devin fehely here. we are now about eight hours into this. ongoing, why are you trying to get out -- people are trying to get out of this area? >> reporter: i don't say this to sound overly dramatic but i can tell you just about all of the houses in this area where i am are gone. the fire has wiped out both sides of the road in the short distance i've been able to travel, essentially the impossibility of the roads, i think they are just trying to keep the roads open so that people can move around. i think they're trying to figure out what has burned and where and who might have been where. when i was talking to you this morning, it was just a panic -- is anybody home? really, in a frantic matter, i stoppeli from going into a house that had already been searched. people needed to get out of the way of the fire and it has been from moment to moment. this group of firefighters comes through in there waiting for the debris to move out of the road so they could get where they were going and i asked a guy how it was going and he said i don't even k

kpix5's devin fehely is live in the santa cruz mountains where fire investigators are getting close to cracking the case. [nat cars] devin? >> reporter: yeah, investigators think that they have begun to zero in on exactly where this fire started and in an interesting twist, the property and person living there is no stranger to law enforcement. the smoldering smoky wreckage of dozens of burnt out cars lines the road of the property where investigators now believe a stubborn wildfire burning in the santa cruz mountains first began. >> we're not ready to announce anything, but i think there's great leads we're following up on and i do think we'll resolve this thing in the next few days. >> reporter: the property that's the focus of the fire investigation is well known to law enforcement. >> per s.o. this is a former parolee house and they've been known to put out tripwires to alert if someone is coming onto the property. >> reporter: a dispatcher warned the first firefighters who arrive on the scene that the property might be booby trapped. it was also the subject of a 2015 investigation

lock up your guns before leaving the house, but kpix5's devin fehely explains the new safety measure could bring on another problem. >> reporter: the new law takes aim at what san jose city councilman raul peralas hopes to keep guns from the hands of criminals. >> we don't want to see these guns end up in the wrong hands in the street committing a crime. >> reporter: the councilman said according to the city's crime statistics, 265 firearms were stolen in berkeley or san jose from 2014 to the present. the new law taking effect december 1st requires gun owners to secure their firearms in a gun safe, a lockbox or with a trigger lock when they aren't home. reaction to the new law was mixed. >> i think it's a great idea. maybe people will get used to doing something like that and maybe it will save lives as far as kids that get ahold of stuff. >> if you're single and live by yourself and you're a regular gun owner that shoots, that's kind of a stupid rule. i believe that you know gun safety. if no one is going to touch the gun, then who cares? >> reporter: a deeply divided city council w

kpix 5's devin fehely on the criticism of a law some call common sense. >> reporter: while it aims to keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals, critics of the new gun storage law says it targets all the wrong people. law-abiding gun owners. >> if you are single and you live by yourself and you're just a regular gun owner that shoots, it's a stupid rule. >> reporter: the council narrowly passed the law requiring a gun safe, lock box or trigger lock when the owner isn't home. a city councilman says it's a common-sense through will make the community safer. >> these guns are stolen all time. we don't want them in the wrong hands out in the street committing a crime. >> reporter: city councilman says according to the city's crime statistic 265 firearms were stolen from 2014 to the present. the nra wrote the city to oppose new law saying much of what it hoped to accomplish was already covered under existing state gun storage laws. reaction to the new law has been mixed. >> i think it's a good idea to send a message that we need some regulations! >> if no one is going to thank y

reporting in the newsroom, devin fehely, kpix5. >> only call 911 if you have an emergency right in front of you. otherwise, if you can hunker down in your house, that would be recommended. in santa rosa, several hospitals are being evacuated. we have katie nelson there. [siren] >> reporter: right now, we are at kaiser permanente. taking a look on centennial way, you can see patients in the lobby. [siren] there is a line coming outside and city buses are used to evacuate. if you look, you can actually see the orange glow of the fire burning directly behind the hospital. we talked with a safety officer a few minutes ago and she told us there are about 100 patients at kaiser permanente off bicentennial way that are being evacuated right now. we've been seeing gurneys wheeled out with patients still in hospital beds as they are loaded into ambulances. we are told they would go to the san raphael kaiser permanente hospital for patients not supercritical. those very critical patients will be going to memorial, here in santa rosa, on the other side of town. [siren] patients are not in as much d

in san jose, devin fehely, kpix. >>> a hiker at sequoia national park was just found. the park's helicopter founded him near the franklin lake's trail head. at yosemite national park geologists say there is no increased danger after two huge rock falls this week. a climber took this video and shows the aftermath of the second rock fall that left one person hurt. the climber was just above the area that started sliding. geologists say that the rock fall was ten times bigger than the chunk of granite that fell on wednesday. now that slide killed a 32 year- old man from the uk. according to the guardian, andrew foster was celebrating his one year anniversary with his wife. she was injured and air lifted to a hospital. >>> we haven't closed the area. we have put up signs that say elevated rock fall activity. clearly everybody knows what has happened. >>> meanwhile another yosemite climber is recovering after falling at least 30 feet yesterday. she was climbing the rock formation known as the higher cathedral fire. >>> now at six, a ceremony to honor fallen firefighters fro

in the santa cruz mountains devin fehely, kpix5. >>> the city of oakland has a new fire chief. darren white was sworn in today. mayor libby schaaf did those honors. chief white grew up in oakland, spent 30 years in the fire service, 20 in the oakland fire department. he served as interim chief for the past nine months, a time full of challenging fire incidents within the city. >> and we came together as family during a lot of trying incidents and i want to reinstill and reemphasize and insure that that family mindset continues in this organization and spreads departmentwide and communitywide. >> chief white also thanked his fellow firefighters for their support over the years. he's going to take on his new duties effective immediately. >>> a young girl critically injured in a hit and run, the very latest details from oakland up next. >> this young a's fan lost souvenirs in the santa rosa fire, how the team is helping him rebuild his collection. my name is jamir dixon and i'm a locate and mark fieldman for pg&e. most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg&e. my

