Peninsula. Tonight people breathing a sigh of relief after flames got way too close for comfort. Good evening. Dozens of homeowners in belmont on edge this evening. Theyre back home after a fastmoving brush fire forced them to evacuate. This happened near alhambra drive, which backs up to open space near san juan canyon. The outcome could have been very different but quick work by firefighters saved homes. Nbc bay areas jean elle has more. Reporter standing on the rooftops of homes, firefighters poured water on a fouralarm brush fire moving up a dry canyon in belmont. While crews attacked the flames, Belmont Police officers went door to door. They said, sorry, you have to evacuate. So we just got ready. Reporter telling people in 40 homes in the cipriani neighborhood to evacuate. One woman snapped this picture of flames out her back window before she left. Some didnt know they were in danger. I saw the smoke. At first i thought it was the regular stuff. Reporter officers tied caution tape to each home they alerted. As word of the fire spread we started seeing the flames, then the helicopters started coming. And fire trucks and, oh, my goodness, it was hectic. Reporter People Living along the narrow, winding roads packed up and evacuated. Absolutely scary. You dont know what to pack. It hit me, i got to get everything ready. Reporter there were traffic jams as people drove out of the neighborhood. Police helped direct them out. San mateo consolidated fire says it called in help from outside agencies for an aggressive attack to prevent the fire from taking off and destroying homes. A helicopter was doing some significant drops to slow it down, and then crews went direct in aggressive offensive fire tack which i think really, really saved all the homes. Reporter fire crews will remain here overnight patrolling this neighborhood, watching for flareups. In belmont, jean elle, nbc bay area news. New at 11 00, some scary moments in a Pleasant Hill neighborhood this evening. Officers first responded to a call about someone with a gun. When they arrived, a man got into a truck and then tried to leave. Officers say when they tried to pull him over, the man began shooting at them. He then drove to the back of Pleasant Hill elementary, smashed into the back of the school, and then officers say shot himself. The man was rushed to the hospital. At this point his condition is unknown. Turning now to the fight against covid19 and a promising new trend. Californias Positivity Rate has hit a new low. Check this out. The gray line shows the number of daily covid tests, but that blue line that you see, it shows the 14day Positivity Rate. Now, average saturday this last saturday, 179,000 californians were tested for the virus. Thats close to the states record. But even as were conducting more tests, there are fewer positive cases. Right now the Positivity Rate stands at 3. 1 . That is the lowest since the start of the pandemic. And making the move from purple to red. Solano county says it is getting ready for its covid status to change. The county expects to be moved into the red tier tomorrow. Right now only napa, marin, San Francisco, and santa clara counties are in that less restrictive tier. San mateo and alameda counties could also make the move. Now, the things that you see on the screen there, those can reopen once a county is in the red tier. Were talking indoor museums, movie theaters, malls and gyms all, though, at reduced capacity. More businesses reopening, more red than purple, all signs that the curve in the bay area is flattening. Case numbers are down to where they were before the summer surge, which is good news all around for counties pushing for more normalcy. Nbc bay areas ian cull gives us a look. Reporter tonight the bay area is trending in the right direction. Covid cases are down and in the south bay, only 2 of people being tested for the coronavirus are coming back positive. And just 109 people are hospitalized for it. The lowest number since late june before the second wave. Weve seen all of this come down, and were really encouraged by this. Reporter ucsfs dr. Monica gandy believes fewer people are going to the hospital because more of the covid cases are in number people who dont have as severe symptoms and testing is going up. We have done a better job at controlling infections in Skilled Nursing facilities and the vulnerable getting infected. Lots of testing there. I think that we are doing a great job masking. Reporter the state now focuses on test Positivity Rate and case numbers per 100,000 people to judge how a county is doing, not as much on hospitalizations. Dr. Gandy says its because we never filled our hospitals, but those are still good indicators. I think its fair so say that watching Community Transmission go down has absolutely completely been reflected in hospitalizations. So in a way, its a herald that i think makes sense. Reporter santa clara is in the red tier. States reopening blueprint and has been for 13 days, which means schools can reopen for inperson classes with protocols on wednesday. Though many are staying online. Statewide the governor says the Positivity Rate is down to around 3 on average, and he says testing will be ramping up. We will have more clarity and more assurance in our capacity to move more swiftly to not only reopen different sectors of our economy more fully but also reopen our schools in a more sustainable way. Reporter in the south bay, ian cull, nbc bay area news. And another step forward for San Francisco today. Aquariums, zoos, and indoor museums all reopened but with reduced capacity. Aquarium of the bay at pier 39 says things will look different