Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountains to reopen after fatal wildfires

December 9, 2016 at 3:26 a.m. | Updated December 9, 2016 at 10:52 a.m.

by Associated Press

FILE- In this Nov. 30, 2016, file photo, a burned car sits in a parking lot in Gatlinburg, Tenn., after a wildfire swept through the area Monday. Authorities on Wednesday, Dec. 7, charged two juveniles in the wildfire that killed over a dozen people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings in an iconic tourism spot at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE- In this Nov. 30, 2016, file photo, a burned car sits in a parking lot in Gatlinburg, Tenn., after a wildfire swept through the area Monday. Authorities on Wednesday, Dec. 7, charged two juveniles in the wildfire that killed over a dozen people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,700 buildings in an iconic tourism spot at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Devastating Gatlinburg fires

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the resort town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, are reopening to the public Friday after wildfires that caused 14 deaths and damaged about 2,500 buildings.

Most of the main tourist area in Gatlinburg was spared by the fires that were whipped into the city by hurricane-force winds the night of Nov. 28, and officials are keen for people to return to the city with a population of less than 4,000 that draws more than 11 million visitors a year.

The Smokies are the country's most-visited national park, and Superintendent Cassius Cash says the days following the fires are "the most challenging and emotional days our community has likely ever had to endure."

Prosecutors have charged two juveniles with starting fires within the park that later spread.

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