could not find his phone. he got out safely and so far his pets as well. >> he's the owner of the house and does live here alone. red cross is on the way to assist him with clothes and medications and some housing. >> jerrika: right now it looks like a faulty chimney started the fire. jerrika insco, news 13. >> tammy: buncombe county deputies are looking for a group of women who they say stole items from area businesses. here are surveillance images of those women. they are expected of taking items from belk in the mall, and from two different dick's sporting goods. >> darcel: authorities are investigating a crash that killed the driver of a tractor trailer in polk county. it happened earlier this morning on i-26 near the saluda exit. tony hurst of south carolina ran off the road and flipped his trailer.

speed were factors in the wreck. firefighters say it happened on a dangerous stretch of road where they see a lot of accidents. >> we see a lot of accidents out here. several are severe and result in fatalities similar to this one. >> darcel: a crane had to be used to remove the trailer from the interstate. that section of road was shut wreck. >> tammy: ethan couch will remain at a juvenile detention center in texas at least for now. couch made an appearance in court this morning. he arrived in the u.s. yesterday after being transferred in the custody of mexican officials. one of the lawyers says he will stay in the facility unless a judge says otherwise. >> he's relieved to be home, i can tell you that.

else would be, he is concerned about what the future holds for him. >> tammy: couch was captured in mexico with his mother last month. he was on probation for a 2013 drunk driving crash that killed four people. >> darcel: a chicago police officer accused of killing a teenager appeared in court today. jason van dyke. the officers pleaded not guilty in the 2014 shooting death of laquon mc donald. van dyke shot him 16 times. that video sparked numerous protests and calls for the chicago mayor to resign. the judge set van dyke's next hearing for march. >> tammy: friday is here and that means for most of us, we're off the next two days. jason, it's going to warm up. >> jason: it is certainly going to warm up.

want to be in the ski areas. leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network. 41 degrees there outside of maggie valley at 4600 feet. you can see a lot of folks enjoying this blue bird day with all the blue sky. up in the highest elevations, there's plenty of snow on the ground. about 5,000 feet up in elevation, 34 degrees. we're really going to start melting this off as temperatures get in to the 50s. even some higher elevations, the temperatures will be in the 50s. you can see some of the previouses created the cracks in the snow field. that's that process of melting and refreezing. radar and satellite picture, not much happening. everybody else has been mostly sunny south and east of i-40. wind gusting over 25 miles per hour. we're down to about 13 miles per hour with a sustained wind in asheville. most of us will see that wind relax significantly after

temperatures in the 30s for the northern communities. 40s and 50s farther southwest. 60s, that's right, 60s in clemson today and many places south. temperatures in the 30s this evening. freezing by 9 o'clock. upper 20s by 11. upstate clear, calm. 40s by 11 o'clock. if you're heading out, wear those layers. >> tammy: let's get a check now on the roads from the on time traffic center. >> darcel: jaclyn, how's it looking out there? >> jaclyn: darcel, we do have one crash to look out for and i'll get to that for a minute. but first we have a live look out on brevard road. if you are heading out towards careful. there is an overturned vehicle right there near pisgah highway. try to avoid that spot if you can on your commute. getting a look at your i-240

bound trouble here. speeds are 21 miles per hour. give yourself a little extra drive time. that's a look at your on time traffic report brought to you by debruhl's used car superstore. >> darcel: a waynesville institution is about to close. >> tammy: it's a service station that's been in the same family for generations. rex hodge is live at walker service station. >> darcel: rex, there's something else unique about this business. >> rex: yes, it's a combination garage and art gallery run by a husband-wife team. but they're both ready to move on to thehe next journey in their lives. for 88 years, walkers service station in the heart of business. >> we've been here since the 20s. my grandfather started the business. the customers have been with me for 40 years. i really appreciate it. >> my sculpture garden is down here, too.

