>> i went first to the emergency escape just like a stairwell there. and that was all involved in -- already on fire. i went out -- i just went out the front door. >> a lon the way, he was making sure his neighbors knew to get out. >> we were hollering, hitting the buzzers on all the units to make sure that people, trying to get people out. >> somebody buzzed my unit and a voice i didn't recognize and said fire, fire. >> richard rein heart took the warning serious. >> grabbed my cat, banged on 200, 02, 204 and 2030. saw the smoke starting to come in. >> a neighbor gave him some shoes and called tenants. he knew one man was not accounted for. >> we had a gentleman asleep in his apartment and his partner called him. we got him out of there. he had to come down out of his unit out of the fire escape. >> it took 150 firefighters to get a handle on the fire. when this got too dangerous, fire crews pulled out and started attack from the outside making sure the entire block didn't go up. around the corner, heavy smoke led to the evacuation of an assisted living complex. dozens of people may need help finding a place to stay over the holiday weekend. firefighters say fire investigators will be back out tomorrow at daylight. they say right now, the buildings are too unstable to take a good look around. reporting live in san francisco, jean he will i. >> thank you very much, jean. fire crews put out a blaze near dozens of homes. the fire started there before 2:00 near highway 37. that blaze spread some 15 acres. luckily, only grass and brush were reported to have burned. no homes in any way were damaged. new tonight at 6:00, though, thou shalt not steal, especially at christmastime. and especially from nuns. but apparently, someone did just that. a federal grand jury charged a woman with embezzling, $100,000 from catholic nuns. 65-year-old linda gomez faces 17 counts of fraud after allegedly using a credit card belonging to the sister of the holy name's convent gomez lived at since 1987. the woman is accused of buying product on-line between march of 2008 and may of 2010. gomez allegedly returned many of the items for up to $47,000 in cash. the indictment also accuses gomez of buying $53,000 worth of product. gomez is now scheduled to appear in court january 10th. it's a days of deja vu at some hospitals. no remedy on hand forks the second time in three months, local nurses hit the picket line after contract talks have failed. jody hernandez has been making the rounds monitoring east bay's hospitals impacted by this. she joins us in oakland. jody, the management says the nurses are already well-paid and the pay raises have to stop. what's the nurses' response? >> reporter: they say that is not the case at all. now, nurses say that their first strike failed to get the results that they wanted so they are back out here again. their action is kind of winding up right now. there are still a few nurses holding the line. nurses say this is the last place they wanted to be before the christmas holiday but they have no choice. >> it's really sad to be here. i don't feel very good about it. >> registered nurses say they'd much rather be home with their family during the holidays. instead, they're camped out on the picket line to keep benefits intact. >> it's sad that after all these years we have to fight so hard for something that we have earned throughout. we had things in place, now we have to be here this time of year. >> for the second time in three months hundreds of nurses are on strike. they've walked off the job at eight hospitals across the bay area. >> the continued proposed over a hundred take aways to sick leave, to our benefitsment taking charge nurses out of the bargaining unit which would affect patient care negatively. >> but sutter says its nurses are among the highest paid in the country. with the current economy, they say it's time to rein in nurses' compensation. >> we're not trying to decrease their pay. we're trying to slow down the increase of that and to look at how can we structure your benefits package in a way that's negotiable, a way that it's still great benefits, but is more consistent with what everybody else x people like our housekeepers. >> administration is going to take cuts in their retirement and in their pay, then they would have a right possibly to say you can get a cut. but they're not doing that. they're making millions and millions of dollars and we are not. >> they're hoping their time on the picket line pays off. they say that would be the best holiday gift they could ask for. >> it would be a beautiful christmas present. we get a contract. we get what we have. we don't want anything else. we just want to keep, maintain what we have. >> reporter: again, this is the second one-day strike in just the last three months. now, sutter tells us that once again, they have hired hundreds of replacement workers. so despite the strike, they say their hospitals are fully