Remember: sunscreen and a fire extinguisher

San Francisco doesn't get to enjoy too many days of sun and warmth, which is why we like to bask in those two or three days a year. Sadly, the North Bay had to blemish this beautiful morning.

Some folks in San Francisco reported seeing nasty smoke casting a pall over the city, which firefighters traced back to multiple grass fires in the North Bay. Hot temperatures and falling trees are fueling these sprawling fires -- and the slight winds are sending the smoke our way.

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The food Twittersphere has been buzzing this morning about the news of a fire last night at iconic Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse. The fire was first reported around 3 a.m. by a passer-by, and contained sometime between 3:30 and 3:45 a.m. -- before the blaze could f-up any more than the exterior and front porch, according to reports from several sources.

Alice Waters told The New York Times that she hoped to re-open the popular cafe later this week, thanks to her business interruption insurance.

But there's got to a silver lining to this tragedy.

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via KTVU

That's a mean fire

Firefighters responded to an early morning blaze that started from a gas leak at an apartment in the city's Excelsior District, sending two people to the hospital.

Fire officials were called to the two-story residential building on the 100 block of Athens Street around 12:50 a.m. When they arrived, they found a busted gas line on the sidewalk with flames shooting 10 to 15 feet in the air, according to KTVU.

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The Public Defender puts out yet another fire

A San Francisco jury acquitted a 55-year-old man of seven counts of attempted murder, concluding that he wasn't trying to kill his elderly mother as well as police officers when he set fire to his family home.

Instead, the jury was convinced that the fire was nothing more than a botched suicide attempt by Niels Conrad, who had moved back into his childhood home with his mother just two months before the blaze.

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A hot fire left residents out in the cold

Firefighters evacuated 25 people after a fire broke out early this morning at an apartment building in the city's Oceanview neighborhood.

According to press reports, the fire started about 5:31 a.m. at a three-story building located at 119 Broad St., between Capitol and Plymouth avenues.Firefighters battled the blaze on the second floor of the building for 45 minutes before getting it under control.

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Deadly blaze last night

Update 1:15 p.m.: Medical authorities have identified the woman who was killed in last night's fire as 61-year-old Deane Wernet.

Original story 6:59 a.m.: Firefighters fought a blaze last night at a home in the city's Ingleside Heights neighborhood that claimed the life of one person.

Medical authorities have not yet identified the person who was killed, nor do they know what started the fire.

The one-alarm blaze started about 8:35 p.m. at 60 St. Charles Ave. Firefighters extinguished the fire just before 9 p.m., according to press reports.

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Over the weekend firefighters battled a raging blaze at the the Historic Fleishhacker Pool House near the San Francisco Zoo.

The two alarm-fire started Saturday at about 1 p.m., causing the historic building to collapse, and the zoo to close to visitors. One firefighter suffered smoke inhalation, according to SFist. Some 80 firefighters fought the blaze, which has been deemed as a suspicious fire.

Kick-ass photographer David Cruz snapped some shots of the fiery scene and passed them along to SF Weekly.

David Cruz via Natures Lantern

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(Update 11:30 a.m.) Paul Rose, spokesman for Muni, tells us everything has cleared and Muni is back on track, literally.

(Original story 7:47 a.m.): Firefighters are battling a four-alarm blaze in the city's West Portal neighborhood. The fire is blocking Muni from entering the West Portal Tunnel, causing the an unpleasant Friday morning commute (plus the rain).

According to news reports, the fire started at a restaurant at 1 West Portal Ave. about 4:30 a.m. It was upgraded to a four-alarm fire at 6:30 a.m. and is not yet under control.

Now for your Muni update:

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A couple of Porta Potties were torched early this morning in the Richmond District, which naturally leaves us with this burning question: Is the outhouse arsonist back?

As readers recall, back in 2009 a pooping pyro went on a hot streak, setting fire to more than a dozen Porta Potties throughout San Francisco. The ridiculous crime made international news, giving outsiders yet another reason to roll their eyes while muttering "only in San Francisco."

And while police eventually arrested on person in connection to several -- but not all -- of these burning toilets, it hasn't curbed interest in the crime.

The latest burning john was spotted early this morning about 1:07 a.m., when the U.S. Park Police saw two port-a-potties  on the corner of  32nd Avenue and Geary Boulevard "engulfed in flames."

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p.Gordon via Flickr

A two-alarm fire broke out early this morning  displacing 26 residents from their three-story building at 22nd and Dolores streets.More »