The Great Smoky Mountains and Cades CoveSmoke rising from Cades Cove this week won't mean fire on the mountain in the Smokies.
The National Park Service scheduled controlled burns through Friday in the popular tourism spot, weather permitting.
Burning open fields keeps them from being reclaimed by the forest. Burning is less expensive than mowing, which the Park Service does on about 950 acres clearly visible from the Cades Cove Loop Road.