it was damaged beyond repair during last winter's storms, but as kpix5's devin fehely shows us, caltrans and the community are eager for it to open. >> reporter: the new bridge is roughly the length of a football field, 315 feet end to end, but that is of the smallest measure of incision to big sur, a community that has been cut in half ever since the old bridge was damaged by a mudslide and had to be demolished last winter. >> businesswise it's extremely significant. we've lost about half of our expected visitors through this closure at least. for the local community but all the communities north and south of us." [nats - sky drone ures a markedly different [ bell ringing ] mns that d as the ground beneath the >> reporter: the new hermitage was one of several businesses south of pfeiffer canyon that effectively found themselves on an island trapped between two massive mudslides that made it nearly impossible for the public to reach them. >> psychologically it's significant because the feeling of being cut off will be removed and we'll be able to proceed with our normal lives again. >> r

kpix 5's devin fehely says a man accuse >>> the santa cruz sheriff says he's never seen such reckless action from such a depraved man. a man accused of arson is also accused of being a looter. >> if a person is willing to start a fire, in criminal thinking, it's not a big leap to go in and go ahead and steal things. >> reporter: investigators say he intentionally started the bear creek fire and later used it as a diversion as he robbed the homes of people forced to flee the spreading flames. >> particular he to go up and start the fire and then loot the evacuees, how low can you be? >> reporter: shortly after the fire began, a family living on hidden springs lane reported their home had been looted. missing was a bicycle, jewelry, and clothing. the same items investigators found on coy. >> in his state of mind, to set a fire of this magnitude, i don't think he has any real concern for people or property. >> reporter: the fire would grow to nearly 400 acres in a remote and rugged stretch of the santa cruz mountains. countless homeowners and residents nearly saw everything they own go u

fehely explains some residents have been allowed to return home. >>> several hundred people took part in the clean-up of coyote creek and in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods residents say that recovery has been patchwork and it's pace is frustratingly slow. >> if you can look around it is still not totally recovered from the flood disaster yet. >> it is however a vast improvement. the friend flood that influenced this man's apartment to which he has been able to return. this morning hundreds of volunteers descended on coyote creek that was clogging the water way. >> if you get the debris out of the creek. it means it is less likelihood of flooding in the future. there's a lot of logs right now that have fallen across the creek. >> the water district that organized today's clean-up acknowledges that a much more extensive removal of trees and vegetation from the creek is necessary to truly reduce the risk of future flooding. e th>>iserwe can absolutely guarantee that the area will flood. it has been flooding for decades. what we can do is minimize the impacts. >> the water district

reporting in the newsroom, devin fehely, eyewitness news. >>> we are going to take a break and then give you the latest details on the fire burning in the north bay area. - grocery outlet is the home of "wow" savings. "wow" means you save 50% or more. there are three stages of "wow". denial. - is this price right? - acceptance. and boooyah! wait for it. boooyah has three "o's". ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - this week, classico extra virgin olive oil is just $3.99. >>> life is a priority right now. with the wind

kpix5's devin fehely on a new program to prevent future flooding. devin? >> reporter: the banks of coyote creek behind me is choked with vegetation in many spots. the water district is trying to get crews in there now, remove some of that vegetation in hopes of minimizing the risk of flooding before the winter rains come. it's commonly known as giant reed, an invasive plant species that can cause giant size problems where it can clog streams and creeks in san jose and cause flooding. >> it can trap debris and vegetation and trees as they move downstream during flood events. >> reporter: the santa clara valley water district has hired crews to remove giant reed and other nonnative plants from the banks. coyote creek, a clean-up that can't come soon enough. for some residents of the golden wheel mobile home park which flooded last winter. >> them people down at the other end got it severely. it looked like a lake from there all the way down. >> reporter: alexander torres' home was spared by the flood, but he worries about the creek that runs behind his home

kpix5's devin fehely on the criticism of a law some call common sense. >> reporter: it aims to keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals, critics of the new gun storage law says it targets all the wrong people, law abiding gun owners. >> if you're single and live by yourself and you're just a regular gun owner that shoots, that's kind of a stupid rule. >> reporter: the law was narrowly passed that requires owners to secure their guns in a gun safe, lockbox or trigger lock when they aren't home. some say it's a common sense law that will make the community safer. >> we know these guns are highly sought off and stolen all the time. we don't want to see these guns end up in the wrong hands out in the streets. >> reporter: according to the city's crime statistics, 265 firearms were stolen from 2014 to the present in berkeley and san jose. the nra opposed the new law saying what it hoped to accomplish was covered under existing state gun storage laws. reaction to the new law has been mixed. >> i think it's a good idea to send the message that we need some regulations. >> if no one

. >>> allen martin live in santa rosa with devin fehely and you spent some time with folk who are very anxious because they don't know with what they might go -- know what they might go home to. >> reporter: they grabbed what they could and evacuate. now they have waited for days in some instances, some of them not knowing whether or not their homes even survived. for those forced to flee -- >> i was just like we got to start banging on doors. >> my neighbor told me hey, we have a fire. get out! >> reporter: the desire to return to see for themselves was strong even if there might not be much to return to. >> the first thing i was told is that everything in larksfield was gone and i completely broke down. >> reporter: she has gotten conflicting information about whether or not her house survived the firestorm in santa rosa. >> i talked to multiple sheriffs, multiple police officers. some say yes. some say no. but i think it's still there. >> you're welcome to walk to creekside apartments. >> reporter: dozens of evacuees waited along old redwood highway for the opportunity to go back to