To start taking members down from this system and the first member we take out and all of a sudden the system isnt there anymore. Reporter sophisticated computer modeling has now been completed on the old bridge, which is far different now than it was when it first opened in 1936. At that time, the lower deck carried only trucks and streetcars. So engineers want to make sure they understand exactly how the stresses and the loads are distributed. Its a huge structure. Very complicated. 80 years old, gone through various rehabilitations, various retrofits, very important for us to have this information. Reporter back to a live picture now in emeryville, this is the view from here. The cost of the demolition of the old cantilever section and the truss section that comes in from oakland, about 250 million, ken. And they are concerned about all the lookyloo issues once the new bridge opens. They will see an entire section hanging over there a gap in the middle and they are concerned people will be distracted as they drive by. That will be the next phase. First we have to get people going across the new span. Yeah, no doubt people looking to the left of the deconstruction and to the right to the beautiful view of San Francisco that they have never seen before, something to look forward to. Thank you, mark. Now, based on the what we have seen today, its pretty hard to believe that 24 hours ago there were actually cars heading eastbound on the upper deck there and it hasnt been that long ago. Its no doubt been a busy day for commuters all around the bay area who are used to take the bay bridge every day. They have been scrambling to find alternate transit options. Most people going by bart or by boat. Some people stuck in their cars. Yesterday was barts 10th busiest day ever before the bridge even shut down. We could see another historic day today from midnight to 10 00 this morning, more than 161,000 people took bart. Well have the numbers tonight for you on kpix 5 at 11 00. Thats an increase, by the way, of nearly 31,000 riders compared to the same morning last year. Now, the ferries they also saw a big jump in commuter traffic nearly a 60 boost just over 3,000 passengers making their morning commute by sea yesterday. Today, lets compare it. There were more than 4700 people on the ferries by noon alone. So a huge jump there. The parking lots filled up pretty fast, as well. So if you are going to take the ferry tomorrow, they are telling us to tell you plan on arriving a little bit early and make sure that you get a parking space. We are well into rush hour, although the rush hour is a bit changed this time around. Nobody crossing the bridge. We are going to throw it over to kpix 5s liza battalones for the latest. Reporter we have been using the. Reporter traffic nightmare for the commute to describe whats going on out there today. Chopper 5 is up and out over the san mateo bridge where we have seen very long delays, over twohour delays for drivers leaving San Francisco heading down southbound 101 towards highway 92. Right there, you can see all the slow traffic. This is eastbound 92 traffic heading across the san mateo bridge as folks try to get around the bay bridge closure. Again, you are look at over two hour delays leaving San Francisco down 101 heading towards the san mateo bridge. Take 280 instead. We just checked on that. That is still looking okay an an alternate as with the dumbarton bridge. Now, we have been talking about the drive heading down 101. Again, expect big delays from at least the 380 interchange approaching the turnoff heading toward highway 92. Now, the golden gate commute, thats been also another rough ride all afternoon long into this evening. Northbound 101 traffic is going to be backed up into San Francisco on to city streets from the marina district. Reports of very heavy traffic on lombard and Park Presidio getting towards the golden gate. Once you past the golden gate its extremely slow as folks avoid the bay bridge and take 101 northbound heading towards the richmond span. You can see right here the Richmond Bridge is still looking okay but just long delays for 101 both ways through marin county. Thats a look at the evening commute, ken. Reporter all right, thank you, liza. If it makes any difference, we are in the same boat you are. A lot of us live in the east bay. We crossed the bridge today. It took me an hour and a half to get to San Francisco around the san mateo bridge. Im feeling you pain. Consider bart and the ferries and then its saturday. Whether by boat or by bart, a lot of people had to think of a different way to get to work today. And ryan takeo tells us that some people who decided to park in parking lots got a rude awakening. A Little Something on the windshield. Reporter thats right, ken. Nothing like a 40 ticket to welcome you back when you get to your car. That was just one way of telling who the casual bart riders were today. We got some of that video over at the walnut creek bart station. We saw several cars that had tickets on the windshield. Bart police said they wanted the lot clear for riders with permits. We also found Parking Enforcement officers writing tickets near the lafayette bart station. They said there was some overflow onto city streets but they expected much more. Today was also nice for some who normally drive and instead rediscovered bart. You had to wait for the people to get off before there was enough space for anybody else to get on and then im not sure everybody waiting actually made it on to the train. Theres a lot of people on the train. I wasnt used theres usually nobody when we get on at like 6something in the morning and it was completely packed. Like i was smushed against the wall. Reporter so the bart trains were very crowded today. Every 10 to 15 minutes, we would see folks like this just a flood of people coming in from the city right on cue here at the Pleasant Hill bart station. The consensus among the riders is that they would rather stand on bart on