Gatlinburg, TN on Fire

[Stasha_Sz]

In breaking news, a fire in Gatlinburg, TN has spread to the city. Major evacuations are taking place as wind-whipped fires have spread through the downtown area of the city.
The picturesque town, located in the Great Smokey Mountains, best known as the location of Dollywood, has suffered from drought during the late summer and fall which has contributed to the conflagration.
Here is a link to a live feed:

 

[tyroneweaver]

It's snowing out west now but Montana is a tinder box just waiting to go off.

 

[JimBowie1958]

The Park rangers no longer let people take out fallen wood for camp fires and the like any more.

I hike through a park here where I live and it is just covered on the ground with fallen trees that are just laying there rotting and make excellent tender for any future fire.

A 'drought' is entirely unnecessary.

 

[tinydancer]

Why god almighty why. Oh shit man.

 

[tinydancer]

The Park rangers no longer let people take out fallen wood for camp fires and the like any more.

I hike through a park here where I live and it is just covered on the ground with fallen trees that are just laying there rotting and make excellent tender for any future fire.

A 'drought' is entirely unnecessary.

With out a word of a lie I come from a family of north fire fighters. I lost my best friend and cousin george some years back

This one is a doozy. Oh Lord this one is a bad one.

 

[tinydancer]

In breaking news, a fire in Gatlinburg, TN has spread to the city. Major evacuations are taking place as wind-whipped fires have spread through the downtown area of the city.
The picturesque town, located in the Great Smokey Mountains, best known as the location of Dollywood, has suffered from drought during the late summer and fall which has contributed to the conflagration.
Here is a link to a live feed:

All my friends are there please can you give an update.

 

[tinydancer]

Can anyone help me?

Just any feed?

 

[tinydancer]

I have kin in a short radius. I think I am like to scream..I guess its over.

 

[tinydancer]

Gatlinburg is one of the prettiest towns you ever seen

 

[Wyatt earp]

Gatlinburg is one of the prettiest towns you ever seen

Love that place

 

[Stasha_Sz]

All my friends are there please can you give an update.

Sorry, Tinydancer, I was not monitoring this thread, my bad. It looks like the live-feed is down. However, there are several youtubes of the fire if you use "Gatlinburg fire" as a search term.
This one is from an hour ago:

 

[Stasha_Sz]

This is from the Knoxville News Sentinel's website, posted @ 15 minutes ago.
Several videos are imbedded.
http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...east-tennessee-firefighters-ordered/94535434/

 

[tinynascarfan]

My daughter just got back from helping up there, she's a nurse, and she says its really really bad

Gonna be a lot of people dead, the fire is at the edge of the aquarium, most of Gatlinburg is gone. and Dollywood is in real trouble of burning. There may be thousands dead fore this night is over.

If you believe in God, you better pray, if you don't, could you make an exception for a night?

My daughter said she saw lots of burned up folks, a lot of folks were trapped in cabins, and its really bad. Good news, a little bit I guess, it is finally raining in east Tennessee, after 2 months, and too early to know for sure, but second hand gossip says it was arson.

 

[tinynascarfan]

They tell me Westgate is gone, it was a time share, really nice place,

I know a lot of the roads up there, I drove a dump truck up there for years, and there are cabins everywhere, I hope I'm wrong, but I'm figuring hundreds will be missing by morning, theres not enough police up there to go door to door to all those places.

 

[strollingbones]

cant believe this is happening...cant believe workers left the animals........what a fucking mess.....rain is here finally...that is all we can hope for at this point...rain

 

[strollingbones]

saying the fire got the chair lift..that is downtown....every redneck in the south goes to g town....it is our mecca

 

[strollingbones]

i hope dollywood stands....if it goes from the chairlift to dollywood...the entire town is on fire

 

[Granny]

Watching local Knoxville news now - still before sunrise so can't see much but sounds like it's really, really bad. The flames are all that are actually showing up on film taken at a back fire the news people were able to get coverage. They did have interviews with a few residents trying to escape and they said some couldn't get out because their tires were burning and stuck to the roads. The local traffic copter is going to try to get closer after daylight.

 

[strollingbones]

we have not gotten any real news as they are waiting for sun up......what we are seeing on youtube is horrifying...please keep us updated

 

[Granny]

CBS just had horrific film ... someone was taking cell phone videos as he was driving last night ... horrific is the right word. I don't see how the hell the driver managed to do it - flames EVERYWHERE, sparks all over his windshield. Gatlinburg taking the brunt but Dollywood still OK at the time that report was done.