11 dead, 80 injured in 'human-caused' wildfires in Tennessee
At least 11 people have lost their lives in the US state of Tennessee’s raging wildfires, which some officials say were likely "human-caused."
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam on Thursday called the wildfires the state's largest in about 100 years.
As of Thursday, at least 80 people had sustained severe burns and many more were still missing in fire-torn areas of Gatlinburg, a small city that serves as a gateway to the Smoky Mountain National Park.
Efforts to contain the blaze over the past few days have led to nowhere and more than 700 homes and businesses have been destroyed, according to Sevier Count officials. Moreover, at least 14,000 people have been displaced.
The fire has ravaged more than 17,100 acres of wooded areas and agricultural land in and around America’s most-visited national park.
Park Superintendent Cassius Cash said that the first fires, which were spotted last week, were “likely to be human-caused.”
Those sporadic fires were spread around the region between Sunday and Tuesday, due to high winds and thunderstorms.
Although people at some areas returned to their businesses on Thursday, Gatlinburg was still mostly a ghost town due bad weather and blocked roads.
"It is certainly a distressing time for all of us," Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
Waters added that he and other city officials are extending their thoughts and prayers to the families of victims.
The Red Cross has also put together a service to reunite those who were separated with their relatives.
Gatlinburg has a population of 4,000 people and is a very popular tourist destination, drawing more than 11 million visitors a year.
Mike Werner, the city's mayor who lost his home in the fire, has described the situation as “a devastating time for us and for Gatlinburg.”
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