What a day. The county burns on. Certainly humbled me to see the county banding together & helping in any way they can. I drove by the Rescue Squad going home & there were hordes of people donating loads of products. I understand chapstick, Tylenol or equivalent, & shampoo are among the most needed items this evening. There has never been a fire like this & helicopters were back & forth overhead all day, & sirens were a constant as additional crews blasted in from neighboring counties & states, lights & sirens blaring all the way here & through town. I didn’t know what I would wake to this morning but it was a somber mood, a tang of smoke lingering in the air, & alerts on my phone to “staff off” so more emergency calls could go through.
It puts life in perspective & I felt guilty sleeping last night, selfish for eating, & anxious being at my regular job. It’s just a sickening feeling. I thank the friends who have checked on me & my community. I haven’t lost anything personally, but plenty of people I know were displaced & everyone was scared. Hopefully we’ll learn from this time & prepare for future disasters. Thank you most of all for the prayers. This fire will be over when God says so. It has been a miracle that no more casualties have been found. Let the rain come.
May you all hear the sweetest words soon. For those of you who don’t know, that’s, “Central, this is Gatlinburg Fire Command. Show us as having control.”