From the managing editor, April 2017

I rode around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge this winter to get a first-hand look at the damage from last fall’s massive forest fires.

It was the worst fire season I can remember in nearly 20 years living in the Smokies. Folks with a lot more time in these mountains than I have also marked it as one of the worst.

Gatlinburg was particularly hard hit. The Chimney Tops 2 fire escaped Great Smoky Mountains National Park and burned through Gatlinburg causing about half a billion dollars in damage.

Fourteen people died. Two teenagers have been charged with arson in connection with the fire.

It’s a tragedy and it got national and international coverage last fall. 

Images burning homes and hotels dominated the news for weeks. Smoldering shells of cars looked more like a war zone than our beloved Smokies tourist town.

The slogan “Smokies Strong” rose up from the ashes. Donations flooded in from Gatlinburg’s countless fans across the world.

So when I pulled in to town, I expected to see more wreckage.

It’s there, for sure. It’s startling and heart breaking.

But the damage is not as widespread as I expected. A small percentage of Gatlinburg’s structures burned.

The fire, blown across ridges with high winds, seemed to pick and choose its targets in a cruel game of darts.

Downtown Gatlinburg looks great. It was open and busy on the unseasonably warm day I was there.

Pigeon Forge is the same.

All your favorite attractions ready to serve you.

I had lunch in both towns with the hospitality industry. The message at both meetings, from officials with Great Smoky Mountains National Park to hoteliers and the local visitors bureaus, was we are open for business.

But the tourism industry in Sevier County, Tennessee, is worried that the perception that Gatlinburg was destroyed will keep visitors away the spring.

I can tell you, first-hand, that Gatlinburg was not destroyed. There are plenty of places to stay, restaurants to dine in and attractions and entertainment venues to enjoy.

The same is true with the Park. Some trails will likely remain closed this spring and, in some cases, large amounts of trees may die. But, in most cases, the fire did not cause lasting damage.

As hotelier Logan Coykendall put it, watching the rebirth of the places were it burned the hottest, like the Chimneys, will become an annual attraction for those who are interested in ecology.

“There’s a lot of perception out there that the whole town burned down,” he says. “The best way to help us recover is to come visit us and see how beautiful the area still is.”

We decided to dedicate the cover of this issue of Smoky Mountain Living to a new slogan: “Open for Business.”

The best way to show your “Smokies Strong” spirit is to visit Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge this spring.

You won’t be disappointed.

And you’ll be helping a community rebuild at a time when it needs you more than ever.