Gatlinburg Wildfires: 4 Things You Should Know About Worst Tennessee Fire in 100 Years

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Friday, December 02, 2016

4. A man-made tragedy?

A wildfire burns on a hillside after a mandatory evacuation was ordered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in a picture released November 30, 2016. | (Photo: Tennessee Highway Patrol/Handout via REUTERS)

While winds may have helped spread the blaze, some state officials believe there is a chance that the fire was a man-made tragedy.

The ATF is working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the National Park Service to determine the source of the original blaze, AL.com reported on Friday.

"Park officials said the fire started at Chimney Tops Trail and was likely manmade. High winds and dry conditions spread the flames, scorching more than 17,000 acres in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevier County earlier this week."

ATF spokesman Michael Knight told local media that more than a dozen agents are in the area.

"We're not looking at a criminal investigation right now," Knight said, adding agents could know as soon as this weekend if the fire was intentionally set, AL.com reports.

Troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol help residents leave an area under threat of wildfire after a mandatory evacuation was ordered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in a picture released November 30, 2016. | (Photo: Tennessee Highway Patrol/Handout via Reuters)

"Speaking to The Washington Post late Wednesday afternoon, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash simply said that the blazes were 'likely to be human-caused,'" noted inquisitr.com.

"A spokeswoman for the park, Dana Soehn, said almost exactly the same thing to WREG, also choosing to remain as succinct as possible in her statements. Park officials are currently investigating into the matter."