Fanned by strong winds and the Southeast’s worst drought in nearly a decade, at least 14 fires burned in and around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, forcing evacuations from the popular tourist gateway and nearby communities. Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said crews battled wind gusts of up to 70 mph.
On Monday afternoon (November 28, 2016), a wildfire from the Smoky Mountains National Park spread rapidly into nearby communities. Flames blew into downtown Gatlinburg, forcing authorities to evacuate their original command post at City Hall, said Dana Soehn, spokesperson for the National Parks Service. She was uncertain of the condition of City Hall, but noted that several homes and businesses were in flames in and near town. The National Guard has been activated to help with the fire fight and evacuations, she said.
The Sevier County Emergency Management Agency issued evacuations from Gatlinburg and nearby communities, including the north end of Pigeon Forge. “Nobody is allowed into the city at this time. If you are currently in Gatlinburg and are able to evacuate … evacuate immediately.”
There were no deaths reported, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. As of 10 p.m. local time Monday, at least 30 buildings in Gatlinburg were on fire, including a 16-story hotel and an apartment structure, according to the agency.
Gatlinburg Area Fire Update – Tuesday Morning November 29, 2016
Sevier County, City of Gatlinburg, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have reported widespread fire damage and continued fire activity throughout the Gatlinburg area and much of Sevier County including Wears Valley, Pigeon Forge, and Jones Cove. Gatlinburg City officials have reported numerous structures completely lost to fire including businesses in the downtown area and private homes throughout the area.
Unpredicted, extreme weather conditions on Sunday afternoon through Monday led to the exponential spread of fires both inside and outside of the National Park. Severe wind gusts of over 80 mph, unprecedented low relative humidity, and extended drought conditions caused the fire burning in the National Park to spread rapidly and unpredictably, in spite of suppression efforts on Sunday that included helicopter water drops. Wind gusts carried burning embers long distances causing new spot fires to ignite across the north-central area of the park and into Gatlinburg. In addition, high winds caused numerous trees to fall throughout the evening on Monday bringing down power lines across the area that ignited additional new fires that spread rapidly due to sustained winds of over 40 mph.
Conditions remain extremely dangerous with trees expected to continue to fall. Officials are asking that motorists stay off the roadways throughout the area. Travel in the Gatlinburg area is limited to emergency traffic only. The National Park is closed at the Gatlinburg entrance.
Officials have received tremendous support throughout the region included state resources and the deployment of the National Guard by Governor Haslam. The Red Cross established shelters in both Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge where over 1,300 people have gathered to seek refuge.
At this time, officials do not have information to release regarding the current size of the fire, the number of structures burned, or injuries. Additional news updates will be provided as information becomes available.
If you want to help, the best thing you can do is stay away and let the first responders do their thing. All donations can be made to Gatlinburg Fire Department at 309 Reagan Drive, Gatlinburg, TN 37738 via Amazon or drop off. They are currently asking for bottled beverages like water, Gatorade, Powerade, etc, and high calorie, minimal packaging food such as Larabars, Cliffbars, candy, etc.
They’ve also asked people to stay off the cell phone lines aside from making emergency calls. The cell phone towers are getting overrun and it’s making it hard for emergency calls to get through. They said text messages will go through faster.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fire Update – Tuesday Evening November 29, 2016
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced that LeConte Lodge, the popular backcountry lodging facility at the base of Mount LeConte, and the Elkmont Campground and Historic Districts sustained no damage from the fire activities in the park on Monday evening. Some Elkmont buildings sustained roof damage from falling trees caused by heavy winds, and some roof repairs will be required.
The fires in the park and Gatlinburg community have now collectively been estimated to total over 15,000 acres. Tomorrow, November 30, the park will turn the fire management operation to the Southern Area Type I Incident Command Team (Dueitt) to manage the ongoing fire activities within the park. This team consists of federal and state interagency team members from across the country who collaboratively manages wildland fire and other incident management activities such as natural disaster relief efforts.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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