The Hatcher Mountain Road / Indigo Lane fire started around 11 a.m. Wednesday and had spread to about 1,000 acres by Wednesday night, according to a county official. At least one person was injured in the blaze and 35 buildings were damaged, said Perrin Anderson, the county’s deputy mayor for government affairs. Officials did not specify the extent of the damage or whether the fire was contained at all. Parts of the county, which includes the cities of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, were evacuated due to the fire on Thursday morning. At least three shelters have been set up to house those who may have been displaced by the blaze, according to county officials. “The American Red Cross is asking people who plan to come to an evacuation center to bring bed linen (such as pillows) and prescription drugs to make their stay more comfortable,” the service tweeted. The area was warned of strong winds during the night with the National Meteorological Service forecasting winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour with gusts of up to 90 mph. A separate evacuation order for another part of the county was issued briefly overnight after it toppled a power line that sparked another fire, officials said. The second fire had burned 1.5 acres after it started shortly before midnight Wednesday, the city of Gatlinburg said, but evacuation orders came at 4:30 p.m. “The city is grateful for the first responders from the Gatlinburg Police Department, the Gatlinburg Fire Brigade and other external services that responded to the fire,” Gatlinburg City Director Cindy Cameron Ogl told Del. “We are also grateful that no structures were destroyed, no one was injured and that everyone listened to the evacuation orders.” CNN’s Chris Boyette contributed to this report.
