A wildfire near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee prompted school closures and evacuations Thursday.
Three people have been injured in the fire, including one construction worker who was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and two firefighters who suffered minor injuries and were treated on the scene. No information on the extent of the construction worker’s injuries has been disclosed.
The cities of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg were under a mandatory evacuation due to two separate fires Thursday morning, and the Sevier County School System said it was canceling classes “out of an abundance of caution for our students, parents, and staff members,” according to a message on its website.
However, Gatlinburg has since lifted its evacuation order.
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“The city is grateful for its first responders from the Gatlinburg Police Department, the Gatlinburg Fire Department, and other outside agencies which responded to the fire,” Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle said in a news release. “We are also thankful no structures were destroyed and no one was injured and that everyone heeded the evacuation orders.”
The Hatcher Mountain fire began Wednesday morning and had grown to 1,000 acres by Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, the fire had burned 3,700 acres, according to Weather.com. The evacuation order is still in effect and has included over 11,000 homes.
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Three shelters have been opened to accommodate those displaced by the fire, with the Red Cross urging those needing to evacuate to bring prescribed medication and bedding, according to CNN.
