Pipeline that feeds the power plant. So far we have seen the fire jump over the Railroad Tracks which is where the fire breaks but pipelines, were told are not in jeopardy at this time. This plant is off line. Its burning well. A lot of grass and tule. A lot of times it can move underwater and then, pop out in sers so its very difficult to get down there and fight with firefighters so that is why youre seeing the most of what theyre doing right now. Im allen wong, abc7 news great explanation. Thank you the thick smoke can be seen a considers the east bay. Abc7 news viewer ronnie brown posted this photo saying there is ash falling from the sky. Spencer christian is here with the latest. Wind not too bad. Not terribly bad theyve picked up a little bit. Winds growing stronger across the bay area. Its been the case here in the fire as well. So steady winds increased from what they are a couple hours ago. And its not hot there, but it is dry. We can probably expect winds to grow stronger. Were getting a stronger push of wind trut throughout the bay area. That happens we get stronger winds in the area. Well have updated information later. Thank you. Were going to keep watching the fire. And of course you know we do have allen wong on the ground were learning about the 32yearolds rampage that began yesterday morning when police say he killed a man ask set his home on fire. Police said they have reason to believe he was behind the death of a 79yearold man whose body was found by firefighters called out to a house fire yesterday. Cheney was a perfect of interest when the black bpw car jacked was spotted in california. Two Police Detectives were in route at the time i was learned he had shot a sheriff. Age 48. He sat in his car and a officer returned fire, killing cany the fallen sheriffs deputy grew up in napa. Wayne freedman is live with that part of the story. Wayne . He was a football star, and beloved from the time he was young, he had friends, still has friends here he knew years. Today, fwil came to remember someone dear. He passed protecting and serving. Hes one more friend of a favorite son of napa, became a Deputy Sheriff who yesterday. From his cousin to his best friends son. Anything happened he would be the first to call and say im here for you. Just so unassuming. Then, all of a sudden you put him in the spotlight he was unbeatable. All spoke of a man until yesterday was a hiving legend a great guy. A football player. A wrestler who came within a win of the high school championship. A High School Named him to the hall of fame. His name, and record still referred. You dont find people like that often. And he was just an amazing and gentle kind, loving man. So the emotional hole in napa tonight. An hour at a time. Class of 1983, the kid made good, who napa will always remember. And were expressing our condolences to family and friends of the deputy on our face book page. You can share this badge to express your support and leave your thoughts for the family of the deputy at facebook. Com slash abc7 news Police Looking for a driver of a white Dodge Durango who hit and killed a woman in a San Francisco crosswalk this morning. Investigators a both were heading eastbound on visitation avenue near bay shore boulevard around 11 00 a. M the woman just about to was across the road the donl suddenly just turned into the path. Police say the driver came back to take a look before speeding off. Then, continuing up northbound bay shore to leland and made a uturn. And drove southbound slowly driving by police say this is the sixth m San Francisco this year, outpacing the homicide rate. Another part of San Francisco a driver stopped after hitting a pedestrian just before noon. Police do believe the victim was in the crosswalk. Oakland Police Department is turning to twitter after years of declining numbers on the force. We are live in oakland theyre using more traditional methods. Its aimed right at interstate 880 here. Its tens of thousands of cars that have passed through here, every day. Were hoping that more people will be interested in following us the oakland Police Department is looking to rebuild its force through social media the banner on the side of opds downtown points to twitter, face book and a web site all designed to catch the eye of would be officers. Social media is a very powerful tool. We want to take advantage of the Resources Available to us. Its low cost. Well use new phone april politics for Crime Prevention and tips. Young people if you dont use smart phone april politics youre not going to reach them. Oak mrnd laning two academies each year. Starting salary now 70,000 per year were doing a very strong push to be r for recruiting. We have other support staff, crime lab. Being work as a crime scene technician i saw the ad. This 28yearold says he was attracted to opd through social media, has no worries about the reputation for crime. I want to make a difference in the oakland community. There is a misconception of oakland that its violent. But how far, i think oakland is very diverse community. Before layoffs opd had 800 officers the number now is 615 more veterans will have a memorial in their honor a Ground Breaking took place today. And is long overdue. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise its been a long time coming. Eight yearsing ayes a plan to build a mem wril for San Francisco best. Money and other priorities bot in the way. Now, this design will rise on a courtyard of green. Veterans have long been neglected very important part of the history. Now were going to have a monument to honor the veterans this side condition tans soil from the battlefields where americans have fought and died the world wars and vietnam. Theyre grash were yous to veterans now. We do everything we can for warriors not the war. There are plans to add earth. First blood spilled was in grenada. Last in iraq. This means a lot to me. The project will cost around 2. 