have been sending pictures and video. we want to thank one of our twitter followers for sending us these pictures. it shows the smoke and flames early on before the fire spread and before the roof of that church collapsed. and you can send us your pictures to [email protected]. stay with us on air and online as we will bring the latest developments. jessica? >> thank you, janelle. the smoke from the loma fire in the santa cruz mountains may the be visible any more, but the fire danger is nowhere near over. it's burned 4,300 achers and at this point still only 34% contained. nbc bay area's robert handa went behind the lines of the fire today. he has been tweeting pictures inside the burn zone all day. what's the progress and holdup at this point? >> reporter: well, we can see it here from near the top of mt. loma prieta and here near the start of loma chiquita road. we got to see its destructive power. rolling through the fire zone and smoldering now barren mountainsides, it is a seemingly endless series of devastating images, going down loma chiquita roads, homes once stood, some houses, other trailers, all burnt down to rubble. one woman who asked not to be identified, hasn't been allowed back, and she worries whether her home is one of the ones lost. >> where this fire started hasn't burned in the 40 years i've lived here. in that area. so it was extremely fast. one house is was gone in the first half hour. i watched it. >> reporter: at several places, we saw apparent marijuana growth left behind, and now covered with fire retardant. i saw many old and sometimes vintage cars reduced to charred shells. helicopters were using mountains to reload for water drops and there were a number of apparent investigations going on, presumably to find the origin and cause of the fire. but at this point, cal fire says its main concern is the wind, because it's getting stronger and changing directions. >> we're going to see winds gusting potentially to 30 miles per hour out of the northwest. that's a new wind direction for us, so it's going to challenge parts of the fire containment line that haven't really been challenged with wind yet. >> reporter: in fact, cal fire says that the battle starting tonight and going into tomorrow will be the turning point in this firefight. coming up at 6:00, more on the strategy to fight the effects of the wind. live in the santa cruz mountains, robert handa, nbc bay area news. >> good information there, robert. let's give another look at the fire right now from the chopper. meteorologist jeff ranieri tracking the conditions. we heard the firefighter talk about the winds changing and also the issue with the temperatures dropping, so they're both going at each other. >> exactly. and that cooler temperature has no doubt helped the firefighters. check this out right now. 67 degrees when that fire started earlier this week. temperatures were in the low 90s. that's the good news. winds up at times today. right now northwest at 7. we have seen it gust 20 miles per hour and that will be the thing we're focusing on in the next couple days. we'll have 50s moving in by 9:00 and also 10:00 tonight. but the biggest change on the fire lines will be that chance of rain arriving as we head throughout sunday's forecast, and 66 for the high. that's when winds could be gusting 15 to 30 miles per hour again on sunday. speaking of that rainfall, i want to go ahead and move to the next and you can see by sunday's forecast, rainfall is just off to the north. and then we start to see that chance of some scattered rainfall beginning sunday at 8:30 in the morning. we'll track the time line right through your entire weekend and i will have details in about 15 minutes. we're constantly updating our website with new information about this fire, the loma fire. all you need to do is click on the story box and that will take you right to a photo gallery. we've got new images of the burn zone. again, nbcbayarea.com, photos for you to check out. more legal claims and charges in the sexual misconduct scandal involving a teenager and bay area law enforcement. today another not guilty plea. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez is live in hayward where a former county deputy made his first court appearance today. >> reporter: that's right, the first court appearance in court this afternoon. neither he or his attorney chose to speak to the media. but inside the courtroom, his attorney explained that he has lost his job over the accusations and he pled not guilty. he's accused of having sex with an underaged teenager named jasmine. former contra costa county sheriff's deputy, ricardo perez, faced a slew of cameras as he came to court to answer to criminal charges. >> this plea will be not guilty. >> reporter: he has pled not guilty to a felony charge of oral cop u legislation with a minor. court documents say perez had sex with the teen some ten times when jasmine was just 17 years old. >> jasmine understands, as do many other young women, that this is trafficking. and it's a conspiracy, and it should be stopped. that it has to be stopped. >> reporter: jasmine's attorney also filed more claims against various cities and counties. including a $30 million claim against the city of richmond. the claim says five richmond police officers trafficked jasmine among bay area officers, or failed to report the abuse. the claim says they deepened her spiral down into the sex trade. >> we believe that those officers, similar to the officers at oakland police department, similar to san francisco, engaged in