the crowded trains than sit in traffic. Live at the Pleasant Hill bart station. Im ryan takeo, kpix 5. All right. Ryan, thanks for that report. Hey, another sign that things are moving along. And no pickup here, but the sign, the traffic sign on the bridge, came on a little while ago. It says the sign test august 29th, 2013. Aokay. So the signs work. Next time you drive across the bridge, it will all be aokay. We are going to toss it back to you guys. Allen . All right. A sign of the times. Thats a good sign. All right, ken, thanks. You can find a full list of travel alternatives during the bay bridge closure on our website, go to kpix. Com bridge to check out our survival guide. Were asking ourselves, why did it take so long . Bay area bike share finally gets rolling. Coming up, how you can rent a pair of wheels and the problem the program is already encountering. As firefighters gain ground on that huge yosemite wildfire, tonight how a devastated bay area natural sanctuary proves wildlife can rise from the ashes. And im meteorologist paul deanno reporting live from a sunny and very quiet Treasure Island. Behind me the new eastern span of the bay bridge. Will the weather continue to cooperate for final construction of that passengers . That and your labor day forecast coming up. How bart braced for the bay bridge closure and geared up for todays commuting crunch. Female narrator through labor day at sleep train, female narrator through labor day get 36 monthrestfree g plus big savings of up to 400 on beautyrest and posturepedic. Even get three years interestfree financing on Serta Icomfort and tempurpedic, plus free sameday delivery, setup, and removal of your old set. When brands compete, you save, but this special financing offer ends labor day at sleep train. Sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep apart the old eastern span. It will be at least four more days before cars are crossing the new bay bridge. They are ripping apart of the old span. The first or the of business rerouting the old approach on to the new span as the first order of business. The demolition has been in full swing for nearly 24 hours now. Once the new bridge is open, the old bridge will be taken apart starting with the dreaded s curve. It will be three years before the old bridge is gone for good. Pedal power has officially arrived here in the bay area. Kpix 5s len ramirez on the program encouraging people to ditch their cars for a pair of wheels. Reporter with the flip of a switch the racks were unhitched and the Bay Area Bike Share Program was off and rolling. Hop on a bike and take off anywhere you want to go in the city. Reporter bike share backers and city officials took off for a ceremonial first spin around the block to celebrate the work and the years of planning that made bike sharing a reality. What were finding in cities throughout the world is that it really helps folks move out of cars on to transit because it solves that challenge that a lot of transit riders have of getting from the station to work or to the university wherever it is they want to end up. Reporter the bikes are available 24 7 to adults over 18 with a credit card you can buy a membership on the spot for 88 a year. 22 for 3 days or 9 for one day. But youre only allowed to keep the bikes out for half hour blocks at a time or else youll pay overage fees. We are trying to device it for long term use. This is not a traditional recreational bike rental. This is meant to be a short term bike transit system. Reporter one of the key parts of this program is that its regional. In other words, you can pick up a bike in san jose, ride it to a caltrain station, drop it off and then pick up another one in redwood city or San Francisco. And then do the same thing on the way home. There it goes. Yeah reporter San Francisco, palo alto, mountain view, redwood city and san jose are the cities so far participating. Each city has several racks of bikes in key destinations and transthe hubs. The bikes themselves are heavy duty with gps devices built in and special nonremovable parts to discourage theft. Got to put my bag up front. Reporter going commutes on a greg commutes on a bus between santa cruz and san jose and plans to use bike share for the final mile between the stop and his office. In san jose, len ramirez, kpix 5. The Bike Share Program is only about 6 hours old here in the bay area. And well, this bike has already been damage. Officials arent sure if its from vandals or if something happened while the bike was being installed. New at 6 00 the troubled investigation is finally complete. San Francisco Police now say a truck driver was at fault in the accident that killed a cyclist at 6th and folsom. The 24yearold woman was hit august 14. As we reported tuesday, it was the San FranciscoBicycle Coalition that tracked down video of that accident, not police investigators. And in another embarrassment for the department, an officer apparently got confrontational at a memorial for the victim telling the crowd, it was her fault. Tonight, the department is apologizing for that officer and handing the case over to the d. A. s office. Were continuing to follow developing news out of the sierra where firefighters are gaining some ground on that Massive Wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National park. Flames have scorched more than 192,000 acres since august 17. It is now the sixth largest fire in californias history. Crews have it 30 contained. And the socalled rim fire is burning northeast of groveland in tuolumne county. Flames have spread to about 6 of Yosemite National park. But thats not stopping some campers this labor day weekend. Natural disneyland. A trip you werent going to miss . No. No not unless we had to. The fire still threatens the hetch hetchy reservoir. San franciscos main water supply. But firefighters say flames are burning themselves out as they approach the reservoir. Crews are still weeks away from having the fire fully surrounded. And for