firefighters. They hinder their response. You want to come in and prep property and get it more fire resistive, prior to the fire season thats great. But when the fire season hits get out of the state of california and let the professionals do their job. Reporter bryce said some private firefighters have gotten in the way. A few were accused of illegally setting backfires in the north bay. Even if they play by the rules he sees an unnecessary risk. They make us take our eye off the ball because its one more human being that we are responsible for. Reporter the Firefighter Union said its pushed through a state law to restrict private Firefighting Services and now its looking to rein them in more. Travelers said the firefighters are to follow official instructions without interfering. This does not replace the state or the local firefighters who are on the front lines. Reporter chubb offers private firefighting, but declined to participate in our story. So do you have private Firefighting Service . Pick up your policy and look under endorsements and then call your agent, ask about it. One final note, travelers said customers can opt out. Were told some in San Francisco have, but you dont get a discount. We have more fire related stories and preparation advice on our website. Go to nbc bay area. Com. Then click the responds option from the main menu. 7 54. Still ahead on today in the bay, the Christmas Spirit lives on in girl ardelly square. You can see the art competition. Theres no bad time to start at amazon. I like the flexibility. It also allows for picking up shifts. Safety comes first, speed comes second. Safety. Safety. Safety. Were making sure that somebody is getting their very important items. It makes me very happy. Santa con is canceled. It has been canceled over concerns of coronavirus spreading. They announced theyre call it off. The santas only pub crawl each year brings together hundreds of people and dressed in santa costumes. Now to a Big Christmas display still going on at San Franciscos ghirardelli square. 16 Christmas Trees to be exact. Students from the academy of Art University created the trees as part of their Christmas Tree stroll. Students from nine departments submitted the concepts and these 16 finalists were chosen. Each tree has a qr code to give admirers a selfguided tour experience. Theyre on display through december 30th. Time now for our clear the shelters segment featuring our friends from pet in need. We want you to introduce you to bert. He had been shot and he had shell fragments in the leg so they amputated his leg. They say hes healing well and learning to navigate. They say hes with a foster family thats helping relieve his fear and that hes becoming a very loving dog. He will be available for adoption soon. The reason they want to highlight berts story is because today is Small Business saturday but tuesday, december 1st is giving tuesday. They can only help pets like this, taking care of pets, with donations. On giving tuesday, anyone who donates their gift will be matched dollar for dollar by a local family up to 50,000. To donate, go to pets in need. Org. We hope you do. Its just shy of 8 00. Thank you so much for making us a part of your local morning. Well is have more local news on our website. See you tomorrow. Announcer when you see this symbol you know youre watching television thats educational and informational. The more you know on nbc. Dylan hi, im dylan dreyer, and were about to embark on another earth odyssey. On todays episode, we return to the galapagos islands, an unspoiled wilderness with an extraordinary diversity of animals and plants found nowhere else on earth. Watch as this galapagos native dives for his dinner. And later, how many pushups does it take to impress your friends . This lizard takes on the challenge. [music]