neighborhood. the assistant police chief says the videos and good police work led to his door. >> it took someone who took pride in his city to say i'm going to do something about it. >> reporter: they put him under surveillance sunday night and ultimately took him into custody. >> it's good he's off the street. the community needs to be safe. hopefully they'll get him some help. >> reporter: she and her husband lost their home and almost lost their lives in one of the arson attacks. >> it's good, since he won't be committing any more of these fires. >> reporter: detectives returned to some of the crime scenes today, interviewing more people and trying to gather more evidence. meanwhile, many in this neighborhood say the arrest means they'll get better sleep tonight than they have in a week. brennan will likely face a judge for the first time tomorrow afternoon. he's in jail on $1 million bail, facing right now, two counting of arson, but police reserve the right to charge him with more crimes, including perhaps attempted murder. we're live in san jose, nbc bay area news. so just who is patrick brennan? on your left, the police sketch released a few days ago. on the right, the mug shot. the sketch looks a little younger. brennan has a long history of fighting fire, the police say. nbc's reporter is there. >> reporter: he moved into this mobile home park a few months ago. neighbors tell me they would often see him walking around holding a police scanner, and tonight they say they are shocked to learn that he is accused of setting so many fires in his own neighborhood, including one at this church just a few yards from his home. tonight we can say one thing for certain about patrick brennan, the man now accused of setting this san jose warehouse fire and at least a dozen others. he is an experienced arsonist. in 1995, he was convicted of setting fires in the grand canyon, san jose police also linked him with fires in santa clara county in 1999, and campbell police confirm while he lived in campbell from 1995 to 1999, he was on the state's arson registry. for the past few months, brennan lived in this small trailer in a mobile home park on east san antonio street in san jose. his trailer is just yard theirs this church. members describe him as a chain-smoker and loner who often carried a police scanner. >> he had one of these kind of walkie-talkie deals that can find out where the police are and who they're searching for. brennan is also a registered sex offender. he was convicted of sexual battery and assault with intention to commit a sex offense. tonight his neighbors say they are happy a suspect is behind bars and that their homes weren't targeted. >> i should be able to sleep, you know, knowing that he's got caught already and we'll be able to be safe in our homes because we're all propane, you know, and we don't want it to blow up. >> reporter: brennan was also convicted of setting 15 different fires in the santa clara county foothills back in 1999. reporting live in san jose, marianne favro. our coverage continues online. we've posted a portion of today's news conference, police detailing the evidence that led them to that arrest. we're following breaking news in southern california where a dangerous santa ana winds are fanning the flames of a wildfire. you see live pictures now. our nbc chopper down in l.a. getting this for us. this is in the san gabriel mountai mountains. this is in the glendora area. firefighters feel they are finally getting an upper hand. now the smoke from this fire is spreading across the southland. investigators arrested three men earlier today accused of starting the fire. the flames destroyed several homes thus far and cars. we're going to have a live report from the fire lines. doing up in about ten minutes. the warm, dry weather means major headaches for firefighters all across the state. the drought we're talking about, very real, and today, marin county made a bold move. stephanie strong joins us. and they're talking about tapping into their water reserves. >> reporter: that's right. they're talking about the possibility of water rationing that could happen in as little as two monthing. they have already launched water conservation moves. it's the dry part that has people and businesses here worried. >> it's suddenly on everybody's mind. as a place that goes through a whole lot of water, we're a brewery. we don't want to have a shortage. it would affect business. it could affect production. >> reporter: the marin district started pumping water out of one of its two reserve water reservoirs, lake phoenix. it hopes it will be enough to sustain residents until the next major rainfall. overall, the reservoirs were at full capacity last year. this year they're at 55% of normal. the district says 2013 was the driest year on record, with measuring stations only accumulating 11 inches of rain. >> that is unprecedented. our prior low was 19 inches for annual rainfall. we normally get 52 inches. >> reporter: marin and sonoma have already launched their water on/off the campaigns. >> this is worse. >> reporter: george koch remembers the drought in the '70s. >> quit watering your garden and washing your car. >> reporter: he feels it will be even more severe this time around. >> pray for rain. do a rain dance. >> reporter: is that what you're going to be doing? >> yeah, right. >> reporter: now the last time the water