90's, his wife grace moved in to part of the garage. a gallery space created for her sculptures. but pretty soon the blend of garage and gallery became a hit. she had art space and materials. >> great drums and different parts of things i've made lamps out of it. muffler pipes. >> rex: husbands and wives bringing their cars in, putting eyes on the sculptures. but now this well oiled change. the garage is closing after three generations. time. >> rex: with the building closing, grace's art gallery will live on, online. >> good to see you. and your work is so special. >> hey, how are you? >> rex: and her customers will enjoy creations she makes at home with more time. >> i'm looking forward to

>> rex: wild flowers near main street. a swan at lake junaluskk. true to form, the couple will together. and a gallery and garage will close here on march 31st. clayton is looking for someone to take over the garage. they have trips set up to new zealand and australia. rex hodge, news 13. >> tammy: tracking cases of the zika virus. how many people have the mosquito borne disease in the u.s.

made a stop today after you're watching news 13 with tammy watford, darcel grimes, chief meteorologist jason boyer. this is news 13 at 5:00. >> tammy: new information tonight, the north carolina supreme court has agreed to take up a lawsuit over the future of asheville's water system. >> darcel: the city is suing to block a bill passed by state lawmakers that gives control to the system to the regional water

asheville appeals to the supreme court, mayor esther manheimer announced the decision today. >> this is an important decision for all the citizens of asheville and all the citizens who live across the state. >> tammy: the lawsuit is being watched across north carolina. its outcome could set a new legal precedent on how lawmakers have over government. we have new information about the zika virus. the mosquito borne disease seems to be on the rise. >> darcel: health officials say more than 30 people have the virus in the u.s. all brought back from abroad. >> tammy: it's not contagious person to person. but there's still a risk. >> if somebody is infected and comes back to the united states and is bit by a mosquito, that

and that person can be affected. >> tammy: blood tests are not yet complete . >> darcel: in vote 2016, donald trump campaigned in new hampshire today less than 24 hours after skipping the gop debate. >> tammy: trump spent last night at an event in iowa. he was the only republican candidate to leave that state today. >> darcel: with trump absent from the debate, the stage was on fire. >> i noticed the last four questions had been rand, please attack ted. marco, please attack ted. jeb, please attack ted. >> it is a debate, sir. >> no, gosh. if you guys ask one more mean question, i may have to leave the stage. >> darcel: last night's gop debate was the second lowest rated of the season on television.

not being there and holding his own event instead. >> tammy: hopefully nothing low about our temperatures tomorrow. >> darcel: no, i think it's going to go up. >> jason: 47 and 28, those are close to average this time of year. it's just the wind was blowing so much that it just never felt average, if you will. no rain or snow today. we have weaker winds coming. that's actually not a great thing. i'll explain why. warmer weather for the weekend. i'll show you how warm and when the rain returns. stick around. >> lauren: coming up tomorrow morning on news 13, the fletcher chilly cookoff is this weekend. we will have all of the details

and spicy now your news 13 skywatch weather. >> jason: it sure is pretty looking from the inside out, isn't it? here's your blue skies and sunset about to take shape. mount mitchell right over there. this is from our leicester carpet sales news13 sky cam network up in seven mile ridge in yancey county. 3400 feet. just a beautiful day. but fot one of those you want to

here's the future cast wind off here. these are sustained winds. the sheltered valleys, as is almost always the case will have many and many of you east. afternoon. the idea is less wind tonight isn't a great thing because it does allow our temperatures to cool off more. we'll likely get colder with less wind than we would with more wind. let's take a look at our rain chances, snow chances the next several days in asheville. going up to 30% chance monday. 60% chance rain by tuesday. certainly an increase in moisture means an increasing chance of rain. same thing in the mountains, although your chances are higher. you're likely going to find rain on tuesday about the high

