and those around you. >> how the sweeping new vaccine mandate could impact your office and what happens to businesses that don't comply? she says she can be dead. the bay area woman who fought off an attack from bear inside her own home. >> what i could see to my shock and horror, the first thing that registered is that's a bear. >> that's not the only fight she's dealing with. more frequent and more destructive. mega fires have ripped through california more in the last 20 years than they did the entire century before. that's according to data that we have compiled. what's the plan moving forward? let's bring in candice nguyen.

>> reporter: these fires that burn more than 100,000 acres used to be rare, but now they're annual. experts calling this a new fire reality that maybe we shouldn't fight but learn to work with. north of sacramento, the dixie fire burned nearly a million acres this summer, and the august complex fires burned more than a million last year around mendocino county. while most wildfires are small, our investigative unit analyzed more than a century of cal fire data and found a clear trend for mega fires which burned more than 100,000 acres. the data shows thereby more since 2000 than the entire previous century. it's a reality says this professor of geology rich mennich. >> it's night and day.

>> reporter: it has worsened exponentially in the 21st century. in 2021 alone there have been seven mega fires. there were only ten recorded in the entire 20th century. many fires are in wild lands but some are reaching communities. kale fire data shows mega fires burning millions more acre than compared to decades before. in 2018 the campfire, a mega fire, destroyed thousands of homes and milled more than 80 people, leveling the entire town of paradise. cal fire captain robert foxworthy says you should be on alert no matter where you live. >> if anything the past few years have proven, sit possibly for fires to burn in those populated areas. >> reporter: captain foxworthy says mega fires used to be career fires, once in a career. now they're emerging several times in a year. >> when we have a million-acre fire it's going to be tough to have all the fire resources

needed when that fire starts. that's why we have the mutual aid systems we have in place. >> reporter: moving forward, professor mennich says he need to evaluate how he manage fires, constantly weighing allowing some of them to burn to break up vegetation versus trying to fight them all. >> i object to the word fighting. i think we need to learn we're not dealing with a monster in a military fashion. we're looking at an earth surface process that's always been operational, literally for millions of years, and we need to learn how to work with fire instead of fighting it. >> reporter: while some firefighter fear officials say the mega fires as a result of our changing climate and increased drought, professor mennich questions that. he insists forest management and fire strategy are bigger factors. both sides agree, though -- the frequency and fierceness of the mega fires remain a reality for california right now. with the investigative unit, i'm

candice nguyen. >> thank you. today a notable agreement at the u.n. climate summit in scotland, a landmark deal signed by 40 nations to phase out coal power. coal is considered the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. however, the united states is not one a those 40 nations to sign on to the coal pledge. neither is china or india which burns two of thirds of the coal. the u.s. official not sign the pledge fearing they'd anger senator joe manchin of west virginia because president biden needs his vote on key issues. across the country private businesses with over 100 employees now have until january 4th to ensure their work forces are fully vaccinated or getting weekly testing. there are steep fines for violators. while many employers embraced the rules, they are drawing fierce backlash from some republican-led states. >> reporter: with a new january

4th deadline in place, the clock is now ticking for companies with 100 or more employees to get their workers fully vaccinated or tested every week. the new federal regulations affecting roughly 84 million people follow an executive order from president biden in september. >> this is not about freedom or personal choice. it's about protecting yourself and those around you. >> reporter: any employer failing to meet the requirements could face nearly $14,000 in fines for each worker who's out of compliance. unvaccinated employees have to cover the costs of their own weekly testing. the mandates have touched off protests. >> i don't believe the government has any right to be involve in the my medical decisions. >> reporter: with several republican controlled states vowing to fight the rules in court. but many employers embrace the requirements. >> anything that we can put in place that's going to make people feel more secure to come and visit my store is the best

