denver. went up to 100 mile-per-hour are driving the flames. a list six people are being treated for injuries. we will bring you any major developments. that evening. i am kpix 5 morning anchor amanda starrantino in for elizabeth. and i am allen martin. now to the latest on california's drought. you are looking at a major boost to california's water supply after some of the driest years on record. >> the first survey of the season shows the mountain snowpack is about 160% of average for this time of year ,

following a series of big winter storms. >> that news comes as new data shows the dramatic change in the states drought conditions. on the left is last week's drought monitor map. on the right is where we stand right now. >> what a difference a year makes. we have team coverage beginning with brian hackney, and a closer look at the snowpack. i will show you graphics that really point out what is happened in a month. this is back on december 1. the northern sierra had 10% of average, central 16%, southern sierra at 7%. that's the beginning of the month. let's look at the central sierra. the statewide snowpack was 13%. beginning of the month. look at the central sierra. 16% to 164%. and the entirety of the sierra has gone to 160%. the story on the reservoirs is about the same as well. at the beginning of the month, let's look at folsom. it was at 57% at the beginning of december, and now it is at 146%. things have improved, and how. it wasn't that long ago we were talking about man-made snow. now, they have it piled 12 feet high and parts of the sierra. we have more on the forecast, and what is coming next month when we bring you the complete forecast in a few minutes. out the rain, also good for

our local lakes and reservoirs. chopper 5 is giving us a look at the san pablo reservoir in contra costa county. kpix 5's max darrow shows us there is one part of the bay area still in an extreme drought right now. >> reporter: all of the recent rain has really started to help out. it looks green in most parts of the bay area, but there is still a long way to go. the bay area, making good progress against the drought after a few weeks of rain. kpix 5 meteorologist darren peck with a great visual of the recent progress. >> last week we were in the shades of red which is extreme drought. we bring it back to today -- >> reporter: more yellow is a

good thing. >> we went from exceptional to extreme to severe. severe still sounds like a concerning place, but it is a huge improvement. >> reporter: despite looking as green as it has a long time, the tri-valley area is behind the bay area. they improve from the exceptional drought designation to the extreme drought designation. >> if there is a reason they are lagging behind, so many bits of the bay area got to 80%, and liver more has settled for 150% of average. >> this is a good start, but we are not out of the woods on the drought get. we would ask people to continue to conserve water. >> reporter: valerie pryor is the general manager for the zone 7 water agency, which provides water in the tri- valley area. >> the tri-valley depends on the state water project for 70% of our watt water. it started with a severe deficit. it will take well above average rainfall, runoff, and snowpack to make it up. her back some locals tell kpix 5 that they are aware a few weeks of good rain is not enough to end the drought. >> i believe we can be conserving water a lot better. >> i think we have a long way to go. we need to be careful with our resources. >> reporter: max darrow, kpix

5. noted the alarming spread of covid over the holidays. take a look at the current positivity rate statewide, almost 13%, up 7.7% from the 7 days prior. we see long lines that testing sites all over the bay area. this was the scene in san mateo earlier today, where cars crawled along several city blocks. shawn chitnis on the scramble to get tested before new year's. >> reporter: side by side, people and cars are on foot waited to get free covid testing right before new year's eve. this location at the san mateo marriott contest up to 4000 people per day. >> everyone has to get tested. we want to make sure everyone

is safe. >> reporter: different reasons to get checked leading people to the same line. ongoing concerns about the new variant, holiday travel, and spending time around loved ones, and the return to school from winter break. >> is quite unprecedented, the demand. >> reporter: virus geeks operates this particular site in san mateo county, and has contracts across the state. >> reporter: if you had to turn anyone away yet? >> no, we have plenty of tests. >> reporter: the line has been long all day, but it is getting better in the afternoon. it still goes all the way down the street to the end come across before it comes back to the entrance of the hotel parking lot, where it continues inside. >> it wasn't this crazy last time we were here. we came by this morning and i saw the line down to the end of the freeway and left. >> reporter: the ceo tells us on a busy day like this they will likely pass 3000 tested this one location. >> we start recognizing a trend. what is happening is people got vaccinated and testing subsided. >> reporter: while demand may have dropped in the spring, it came back up in summer. with omicron, it may not go down anytime soon. >> the hope is that post holidays, that the holiday surge will cease a little bit, and there may be still high demand due to the variant going

