“The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. Some of the towns most impacted were Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, both near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fires claimed at least 14 lives, injured 190,and is one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.
By December 12, the fires had burned more than 10,000 acres (15 square miles) inside the national park, and 6,000 acres in other parts of the area. At least 14,000 area residents and tourists were forced to evacuate, while over 2,000 buildings were damaged and/or destroyed.
One of the largest wildfires was the Chimney Tops 2 Fire, which burned more than 10,000 acres, and closed the Chimney Tops Trail.
The Great Smoky Mountains wildfires were the deadliest wildfires in Tennessee, as well as the deadliest wildfires in the eastern U.S. since the Great Fires of 1947, which killed 16 people in Maine. In addition, the fires were also the most deadly and destructive of the 2016 Southeastern United States wildfires.
American country singer and notable local resident Dolly Parton was among many notable figures to pitch in to assist victims.” Source: 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires – Wikipedia
Sherry Felix - port4u 
Lovely photographs. We suffer a large number of bushfires in Australia, causing loss of life and property on a large scale. The forests do recover fairly quickly, but the wildlife is decimated.
LikeLike
Sherry such an beautiful area on the Mountain Top. Anita
LikeLike
Thanks. It will look even better once all the trees grow back and fire damage is gone.
LikeLike
The trails near the Smokey mountains is one of the few places in the US that I’ve walked in. I remember it as a lovely place. I didn’t know about the fire. I hope the forests have recovered in these eight years.
LikeLike
One can see the burnt trees on the mountaintop in the top photo. Nature will recover.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, forest fires are natural and forests usually recover from them
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is such a beautiful area. You guys covered a lot of ground.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We covered about 2,000 miles! Hope you are enjoying Memorial Day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are. Nice and quiet. Looks like we’ll see some rain. That’s OK today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a bluet species I’ve never heard of, although I recorgnize the genus name. All of the tiny details that help to differentiate species are so interesting. I couldn’t have named the fire or told you when it happened, but I remember Dolly Parton’s efforts on behalf of the victims.
LikeLike
The tiny leaves of this bluet helped me identify it plus the location. I remember Dolly’s post fire assistance too. She has given a lot to her community.
LikeLiked by 1 person