As the day began Tuesday November 29, 2016 the extent of the damage from the wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee came into focus. Buildings were reduced to charred ruins and some tourist destinations reported heavy damaged or complete destruction. Gatlinburg is on the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park; the most visited national park in the United States. Millions from around the world, many of whom spent time in the park and in Gatlinburg over the years, watched as the drama unfolded. Approximately 14,000 people were evacuated from the area with only the clothes on their backs as homes and businesses burned to the ground.
The unprecedented firestorm began Sunday evening on nearby Chimney Tops Trail in the national park. It burned about 50 acres. But the fire quickly gained strength and momentum in the very dry conditions when heavy winds doubled in speed in the mountainous terrain. When embers blew into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge around 6pm on Monday the 28th of November the fire had already burned 15,000 acres, and then attacked businesses and homes in and around the town with little warning.
Tim and Shirley Morrison saw a picture of their house on the news. They’d been in their home, on a hillside in Gatlinburg, when they saw the fire approach alarmingly fast. “I was looking out our big windows and turned to my wife, and then turned back. It couldn’t have been more than 30 seconds, and there was a solid wall of fire,” Tim said. They grabbed as many of their pets as they could, got in their cars and drove to safety.
Cassius Cash the park manager said, “In my 25 years of federal (park) service, I’ve participated in many fires, but none of that could have prepared me for this.”
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency activated emergency workers from across the state with more that 200 firefighters fighting the blazes. Four people were killed and as many as 45 injured, some severely as the fires destroyed more than 250 homes and businesses. Rain eventually brought relief.
“This is a fire for the history books,” said Fire Chief Greg Miller. “The likes of this has never been seen here.”
Gatlinburg is a resort-heavy town where people go to play and forget God. He has his witnesses there, of course, but the primary aim of amusement resorts is to distract men’s attention from heavenly realities. Perhaps the fires in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge will be a reminder that there are other things to think about. Many will cancel their plans to visit Gatlinburg. Hopefully, some of them will also reform their lives.
“If Christ shines in us, he will shine out of us to those who need the light. We have no time to lose. We can read the signs of the times in casualties, in disasters, by sea and by land. The floods, the storms, the fires, the unsettled condition of affairs throughout our world,—all testify that the day of God is at hand.” Review and Herald February 27, 1894.