And: "Despite evacuation orders, some people -- including guests at one Gatlinburg hotel -- could not safely leave the area as the fire advanced."
"We can't go outside. The firefighters said the wind is blowing at 80 miles per hour and the debris in the air is too hard to get us down right now," [said one guest].
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20 comments:
I hope all survive this ordeal.
"Big Mike said...
I hope all survive this ordeal."
God bless you Big Mike. God bless you.
A friend linked a video of someone driving down from their mountain cabin -- every single structure along the road was in flames, and smoke was everywhere.
(Link)
This is right down the road from me (in Knoxville). It's really horrible. They're saying arson. Thankfully, we got some rain last night, finally.
1,500 animals are living without the help of human beings inside Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, believe it or not.
There I fixed it.
Smoke from the conflagration (love that word) made it into lower Michigan (Link)
I am in Oak Ridge, TN and it hadn't rained a total of more than a half-inch since July. This is the driest I have ever seen here. Gatlinburg and the surrounding area got significant rain last night, but the fires are still burning in areas. Hopefully, the rains tonight will finish putting them out.
Lyssa,
It could have been arson, but the winds yesterday could well have started the fires from power lines coming into contact with tree limbs, or simply massive fanning of the much smaller fires that have been burning in the area for the last few weeks.
Yancey, that would definitely make me feel better. Horrible to think that this is the work of humans.
Also, howdy, neighbor. I spent most of my teen years in or around Oak Ridge.
@Curious, I'm an atheist, but in case I'm wrong thanks for putting in a good word.
Here's hoping the Palestinian arson attack plan, currently running in Israel, has not moved to our own shores.
I don't approve of containing fish, wild animals and mammals in enclosed spaces for human pleasure.
I really don't approve of the southern accent in the video-absolutely hideous and really unforgivable.
This fire reminds me of the one we had in Colorado Springs back in 2012. The firefighters were making progress getting it under control when a microburst hit. Almost 350 homes went up in flames in about an hour. I was watching it from a few miles away, wondering if it was going to continue towards my home. Wildfire is scary stuff and those were some terrible winds last night. I can only hope that the rain forecast for tonight comes with less wind.
The aquarium had backup generators, and a biologist with the aquarium said that as long as there was power, the animals would be OK, and that if power failed they had twenty-four hours to get power back up. After that, animals would start dying.
The generators never failed, the building remained intact, and staff is back inside tending to them. I think it will re-open tomorrow.
I live in Kingsport, TN, in the Tri-Cities on the VA border about 90 min NE of Gatlinburg. We have been having fires all over north GA, western NC, and east TN for over 3 weeks. When I drove back to my TN home from my GA home north of Atlanta three Sundays ago the smoke from around Gainesville, GA, all the way to Franklin, NC was so thick that cars had their lights on and it was like driving in fog. I had to abandon my daily afternoon hikes on Bays Mtn. two weeks ago because there was a big fire on the NW side of the mountain and it was so bad you just couldn't breathe. Driving back from Pensacola, FL, on Monday 11/14 there were at least 5 fires on the north slope of Lookout Mtn. coming into Chattanooga on I-59 from AL. We haven't had a drought in about 10 years in NE TN but this one is much worse and we didn't have the fires last time like we are having this time. Unfortunately, law enforcement thinks many of them are arson.
This is very bad. We were in Asheville in September. Lots of Carolina hardwood parched and dry as a bone up there. The Smokies, the Blue Ridge, it could all ignite.
Titus, I'm sure your voice sounds like rose petals smell. But you are an ass nonetheless.
Looks like at least three people are dead so far. :-(
That video is horrifying. How are they so calm?
@Birches, you won't see video from the people who failed to keep their wits about them. They're dead.
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