UPDATE - Residents forced to flee Tennessee wildfire

UPDATES WITH CASUALTIES

By Esra Kaymak Avci

WASHINGTON (AA) – At least three people have been killed in wildfires in parts of Tennessee, authorities said Tuesday.

Sevier County Mayor Larry Williams said he did not have specifics on the deaths.

The fire damaged hundreds of buildings overnight and forced thousands of residents out of their homes, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Hundreds of homes and commercial property have been destroyed in the fires, authorities said.

The towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and parts of eastern Sevier County were evacuated, while hundreds of firefighters tried to extinguish the fire that blanketed the Great Smoky Mountain area, the agency said in a statement.

More than 14,000 residents alone have already left Gatlinburg.

Earlier Tuesday, the agency had reported that three individuals with severe burns were transferred form University of Tennessee’s Knoxville (UTK) hospital to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville overnight and that a fourth who had burns in the face continued to be evaluated at the hospital.

A temporary flight restriction is in place to prevent aircraft from complicating response efforts.

The fire began in the Great Smoky Mountains and quickly spread Monday evening as high winds pushed flames onto private property, according to the statement but it did not provide information on what started the fire.