the first taste of spring heat across the bay. people are out taking full advantage. in fact, we're seeing some of the warmest temperatures of the year. >> good evening. i'm ryan yamamoto. >> and i'm elizabeth cook. the readings into the 80s in many places, touching off a bit of spring fever around the bay area. the beaches in san francisco and pacifica were more popular. we even saw some folks splashing in the waves. down in san jose a lot of people out in the park enjoying all those gorgeous flowers in full bloom. >> i think maybe summer is finally coming. >> stoked to have the sun back, stoked to get back outside and just enjoy the day. >> let's send it over to our first alert chief meteorologist paul leg ton find out who is feeling the heat the most. >> as usual, it's inland parts of the bay area that are warmest with temperatures still running in the 80s now, but where temperatures are in the 70s in san francisco it was

close to 80 earlier today and where it's upper 50s in half moon bay you were in the 70s this afternoon and then the onshore breeze returned, not seeing the deep marine layer and fog returning yet, but a big drop in temperatures which was anticipated. temperatures have been dropping in san francisco since topping out around 80 degrees. the winds have been dying down. the offshore breeze is not nearly as strong as 25 hours ago. the onshore breeze is returning closer to the coast. these are kind of meeting in the middle. winds determine how much we warm up with a life offshore breeze keeping inland parts of the bay area warm and light onshore breeze trying to keep coastal parts of the bay area on the cool side. tomorrow we'll see temperatures warm to above average levels across the bay area, but we start backing down near the water through the weekend, details in the seven-day forecast coming up in a few minutes. even as the warm weather begins to heat up this week, a number of neighborhoods throughout the bay area are still dealing with the aftereffects of winter storm. >> that's especially true for

folks living along mountain charlie road in the santa cruz mountains where a massive landslide cut a community in half. even though spring weather has arrived, the winter headaches remain. >> our devin fehely spoke to neighbors there. folks are still really struggling. >> absolutely. for people living in the area, even a minor errand, going to the grocery store, picking up your kids from school has become a major inconvenience. they either have to hike across an active landslide or drive miles out of their way and it's even worse for the families who can't drive in or out of their driveways because the slide is virtually on their doorsteps. >> we've never had this kind of an issue or cracking of any kind. it's out of nowhere. >> reporter: amanda watson is one of the 13 people who live in the half dozen homes directly above the slide on mountain charlie road. >> going in and out, it's been a challenge is an understatement. it's hard to, you know, really express how this has affected every single

part of our lives. >> reporter: amanda says the road began to fail in late february, first beginning with a spider's web of cracks in the pavement and then the whole hillside saturated from winter storms began to slough off and slide down. the county estimates the road has dropped roughly 11 1/2 feet since march. that's enough to swallow an average one-story home. >> we estimate that it will take about one to three years for us to fully repair mountain charlie road. that road is still moving. it's moving about a little over one foot horizontally and one foot vertically a week. >> reporter: tiffany martinez with santa cruz county says until the slide stops moving they can't really come up with a plan or start repairs and that's not the only challenge. the county doesn't know where the money would come from to make repairs. >> there's a lot of

uncertainty about mountain charlie road given the finances and time. >> reporter: that's not the word amanda and her neighbors want toker that. the road grows worse by the day and so, too, does their inconvenience and patience. they fear they are running out of time and options. >> there's no way to get out. i mean we'd have to carry everything or leave it. nobody's going to rent the place. nobody's going to buy the place. i mean we're all stuck, all of us on both sides of this disaster. >> the county is actively trying to get money from the state or federal government because there really is no point in having a plan to repair the damage if you ultimately can't pay for it. >> thanks, devin. another concern as the weather changes, the fire danger. coming up at 5:30, we'll ride along or should we say fly along with california smoke jumpers who dive 3,000 feet into the center of wildfires to battle flames in places that typical fire crews cannot reach. >> i experienced stuff that i

had never seen before. >> the whole thing is a pure adrenaline rush. >> our itay hod joining forces with the newest batch of california smoke jumpers, their story coming up at 5:30. a lot of you probably turned on your ac for the first time this year today. of course, you'll pay for it on your next pg&e bill. here's some good news, though. state regulators just approved lowering electricity rates, but as our amanda hari reports, there's something else you'll be paying for. >> i would say how many households are going to see a significant bill increase? almost 4 million households. >> reporter: a controversial change to utility bills, a new fixed fee after many customers have already been hit by a series of rate hikes. josh plastead is president of flagstaff research, a company that creates and distributes products in the energy market. he also rents an apartment. he says he's the type of person who will be negatively impacted by this change. >> a significant amount of renters are going to pay more and a significant amount of

