Current:Home > StocksDollywood temporarily suspends park entry due to nearby wildfire-InfoLens
Dollywood temporarily suspends park entry due to nearby wildfire
View Date:2024-12-23 17:07:18
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (AP) — Dolly Parton’s Dollywood temporarily suspended entry Thursday into the Tennessee amusement park as wildfire crews on Thursday battled nearby flames.
Park officials say they paused entry to allow fire crews enough room to assess the growing blaze in Sevier County east of Knoxville. Guests were again allowed to enter within 30 minutes.
According to the Tennessee Division of Forestry, the blaze was roughly two miles (3.2 km) away from Dollywood.
Tim Phelps, the forestry division’s spokesperson, on Thursday said the 5-acre fire was 100% contained. The division deployed eight personnel, three bulldozers and five trucks to fight the fire, he added.
Phelps said that humidity coupled with low winds have helped keep the majority of fires fought recently from spreading past low acreage. However, he said a “major wind event” is forecast for Monday. Officials are hopeful that rain expected this weekend will douse the area ahead of a potentially blustery Monday.
Across the South, the risk of wildfires has remained high due to prolonged dry and warm conditions, prompting multiple burn bans and warnings for residents and visitors to take extreme caution while outdoors. This includes the National Park Service, which issued a campfire ban throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Currently, the U.S. Forest Service says some of the largest wildfires are active along the Georgia and South Carolina border, as well as in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. In southern West Virginia, a 2,200-acre (890-hectare) wildfire continued to burn in a remote area of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The was fire 78% contained as of Wednesday, the latest available, according to the National Park Service.
The fire burning near Dollywood comes after a deadly wildfire in the area in 2016. The flames tore through the nearby tourist town of Gatlinburg, killing 14 people, and caused an estimated $2 billion in losses, including about 2,500 buildings that were damaged or destroyed.
Parton is a native of Sevier County. 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.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- John Krasinski Details Moment He Knew Wife Emily Blunt Was “the One”
- Government shutdown could jeopardize U.S credit rating, Moody's warns
- Target to close 9 stores including 3 in San Francisco, citing theft that threatens workers, shoppers
- 'The Creator' review: Gareth Edwards' innovative sci-fi spectacular is something special
- Trump’s economic agenda for his second term is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates
- David McCallum, NCIS and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. star, dies at age 90
- Pakistan’s Imran Khan remains behind bars as cases pile up. Another court orders he stay in jail
- Less-redacted report on Maryland church abuse still redacts names of church leaders
- Watch as dust storm that caused 20-car pileup whips through central California
- Nevada man gets life in prison for killing his pregnant girlfriend on tribal land in 2020
Ranking
- Everard Burke Introduce
- Smooth as Tennessee whiskey: Jack Daniel's releases rare new single malt. How to get it.
- Brooke Hogan Shares Why She Didn’t Attend Dad Hulk Hogan’s Wedding
- Mexican mother bravely shields son as bear leaps on picnic table, devours tacos, enchiladas
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- Derek Hough on 'DWTS,' his dream wedding to Hayley Erbert and keeping the love on tour
- Blac Chyna Debuts Romance With Songwriter Derrick Milano
- Retired police chief killed in hit-and-run died in 'cold and callous' way: Family
Recommendation
-
Ben Affleck and His Son Samuel, 12, Enjoy a Rare Night Out Together
-
Supreme Court denies Alabama's bid to use GOP-drawn congressional map in redistricting case
-
Why Fans Think Travis Kelce Gave a Subtle Nod to Taylor Swift Ahead of NFL Game
-
When do new 'American Horror Story: Delicate' episodes come out? Schedule, cast, how to watch
-
Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
-
Shimano recalls bicycle cranksets in U.S. and Canada after more than 4,500 reports
-
Sophia Loren after leg-fracture surgery: ‘Thanks for all the affection, I’m better,’ just need rest
-
Lady A singer Charles Kelley celebrates 1 year sober: 'Finding out who I really am'