Gatlinburg fires

**curveball** · 11-29-2016, 10:22

I just talked to a friend whose family owns a few restaurants up there. They lost 1 for sure & possibly 3-4 more. They were there all night feeding firefighters & he said they are thinking this could bankrupt Gatlinburg. He said much of the main road going into Gatlinburg looks like a war zone, nothing left standing. With the winds supposed to pick back up today they are worried it's going to spread even more. The firefighters can't even get to many of the areas & they are concerned how many bodies they will find when all is said & done. The firefighters said they saw cars that were literally melted from the heat
I've lived in this area my whole life & I've never seen anything close to this my 40+ years on this Earth

**Quishy** · 11-29-2016, 11:39

The company I work for has several locations along the main road through town and they are all untouched as is most of the downtown area but off of the other highway there is a restaurant directly across the street from our other location that is a total loss. I think they are saying over 150 structures affected as of now.

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**Caminante** · 11-29-2016, 11:52

That's really devastating. NC has so far been very lucky in terms of any damage to structures or loss of life. I'm not a "Gatlinburg" kind of guy, but I have some great memories from there from my kayaking days. Really sorry for the residents/workers there.

Those firemen are my heroes.

**Hangin' Around PA** · 11-29-2016, 11:58

Wow! I just spent some time this summer with my daughters backpacking in the Smokies and hanging out in town. Does anyone know a reliable wesite or news station to follow the fire? We were looking forward to going back this summer as well. I hope everyone is safe!