around. >> reporter: those getting tested today say in some cases they did not come into direct contact with someone with covid, but right now want to treat any potential exposure seriously. >> with omicron, people are scared, and rightly so. it is important to get tested and keep the community safe. >> reporter: reporting in san mateo, shawn chitnis, kpix 5. we also found long lines of people waiting to get tested in contra costa county. last week, health officials at this el cerrito site for about 200 people per day. now that number has nearly tripled area demand is so high that they have had to add more staff and healthcare providers to handle the increase. >> we have seen a definite spike in covid exposures recently, and i am expecting it to continue. this omicron variant is doing damage. looking that san francisco, where yet another big event is being postponed because of

covid. this time, sketchfest , the 16 day event featuring live comedy and theater performances. it was supposed to start january 7. ticket holders will be notified of when it will be rescheduled. a live look now at the white house, where president biden had a private phone call with russian president vladimir putin. skyler henry reports that it is an attempt to ease relations along the ukrainian border. >> reporter: president biden held thursday's private call at the request of russian president vladimir putin. at the top of the agenda about the escalating tensions along the ukraine border, where as many as 90,000 russian troops are gathered. >> i would assume this is an information passing event. >> reporter: the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine says he expect the negotiations to begin in january, when u.s. and russian officials meet in geneva. >> the negotiations won't happen or succeed unless and until the russians withdraw some troops,

and withdraw a lot of troops. >> reporter: for weeks, the biden administration says it has been coordinating with allies on a response to possible russian aggression, including sanctions and an increased nato presence, though there are no plans to deploy u.s. troops. >> if he moves on ukraine, the economic consequences for his economy are going to be devastating. >> reporter: with u.s. intelligence warning russia could attack us in this next month, ukrainian forces have begun training civilians to defend the country. vladimir putin has said that any russian military action would be retaliatory, and he has demanded nato not expand to ukraine. skyler henry, kpix 5 news, washington. still ahead on kpix 5, streaming cbsn bay area, a tiger attacks a man at a popular zoo. what happens, and by the victim could be facing charges. the california man arrested

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we are just learning police arrested a california man allegedly on his way to attack the white house. the suspect is from merced. officers arrested him 9 days ago after he was driving aggressively on an iowa freeway. they told police he was headed to the white house to, quote, kill persons in power. that suspect is 25 years old. police confiscated in assault rifle, body armor, ammunition, and a grappling hook. he also had a hit list of targets savoring tiktok videos. the governor of colorado has shortened the sentence of a truck driver convicted in a deadly crash. 26-year-old madeiros was sentenced to 110 years in prison back in 2019. four people were killed on colorado's interstate 70. he says the brakes failed as he

was driving and could not pull over to avoid stopped traffic. today, the governor cut his sentence to 10 years. the move comes after growing pressure and protests in the state. a popular zoo in florida is close right now after a tiger attack. police in naples shot and killed an 8-year-old malayan tiger after the animal grabbed and mauled a man working at the zoo last night. deputies say the victim apparently put his arm through the tiger enclosure to either feed or pet the animal, and the tiger grabbed him. today, zoo visitors were turned away. >> surprised, kind of wondering what they were thinking, trying to pet the animals, but, yeah, it's unfortunate. >> authorities say the 26-year- old was working for a third- party cleaning service, and was supposed to be cleaning the zoo bathrooms and gift shop. they also say he could face criminal charges. he is now recovering at the hospital. we have breaking news. a few minutes ago, the governor

declared a state of emergency to support the ongoing response to recent winter storms that includes alameda not marin, napa, and cemetery counties, plus the sierra. and a new storm is causing all sorts of problems in placer county right now. >> reporter: the steady hum of a generator. shovels scraping through the packed snow. these are the sounds of colfax, days after a record-breaking snowstorm robbed the city of its power. >> it is pretty gnarly. >> reporter: even without power, colfax has not been powerless. individuals stepping up to help a neighbor as soon as they manage to dig their way out of their own home. >> we are passing out breakfast burritos to anyone who is

