Matthew Hensley has a message for vacationers from Georgia and across the nation: Gatlinburg is open for business and ready to celebrate New Year's Eve with a big extravaganza following the deadly wildfires that struck his Tennessee resort town last month.
Hensley is the general manager of the Gatlinburg Space Needle, a 407-foot observation tower that sustained smoke and wind damage during the blazes and was forced to shut down for 11 days. The needle, a family-owned attraction that provides stunning views of the Great Smoky Mountains, has reopened and is set to play a starring role in the annual New Year’s Eve Ball Drop and Fireworks Show Saturday evening. Nearly 50,000 people revelers are expected to turn out for the event at the base of the needle.
“Downtown is intact and we are here and we would love for you all to come up and do the things that everybody likes to come here and do,” said Hensley, who counts many Georgians among the visitors to the Space Needle, “because that is what we like to do is entertain people and take care of them and give them a good time while they are here in Gatlinburg.”
Fueled by wind gusts, the Nov. 28 blazes left 14 people dead and caused $500 million in damages, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said. Two juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the fire. In all, about 2,500 structures in the Gatlinburg area were damaged or destroyed, though downtown Gatlinburg was largely spared.
The downtown area of Pigeon Forge — home of the Dollywood theme park named after country music icon Dolly Parton – did not suffer any damage, Waters said. He credited Parton with helping raise money for people who lost their homes in the wildfire. And he noted that Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are still helping his county recover.
“Obviously, it is going to take a little time for some folks to get back on their feet,” he said, “but we are going to try our best to help all of them.”
Waters also noted many Georgians own homes or vacation in Sevier, which includes Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
“We just want folks to know that Sevier County is back in business in spite of the wildfires we had,” he said. The county, he added, is “looking forward to hosting visitors to our area. We want them to come back. And that is one of the best thing they can do to help us recover is to come back and visit us.”
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