thing for my store. >> reporter: the white house says more than 3,500 businesses, hospitals, schools, and local governments already have mandates in place, significantly boosting vaccination rates. top health official dr. anthony fauci defending the practice in a hearing today on capitol hill. >> we know that vaccines absolutely save lives, and we know that mandates work. >> reporter: even as covid cases are down across much of the country, a worrying surge in colorado, reminding us the pandemic is not over and adding urgency to the push to vaccinate. president biden has also issued vaccine requirements across the federal work force and the health-care sector. the white house announcing today it's extending the deadline for federal contractors to be fully vaccinated from december 8th to january 4th. in washington, alice barr, nbc news. >> thank you, alice. getting paid to vaccinate your

kids -- new york city is offering cash if you get your child the shot. today new york city started giving covid shots children 5 to 11 years old. to encourage parents to do so, mayor de blasio says any parent who gives their child the vaccine at a site $100. >> good news, kids are eligible for the $100 vaccine incentive. we really want kids, families to take advantage of that. everyone could use more money around the holidays. >> the city wants to get as many kids possible vaccinated before christmas. britain is taking the lead on the so-called covid pill. it became the first country in the world to develop the anti-viral pill. it was developed by merck and ridge back biotherapeutics. it's being hailed as a pandemic game changer. uk's regulatory agency recommending the drug be prescribed asap following a

positive covid test within five days of onset of symptoms. the likelihood of a house vote tonight on president biden's economic spending plan seems to be fading. >> house speaker nancy pelosi met today before swearing in a new member. she hoped to vote tonight and get the infrastructure bill done form. her good news is analysts say president biden's spending bill is paid for by a trillion dollars in new taxes on the wealthy. that news prompted democrats to put family leave back into the bill after it was removed earlier. ascary scene down in southern california. a concert end in the chaos. a huge tree crashed down on this parking lot around 8:00 p.m. last night. this is outside of l.a.'s greek theater. look at that car smashed. nearly 30 cars damaged. many of them crushed beyond repair. remarkably, only one person, a

woman suffered a leg injury. many feel lucky they were inside. >> don't have words. just thinking about getting to work and my car. we weren't in the car when it happened. thank god. no one's hurt. at the end of the day, it's just a car. you can buy a new one. >> the tree that fell was an aleppo pine. crews spent time. a woman survived a brush with death in lake tahoe. she was attacked by a bear. what was supposed to be a time of rest and recovery turned into a life or death fight inside her north tahoe cabin. we need to warn you, some of the images are difficult to see. >> there's a laceration -- i don't know if you can see that. >> reporter: it takes a lot to scare laurel rose von hoffman

kurzy who's battling stage four cancer. >> i was screaming my head off. >> reporter: what happened was enough to terrify her. >> what i could see to my shock and horror, the first thing that registered was, my gosh,s that a bear. >> reporter: she's seen bears outside the cabin before, but this one was inside on the second floor, rummaging through a freezer when she came face-to-face with it just before sunrise. >> he came at me, and i couldn't see at all what was happening. i saw one paw, and really couldn't see anything else like that. and then i just started getting ripped apart. it was terrifying. >> reporter: the bareheaded back downstories and she crawled to a bedroom where as a retired medical doctor she assessed the damage and knew she was leaving blood fast. >> i knew this was severe. i could tell my face was

separated here. i put my legs up against the armoire so the blood from my legs would go into my central body. i'm lucky to be alive. >> reporter: california fish and wildlife agents collected dna samples and set traps hoping to catch the bear. they also say the family did everything right to avoid attracting bears, no food in the garbage, only avocados on the counter. she said this bear was aggressive, so despite her love of wildlife, she wonders if it needs to get put to sleep. >> once a bear gets aggressive like this and comfortable about hurting people, they'll do it again. >> reporter: until it's caught and relocated, she says she'll be staying away from the cabin. nbc bay area news. >> amazing to see that. glad she's better, though. up next, she vanished from the camping tent three weeks

ago. now she's been rescued. how police tracked down an adducted girl. a vacation rental might have cameras watching you. you need to look for them. we'll show you how, next. i'm chief meteorologist jeff runeari. our system moved out. we'll talk about clouds on the way and even more rain chances coming up in about eight minutes.

