Sevier County, City of Gatlinburg, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and Great Smoky Mountain National Park Joint News Release

Sevier County Fires Update, 12/8/16
 
On Friday, December 9, the city of Gatlinburg will be reopened for business and to the general public at 7:00 a.m. Motorists may enter the city through the all major roadways including the Spur, East Parkway (Hwy. 321), and Newfound Gap Road.  Major roadways are expected to be open throughout the city, but some side roads may remain closed to accommodate utility work.
 
"I am proud of how hard our community has worked to provide assistance to those devastated by the fires," said Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle. "We focused this week on allowing our residents and business owners the opportunity to return to their properties in privacy as we started the cleanup and healing process together as a community. We have much more work ahead of us, but for now, I look forward to standing behind our business community as we reopen tomorrow to the public and get people back to work."
 
In coordination with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDEC), Sevier Solid Waste, Inc. has established a temporary landfill site that will accommodate all debris associated with the recent disaster. The debris landfill will be open, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. and on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. through 11:30 a.m. via the current landfill entrance on Ridge Road. 
 
Local officials have provided the following update:

• There are 14 confirmed fatalities.
• To date, there have been 191 injuries/illnesses.
• 2,460 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the fire. All of the damage assessments have now been completed. See attached chart. The following summary details the damage assessment:
  • o   Residential Structures destroyed: 1,123 in the county, 981 in Gatlinburg, 17 in Pigeon Forge.
  • o   Commercial Structures destroyed: 5 in the county, 53 in Gatlinburg, none in Pigeon Forge.
  • o   Residential Structures with major damage: 7 in the county, 7 in Gatlinburg, none in Pigeon Forge.
  • o   Commercial Structures with major damage: none in the county, 3 in Gatlinburg, none in Pigeon Forge.
  • o    Residential Structures with minor damage: 42 in the county, 29 in Gatlinburg, none in Pigeon Forge.
  • o   Commercial Structures with minor damage: 1 in the county, 1 in Gatlinburg, none in Pigeon Forge.
  • o   Residential Structures affected: 126 in the county, 54 in Gatlinburg, 1 in Pigeon Forge
  • o   Commercial Structures affected: 1 in the county, 9 in Gatlinburg, 0 in Pigeon Forge.
  • There are currently 8 crews, 34 engines, 3 helicopters, 1 dozer, 406 total personnel fighting the Chimney Top 2 Fire as a part of the Type 1 Federal Incident Management Team.
  • The Chimney Top 2 Fire is estimated to be 82% contained. The Cobbly Nob Fire is estimated to be 89% contained.
  • The water boil advisory remains in effect for Greystone Heights, Smoky View Drive and Court, Campbell Lead, Cliff Branch Road (inside city limits) and the portion of Wiley Oakley Drive between Ski View Drive and Campbell Lead Road.
  • The water boil advisory has been lifted for the Ski Mountain area including Ober Gatlinburg.
  • Water usage from the firefighting activities and loss from fire-damaged structures has greatly affected the water supply. Due to the substantial loss of water in certain storage tanks and water lines it may appear cloudy or discolored for a period of time. Running a substantial amount of water through all outlets in the plumbing system should expel the discoloration within a period of time. The water supply for the downtown area has stabilized and is at full capacity. Water service in the east Gatlinburg area was not affected by this event.
  • Due to severe fire damage to certain water system pumping stations, the following residential areas are temporarily still out of water service:
    • o   Loop Road
    • o   Topside Drive and Topside Road
    • o   Little Fox Road
    • o   Forest Springs Drive and Forest Springs Lane
    • o   Spring Drive
    • o   Silverbell Heights
    • o   Silverbell Lane (above intersection with Loop Road)
    • o   Foothills Drive
    • o   Kings Way, both sides and outside city limits
    • o   Colt Lane
    • o   Mountain Stream Way (Gatlinburg Falls PUD)
    • o   Gatlinburg Falls Way  (Gatlinburg Falls PUD)
    • o   Great Smoky Way  (Gatlinburg Falls PUD)