>> anchor: more on how the weather is causing fire hazards. >> frank: jason, what's in store for tonight? >> jason: our leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network, we're in mount mitchell, at least near the top. notice in the last two frames here. watch the cloud bases starting to rise. an indication that the snow at least will begin to taper shortly. it's still going pretty strong up here in the smokys. mount lacont near gatlinburg. slick spots, keep that in mind. 19 and 23. highway 19 w in yancey county have seen a few slick spots. in the next hour, some of these bands will move south and east ward. dusting in most places. 29 in asheville. 23 in boone. still 30s and 40s mixed over the

upstate. look at that wind right out in the north. 15 to 20 miles per hour and gusty. so our wind chills are now down in to the teens pretty much area wide here in the mountains. they're going to stay here, folks. so bundle up. wind chill at 7. 14 for our wind chill at 11. temperature will stay in the 20s. it will be a blustery and cold evening in to the tonight. greenville, wind chills in the lower 20s by then. i'll show you big changes by the middle and latter part of the work week. >> frank: new details tonight after four fires break out across buncombe county just in the last week. >> anchor: now we know two of weather. >> frank: darren botelho spoke with witnesses who saw the dramatic rescues. >> darren: as temperatures are dropping, the number of fires are jumping. two fires broke out in buncombe

county over the weekend all from residents trying to keep warm. the one in asheville less severe starting in the chimney. but the other in candler threatened the lives of several children. witnesses tell us this duplex fire broke out around 11 in the morning. jason who witnessed the inferno say he watched as men rescued two children from the buildings. witnesses say they saw the fire break out in the duplex and it's still fresh. personal items still strewn about the property right here. you can see a laptop on the ground and also a working smoke alarm, still emitting sounds. county and city officials tell us of course working smoke alarms are essential but these residents may have made a few mistakes by putting embers close to the house and not completely

covering them with water, which comes as a shock to neighbors. >> yeah, really because we're out in the county. most people born and raised here know how to dispose of the coal. >> darren: he's just glad no one got hurt. >> i feel good. i'm glad they found a place to stay. there's four to six people living there. now they're trying to find a place to live. >> darren: darren botelho, news 13. >> anchor: the red cross is now helping out those people displaced from those homes. the causes of the other two fires have not yet been determined. people needing expanding its heating assistance program. starting today, the program will

families earning as much as $2,600 a month can still qualify. >> even though they've received help through any other program, they're still eligible to be able to get help. >> anchor: previously the program was only open to seniors and those with disabilities. contact eblen charities at 255-3066. >> frank: pieces of property that have never been zoned. the county commissioner is about to change that this week. ashlea, people actually live on some of those properties? >> ashlea: that's right, frank. this is one of them. it's a property that looks like its neighbors.

doesn't look odd. but if you ask county officials, it's actually a donut holes. >> we call them donut holes because they're literally surrounded by a city or town that chose not to zone them or annex them. >> gosh, it's been months and months. >> ashlea: the city tookime to take notice of them last year. debbie was part of the team tasked with finding all the donut holes and letting the people that own them know that they're holes. >> there was a little bit of everything. there are some folks who said we'd just rather remain unzoned. some folks say if you're going to zone us, you might as well make it more restrictive. >> ashlea: someone could buy one that sits in a quiet neighborhood can build a slaughterhrhse. >> it's just the wild west. and people can do anything on this land.

we don't think that's a good way for people to protect their property values. >> ashlea: raleigh changed the law and now the county can still after tomorrow night's commission meeting, there will like will be none. now county officials say they're largely deciding how to zone these areas, whether residential or commercial based on what's already in the area. ashlea surles, news 13. >> anchor: happening now, a public hearing is underway in henderson county to decide whether to improve an incentive plan for a proposed auto parts manufacturing plant. gf lindmar already has a plant in asheville.

new jobs to north carolina. mills river held a meeting this morning to consider an additional incentives package for the company. >> the meeting that was held in mills river this morning, the one that will be held this evening in henderson county is literally a public hearing where the board of commissioners will consider input from the county. >> ashlea: adjacent to the sierra nevada south of the airport. a decision from the company could come in the next 30 days. >> frank: with a month to go before the iowa caucuses, hillary clinton is getting help on the campaign trail. trump released its first campaign trail. the ads focus on his rival democrat hillary clinton.

her husband bill clinton hit the trail for his first solo appearance on her behalf. >> i'm trying to tell the democrats in the country why i think hillary would be the best president. >> frank: ted cruz is gaining in the polls. cruz is also gaining a new staffers, mike huckabees former spokesperson. no major delays on the i-240 highway on the jeff bowen bridge. an earlier wreck slowed traffic here but has now since been cleared away. >> anchor: a heads up for drivers in asheville, there's construction on tunnel road tonight adjusting manholes. areas. >> frank: dispatchers from

across the mountain say snow hasn't impacted traffic just yet. they urge drivers to be cautious tonight on the roads. coming up, federal authorities file a lawsuit against volkswagen. how much the auto maker could have to pay for an alleged cheating scandal.

service lift. the business report is brought to you by the honda dealers of the carolinas. >> frank: a rough start to the new year on wall street today. the dow finished down 276 points ending at 17,148 with some session lows asuch as 400 plus points. nasdaq is down 104, ending at 4903. >> anchor: the justice department and the epa filed a civil complaint.

it claims that after testing, the cars switched off the software to boost performance resulting in gas emissions up to 40 times federal standards. volkswagen admitted that the cheating software was included in its cars in september. the company could face fines in excess of $90 billion. nearly $38,000 for each car. >> frank: general motors is making an investment in lift. gm will work on developing an autonomous network for self-driving cars. the companies will also set up short term rental hubs across the u.s. at the hubs, people who don't own cars can pick up the cars so they can work as lift drivers. >> anchor: the new year brings new rules. to be eligible for benefits, individuals will have to contact five potential employers each week.