5 million paid with private funds. As you see in his picture he is a former marine. This is as much about the few fewer as the past. Because its a statement. That those who serve, we honor the hope is to have this completed in october. In San Francisco, abc7 news. Well, still to come here elaborate Chain Reaction caused by californias west drought in history. What scientists are telling us is changing. Im spencer christian. Clouds continuing to stream into the sky. Ill let you know if moisture will hit the ground in the accuWeather Forecast coming up in just a moment. In San Francisco, California PublicSchool Students about to take an assessment test. Guess what . No paper. Or pencil required. Ill tell you nt. I want you to be kind. Ff i want you to be smart. Super smart. I want one thing in a doctor. Tk to speak my language. I dont want you to look at the chart before you say hi. David. Quiero que me hagas sentir segura. I want you to be aweso thats the doctor i want. At kaiser permanente, we want you to choose the doctor thats right for you. Find your Perfect Match at kp. Org and thrive. Rong suit. We get to the end of the day and i am toast. In fact, weve had toast for dinner. But tonight i nailed it. Kfc family feast. 9 pieces any recipe, 3 large sides, 6 biscuits, 19. 99. Do not give up on dinner. More breaking news out of Contra Costa County now. Sky 7 hd over highway 4 in martinez. We can likely see the huge traffic mess here. There is a huge back up in the area. One man taken into custody. There is a stretcher here on the side of the road we havent seen anyone brought out to that. No word on why authorities were pursuing this man well continue to follow this story and bring you latest on abc7 news. And on twitter on abc7 news bay area stay tuned for. That lets focus on the Weather Forecast continuing to be lovely. Yes. And yes, its spring today its cooling down a bit. So on we go. We can see clouds continuing to stream into the sky areas of moisture, verga is high in the air. You can see 22 under exceptional drought. This week the area expanded to 49 of the state. So very are very dry. There is that verga with moisture that is yet to hit the ground. A mild 71 in loss fwat yoes. Western sky perfect our emeryville camera. Temperatures mid60s now. 70 in fairfield. And a dramatic western and warmer this weekend. A front passing through. High pressure still the dominant fee fewer. Things getting cooler here. Well start at 7 00 this evening. Clouds continuing to move through as the onshore know builds and becomes stronger. And next week we may get rain on tuesday. By wednesday, this frontal system pushing through bringing us a chance of rain it will be a little bit of moisture. Overnight partly to mostly cloudy. Temperatures low 40s in north bay valleys. Around 50 near the bay. And tomorrow, partly cloudy conditions and cooler. Mid to upper 60s to 68 in san jose. 67 in redwood city. O 70s in the north bay. East bay highs mid to upper monday, upper 0s inland. Mid60s on the coast. Cooling down, cloudy with chance of rain wednesday. The coolest day of the forecast period. High temperatures dropping into 60s very good. As you told us spring is here. We want to thank you for sending us beautiful weather photos. You can post them on our face book page. Nice shots. Well, u. S. Geological survey does research on earthquakes but they also study water. Today, a roomful talked about the drought. What theyre studying and what they have already learned. Worst drought we have 1977. Its the same as 1977. Is the second p a series of dry years is it Climate Change . Probably not. Its a preview of what it could look like. We project that california may get from 5 to 10 fewer wet days per year. Ais a problem, they say because california gets water from big storms per year. If we lose a few fewure full of drought. Any given year weve got to puf water across the telta. The water winds up watering farms, if the drys up, farmers have to dig deep wells, causing fields to sink. Haf been dropping a foot per year. Iet can change the landscape miles around. To affect a freeway. Back up north, less fresh water bad news for fish exposed from field run off. Deform tis can result. With you make it very, very difficult to be able to swim salt marshes lose their ability to hold water one important function of marshes is in flood protection. So plant and soil act loik a sponge. Good news, 1978 was a wet year. We can only hope. I cant predict the future. I dont think you can, either. Well just ahead a preview of a San Francisco landmark getting a new makeover. Taking you inside coit tower, when it will San Francisco police say this is the vehicle that hit and killed a woman in her 60s in this morning. Police just released this surveillance photo that struck a woman. Police say the driver did take a second look before speeding off. A lawyer was in a courtroom defending herself this week when the l. A. Public defender Monica Marie Jenkins was denied entry on to a plane because she was too drunk. She began singing rock around the clock, kicked on officer and tried to bite a nurse in jail. Were getting a sneak peek at the restoration project at coit tower that closed down in november for a muchneeded make over today we got a glimpse ininside you can see artists working on the building. Its the most extensive since opening 80 years ago. That will be great. Coming up, military imposter. People sucked in by a fake navy s. E. A. L. Youre going to hear all of it. Ahead thursday might the fight to save a school. Why thousands of College Students may be turned aby from campus. Search for a missing malaysia air jetliner. Military freighters hoping to 0 in on the break through. Since i had had Health Insurance icy i needed. Of since i had hwhat policy i needed. Within 