At a Glance
- Evacuations were issued for an area 7 miles from the site of the 2016 Gatlinburg wildfire disaster.
- At least one injury has been reported.
- Flames were being fueled by wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph.
A fast-moving wildfire near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, continued to grow - and prompt more evacuation orders - Wednesday night.
It's burning near the same area where catastrophic fires raged in 2016, and is being fueled by high winds ahead of a low-pressure system responsible for an outbreak of damaging severe thunderstorms across the South.
The fire had scorched about 1.5 square miles, burned several structures and injured at least one person, according to WVLT-TV.
Evacuation orders, first issued after the fire broke out Wednesday morning, were extended further throughout the day.
The evacuations are focused around Wears Valley, Tennessee, a community of some 6,000 people just 7 miles to the west of Gatlinburg and 5 miles west of Pigeon Forge.
Local media reported several homes were on fire.
The fire was spreading rapidly due to 30- to 40-mph wind gusts in the area. Earlier, the Waldens Creek Volunteer Fire Department said the blaze had destroyed at least two structures and a vehicle.
A shelter for evacuees opened at the Pigeon Forge Community Center.
A red flag warning was in place for the area, calling for 20- to 30-mph sustained winds with gusts up to 90 mph in the mountains and foothills.
Several roads in and around the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park were shut down due to the threat of high winds, including U.S. Hwy 441 between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, North Carolina.
The fire is just a few miles from the site of the 2016 fires, which burned into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge proper. Those fires killed at least 14 people, injured many others and burned more than 2,000 buildings and homes to the ground.
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