district had to pump from one of its two reserve reservoirs was march 2012 but was ultimately saved by rain that did come. locals calling it miracle march. now they're hoping for that kind of miracle one more time. nbc bay area news. >> thank you, stephanie. a lot of prayers for rain. three counties are included in a federal drought designation. they were singled out for this drought designation meaning eligible farmers can qualify for low-interest emergency loans, and this is becoming an emergency. our meteorologist is with us. and it's hard to get people's attention with this when things are so beautiful outside. but this is dangerous. >> it certainly is now that our drought has been updated from extreme to severe. which means likely losses for crops and pastures. and what we're seeing out there now, here's 2013, healthy snow pack. that bone dry view there for this year, that's obviously not during the summer, that is outside this week. and can you see barely enough snow. by the numbers, the sierra snow pack, our agricultural water as we head toward the spring and summer, only 8% of today. central sierra, as you move noord, you can see how the snow pack should continue to build through february and march, but we're still sitting at about 16% of normal for date. you can see the volume of water we're missing out on. and the bay area, looks like we're going to set an all-time record low for january rainfall. coming up, we'll let you know if we will see any breaks for this pattern coming up in the full forecast in just a few. earthshaking noise, literally. that's how loud the stadium in seattle gets during its games. one of the many challenges facing the 49ers in their quest for a sixth championship. we're live outside the very stadium right now. and obviously it's very quiet now. not going to be quiet on sunday. >> reporter: yeah. not quiet at all on sunday. i've been in the stadium numerous times. i've been in the stadium numerous times covering the seahawks for the last three years and it is incredibly loud in here. and pete carroll says he's so impressed by the atmosphere. >> i've been at the stadium in mexico city with 110, i know what that one down there. and a bunch of stadiums and indoors and all that, there's nothing like this experience here. fortunately we've been able to ride along with them. we've won a lot of games playing at home, which is absolutely instrumental. you've got to dominate at home if you're going to sustain. so fortunately we've got the best play to play. i may be a little biased by that, but i think the numbers bear it out. >> reporter: now the architect says the fans are the main source of the noise. ens in seattle. nbc bay area. the season has not been easy and not without controversy. the legal trouble request olden smith has been well documented. he missed several practices while attending rehab. he was arrested in september for drunk driving. he also pleaded not guilty to three illegal weapons charges that stem from a party he hosted in 2012. well, today alden smith reflected on how the team has helped him get his life back on track. >> you know, we got each other's backs when things go, you know, certain ways, and, you know, it's good just being back around here with the guys. like brothers. >> coach jim harbaugh adds that he deserves a lot of credit for how far he has come in the past few months. >> stay here at nbc bay area. this saturday night, we'll have our 49ers special. that's saturday night at 6:30 on nbc bay area. still ahead at 6:00, the criminal ring busted, netting billions in drugs and cash. and a family thanks for clues in the beating of a grandfather. i'll have an update on a fire that's destroyed homes and led to three arrests. who would beat, brutally beat an 82 year old man? that's what an east bay family is demanding to know tonight. the elderly man found bleeding on the sidewalk in oakland on christmas eve. tonight some three weeks later, he's still in critical condition. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez is live where the family is pleading for some help. >> reporter: jessica, what happened to this 82 year old is really hard to believe. police here in oakland say someone beat up this senior nearly to death. tonight his family is making an emotional plea for help. >> he's a hard-workingman. and he's a, you know, really responsible father. and now he's in the hospital. >> reporter: she's heartsick at what her father's had to endure, the 82 year old has been in critical condition since christmas eve when he was brutally beaten just two blocks from his oakland home. >> we know that he was walking in his neighborhood, around 11:00, 11:30 at night when he was assaulted. he has multiple facial fractures and broken ribs. >> reporter: he is a father of seven and grandfather of 13, can't eat or talk. tonight his family is pleading with the public to help them identify who's done this to the head of their family. >> it's important to let us know and why an 82 year old man. >> we want to find out who's responsible for this, and we want to remove them from our veets. >> reporter: police say whoever's responsible for this is clearly dangerous, preying on someone as frail as this man. >> our senior citizens are an integral part of our community. they're the woven background of our fabric. and wee-weee want to protect them. >> reporter: the family is shattered. they want whoever is