GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Around seven years ago, wildfires were ignited in East Tennessee that would spread to the Gatlinburg area. They killed 14 people and destroyed thousands of structures. Swaths of land caught on fire while embers crawled onto the road, all while images and videos were shared across social media in 2016 — capturing one of the deadliest wildfires in state history.
Tuesday will mark seven years since those wildfires spread to Gatlinburg and people evacuated the area. According to court documents, they caused more than $1 billion in damages. More than 300 agencies from across the state pitched in to help Gatlinburg first responders.
Years later, in July 2023, city and county leaders unveiled a memorial dedicated to the lives lost and the first responders who faced the flames, named the "2016 Wildfires Memorial and Tribute Plaza." In Aug. 2019, the site where the city originally planned to build it was damaged by heavy rains, so the city moved the memorial to Mynatt Park causing delays in its construction.
As leaders worked to facilitate the plaza's construction, lawsuits filed by victims of the wildfires passed through the courts. In August 2023, a federal judge in Cincinnati ruled the lawsuits could continue after a previous judge residing in Greeneville tossed them because of what amounted to a procedural flaw.
In those lawsuits, victims alleged that the National Park Service failed to warn the public about the fire's threat. The lawsuits effectively said that because victims lacked adequate warning about the wildfires, they had to act quickly and leave as the wildfires crept closer to their residences.
People were allowed back to their homes days later in 2016, on Dec. 2. Many returned just to see the devastation firsthand. The flames were contained weeks after wildfires swept through Gatlinburg, on Dec. 13, 2016.
Seven years after the wildfires, tourism in the area has also reached new heights. City officials said millions of people have visited Gatlinburg since the 2016 wildfires, and several attractions in the area recorded record numbers of tourists. Crews also improved communication infrastructure, to better ensure the community is notified of danger in the future.
New growth and rebuilt structures have filled many of the areas that were scarred by the wildfires.