3 dead as Tennessee fires blaze into third day

Three people died in raging wildfires that scorched roughly 15,000 acres in a resort-heavy area of eastern Tennessee, showered residents with embers and forced tourists to evacuate from their accommodations.

The wildfires spread with little warning Monday from the Great Smoky Mountains into inhabited areas of Sevier County, including the town of Gatlinburg and an area around Pigeon Forge. While some major tourist attractions were spared, more than 250 buildings in the county were damaged or destroyed in a dizzying 24-hour period, officials said.

Some fires continued to burn Wednesday morning, and authorities continued to block off Gatlinburg, from which about 14,000 residents and tourists had been evacuated Monday.

Evacuees said they were forced to leave with only the clothes on their backs as fire surrounded their homes.

“There was flames everywhere,” 52-year-old Gatlinburg resident Mark Benzschawel told CNN’s Nick Valencia. “It was a firestorm.”

Benzschawel said police banged on his door Monday night to wake him and his partner, Denise Bearden. The couple alerted their neighbor, who managed to escape with her dog.

Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said three people in Sevier County died in separate incidents as a result of the fires. Fourteen other people were injured, including four being treated for burns at hospitals, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said.

“We pray we don’t experience any more fatalities, but there are still areas that we’re trying to get to because of down trees and down power lines,” Miller said.