Devastating Gatlinburg fires
- Emergency management officials warn of Sevier County fire recovery scams
- President Obama signs disaster declaration to aid Sevier County
- Gatlinburg firefighting team may head home soon [videos]
- 2016 wildfire season one for the books; officials say it’s too soon to say it’s over
- Governor seeks quick action on disaster request for Tennessee [photos]
- Did Sevier County’s lax building codes help fire spread?
- Chapel of Love lost to fire that ravaged Gatlinburg
- Card games raise cash for fire victims
- Teens charged in fatal Gatlinburg wildfire were playing with matches
- Tourists stream back to Gatlinburg, but rebuilding looms
- Two juveniles arrested, charged in deadly Gatlinburg wildfires
- Businesses that survived the Gatlinburg wildfire are reopening
- Gatlinburg wildfires death toll climbs to 14; officials estimate 1,684 structures damaged or destroyed
- Officials defend controversial timing of evacuation warnings sent after blaze reached Gatlinburg [videos]
- Cars line up to see wildfire-ravaged Tennessee city; 13 dead
- During first look at wildfire rubble, residents in a daze
- Haslam heading to wildfire-ravaged Gatlinburg today
- Death toll from Tennessee wildfires increases to 13
- Search continues for any survivors of wildfires
- Dollywood Foundation to donate $1,000 per month to fire victims
- More than 70 area firefighters helped fight massive fires in Gatlinburg
- University of Tennessee professor predicted Gatlinburg fire for years
- Chattanooga firefighters drive 150 miles to answer Gatlinburg’s call for aid as blaze rages
- Dolly Parton heartbroken by wildfires torching her hometown
- Deadly, destructive wildfires ravage Tennessee tourism town
- Tennessee mayor confirms 3 deaths in wildfires
- Wildfires scorch tourist area in Tennessee; thousands flee
- Video: Two men navigate horrifying Gatlinburg mountain fire
- Rhea County students safe after wildfires force evacuation
- Chattanooga firefighters drive 150 miles to answer Gatlinburg’s call for aid as blaze rages
- The Latest: Officials say thousands evacuated, 4 injured
- Gatlinburg aquarium workers worried about animals left behind after wildfire forces evacuation
- Gatlinburg, Tenn., hotels, homes destroyed in fires
- Wildfires lead to evacuation of downtown Gatlinburg, Tenn.
ATLANTA – Country music icon Dolly Parton says she’s heartbroken about wildfires that tore through the Tennessee county where she grew up but spared the Dollywood theme park that bears her name.
In a statement released Tuesday by her publicists, Parton said she’s been watching the “terrible fires” in the Great Smoky Mountains. At least 14,000 people have been forced to evacuate the tourist area of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Three people were killed in the wildfires, and more than a dozen others were injured, authorities said.
“I am praying for all the families affected by the fire and the firefighters who are working so hard to keep everyone safe,” she said.
In a video released just hours before the wildfires engulfed Gatlinburg and areas around Pigeon Forge, Parton urged people to prevent forest fires.
Parton appears with Smokey Bear in the 30-second video released Sunday by Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She tells people to avoid burning leaves and parking vehicles on dry grass, and warns that even a campfire can spark a wildfire.
Dollywood officials said the theme park itself wasn’t damaged but more than a dozen cabins operated by the park were damaged or destroyed by the wildfires.
Parton is scheduled to appear on NBC’s “The Voice” on Tuesday night, her representatives had previously announced. She will perform her 1973 hit song “Jolene” with Miley Cyrus and Pentatonix.
Parton is a native of Sevier County, Tennessee, which includes both Gatlinburg and nearby Pigeon Forge, according to historical documents on the park’s website. In the mid-1980s, Parton partnered with the Herschend family who ran the park, then known as Silver Dollar City. It opened under the new name of Dollywood in 1986.
