You are here

Great Smoky Mountains National Park To Reopen Friday

Share

A dozen days after a fire storm swept out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and across Gatlinburg, Tennessee, leading to 14 deaths and consuming more than 1,000 structures, the national park planned to reopen its western entrance to the public on Friday in conjunction with the reopening of Gatlinburg. 

Newfound Gap Road, Little River Road, and several visitor areas on the western side of the park that straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina border have been closed since the evening of Monday, November 28, due to the wildfire that was determined to be human caused. Two juveniles were taken into custody Wednesday on aggravated arson charges stemming from the fire.

When the Chimney Tops 2 fire was reported atop one of the park's many ridges late in the day on November 23, it covered only about 1.5 acres and park crews, due to darkness and steep cliffs in the area, planned to attack it the next morning, Thanksgiving. At the time no one knew how it started, but there had been a park-wide ban on campfires and grills due to atypically dry conditions caused by a long-running drought.

Hurricane-force winds on November 28 into November 29 blew up the fire into a conflagration that swept through Gatlinburg, trapping many in their homes and forcing an estimated 14,000 people to flee the gateway town under an evacuation order.

As of Thursday morning the fire's footprint had covered 17,006 acres; firefighters had established containment lines around 82 percent of that acreage.

“The past 11 days have been the most challenging and emotional days our community has likely ever had to endure,” said Great Smoky Mountains Superintendent Cassius Cash in a release. “The amount of love, strength, and support offered to our community has been inspirational not only to us, but also to those watching from across the world. Our community has shone brightly in the midst of this disaster and proven that we are truly mountain tough.”

Newfound Gap Road, Little River Road, the Gatlinburg Bypass, and the Spur were to reopen at 7 a.m. on Friday. Park visitor centers at Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, and Cades Cove also were expected to resume their regularly scheduled operating hours. Cherokee Orchard Road will remain closed at this time.

The following trails remained closed due to wind or fire damage:

  • Chimney Tops Trail
  • Road Prong Trail
  • Sugarland Mountain Trail from Mt Collins Shelter to Little River Road
  • Huskey Gap Trail
  • Rough Creek Trail
  • Old Sugarlands Trail
  • Twin Creeks Trail
  • Baskins Creek Trail
  • Bull Head Trail
  • Rainbow Falls Trail
  • Trillium Gap Trail
  • Grapeyard Ridge Trail from Campsite 32 to Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
  • Gatlinburg Trail
  • Cove Mountain Trail
  • Sugarland Valley Nature Trail
  • Noah Bud Ogle Nature Trail
  • Cove Hardwood Nature Trail
  • The Sugarlands Horse Concession trails
  • The quiet walkways along Newfound Gap Road

Park officials, concerned for visitor safety, urged everyone who returns to the national park to explore only those areas that remain open, and to abide by trail closures. Visitors will be required to remain in their vehicles when passing through the burned areas and should not enter any burned areas by foot. Visitors are reminded that though the area has received heavy rains in recent days, firefighters are still actively establishing containment lines to ensure the fire is fully extinguished.

Motorists are reminded to carefully travel along the roadways and to allow crews safe work space. Public information officers will be on site near the Gatlinburg entrance of the park and at overlooks along Newfound Gap Road to answer questions regarding the fire.

Several upcoming park events have been postponed or cancelled:

  • The Festival of Christmas Past, scheduled for December 10, has been cancelled.
  • The Hike 100 Centennial Challenge celebration, scheduled for December 9 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center, has been postponed.
  • The Holiday Homecoming at the Oconaluftee Mountain Farm will take place as planned on December 17.

Details regarding each of these events will be released to the public as soon as they become available.

For more information on temporary road and trail closures, please visit the park website at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm.

Comments

While the great forests of the Great Smokies will return... I recommend people stay out of Gatlinburg.  The disaster zone is not safe for public consumption.  I was just in it today. Stay in Pigeon Forge, stay in Bryson City, stay in Cosby, stay in Maggie Valley, stay in Cherokee, stay in Townsend.  STAY OUT OF GATLINBURG!  It's a toxic stew in the town right now with all the destruction.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.