fire comes too close for comfort to homes in a town north of denver. the winds here yesterday were strong enough to rattle and shake the ikea sign yet they don't even come close to the mountain gusts. the strongest ever recorded in colorado. tears in court from the woman accused of attacking a pregnant woman and taking her unborn baby. >> a county in canada takes an offer to people who don't want to see donald trump win. and a night before the first ever hockey game at coors field. >> >> penciling in yesterday's 148 mile per hour gust recorded atop monarch pass. the new weather

of the data, the strongest gust ever seen in our state. here's how it happened. winds were blowing 50 to gusts up to 98. a weather station reported a thunderstorm that spiked those gusts to 148. that is at a weather station just above 12,000 feet. another station 700 feet below had winds of just 32 miles per hour. a 116 mile per hour difference. the weather service still believes that the record was for real. that was just enough to pass the previous mark of 147 miles per hour in january of 1971. those are what you typically find in a category 4 hurricane. some of you have asked us about the long paem gusts in 1981. that 201 mile per hour gust was not officially recognized because the weather station was set up for a won't-year project those winds moved into the

up to its nickname today. gusts of 50 to 60 miles an hour. several buildings had to be evacuated because of debris swirling through downtown. more than 100,000 people lost power. wind, dry weather, and warm temperatures are things you need to worry about in the summer. and the long-term forecast isn't much better. jonathan gonzalez spoke with firefighters who say these are a reminder there really is no offseason. >> that's right. we got luck ne2015 without having any major fires thanks to abundant moisture. but colorado did have 3,000 smaller fires last summer. and firefighters are preparing for a warmer than ever spring. >> reporter: how quickly we can forget.

>> reporter: how quickly fire can start in colorado. >> basically any time there's not snow cover on those areas, there is a threat of a wildlife. we wrap up from the following year before, apply lessons learned. >> reporter: he's with the state's division of fire prevention and control. there weren't as many lessons to learn last fire season. >> we did not have a lot of large fires. >> reporter: the last two days of this year have seen several fires across the state. >> we're not fully staffed but we have the minimum capability of response. >> reporter: the state's staff comed double in fire season. >> we would hook at stem up or bringing -- stepping up or bringing in outside resources. one misplaced cigarette butt, or they park their vehicle on tall

people's lives and property in danger. >> reporter: that's what happened in lincoln county where more than 2,000 acres burned on thursday. he says the rest of us cannot forget the ease with which fire can begin. >> until we get another round of precipitation, we're gonna have that potential out there. >> now is the time to begin fire mitigation around your property before the danger increases. they're anticipating a warmer spring but not sure how much moisture they'll get. cdot is aiming to get at least one lane of i-70 open by

goal is to get one lane open. the largest rock that came down was the size of an suv. we will not hear much of dinel lane's side of the story. the woman accused of cutting a baby out of her mother's womb not arguing she was not involved in the attack. rather that she didn't think about it or plan it. yet they chose not to call anyone specifically to the stand to prove that. >> reporter: for the first time the court heard it. >> i was walking up the stairs scuffle. >> reporter: jurors heard the voice of lane on tape explaining to investigators her version of what happened that night. shoo r she wouldn't stop.

told investigators it was michelle wilkins who started it. yet her defense attorney said lane was panicking at the time and her story was changing. >> ms. lane did not intend to harm ms. wilkins. she did not plan prepare or process. >> reporter: lane is accused of luring wilkins to her home with a craigslist add for maternity clothes then attacking wilkins and cutting the baby girl out of her uterus. the last three days have been filled with emotional testimony including wilkins' own account of what happened. >> i was pinned down. >> reporter: prosecutors rested their 3-day old case today. and after a surprise move by the defense. >> the defense is choosing not to put in any evidence at this time. >> reporter: it's tough to tell what that might mean. >> you can't read too much into