44 degrees at unca. north-northwest wind. high pressure, a belt of it, in fact, stretching from the carolinas all the way up to the gulf coast. as it moves east in to the atlantic ocean, our winds will turn back t t south-southwest. that is going to warm up a large area in the united states. great lakes, new england down to the southeast. eventually there will be a cold front. this is going to push farther east very slowly. a piece of energy with it going up in the great lakes kind of missing us. kind of scraping by. the main event isn't coming until tuesday. overnight tonight, mostly clear skies. the winds begin to weaken. watch them turn southerly. in most cases they'll pick up their pace in the afternoon. nothing as gusty as we saw today. high clouds will be on the increase late day sunday before the rain starts to get in here.

down in to the middle and upper 20s. mostly middle 20s. freezing in the upstate. look at this rebound tomorrow. 60s almost area wide. you'll be cooler than that in the higher elevations. temperatures will stay in the 60s right on through the weekend. our rain chances will double for monday and to tuesday. stay pretty high wednesday. we'll turn colder. highs 40 thursday and friday. our temperatures will be warmer for you, too, in the upstate. mid 60s sunday and monday with your rain chances also going up significantly monday and tuesday. >> darcel: enjoy the next two days. >> jason: it didn't start out as windy at our house and then here comes the wind.

a valentine's selfie contest. >> tammy: you can win diamond earrings. go to wlos.com and click on contest to enter. >> darcel: the winner will be announced during our morning show, february 9th. >> tammy: still to come, monitoring the health of your own brain. how some students are trying to make that idea a reality. >> we've never had a team sell panthers. >> darcel: panthers fans gearing up for the big game. coming up at 5:30, the one item

wallets for.rst tuesday new scratch-off tickets from t rtnoh carolina education lottery it's crazy out here. monday, wednesday, thursday, friday,

it's tuesday! tuesday! very first tuesday, tuesday t-t-t-tuesday, tuesday first tuesday th m'sd e an-dyousay! us-day! it's big news tuesday! it's scratch-off you tuesday! tuesday!

>> tammy: there are apps to track your heart rate, your blood pressure. >> darcel: but now a new app might be on the rise to give you access to your brain. a group of students hoping to save lives with their invention. >> reporter: these teenagers may be about to revolutionary medical care. the students are working on an app that would give you a report on your brain's health at your fingertips. >> i think it's a good tool to have that not a lot of people get feedback on without going to the doctor every day. based on the data that it receives in realtime, it uses a

detect patterns in your brainwaves. that enables it to notify the user of things like seizures, lack of sleep, stress, strokes. >> reporter: even can forward that information to doctors in an emergency. their design concept recently won best in state. and now represents washington at the national level where the team is seeking the fan favorite award. >> for us to win is just even more -- it just motivates us more to make it app a reality. >> reporter: winning would mean $15,000 to further stem education at their school and a chance to make the app a reality with the help of professionals at mit. >> it really will give them feedback immediately. so it can save a life. that's what we're really working towards. >> darcel: the students are also using youtube to get the word

>> tammy: they created a posted a video that takes a look inside the technology.

help an animal find a new home. welcome to today's pet pals. i'm joined here with meredith

society. >> maple came to us as a stray. she's energetic and sweet. she'd be a great hiking dog. she's a great girl. >> zack: she's able to walk on a leash. you said usually with strays we don't have much of a back story. but she's doing great with other dogs. >> she would be great with multiple dog families. >> zack: i think this time is a great time to adopt a dog of this size. >> today and tomorrow if you come over to asheville humane society from 10 to 6, we are having an adoption promotion and that's canines over 40 pounds. >> zack: that's actually how i got my pup, too.

maple, how would they contact you? >> they can just come on over. >> tammy: coming up, helping make senior citizens safer. >> darcel: how a local sheriff's office is lending a helping hand. news 13 at 5:30 starts now. a lot of people don't realize this is the time. this is the last chance to enroll during open enrollment. >> tammy: the clock is almost up to sign up for health insurance. why those who are uninsured, may want to check up the options one more time. >> frank: an escaped inmate is now in jail. now from western north carolina's news leader, this is news 13 at 5:30. >> tammy: if you are uninsured, you are almost out of time.

if you don't sign up this year,