UPDATE: A statement released on Tuesday morning (Nov. 29) updated the status of the park. “Wildfires in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains continue to affect several areas of Sevier County including Dollywood,” it read. “An assessment this morning revealed no damage to the Dollywood park itself but more than a dozen cabins managed through Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Cabins were damaged or destroyed. As the cities continue to assess the damage and impact of the fires, Dollywood has suspended park operation for Wednesday, November 30. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort will be open on limited basis for those in need and for registered guests.”
Parton released a statement a short time later: “I have been watching the terrible fires in the Great Smoky Mountains and I am heartbroken. I am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe. It is a blessing that my Dollywood theme park, the DreamMore Resort and so many businesses in Pigeon Forge have been spared.”
A raging wildfire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has forced mandatory evacuations in the Tennessee resort towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, with visitors of Dolly Parton‘s Dollywood forced to flee as well, even though the fire hasn’t reached the theme park yet. USA Today reported that as of Tuesday morning (Nov. 29) roads around the towns were packed with motorists fleeing the fires, which had been whipped up by high winds.
Pete Owens, a spokesperson for the 150-acre amusement park — which draws more than 2.5 million visitors a year to Pigeon Forge– said in the statement that no structures in the park had been damaged, but that fire crews for the area’s largest theme park were standing by if needed. With flames approaching a ridge near the park, staff evacuated 19 cabins in Dollywood’s Smoke Mountain Cabins resort area, with guests from 50 rooms at the DreamMore Resort evacuated as well.
Statement from @Dollywood on #Gatlinburg fire. No damage to parks at this time. DreamMore Resort & Smoky Mountain Cabins have been evacuated pic.twitter.com/CjIAv5mIkX
— Kurt Chirbas (@kchirbas) November 29, 2016
Pray for the people of #Gatlinburg. pic.twitter.com/IdwKWFb3T4
— Matt Capps (@MattCapps) November 29, 2016
Pray for the wildlife, this is heartbreaking! ——–?? #Gatlinburg #PigeonForge #PrayersForGatlinburg #wildlife pic.twitter.com/0DjnTUEVNI
— Victoria ? (@VictoriaWZYP) November 29, 2016
What’s happening in #Gatlinburg is unreal!!!pic.twitter.com/slKZvsX4Xe
— Chris (@ChrisBrownBruh) November 29, 2016
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ABC News reported that Dean Flener, a spokesperson with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said the wildfires had reached “right on the doorstep” of Dollywood, but that crews had stopped the fires from breaching the park overnight. The fires have burned more than 100 homes in the surrounding area so far, injuring one, with more than 1,000 people in a local shelter as of Monday night.
Photos of fire currently burning along Dollywood Lane in Pigeon Forge pic.twitter.com/tcLqHKCxQW
— Darren Reese (@GSunDarrenReese) November 29, 2016