"Great Smoky Mountains Fires Leave Three Dead, 'Scene Of Destruction'"

"Local officials said on Tuesday that 'the worst is over' for two small Tennessee resort towns in the Great Smoky Mountains where wildfires killed three people, destroyed or damaged more than 100 homes, forced thousands to flee and threatened country music star Dolly Parton's theme park, Dollywood.

The flames, driven to the outskirts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge overnight by hurricane-force winds and fed by drought-parched brush, forced 14,000 people to flee and sent three to hospitals with severe burns, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said.

Three people were killed in the wildfires, the agency said, and a total of 14 people injured. No further details were immediately available on the fatalities."

Laila Kearney and Dan Whitcomb report for Reuters November 29, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Historic Droughts And Warmer Fall Are Driving Unusual Southeast Wildfires" (Christian Science Monitor)