Tennessee National Guard captures new aerials of Gatlinburg wildfires

BRISTOL-Like many residents of the Mountain Empire, Gatlinburg was the vacation spot for Tiffany Porter and her family while she was growing up.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who flew over the scorched forest, said the region’s damage was “a little numbing” given how “special” it was for the entire state.

“We have not been able to get in all of the areas”, Miller said. Hundreds of homes and other buildings, including a 16-story hotel, were damaged or destroyed. The White House says FEMA approved a grant earlier this week to help mobilize the resources necessary for an effective response. A representative with Vanderbilt Medical Center said the three patients are listed in critical condition and remain in the burn center.

The family appears to have been separated on Monday, and the sons were found unconscious, WMC reported. At least 53 people were treated at hospitals for injuries, according to news reports.

More than 2,000 people have been taken to emergency shelters so far.

The neighbouring states of North Carolina and Georgia are also battling wildfires after months of drought.

No one has been arrested in connection to starting the wildfire.

One of the bodies was found Wednesday in a burned motel, officials said.

Wildfires have been spreading for weeks in the Southeast, where a severe drought persists.

Authorities say Mann admitted setting both fires.

Most schools will reopen Thursday, and officials plan to set up central locations for people to file for unemployment benefits if their employer’s business was destroyed. Three people were rescued. He did not release any details about the fatalities and said authorities are still working to positively identify the remains. “But I also want to say that unless that rain penetrates deep enough into that duff, into that leaf clutter, then those hotspots can still arise”, Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said.

With more than 10,000 people without power, emergency workers spent much of Wednesday clearing mudslides, debris and power lines.

Sara Gentry, director of sales at Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort, said several hundred people were evacuated from the hotel and she and her four children evacuated their home and headed to Dandridge to her sister’s house. Search and rescue efforts continued through the night in areas that had been unreachable because of downed power lines and trees.

James Wood’s mother was telling him on the phone that the wildfire that had roared into Gatlinburg had ignited her home.

“It is certainly a distressing time for all of us”, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said at a news conference today.

The mayor lost the home that he built himself, two dogs plus all seven of the condominium buildings he owned.

Residents and first responders in Sevier County hope that heavy rain and thunderstorms that have moved through the county on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning will help extinguish some of the fires that are still burning in the area.

“We got to bed around 4 a.m. last night and were back at the command post in Pigeon Forge at 8 a.m.”, Terry Hood, Spring Hill fire chief, said. The system is moving slowly, which increases the chances of more rain. The Great Smoky Mountains are named for the fog that typically hangs over the mountains, not smoke from wildfires. Many buildings were burned to their foundations. The only sound came from the eerie screech of hotel fire alarms echoing through the empty streets. Three people perished when a tornado demolished a mobile home in the small town of Rosalie, in northeastern Alabama.

The fires reached the Dollywood theme-park located in the touristic hamlet of Pigeon Forge.