PLEASE HELP GATLINBURG, TENNESSEE
I live close to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. For those of you who don’t know, much of Tennessee has been engulfed in forest fires. We are in a period of extended drought and we have had, not only, general electrical fires we have also had people intentionally light forest fires for attention. These fires have consumed acres and acres of land. Last night in Gatlinburg, Tennessee a massive fire quickly consumed a large majority of the county. We had our first rain last night, but with the short burst of rain came very strong winds which helped spread the fire quickly. It also knocked down trees which inadvertently knocked down electric poles which started even more fires.
As of right now there has been three confirmed casualties, but the number is expected to rise as the fire department has just now been able to start going house to house to check. Over 15,000 acres have burned and hundreds of structures have been destroyed (a majority of which are people’s homes). Over 14,000 residents and visitors have been evacuated. They are still not allowing people to come back as it is still too dangerous.
HOW TO HELP
Please donate to East Tennessee Red Cross. This can be done by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999 - This donates $10 to Red Cross.
To help assist displaced families please donate to a Citizens National Bank Branch for the "City of Pigeon Forge Fire Relief Fund". All the money that is collected via this fund is donated to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and other families within the surrounding counties effected by the fire.
If you live in Knoxville, Tennessee please take donations to the Knoxville Expo Center. They are requesting tooth brushes, tooth paste, water, baby wipes, dog food, kennels and more all of which will be taken to Gatlinburg to help assist displaced families.
Toys for Tots is also taking donations for displaced families. The local phone number is (865)254-3911.
Kroger is also partnering with Red Cross to receive donations. Kroger will receive donations at its Middle and East Tennessee Kroger stores, Northern Alabama stores, and Southern Kentucky Kroger locations.
I can not beg you all enough to help. So many families are displaced right now. One man is desperately looking for his wife and two daughters |X|. Overnight Ripley’s Aquarium had to abandon over 10,000 animals as flames surrounded the building. As of right now they are only allowing select biologists and personal to enter the building with the assistance of the fire department |X|. One mother was so terrified that her and her two children were going to die when the hotel they were staying in caught fire that she wrote down her and her children’s names in hopes that their bodies would be identified |X|. Many small business have been impacted. A local golf course, Hillbilly Golf Course, is extremely damaged. Mysterious Mansion, a haunted house attraction, has been destroyed. Many Mom & Pop restaurants are completely gone and I cannot emphasize how many homes are completely destroyed.
PLEASE HELP IN ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN!
