Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes and hotels due to wildfires in the resort town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Gatlinburg Fire Department ordered a mandatory evacuation of the downtown area as wind conditions picked up and fires grew worse. Videos of the Gatlinburg Park Vista Hilton Hotel showed dozens of people trapped inside the hotel which is surrounded by flames. "The wind is not helping, and the rain is not here yet...these are the worst possible conditions imaginable," Gatlinburg Fire Department Chief Greg Miller said in a news conference. The Dollywood theme park, located in the nearby city of Pigeon Forge, was evacuated as thousands of tourists left the Great Smoky Mountains.
