Live updates: Fire mop up continues on Smokies fires in Wears Valley, Millstone Gap
Fueled by dangerous winds and dry leaves, the Sevier County fire that started Wednesday is being contained. As crews continue battling this fire, Knox News has reporters on the scene feeding updates to this live blog. Check back regularly for the latest news.
Hatcher Mountain Fire at 95% containment
At a 4:30 p.m. Saturday press conference, updated numbers were provided for the Hatcher Mountain and Cold Springs Hollow Road fires. The Hatcher Mountain fire is at 95% containment, with 2.675 acres burned.
"We're actively working to extinguish all remaining hot spots," said Bruce Miller, spokesperson for Tennessee Division of Forestry. "We're very confident we have the fire in good shape."
The Cold Springs Hollow Road fire is at 664 acres and 60% contained, Miller said. One structure has burned in Blount County and one in Sevier County. On that fire, crews have completed control lines, Miller said.
All evacuation orders have expired but some roads remain closed, said Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters. The Seymour Heights Christian Church shelter has closed, but Pigeon Force Community Center shelter will remain open until 2 p.m. Sunday, he said.
Mayor, fire officials tour areas devastated by blaze
On Saturday, the popular Shagbark Resort in Wears Valley was toured by Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters and Waldens Creek Volunteer Fire Department officials surveying the damage caused by the fires.
"It's a very, very sad thing to see, the homes destroyed," Waters said. "To see that devastation."
Still, Waters said, it could have been much worse.
"It helps us realize how important being prepared for these emergencies is," he said. "We take every one and we try to learn from it, to improve, because we're going to have emergencies, we're going to have disasters."
Waters gave credit to the mutual aid received from all across the state, adding he was in awe of the organization displayed.
"Because of that, we saved lives and property," he said.
Waldens Creek Volunteer Fire Chief Tim Baker also highlighted the support, both from other fire departments and community groups that provided food and other support for the firefighting efforts.
""The outpouring of support has been phenomenal," he said.
The damage assessment has been disheartening, said Fire Capt. Jon Lanier, especially losing homes of long-time elderly residents.
"This was a significant fire," he said, citing the 300 structures lost. "Our community is going to take a while to recover from this."
Lanier said he returned last night to the scene of the first house his department saved, only to find it had burned when the fire changed direction.
"We were so proud of ourselves, that we saved it, and it was gone," he said. "That hit me. We worked really hard to save those structures. It left me a little sad."
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Total number of structures burned increases to more than 300
Sevier County provided an update Saturday morning on both the Hatcher Mountain/Indigo Lane and Cold Springs Hollow Road fires.
Containment of the Hatcher Mountain fire remains at 85% and the current total is 2,675 burned acres. More than 300 structures are affected.
Wears Valley Road has reopened. Several other roads remained closed due to hot spots and for emergency personnel to continue their work. They will reopen when it is safe to do so.
The total acreage of the burned area on the Cold Springs Hollow Road fire has increased to approximately 643 acres, up from 575 acres Friday night.. It is 25% contained. At least one structure in Blount County has been affected.
Weather Service provides closer look at high wind event that sparked fire
The National Weather Service's Morristown office has put together a fascinating summary page of the recent high wind event that lead to the spread of the Sevier County fire. The page contains a meteorological analysis of the event, photos, reports, and other relevant information.
The Tennessee Valley and the Southern Appalachian region experienced high winds from the afternoon of Wednesday, March 30, through the afternoon of Thursday, March 31, the weather service summary explained. The combination of high winds, dry ground (fuels), and low relative humidity produced a dangerous fire weather situation. Numerous wildfires started and quickly spread throughout East Tennessee and southwest Virginia as a result of these conditions.
The most significant fire was at Hatcher Mountain near Wears Valley, which prompted evacuations, burned nearly 3,000 acres, and damaged over 100 homes.
A strong upper trough moved across the midsection of the nation into the Ohio and Tennessee valleys from Wednesday into Thursday morning, the weather service said. The strongest part of the upper jet was over the Mississippi Valley into the western sections of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
The air mass across much of the southern Appalachians, especially East Tennessee, was quite dry with dew points in the 30s and 40s which produced relative humidity values in the 20s to lower 30s, the weather service continued.
That caused a warm, dry downslope wind called a Foehn, the weather service said, which can be accompanied by a very rapid temperature increase at the surface. What happens is this: the strong southerly winds rise over the higher elevations of the southern Appalachians. As the air rises, the moisture is squeezed out of the parcel of air, which leaves it very dry as it descends into the foothills. This dry air increases wildfire risk, and the very high wind speeds spread flames quickly across the landscape.
New, updated sources of information available for evacuees
Sevier County has created an Emergency Response website, which has information about road closures, evacuation notices, shelters, donation sites and maps: With the dynamic map of the current fire evacuation area, users can type their address in the window to see if they are within the evacuation area.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has launched a Sevier County Wildfire recovery webpage to provide information on state and local resources available to help wildfire survivors.
Containment at 85 percent
At 5:45 p.m. Friday, Sevier County released an update on acreage burned and containment for both the Hatcher Mountain/Indigo Lane and Cold Springs Hollow Road fires.
The Hatcher Mountain fire containment is at 85%, and the estimated acreage was downgraded to 2,675 burned acres.
Several roads including Wears Valley Road from Waldens Creek Road to Valley View Road remain closed due to hotspots and for emergency personnel to continue their work. They will reopen when it is safe to do so. Please use Little Cove Road to access Wears Valley.
The total acreage of the Cold Springs Hollow Road fire is approximately 575 acres. It is 25% contained. At least one structure in Blount County has been affected.
Sevier County to start assessing damage on a house by house basis
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters was optimistic during an 11 a.m. press conference Friday, saying a great deal of progress has been made on the Hatcher Mountain/Indigo Lane fire.
Sevier County Emergency Agency Director Joe Ayers will be organizing teams to go house to house to assess damage, Waters said. That information will be mapped and will be made available online to the public later Friday afternoon, Waters said.
The teams will assess the safety of the area first and then will evaluate each house as to the level of damage, Ayers said, adding, "We're in the very beginning of the recovery process."
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Friday firefighting centered around active corner on northwest side of fire
Firefighters were patrolling the perimeter of the fire and protecting structures, said Brook Smith, spokesperson for the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
Crews continued to put in fire lines with bulldozers, Smith said.
Friday morning, crews were fighting one small active corner on the northwest side of the fire, working around structures and putting in fire breaks.
"It's minimal activity, just 1- to 2-foot flame lengths," Smith said. "Other than that, we're just mopping up hot spots to prevent any re-burns."
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Track Tennessee wildfires
In light of Smokies fire in Wears Valley, track wildfires in Tennessee with this map.
Mountain Tough nonprofit reactivated
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said Thursday morning a nonprofit founded to distribute aid to victims of the 2016 Sevier County wildfires has been reactivated. The Mountain Tough nonprofit was shut down in 2018.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: East Tennessee wildfires: Crews battle Smokies fires in Wears Valley