hungry or needs help. >> reporter: nicole maldonado and her husband have been making hot meals for hungry neighbors. >> i'm trying my best to do what i can do. >> reporter: we met her at the colfax veterans memorial hall, which has been offering food, shelter, and charging stations for those in need. >> some people have been showing up wet, cold, hungry, wanting something to eat. >> reporter: you don't have to go far into the city to find neighbor helping neighbor. >> a couple times, whenever we come across somebody. >> reporter: in one way or another. >> we didn't have cell phone service for 3 days, but the neighbor at the end has a different carrier and has cell phone service. >> reporter: colfax has had a year. >> one hit after the next after the next. >> reporter: after the river fire in august nearly took the town out. >> here we are again pulling together to bring the resources in. >> reporter: while the city is desperate for the power to come back on, it is still showing its power through community. >> i'm grateful we survived and can help. that is what we do. close to sea level here, it is cold, but the sun felt really good today. when i go home at night, i

say thank god for central heating, and we are in the bay area, california. you know that amanda. >> i keep telling myself i could still be in indiana. >> you were sentenced to indiana for a few years, but can you imagine not having heat in the sierra? i hope they get the power back soon. the weather should help. we have a few sunny days between now and friday and saturday and sunday. it looks dry. we get the sunshine, and the numbers across the bay area right now are mostly in the 50s . concord, 50 degrees. 50 degrees at oakland. 50 in san francisco as well. mostly clear skies at the moment. there are a few clouds hanging around. futurecast, high pressure well offshore. it is this low sinking south bringing a huge wind in boulder county, colorado, fueling the fires at the start of the newscast. this high pressure is still offshore. it will drag systems over california next week, but we

get a sunny, dry, cold start through at least sunday. the tide will be up, and the temperatures will be in the low 50s. visibility is great. if you go to the top of mount diablo, they say that if it is extraordinarily clear at the top of mt. diablo after we have the atmosphere really rinsed out, you can see all the way to lassen peak. wouldn't that be something? in the meantime, visibility is great. the flipside is that at night things get cold. we will get below freezing in santa rosa. 39 in oakland. 37 in fremont. 38 in san jose. at the top of mt. hamilton, they can see halftone. can you imagine that? that is something. on a clear day but you can, in fact, see forever. darren peck put this graphic together to show you the average low is usually 40 degrees read in the east bay valleys, it will be below that. some chilly nights ahead.

nothing will happen to change that anytime soon. futurecast shows that we have some fog forming in the central valley trying to sneak in through the delta. some patchy class will be forming in the south bay and east bay. aside from that, crystal-clear through tomorrow night at 6:00. what you need to know is things are looking pretty good for the next couple of days, but cold at night. temperatures bottom out in the 30s. more sun comes back tomorrow, and a dry end started 2022. the king tide's are back this weekend. they are already starting to flat out at the highway 1 exit off of 101 into mill valley. the temperatures tonight, 30 degrees. 38 degrees in san jose. high temperatures tomorrow, low 50s. and when you've had so much rain, i have learned that you should not mention that it's going to rain again, but i feel it's my obligation to tell you it will rain again next monday, tuesday, wednesday. not a lot, but the

probabilities are up. this weekend looks great, and plenty of sunshine ahead. extended forecast, let me walk off stage left. in the extended forecast, a nice weekend, mostly sunny skies, temperatures in the low 50s. then we get unsettled weather coming in next tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. and that works bay wide. expect things to be chilly at night, and clearing up as we get into the daytime hours with low clouds in the morning. area food banks are counting on the community to help families in need this holiday season. >> kpix 5 is in oakland for our food for bay area families drive.

>> reporter: we are inside the warehouse for the alameda county community food bank, where a dollar from you can provide two meals for a family in need this holiday season. speaking of meals, i want to bring in the guys from truffle shuffle. we have jason and tyler. her expertise in the kitchen is helping out others this year. >> when the pandemic had, we started doing virtual cooking classes. they started taking off. we wanted to make sure that as our business was growing, that we are helping to provide meals for those who needed them. we started donating a meal for every ingredient kit we sold. this year, we have sold about 50,000 meals, and we've donated about 100,000 meals to the alameda county food bank. >> reporter: how does it feel to provide that for so many families this year? >> it is absolutely crazy. we have been able to double the business. starting out, we had no clue what we could achieve. here we are, and we were able to do it. 4 that will be a big impact. >> we serve about 1 and 4

