thought were her final moments in that fire. a better look today at what a fire left behind in lakewood last night. many people didn't get the call to evacuate. the reason why. latest college football playoff rankings. police in lafayette say two businesses were vandalized monday within two minutes of each other. at least one of the crimes appears to be racially motivated. someone spray painted two slurs. surveillance video interest

customer moving to get of the way. >> we've never had any vandalism. we're a big part of the community, we have a good reputation, so we hope no one doesn't like us, but so far no disgruntled employees or anything. >> police believe the two crimes could be close to each other. they wouldlike to hear ho may h good look the vandal. douglas county deputies arrested a school officer 0on suspicion of sexually assaulting out on bond. they found out ab afternoon. after interviewing the student, they there was enough everydpostle. the formal charges have not 'sc

ponderosa high thunderstorms is a few hours n@e away tennessee. it f)comes too for businesses around gatlinburg,

out. >> thfire came dangerously close to an aquarium thand doll which is in the same county. the aquarium briefly lost in gatlinburg. she was certain they were going to die. >> we only had minutes and that we wally pass out,

v?e i wrote down, the kid n't know i ?+?did this, but i wrote down my son's name, his age, !r and statthat ?ihe's from. my nephew, and hiname and age and state, my name and that i was the mother, and ?my age, ?@ from, 8>4v?00and then i ote 4hwe love u rn0;?gand we are calm and at peace, because we weren't ores about the fire was what was our main problem. >> everyone at the hotel got out safely. the hotel was among the buildings spared by the the green mountain fire in lakewood, the one that burned for all the metro area to see is fully contained. it took crews until 4:00 to the cause is still under ?2

fifor severareasons. here's 9 news reporter, not things were finally back normal her two f6irl hours that ?began monday afteoon with the smell of smoke. >> i mean, you couldn't even see next door, it was foggy and so much smoke. >> reporter: that smoke fire. about 5 blocks from her home. just red. d see the mountains >> reporter: a scare that prompted her and her sons to pack up the car, and be ready to leave everything rdbend if necessary. >> we're for alive and that get out. >> reporter: residents were never forced to leave their homes. thanks to the efficient more than 150 first responders,

the dry shrubs. >> we have to respond whatev?ipk??er that environment situation is. >> reporter: overnight, had to navigate difficult conditions, darkness, strong shifting winds, and ain. conditions they don't see ?ever day, but are prepared for. >> reporter: he hopes this fire will serve as a reminder to local residents. >> it's a year-round issue, as we've seen. >> reporter: a lesson learned from marlene and her family. lakewood police notified residents via phone about the fire. marlene never received that call, because she doesn't have a land line, and she never registered her cell $yphone number through the city. she has done that so she will

important right now. clean the leaves and dead pine needles out of your yards and gutters. although we received snow last week, it's still not enough to combat the dry conditions. the latest college football playoff rankings came out tonight. the cu buffs moved up a spot. they're at 8. it's unlikely, but there is a path for every team in the top 15 to the college playoff. coach mike macintyre was selected as the pac-12's coach of e running for national coach of the year. in october, when the first released, the awards committee called him nick mcintyre today. fast toward to today. everyone knows mcintyre's name, even though i can't say it. we'll have more about the buffs

gone from underdogs to a shot at the south american title. then last night, on the way to colombia, the unthinkable, a plane crash killing nearly everyone onboard. only 6 of the 77 people onboard survived. a coach on that video said they were flying that specific charter plane, because it had brought them luck in a previous match. also onboard that flight, 21 journalists covering a that had defied all expectations this season. tonight, cubans gathered for fidel castro's memorial. it's the same place castro gave speeches decao. thdes being deliberate about not calling it a delegation. tomorrow, castro's ashes will be taken from havana to the city of santiago, cuba.

leave prison. ntenceto life. he killed taylor tifo, and injured rush while trying to get police. if sstake it back, fqnyi would. if i could go back to time and pull ov??er be no questions asked. >> i will forever be his mo be a mom when you don't get to see your a? when you don't to ?hear your child every day? it's heartbreaking.

months for colorado state patrol. after tiffo's death last y ans ?okill year. justhipast friday, ?z?,?ktroope cody donohue was killed by a food declining enrollmentk and an accreditation issue nh?sare blame. a university spokesman says that the nonprofit that owns the land does not have a profit on whether it's sold to an educational division, or developer. but he said it's premature to discuss any commercial development. a landmark in windsor will become a destination for the new generation. last night, the town board

the mill a $3.7 million development package. it would turn it into a cocktail bar and office space. if all goes as planned, the building will be ready for tenants around this time next year. strange creatures wash up on a beach in ?rcalifornia. and then disappear justed as quickly. colorado how about that sunset tonight? now here comes the snow. uh-oh. >> secret inspiration that she portrays in a movie about her early life. and thousands of lights, and one decorated with just 43 of them. >> later in sports, wait just

something strange has been washing up on the beaches of southern california in the last 24 hours. these odd, jelly like

tonight on the voice. tonight, nbc airs a movie based in dolly's life. parton says that woman never knew that ?0seet, and ?cparten still won't say who she is. she yellwas just in awe of her. i just thought, wouldn't it be cool for me to play that part? so i get to actually act little bit in it. >> parton says it's a rags to riches story of her life.

better, then consider this the best. ? [ music ] ? >> it's all up. >> reporter: amanda dent want us to give her last name, but she's long loved being associated with these lights. not because she's known as the lady with the best light display in town. >> we know we're being out down. >> reporter: no, it's because she is the lady who lives next to the guy with the best light display in town. with him. we jokingly tease. i put up my one strand of lights and call it good, because there's really no competing. >> reporter: this is amanda's home. >> that's pretty much it on the outside. >> reporter: 43 lights, modestly draped in the shadow.