responsible behind bars. >> i can't believe someone can do that to an 82 years old man. >> reporter: again, the senior remains in critical condition tonight. his family is praying he'll pull through. now if you have any information about what took place, oakland police want to hear from you. they're urging you to contact them right away. reporting live in oakland, i'm jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. thank you, jodi, 18 million off the streets and people arrested. they're calling it the biggest drug raid in contra costa history. it involved the fbi and ten local agencies. they haven't identified the suspects but believe they have ties to a well-known latino street gang. three people have been arrested for setting that fast-moving fire. this is east of los angeles. these are live pictures now. some dramatic images you're seeing of the flames. so far this fire has scorched hundreds of acres and has destroyed several homes. let's bring in jennifer in l.a. i know this caught a lot of people by surprise. >> reporter: it sure did. it broke out early this morning, just before 6:00. and people thought the sun was coming up, but it was a little too early and too orange. and it was a fire and burned five houses in the very beginning hour before all the deployed crews came out to fight this fire. they were here very, very quickly, though. so that sh the good news. the forward advance of the flames has been halted at this hour. so it is inside the perimeter there. they've got 30% containment line around the 1700 acres. an orange glow predawn could only mean one thing here in the bone-dry foothills of los angeles -- fire. >> when i got up this morning at 6:00. i said what's it like today. let pea go outside. and i opened the door and the top of the hill up there was on fire. and so we all ran and got our cameras and started taking pictures. next thing we knew, the flames were coming down. >> he lives at the singer mansion, a historic landmark with one of the largest private rose gardens in the u.s. >> and it only happens, what, a few minutes, and it was everywhere, all around us. >> reporter: fast enough to take some cars before residents could drive away in them. and some homes and outbuildings lost to flames as well. erratic flames hopscotching onto brush that haven't burned for 45 years. >> all of a sudden that wind hits those embers, we could get fire popping up throughout this whole operating area. >> reporter: sprayers and hoses came from a church near by to supplement those from firefighters. >> a neighbor brought out a hose and was watering things down. >> reporter: three men have been charged with recklessly starting the fire. they're being held on $20,000 bond each. crews are coming in from all over southern california and from the sky with superscoopers on loan from canada. fire crews were ready. police say the deputy district attorney is in with the u.s. attorney. they're discussing how to charge those three men, whether it be in state or federal court, because the fear was started on federal land, live in los angeles, nbc bay area news. >> it's almost like summertime conditions. >> let's head over to rob my ada. we're talking about a red flag warning. most of southern california. this is an unusually large area seeing these very dry conditions as we take you off to the north, it's these offshore winds that are continuing to keep things almost like a hair drier outside. notice the sierra, also, south of monterey on the central coast. high pressure has built in keeping those storms offshore. if you are in the bay area, it was warm, record-breaking warm. oakland, 78 degrees. gilroy up to 77 and richmond today, 74 degrees. still fairly mild outside right now. low 60s around the south bay. 62 in the north bay. and it's really these offshore winds that unfortunately have brought up the fire danger and have boosted the temperatures into the 70s and as warm as 83 degrees in watsonville. fire danger is going to be unfortunately very high for this time of year, as the big culprit of this, going back to this ridge of high pressure which has not moved anywhere. so incoming storms not only missing the bay area but moving to the north of seattle. it does look quite warm. here's a preview of your friday forecast. and can you see once again, mid-70s close to san jose. will we see this pattern break as we go through the next seven to ten days? we'll have a full look at that coming up in the next half hour. coming up also, the forecast for wine lovers. what's in store for bay area grapes. and the first of its kind ruling. what happens when you're caught driving while wearing google glass. we'll let you know what happened to this california woman. the first california driver cited for driving while wearing google glass, the ticket was thrown out because there was no proof that google glass was on her when she was pulled over in october. the software developer was given a citation usually given to people driving with a video or tv screen on in the video. google glass has a hidden camera and tiny display that responds to voice commands. three states are considering bills that ban google glass while driving. a sa monoma county man is surprised to learn -- he spent 32 years in the navy, including in vietnam. his story of sacrifice is the backdrop for a dance competition. the dancers were bus eye this week rehearsing and putting finishing touches