Well, this is the toughest blog I've ever had to write, but I must report that our Smoky Pointe has burned to the ground, along with all the other homes on our street.
As you may have read in my previous blog, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. The kids left on Sunday and we stayed until Monday (as usual) to button up the house. There was food to be disposed of, clothes to wash....the usual. When we got up, there was a very strong smell of smoke IN the house and a strong wind blowing outside. We've had smoke off and on for over a month due to a wild fire in the park, but Monday was the worst yet. I got on social media to get a fire/smoke update and learned that the fire on Chimney Tops had crossed the river and the road. The park officials closed the road between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, NC. (Escape Route 1 closed). We were concerned, but not terribly alarmed because Chimney Tops is miles away from us. Outside the smoke got thicker and our view was disappearing.
I continued with my chores and kept checking my digital sources. The next thing I read was that the fire crews had been dispatched to the Twin Creeks Natural Resource Center to put out a spot fire. This facility is located close to Gatlinburg. If you turn left at traffic light 8, you will pass Mynatt Park and just a few miles beyond that is GSMNP property and the research facility. Now we were somewhat alarmed.
This was close but sitting on level ground so we had confidence that the fire fighters would be able to handle it. I looked outside and our view was completely obscured and white ash flurries were falling. The wind was picking up. I couldn't stay outside without coughing. I went back inside and started throwing away food that I had intended to freeze. I gathered all of my scrapbooks, journals, photos, and other sentimental items and put them in the truck. I hurried along with the laundry and we finally left the mountain at 2:30, oblivious to what was about to happen.
We went home and relaxed for a while and then went out for dinner, glad to be home after a nice long mountain visit. Shortly a good friend in Gatlinburg who has done a lot of work for us called and asked, "Are you home? Did you get off the mountain? I was worried about you!" (Bless his heart!) He told us that the Chalet Village area was on fire and he couldn't get back on the mountain to check the status of our house. We were stunned. I immediately got back on social media and started following live stream newscasts. The "Spur" was on fire! (The Spur is the double Road that connects Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg). That fire spread so fast that the news crew had to drop their equipment and run for their lives.
I could not fathom how this had happened in such a short period of time? But, I knew that when the wind is blowing hard enough to blow ash for miles, it was also blowing embers. The fire department closed the Spur into Gatlinburg but left the "tunnel side" open so people could evacuate. As you can see, they had to drive through fire. (Escape Route 2 in jeopardy)
I heard that Cobbly Knobb Resort was burning. Cobbly Knobb is located on Highway 321. It's way out of town, but 321 is the highway that leads to I-40. (Escape Route 3 in jeopardy and we're running out of possible escape routes!)
I continued watching social media and news outlets all night. I was too stunned to sleep. I discovered that the huge Westgate Resort Complex had burned. Westgate is located up on the hill on the Spur opposite where you would turn to go to the Welcome Center.
I continued to watch in horror as Gatlinburg burned. This is the view behind the aquarium.
They had to evacuate, leaving behind thousands of aquatic animals. Fortunately, they had generators to supply power to the systems that sustain those creatures and I am happy to say that the aquarium is still there and the animals are okay.
There were rumors that Ober Gatlinburg was destroyed but that turned out not to be true. There was damage at the chairlift center in Gatlinburg.
Most of downtown Gatlinburg, as you know it, is intact, but many homes and businesses at either end of town and immediately behind the "main drag" were damaged or destroyed. I've heard that Hillbilly Golf is gone.
I haven't heard for sure about The Peddler. I heard that my favorite shop Old Dad's is still there and was feverishly making sandwiches for firefighters. If that's true, then they were well-fed! Love that place!
I watched footage all night and posted comments to worried Facebook friends in Gatlinburg who couldn't sleep either. I remember commenting: "I feel so overwhelmed that I really need to cry, but the tears won't come!" I finally turned it all off and went to bed for a couple of hours.
I got back up early on Tuesday and watched more live streaming news footage. I was particularly interested in the press conferences. I must say that the mayor, the fire chief, and the GSMNP superintendent did a wonderful job of patiently and calmly answering questions. Tuesday was a very, very, very tough day. Gatlinburg was closed, our road was impassable and we had no way of knowing if our house was still standing. You want to hope, but you're afraid to hope. I had two mental images running through my head. One dream image of our home standing tall and safe and another nightmare image of a pile of rubble. I was heartsick either way. I already knew about so much devastation that if the dream image had come true I know I would have felt terribly guilty. Uncertainty is a horrible predicament. The "not knowing" one way or another was excruciating! When you add lack of sleep - I was barely functioning on Tuesday. I went to bed early and slept quite well.
