(Sevier County, TN)  Local firefighters are helping with the wildfires in the Smoky Mountain areas of Sevier County in East Tennessee. Murfreesboro, La Vergne and Rutherford County all have fire fighters and equipment on the scene.

La Vergne Fire-Rescue Chief Ronny Beasley said, “We’ve been watching the operations in Wears Valley very closely. This has been a quick moving fire and as soon as a call for aid went out, we knew we had to help.”

Rutherford County Fire-Rescue Chief Larry Farley noted, “We will continue to support the firefighting efforts in Sevierville as needed. The more personnel who are able to assist operations, the quicker we can get this wildfire under control.”

Murfreesboro Fire-Rescue Chief Mark Foulks commented, “Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department is part of the Tennessee Mutual Aid System, and anytime there is a need we are ready to deploy. This is the volunteer state, and our department is here to help even though you don’t know what you will be facing once you get there with high winds and both wildland and structure fires.”

As of Friday afternoon (4/1/2022), the Hatcher Mountain Road/Indigo Lane Fire was 85 per cent contained and approximately 3,739 acres in size. The fire has affected 150 residential structures. The area has many vacation and resort homes. It is estimated that up to 50 per cent of the homes affected could fall in this category.

The Millstone Gap Fire started Thursday evening (3/31/2022) and is north of the Indigo Lane fire. It is approximately 650 acres in size and is about 25 per cent contained. Crews worked overnight on both fires and airdrops resumed on Friday morning.

The Red Cross notes that there are 11,000 addresses in the evacuation zone, and many are resort or vacation homes.

At this time, the Red Cross has shelters at the Pigeon Forge Community Center and Seymour Heights Christian Church.