on dances meant to honor him and veterans just like him. >> i've enjoyed what i've done. a lot of times i didn't volunteer for things. you don't volunteer. think just tell you where to go. i file wherever i'm put, i'll do the very best i can. >> now he says he's humbled that his story will help others, including young dancers understand the toll on returning vets. all proceeds go to the lone survivor foundation. the chilling memoir is in theaters now. still ahead here at 6:00, a really well-known neighborhood in the bay area undersieged by dogs. and a famed attorney known for his work helping argue bush versus gore and prop 8 is turning his attention to a new case. i'm scott budman, still to come, a battle not just in the football field but in the tech industry as well. we'll break down that rivalry coming up. presents... so delicious, they won't even know it's chicken. 50% less fat... 100% johnsonville taste. it's not just the dogs, it's the people, the irresponsible owners who are doing this. >> new at 6:00, man's best friend becoming man's best enemy. it was once the center of the 1960s hippy subculture, but there's concern that it has a new subculture, throngs of homeless and their dog, often territorial street dogs. jim risotto shows us why if's become a painful issue. >> reporter: san francisco's haight has been a place where this tattoo artist knows. >> one of my co-workers was bit and couple months before i was. >> reporter: as he walked on a recent morning he passed a group of homeless sitting on the sidewalk. >> i felt a strong pinch at the back of my leg anlooked down and there's a dog attached to me. >> reporter: the bite left punk tour wounds on his tattooed leg. >> they just split and i was standing there bleeding. >> reporter: despite inspurns, he ended up with hundreds of dollars of bills and no one to send the bill to. police say the transients and their dogs have become a problem, creating an atmosphere of fear. another resident also bears the scars of a dog attack last month. >> they're blocking the sidewalk with their dogs. and the one wroman had a dog. it was on a leash. but the dog leapt up and bit me on the arm. >> this is the lady that was attacked by the three dogs at golden gate park. >> reporter: san francisco police officer john denny oversees the hearings. the problems in the haight is unique. >> the issue is a lot of the dogs live in the park with their owners, and they are not safely confined. they're tied to a tree or used for protection. >> reporter: he says dogs lacking proper training can have territorial and protection issues. >> we have issues where people just walk by a dog sitting on the curb with its owner and being bit. >> reporter: this woman says the issue isn't unique to the homeless. >> a dog being protective will protect their owners, you know. whether it's a dog out here or a dog that's not a transient dog. >> reporter: dogs taken into custody are quarantined for ten days. dogs without prior bite reports are returned to the owners. others are destroyed. wise says it's unfair to blame the dog. >> it's not the dog. it's the people, the irresponsible owners who are doing this. now a follow up in the case of the teenager who was set on fire while sleeping on an ac transit bus. a judge denied a motion to move that case back to juvenile court. he was charged as an adult and is charged with setting fire to the skirt of a woman who does not identify with either gender. he is due back in court next thursday to enter a plea. the education wars are heating up against. first up, the issue of students first. the d minus is reflective of the controversial subjects we -- e legal eagle will return to the golden state. he will argue policies on tenure, firing and layoffs violating the state constitution. if he winen wins that case, it lead to dramatic changes in the way california hires and fires its teachers. also tonight, a white house summit on kids and college. the first lady is setting sights on higher education. they're focusing specifically in guiding more young people into college. >> i'm doing this because of that story of opportunity through education is the story of my life, and i want them to know that it can be their story too, but only, only if they devote themselves to continuing their education past high school. >> now the obamas' goal is to make college accessible to low income students all across the country. several attempted that meeting today. we're going to be watching what they do to align themselves with this white house initiative. a few weeks away. one of the most popular members of team usa took a tumble today. take a look. it's pretty wild. white crashed at mammoth mountain in southern california today. he is expected to be okay. he also hasn't qualified yet for the snowboarding event in which he's won back to back olympic medals. some good news now about another american snow bored. today at the same event, jamie andersson from south lake tahoe clenched the spot. she is considered a gold medal contender in sochi. coming up, it's bigger than football. the 49ers/sea hawk rivalry heating up off the field too. and a gorgeous evening with moonlight across the bay. heading towards tomorrow, another day we could be smashing records. i'll have your full forecast coming up. a special google doodle honoring a bay area native. diane fossey was born here and she began a career in physical