11 people confirmed dead from the Tennessee wildfires

In a city built on tourism, Werner has said the biggest thing people can do to help is come back. The sons – Jared, Wesley and Branson Summers – learned that their parents, Jon and Janet, had died as they were recovering in the hospital.

The realization came as she made the familiar drive up to the top of Laurel Mountain in the Roaring Fork neighborhood of Gatlinburg on Friday, where what lay ahead was anything but familiar. “And then after that, we don’t know”. “I will always hold out hope of a rescue”, Fire Chief Greg Miller said at Thursday’s press conference.

What began as three acres is now affecting more than 17,000 acres on Thursday night.

“We’re never going to give up hope”.

“Whether it was purposefully set or whether it was a careless act that was not meant to cause a fire, that we don’t know”, Clayton said.

Mathews said officials are “unsatisfied” after some people have said they failed to receive a warning and also complained they were only told to evacuate hours after the inferno grew. They’re sleeping on the floor.

LaPointe said the couple were on foot close to their vacation property when they were killed in the blaze.

“We have had rain there in the Smokies, but we are talking about a canopy of trees, so it would take a lot of rain to saturate the ground to help out with the drought situation there”, Spencer said.

One of the seven people killed in the fire was 70-year-old Alice Hagler, according to local outlet WBIR. No other details have been released.

Damaged but operational: Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (two buildings damaged, others operational); Chalet Village. Officials also confirmed that the Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa, with more than 100 buildings, is likely entirely razed by the fire.

“The rain we received may have slowed this fire for a day or two at a critical time but the threat from this fire is still there”, the team said.

The Summers’ three adult sons are at Vanderbilt Medical Center being treated for burns.

Property damage was extensive, both to private residences and to buildings at the heart of the tourism industry.

Most of those fires had been contained by Wednesday afternoon, but uncertainty remained for a region that serves as the gateway into the Great Smoky Mountains, the country’s most visited national park.

“The wildfire was determined to be human-caused and is now under investigation”, according to a bulletin released on Thursday by fire commanders and the National Park Service. Federal funds have been made available to local officials and residents through an emergency declaration. The White House said the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant this week to mobilize resources. “It is just knocked down”. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is working to help determine the origin of the fire.

“Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, largely untouched by the fires, are conducting business as usual”, officials with the Pigeon Forge Chamber of Commerce said. Another 6,000 acres have been torched outside of the park.

Clayton said 1,000 firefighters and engines lined up “end to end” couldn’t have stopped the flames. “I thought she’d be standing in the driveway”.

More than 14,000 people in Gatlinburg were forced to leave as the tourist city shut down.

Meanwhile, friends are concerned that a missing Memphis couple has not yet been found.

There were around 200 people in shelters Thursday night, down from 2,000 earlier this week, according to the Red Cross. Side streets will reopen later, she said. It’s not the buildings.

Authorities continue to search for the missing. Authorities have asked that information on specific animals be provided to the county humane society at sevierhumane.org or on the society’s Facebook page. “People may encounter downed power lines or other hazards”.

Major threatened areas include Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, the latter of which is home to Dollywood, the theme park named for country music superstar Dolly Parton. Search-and-rescue efforts have continued in the charred, smoke-choked mountains, but some areas have remained unreachable, authorities said. They plan to tour areas hit by the fire Friday.

“It is certainly a distressing time for all of us”, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said at a news conference today. Insurance adjusters will be on hand as well.