Fires Force Evacuations In East TN Tourist Towns; Flames Driven By Winds At 70 mph

[hatrack]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Motorists fleeing wildfires in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge packed roads in and out of the resort towns Monday night as flames and choking smoke driven by wind swept across the area.

The Gatlinburg Fire Department ordered the mandatory evacuation of downtown Gatlinburg as wind conditions worsened and several fires grew increasingly unpredictable and dangerous. As fires threaten homes and businesses in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, the area's largest theme park was watching the situation closely.

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"We were just told by the Gatlinburg Fire Department that they had told everybody in Gatlinburg to get out," said Judy Tucker, director of Sevier County's E-911 call center, around 9 p.m. "... No one's getting through to anyone. Phones are ringing and not being answered anywhere. It's chaos." Around 6 p.m., Gatlinburg fire officials declared an immediate mandatory evacuation of the Mynatt Park neighborhood, East Foothills Road, Turkey Nest Road, Davenport Road and Savage Gardens areas. At that point, average wind speeds were recorded at 40 mph, with gusts clocking in as high as 74 mph, according to a news release from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

With the majority of the wildfires listed as 100% contained on the Division of Forestry's website on Sunday, firefighters were hoping the 2-plus inches of rainfall forecast for Monday and Tuesday nights would bring an end to the ongoing wildfire emergency. But Monday’s high wind speeds exacerbated the situation, and the rain has yet to fall — Gatlinburg was expected to receive at least half an inch around midnight, said Jeremy Buckles, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown.


Thick smoke from area forest fires covers the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. (Photo: BRIANNA PACIORKA/NEWS SENTINEL)

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/28/tennessee-wildfires-evacuation-gatlinburg/94580940/

[AirmensMom]

1. This is close to us.

Fires have been burning for weeks. We've had very little rain this summer and people are careless with burning brush and tossing lit cigarettes. The smoke has kept me indoors. It even gets in the car unless I put the climate control on recirculating.

The good news is that it's raining right now, but we are about 1 1/2 hours away from Gatlinburg. The rain is very localized here. It can be pouring in town, just a few miles away, and bone dry at our house. The few times we did get a nice rain, our friends who live in the mountains, 20 miles away, didn't get any. They wanted to start up their wood stove when the weather started to get colder, but it's a risk if you don't have a chimney cap, which many people don't.

It's upsetting, to say the least.