therapy. but then she became captivated by uganda's rare mountain gorillas. she then dedicated the rest of her life to studying them. while calling the world's attention, she died at the hands of poachers. new ucsf efforts shocked the researcher doing the study. she found the cost of having a baby in a california hospital can range from $3,000 to $37,000. double those numbers for a c-section. the study's author says there is no logical explanation for the difference in the charges. california's wine calls for record sales, but the trend may not last. fine wine sales are expected to jump from 6 to 10% in 2014. one expert says that will help stabilize prices for consumers, however they also see a potential slow down in sales as baby boomers spend less on extras. they're keeping a close eye on water reserves in wine country too. record breaking day around the bay area. and we would see more tomorrow. we'll have a full look at your forecast when we come like bat. >> 78 degree, and i was stuck in an office all day. our wall to wall quest for coverage continues. we'll go back to seattle for a live report on the seahawks. how will they prevent marr shon lynch from breaking out into beef mode. have you checked your timeline lately? facebook has launched a new feature called trending. it's more personal based on what your friends are talking about, not what random people are hash tagging. it will be on the right side of your news feed and will also explain why it's popular. some users will already be seeing it while others will be getting it in the next few weeks. what we're talking about now is our very, very, very warm weather. >> we're seeing temperatures right now that have climbed into the mid to upper 70s today. record breaking levels. and for this time of year, our average high should be only in the upper 50s to near 606789 keep that in mind. we're almost 18 degrees above average. mountain view at 73 and gilroy at 77. setting new records today. and our temperatures outside still fairly mild. 63 degrees in san jose. san francisco at 65. beautiful full moon there over the bay is causing a nice glare there across the water as you look off toward the east, and not much wind around san francisco, but the trend with the winds has been offshore. look at half moon bay, 68 degrees right now. this is what happens when you take warm, dry air, compress it down to sea level. the warm air compresses down. they're seeing the same thing down in malibu and near los angeles. the reason why we don't have red flag warnings right now is because the wind speeds aren't quite strong enough. we're still seeing offshore winds at 10 to 15 miles per hour. as long as they are pointing offshore that is a very dry pattern and high pressure which is causing it. no signs of giving any ground. the satellite view, if you're to rewind this all the way back to november and december, it looks pretty much the same way. as storms try to come across the pacific they'll toss big waves, but it heads off toward the north. another system missing us, heading toward seattle. just high clouds coming in from time to time. and here's the even worse news. as we go through this upcoming weekend, we have one weak system come on by. but notice the rein, off the screen. as we go through the next workweek, here comes another system approaching from the west, but it begins to fall apart as it runs head on into this ridge of high pressure which will keep us dry, maybe see some cooling. you can see that. highs tomorrow again in the low 70s around the south bay. close to 70 in san francisco and around the tri valley, looks like another record braker with highs climbing once again into the low 70s. you've heard it all week. it's more about the football game and tonight we have some proof. seattle and san francisco will play for bragging rights, you know that. but not just the right to brag on the field. >> the game is also a right to brag about your tech company, of course, our business and tech reporter scott budman shows us the other rivalry. >> reporter: with juggernauts like apple and nearly $9 billion worth of venture capital funding last year alone, the bay area is king when it comes to tech companies. but don't sleep on seattle, with giants like amazon and microsoft dominating the landscape, and how could you sleep when you're amped up on starbucks -- also from seattle. on both sides, the football and tech tides go deep. they made billions from mike crow soft. the president of the niners, his previous gig was with facebook. a manufacturing company does tens of billions of dollars is flex tron ickes. the machines are operated by a native of seattle who will soon head north for the game. >> well, growing up, pretty much all of my friends' parents either worked for boeing or amazon or microsoft. so there's that similar type of atmosphere. when you come here you have all these really big companies that dominate the areas and dominate the work force. >> reporter: his co-workers? yeah, they're impressed with his dedication. >> we are going to watch 49ers winning from home. >> reporter: and then relax, they might search for highlights on google or buy something on amazon. in fact , of five the most valuable companies? two are in seattle, two are in the bay area. the fifth is in new york. nbc bay area news. seahawks souvenir, folks. >> seahawks suck. >> well said. >> not the warmest of receptions for this