I was in downtown Gatlinburg today to assess damages to some businesses that I own there, and I thought that people might be interested in a first hand account. There is a lot of confusing and incorrect information out there.
The fire departments who responded to the fire were able to prevent the fire from jumping the river and River Road, so the downtown strip was largely spared. There is a lot of wind damage downtown (shingles, signs down, etc) but the only Parkway business that I saw with major fire damage was the putt-putt course in Reagan Terrace Mall. I think that the downtown area should be able to re-open for business as early as this weekend.
The hillsides are a different story. Many, if not most, of the cabins and houses that you can see in Greystone Heights, Campbell Lead Road, and Roaring Fork areas were destroyed. I'm sure that there are many more areas where homes and cabins were destroyed, but I stuck to the Parkway and East Parkway. There were several businesses on East Parkway, including Alamo Steakhouse that were destroyed.
In my opinion, the area of greatest need is help for people who lost their homes. Many of the residents up there are hourly employees who rent, so they don't have resources to restart their lives. So far, we have identified four employees at my companies who lost their homes. We are taking steps to help them, but there will be many, many more people who will need help.
It's always amazing to see the outpouring of support when a tragedy strikes. During the hour or so that I was in Gatlinburg today, I saw fire trucks from probably 25 different municipalities. Some of them were from as far away as West Tennessee. I've had vendors, distributors, competitors and neighbors offer assistance to help my employees get back on their feet. It really restores your faith in people.
The fire departments who responded to the fire were able to prevent the fire from jumping the river and River Road, so the downtown strip was largely spared. There is a lot of wind damage downtown (shingles, signs down, etc) but the only Parkway business that I saw with major fire damage was the putt-putt course in Reagan Terrace Mall. I think that the downtown area should be able to re-open for business as early as this weekend.
The hillsides are a different story. Many, if not most, of the cabins and houses that you can see in Greystone Heights, Campbell Lead Road, and Roaring Fork areas were destroyed. I'm sure that there are many more areas where homes and cabins were destroyed, but I stuck to the Parkway and East Parkway. There were several businesses on East Parkway, including Alamo Steakhouse that were destroyed.
In my opinion, the area of greatest need is help for people who lost their homes. Many of the residents up there are hourly employees who rent, so they don't have resources to restart their lives. So far, we have identified four employees at my companies who lost their homes. We are taking steps to help them, but there will be many, many more people who will need help.
It's always amazing to see the outpouring of support when a tragedy strikes. During the hour or so that I was in Gatlinburg today, I saw fire trucks from probably 25 different municipalities. Some of them were from as far away as West Tennessee. I've had vendors, distributors, competitors and neighbors offer assistance to help my employees get back on their feet. It really restores your faith in people.