inappropriate conduct with a minor, sexually commercial exploitation of a minor. >> reporter: jasmine's attorneys also filed claims against the cities of livermore, san francisco and against alameda county. there was another officer who was supposed to be arraigned in court today, but his case was continued until next week. reporting live in hayward, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, jodi. let's tell you more about the coverage of an officer-involved shooting of an unarmed black man that started nightly protests in southern california. the city of el cajon released two videos of the shooting. one was taken from a camera mounted of a nearby restaurant. the other taken by a person waiting in the drive-thru line. now, you can see what appears to be the person in question, alfred alongo, acting strangely before officers opened fire. city leaders say they hope the video will clear up any misinformation that's been out there. >> we hope that any demonstrations will be peaceful. again, that was the intention of releasing this video. we really emphasize our desire for peace and calm. >> police also released an image of a vaping device they say alo alongo pointed at the officer. protests did turn violent and end in arrest. now to decision 2016. more insults and now allegations of a sex tape on the campaign trail. today gop nominee, donald trump, launched more attacks against a former miss universe. he sent off a flurry of tweets overnight, mostly about alicia machado, calling her a con, and disgusting. he also claimed she made a sex tape, even though he had no proof of one and says hillary clinton helped her become a u.s. citizen. many campaign watchers are baffled. >> he just cannot let this go. and he's being played by the clinton camp like a fiddle. >> i mean, really? who gets up at 3:00 in the morning to engage in a twitter attack? against a former miss universe? >> a clinton spokesperson denied trump's allegation that hillary clinton helped alicia machado become a u.s. citizen. day one of a three-day strike in contra costa county. social workers blocked in a contract dispute. some 50 workers took to the streets of martinez today to protest unfair labor practices. they're asking for better heart attack coverage, better training and more money. they say they're overpaid and simply overworked. >> this is really important. we need more workers, we need safety for our workers who are on the front line, trying to help all of the time. >> this impacts some 1,100 county service workers. the last contract expired in june. the county is hopeful a deal will be reached. the strike is set to continue through next wednesday. the governor signs a new law inspired by brock turner to change the definition of sexual assault. i'm scott budman. coming up, reaction from those who wrote the bill. and i'm lili tan, live in golden gate park where the biggest music festival of the year kicked off today. 750,000 people desending on san francisco. how to avoid the gridlock name and i'm meteorologist, jeff ranieri. we're tracking the storm offshore that will bring the chance of weekend rain and snow for the sierra. a winter weather advisory in place. we'll detail it all in about six minutes. narrator: it wasn't that long ago. years of devastating cutbacks to our schools. 30,000 teachers laid off. class sizes increased. art and music programs cut. we can't ever go back. ryan ruelas: so vote yes on proposition 55. reagan duncan: prop 55 prevents 4 billion in new cuts to our schools. letty muñoz-gonzalez: simply by maintaining the current tax rate on the wealthiest californians. ryan ruelas: no new education cuts, and no new taxes. reagan duncan: vote yes on 55. sarah morgan: to help our children thrive. reagan duncan: vote yes on 55. the fallout from the brock turner sexual assault case has now changed california law. governor brown signed a new bill imposing new minimum sentences on those convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious person. scott budman is live outside the courthouse in san jose. scott. >> reporter: reaction was quick today. both from the legislators who wrote the bill and from the woman who prosecutored the brock turner case. brock turner spent three months in jail, despite being convicted of sexual assault. the sentence, which many thought was lenient, was due in part to the lack of any mandatory sentence guidelines for sexual assault cases involving unconscious victims. the legislation just signed by governor brown will ensure that those convicted of sexual assaults on someone who is unconscious will now get mandatory prison sentences. >> it guarantees that individuals like brock turner will go to prison in the future. >> reporter: the bill was met with praise, both from the district attorney and the assistant d.a., who said she recently spoke to the victim. >> just a few months ago, we were upset and saddened by the sentence, but now the law has changed such that women on college campuses are safer. >> reporter: those who authored the bill say the rules had do change. >> we as male legislators want to make it very clear that this is not okay, and that we want do ensure that for the generations of young men that this is not tolerated. >> reporter: the governor also signed a bill expanding the definition of rape, including all forms of nonconsensual sexual assault. the district attorney also said he will host a symposium on sexual assault on campus. it will be november 18th at santa clara university. reporting live in san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, scott. flyers