Smokies requests info on cause of fires

In eastern Tennessee, officials say a wildfire that tore through resort towns in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains earlier this week killed at least 13 people and destroyed almost 1,000 structures, according to local officials and the state emergency management agency.

Patrol officers were told to spread the evacuation order door to door quickly. After the wildfire broke out, the couple had attempted to flee. She never found anybody she wasn’t willing to talk to.

Authorities say John Tegler and Marilyn Tegler, both in their 70’s, are among 13 people killed. She died after suffering from a heart attack due to smoke.

According to officials, 85 have been treated from various injuries and many of them have been released from the hospital. We’ve had so many people offer places where we can live.

The devastation that the wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee have caused has clearly taken a toll on everyone, including the fearless men and women who are trying to contain the fires.

More than 200 firefighters and first responders are in the area, assisted by members of the Tennessee National Guard.

What caused the Gatlinburg wildfire?

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. He said the wind came in earlier than forecast. He said his cousin, a Gatlinburg police officer, lost her home to the fire, but hasn’t had time to do anything about it. A former colleague of mine, from my state park days, is now battling fires in the southeast region of the United States, although not in the Gatlinburg area, and I am hoping that he and his fellow firefighters return to their families safe.

“We’re not looking at a criminal investigation right now”, Knight said, adding agents could know as soon as this weekend if the fire was intentionally set.

Homeowners and renters in Gatlinburg have also finally been allowed to go into the city to check on their properties as of Friday morning, Waters said. They can enter the area between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. today through December 6th. That window of access will continue each day Saturday through Thursday.

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

“Gatlinburg is the people”, he said. Wildfires are part of the natural world and they help bring new life to forests and fields throughout the world. But it will be vast, evidenced by an empty downtown Gatlinburg at the start of the holiday season and the fact that more than 1,000 structures were either damaged or destroyed in the city and county. There is now an interactive map to check the condition of property.

Waters noted that 95 percent of the county has been “soft searched” and evaluated for damage and the recovery of victims.

In Pigeon Forge, the Comedy House rented an electronic billboard message that said it was open for laughs, and a flyer at a hotel urged guests to check out the scenic Cades Cove loop.

The Dollywood theme park suspended operations on November 30 and December 1, but is resuming normal operations on December 2 at 2 p.m. That’s on top of more than 17,100 acres consumed since the blaze began last week in the remote Chimney Tops area of the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Gatlinburg ByPass is also closed. Wiley Oakley, Breech Branch, Walker Trail and Westgate off of Spur are closed to public visitation.

He did not release any details about the fatalities and said authorities are still working to positively identify the remains.