Those Scars
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (62443)
United States
May 11, 2022 8:17pm CST
Every time I come to the Smokies I’m amazed at how quickly the natural beauty has rebounded from the awful wildfire that roared through Gatlinburg in November 2016.
Those scars are still quite visible, though.
Today while at the Skybridge Park (more on that later) I took these two photos.
The top photo is the flag that was rescued from the property of the Skybridge after the fire. Although it’s damaged it still looks like a flag. It was the only thing on the property that survived.
The lower photo shows the burned trees that, somehow, still stand after over five years. Even after the fire and subsequent weather brutality (the area had a pretty bad ice storm last year) those trees haven’t fallen yet.
Maybe that’s the perfect symbol of Gatlinburg in the immediate aftermath of the fire: damaged, but not about to fall down.
9 people like this
5 responses
@LindaOHio (157150)
• United States
12 May 22
That's really sad about the wildfire. We were going to go to Gatlinburg on our way down to the Keys; but, as you know, that trip was cut short.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (62443)
• United States
12 May 22
It’s a gorgeous area. I’ve reached the point where I stay in Pigeon Forge and take day trips to Gatlinburg. It’s too pricey to stay there. 
It’s also getting too pricey to park there.
It’s also getting too pricey to park there.2 people like this
@CarolDM (203451)
• Nashville, Tennessee
12 May 22
@FourWalls I am sure prices are crazy all over there.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34417)
•
21 May 22
Nature's defiance! Ever growing and resourceful. Even the imperfections are perfect.
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@FourWalls (62443)
• United States
21 May 22
It’s absolutely incredible. That’s the interesting thing about the Smokies: they’re mountains. They never change, but it’s never the same place twice.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (62443)
• United States
12 May 22
Absolutely. The thing that is really peculiar is how chunks of the “middle” of the flag are missing, but the threads at the end are still hanging there. Wow.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (94876)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
12 May 22
Thank you for sharing your time in Gatlinburg after the wildfire of 2016 on how the area is making a comeback six years later.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (62443)
• United States
12 May 22
It was awful to come down here so soon after the fires. (They happened in November 2016, and I was here in March 2017.) Things look “normal” now, unless you know where to look or you see a large area that was hit by the fire.
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@Deepizzaguy (94876)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
12 May 22
@FourWalls I know what you mean since the reports of the fire looked bad.
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@FourWalls (62443)
• United States
13 May 22
Dolly was astonishing. She gave every employee $1000 plus six months salary while the area recovered. She also donated money to the recovery funds. Can’t take the girl out of the country OR the country out of the girl!!!!!
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203451)
• Nashville, Tennessee
13 May 22
@FourWalls I read about that, she is a wonderful lady indeed.
1 person likes this