>> they have they're own solar pool. there's no keeping up with that. >> reporter: five years living next to this has taught her there's no shame in having a much smaller light game. >> we love it. we have front row seats any night of the week. >> reporter: it's also brought jokes and appreciation, knowing there's no need to keep up with them. >> we tease each other, of course, but it i >> reporter: so the number 1 question they get, i am sure you can guess it. >> how much? >> how much does it cost, yes, how much? and it's only $150. that's it. 30,000 lights, $150 for two months. you can do it from home. it does take them 90 hours just to set all of this display up. we also have other dazzling holiday displays on 9news.com.

the fun route. if you're got your own, you can add your home to the list as well. >> $90. no, he's on a wheel in the basement running if he's doing it for $90. >> they do it all themselves too. >> i love the neighbor's perspective as well. dan grossman, thank you. it is a chilly night in the 9news backyard. i'm meteorologist hkathy saban, and we're going to see a little break from the wind and the snow, but only for two days, then more sn cold on friday. a beautiful sunset is captured by our sky9 tonight. enough cloud cover, the color in the sky was spectacular. wind creating some areas of blowing snow, but a beautiful fall day along the front range. relatively calm and quiet in the city for us tonight, after a day with very gusty winds. all dressed up for the parade

down there, it's going to be a chilly night. 17 the high in leadville this afternoon. fun fact for today, the coldest temperature, our own crest butte with minus 11 this morning. the coldest spot across the country. plenty cold at dia. 26degrees, a windchill of 16. there is a little chill in the wind. 28degrees outside the studios. we're monitoring has been gusty and out on the far eastern plains. winds out of the north- northwest coming out of a broad area of low pressure. winds to near 60 miles per hour, out at dia today, winds over 30, but no reports of airport delays. broad low pressure area northwest flow. like spokes on a wheel. a little weather system is cruising across northern colorado. ahead of it tonight, finally

across the fire sections of eastern tennessee. but they're also dealing in the south with tornadoes and hail. we'll get a little push probably overnight tonight, then things start to calm down. all the went r weather and travel advisories have called down. the next system moving onshore, but the big story tonight is the beneficial rain moving through east tennessee. 2 to 3 inches of rain. they could do without the hail and the funnel clouds, rain is tremendous news in this drought stricken part of the country. when skies clear tonight, winds get light, we're going to see lows drop into the single digits in the high country. if you're going skiing, a chilly morning on the slopes. minus 3 in leadville. mid-teens in denver, fort collins and lone tree.

wind, but still plenty cold in idaho springs, highs in the 20s. wendy east, partly cloudy skies downtown. our low 15. tomorrow, more sunshine, less wind. not a bad day. wednesday and thursday, sunny with highs in the lower 40s. it's friday, the cold settles in. a high of 32. lows in the mid-teens and flurries. 52 on sunday. and the parade of lights particular steps off, 8:00 on and if you're headed down that way, temperatures will be mighty chilly. bundle up, it will be dry with partly cloudy skies, and lows in the mid-20s. definitely looks like snow in the colorado high country. 15inches of snow in three days

good evening, the avs need to fiendway to skip the first men of every period. kf twice tonight, the avs oagave u period. n the first minute the worst was in the 2nd. it took 7 seconds. pickard gave game, and the predators win it, without broncos football? after sunday's awful loss to kansas city, the broncos ?]are fact out of the playoff fixture with five games remaining to fix that problem. >> the margin for error gets thinner, as the season goes on every year. we're in the hunt, so it's definitely getting critical. a lot of awards to go armed, now that the college

colorado state with three players on the all mountain west first team. hayden hunt, and lineman fred zirblis. one no brainer, mike macintyre named the pac-12 coach of the year. 1-8 in 2015, to 8-1, and in the conference title game one year later. >> everybody has done so much instill confidence in them, and belief. that's what happened. so i'm just fortunate enough to have head coach in front of my name, and i get to go along for the ride. >> 126th meeting tomorrow. but it will be the first that n derrick white can play in. the 5th year senior is finally living out his division 1

hype. >> i'm here, but i don't focus on it. >> reporter: few come in the way derrick white did period. >> i was a 6'2" guard, that shot threes. a lot of guys probably like that. probably guys did it better than me. >> reporter: white had zero division one options out of high school. he ended up playing at the university of colorado colorado springs, and that's when things worked out.

that. i know he's very excited to be

big time that's going to make ?f4kshow