bottom. and a bay area forced to scramble after a copper seeds impact critical function. complete bay area news coverage -- starts right now. good evening. it is thursday. i'm gasia mikaelian, this is bay area news at 7:00. scary moments for passengers on a jet that made a scary landing. the plane blew its tires when it touched down. kcra reporter has the story. >> reporter: this afternoon passengers hugd and retold how lucky they feel. >> thank god we were fine. >> reporter: at 12 12:58 was touching down when -- >> suddenly, boom, we started

jiggling, my god. in an instant 87 passengers and five crewmen told me they felt a sudden jolt. >> as if you slam on your brakes in the car. >> reporter: two tires blew after touchdown. a fire broke out within and around those wheels. an emergency situation was initiated. emergency chutes deployed. >> one of the flight attendants was yelling get out, get out, get out. >> they were freaking us out. >> we were sitting in the back near the tires and we noticed they were on fire almost immediately. >> reporter: initially there were reports of 15 injuries but crews said four peopled ended up going to the hospital with minor injuries. >> i think the chaos was the people getting off of the flight because people got hurt, you know, they -- you just have no control when youor that flight and people are stuck at the bottom bumping into each other. one lady hurt her leg really bad. >> reporter: and again a looka the two tires that blew out.

the source of this investigation. the officials are saying they are looking at everything from the touchdown to the brakes to try to figure out what sparked the fire and an incident that, well, left a couple of the passengers saying that tonight they are going to have a stiff drink or two. in sacramento, ktvu news. >> santa clara county deputies arrested two men this week for allegedly pointing a laser at a police helicopter. it is something we learned is happening more and more. we are live at san skwroesa -- san jose. >> reporter: there have been 44 laser strikes reported right here around san jose airport putting passengers and pilots at risk all with the laser about the size of this pen. >> reporter: it is not just wind and weather that pilots have to navigate these days. federal officials say there is

another problem with lights. laser lights that have pilots seeing green. >> they can go from 2 to 8 to 10 miles now. hitting airport two to four miles away on the approach of landing at the airport. >> reporter: santa clara sheriff's deputies say these green lasers, no larger than a pen are used at astronomers to point at stars but at night if it is put to an airplane it could blind the pilot. >> reporter: the sheriff's deputy, gonzalez and a san jose police pilot were patrolling in this helicopt or tuesday night when they found out firsthand. >> when they hit us with the laser spectacularly a green laser you don't only see the green dot but you see the beam shooting across the sky. >> reporter: luckily gonzalez had night-vision goggles. he and the pilot traced the beam to the ground and pinpointed the origin.

now, a two 22-year-olds are charged with felonies. the officers found them with the laser light at a gated community off of amber way. they admitted to shining it at helicopter. now, nationwide according to the federal aviation administration the number of reported laser strikes on commercial airlines has risen dramatically from 300 reports in 2005 to 1,525 reports so far this year. a third of those were right here in california with mineta and oakland the highest numbers. >> people need to understand when you aim a what would be considered a toy at an airport it is now a deadly weapon. >> reporter: and san jose police tell me that anyone who shines a light up at an aircraft could land in prison for three years or face federal charges of 20 years and fines. reporting live in san jose, ktvu channel 2 news.

>> san jose's mayor is trying to reassure the community that budget cuts are not in lag time. this morning three house fires happened in san jose in less than two hours, the firecrews were simultaneously trying to put out a fire and a second fire two blocks away when a third call came in. it took the firecrews 10 minutes to get to that third call. the home on delmonte place was destroyed and two dogs died. they say budget cuts are to blame. two minutes longer than the target but the mayor disagrees telling us it is a matter of three house fires happening one after the other. >> reporter: the sheriff investigators reportedly identified a body of a man found today near fremont and niles canyon. the remains were hidden off of the canyon road a mile from mission beneficial. they tell us the victim is 27- year-old lopez from east palo alto. he went missing after going to

buy marijuana. a tip from a person now under arrest led them to the body. oakland police are asking if are public's help to find the person responsible for shooting and killing a 13-year- old boy. it happened at 9:30 last night in the 6100 block of hancock avenue. he was walking with a friend to get gas. someone walked up and shot him in the head. he attended brick middle school and the speculation the shooting was a result of a conflict with another student there. the family membered he was an outstanding athlete. >> he was fun. he was out going, he liked to play football, run track, he was excited about the first year of high school. a freshman, just turning 14. >> and clark would of entered skyline high next week. anyone with information about this case is asked to contact oakland police. across the bay san francisco police are asking for help in finding a suspect from an apparent road rage incident. the police say 52-year-old man was in the cross walk at 18th

and missouri at 10:45 last night when a man driving a car turned a corner and nearly hit him. the car stopped and the two men started fighting. the driver, we are told, punched the pedestrian, the victim fell to the ground and struck his head and is hospitalized in critical condition. the driver is is latino, 25 to 40 years old. the witnesses say the car was a white geo or acura. the license plate begins with 5xm or 5sm. today marks the first anniversary of the kidnapping of jaycee duggard from 18 years of captivities. there are reports she celebrated by taking a family camping trip in northern california. she has been living with her two daughters and her mother for the past year. it was one year ago today that uc berkeley police put together the pieces of her story. dugard was living in the backyard of a home where a convicted sex offender is accused of holding her captive since she was 11 years old.

