Story highlights
NEW: Seven people are reported dead
Several families report missing loved ones
(CNN) —
The death toll from raging wildfires fires in Sevier County, Tennessee, climbed to seven after authorities recovered three more bodies at a residence, officials said Wednesday.
Authorities are working to identify all the victims and will notify their families as soon as possible, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said.
He said he thinks the three latest victims were adults.
“All of us are praying for those families and are very distressed at the loss of life in this situation,” Waters said.
Several others are said to be missing after the blazes scorched roughly 15,000 acres in a resort-heavy area of eastern Tennessee, which showered residents with embers and forced tourists to evacuate from their accommodations. More than 700 buildings were either damaged or destroyed in Sevier County and in the Gatlinburg city limits, Waters said.
The fires spread with little warning Monday from the Great Smoky Mountains into inhabited areas in and near the resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Waters said about 53 people were injured, and many of them have been released from the hospital.
James Wood’s mother is among those missing.
Wood said his mother was telling him on the phone the wildfire that had roared into Gatlinburg had ignited her home.
Then he lost the connection. He hasn’t heard from his mom, Alice Hagler, since Monday night.
“We had been talking for several hours on and off,” Wood told CNN affiliate WATE on Tuesday night. He had been living with his mother at her Gatlinburg house for the last five months but wasn’t home that night.
“She called me at 8:30 (p.m.) and said the house was on fire. I told her to get out immediately. We got disconnected and I have not been able to get in touch with her since,” said Wood.
07:38 - Source: CNN
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Hagler’s relatives say they hope she might be taking shelter with someone and just hasn’t been able to make contact. It’s a hope echoed by several other families who say their loved ones in the Gatlinburg area are missing.
“Our search and rescue teams are going out house by house,” Waters told CNN on Wednesday. “There’s a few areas that we were unable to get to on Monday night because of the swift nature of the firestorm … and we’re finishing those up today.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Paul Efird/Sipa USA/USA TODAY Network/Sipa USA
An aerial photo shows Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on Tuesday, November 29 -- a day after wildfires hit the city. Gatlinburg city officials declared mandatory evacuations in several areas as firefighters battled at least 14 fires in and around the city. More than 30 large wildfires have left a trail of destruction through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, according to the US Forest Service.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/AP
Polo Gutierrez climbs onto the foundation of a destroyed home to try to see if his apartment building is still standing in Gatlinburg on November 29. Gutierrez fled his apartment with other residents as fires approached the previous night.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Michael Patrick/Knoxville News Sentinel/AP
A destroyed structure and vehicle are seen near Gatlinburg on November 29.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Michael Patrick/Knoxville News Sentinel/AP
An Alamo Steakhouse was one of the Gatlinburg businesses destroyed by fire.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Brian Blanco/Getty Images
Trevor Cates inspects the damage to the Banner Missionary Baptist Church in Gatlinburg on November 29.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Michael Patrick/Knoxville News Sentinel/AP
Two dormitories at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts were damaged from the wildfires that flared near Gatlinburg on November 29.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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courtesy Bruce McCamish
Photographer Bruce McCamish captured this image of the fires burning behind the Dollywood Dreammore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Jessica Tezak/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP
Fires burn on both sides of Highway 441 between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on Monday, November 28.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP
Thick smoke looms in Gatlinburg on November 28.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Officials from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reported the closing of roads and several trails near Gatlinburg on November 28.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ZUMAPRESS
Firefighter Layne Whitney checks the treetops while working to hold the northern head of the Rock Mountain Fire, north of Tate City, Georgia, on Tuesday, November 22.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNSSipa USA/
Flames from the Rock Mountain Fire silhouette a weather vane north of Clayton, Georgia, on Monday, November 21.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Patrick Sullivan/The Times-News/AP
Fire crews bring down a dead tree along Highway 9 near the community of Bat Cave, North Carolina, on Friday, November 18.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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News & Daily Advance/Lathan Goumas/News & Daily Advance/AP
A helicopter picks up water from Thrasher Lake to help battle a wildfire in Amherst County, Virginia, on November 21.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP
Eric Willey looks on from the porch of his home as a helicopter fights a wildfire in Tate City, Georgia, on Wednesday, November 16.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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John Bazemore/AP
Firefighters walk down a dirt road as a wildfire burns a hillside in Clayton, Georgia, on Tuesday, November 15.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Patrick Sullivan/The Times-News/AP
A wildfire burns as it approaches Bat Cave, North Carolina, on November 15.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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John Bazemore/AP
Firefighters Valarie Lopez and Mark Tabaez work to cool hot spots in Clayton on November 15. A number of the fires are being investigated as suspected arson, but weather conditions are also responsible for the fires.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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John Bazemore/AP
Firefighter Kevin Zimmer works the wildfire in Clayton on November 15.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Curt Habraken/The Mountain Press /AP
Exhausted firefighters take a break in Waldens Creek, Tennessee, on Monday, November 14.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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David Goldman/AP
A haze hovers over the Atlanta skyline from a wildfire burning in the northwest part of Georgia on November 14.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Mark Humphrey/AP
Assistant Fire Chief Brent Masey sprays water on a wildfire in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, on Thursday, November 10.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Abigail Margulis/The Asheville Citizen-Times/AP
A helicopter carrying 240 gallons of water takes off in Lake Lure, North Carolina, on November 10.
Photos: Wildfires scorch the Southeast
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Abigail Margulis/The Asheville Citizen-Times/AP