circulated and got the attention of prosecutors today. an angry b.a.r.t. rider took this photograph, suspected of leaf letting 100 cars. the flyers have east bay jewish leaders upset. today a b.a.r.t. police officer did present evidence at the d.a.'s office. prosecutors say the leaf-letting, no matter how offensive it may be, is protected by the first amendment. commuters in the bay area will have a new choice if they decide to take the ferry to work. the california public utilities commission voted thursday to allow two private ferry companies to run public routes across the bay. beginning in 2017, the company known as prop sf, will have routes connecting berkeley and emeryville in the east bay with redwood city and pier 15 in san francisco. >> the response to people riding our private services is great. people are able to, like i said, just enjoy life a little more, even on the accumulate. >> another company, tide line, plans to be in the water within the next 30 days with a single route between berkeley and san francisco. music could lead to madness for anyone trying to get around san francisco this weekend. the bluegrass festival kicked off today. check out some video. this is the view from our helicopter last year. this year, 750,000 people expected to descend on the city. nbc bay area's lili tan is live in golden gate park where things are getting under way right now. and l and lilly, road closures and track. >> reporter: just take a look at my maps app. a lot of red meaning heavy traffic if you're trying to get here to helmand hollow in golden gate park. many people we spoke to will either walk or took their bikes or road trappinnsportation to a traffic. they hope to enjoy great music when they walk through the gates. ♪ from the appear laicha to the golden gates of san francisco, bluegrass is taking center stage this weekend. ♪ the hardly strictly bluegrass festival is expected to attract 750,000 people. that's more than triple the number of visitors for outside lands. >> that's been the average for the past two years. so, yeah. pretty much the entire population of san francisco, and then some. ♪ >> this is it. this is the band i came to see. >> reporter: many people in the front row staked out their spots at dawn. but not everyone. >> when you're a single person, you just walk through and find a grassy area and you sit down. >> i live here, but it's the first time i've ever been to this. but it seems pretty well-organized and quiet. >> reporter: liza says she walked from a friend's house. >> make sure we're all attached here. >> reporter: and these women from the upper hait are taking advantage of one of many bike racks available at the front gate. >> you better ride your bike or walk. don't ride your car, you'll be ten blocks that way. >> reporter: security is also tight. with police and state parks rangers patrolling the area, remind everyone, don't fiddle around. we're back live at golden gate park, where there is a steady flow of people arriving to the festival after work for the last act that starts about 5:45. the biggest day, however, is supposed to be tomorrow when cyndi lauper and chris isaac take center stage. live in golden gate park, lili tan, nbc bay area news. >> what a great weekend to be at an outdoor music festival. all these people and you won't feel hot, just perfect. >> a little bit of body heat. >> sunday, though, you may have to bring an umbrella. is that right? >> still a chance of rain, not a huge storm system, but we haven't seen anything measurable in a long time. much welcomed for a lot of us. the microclimate forecast right now. blue sky in san jose, still smoke off to the south from the loma fire impacting the hill. a temperature of 67 right now at the airport. and we'll see it drop down to 59 by 9:00 this evening. so what's helping to bring this cooler air, this developing trough of low pressure that's going to stay in place not only for tonight but for saturday and also on sunday, bringing us another reinforcing shot of colder air. that's right, temperatures dropping cooler for saturday and sunday and the chance of a few showers, as well. now in advance of this system, we do via winter weather advisory that has been issued. i want you to be ahead of this in case you're headed to lake tahoe this weekend. it's for sunday, 11:00 a.m. through 5:00 a.m. on sunday, 3 inches of snow with a snow level of 6,000 feet. not a whole lot of snow but enough to make the roadways dangerous. let's get you into the morning forecast on saturday. we have the low clouds returning, and also some colder weather, potentially down to 47 degrees for the average in north bay. san francisco 54 and a cold 48 for the peninsula, as well. your microclimate forecast on saturday does have temperatures dropping a few more degrees. of this will puts here for a daytime high in cupertino of 69 degrees. you started off the week with 98. so that's quite a drop for us. san jose, 70. for the peninsula, palo alto also looking comfortable with 70 degrees. and in san francisco, we stay with low 60s. for the north bay, east bay and tri valley, temperatures will be running about 10 degrees below average in pleasanton with 70 degrees. 