show the readings from a series of sensors monitoring what is called turbidity or cloudiness in the water supply. most show a 0.2 reading the same as before the fire. managers would only become concerned if the reads increased to a 5 -- if the readings increased to a 5, or 25 times higher than now. >> the concern is ash deposition on the surface of the reservoir. >> reporter: while the sf puc owns and manages the hetch hetchy system, it serves 2.6 million customers throughout the bay area in san francisco as well as alameda, san mateo and santa clara counties. but during a tour of the fire zone today, governor brown says water clarity could still be a significant concern long after the fire is out. >> the concern is it as the months go on, that winter comes and the floods move all the ash and loose debris on the water and the water gets contaminated, that's bad. so whatever the firefighters can do to prevent that we're doing. then after the fire is contained, then more action will be taken. >> reporter: puc officials say they do have contingency plans if the hetch hetchy system needs to be taken offline for any reason and they already have direct links with other local water utilities. >> we have several months of storage locally here with our local drinking water reservoirs. our concrete storage water reservoir is like out at the sunset reservoir. >> reporter: in addition to this being a water story, it's a power story because of the san francisco puc has three hydroelectric generating systems on the hetch hetchy system. two are currently down. it means that the puc has had to purchase additional power, about $600,000 worth, on the open market to keep the lights in the city up and running. reporting live in menlo park, i'm mark sayre, kpix 5. >> the fire reportedly did heavy damage to the berkeley tuolumne family camp near groveland. this is what it used to look like. it's been in operation since 1922. and so far, the area is still too dangerous for a full damage evaluation. as for other bay area camps, san francisco's camp mather is safe. fire crews built a barrier around it and say the flames have passed it by. but at least one building burned at camp tawonga. and the san jose family camp is now closed for the season. we have more rims coverage at kpix.com. you'll also find interactive maps. countdown to closure. these are the final days for the old bay bridge. the bridge will shut down in just two days. it is set to reopen one week from today reborn as a new bay area landmark. phil matier reports caltrans is fine-tuning the logistics for the grand opening. >> reporter: for the last couple of weeks this parking lot is a laboratory where officials are trying to gauge the strength of hundreds of bolts on the new bay bridge span whose strength was brought into question when 32 bolts on a key anchor snapped after being tightened. it's not a fancy operation. >> the threaded ends are submerged in saltwater. one end is in place the other tension. every two days they slowly increase the tension a little more and a little more. >> reporter: this weekend, the bolts you're seeing here snapped. oddly enough, officials are actually happy that it broke. why? >> we took them to the highest possible level of tension that they could be under. and that is a higher level than any of the bolts are at on the bridge. >> reporter: for months, questions about the bolts' strength have been hanging like a cloud over the new $6 billion span. and for a while, they even threatened to postpone its opening. >> this is a serious issue? >> it's being taken seriously. >> reporter: it will be cut up into pieces and taken to a lab for more tests. >> the fact they broke at the highest possible tension means initially those bolts could last a very, very long time. >> reporter: not everyone is slapping hi-5's at least not yet. >> i think we're still looking at oh, i would say several months' worth of additional testing to have a clear picture in the long term basis. we're in a good place. >> just another reminder the bay bridge shuts down in two days 8 p.m. wednesday. opening ceremonies will be 3:00 on monday. tips on getting around the gridlock, check out survival guide at kpix.com/bridge. the warriors could miss the targeted arena opening date in 2017. the cost to repairs the piers before the area is built has reportedly increased to $170 million. and the draft of the environmental impact report that was supposed to be released in june won't be ready until early next year. the warriors are downplaying the extra costs and delays saying they are confident the arena will be ready on time. other bay area news. back in court today, the couple charged with stealing luggage from sfo following the asiana airliner crash will now face preliminary hearing in november. police say former united handler sean crudup and his wife were caught on camera stealing diverted luggage. they say some of the items were returned to nordstrom's. tomorrow, san jose votes on whether to ban styrofoam food containers. if approved, san jose would become the largest city in california and possibly the nation to do so. the ban would go into effect next year for large restaurants and in 2015 for smaller restaurants. and the bay area bike share program begins this week. starting thursday, about 700 bicycles will be available for rent in san francisco, redwood city, san jose, mountain view and palo alto. bikes will be set up near transit hubs in popular destinations. the cost will be $9 a day. it was one of america's darkest days in afghanistan. >> but in the middle of an unwinnable battle, the bay area soldier refused to give up. today, an entire nation recognized his heroism. >> they sensed me. they heard me. they saw me. i don't know what happened. >> close encounter captured on camera. why this kayaker says whales are a lot more graceful than they look. >> lots of clouds to start but lots of sunshine to finish. and temperatures responded. 