Open for business: Signs point to recovery after wildfires

(Michael Patrick/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP).

The Castle, perhaps the largest and most iconic home in Gatlinburg, was destroyed. Small wildfires linger in Gatlinburg, Tenn., Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, following Monday’s devastating wildfire.

A doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center said Wesley and Branson Summers would undergo surgery Monday requiring skin grafts.

“We are holding fast that they are alive, and they are going to come home”, Banks said.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, who lives not far from Galinburg said these types of wildfires were the kind you expect to see out West but never in the Tennessee foothills.

Jim Summers said the three sons escaped through an inferno, and it was like a movie.

Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner has said officials are thinking about reopening the resort city as early as Friday.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash said that high winds forecast for Gatlinburg did arrive earlier than expected, causing the fires to spread very quickly.

With such a hard world we live in, it is heartwarming to witness the outpouring of support, love, and donations from the people in and around Tennessee during the wildfire disaster.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said authorities are checking 70 leads through a hotline set up to track down the missing. He also defended the response to the wildfires that spread rapidly Monday, saying it was not the time for “Monday morning quarterbacking”.

He added that power outages and limited cellphone reception prevented that alert from reaching some people, while wildfires were ravaging the area.

The fire that roared through Gatlinburg actually began last week in the national park, and fierce winds carried burning embers into the city, park officials said. About 10,000 acres of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and 6,000 acres outside the park have been burned and even though a day of rain Wednesday helped tamp down the blazes, officials expressed concerns that ground that was extremely dry before the rains could be prone to rekindling. As late as Sunday, four helicopters were conducting water drops.

But some of the flames were sparked by power lines that fell in heavy winds in and near the city, officials said.

Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller told reporters Thursday that the devastation has been “unfathomable” and warned that the death toll could continue to rise, as numerous people are still missing.

The dead included a Memphis couple who was separated from their three sons during the wildfires. They were in a hospital on Tuesday. It is great to see people come together in a time of need and do whatever they can to help one another instead of only looking out for themselves.

The dead also include a couple from Canada, John and Janet Tegler; and another woman who was vacationing, Mae Vance, who died after a smoke-related heart attack. Eleven people died as a result of the fire, which authorities believe may have been caused by a person.

Almost 1,000 homes and businesses were damaged. The eastern part of Gatlinburg has been opened, and local officials are hoping to allow owners to access to their properties “in a controlled process” by the beginning of next week, according to Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Ogle.

“The city is not implying that private property is safe”, she said.

The wildfires killed 11 people and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.

In communities near Gatlinburg, signs of normalcy appeared. Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are now open for business.