functional. reporting live in oakland, i'm jody hernandez, nbc bay area news. witnesses reported hearing eight gunshots and an explosion before police found a man shot inside a burning car. oakland police responded to the scene near 46 and west street this morning at 10:30. the unknown gunman opened fire on the man before the driver slammed into two parked cars. firefighters responded. extinguished the car and found the 23-year-old shooting victim, who is in critical condition. police officers are going door to door throughout the nearby community hoping to find a witness to lead them to the gunman. >> there's more fight in the home run king. barry bonds is appealing his felony obstruction con vic. his lawyers entered the appeal late last night asking the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeal to toss out his con vic. bond was sentenced last friday to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and a $4,000 fine. bonds was convicted of giving evasive answers to a grand jury several years ago. it could take as long as 18 months for a decision. those power outages at candlestick park monday night were a stark reminder of why the 49ers want to move to a new stadium. perhaps in sn at that clara. an ak at this vis group wants them to stay where they are. they intend to collect 6,000 voter signatures for a ballot measure to reject that $1 billion contract to develop the stadium. last week the city council unanimously approved $850 million loan commitment with the 49ers. in june of last year, some 60% of voters approved a measure to build the stadium. however, this group contends that voters weren't given all the facts about what it would cost taxpayers in the end. not long ago, he was a prince in the silicon valley. fortunes change fast around here. the big boss at netflix is getting a pay cut. let's bring in scott bud man. is this a real cut in pay or a pr move? >> it's real. real shares of stock, raj. the cut may seem harsh but they would find it hard to explain a raise. ceo reed hastings sees his $3 million stock option grant shrink to $1.5 million. the shares plummeting by 75% largely because of management snaf snafus. hastings' salary according to the company will stay steady at $500,000 a year. very few of us seeing anywhere near that kind of money. but on the positive side, jobless claims are falling. weekly unemployment claims released today falling to the lowest level since april of 2008. now, whether or not you have a job you're probably counting on christmas presents arriving by christmas. that's not the case for some shoppers who found out they're faced with last minute electronic scrambling. >> all those gadgets just waiting for your tree, but if you ordered them from the best buy website, your gifts may not be home by christmas. the retail giant admitting that because of high demand, it won't be able to fill all of your on-line orders. >> here to save the day. >> here's last minute shopping help. san francisco's startup, giftly.com. a company that turns gift cards into digital files. you can send anyone a gift of just about anything anywhere. we ask giftly ceo tim bent lip how his company can solve best buy's problem. >> you can go on and actually give them the gift that would work at best buy and you can spell it out on a personal note and attach an image to say i couldn't get you the ipad. here is giftly that works at best buy or the apple store and put a nice picture on there. >> as more of us shop on-line, big companies like best buy have to upgrade their supply chain or else risk backlash from customers. for giftly, a much smaller company it's an opportunity to spread the gospel of the gift card. >> because you avoid the hassle of needing to run out to the store. you don't need to be concerned about things not being shipped on time. and it provides just a much easier way to get your holiday shopping done. >> easier and perhaps most importantly, guaranteed to arrive on time. best buy declined our invitation to comment on camera about the story but says it will offer affected customers gift cards. >> be careful with the gift cards. >> tough time for best buy right now. still ahead at 6:00, an unlikely honor for the late steve jobs. also ahead, delicious, inside the see's candy factory. we'll show you how they pump out the sweet treats you'll be eating or have eaten this holiday season. i'm george kid yam a. a disabled woman is hoping for a christmas miracle. she's hoping the thief who stole her power wheelchair returns it to her. the grinch and ace accessory caught in the act. police arresting two men who set their sights on the official state christmas tree. good evening. i'm jeff -- winds topped 38 miles per hour in oakland. we're tracking what's left of temperatures in the low 60eezeni tocot ughre omofre mieeze warn tonicot ng ungp. [ male announcer ] this december, we're thanking our customers with $2 subs -- get the regular 6" cold cut combo or