seahawks fan. this is a reporter, jim dever. he showed up along the embarcadero and had a little fun with all of us. not surprisingly, he was not able to get anyone to buy or even look at his seahawks memorabilia. fortunately he didn't meet with an unfortunate accident. >> wow, people were a little rough with him. no mincing words there. jim, you need to go out there. people would love 49ers. >> please don't ask me to go to seattle and do the same thing. please don't is ask nihang out there and do that. we continue our coverage of the 49ers' quest for six as they prepare for sunday's nfc championship game in seattle. first let's go down to santa clara and check in with mindy bock and find out how the 49ers plan on slowing down marshawn lynch. mindy? >> reporter: well, the 49ers are very well familiar with marshawn lynch having faced him. he's very tough to contain, as he has three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown against them this year. when it comes to stopping the multi-facetted back, they say it comes down to fundamentals. >> he's a strong guy, one. you know, he's, you know, he runs real low to the ground. he actually runs underneath his pad, you know, good leverage. he's a tough guy to bring down. you know, there's no, no question about that. >> being as physical as he is when he runs the ball. you don't want to shoot your gun. you wasn't to gather yourself and make sure you have him in front of you. you can get him down or have a better chance of doing it. but a lot of guys shoot their gun, thinking he'll fall down. he just does a great job of fighting through it. he's a hard tackle, i will admit that. but it can be done. >> he's a powerful back, but he has the ability to get you off balance which now makes his power even more effective. and he's a relentless guy. he doesn't like to be tackled. we can't let him get into the secondary unscathed. because then he's really tough on the db. he's just a great back. >> reporter: and the seahawks like to run marshawn lynch when the 49ers are in a nickle package, and this game could very welcome down to how the 49ers stop lynch when they only have six in the box. reporting live from santa clara, mindy bock. >> the seahawks running game, they're getting all the publicity. the wide receivers don't preeshlgt that too much. >> reporter: there's been so much made of the struggling seahawks' passing game. russell wilson is coming off a career low passing average. and they've been playing without piercy harbin. so the receivers that are playing feel like they've been making the big plays when the team has needed them, and they're feeling pretty underrated. >> i'm around these guys every single day. i see the plays they make every single day. i feel like if you put any of our receive rs in the same room they would catch over 1,000 balls. we want to win. >> reporter: not only does he feel the wide receivers are underrated, the seahawks think they've been underdogs for way too long, the lack of love fuels the players to get better. >> everybody says we have a chip on our shoulder. no, i have a boulder on my shoulder. every negative comment that comes out, i go back and look at it. and it's not so much what you have done, but what you haven't done and what opportunities you're going to have in the future to prove yourself right and prove those doubters wrong. >> reporter: now we have an update for you on piercy harbin's status. he was missing from practice once again today. pete carroll says he is going through all the nfl mandated concussion tests and this status is all in the hands of the doctors. nbc bay area. thank you very much. sharks in florida taking on the panthers. sharks lead it 3-0, third period. but we're one game closer. we're going to have more on the game tonight at 11:00. that will do it from the xfinity sports desk. >> you think that poor reporter is still on the embarcadero? >> i want to help that guy. we're brothers in reporting. thank you. for big news on the niners and sharks you can watch sports net central not at 10:30. tonight at 11:00, an attack on a gay teen and the spirit of forgiveness become the focus of a documentary. the film maker is now nominated for an academy award. it's the focus of a story tonight at 11:00. one last look. and what do we say as the warmest summer i've ever spent in the winter? >> on our way to more 70s tomorrow which will be breaking more records tomorrow. if we can get anywhere above 70 degrees, and it looks like we're going to get there. and the game time forecast, we'll go with the lucky number 49 temperature as the game gets started. just cloudy. so all the things that the 49ers have seen from the sub freezing at lambeau field, it's the cloudy sunshine they'll be seeing. >> and nice and warm here. thank for thanks for joining us here at 6:00. we'll see you at 11:00. oprah and tom hanks shut out of the oscars, now on "extra." >> get ready for the leo, sandra, and julia show. the oscar race is on. >> what would it mean for you if you did get another oscar? >> i'm at oscars headquarters with the big surprises and the how could they snubs. kate gosselin's twins getting their revenge? their cringe worthy interview on the "today" show. >> mady? your words. the most wordless i've heard them all morning. >> did the kids intentionally sabotage kate's appearance? bieber's naked photo fears. what's on his phone just seized by detectives.