80s for san ramon and fairfield. we had 70s in berkeley. a live look outside right now showings you the blue sky. but we have a change coming up in the forecast. and the timing is pretty interesting as we head toward the holiday. i'll have that for you coming up. >> and it's a fresh take on the fabled golden apple. >> they tag, then tag again. graffiti artists go on a wild spree in the south bay. and nothing is off limits. but that's exactly what may get them caught. who is setting a trap for the very tempting target? tonight at 6:00 on kpix 5. k, it means another neighbor is going to sleep better tonight because they went to sleep train's ticket to edic event. choose from a huge selection of tempur-pedic models, including the new tempur-choice with head-to-toe customization. plus, get 36 months interest-free financing, two free pillows, and free same-day delivery. are you next? announcer: but don't wait. sleep train's ticket to tempur-pedic is ending soon. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ afghanistan. president obama today presented army f sergeant ty carter with the nation's highest military award... the medal of honor. a soldier from antioch is presented army staff sergeant ty carter with the nation's highest military award, the medal of honor. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states accompanied by medal of honor recipient staff sergeant ty carter. >> reporter: more than 40 members of his family filled >> if you want to know what a true american hero looks like then you don't have to look too far. you just have to look at your dad. >> reporter: in this video recorded by the taliban it was an ambush at command out post keating. on october 3, 2009, u.s. troops were outnumbered by hundreds of taliban fighters. ty carter risked his life to save an injured soldier and resupply ammunition to soldiers drafted in a humvee. >> it was chaos. the blizzard of bullets and steel into which ty ran not once, twice or even a few times but perhaps 10 times and in doing so he displayed the he ises of true heroism, not the urge to surpass but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. >> reporter: while eight soldiers died in the battle ty carter wasn't done fighting. >> with much of the out post on fire, the flames bearing down on the station with so many wounded inside ty stepped out one last time exposing himself to enemy fire grabbed a chainsaw, cut down a burning tree, saved the aids station and helped to rally his troop as they fought yard by yard. >> reporter: they pushed the enemy back and retook their camp. ty carter didn't speak at the ceremony. but last month, when the honor was announced, his father mark in antioch was extremely proud. >> not too many dads get to experience this where their son or daughter survives -- and then he gets recognized. [ crying ] >> the president also credited sergeant carter for acknowledging his struggle with post-traumatic stress and for helping other troops with their recovery. carter spoke after the ceremony about soldiers suffering with ptsd. >> know that they are not damaged. they are simply burdened with living when others did not. know that they -- we are not defeated. never defeated. we are resilient and will emerge stronger over time. >> amazing young man. we posted the full video of today's medal of honor ceremony at kpix.com. the white house is moving toward a possible military strike in syria. the obama administration says there is little doubt the assad regime used chemical weapons against the syrian people. activists say poisonous gas killed hundreds last week. secretary of state john kerry said he watched video showing the victims suffering and vowed the u.s. will respond. >> make no mistake, president obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people. >> what you might see is some sort of action against a defined syrian military target one that would have enormous importance in terms of infrastructure, logistics. >> u.n. inspectors took sniper fire on the way to investigate the suspected nerve gas attack. no one was hurt. the wildfire raging through yot now threatening a national treasure. yot. >> it's unthinkable to lose the sequoias. they have is your five-day forecast the fire for thousands of years. >> coming up, how firefighters are going high-tech to save some of the oldest living things on earth. >> i'm ken bastida. the extreme fire danger not just in the sierra foothills. it's right here in san francisco, as well. we'll show you what's being done to try to mitigate it. ,, if you're like me, you've been working you've been working like a dog all year. but you don't need to camp out 'til labor day to reward yourself! mattress discounters' labor day sale ends monday! rest those tired bones on a queen size sealy gel memory foam mattress for just $497! get 48 months interest-free financing on the entire tempur-pedic cloud collection. not to labor the point... but this sale ends monday! ♪ mattress discounters! but they have another tall order. two groves of yosemite's git sequoi the crews battling the "rim" fire doing their best to save homes but have another tall order, as well. two groves of giant sequoias are in the fire's path. those trees are centuries old. the park now putting up thermal shields to try to protect them. >> this will help repel it, let it move around it, particularly if we have cleared it our idea is that the fire will go around it and the heat will preclude it from getting exposed to fire. >> crews are also clearing out brush near those giant trees and watering them down with