Dazed Tennessee residents get first look at wildfire rubble

WRAL-TV - AP ^ | 12/3/16 | Adam Beam and Jonathan Mattise

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Charlotte Moore needed a phone charger.

Then she remembered that her home was gone.

The realization came as she made the familiar drive up to the top of Laurel Mountain in the Roaring Fork neighborhood of Gatlinburg on Friday, where what lay ahead was anything but familiar. On the first day officials let property owners return to assess the damage from the wildfire that devastated their homes, the eastern Tennessee tourist destination was headed toward an uncertain future.

As people were allowed into the city, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters raised the death toll to 13 and said the number of damaged buildings now approached 1,000. He also defended the response to the wildfires that spread rapidly Monday, saying it was not the time for "Monday morning quarterbacking." He promised a full review later.

Gatlinburg residents and business owners, meanwhile, got their first look at the wildfire destruction Friday, and many walked around the once-bustling city in a daze, sobbing.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Thank you for that information.

ONce again the Red Cross disappoints!

[combat_boots]

The region is a national treasure, even the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge touristy spots. Of course, 0bama doesn’t value it.

[Paul R.]

Sevier County Structure Status Map:

http://www.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=8c18c70f55ac4f81b683454fc7573d76

This shows the area(s) of the fire(s), and one can zoom way in to locations of damaged or destroyed structures, as they are inventoried and noted on the map.

I don’t know the exact number, but at present, a high percentage of “damaged or destroyed” structures appear to be destroyed. Very sobering.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Thank you!

[combat_boots]

Forever Country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9gAXwYZtfk

[Rebelbase]

I don’t see any government conspiracy to expand the national park here. If the park wanted to expand, there’s 100’s of thousands of acres of national forest and lightly developed private land adjacent to the west of the park in NC that would be billions cheaper and less legal hassle to obtain.

[meyer]

Have they figured out what started these fires? Were they arson? Or worse jihad? Or was it lightning? Not knowing scares me and I live over a thousand miles away. God Be with them in their time of need.

Very extreme drought, a nearby fire on Chimney Tops mountain area, and some 80+ MPH winds. The wind was literally blowing huge embers several miles where they would light the dry leaves/wood all over the area. If I recall reading about it, the fire grew huge in a matter of 40-50 minutes.

[meyer]

The Chimney Tops fire, which was fairly small, was believed to be man-made. Not sure if it was deliberate or careless, but since there’s been a burn ban in effect for eastern Tennessee for weeks, even a campfire would have been illegal.