all the latest updates on the rim fire, go to kpix. Com fire. Youll find interactive maps detailing just how far it has spread and the communities impacted. A lot of people are expressing heartbreak over what is perceived as natural devastation at yosemite. But not that long ago, whats known as the vision fire scorched 12,000 acres in Point Reyes National seashore. It started october 3, 1995. Coincidentally the same day as the o. J. Simpson verdict. If you visit the park, 18 years later, the aftermath may surprise you. As the fire was coming from the mount vision area, coming down the slope, then the fire was burning very hot, pretty much burning all vegetation in its wake. As far as your eyes can go, then what youre seeing right now on these hillsides is all new growth since that fire. Not another way to describe what were seeing from up here except really total devastation. Everything burned that was here. Everything was burned. Yet at the same time, that created this amazing habitat for regrowth and thats exactly what we have. And you can see the mature trees that lost its life in the fire. Yet at the same time gave new life to the forest by dropping its seed. You could refer to it almost as a 70foot lawn. Its not quite as chic as a lawn but the density you see behind me right now is very typical of what has grown back. Reporter the bulk of the firefighting effort has come from helicopters. The air attack here and the reason to malice bay. They can pull water out of here and take it to the fire in less than a minute. It burned right up and into the sand dunes of the area that were at right now which is limantour beach. This came back very quickly. We literally saw in burn areas, we saw green grass coming up a day after it had burned. The fire comes through and said, you know what, were going to just clean the slate and start again. And thats what weve seen here. Reporter its painful. Youre looking at what was once an untouched part of nature. Now youve got dark lifeless acres left in the wake of a fire that have replaced the lush green Natural Beauty that the bay area used to treasure so much. The fire itself is part of the whole history of the landscape around here. And i think when you kind of think of the rim fire going on in and around yosemite right now, im very hopeful that, yes, theres this stark feeling that theres this devastation thats occurring. And its certainly a tragedy just like it was here if people lose their homes and thats very, very unfortunate. But when you are looking at just the natural ecosystem itself, in the national park, for example, then i think theres a lot of hope that if you just kind of wait and see, i think things will come back in a very natural way. And take a look at this. This is a pine cone. Thats pretty solid. It is sealed with natural resins, tough you would have to struggle to get it open even if you are a screwdriver and hammer. So what happens when it burns . Thats the thing. They tell us that its designed to burn open up and then the seeds go into the ground so the trees if they do burn, they seed themselves and start up again. Oh, my. Okay. Incredible. Learn something new. Thank you. Chief meteorologist paul deanno brings us our pinpoint forecast live from Treasure Island tonight. Paul. It is a beautiful evening out here and all the folks who have put in so much work over, what the past 16 years to get this bridge finished have to be very thankful for the weather that were going to have over the next couple of days. Theres a reason part of the reason why theyre doing this now as opposed to later in the year scheduling this for october, november or december, is the fact that you cant finish this construction if its raining. You cant lay the asphalt. You cant stripe the road. You need dry weather. Thankfully, it has been dry and will continue to be dry for the next several days and thats good news for you if you have any outdoor plans for the Labor Day Holiday weekend. Let me show you highs today as we use the western span of the bay bridge as a backdrop. Warm but not hot inland. Livermore 88, concord 685, san rafael 86. 81 in san jose. And 69 degrees in downtown San Francisco this afternoon. There is a large area of low pressure to our north and west. Theres a large area of High Pressure to our south and east. This has been the battle played out all summer long and right now, and tomorrow as well, High Pressure will win out. Kind of a shoving that marine layer offshore just a little bit and giving us even warmer weather coming up tomorrow to the tune of 3 to 5 degrees warmer so specifics now for your friday. Oakland at 78 degrees. 4 degrees above average. Concord youre going to make it to the low 90s. And san jose likely a couple of degrees above average, as well. Other highs for tomorrow, santa rosa youll make it to 90. Warmest day of the week for you. Mountain view 81. And pacifica, youll even be mild with some sunshine and the high of 68 degrees. After tomorrow, that low pressure system begins to win out and the onshore flow gets stronger. Were going to cool down for the weekend. Not chilly, but it will be cooler. Sunday upper 80s inland, low 70s near the bay. Labor day monday will likely be the coolest day of the Holiday Weekend but any outdoor activities, it is thumbs up. Were looking just excellent weatherwise for the upcoming weekend. Got to tell you, Treasure Island is a ghost town. Theres nothing going on but matteos little food shack if you have been to Treasure Island, we wanted to pick one, 2 in the finest in sugar and dough. You can get a churro. But getting here might be tough. But if you get here, theres still food. Thanks, paul. Escorted out of homes in handcuffs, coming up, what the arresting agents found in freezers today after an unusual bay area raid. If i just didnt get no food stamps from the government i wouldnt be able to buy food. Screaming protestors invade fastfood restaurants pushing for bigger paychecks. Why some minimum wage bay area workers told us they