scathing reaction tonight to the jury that's seated in the jury trial for the man accused of killing ahmaud arbery. arbery was black, but the jury hearing the case is almost entire will i white. arbery was shot and killed while jogging through a rural georgia neighborhood. two white men chased him down. they say they thought he was a burglar.

their friend captured the shooting on cell phone. they dismissed 11 potential black jurors citing what they call strong bias. >> this court has found there appears to be intentional discrimination. >> got a jury like 1955, trying to -- trying to fit the same cycle. that's why we're here fighting. we ain't going for this. >> reporter: despite the jury's makeup, the trial begins tomorrow. a 4-year-old girl in australia who was kidnapped during a family vacation has been found safe three weeks after she disappeared. cleo smith is her name. she was on a trip with her family at a remote campground. when the little girl's mother woke up in the morning, she discovered her daughter vanished from the tent. police launched a major search. cleo was nowhere to be found.

18 days later they stormed a home and found her. >> we have been able to conduct this operation and we never gave up hope. >> amazing. the suspect is in custody. investigators have not revealed what led them to that home. many of us have security cameras inside our home, but what about when stay in a vacation rental? the host might be watching you even inside. >> this is interesting here. you can take steps to know if the vacation rental has spying eyes. chris ka mur ra shows us how. >> if you think cameras are forbidden from vacation rentals, you're wrong. they may have cameras inside and outside the house. vrbo allows them outside. it says surveillance devices such as security cameras and doorbells are allowed. outside but not inside.

airbnb has different rules it says, we prohibit security cameras or recording devices that observe is interior of certain private spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms. cameras that are not in certain private spaces might be allowed. airbnb says we require hosts to disclose all cameras and recording devices in their listings, and that's the first place you can ever you should look for a camera in the listing. look under house rules. say there's no camera listed there. message the host with a question like this -- where do you use security cameras. if you get a cagey answer, let the booking company know about it. if there is a security camera that's not disclosed in the booking airbnb says you get your money back. they could use them to eves drop.

they're allowed provided they're disclosed in the listing. if you're not happy about that, ask about unplugging them. you can take a couple steps to scan for cameras. look for of use ones but also things like nanny cams. you can download an app like fing. it might help you identify what's what and what's streaming to the internet. you can try to take a house completely offline. find a router and unplug it, but first ask a host because sometimes security systems and home phone require internet access. you can also buy a detector that claim to sniff out cameras by walking around a room. before you buy one, read reviews. say you find a camera that's not supposed to be there. what should you do?

airbnb and vrbo said contact them immediately. you can also contact a lawyer or law enforcement, especially if you think a camera was concealed to invade your privacy. >> that is good information to know. >> it really is. let's bring in jeff, talking about really this great weather, jeff. we woke up, it was wet, and now it's beautiful. >> so nice. a really good rebound. you can see in san jose right now we've got that blue sky continuing across the bay. and we'll get you into those current temperatures right now, and we are checking in with 66 degrees. what i really wanted to point out tonight is temperatures are going to be dropping off fast under these clear skies, at least the next couple of hours we're going to be in 50s at 8:00 and 9:00. that's going to set us up with a cold morning. definitely have to jackets ready for tomorrow morning. it's going to be one of the coldest we've seen in a while. what i want to do now is take

you out to the storm pattern. there's a lot happening here. storm track is again going to lower a little more to the south. most of the rain chance is going to be in the pacific northwest. we're going to be to the cloudy side. i want to show you how the rain is going to shake out. northern coastline, an inch or higher. a lot of spots around redding and sierra, half inch friday and saturday. sad, might get a little drizzle towards the bay area, but best rain chances stay away. let's take you to the forecast tomorrow morning. cloud cover in place. no need for the sunglasses on the commute. you can see it here. hang with the picture as we head through the afternoon. probably going to feel gloomy, but this is where we should be in november. there's that chilly weather. down 52 in the south bay. 40s over east bay, san francisco, 41, and north day