On Wednesday, I got up well-rested and ready to face whatever the day would bring. For my peace of mind, I chose to accept the worst (with a slight hope of perhaps a good outcome). I got to work doing my usual "catch-up" work that has to be done after being out of town for two weeks. There were errands to run, bills to pay.... I got a text from my housekeeper that one of my neighbors (whose house she also maintains) was getting calls from ADT security that his smoke alarms were still going off which wouldn't be possible if his house was gone. (Guess they were wrong.) Shortly after that my housekeeper sent me video confirmation that all of our houses were gone. Those first photos are frames from that video. If you are interested in seeing the entire video, go to YouTube and search for "Aftermath of Gatlinburg Fire from the Air" filmed by Knoxville News, but I'll warn you that it's difficult to watch.
Okay, now we know. A lot of people have asked how we're doing and how we are feeling. We're feeling a lot of things.
1- I'm relieved that we finally have an answer. Uncertainty leaves you with a paralyzing inability to plan and/or act.
2- I'm feeling extremely grateful. Grateful to be alive. Grateful that we already had plans to leave that day as usual and got out ahead of the danger. Grateful that this horrible thing happened on Monday after most of the "Thanksgiving vacation renters" had already left and gone back home to work. Grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love, support, compassion and prayers from family, friends, and complete strangers from all over the country that are my "digital friends" on the Hike The Smokies Facebook page we follow. Grateful for fire fighters, national guard, road workers, utility workers, and elected officials who have been working tirelessly to save our town, even while they are suffering from their own personal disasters. Grateful that I was able to save a few personal items that have sentimental value to us. Grateful that I documented (through this blog) so many of our precious mountain memories.
3-I'm feeling heart sick. We've lost a home that we have thoroughly enjoyed and shared with family and friends. I'm sure I will shed some tears when I actually set foot on the property. (I dread that.) But mostly I'm more heart sick for my neighborhood that is gone. I have friends there who have personal stories. People who just bought their retirement home. People who have spent years refurbishing their home with their own hands. People who have been displaced for the third time. People who just rebuilt from a previous fire. People who lost, not just their home, but their family business as well. People who rely on those homes for their income. (housekeepers, private trash collectors, maintenance people, rental companies...). It's heart-breaking. I'm devastated to learn about the fatalities. I fear there will be more. I worry about the people unaccounted for. I pray for their families. We're okay, but I hurt terribly for all of these people. We fully intend to get involved on a personal level with helping those who lost so much more than we did!
People have asked me: "Arent you angry?" We've all certainly got reason to be angry, bitter, resentful. After all, there is strong evidence to support the theory that the original fire at Chimney Tops was intentionally set. ARSON
Also, I've read some nasty comments on social media about this fire:
-"It was Isis!"
-"I'm laughing my a--off. That's what you folks get for voting for Trump!"
- "It's God's wrath on Gatlinburg because of all your moonshine stills and whiskey stores!"
-"I guess somebody's meth lab blew up!"
That's just a small sampling of how some people feel/think/talk.
Then there's the pain of knowing your neighborhood is burning and nobody came to fight the fire. They let it go up in smoke.
Am I angry? Am I resentful? Am I bitter? NO!!! Absolutely not! There is only room in my heart for gratitude, love, and grief. Anger, resentment, and bitterness delay healing. (That's my new philosophical motto! Feel free to use it. ) It's the truth.
I feel pity and sadness for people who set fires and make hateful comments. People who have no capacity for compassion, sympathy, empathy. They must lead miserable lives.
As for the firefighters who didn't come to our rescue. I understand and I think it's important for all homeowners to try to accept and understand. It's pretty simple. What's more important - rescuing people from a burning hotel or saving empty non-primary residence vacation homes? What's more important - securing evacuation routes or saving rental houses? What's more important - saving the businesses that provide livelihood or saving homes? What's more important - saving our houses or putting firefighters at risk of being trapped on a mountain, exposed to falling trees, electrical lines, and exploding propane tanks? The answer is obvious to me.
I've been asked what we will miss. We will miss family dinners on the deck, entertaining family and friends, watching the bears, enjoying the view from the hammock, reading in the swing, scotch in the hot tub, S'mores at the fire pit..... so many memories! But the mountain is still there. The view is charred, but still there. We will rebuild and make more memories. We are fine. Don't worry about us. Pray for Gatlinburg.
I'm sorry this is so long, but writing is my therapy and now I feel better. So farewell for now, but the blog is not over. I will continue to update our mountain activity. Till next time good night and good-bye Smoky Pointe!