alameda county residents. a lot of folks are at risk of food insecurity, and this will go really far for us. 4 we appreciate all you did this year. you can help out as well. just go to our website, kpix.com/give , to find out how you can help. >> we do appreciate it. steph and aisha curry's eat, play foundation is matching all donations made to the alameda county community food bank made through midnight tomorrow. coming up, a bay area bakery shutting down after more than a century my buffers we

it is truly the end of an era for a bakery in san francisco's japan town that makes traditional rice cakes called demucci. >> kenny choi shows us how this bakery has survived, and why two brothers are finally taking up their aprons for good. >> reporter: tray after tray of sweet rice are soaked in water, steamed soft to perfection,

then pounded. it is cut then a hand shaped into large spoon sized flat cakes called mochi in japanese. this machine is the one that they use every day, but this is the more traditional way of doing it, by flipping the rice using their hands. ricky and bobby's grandfather opened then kyoto company after the 1906 earthquake, building one of the first businesses in japan town. >> my grandfather and father were able to continue . >> reporter: days before the new year, family and friends help to meet high demand for these traditional trades. even the kids chip in. >> i enjoy making mochi and packaging them.

>> reporter: today they will be making 350 pounds of mochi. at its peak, they were making 1200 pounds a day, taking up about 14 hours. now that ricky is 70 years old, andrew is doing the heavy lifting. he's been helping since he was a little kid. >> at first i did not like it. i wanted to spend time elsewhere, but as i grew older i grew an appreciation for it. >> enjoying each other's company. >> reporter: longtime customers stopped by to catch up and pick up orders. >> we got a big box set aside for us. it's the best. >> this is the last year. >> i am so sad about it. it's not the same. i have been coming here since i was a little kid. >> it is kind of sad in a sense. the little ones are going to grow up, and we want to leave something for them. there is a lot of history here. >> reporter: decades of back taking labor or slowing the brothers down these days, hoping someone will buy and take over the business. if not, they close shop after

the new year, and are ready for retirement. >> thank you to all of our customers throughout the years. we tried our best and did our best. >> reporter: in japan town, kenny choi kpix 5. >> the original shop on geary boulevard, but because of world war ii and the internment of japanese americans, the shop closed before eventually reopening at the current location at sutter and buchanan. some lucky person out there can start the new year half $1 billion richer. the powerball jackpot is up to $500 million after no winner last night. no one has hit the jackpot since october. maybe 2022 will be luckier. still ahead at 5:30, i look at california's unemployment numbers. we stick speak to an expert about what it means if you are looking for a new job in the new year. a new warning from the

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you are watching kpix 5 news at 5:30. right now on kpix 5, and streaming on cbsn bay area, it is a popular vacation getaway , but now there is a new travel risk. the warning just out from the cdc. could covid booster shots

be rolled out for younger teens? the new report out this evening. our top story at 5:30. despite a sharp spike in colored cases, the nation's unemployment rate is down. the look at what is behind it, and how soon it could change. good evening. i am kpix 5 morning anchor amanda starrantino in for elizabeth. and i am allen martin. new figures from december show 199,000 workers nationwide file for unemployment. that is more than four times lower than claims filed in january of this year. here in california, nearly 50,000 people filed jobless claims last week, 6600 fewer than the previous week. i spoke with the former edd director on what we can expect next year when it comes to jobs and the economy. >> let's first talk about wages. we saw an increase in private sector jobs earlier this year. what are you expecting next year ? will that continue? >> i think so. by far it is the most positive impact of the pandemic. we have seen wage gains nationally of 4.2%, higher than the pre-pandemic time. wage gains across sectors, but particularly seeing strong wage

gains among lower wage workers in california, retail, service, certified nursing assistants. the lower wage jobs have seen the highest wage gains, and that is very positive. i think it will continue, especially given what we are seeing with a very tight labor market in the state. >> that will get more people back to work here and we talked a lot about worker shortages this year. you think things will change on that for next year? >> hopefully as of october, we had over 1.1 million, 1.1 million job openings in the state. so, we have continued to see a very slow return to work. there was expectation first in june and then september that workers would come back, then they really didn't. semen october and november and december. it is been a slow return to work. we have a very high number, the highest number you seen since the survey began, the highest number in terms of jobs per unemployed worker. cenl