Gatlinburg-area fire contained after burning more than 100 acres

A fire burned more than 100 acres outside Gatlinburg on Thursday as wind gusts approached 100 mph, reminding residents of the extreme conditions that brewed a deadly firestorm last November.

Thursday's blaze, however, resulted in only minor injuries to one person and no damage to structures, according Sevier County spokesman Perrin Anderson. The hurricane-force winds felled trees and power lines and damaged homes and other buildings.

The fire, located on a wooded hillside off Branam Hollow Road in Pittman Center, is believed to have started around 11 a.m. and was 100 percent contained by 7 p.m., Anderson said.

The wind had died down to 10-15 mph Friday morning and all-day showers were expected, said Tod Hyslop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown.

Nathan Waters of the state Division of Forestry said at 8:15 a.m. Friday that the fire was essentially out.

"We will be sending crews out there this morning to check for hot spots so that it doesn't flare back up," he said, adding that the rain and big reduction in wind will help.

Waters said Gerald Shelton, the forestry technician for Sevier County, estimated the fire covered more than 100 acres, up from the county's previous estimate of 60-80. The official measurement will be conducted Friday.

Firefighters from around 20 departments — including a Knoxville Fire Department crew — responded to the blaze.

"I’m not sure exactly how it started or how big it was initially," Pittman Center Fire Chief Rosemary Nichols said. "We just got crews up there as quickly as they could and then called for mutual aid."

The fire comes after a firestorm Nov. 28 swept from the Great Smoky Mountains into the surrounding Sevier County communities, killing 14 people, destroying more than 2,400 structures and incinerating thousands of acres.

"The plan is pretty much the same thing as six months ago," Nichols said. "You just get in there, you call forestry, you get help and do what you can to contain it. November was just abnormal. There was no predicting that; you just did the best you could."

Cobbly Nob

A ridge separated Thursday's fire from the Cobbly Nob community, which was the scene of a smaller, secondary fire during the Chimney Tops 2 wildfire that burned 17,000-plus acres in November.

The only structures near the flames were homes that had just started being built, "so there's nothing to really damage unless it got into a wood pile," Waters said. "If these houses had been built, it would have been awful."

Cobbly Nob was not evacuated Thursday, but Nichols urged residents to leave if they felt unsafe.

"Don’t just sit back and say, 'Oh, they’ll take care of me,' " she said. "We’ll do our best, but at the same time, there’s nothing that can take the place of taking care of yourself."

Winds near 100 mph

Winds with gusts as high as 98 mph were reported in the Great Smoky Mountains by the National Park Service. The winds were caused by a strong weather system that caused flooding in the Midwest, according to Glenn Carrin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown.

In the Gatlinburg area, those winds caused power outages, downed trees and some building damage.

At the peak of the outages, around 13,200 people were without power, according to Stanley Stiles of Sevier County Electric System. That number was down to 8,000 by 8:45 p.m., according to the company's outage map.

Residents working to rebuild homes in Chalet Village, which was devastated in November's wildfire, suffered another blow when high winds toppled house frames and otherwise damaged construction sites, according to resident Michael Luciano.

The gymnasium roof at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School was also substantially damaged, said Debra Cline, assistant superintendent of the Sevier County School District.

Dollywood, parks close

Dollywood closed at 2 p.m. and began evacuating the amusement park in Pigeon Forge, said Pete Owens, director of media/public relations.

"Due to the high winds and inclement weather, we thought it best for the safety of our customers," Owens said.

In a press release, the National Park Service said all park visitor centers were closed, as are 14 roads in the park including the Gatlinburg Bypass.

Schools were not closed Thursday but remained under weather alerts and dealt with power outages throughout the day. Gatlinburg-Pittman High, Pi Beta Phi Elementary and Pittman Center Elementary will be closed Friday, and Sevier County Schools will start one hour later.

"There were no injuries," Cline said. "We have told parents that they can come and pick their kids up from school if they want. We have the students in a safe place at the school."

Cline, in a news release Thursday afternoon, said when necessary, students were taken home by four-wheel drive vehicles owned by the county or in partnership with other government agencies.

"The safety of our students has remained the highest priority throughout the school day. The Sevier County School System is in the process of evaluating the situation at Gatlinburg-Pittman High and other information will be released as it is available," Cline said in the release.

'Pretty prepared this time'

The Wildland Task Force was activated to combat the fire, according to the Seymour Volunteer Fire Department.

Jacob Cave, facilities manager at the Pigeon Forge Community Center, said Thursday afternoon that the center had been set up as a shelter for those affected by the winds and fire with the help of the American Red Cross.

"We're taking anybody that needs assistance," Cave said. "We have food, water, showers."

Only six people were at the shelter about 3 p.m. Thursday. Cave said no one had come in because of fire damage but rather they were at the shelter because of power outages in the area.

The shelter closed around 7:30 p.m.

"We dealt with this about six months ago with the Gatlinburg fires, so we're pretty prepared this time," Cave said.