Dollywood evacuated due to Tennessee Wildfires

In Gatlinburg, officials said no one is allowed into the city at this time and anyone now in the popular tourist destination is urged to leave immediately.

The Tennessee mountain resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge were under mandatory evacuation orders as multiple wildfires swept through Great Smoky Mountain National Park Monday night. Social media images and videos showed the night sky blazing bright orange from the flames.

The fire also prompted officials to close and evacuate the Dollywood DreamMore Resort.

Pete Owens, spokesperson for Dollywood, said late Monday that no structures inside the park had been damaged. National Park Service firefighters and the Gatlinburg Fire Department have responded to the area, and the Tennessee Division of Forestry is also responding to the area to stage equipment for use as needed.

At least 30 structures were on fire in Gatlinburg over Monday night, according to WVLT, the CBS station in Knoxville.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also closed as “fire activity” was reported in several areas, including near the headquarters and the Sugarland Mountain Trail. The highway runs through the center of the park, near Clingmans Dome. It is only open to people leaving and evacuating the city.

No one has been killed because of the fires and officials say there were able to rescue almost 30 back-country hikers that were in the mountains surrounding the city.

Several roads were closed because of fire danger, stemming from unsafe weather conditions, falling trees and downed power lines.

The fire was in tree tops and moving toward residences. “If you are now in Gatlinburg and are able to evacuate. evacuate immediately”.

At around 10 p.m. EST Monday, the heavy smoke had filled downtown Gatlinburg in Sevier County, which attracts 12 million visitors per year.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday evening for neighborhoods of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Investigators have said they believe fire is an arson, according to WATE television station.

“It’s very unsafe weather conditions”, Dana Soehn with the National Park Service told WATE.

Tuesday morning The Red Cross said more than 1,000 people forced to evacuate are now in shelters.

The weather forecast for Gatlinburg calls for very strong winds, 25 miles per hour gusting to 41 miles per hour, to continue Monday night, but there is an 80 to 100 percent chance of rain during the night, possibly as much as 0.8 inch.