its weird - I haven't posted on this but it seems they are doing to the east what they did to the west ( nothing left to burn there now ! )
This is not the first east coast wildfire .... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3980932/Gaitlinburg-burns-Wildfire-sweeps-Tennessee-resort-town-population-4-000-s-Dollywood-residents-evacuate.html'It's the apocalypse': Thousands forced to flee resort Tennessee towns as massive wildfire destroys homes and hotels and threatens DollywoodMore than 14,000 people have been forced to evacuate from resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
Officials say 100 homes have been destroyed or damaged, as there's 'little hope' for relief anytime soon
Four people suffered severe burns trying to evacuate and are hospitalized as no deaths have been reported
Westgate Resorts, a 16-story hotel and every cabin at Black Bear Falls is believed to have been destroyed
Schools in Green, McMinn and Sevier counties will are closed, and more than 12,000 people in Sevier County were without power as of early Tuesday morning
Dollywood was evacuated and tourists fled the area as wildfires ripped through Eastern Tennessee Monday
In a statement, Dolly Parton said: 'I am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe'
Terrifying video shot from the Gatlinburg Park Vista Hilton Hotel shows flames just outside the windows
By Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com and Regina F. Graham For Dailymail.com
Published: 00:00 EST, 29 November 2016 | Updated: 14:26 EST, 29 November 2016
Spreading Tennessee wildfires in the resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have forced more than 14,000 people to evacuate as officials say the blaze has caused the area to resemble the 'apocalypse.'
Thousands of residents and visitors in the Gatlinburg area were evacuated from the Great Smoky Mountains, and hundreds of structures have been damaged and destroyed by the fire which is the worse to hit the area in decades as of Tuesday morning.
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http://www.wbir.com/news/local/gatlinburg-neighborhood-voluntarily-evacuating-due-to-fire/357115866TEMA: Hundreds of structures destroyed by Sevier County infernoGATLINBURG - 9:30 a.m. Tuesday UPDATE: Officials estimate more than 14,000 residents and visitors had to evacuate Gatlinburg due to an inferno in Sevier County.
Crews are also getting their first look at damage estimates.
As of 9:30 a.m., here was the latest update from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency:
• Hundreds of structures lost due to Sevier county wildfire• Westgate Resorts, Black Bear Falls completely destroyed
• 14,000 residents and visitors evacuated from Gatlinburg• Ober Gatlinburg says its property has NOT been destroyed, contrary to TEMA report.
The Red Cross is accepting monetary donations. People can make a $10 donation by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999.
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/11/20/forest-fires-burn-119000-acres-8-southeastern-states/94169774/Forest fires burn 119,000 acres in 8 Southeastern statesUSA Today NetworkSteve Ahillen, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel 4:17 p.m. EST
November 20, 2016KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —
Forest fires that have burned more than 119,000 acres in eight states and have people from Asheville to Atlanta smelling smoke continue to rage through most of the Southeast.
More than 6,300 firefighters, some from as far as Alaska, are fighting fires that range from just a few acres to one in the Cohutta Wilderness in northern Georgia that has burned 27,000. That fire has burned more than a month and is just 20 percent contained.
A total of 74 aircraft, including Black Hawk helicopters and BAE tanker jets, have been used.
...
The center’s Dave Martin said he
can’t be sure if the extent of the fires is unprecedented, but it is the biggest he can remember.
“It has been
quite a while since we had had this number of large fires at this many locations,” he said. “The last time it was comparable was in 2001 and even then it wasn’t this busy.”
States that have been dealing with fires are Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The fires taken together are
even starting to rival the mammoth blazes of the west. The Big Sur fire in late July burned around 132,000 acres.
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Again ARSON has occurred: https://weather.com/news/news/southeast-wildfiresSoutheast Wildfires:
Aspiring Weatherman Arrested on Arson Charges After Admitting to Starting Fire to Gain Facebook ViewsBy Pam Wright
Published Nov 14 2016
With little to no rain in recent weeks and prolonged drought conditions affecting much of the Southeast,
hundreds of wildfires have broken out across the region, prompting evacuations and sending up a blanket of smoke that covers several states.
Many of the fires are the result of arson, officials say, and three people have been arrested thus far, according to the Associated Press.
Police in eastern Kentucky say they have arrested a man described as a "wannabe meteorologist" who deliberately set a wildfire in an attempt to garner a larger Facebook following. Johnny Mullins, 21 of Jenkins, Kentucky, faces a charge of second-degree arson for a blaze in Letcher County, Jenkins Police Chief James Stephens told the AP.
"(Mullins) likes to do Facebook videos and have people follow him on his 'weather forecast,'" Jenkins Police Chief James Stephens told the AP. "So that's pretty much why he did what he did. He enjoyed the attention he got from the Facebook stuff."
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Another unidentified teen was also arrested on suspicion of arson in Harlan, Kentucky, and
a man was charged in Tennessee with setting fires and vandalism that caused more than $250,000 in damage outside Chattanooga.
According to the Courier-Journal, at least 150 of 210 wildfires — or 76 percent — that have broken out since October in Kentucky are arson-related, the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet reported.
The blazes have prompted officials in Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky to declare states of emergency.
More than 5,000 firefighters and support staff from around the nation have poured into the Southeast to help fight the fires, according to Shardul Raval, U.S. Forest Service Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the Southern Region. About 40 aircraft, including three large air tankers flying out of Chattanooga, have been brought in.