bown to 47. as we roll through the day tomorrow, temperatures don't change. widespread 60s across the south bay. doesn't look much different through the east bay. also very similar through the peninsula. san francisco, 60 in the marina, 6 ingleside, 60 many mill valley. in san francisco, we do get that chance of drizzle. storm system monday and tuesday. .10 to .75 inch. we'll know as we get closer. i think the lower amounts would be in rain valleys of the south bay. dry weather next wednesday and thursday. right here through the inland valleys, temperatures remain in the 60s, and by thursday we get up into 70. that will feel real good to us. coming up tonight we're going to continue our climate coverage and i'll have details on less sea ice is how that is increasing our temperatures.

we'll have that at 6:00 tonight. >> thanks, jeff. up next, they picked one out. we'll show you what makes this year's 30 rock christmas tree unique. whoa! am i floating? -not exactly. that's bargain bliss setting in. you're basking in the glow of premium wines at deep discount prices. -feel so tall right now! -i know, right? could you just. while you're up there? -♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ [announcer] our amazing 20 percent off wine sale is going on now through november 9th at your local grocery outlet. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪

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we're following breaking news in san jose. three people taken to the hospital. one in serious condition after a house fire. this happened on alderwood drive in north san jose near the intersection of north avenue and 680. we have a news crew on the way. we'll keep you updated as we learn more. new roots for this year's rockefeller center christmas tree. for the first time ever it's coming from maryland. typically they come from new york, new jersey, or pennsylvania. the norway spruce has been donated by a family. it will be wrapped with more than 50,000 multicolor lights and crowned with a star.

tree lighting is set for december 1st and you can watch it here on nbc bay area. did you watch it? the big question, why? buster posey, we'll hear from him, explains his decision to retire and leave $22 million of salary on the table. here are some clues for you -- think family, health, and georgia.

we watched it -- it was raw, intriguing and emotional.

late this afternoon, buster posey said good-bye in a way much like he played, with a lot of class. >> well said. he's not outwardly emotional. he's usually pretty stoic, but today with the wife and kids in the conference room he was tearful and refleckive. buster posey walking into the newsroom to formally announce his retirement. remember yesterday, the bombshell. today clarification and explanation. he leaves as one of the giants' all time greats and will likely end up in the hall of fame. why retire? he's only 34 and coming off a great season. buster was very direct. >> the reason i'm retiring is i -- i want to be able to do more stuff from february to november with my family. physically it's much harder now. and to be honest, it's hard to enjoy it as much when there's the physical pain that you're dealing with on a daily basis. >> i think all of us have these

stories about buster, just the incredible empathy he has, the ability he has to elevate people, and put them in the best position to do their jobs. and that's not just teammates or the pitchers that he caught, but it's all of us. >> it was a pretty gripping news conference, actually, watching him recount his years here in the bay area. in fact, he says he and his wife and four kids will like will i move back home to georgia and leave the east bay. anthony flores joins us in just a few minutes with reaction from buster posey, including what he plans to do now that he's done with baseball. >> it is very sad. he was a fan favorite for so many years. going to be weird to see him not play with the giant but he has 15-month-old twins and 10-year-old kids. >> he has his hands full. the giants will be having a big celebration, they'll announce the details soon. this is what's coming up the at 6:00. his netflix comedy special angered the lgbtq family.

tonight dave chappelle is in the bay area performing and the community is ready. >> realistically he's aligning himself with very violence forces. also new developments into the sinking and leaning mill lesson numb tower. could it become seismically unsafe? the push in the south bay to get newly eligible kids to covid shot. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening, and thanks for being with us on this thursday. i'm raj mathai. >> dave chappelle is in the bay area kick off awe new tour. saying he is not backing down nor bending to his critics the, comedian is screening his