11-29-2016, 06:06 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2016, 02:23 AM by Mystic Wanderer.)
This is a very sad situation. This tourist/resort town is one of the main attractions for East Tennessee, and offers employment to many people in the area, and now it's burning to the ground!
A total evacuation has been ordered for the town. It is now moving closer to Piegon Forge, another neighboring tourist town. This is where the Dollywood Theme Park is located.
Fires spread to the area last night from surrounding areas due to high winds in excess of 60 mph.
I was watching a live feed last night and the reporter was in a hotel and showed fires just outside the window of the lobby! I got up this morning to learn it had burned down, along with hundreds of other buildings and homes.
Firefighters are coming in from many surrounding counties to help.
This is my home, a place where I have gone many times during my lifetime to see the Christmas lights that adorn the streets and buildings. It's called one of the biggest attractions of the area in the winter... Winter Fest. Now it is lit up by fire, not Christmas lights.
My heart is heavy for the loss of the beautiful mountains that surround the area with her blanket of beautiful colors... now gone.
Please say a prayer, send positive thoughts, or whatever it is you do, to this area. People who lived in the area have lost their homes and thousands are displaced.
And the fire still burns.
You can see some photos here, and click on the image to see a report and video: WBIR t.v.
![[Image: g6-2n-p7I.jpg]](http://2.resources.www.wbir.com.edgesuite.net/O/Z/g6-2n-p7I.jpg)
This t.v. station has been giving a live stream all night and morning: http://wate.com/
ETA: I just came across this video that shows the devastation last night. You can hear the heavy winds:
A total evacuation has been ordered for the town. It is now moving closer to Piegon Forge, another neighboring tourist town. This is where the Dollywood Theme Park is located.
Fires spread to the area last night from surrounding areas due to high winds in excess of 60 mph.
I was watching a live feed last night and the reporter was in a hotel and showed fires just outside the window of the lobby! I got up this morning to learn it had burned down, along with hundreds of other buildings and homes.
Firefighters are coming in from many surrounding counties to help.
This is my home, a place where I have gone many times during my lifetime to see the Christmas lights that adorn the streets and buildings. It's called one of the biggest attractions of the area in the winter... Winter Fest. Now it is lit up by fire, not Christmas lights.
My heart is heavy for the loss of the beautiful mountains that surround the area with her blanket of beautiful colors... now gone.
Please say a prayer, send positive thoughts, or whatever it is you do, to this area. People who lived in the area have lost their homes and thousands are displaced.
And the fire still burns.
You can see some photos here, and click on the image to see a report and video: WBIR t.v.
This t.v. station has been giving a live stream all night and morning: http://wate.com/
ETA: I just came across this video that shows the devastation last night. You can hear the heavy winds: