Tennessee Wildfire Death Toll Rises to Seven
At least seven deaths have been confirmed from a ferocious wildfire that erupted across Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park more than a week ago.
The search-and-rescue operations continue in the area.
The resort cities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee have suffered the majority of the damage.
More than four dozen people have been injured by the fire, and hundreds of buildings burned to their foundations.
According to authorities, the fire is about 10% contained and “could still rear its head”.
Over 14,000 people have been evacuated, and schools across the region have been closed.
Image source WMSV
As the flames die down in some areas, other risks to firefighters are becoming a greater threat, Gatlinburg’s fire chief says.
“A new challenge that the weather is creating for us after the fire is we are experiencing some small mudslides and rock slides because there’s no longer that foliage that’s holding everything together,” Chief Greg Miller said at a press conference.
Police raised the death toll to seven on November 30 after discovering three more bodies.
They did not provide any details regarding the circumstances of the deaths.
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters told reporters: “We certainly want to pray for those families, the folks involved in the fatalities. We continue to try to identity them. We haven’t been able to yet.”
Officials in Gatlinburg hope to allow residents to return to the town on December 2, but for now the mandatory evacuation order remains in place.
Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner called for tourists to support the area by coming to visit the region which includes the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and draws more than 11 million people annually.
Dollywood, the resort owned by country music star Dolly Parton in the mountain town of Pigeon Forge, was largely spared, though the flames licked its doorstep.
There is a rain system currently moving through the area, but officials fear that not enough will fall to stem the spread of the fire, which has already burned for several weeks due to drought conditions.