A wildfire burning near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevier County, Tennessee, has grown to more than 3,700 acres and impacted more than 100 structures, County Mayor Larry Waters said in a news conference Thursday.
About 11,000 homes have been evacuated since the Hatcher Mountain Road/Indigo Lane Fire began Wednesday, the mayor said. It was 5% contained as of Thursday morning.
Two firefighters suffered “minor injuries,” Waters said, in addition to a civilian who was injured when the fire overcame him while he was working on a bulldozer. Waters did not have an update on the civilian’s condition.
The fire destroyed five fire rescue vehicles, including four county cars and one state vehicle, according to Waters.
There have been no reports of deaths or missing people as a result of the fire, according to Waters, who described the news as “answered prayers.”
Mandatory evacuation orders will remain in effect in the county, which includes Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, according to Waters. Officials would work “as quickly as possible so that our people can return home,” he said.