for visitors. Reservations are now required and will be sold if twoour blocks. Dining al fresco during the fall and winter. Coming up, the upcoming challenge that bay area restaurants are facing as the cold and rainy season approaches. Well, three crimes against an Armenian School and church. Tonight San FranciscoPolice Say Two of those violations are being investigated as hate crimes. Police called to the Armenian Community center and the kzv Armenian School or brotherhood way after reports of gunshots. When they arrived, they found a bullet hole in one of the schools signs. This comes just days after a suspicious fire at an armenian church, an office that manages that school. As for the school itself, its also been the target of heavy vandalism back in july where the walls were painted with antiarmenian graffiti. Its troubling. Its unfortunate. Its not shocking unfortunately because there have been decades of vitriol. Luckily no one was hurt in any of these attacks. In the east bay, police are looking for the person who vandalized a church. It happened at Grace Bible Church in Pleasant Hill. The plans have been finalized. Several days of trib ouzutes in woish for the late Justice Ruth Bader ginsburg. This wednesday and thursday, ginsburg will lie in repose at the supreme court. Thousands are expected to travel to pay their respects to her. On friday, ginsburg will lie in state at the u. S. Capitol. She is the first woman and only the Second Supreme Court justice to have that honor. She will be buried at Arlington National cemetery. Now, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is altering the political landscape. Experts say its nirvana for conservatives, that President Trump will appoint a third justice to the supreme court. For democrats, it may be painful, but its also energizing for the base like nothing before. Nbc bay areas Terry Mcsweeney gives us a better look. I would say on friday or saturday ill be announcing the pick. Five women are being looked at and vetted very carefully. Reporter the president poised to nominate another conservative to the supreme court, a move that would shift the court to the right, and many experts say almost certainly guarantee the end of obamacare and a slew of other progressive causes. From there we can look to a womans right to choose, we can look to the daca program. We can look to so many incredible programs, incredibly good for the democrats, incredibly terrible for the republicans that once were considered safe and will now be very vulnerable. Reporter whatever happens, the death of Justice Ginsburg has served to super energize the electorate. Act blue, a democratic fundraising site, reports 100 million in donations since her passing. Local democratic operatives like palo altos t. T. Liu also report a new energy. I have to see, you know, in this past weekend, weve had so many people reach out to us and say, you know, weve seen all your posts on facebook over the last four years, but now we really feel a sense of urgency. What can we do . Reporter nbc bay area political analyst Larry Gerston says republicans are feeling energized as well, hoping to hang on to the senate and the white house. Youre going to see voting turnout that will be record in size and perhaps the largest turnout in 40, 50 years. Reporter liu, who teaches at stanford law school, tells her people the political ground game is all about registration, mobilization, and voter protection. Thats why she plans to be in reno, nevada, on election day to make sure every vote is counted. I really think in this election our democracy and rule of law are at stake. Reporter Terry Mcsweeney, nbc bay area news. Still ahead, a big problem and bad timing for so many struggling during this pandemic. The reason the state is no longer accepting new unemployment claims, at least not for the next two weeks. Plus a Close Encounter in a bay area neighborhood. Thats a Mountain Lion caught on camera watching children play. What one man did next to make sure no one got hurt. Im chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. As fall arrives tomorrow, some great weather but its not going to last. Record heat back on tap with some 100s. Ill give you the full timeline in about ten minutes. Give you my world how can i, when you wont take it from me you can go your own way go your own way your wireless. Your rules. Only with xfinity mobile. New evacuations under way tonight in southern california. It is night 16 of the bobcat fire. Its been burning near the Angeles National forest. It is one of the largest in l. A. County history, burning more than 106,000 acres. 1,500 firefighters are working to get it under control, including some crews from bay area fire departments. Now to the north, a bay area search and rescue team is on the front lines of the north complex fire. Thats the fire burning in butte, plumas, and yuba counties. An 80person team from menlo park left this morning, but theyre not there to battle flames. In fact, theyre going into burned out homes trying to find anyone reported missing. 