meatball marinara. just $2 each! just 2 bucks! are you kidding me? there's no competition. male announcer ] prices and participation may vary. subway. eat fresh. tonight pg and e is giving the public a report card of sort. the utility says it is making progress fulfilling safety recommendations from federal investigators. the president of the utility says it's modernizing operations as recommended by the ntsb. they're operating 1600 miles of pipelines at the maximum allowable pressure using an updated emergency response plan and implementing data management systems to keep track of its records. the explosion in san bruno last year which prompted the changes killed eight people, injured dozens of others and destroyed almost 40 homes. more officers will be on the streets of south san francisco tonight because today is the one-year anniversary of a still unsolved gang killing which left three young men dead. the victims including gone zal owe avalos, omar cortez and hector flores. police are worried about a possible increased violence in south city related to the anniversary. officers will focus on the downtown area where the slayings occurred at 8th lane and linden avenue. candlelight vigil for a san francisco officer who sacrificed his life five years ago. the officer was shot? the sunset district by a man who had escaped from a state correctional work camp. he was a 4 1/2 year veteran of the police department. tonight at 7:00 police will lead a walk through the sunset neighborhood and start their vigil at 8:00. the event is open to the public. retired law enforcement workers do not want to lay down their weapons. the statewide lobbying group for police officers said today that they will pursue legislation next year that would allow officers to keep assault weapons even after they retire. peace officers can own assault weapons that are illegal for most civilians to buy even for off duty use. california ghana loug the practice a decade ago. the law says they must give up the weapons. this comes on the heels of a federal investigation of possible illegal sales to civilians. california law enforcement agencies are now being investigated. well, two grinches are charged with stealing ornaments off the state capitol christmas tree. the two men were arrested and booked in the sag men toe county jail. what did they do? >> they were pulling the over-sized ornaments off the fir tree over the weekend. several glass ornaments were broken including one hand-painted by special education students. garbage is expensive, especially in fremont. residents will pay more for garbage and recycling. the city council voted unanimously to raise the rates by 8% to 10%. that's about $2 a month more than they're usually paying depending on the service you use. the city estimates the new rates will raise $335,000 more each year. it will pay for litter removal, street sweeping and environmental services. the new rates go into effect january 1st and will last for two years. a major meltdown at the courthouse today. the computers crashed cutting off telephones, case management and software and the juror finding program. the glitch was discovered just before 10:00 this morning. court clerks had to revert to the old-fashioned way. had to write notes by hand and all e-mail and phone commu communications were lost. the outage could delay some trials but jurors are being asked to report for jury dut tomorrow morning as scheduled. windy weather toppled a 50-foot tree down south. no real damage. but the roots tower through a gas pipeline. >> we smelled it before. but as i walked down, i could see that there was a fissure about that big. when the wind blew, it grew. >> crews immediately shut off the gas and evacuated the neighborhood in case of any problems with the leak. windy conditions will continue through tomorrow afternoon before it calms down for the christmas holiday weekend. we had windy conditions here as well. let's check in with our chief meteorologist, jeff ranieri. >> good evening guys. we're seeing the winds die down. avenue which look at the top wind gusts. 38 miles per hour in oakland. napa, 35 miles per hour. in the east bay, also winds gusting from 20 to 25 miles per hour. liver more was one of the top wind gusts with 25 miles per hour. that wind was a drying wind out of the north. it increased the fire danger. made it very difficult for firefighters in and throughout san francisco battling that four alarm fire earlier today. and also warm temperatures up close to 70 degrees in santa rosa. 56 in -- we topped out at 70 in santa cruz. it takes a shift in the wind and we can get numbers going up above average like today. now with the winds calming off, we're starting to see numbers dropping off. right now, 59 currently in concorde. we are setting ourselves up with a cold night. the winds are starting to lee relax across most of the viewing area. that has set us in for a freeze warning. in fact, already tracking 