We have had a lot of concerns about the state of our cabins after the devastating fire that struck Pigeon Forge earlier late last month. The fire began on March 17, 2013 in the Black Bear Ridge Resort, about two miles from downtown Pigeon Forge. We are happy to report that none of our cabins were damaged in the fire, however, there were many properties (not our own) that were destroyed.
The blaze started as a house fire, suspected stemming from a hot tub’s faulty wiring. The high winds and close proximity of the cabins in the resort cause the flames to spread very rapidly and quickly escalated into an out of control blaze. More than 150 visitors and residents were forced to evacuate to the Pigeon Forge Community Center after the flames came too close for comfort.
More than 20 fire departments from around the area were called in to battle the flames, which were exaggerated by exploding propane tanks. Army helicopters were called in to drop water on the flames as a state of emergency was declared in the city of Pigeon Forge. The heavy rains that moved through on that Monday evening helped extinguish the flames.
As we previously reported, NONE of our cabins were damaged in the blaze. However, 73 cabin rentals and 1 permanent residence were destroyed in the fire. The fire caused an estimated $12 million in damage. Luckily, no lives were lost in the fire and every resident and visitor was able to evacuate the resort safely.
A few of the firefighters battling the blaze were treated for minor injuries and heat-related exhaustion. All firefighters are now safely back at home after a few teams stayed behind to extinguish any remaining hot spots remnant of the blaze.
We do have one heartwarming story to report from the fire amidst all of the devastation. As firefighters were making their rounds turning off electricity and propane to the cabins, they heard a whimpering from one of the cabins. They soon discovered that the noise was coming from under the cabin’s front porch.
Firefighters pried up the board to discover a litter of six young puppies! All of the puppies were healthy and unharmed and were taken to the local animal shelter for evaluation. The mother of the puppies was nowhere to be found and was suspected to have fled from the advancing fire.
More details of the blaze’s origins are soon to come and we will keep you updated on any news we hear.
Beautiful pups, would like to have one.
Pretty pups, would like to have a male.