Death toll from Tennessee wildfires increases to 11

“We’re concerned about a lot of the families that may not have been insured”, he said.

Reporters who were allowed in the community on Thursday found many homes that were badly damaged or destroyed. “We all love these mountains”, Haslam said. “‘When I saw Scott come in the house last night it was just – no words can describe it”.

Daryl and Robert Hullander, who have been married 57 years, and operate a bed and breakfast, learned about the fire with only a few moments notice Monday night, according to WBIR.

On Friday, search and rescue crews from state law enforcement agencies and the national guard were still looking for people who had not made it out of town before they were trapped by flames. “They had went to the point of having to sit down, we had some food”.

But, perhaps the best thing we can do, is still visit Gatlinburg.

Lapointe said his wife, the couple’s daughter, is now on her way to Tennessee with her brother. Jim Summers said the sheriff estimated they ran several miles.

The search continues for individuals missing from wildfires that have left the Tennessee resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge reeling. Six victims were identified by officials Friday.

Other fatalities include an elderly couple from Canada, Jon and Janet Tegler, and May Vance, who was vacationing in Gatlinburg and died of a heart attack after she was exposed to smoke.

A county mayor raised the death toll to 13 and said the number of damaged buildings now approached 1,000.

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) – Residents and business owners in Gatlinburg got their first look at the wildfire destruction on Friday, and many walked around the once-bustling tourist city in a daze, sobbing.

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, both popular vacation destinations, are home to a combined 10,000 permanent residents. The three were smiling and grateful to see friends and family, she said.

The damage began on Monday when a wildfire, probably caused by a person, spread from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into the Gatlinburg area as hurricane-force winds toppled trees and power lines, blowing embers in all directions.

“It feels like Gatlinburg is more anxious about how to rebuild than they are about their people”, he said.

The so-called Chimney Top fire, the principal blaze menacing the area, exploded in the national park on Monday evening as wind gusts reached almost 90 miles per hour (145 km per hour), spreading the flames through drought-parched trees and brush into surrounding homes and businesses.

The Chimney Tops 2 Facebook page wrote on December 1 of this photo: “Aerial views of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (facing north), showing large strips of unburned forest intermingled with areas that burned in the Chimney Tops 2 Fire”.

Knight said he expects agents will know about whether the fire was set intentionally, along with the origin and cause, as early as this weekend.

But the November 23 fire on Chimney Tops proved to be extraordinary – it jumped containment lines and hopped from ridge to ridge on a path to the resort city of Gatlinburg, killing 13 people along the way.