4icy. [ female announcer ] everyone deserves Health Insurance. Are you in . Find free, confidential, local help at coveredca. Com. From pittsburgh fire crews have been battling this plays more than three hours. It burned about 25 acres of gas, brush and trees now, no structures are threatened. Crews are dealing with high winds and intense flames you can see the thick smoke rising into the air. The smoke can be seen throughout the bay area. Certainly widely in the east bay. Pipeline and railroad tressels have caught fire, the pipelines come from the energy plant. There are also piles of Railroad Ties contributing to the smoke. Helicopters have been brought in to help fight this fire from the air. Crew rz from several communities are on the scene now. Were told there is no danger to the area but crews will remain on the scene several more hours. And take a look at this map. You can see where the fire is burning near willow pass road and west 10th street. You can get news any time by following us on twitter. A Small University that targets latinos and other students that may feel lost in larger schools is closing doors. National Hispanic University broke the news to students today explaining it left students scrambling now. Enrollment only 550. That may be why students feel at home here. This school made me feel like i was home. This is video of the graduation. Rass end mid year, 2015. One owner unable to get the department to reverse a ruling the program is no longer eligible for federal grants and loans. That impacted one fourth of the student body. We have hundreds of graduates that are leaders in the community now continuing to advocate for the importance of having Educational Opportunities available to anyone who chooses it. One graduate is david doyan honored two years ago. A major concern is whether credits earned can be transferred to other schools. Some students say theyve heard they will not be. Students whose credits who are actually students in upper divisions. Whose credits arent going to be transferrable. That plays a big part on who the services. I am going to turn over every stone i can to see what we can do about saving the school. Sonoma county man accused of using a phony military background to convince people to invest in phony business. That is right. Ive done many stories about fake navy s. E. A. L. S but this guy pretended to be that and more. Several people believed the stories and believe he had a special business deal with the pentagon that could make them big money. They gave him tens of thousands of dollars. You dont expect someone to spend that much time weaving lies together. Who thinks like that . Hes a predator. After talking to a victim i aked him down, see what happens when he calls the police. Officer has a surprise for him. I asked prosecutors about what theyll do at 11 00. Fascinating. Thank you. Well, searchers hope to reyum looking for possible wreckage. Now its daylight in that part of the world more bad weather and low visibility might complicate missions hightech planes from the u. S. And new zealand are leading efforts that detected harj debris in the ocean. Issue is to find debris identified as aircraft. And then, work all of the current wind data backwards to predict where that airplane was. A cargo ship used search lights to look for signs of flight 370. Coming up on seven on your sides michael finney, the tri of a 17yearold girl stranded alone in an airport in china after the airline cancelled her ticket. Stay with us. A teenages girls first trip overseas without her parents was a dream come true but led to a scariest moment of in her life. When traveling there are many thing that can catch you unaware. She was stranded because of a policy and some season travellers dont know about. This 17yearold wont for get excitement of the first trip to china. I like traveling. And this time, without my parents. They went as part of a Student Exchange program. It was thrilling, until she tried to get back home. I went to check in for my flight. Jessicas friends got boarding passes, pu cathay pacif pacific said her seat was sold to someone else and the flight was full. The next flight home was two days away i was worried about where would i stay for two days . Jessica watched her friends boarded the plane without her. I walked around with my luggage. She stayed all night in the terminal. She knew a girl who was advise writing family in hong kong. I had her number and just prayed it would work. It did the girl agreed to help. She caught a train to hong kong. Then called her mother. Said mom i was alone at the airport the whole night and out 525 for that extra ticket. Jessicas mom contacted kathay pacific. She was only 17 years old the airline said because jessica did not show up for a connecting flight. Turns out the girls took a train into china. Her mom says that shouldnt cancel the flight home she paid for the ticket she contacted seven on your side turns out the airline do indeed reserve the ticket f youre a no show. It was here in the contract says if you do not show up for any flight without advising us in advance we may cancel your return or onward reservations still after we told the story, Cathay Pacific not only refunded the air fare, offered meals hotel tw two free tickets to hong kong. Saying there is a policy reservations can be cancelled but there needs to be exceptions. Were investigating the situation and will work to update our approach. Her mom is just happy she got home safely. Very happy. Just have her here. Airlines say its aimed at keeping planes full and if they do cancel you dont get your money back. By the way that airline stepped up. I would have no problem. I want to fly Cathay Pacific. Well done. Just ahead here a California PublicSchool Student about to take a test never taken before. A trial run moving testing from pencils to compute