she fathered two girls with dugard is now awaiting trial. a san francisco couple faces accusation tonight of using their son's autism to create a scam and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars. the attorney and his wife face 31 counts of fraud, theft and conspiracy. prosecutors say the couple set up a fake in-home care company for their son between 2006 and 2008 and then double billed insurers and the school district for the same services. >> we asked that we paid out about $240,000 and we are hoping that we can recover those funds. >> reporter: they are free on $100,000 bail each. they are scheduled to be arraigned next tuesday. well there was a glimmer of positive economic news as unemployment claims fell for the first time in a month. people filing first time unemployment drops drop by

31,000. on wall street the report gave stocks a small boost at the start of this day but still concerns about a faltering economy eventually sent the markets lowered. dow dropped 74 points to close below 10,000. the nasdaq fell by 22. hewlett-packard upped the ante in the bidding war of 3par. hp raised the offer to $1.7. that tops dell. and the growing market of cloud computing in which businesses can store data and software on the internet. out in redwood city tonight crews are working to clean up a spill from a ruptured pipe yesterday afternoon. the pipe broke yesterday right near redwood shores lagoon. the public works department was able to stop the sewage but not before some leaked. it coated the driveways of

nearby homes. >> i don't see many people using this lagoon for recreational purposes but it is still -- it is -- th odor is pretty bad. >> they are in the process of repairing the broken pipe and telling residents to stay away from the water in the lagoon until they know how badly it is contaminated. >> people can see their trash picked up soon. sanitation workers are in a two- day strike. the track shrebg is resumed to start in homes that was supposed to have a wednesday pick up and will continue on a two-day delay through the weekend snoot federal officials say they found at least one likely source of salmonella that led to the recent recall of chicken eggs. fda investigators say the salmonella bacteria was discovered in chicken feed sold to ripe county egg and hidendale farms it. prompted both companies to recall half a billion eggs. they warn the feed may not be

the sole source of the contamination. you can view all of the recalled plants and dates by going to our web site ktvu.com. coming up on bay area news at 7:00, how the quest for copper created a tense situation. >> you look out here you will cementy of evidence of a population boom. what is going on? that story still ahead. the temperatures plummeted today as much as 30 degrees. how your weekend will be and the fog will have an impact

. unemployed construction workers rallied for a 4th day today. they spoke out against what they say is a lack of local hiring on the project. ucsf says since 1993 it had a program in place to involve local workers in the construction project. the medical staff was forced to scramble after copper thieves targeted a nearby underground vault. the report on san francisco's surge in copper theft. >> reporter: this generators is one of the energy lifelines. due to explosive growth in china world wide copper prices are on the rise. that demand makes even stealing small amounts highly profitable even though it wreaks havoc as it has here at mount zion. >> we canceled all of the surgeries and everything that they had to put off. >> reporter: what is it worth?

here is 10 pounds of copper wire. at a recycler you will get $3.95 or in other word dollars 32.50 for free. the police department command staff officer. >> mostly the copper thieves are methamphetamine addicts. move of them are -- they steal it because they can get a quick buck for the quick fix. >> reporter: experienced thieves can cut the wires in minutes but it is part one. >> we had several people electrocuted. that is one of the major things that we worry about. >> reporter: the thieves, using private vehicles, usually strike between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. >> our crews are fully unformed, they have the inseugnias and they work with the trucks. anybody sees anyone on the manhole cover and they do not see the equipment they should call 911. >> with a little involvement you could be saving lives. back to you.

