By Anna Graham
5/1/2017
Fanned by strong winds and the Southeast’s worst drought in nearly a decade, wildfires ravaged the Gatlinburg area. The fires forced massive evacuations of the citizens living in the area, and stopped tourists from visiting the popular location.
The National Guard was sent to the location to aid to putting out the fires and assist in the evacuations. Even so, 14 people died and 175 were injured. More than 2,000 houses and businesses were destroyed. Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters estimated the damage to be more than $500 million. The cost of fighting the fires was almost $6 million. The federal government stated that nearly 20,000 acres of Great Smoky Mountains National Park were ravaged by the fire.
Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaccos, Firearms and Explosives, working with the Great Smokey Mountains Nation park rangers, determined that the fire originated in the remote Chimney Tops Trail area of the park and that the fire was set intentionally. Two teenagers, ages 17 and 15, were charged on Dec. 7 in Sevier County Juvenile Court with aggravated arson, suspected of setting the fires. Their names have not been released due to their juvenile status.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam called the fire “the state’s worst in at least a century.”
Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller stated that the fire was “a fire for the history books… The likes of this has never been seen here.”
Governor Haslam promised that “state agencies will do everything possible to work with residents on insurance claims, applications for unemployment benefits and other assistance and to distribute Federal Emergency Management Agency aid.”
For those wishing to help the residents impacted by the fire, the local Red Cross stated “that the most valuable asset right now is money because it can be used to put people up at hotels and replace clothing.”
WAK News 