single-family detached homes high usage are going to pay less. >> reporter: on thursday the california public utilities commission approved a two-part strategy to restructure residential utility bills. for many pg&e customers, it would be a fixed charge of about $24, but for low income households they'll pay either $12 or $6. people are already paying these fees to some extent, but it was charged based on kilowatt use. >> basically you paid for the energy you used. there was no fixed charge. it was like pulling up to a gas pump and you paid by the gallon. now they're proposing a fixed charge that's unavoidable. you have to pay it. >> reporter: for people with smaller spaces who aren't low income like him, they'll likely end up paying more for the fixed rate he says because they don't use as many kilowatts. it's the big energy users who will benefit most. >> i live here in just under a 1,000 square foot apartment. so my bill would go up to $125 a

year. the house in rockledge would break even and the houses in walnut creek with a swimming pool that uses twice the bay area average would be saving almost $400 a year. >> reporter: but uc berkeley professor and director of the school's energy institute, severin borenstein says it's not a rate increase and the amount the average bill would go up is less than $24. >> it will be an increase about $3 per month. >> reporter: borenstein says this fee won't be going towards one thing, but many. >> paying for things like the extra investments we need to make to underground lines and to insulate lines and to put on the fast trip technology that will shut off a power line as soon as it has a fault so it doesn't start a wildfire. >> reporter: it can also be used for research and development of new

technologies. pl astead says in general a flat fee is a way of encouraging people to use more kilowatts of electricity. >> weapon used to encourage energy conservation by using lower energy. >> reporter: the fixed fee will go into effect in early 2026. >> the fixed fee of $24 is much lower than what utilities were asking for. they wanted a charge of $53 and $71 per month. to the south bay, b.a.r.t. will soon be getting a major funding boost from the federal government to build out an extension from san jose to santa clara. the six-mile four-station extension would connect the berryessa station in north san jose to the city of santa clara. transit officials announced that the biden administration will be spending over $500 million to help fund this project, a funding boost they say was sorely needed. >> it is a nationally important

project. it is one of the most important projects in this budget. it is the second highest project with an allocation and what that means is that this project has huge support. >> vta officials say early construction for the project is set to start this spring while tunneling for the b.a.r.t. extension is expected to start next year. a live look at sfo where first lady dr. jill biden is expected to land within the next hour or so. she will attend a fundraiser in marin county this evening and then join president biden on the campaign trail right here in the bay area. >> president biden is expected to land later on this evening. he and the first lady will attend two reelection fundraisers tomorrow, one in palo alto hosted by marissa meyer, former ceo of yahoo, and the other is in portola valley at the home of a venture capitalist billionaire. tickets to that range between $6,000 to $100,000. >> while biden raises campaign cash, his republican rival is stuck in a new york courtroom

and today adult film star stormy daniels gave more combative testimony at donald trump's criminal trial. michael george has the details. >> reporter: on the stand thursday, stormy daniels gave more details about her alleged sexual encounter with donald trump. the adult film star testified she felt shock and surprise when she came back to the lake tahoe hotel room in 2006 and saw trump on the bed. she called it a power shift because she earlier felt she had controlled the situation. the former president's lawyers repeatedly accused her of fabricating the story. you're making this up, right, said one defense lawyer to which daniels replied, "no." >> this is purely and simply election interference. there is no case. >> reporter: the presumptive republican presidential nominee once again railed against the charges. he's accused of falsifying business records in connection with payments to his former lawyer, michael cohen. prosecutors say cohen was given $130,000 to buy daniels' silence ahead of the 2016

election. trump's lawyers argue the money was to cover cohen's legal fees. >> reporter: florida senator rick scott joined trump in court thursday. >> this is pure political persecution. >> reporter: the next witness on the stand was a junior trump organization bookkeeper. rebecca menoccio testified she sent checks to the white house about once a week to get trump's signature. prosecutors say trump personally signed nine of the checks reimbursing cohen. literally minutes ago it pretty much became official. the oakland international airport will change its name. port of oakland commissioners voted unanimously to rebrand it as san francisco bay-oakland international airport. they say it will help out of towners with geographical awareness. request the the airport logo and code is staying the same.