15 people have lost their lives in that fire. Its now the fifth largest in state history. The same team helped with similar efforts two years ago following the camp fire, which also burned in butte county, that time killing 85 people. The family of a mentally ill walnut creek man shot and killed by police last year say theyll keep pushing for change. Today the parents of miles hall spoke for the First Time Since their 4 million settlement with the city. They say theyve been in conversations with Walnut Creek Police for some two years about their sons condition. Officers shot and killed a 23yearold man suffering a mental breakdown. The halls say they want a Mental HealthCrisis Response team created, adding police need more training on how to deal with people in crisis. All we care about from the day miles died and until the day we die is having a better system in place. The city of walnut creek says it is collaborating with other cities on possible nonpolice responses. It says its also committed money to train officers better on how to interact with people facing mental challenges. Cleanup under way at a large dump site and homeless encampment in south san jose. This is along Union Pacific railroad. The tracks and monterey road. The city says its become a hazardous blight due to Illegal Dumping and graffiti. That cleanup is expected to take more than a week. San joses mayor says tackling the citys homeless problem isnt an easy one, but he says there are signs of progress. What were going to keep doing is trying many different solutions, many different Cost Effective solutions, many innovative approaches and seeing how we can begin to move the needle. Mayor sam liccardo said just last week the City Council Approved funding for Affordable Housing. He said since january of 2018, nearly 2,000 Affordable Housing units have been completed. Californias Employment Development department will not accept new jobless claims for the next two weeks as it tries to fix a backlog and broken system. The state is hoping during the next two weeks, the edd can catch up on months worth of unprocessed claims and address what an audit refers to as widespread fraud. A new report shows as many as 600,000 californians are still waiting to receive unemployment payments related to the pandemic. Another 1 million say their payments suddenly stopped for no reason. Lots of people say theyre just in the midst of an unemployment claim nightmare. Im having to go get food boxes and im having to apply for food stamps, which is something i have never, ever done in my life. The Department Says while a twoweek pause will help, it could still take months to work through the backlog. We are hours away from beginning of fall and that has a lot of Restaurant Owners a bit nervous. The covid crisis has most businesses in survival mode, only able to provide outside dining. Many are still on the verge of closing. Tonight nbc bay areas cheryl hurd found out how people are desperate to find ways to keep the customers coming in even when it gets cold. At this point were just trying to figure out ways to stay alive and stay open. Reporter for the last six months, it hasnt been easy for restaurant and bar owners here in livermore. And recently it got even tougher. In the beginning, it was very nerveracking, but then at that point we thought this will be over in two weeks, three weeks, a month. Now its been going for six months. Reporter business dropped off and now theres a new challenge. Outdoor dining in the cold now that fall is here. Its cold to me right now. And what is . Like 68. Were trying our best. Weve got these tents up. Were going to figure out a way to heat these and reach out to our guests and say, hey, bundle up and come out. Reporter desperate but hopeful. The city of livermore is trying to relieve some Financial Burdens of building tents and buying heating lamps. The city has done a grant system for us where they do 50 of what we spend, which helps out a lot. Reporter then there are things beyond anyones control. Dining outside is what Health Experts are recommending in most areas right now. But even then there are risks. Setting up walls and tents is very understandable as long as ventilation is attended to. So, you know, plenty of air circulating around to disperse any respiratory droplets. Reporter Health Experts say we cant let our guard down when it comes to Wearing Masks even when were talking about dining outside. This covid crisislivermore, che bay area news. Thats the truth. A clothis is cell phone vid and thats a Mountain Lion spotted saturday crouching in a front patio. Guess what hes looking at . A couple of kids on bikes. Initially the man who saw this just thought hed take some video of the big cat. But then he decided to step out and shoo it away after the Mountain Lion jumped over a fence into a driveway, still looking at the kids. I was terrified. I was afraid for the kids and it was pure adrenaline. I was like, no, no, get, get. I was chasing it, get out of here, get, get. Luckily it turned and kept going. The puma project says the cat is one of many animals that lost its habitat to the wildfires. But they say this shouldnt be considered dangerous. The project has been tracking this cat since it was a cub, and the trackers call it a people observer, and they stress that so far it hasnt acted in any aggressive or dangerous manner. Still a little unsettling to see that cat watching the kids, right . Yes. They say its not a danger. Hes just a voyeur, it seems. Oh, man. And, jess, what should we do if we see one of those when youre out in the wild . Is it make yourself bigger . Yes. The guy said it exactly. You get big. Youre so good at those safety tips. Okay. Be careful out there. As we talked about, fall officially arrives tomorrow morning. It is the fall equinox as the suns rays will be shining right on the equator. That means 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of darkness, equinox meaning equal. That arrivess 6 31 tomorrow morning. Happy fall. Lets bring you into a fall like pattern over the next couple days. We have the storm track, the jet stream riding right over the west down to northern california. Thats pushing that smoke off towards the east. So you can rejoice a little bit here. Weve got more good