Tag Archives: Great Smoky Mountains

The American Red Cross of East Tennessee received a large donation from Kroger and its customers to assist with local wildfire disaster relief efforts. Kroger Fountain City in Knoxville hosted a check presentation to the American Red Cross of East Tennessee on Jan. 4, 2017. Kroger ran an in-store campaign for wildfire disaster relief from Nov. 29–Dec. 17, 2016, collecting ...

Checks from the Gatlinburg Relief Fund will soon go out to employees of businesses destroyed, and estates of the people whose lives were lost, due to the wildfires in November. The Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce Foundation announced today that it will begin distribution of Gatlinburg Relief Fund checks during the first week of January 2017. About $1.4 million has reportedly ...

The wildfires destroyed homes, personal belongings and businesses. But they also burned people’s vehicles, making it difficult for them to get to their jobs. A local man saw a need and spearheaded an effort to give donated vehicles to wildfire victims. Michael Reifsnider is an electrician by trade, but a compassionate person at all times. He saw the loss of ...

Local governments requested federal funding for demolition of damaged structures and debris removal from both residential and commercial properties affected by the wildfires. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Pittman Center and Sevier County are currently coordinating with state and federal agencies to establish a debris-removal operations plan in response to the recent wildfires. As part of this plan, county and city officials ...

A reconnaissance flight by the Tennessee Army National Guard was able to locate the missing single engine airplane within Great Smoky Mountains National Park at approximately 4:43 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. The plane was found on an unnamed ridge between Cole Creek and Bearpen Hollow Branch. Paramedics on board were hoisted down to the crash site and confirmed ...

A search is underway for a plane that left Jacksonville on Monday bound for the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport and disappeared over the Smoky Mountains. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at about 7:35 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 26, 2016 after a family member reported the plane did not arrive as expected. The ...

The giving spirit is visible on the roads across Tennessee and North Carolina this holiday season with Friends of the Smokies license plates. Sales of specialty plates in Tennessee and North Carolina play an essential role in raising funds for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This year, the specialty plates generated nearly $815,000. Since its launch in 1999, the program ...

The laidback, welcoming atmosphere of Margaritaville will soon be coming to Gatlinburg as plans for the Margaritaville Resort in the Smokies and LandShark restaurant were announced on Friday. Margaritaburg, LLC, a consortium of local investors, will build Margaritaville Resort in the Smokies at 539 Parkway in Gatlinburg. Developer and restaurateur Bob McManus serves as president of Margaritaburg LLC, affiliates of ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials will lift the campfire ban on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016. Campfires and open grills have been banned in the backcountry since Nov. 1 and throughout the park and frontcountry areas since Nov.15. Beginning Friday, visitors can have campfires and use grills at established frontcountry and backcountry campsites and picnic areas. Recent rains, along with ...

Sevier County businesses and their employees impacted by the recent wildfires can begin applying for grants from the Gatlinburg Relief Fund on Tuesday. The Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce Foundation first announced it was establishing the fund Dec. 1, just days after wildfires burned through the area, to directly benefit families impacted by the wildfires. SmartBank is managing the fund and ...