city attorney david chiu said it infringes on sfo's trademark. they've offered to collaborate with oakland to choose an alternative name to no avail and said, "if oakland continues to rebuff our offers to partner, we'll have to seek a preliminary injunction to stop infringement on sfo's trademark." the san francisco unified school district is facing a budget crunch that could lead to job cuts and even school closures. the district projects a $420 million budget deficit next year according to the san francisco examiner. a new state audit finds in order to deal with the district's financial troubles, it will needs to lay off more than 300 employees and also close down schools. the report also says lack of staff training and fallout from its faulty payroll system are to blame. the district tells us it's taking steps to remain financially secure and says, "it is clear opportunities for growth and improvement exist

throughout the entire system. we are committed to accelerating our efforts to addressing the remaining concerns to insure that san francisco public schools are places where students can learn, grow, and thrive." still ahead, how some local bay area students could help reshape the experience of millions of users on x. and then are credit card companies skimping on rewards like frequent flyer miles? congress intends to find out. the search continues for two skiers launch in the avalanche in utah as well as the condition of the third skier who managed to get out.

we are following a developing situation in utah where two skiers were killed in an avalanche in little cottonwood canyon this morning. authorities were able to airlift a third person to the hospital and that individual

was seen walking to the air ambulance. to hayward now, some cars are a charred mess this evening after a fire tore through several vehicles in a neighborhood along poppywood court and silverthorne place. our chopper was over the scene. you can see how that fire burned dangerously close to some homes. the flames spread to a tree and a fence. at one point neighbors got out their hoses and started watering down their properties. crews worked to keep that fire from spreading to nearby structures, no word what caused this fire or if anyone was hurt. let's give you a live look at the san francisco bay where the japanese coast guard training ship kojima making a pit stop on its annual around the world tour. crew members will visit the uss hornet to see the exhibit honoring the 44 japanese regimen during world war ii. rescue crews saved a man clinging to the side of a cliff

at tamalpais point sunday afternoon. the hiker slid down the cliffside. crews strapped the hiker onto a harness and flew him back to safety. a lot of people getting outside today, taking a live look on this warm thursday evening. first alert chief meteorologist paul heggen is tracking it all for us. it's going to get even warmer, paul? >> parts of the bay area will get warmer tomorrow inland, but closer to the coast and around the bay that weak onshore breeze did return this afternoon. temperatures tomorrow will back down. they'll still be above average, still a warmer than average pattern parked in place. offshore winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere will still prevail as offshore winds inland prevail. it's the light onshore breeze along the coast that, a, makes a tricky forecast and, b, keeps us on the cooler side along the coast and allows for the return of at least some fog along the coastline early tomorrow morning. i don't think it makes its way inside the bay, certainly not going to push in the inland valleys, just one sign of changes for coastal

parts of the bay area. now we're seeing things are looking all right. the computer seems to be stuck here, so that's fun. there we go. looking outside from the top of black mountain, all sorts of fun this evening, a little haze, but no air quality issues, low to mid-80s in livermore and concord, 73 degrees in oakland, 67 degrees in san francisco after a high temperature around 80 degrees. there is that influence of even a light onshore breeze bringing temperatures tumbling down quickly, which is what we expected. yesterday i said over four or five hours temperatures would drop by 15 to 20 degrees and we are on track for that. temperatures later tonight drop down mostly to the 50s, the warmest location barely dipping below 60 degrees. tomorrow is another warmer than average day, just not quite as warm in san francisco and oakland, but still upper 70s and low 80s around the bay, upper 80s and low 90s farther inland, in general temperatures running about 15 degrees above average. keep in mind san francisco and

oakland, the onshore breeze returns mid to late afternoon. temperatures will drop off quickly again. along the coast upper 60s to low 70s before the drop kicks in, down the peninsula mid-80s and mid- to upper 80s in the santa clara, inland in the east bay upper 80s and low 90 s jumbled together there. farther north some more 90s dotting the map, 91 degrees around cloverdale. let's look at the heat risk map tomorrow, moderate heat risk for the hottest spots which isn't that far up the ladder in terms of the heat threat. we aren't likely to set any records tomorrow. the closest we'll be is half moon bay, 69 degrees the forecast high, the record 71. here's the seven-day forecast. temperatures drop off back to the low to mid-60s in san francisco by sunday, monday, and tuesday. basically back to near average temperatures for the second half of the weekend

into the first half of next week around the bay and along the coast. farther inland still warm, temperatures, the coolest a mix of upper 70s and low 80s. tomorrow is the warmest day inland with upper 80s and low 90s. enjoy the warmth inland and a return of normal temperatures closer to the water, a lot of changes in store over the next seven days. >> thank you. people collecting points and miles for the next big vacation may not be getting when they were promised, the federal investigation into credit card rewards. we tag along with some of the most daring firefighters in the country, how california smoke jumpers play a pivotal role in keeping wildfires from spreading. these wonderful communities here. really embracing the positivity and hopefully spreading it. the bay area is full is amazing. amazing

innovative. changemakers people that are out there, making a difference. privileged that i get to share those stories.

