Fires in Tennessee Destroy Gatlinburg Resorts
Wildfires in and near eastern Tennessee have destroyed homes, businesses and acres of trees in national parks and now they are turning on Gatlinburg’s resorts.
The fires have started a flurry of news, and many are left wondering which resorts are in danger and which have been destroyed. As of Tuesday morning, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Dean Flener confirmed that three Gatlinburg-area resorts appear to have been destroyed.
Flener, citing initial reports from Sevier County emergency management officials, said two of the destroyed resorts were the Black Bear Falls log-cabin rental resort and the Westgate Mountain Resort & Spa.
Downtown Gatlinburg, a city of almost 4,000 residents but a vacation spot to many more, has been forced to evacuate as well as the town of Pigeon Forge and nearby communities.
Four people have been injured in the fires, which have been spurred by strong winds and the Southeast’s worst drought in nearly a decade.