Mandatory evacuations in Gatlinburg,TN due to fires

a reply to: tnhiker

the glow was horrifying

OMG, ain't that the truth!! The pics are so surreal. Can't even imagine being there at ground zero.

The rain we got last night was a drop in the bucket.

I know! The rain we got this am in Carolina was just downright pitiful. We need sooooo much more.

Will keep your daughter in our prayers and thoughts and hope this 2nd round of rain will do the trick (without the wind, thank you!)

Thanks to everyone for the updates!

Chirp and Aqualung, glad you are safe! Continued prayers for all involved.

41 Pics, inc some of after damage from Greenville Online

Winds yesterday gusts up to 87 mph (cat 1 hurricane starts at 74 mph!!)

WBIR facebook live feed

FYI: with/if heavy rain beware of mudslides over burned area.

Ugh and all that history destroyed as well.........I spent a lot of years playing and singing and traveling from Nashville all through TN....

This breaks my heart

via WBIR: biologists are now boots on ground back at aquarium - critters ok, gennies still working ok to keep air/water pumps circulating. Yeah!!! +/- 11,000 critters there

a reply to: SCGrits

Woohoo! That's some of the best news I've heard !

Just an insight here. Have non of you ever heard of slash and burn? Australian aborigines knew all about this technique.
Basically it's just clearing the ground for new growth. So who's to say that some big developers aren't behind this "clearing".
God forbid there are peoples lives and livelihoods at stake but that means nothing to developers. Think of the land that has been cleared with these fires, land that might be got cheaply as some business people will be devastated and might want to move on. Think not of the fires but what will be left when the fires have gone.

I guess if there's a silver lining to be pointed out, it's that it could have been much worse in terms of local population size impacted. There's been about, what 15,000 people evacuated so far, right? Which, as a side note here, is probably why the media, (albeit not crickety silent) is lite on this in terms of general GAF, everyday Joes & Josephines don't give much of a F when even smaller ones than that burn.
One 2, 3, 4 and so forth times bigger could easily have also been steamrolled by Mother Nature, regardless of who/what actually started the inferno car (she's the one driving it to the last ember) Even Ft McMurray wasn't too big for Mother Nature to unleash fiery fury on.

And there's been no deaths as far as I've read. That's something to be even more grateful for, no? Flora will regrow from the ash-enriched soil, fauna will migrate back, buildings will be rebuilt.

People can't be replaced like that.

a reply to: loam

They didn`t spend much time reporting on the Grand Ole Opry getting flooded out either.

The whole mid section of the nation is deplorable and forgettable if they have to actually get off their duffs to go out there.

I sure hope no one gets seriously injured having to get out. I know I read there are some serious burns from some who had to escape, but so far, it seems there have been no known deaths from this. That much is good news at least.

Latest news has more rain coming in,but also more winds.Thankfully the main part of the city is mostly intact,but many homes were lost and some businesses.Sadly reports are airing that 3 people were killed.As a lifelong East Tennessea this is heartbreaking to see.Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support,the rebuilding will take a while but you are always going to be welcome here.This reminds me of Yellowstone in the 80`s.The Cherokee used to burn forests every year and so did many settlers to keep the ground cleared,perhaps the years of no natural burns have let too much tinder build up and made the fires worse.The park service should probably look at that,we never should have such bad fires again if theres any way to lessen them.

a reply to: ridgerunner

Have you heard if Mr. Reed found his wife and kids? It has been driving me crazy that they kept bringing him up on the news but I haven't seen an update.

Still praying for Gatlinburg.

Sorry haven't found them at last newsa reply to: Doodle19815

Just thought I would give a quick update. Mr. Reed has still not be able to locate his wife and daughter Please send them your thoughts and prayers. I'm hoping that they are just someplace that has not had phones corrected yet.

The rains seem to be doing their job to help and stop the fires but now is creating a new threat. Because of the newly bare earth that has had all the vegetation stripped from it; they are at a high risk of mud slides. Flooding within the mountains can be VERY dangerous! It funnels the water into valleys creating large swift moving currents.

a reply to: Martin75

Sorry Jess if this was mentioned I haven't read above replies yet.
3 deaths so far. Identities have not been released yet.
I really felt his pain when talking about his situation.

I hope he finds resolution and peace.

Regarding Mr. Reed...

Looks like the area is in for some heavy rain in a few hours. We had tornado issues overnight that I hope don't move to your area. I know they will rebuild, and I know it is good for vegetation, but it is still heart wrenching.

Been raining a while here, after a night of tornado warnings. Unconfirmed reports from a "friend' said the trees are uprooting that were burned out and closing more roads and taking down power lines.

4 Dead now confirmed, multiple house burned to the ground. Fears now are mudslides, floods, etc. 8 new fires over night, still not letting people in.

So many memories, was planning on going up in a couple weeks for winterfest.

I'm typing through tears....I just found out our honeymoon cabin is gone

7 dead so far.It just keeps getting worse and worse.Now there are 700 destroyed or damaged buildings.Hopefully there won`t be more fatalities but it looks bad.

Tragic to see so much loss including lives.

a reply to: Martin75

I'm not sure if you'd seen this before and after, Jess, as it was on FB.

Shocking, really. The last I heard was 7 confirmed fatalities which is (this is an odd thing to say) remarkable considering the speed and breadth of the destruction.