sprinklers. quite a different story here in san francisco. ken bastida live with mobile5 on mount sutro to tell us why a ton of trees have to come down. >> reporter: the fire danger not just in the sierra foothills this afternoon. it's right here in san francisco. we're off clarendon below ucsf and the student housing about 400 people live in this area. june, cal fire and the san francisco fire department warned the university this was an extremely hazardous fire situation. so they are going to clear it out not completely but take out the undergrowth and the ucsf fire marshal explains what they are going to do. >> there project is designed to ultimately save lives and prevent property loss. we are looking at the underbrush and downed trees and small vegetation, to build a more fire safe area. >> reporter: so let me show you what they are tea doing here. this is what it looked like earlier today. this is the thick under growth that was down here. this is all these shrubs and different plants growing on the bottom. here's what it looks like now that they're finished for the afternoon. the crew just winding up here. you can see a clear path here. you have some fire breaks. but at the same time, nothing above 6" is being cut down. a lot of neighbors in the area a little bit worried about this. they kind of love this mount sutro forest. but they are told this is an extremely hazardous situation, especially with these eucalyptus trees as we saw in 1991 in the oakland hills fire. it's going to take about two weeks to finish this. and they're going to do about 15 acres here on the hillside. in san francisco, i'm ken bastida, kpix 5. it's one of the biggest creatures o earth but one california kayaker can tell you firsthand it's also one of the most graceful. karen hatch was kayaking off monterey bay last week when a fellow paddler snapped this amazing shot. (karen hatch ): really in awe of how sensitive the of their surroundings. the fact they were able to sens and just c not hit me, ve the humpback whale dove near her a tiny vessel without splashing a drop. >> i was really in awe how sensitive they are to their surroundings the fact that they were able to sense me and just cruise underneath me not hit me, you know, very sensitive to their entire surroundings and those two whales came up later to hang out with us again. >> so majestic. so why were the whales so close to shore? they were after a buffet of anchovies. if only there was a little of this weather near the fire close to yosemite. very wet weekend in palm springs and more rain from a tropical storm is expected today. powerful thunderstorms dumped enough rain to strand those cars there shut down intersections. also concern for flash floods and mud debris in the san jacinto mountains because of the fires they had there a few weeks back a month or so ago. >> that area doesn't take much to start flash floods. but here in the bay area a much different story. >> we're dodging bullet after bullet. there's drop moisture north and south but for us, just another day with a perfect summertime pattern. clouds in the morning, we'll have those for a while. but afternoon sunshine, yeah, look at it right now. a beautiful shot looking toward the bridge. not a cloud in the sky there and inland you are sunny, as well. concord 80 degrees. stayed a little bit cooler than the past couple of days. livermore 82. in the city we're at 65. santa rosa the warm spot at 83. san jose you're down now to 74. and we're looking at temperatures a couple of degrees cooler than average for the past several days in san jose you're normal 83. got as warm as 82 yesterday but took a few steps back today with a high of 76. but i don't think anybody's complaining because it's really nice outside and another night where you can keep the windows open while you sleep. redwood city 59. you will drop down to 60 in san jose. sunrise getting later for all you moms and dads getting kids up in the morning. 6:36 the official sunrise tomorrow. there's a big storm system to our north dropping some rainfall to the oregon coast. and also the washington coastline. missing us. there's a lot of tropical moisture from an old tropical storm impacting palm springs, far southeastern california western arizona las vegas metro area. but that is also going to miss us staying to our east. right in between we find enough pressure, high pressure, off to our east keeping that moisture away and low pressure to our north giving us a light onshore flow. just enough of mother nature's air-conditioning to cut the heat. we get the afternoon sunshine but we won't have any heat waves. changes coming, not until this upcoming weekend. but it's labor day weekend as low pressure gets closer, our rain likely will cross the oregon-california border. i think it will stay to our north but this certainly will enhance the onshore flow keeping us cloudier and cooler as we approach the weekend. notice temperatures are going to drop about 5 to 7 degrees by the weekend. but the pattern of morning clouds, afternoon sunshine will continue for the next several days. pleasant weather with temperatures generally running very close to average. san jose your average is 83. 