Five months after wildfires ripped through Sevier County and damaged more than 2,400 buildings, most property owners in Chalet Village are still in the planning phases before beginning actual reconstruction.
Chalet Village North was one of the most devastated neighborhoods after the deadly fires. Of the 533 homes that burned in Chalet Village, leaders with the homeowner’s association estimated 35 to 40 property owners have actively begun rebuilding.
Ken Webster, president of the Chalet Village Owners Club, lost his own home to the fires. He pointed to a shortage of available architects in the area.
"I was in hopes that we would have been further along by now, but with the sheer number of homes that have to be rebuilt - we don't have the local contractors, or for that matter, architects to design the house plans," he said.
Andre Therrien and his wife own eight overnight cabin rentals in Gatlinburg, including six that burned in Chalet Village North and another that burned a short distance away.
On Friday, they were among the few property owners in Chalet Village North who had already begun construction on their street. As local homeowners who live only a short distance away in Wears Valley, Therrien acknowledged having an advantage many other cabin owners do not.
"It's a challenge for us, and we're here locally doing it fulltime. I can't imagine what the feeling is if you don't live near here, and a lot of these cabin owners don’t live anywhere near here," he said.
Therrien agreed with Webster on the difficulty of finding available contractors and engineers.
"Unfortunately, there is a shortage of engineers, so a plan might take you 6-7 weeks just to get the foundation plan under way," he said.
Since the wildfires, the Gatlinburg Building and Planning Department has issued 84 building permits throughout the city, including 56 residential and 16 commercial permits.
In Chalet Village, the loss of properties has also meant losing out on certain assessment fees, dealing a large financial blow to the homeowner's association’s projected income. The Chalet Village Owners Club estimates they've lost out on $80,000 to property fee losses.
It comes at a time when the organization needs it for its own rebuilding costs, after the north club sustained damage to its roof, pool and outside landscaping.
The association says insurance will cover most of those damages. In addition, some HOA members have volunteered to pay extra money to help offset the costs.
“People are stepping up to bridge the gap, and that’s what Chalet Village is all about – it’s the people that are here,” said HOA Manager Tamie Sentz.
The homeowner's association will hold its annual business meeting Saturday morning to discuss how to move forward after the fires.