sometimes the defense doesn't have anybody to call. on other occasions it's because they feel that they can work with the evidence that the prosecution puts for the. >> reporter: and it means her defense has work cut out for them in closing arguments. >> when the defense puts on no witnesses, what they do with the evidence at closing will make all the difference in the world. >> lane chose not to testify. a former surgical technician charged with stealing pain killers by switching syringes at swedish medical center pled not guilty in federal court today. he does have a blood disease. they won't say what it is. prosecutors also say he retired from four other h.s in california and arizona. he was caught trying to steal,

he suffers from ptsd from his time as a tech in afghanistan. because of the needle swab, the hospital has asked 3,000 patients who underwent surgery to be test forward hepatitis and hiv. she'll be remembered for one of the most influential books in american literature. today harper lee died at the age of 89. her book tackled racial injustice in the deep south. it's treasured by readers and talk in classrooms across the country. she'll be remembered by many as an icon. to her neighbors she was friendly and well respected. >> very engaging and talkative and very charming. you would see her at the grocery store or at the restaurant. she just didn't

>> she didn't have any interest in celebrity or interviews. tomorrow the funeral for justice scalia will take place in the nation's largest catholic church. more than 4,000 people paid their final respects. justices, president obama, and family members joined in a prayer for scalia. led by his son paul who was a priest. he will also celebrity saturday's funeral mass. democrat voters caucus in nevada followed by republicans on tuesday. >> republicans in south carolina will cast their ballots in the gop primary tomorrow. and the headline of today is donald

to a new poll, trump leads ted cruz by 5 points, down from a 16-point lead a month ago. marco rubio remains in 3rd. a town in nova scotia welcomed a new website welcoming americans who want to leave the u.s. if donald trump becomes president. it boasts gorgeous views, beautiful summers, and cheap housing. the average home there sells for $98,000. the website's creator acknowledges she did it to help the town. the population is shrinking and the economy is slowing. she said her town will welcome anyone no matter their politics. a girl use what is she learned at school to help change the life of her blind grandmother. and what could be the first ship to take tourists into space.

harmanic orchestra. and enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. >> a receipt takes a puck to

loeszones at school about -- lessons at school helped a recently. she learned when there's a fire, everyone needs to get out. she ran to her grand mother's bedroom. her grandmother is blind. >> they gotta get out of the house.

>> got out the house. >> she went door to door asking neighbors to call 911 and asked them for some water to put out the fire. they told the firefighters would handle that part of it. the consumer products safety commission says there is not a single hover board on the market that can be considered safe. regulators are planning to seize the scooters if they need to. 52 hover board fires have been reported in 24 states. the fires have caused a combined $2 million in property damage. several airlines and campuses have banned them. the newest space craft for the first time since a prototype was destroyed in a crash halloween of 2014. spaceship 2 looks a lot like the first version. the biggest of the upgrades is to prevent the

mechanism that floats down and returns to earth. >> stereo stephen hawking named the new spacecraft the unity, and the outline of his eye is used for the logo. lights hitting yosemite is making a waterfall looks as if late in the day during mid to late february, the sun hits the shorts and turns the water into what looks like fire. >> the winds have quiet the down along the front range, and it looks pretty good. from dawn to dusk, the photos were simply amazing. a lot of you sending us these great photos on facebook and twitter.

there in highlands ranch. we have had a very warm month thus far. 12 days above average. only 7 below in the beginning of the month when we had almost 12 inches of snow. tough to find that in the forecast. mid-60s today at dia. 60s along the eastern plains. low 70s in pueblo. 44 right now. mostly clear skies out at dia. winds out of the west northwest, 12 miles per hour, a huge improvement from where we were. in the backyard, temperatures in the low 40s. really comfortable friday night. cooler temperatures will be making their way into the metro area coming up this weekend. the wind speeds have just been amazing. monarch pass, 148 miles per in colorado. and around the metro area, the foothills and up

