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Mandatory
evacuations were ordered for Gatlinburg and parts of Pigeon
Forge, Tennessee, where strong winds and drought stoked fires in
the area, the National Weather Service said in an advisory.
"These are the worst possible conditions imaginable," Gatlinburg
Fire Department Chief Greg Miller told reporters, according to
the Tennessean newspaper.
The nearby Chimney 2 Fire quickly grew from about 10 acres on
Sunday evening to about 500 acres on Monday as wind gusts
reached 75 mph (120 kph) in the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park. Conditions also sparked another fire south of Gatlinburg
on Monday, Wildfiretoday.com reported.
No fatalities were reported. One man suffered burns and several
injuries were reported after a fire truck crash, Tennessee
Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
A total of 1,200 people were in two area shelters, officials
said.
Heavy smoke and a orange sky hung over downtown Gatlinburg where
nearby roads were packed with motorists trying to get out of
town. Downed power lines and fallen trees sparked several
smaller fires, media reported.
Some 30 buildings including a 16-storey hotel and an apartment
were on fire in Gatlinburg on Monday night, the Tennessee
Emergency Management Agency said. About 100 homes were impacted,
Sevier County officials said.
About 7 miles (10 km) north, parts of Pigeon Forge were also
evacuated, including Dollywood, a resort and theme park owned by
entertainer Dolly Parton. No Dollywood structures were
threatened, a spokesman for the resort told a local NBC
affiliate.
"Fire was coming over the mountains, and the smoke was so bad we
could barely breathe as we were trying to pack up," Mike Gill
told NBC News as he was leaving the area with his wife. "The
traffic is horrible. It's a mass exodus."
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Nick
Macfie and Kim Coghill)
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