sutro tower standing nice and tall there. >> beautiful. >> yeah. airline credit cards are extremely popular because of points miles and other rewars you can earn, but federal regulators say those credit card companies may not be paying out all that they promised. >> ivan records explains how it could impact the next time you cash in your points. >> reporter: u.s. airlines back in the spotlight, this time for their frequent flyer programs and their co-branded credit cards. >> point systems like frequent flyer miles and credit card rewards have become a meaningful part of our economy. >> reporter: the u.s. department of transportation

and consumer financial protection bureau holding a public hearing thursday as part of an investigation into potential unfair or deceptive practices. the panel included several airline and banking industry representatives discussing whether companies are being up front with their rewards programs. >> people do track these carefully when they're engaged and earning these rewards. so that reward, though, and the value of that is only subject to what the airline wants to do with it and how they choose to conduct their program. >> reporter: on the agenda, transparency surrounding booking award tickets, devaluing of miles over time, transferring of points and miles, and how companies notify customers when making changes to the program. >> the airlines are constantly moving the goalposts, especially with their elite status. >> reporter: brian kelly, founder of pointsguy.com, says these credit cards represent big business for the major airlines. united airlines valued its loyalty program at $20 billion in 2019. >> as they grow in influence, i think it's only natural to expect a little bit more

oversight because it really is a whole new currency that is really driving our whole economy. well, it takes a ton of bravery for firefighters to run into a burning building or toward a wildfire, but what about jumping into one? we'll introduce you to the state's elite firefighting unit that does just that and find out what it takes to become a smoke jumper. plus we'll explain why governor gavin newsom is threatening the city of half moon bay with legal action. and what a presidential candidate is revealing about a worm that

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right now at 5:30, the bravest of the brave, we'll fly along with california's elite firefighter unit to see how they tackle the worst wildfires. then a different group of protesters on the ucla campus, this as faculty members speak out over the recent pro palestinian encampments. and months after the deadly shooting at a half moon bay mushroom farm, the city still hasn't built new housing for farmworkers. now governor newsom is getting involved. >> good evening. i'm elizabeth cook. >> i'm ryan yamamoto. parts of the bay under a heat risk this afternoon as temperatures rise into the mid-80s. >> san francisco even hit 80 degrees. that's rare for the city. >> wow. >> the highest temperatures since last october we've seen. let's send it back over to chief meteorologist paul heggen for your first alert forecast.

paul, this was kind of crazy for may, right? >> yeah. we got warm temperatures now and you can see numbers on the map in the low to mid-80s for inland parts of the bay area after some spots got into the upper 80s. we have temperatures backing down closer to the water, including for half moon bay where the temperature is down to 59 degrees after reaching well into the 70s earlier today. temperatures got up into the neighborhood of 80 degrees in san francisco and now down to the upper 60s, holding onto the warmth farther inland. everything has to do with the winds, still offshore winds inland, but the onshore breeze returned closer to the coast and picking up, 20-mile-an-hour sustained wind at sfo. tomorrow the offshore wind tries to reassert itself long enough for temperatures to reach the upper 70s and low 80s before the drop happens again. temperatures inland, upper 80s and low 90s. record high temperatures are unlikely friday. we'll look at a slightly cooler forecast as

we head through the weekend coming up. >> thanks, paul. as warm weather hits the bay area, it always raises questions about wildfires and today's high temperatures hitting the same time as wildfire preparedness week in california. with climate change making wildfire season longer, there's a race to develop the best technology to fight those flames. >> remember these fires are burning in dense forests and other areas crews can't reach. when they need people on the ground, they call in a special team. our itay hod rode along with these smoke jumpers. >> reporter: 33-year-old cole skinner says he'll be dropping by his workplace. he means it literally. >> the whole thing is a pure adrenaline rush. >> reporter: for the last four years this has been