80 for you tomorrow. campbell will hit 83. palo alto 75. san mateo, hayward, mid-70s with afternoon sunshine. pittsburg 88 tomorrow. pleasanton 89. benicia 81. napa beautiful 84. cloudy drizzly start in the city. high of 67 tomorrow. berkeley will hit 71. san rafael 83. and the warmest stuff will be up toward mendocino county with ukiah coming in at a high of 90. we are just going to push the repeat button for the week. that's not a bad thing. upper 80s inland, low 70s near the bay but notice the change for the holiday weekend. by labor day, we are going to be down to about 80 inland, 60s near the bay and it likely will be cloudy all the way inland and staying cloudy into the afternoon. so if you're looking for sunshine all day long for the holiday weekend, i don't think we're going to have it. it's not going to be raining but it will certainly be cooler as we proven the holiday. >> pretty pleasant. >> still very nice. >> still a holiday. >> and still a day off for most of us. >> that works. >> thanks. it's a problem cluttering up garages all acros america. what do you do with the old paint? turn it into cool new stuff. that's coming up. >> but first, we are just one week away from the new bay bridge. we are counting you down. ere's an,, ♪ [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be great if all devices had backup power? the chevrolet volt does. it's ingeniously designed to seamlessly switch from electricity to gas to extend your driving range. no wonder volt is america's best-selling plug-in. that's american ingenuity to find new roads. ♪ the 2013 volt. charge ahead of the rest in the hov lane. ♪ easier way to dispose of old paint. and sue kwon shows us on the consumerwatch: it 't go to waste. it's something most homeowners have lying around. it's a pain to get rid of it. there's an easier way to dispose of old paint. sue kwon shows us on the consumerwatch it won't go to waste. >> okay. >> reporter: nancy bailey admits she could find a better place for her pile of old paints cans. >> i wish it weren't there. >> reporter: and that's just a fraction of what her neighbors have sitting in their garages. >> it would be great if there were more places to recycle it. >> reporter: and now there are. more than 400 paint stores in california are now drop-off sites for old paint, primers, stains and shellac. caitlin sanders is with paint care, the state's paint recycling program. it's funded with fees tacked on to every paint purchased. sanders says nearly everything from rusty lids to dried out dregs gets reused. >> very, very little ends up being disposed of. >> reporter: she says old paint is reblended, retinted and sold as recycled content paint. other oil-based product can be made into fuel and paints that are too old or chunky get made into something else. >> there's one company in southern california that makes artificial landscaping rocks out of it. a few companies that are blending it weather cement or asphalt to make flexible road bases. >> reporter: the recycling program is intended to keep home improvement products from being illegally dumped in landfills or poured down the drain, a huge concern. it's estimated 10% of all paint purchased in the u.s. every year goes on used. and just like buying paint, getting rid of it is a great home improvement. just ask nancy bailey. >> it would be nice if this was all cleared out. >> reporter: most counties in the bay area still have hazardous waste drop-off sites that accept old paint and coatings. now, those are still in place. but now you can also bring them to participating paint stores. for more information and a list of stores, go to kpix.com/consumer. we'll have additional information on ways to avoid paint waste. on the consumerwatch, sue kwon, kpix 5. >> if you have a consumer problem to resolve, call our hotline 888-5-helps-u. apple may be going for gold with its next generation iphone. apple blogger sony dickerson leaked these photos. they appear to show a pale gold option as well as silver or graphite gray. apple's expected to debut the new iphone early next month. there it is. the gold version. very blingy. >> go for the graphite. i like that. >> gold is too blingy. >> bring on the bling. >> yeah, like that. now for a look at what's ahead on the "cbs evening news." scott pelley is in new york. scott. >> hi, allen and liz. great to be with you in the bay area. this evening, the obama administration appears to be preparing the nation for battle. it vowed consequences for the gas attack on syrian civilians. we are going to have details on america's military options and we'll have the latest from the war zone. plus, of course, we are still on the fireline in california as yosemite continues to burn threatening the water supply in san francisco. those stories tonight on the "cbs evening news" at 5:30 right after kpix 5 news. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the berkeley camp destroyedn the rim fire was an escape r many bay area families. hear from one camper who says it's like lg of her childhood. it's totally surreal. >> new at 6:00 tonight the berkeley camp destroyed in the "rim" fire was an escape for many families from the bay area. we'll hear from one camper who say it's like losing part of her childhood. >> and graffiti in san jose getting out of control. now chp has a new strategy to catch taggers in the act. those stories and much more tonight at 6:00. thank you for watching. the "cbs evening news with scott pelley" is next. the latest news and weather are always on kpix.com. see you back in 30. captions by: caption colorado [email protected] >> pelley: tonight, preparing the nation for battle. >> the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. >> pelley: the administration vows consequences for syria. david martin on america's military options. holly williams with the latest from the war zone. bigad shaban is on the fire line in california as yosemite burns. donald trump tells don dahler he did not defraud his business students. seth doane takes us into the forbidden zone around a leaking nuclear plant. and ty carter receives the medal of honor after the most desperate battle of the afghan war. >> i thought to myself that if i were ever going to run so hard to where my lungs lit on fire and my chest explode exploded fy heart going out this would be that day. the room.