the requirement used to be two. the state division of employment security says failure to make five contacts in a w wk could result in a delay or denial of benefits for that week. >> frank: if you like the drop in gas prices this year, well you're going to like what's forecasted for this year, 2016. aaa says the price at the pump will stay relatively low throughout the year. its estimates are that an average pricece between 225 and 2.45 a gallon is where it sits. last year was 2.40 per gallon. less demand in january could push prices even lower. >> anchor: television maker lg will show off a high definition tv you can roll up like a newspaper. the 18-inch display is just one of the concept designs as it attempts to predict the future television screens. none of the tvs will be sold this year.

it's possible they will never hit stores. it's also not clear why you'd want to roll up and bend tv. like automakers' concept cars, the tvs are meant to show what's possible. >> frank: roll it out whenever you need it and you've got an instant tv. >> jason: i'm waiting for them to come in the pocket chip kind of style. temperatures in the teens right now. wind chills in the single digits in some places later on this evening in the highest elevations. as we go forward in time, they'll improve a little bit in the morning. 37 degrees for the high today. the coldest since february 25th of last year, folks. 29, the low temperatures so far. that's going to ange. no rain or snow, officially, until you get in the trace amounts. the bitter cold is here to stay

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now your news 13 skywatch weather. >> jason: snow is really winding down now in the high country. you may get flurries at the tennessee border. already up to a half inch. topping an inch in the highest elevations. you get south of henderson county and it's mostly clear in the instate. leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network cataloochee ski area. they are loving this. look at all the snow they've been making, with the help of mother nature. it's going to be open a while. leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network down in greenville, downtown 43 degrees. quite the difference. still chilly but less windy overall there and a little milder.

paltry 10% tuesday. it's rain this next round. we'r'r not talking snow. and the snow that we get now may be the only snow we see from seven to ten days from now. enjoy what you can. 29 degrees. flurries coming down. wind chill at 18. wind chill down to freezing right now with that lighter wind in theupstate. greenville sits at 37. strong wind around an area of high pressure. this a strong canadian area of high pressure. that cold is infiltrating all the way down to the deep south and it will move off the coast. we'll begin to see our warm up begin. that happens slowly but surely tomorrow. more noticeably as we get in to the latter part of the work week. what sunshine we get tomorrow, enjoy that because late day wednesday we'll start to see the high clouds advance inment thursday is mostly cloudy.

friday is cloudy. saturday we'll begin to clear skies a little more. it's going to be a slower process by then. temperatures in the teens tonight. boone at 14. newland 15. 19 asheville and hendersonville. 18 in areas like bryson city. temperatures tomorrow in the upstate should get back in the 40s at least. low to middle 40s along the i-85 corridor. marion, morganton. mid 30s in newland. areas like bakersville. mostly 40s in the southern mountains. robbinsville, bryson city. temperatures in the upper 30s like waynesville and marshal and asheville and hendersonville. it will be chilly. less wind tomorrow. 45 on wednesday. back in to the 50s wednesday, thursday, friday. closer to 60 by saturday. we're not going to see 70s,

folks, probably not until march. it's going to be pretty cool overall with the rain chances highest for you, too, in the upstate, come friday at 70%. >> anchor: it was cold out there but seeing those flakes come@ down today was so pretty. >> i was catching some on one of my ear muffs with hudson. >> frank: haven't seen them for a while, that's for sure. >> anchor: time to check out today's "see it, shoot it, send it" feature. olaf snyder. >> frank: you can send us your pictures and video, too, just log on to wlos.com or e-mail pics@wlos.com.

investigated for >> frank: chris brown is under investigation for battery and theft. >> anchor: but up first in the buzz, a country music singer is found dead after going missing in oklahoma last month. >> frank: craig strickland's body was found this morning at kau lake. fierce winter storm moved through the area while they were out there in a boat. moreland's body was found.

police department says it's investigating allegations of battery and theft against chris brown. police say they have not yet been in touch with brown to get his side of the story. brown's spokesman has not commented on these allegations. >> frank: adele's album 25 is adele's album was just released on november 20th. so it sold all those copies in just six weeks. wow. the british singer starts her world tour in february. the north american leg starts in july. >> anchor: bachelor fans he finished third. the season premiere of the bachelor starts tonight right

i think it's hard to explain. >> frank: a survivor of cyber stalking shares her experience of escaping the abuse. coming up at 6, how state leaders are cracking down across the state. >> holly: a bit of international flare. coming up tomorrow at noon in the carolina kitchen, meat fly

spinach or cheese. >> karen: snow arrives and sticks to the ground in some of our northern mountain counties. i'm karen wynne, how folks are dealing with this late arrival to winter. >> tammy: plus, a local company highlighted by the president. what the company is demanding before breaking ground.

news 13 at 6. >> larry: the mountains get a quick burst of snow fall that took some people by surprise. this is video around yancey county where most of the flurries were. >> tammy: let's check in with chief meteorologist jason boyer. >> jason: it's pretty icy in some of those high country locations. keep an eye on those area roads. leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network. here we are at mount mitchell state park. beautiful here under 6600 feet. if you like it cold, it's cloud base starts to rise. that's a good indication that dryer air is beginning to work in. still have snow going down over the smokys. these will be the areas in swain county, back in to gatlinburg. could see an inch or two in the higher elevations there.

highway 19 and also highway 25