The fire was 30% contained Thursday evening.
More than 100 structures have been burned.
Three people, including two firefighters, were injured.
Some 11,000 homes were affected by evacuations.
Amid less hazardous weather, firefighters gained ground against a destructive wildfire in the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, area Thursday.
The fire was 30% contained, according to an early evening update from the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency. That was up from 5% in the morning.
The flames had scorched nearly 6 square miles of land and burned more than 100 structures and five firefighting vehicles. Some 11,000 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders after the fire started Wednesday and quickly grew in size.
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said in a Thursday morning press conference that it was unclear how many of the damaged structures were homes.
One construction worker on a bulldozer was injured when the fire overran his vehicle. He was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, but there were no updates on his condition. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, which were treated on the scene.
Waters said that there were no deaths and no reports of missing persons at this time, but the evacuations would remain in place until firefighters got the upper hand on the blaze.
The Hatcher Mountain Fire was one of several fires that broke out in the area Wednesday, including one closer to Gatlinburg proper overnight that happened after wind knocked down a power line that sparked the blaze. That fire forced evacuations early Thursday morning, but those orders have since been rescinded after the fire was contained.
Fire officials said that all other fires were contained and that their main focus was the Hatcher Mountain fire, which more than tripled in size overnight and forced expanded evacuations multiple times. Some 11,000 homes were involved in all of the evacuations, Waters said.
The Sevier County Emergency Management Agency announced late Thursday afternoon that the size of the main evacuation area was being reduced. Minutes later, the agency announced a new mandatory evacuation order.
Pigeon Forge Fire Chief Tony Watson described a terrifying scene as firefighters tried to protect a local inn on Hatcher Mountain.
"They were making one heck of a stand," Watson said. "The road got blocked and they had to abandon their vehicles and go back into the black (the area that had already been burned) as the fire blew over them."
"We always say in the fire service that we'll risk a lot to save a lot. You worry about having to face their family if they don't get to go home, and that's what went through our heads as that fire went past them," Watson said.
The flames were fueled by high winds ahead of a low-pressure system responsible for an outbreak of damaging severe thunderstorms across the South.
That same storm system finally reached the area early Thursday morning and brought a brief, but much-needed rain. Rain totals were only a tenth of an inch and the rain had ended by 7 am local time.
"It (the rain) helped us, but it didn't put out the fire," Waters said.
Those firefighters will continue to face gusty winds over the next couple of days, including gusts up to 35 mph today, but said that the risk was "a lot lower today."
No comments:
Post a Comment