40-degree temperatures near h petaluma. bring in the pets and protect the sensitive plants. in the trivalley, also looking at numbers dropping into the low 50s and winds going down below ten miles per hour. we'll also see widespread isolated 20s here tonight and this goes for the south bay, including san jose, campbell, down to morgan hill and gilroy as well. this could be one of the most -- the most widespread coldest nights we've seen in the past two, two and a half month at this point. plenty of widespread 30s and the interior sections into san jose. by the noon hour, still cold. expecting 48 in concord and 52 in san mateo. for saturday morning, it is also going to stay cold. with no big changes in the atmosphere, we're going to see this pattern repeat itself throughout the next two to three days. travel delays in albuquerque due to snow. also in new york, washington and atlanta with a rather warm system that's mainly spreading rainfall at this point. we'll have more on your seven day forecast on when some showers could actually make it to the bay area. i know it's kind of unbelievable. but we have it in the forecast eventually. >> that's what we need. still ahead at 6:00, apple's next prototype. in a matter of days, the tech giant will begin working on its latest project. he'll be able to watch it unfold. also ahead, off the tracks. california's high-speed rail line was supposed to bring a million jobs to california. but now state leaders are being accused of misleading the feds. >> a holiday homecoming. a star baseball player, one of the best on the planet, fulfilling some wishes right here at home in the bay area.e i he makes millions of dollars in new york city, but valet hoe is where his heart is. he comes home when he's not working. his work, pitching for the yankees. >> a group of children scrambled along the pavement of their play area at the youth and family services. it's hard to believe this same area was a weed patch. >> we've had several donors over the years try to come in and mow it down at least mow the weeds down. >> cc sabathia knows something about mowing, that is mowing down batters. >> it's veneer and dear to my heart. i feel obligated to do whatever i can to help out the community. >> as a holiday gift, hiss foundation transformed the weed patch into a playground and filled the new playroom with toys. >> we also have toy boxes. we never had those before. actually, outside toys, which we've never had before. >> the banl star and his wife amber have visited the center which provides addiction and mental health services to low-income families. >> it's very emotional. we're just so glad and so thankful to be here and give back. >> it's part of their annual christmas caravan where they spend a week in their hometown spreading holiday cheer. >> generations. it feels good to come home and relax and be with family. >> it helps people feel better about themselves. there are people that still care. >> it's slowly climbing out of a financial turmoil that left the city bankrupt. even now, everything helps. >> it's a hard time. it's a hard time and to have somebody give back like they are is awesome. >> as the kids picked out christmas gifts provided by sabathia, there was a message only someone who came from here delivered. >> i came from the same situation they came from and the same place. coming from here, you know, you can make it. >> joe rosato, jr. bay area news. the real holiday spirit there. wrapping presents can be fun for lots of people. but for others, it can really be difficult. for one yuba city woman, she's learning not to take it for granted. emily became the first person to undergo a hand transplant. she lost the of use of her right hand when it was crushed in a car accident in 2006. today she's slowly getting used to that hand and she demonstrated it by showing us that she can wrap presents. it's the first time she's wr apped a gift in five years. >> it's still a work from n. progress. i can't move the fingers individually. but i can tie my shoes easier, hold a hair drier and brush my hair at the same time. i can hold a cup with it. i'm able to make christmas ornaments. i can do little things now. >> there you see it. once emily's hand and nerve endings heal completely, doctors predict she'll be able to give back to 60, maybe even 80% mobility in her right hand. very nice to see. >> wonderful. still ahead tonight at 6:00 shall mounting concern in iraq after a string of bombings less than a week after u.s. forces pulled out of the country. plus, a stalemate appears to be over. the controversial payroll tax cut fight. i'm in constant pain now. whereas before, when i could use the other chair i wasn't. i didn't have to use my legs. she's searching for a holiday miracle. a thief leaves a disabled south in desperate need. we'll have her story next. [ female announcer ] help i need a holiday party idea. mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this mig