Tennessee wildfires kill 3
Thousands flee; hundreds of homes destroyed
Gatlinburg, Tenn. — With flames dripping from tree branches like lava and the air filled with embers, thousands of people raced through a hellish landscape as they fled from wildfires that killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes and a resort in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Fanned by hurricaneforce winds, the flames reached the doorstep of Dollywood, the theme park named after country music legend and local hero Dolly Parton. But the attraction was spared significant damage.
The fires spread quickly on Monday night, when winds topping 87 mph whipped up the flames, catching residents and tourists in the Gatlinburg area by surprise. Police banged on front doors and told people to get out immediately. Some trekked 20 minutes to catch lifesaving rides on trolleys usually reserved for tours and wedding parties.
“There was fire everywhere. It was like we were in hell,” said Linda Monholland, who was working at Park View Inn in Gatlinburg when she and five other people fled on foot.
In all, more than 14,000 residents and tourists were forced to evacuate the tourist city in the mountains, where some hotspots persisted and a curfew was in place Tuesday night.
No details on the deaths were immediately available. More than a dozen people were injured.
The extent of the damage began to emerge even as smoke from the wildfires lingered late Tuesday afternoon.
The Castle, perhaps the largest and most iconic home in Gatlinburg, was destroyed. So was Cupid’s Chapel of Love, a wedding venue.
Entire churches were gone. Scorched cars parked outside sat on their rims after their tires had melted away. The only sound came from the eerie screech of hotel fire alarms echoing through the empty streets.
Some Christmas decorations on lampposts and utility poles were on fire.
Marci Claude, a spokeswoman for both the city and the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, choked up as she surveyed the damage for the first time on a media tour.
“I’m just astonished this is my town,” she said.
On an aerial and driving tour of the damage in and around Gatlinburg, Gov. Bill Haslam said he was struck by the seemingly random nature of the fire that destroyed some structures and left others untouched. Noting that much of the downtown entertainment district was undamaged, Haslam said “it just could have been so much worse.”