7 expected in danville, and for the east bay, anywhere from 68 in oakland to the warmest in walnut creek with 74. maybe you're headed up to napa. conditions in the low 70s, as well. now let's advance into the big change on sunday, the possibility of rainfall. what you'll see is by 2:00 in the morning the storm system lines up off to the north. that's where the bulk of the heaviest rainfall will be going. we advance this by 8:30 in the morning, the chance of scattered showers. the system really breaks apart, so we'll keep the chance here of hit and miss activity through 2:00 p.m. on sunday and then by the evening hours, maybe another shot here of some wet weather. total trace amounts to .10 of an inch and that's all we get out of this. as we get a look at san francisco's forecast, temperatures stay in the 60s over the long range. and for the inland valleys, we go from the average of 74 tomorrow, down to 67 degrees on sunday. we know there is a lot of events on sunday's forecast. look, this storm isn't going to ruin any of your plans. it's going to be a really nice change for us. >> refreshing. i like that word. i've been using that all this week. thanks, jeff. a hot red market in the south bay. starting to go cold. coming up, a reason why once easy to fill apartments and townhomes are sitting vacant. and for months. off the highway and caught fire. happening now, eastbound 580 reopened in dublin after a big rig crashed off the highway and caught fire this afternoon. traffic, though, still slow-going in that area. and happening now on twitter, the giants looking to secure their wild card playoff spot, but first have to face and hopefully win games against the dodgers. the final series of the regular season. we'll be right back with more news. when mexico sends its people... they're bringing crime, they're rapists. are you going to have a massive deportation force? you're going to have a deportation force. we're rounding 'em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. we're going to build a wall. that's not america. we're all californians. i'm tom steyer. it's time to speak out. please, register. and vote. vote. nextgen california action committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. firefighters were hopeful they would have the monterey county fire snuffed out by now, but that has changed. firefighters now say it will not be contained for another couple weeks. here's a look at the area charred by the fire so far. mostly in the los pad res national forest. the fire broke out lake july because of an illegal campfire. it burned 132,000 acres and destroyed 57 homes. at this point, it's close to containment. it's at 92%. if you're looking to rent in the south bay, we have some good news for you. real estate experts say prices in santa clara county are falling. homes like this one in mountain view have been sitting vacant for months. the owner dropped the price by $400 in hopes of making it more attractive to renters. this home is steps away from an award-winning mountain view school, but it's been listed for rent on zillow for 79 days now. owners say they're stunned by how much the market has changed just since spring. >> they think their home is worth more in rent, because they saw it six months ago. they saw homes around in their neighborhoods that actually rented for a higher amount. and now we're not seeing that right now. everything is being reduced. so it's hard. we have to talk them through it and make sure they understand what the market is right now and the values of relent has gone down. >> according to trulyia. the number of properties has continued to rise so that makes it a prime renter's market. silicon valley cloud computing company had a high-flying debut today. the san jose company b9ixñnutan celebrated at the opening of the nasdaq. they had the best debut of the year so far. the stock priced last night at $16 a share and it rocketed to a closing price to $37. that that'sen increase of more than 137%. missing art resurfaces on . eb ebay. that story is next. they prey on our children, spending billions. addicting 17,000 california kids each year. eventually killing one-third of them. now tobacco companies are spending millions to... defeat prop 56. because in every state that's raised tobacco taxes, smoking rates go down. so who are you going to trust? pediatricians, cancer groups and the califronia pta who all... support prop 56. or the tobacco companies trying to kill it. vote yes on 56. paintings, belging to the people a missing art caper finally solved. depression era paintings belonging to the people of california have now been found for sale on ebay. the landscape was done by a chinese-american painter. a tag on the back verifies he painted it for the government for a program. a former teacher had taken it before the school was demolished and her heirs didn't realize it was state property. the person who listed the second painting says he received it as payment from an art dealer. both paintings will go on display to the public soon. >> beautiful. >> they are beautiful. thanks for joining us. we hope to see you back here at 6:00. bye-bye. bay area dot com, and on facebook and twitter. tonight, trump's tirade. donald trump lashes out in a middle of the night rant, attacking a former beauty queen again with sex-tape allegations. now she and hillary clinton are firing back. crash cause. the ntsb begins questioning crew members in the aftermath of that train disaster, as the black box is pulled from the twisted wreckage. caught on camera. police release video showing a fatal officer encounter with an unarmed man. sex abuse scandal. dozens of disturbing allegations against the doctor who treated top olympic gymnasts. now the fbi is investigating. tonight one athlete tells her story. and hurricane threat. matthew strengthens to a powerful category 4 in the caribbean. some forecasts tracking it to impact the u.s. "nightly news" begins