pretty strong wind gusts. 42 for allen's park. quieter in the 20s, no wind to speak of around the metro area. around the foothill, i anticipate 2:00, 3:00, a couple occasional gusts in that 50 mile per hour range. quiet around the urban corridor. by tomorrow, midmorning, things begin to wind down in the foothills. doppler 9 has been relatively dry since the high last night, a little snow. the next one pushing into the pacific northwest. a little light rain from seattle to portland, snowfall through the cascades and the inner mountain west. just a glancing blow for colorado. the cold front will dive into the state by tomorrow afternoon, possibly bringing a few light flurries, a few sprinkles. we'll look for mostly

morning we'll wake up, plenty of sunshine, a great day to get a afternoon. possibly a couple of light rain showers in southern wyoming. sunday temperatures cool back off to the 50s. tonight we'll cool off to the 30s. a very comfortable evening. in the 20s around vail, 22 in steamboat springs. the metro area dropped to about 34. winds still gusty around the foothill, 40 to 50 miles per hour. in the metro, 5-15, and good through tomorrow. temperatures once again skyrocketing to the low 60s. about 15 degrees above our average. we stay in the 60s from sterling toward springfield. a few more 70s on the back. a

clouds and slightly cooler temperatures. the drop-off back down to the 50s we go on sunday. it'll be a little breezy, nothing we can't handle around here. and monday evening into tuesday our next storm system arrives, that one will cool us off quite a bit. a little rain first then over to snow. since we've been so mild, i think it's just gonna be wet, sloppy snow that doesn't stay too long. look at the 9-day forecast. temperatures back to the 50s. 60s. and next saturday, we might be seeing another 70-degree day around here. >> speed bumps. before the denver philharmonic performed tonight, concert goers got a chance to see, hear, and feel how the

>> we're have know an instrument petting zoo. >> you get to interact with the instruments and the musicians. >> it's fun watch the grins and the giggles that happen. >> it's a little bit funny sounding. >> i never even touched a violin. >> a violin! >> i think it's an art. to be able to make it sound like music. >> hopefully we get some new drummers. >> i think it's fun to have the kids come up and discover what she's instruments are. >> more of an appreciation of what they're doing, and the complexity. >> i continuing gives our patrons something else to relate

>> the next performance in april will feature music from

michael malone is back in sacramento for the first time since he got the ziggy. malone was popular with his player before getting fired and that's why they all came over to the bench to hug him before tip-off. the nuies trail 105-98 with 2 minutes remaining. she says going to the olympics. a magnificent assist in the united states victory over trinidad. team usa clinches the spot in the rio summer games 5-0.

are all set in the state wrestling meet. >> reporter: >> reporter: louis romero was one of the first to earn a trip to the finals. romero will be bout. gutierrez will wrestle in that champion after defeating him. >> it's whoever wanted to go, faster. that time it was me. >> reporter: he defeated monte

he took down nathan morris of longmont. he'll wrestle for a medal tomorrow. and a rematch from earlier this season. >> i feel awesome. i can't explain it. he beat me 4-1 earlier this year. i beat him this time. we'll have the latest. i'm starting to think troy tulowitzki for jose reyes might go down as the worst trade in history. this year they might not even have a shortstop. reyes is not expected to be in attendance for position players. he's facing domestic violence charges and a lengthy suspension from the commissioner. >> it's kind of a tough

implications and everything. you gotta tread lightly. i don't really know exactly all the details of it. first outdoor college hockey game in our state's history and there's already been an injury. the pioneers and tigers got a current skating on fresh ice today. >> kindergarten, first day of school, you're all excited, you're anxious. before you start to focus on how is the game gonna be different? we're outdoors. >> it's different than i thought it would feel. i thought it would be more like -- >> heads up. >> ooh! >> you okay?

to the right forehead. but it looked worse than it was. why don't you show the people that you're tougher than you look? >> wow! >> i'll be right back out there tomorrow for the game. >> no blood or anything. >> officially an upper body injury as they list these things in the hockey world.

temperatures very mild tomorrow evening. if you're gonna out at that hockey game, partly cloudy skies, temperatures in the 50s. puck drop in the upper 40s. should be a great day in the low 60s. we cool off on sunday. next storm

it'll be a quick one! rain, possibly snow, and temperatures shoot up again.