>> we have developing news in oakland right now where hundreds of people are without power following what witnesses describe as an underground explosion. pg&e is telling us a transformer blew at 16th and webster street an hour ago. the customers are now without electricity. a few people were stuck inside of an elevator of an apartment building. those people are out of the elevator and safe. at this point no word from pg&e when the power will be restored. >> newly released housing figures indicate one in 10 homeowners across the country may be at risk of losing their home. the mortgage banker association says as of june 30th 10% of homeowners are delisten delinquent one month. san francisco 49ers are teaming up with the california lottery to sell new $3

scratcher tickets. the tickets have the 49er logo and you can win $20,000. those that do not win cash can submit the tickets for a chance to win autographed helmets and other 49er's items. selective hiring for special charter flights. the 49erss book those flights. the airport picks favorite attendants and chartered customers have the option to interview those working the flight. all were invited to apply and offered interviews on attendance records and customer service recommendations. the authorities say they arrested two men and seized thousands of marijuana plants

in yosemite. both men arrested are undocumented mexican nationals. the rangers ripped out more than 3600 plants and seized several pounds of marijuana. the authorities estimate the drug's value to be almost $15 million. yosemite national park visitors are spotting more bears than in the past. in fact our cameras spotted this brown bear in the park today. the bears caused at least $90,000 in damage, mostly to vehicles so far this year because campers are leaving food inside. park officials tell us that 16 bears have been hit by cars in the park this year and that six of those bears have been killed. as a result the rangers are asking drivers in the park to slow down. wildlife biologist are blaming the bay area's unusual summer weather for a surge in rodents. for others the rodent invasion is a bonanza. >> reporter: in this walnut

creek field the ground squirrel population has exploded but homeowners notice more. >> we have mice usually but now along the fences you can see rats, i mean big rat >> near open space the problem is bad. homeowners are keeping exterminators hop. >> it is unusual. a lot of bunny rabbits and gophers, a lot of landscape- type rodents. they troeted for field mice. they leave holes and chewed lawn and damage shrubs. >> reporter: at a nearby stable field mice were all over because it has been a wet mild year. >> there was aton of food for these little guys it. made it so they could breed successfully and raise lots and lots of young. the birds of prey and others near hog heaven. we have seen double the number of deer mice and ground

squirrels. >> reporter: with damage to your landscaping you may want to use a rodecide. it causes bleeding but a risk. >> a lot of times it causes death for hawks, falcons. >> traps are better. in fact, experts say more humane. although they do use a poison. >> it is called terit-3 it. does not cause secondary poisoning. >> reporter: it uses vitamin d to kill rodents. the boom will soon go bust in nature's cycle of predator and prey. back to you. five bay area woman were honored for their achievements in aviation. among them a woman from los altos who was a pilot in world war ii. also one of the first woman in the u.s. to fly military

planes. london's daughter and her twin granddaughters are also pilots. the five all in their 80s and 90s were recognized from the arrow club of northern california. coming up on bay area news at 7:00. two former movie stars take up residency at the zoo. and a bay area cool down is underway. how much cooler? bill martip has your forecast

. a national hotel chain is urging san francisco to go green, by glowing green. anyone who got light bulbs got an energy bulb for free. they have been awarded the green seal silver certification. the mayor was on hand at the drake hotel to proclaim it kimpton day in san francisco. we all know it is cooler out there today. >> yes. cooler, as much as 30 degrees. i was looking at the fog. it is going to get into your neighborhood tonight and your neighborhood as well. most will have fog the next couple of days. we go outside storm tracker two. it is shooting across the bay and making its way over to oakland. it is making a good push tonight. i think we will see fog in most

bay area communities. the forecast then is for another cool day tomorrow. gasia alluded to it, 30 degrees cooler today. especially inland. a big cool down in oakland and san francisco yesterday. the forecast highs for tomorrow, there it is. the temperature footprint we have been seeing all summer long. july, august, very cool coast. you have the heat in the valley, that is all normal but cool coast and bay in the forecast for tomorrow. not cold just not going to be as warm as it had been. tomorrow morning there is the fog. pushing it all of the way into the dell. maybe not that far but you get the idea. a good size fog for the morning hours. day time hours with the fog going away, the cool down along the coast where two days ago they were clocking temperatures into the 80s. tomorrow, they will be back into the upper 50s at best.

so, a cool day coast side even drizzle possible. this week was hot and this weekend will not be. forecast for this low pressure to drop back in. it does that. it brings more fog. this is the mechanism that sent us into the cool pattern on, you know, july and august. there you go. it is back. middle 70s upper 70s in the hot spots. tomorrow, 80 in napa, 80 in vallejo, with the cooler temperatures, though, right? the fire danger comes off of a bit. the air quality better. the heat advisory will not be something we are dealing with. but definitely cool tomorrow and right through the bay area weekend. the wind comes up as well. seeing strong southwest winds in the central valley this weekend. there is the forecast updated tonight on channel 2. >> see you then, thank you. the zoo opened their doors to two retired chimps. they live in the northern california couple who could no longer take care of them. they have been brought into the

zoo's groups of chimps. they are 16 and 20 years old had roles in tv and movies. the two brothers are getting along just fine with the zoos other five chimps. that sour report for tonight. thank you for -- that is our report for tonight. thank you for joining us. tmz is up next here on tv36. droiiiid.

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