at 12:12 PM by Pierce Larkin

Massive Wildfire Impacts Gatlinburg, TN

Gatlinburg is usually a beautiful tourist city, but last night was turned into a wildfire ravaged city. h/t Pinterest
Gatlinburg is usually a beautiful tourist city, but last night was turned into a wildfire ravaged city. h/t Pinterest

Yesterday afternoon, reports began to surface of Gatlinburg, TN being immanently threatened by a wildfire that had started in the Smokies just to its south. The origin of the blaze is unknown, but it was suspected that arson may be to blame for the fire. The fire started on the outskirts of town on Sunday, and began spreading near and into the city on Monday.

Meteorology played a critical role in the spread of this fire. The region had seen very little rainfall in the previous couple of months, with nearby Knoxville seeing less than 0.5″ of rain in that entire timespan. This led to incredibly dry conditions across the region, and allowed for wildfires to easily develop and spread across the region. Many wildfires had been ongoing for a while, and this has been an issue for over a month.

Yesterday, a strong low pressure system moving northeastward met up with a high pressure system across the eastern seaboard. This created a very intense pressure gradient, and led to high winds across much of the eastern US. Because Gatlinburg is up in the mountains, winds are fairly enhanced.

The surface analysis from last night. h/t WPC
The surface analysis from last night. h/t WPC

Gusts upwards of 80 mph were recorded in the region of the wildfire. This, in conjunction with the dry conditions, allowed for the wildfire to grow very quickly. This created dangerous conditions for the city, and forced evacuations to take place. Some of the images are incredible.

Luckily, the spreading of the fire was hindered by a couple of hours of rainfall last night. That subdued the spreading, and allowed firefighters to get better control of it. Still, the fire left 150 homes destroyed, with 14,000 people displaced. Keep the folks in eastern TN in your thoughts and prayers as they are dealing with this situation.