Authorities continue to search for the missing.
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Among the victims of the fires are Jon and Janet Summers, a Memphis couple who was vacationing with their three sons in Gatlinburg when wildfire ripped through the town.
“What got us to this situation was a fire at the Chimney Tops”, said Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller.
The wildfire, which began on Monday, has destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in Gatlinburg.
A Canadian couple is among at least 13 people killed in a wildfire that has devastated parts of Tennessee this week.
Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner said officials were discussing re-opening the city on Friday so business owners can assess damage and hopefully begin paying their employees again. On Tuesday he managed to walk through the charred remains of the Banner Baptist Church’s buildings north of the city.
The officials warned that structures are not necessarily safe to enter and may not be stable. Let’s help each other restore America and make the Great Smoky Mountains great again.
“What we’re getting into is folks who don’t know this area and Monday morning quarterbacking, and we’re not going to get into that right now”, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said as he stepped to the podium to end the questioning. About 15,000 people were displaced by the fire earlier this week. A mandatory evacuation order remained in place for Gatlinburg as firefighters monitored a few remaining hot spots in the area near the Great Smoky Mountains. Two of the three remained hospitalized, while a third was discharged Thursday night, reported NBC affiliate WBIR.
At least 80 people received hospital treatment for varying degrees of injury, Waters said.
Earlier in the week, Haslam said that the present wildfire was the biggest fire that occurred on the state’s territory over the past 100 years.
“This has to be a tough time for you”, Morgan said.
After almost 24 hours of drenching rain helped quench a series of devastating wildfires in eastern Tennessee, local officials began turning to cleanup and recovery efforts.
“We sent out an alert to all of our local communities, particularly the Gatlinburg community, so they’re well aware of any potential threats that could come to structures and facilities on the park boundary”, Soehn said during the Monday news briefing on the lawn outside park headquarters.
“A tough time”, the mayor said. “We’re concerned about a lot of the families that may not have been insured”, he said. “It’s going to be OK”. Her body was one of three found in her neighborhood, reported the Knoxville News Sentinel. He said he was forced to evacuate a motel where he was staying.
The American Red Cross also is offering options to help fire victims, with information available at www.redcross.org/local/tennessee/wildfire-information.A $10 donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund can also be made by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999, or donations can be arranged by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.
Guests at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge were evacuated from nearby cabins as the fire advanced towards Parton’s property, WATE said in a separate report, and crews were working to protect the park from the flames. The fire seemed to have a life of its own, destroying some buildings and leaving others unscathed.
According to her obituary, Vance lived in Gatlinburg.
The “Chimney Tops 2” fire was first reported November 23 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, according to the National Park Service. They need to rebuild, and the best way for them to rebuild is for tourists to visit the city and the national park.
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Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, both popular vacation destinations, are home to a combined 10,000 permanent residents.
