KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Firefighters responded to a large fire Wednesday afternoon near LaFollette that endangered some structures. The Tennessee Division of Forestry said Thursday afternoon that it had grown to around 115 acres and was around 25% contained.
Crews are working to protect structures and prevent it from spreading closer to populated areas.
Another fire in the Townsend area is now contained, but Tennessee forestry officials said they’re monitoring its borders.
“I was in Maryville, in Planet Fitness in the middle of a workout and Debbie sent me a picture of a puff of smoke on the horizon,” said Glenn Claypool, a resident of Townsend. “Five minutes later she sent me another picture, and that was the picture that I was referring to that looked like a bomb.”
He and his wife have been married for around 38 years. They said they fell in love with Townsend many years ago and decided to buy a house there. Where they live, there’s only one way into their neighborhood and one way out.
“We’ve had four fires that have come really close to this section,” he said.
Townsend's fire chief said crews wrapped a containment line around the fire, but every time there's a fire in this area it brings back painful memories for people who live there.
"I think the 2016, the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge fires, it had significant loss of structures — like, over 2,000, and there were quite a few deaths from that. Not in our area, but it borders up to our area," said Don Stallions, the Townsend Fire Department Chief.
The Division of Forestry said spring is a season of brush fires. They urge people to be extra careful, especially when they want to burn something outside.
Nathan Waters, a spokesperson for the division, said one of their biggest issues is people burning trash outside during the spring.
"When the leaves are off the forest floor, they're fuel to ignite. As you can see behind me, the wind can affect the forest floor and it allows the fuels to ignite more quickly," he said.
For Claypool and his wife, it can be scary. The drive to their house and away from it has only one way of escaping a wildfire.
“A lot of work, I saw the heavy equipment going up and establishing the fire lines, so you can appreciate what those guys have to go through," he said.
Stallions said crews were expecting rain Thursday evening which would help contain the fire.