The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:24 PM

OUR VIEW: One Year Later We're Smoky Mountain Strong

Our Interview last year while I was editor of East Tn Times with Tammy Lahew 11-28-2016

One year ago Tuesday on 11-28-2017 the world changed for so many residents of East Tennessee. Tornado-driven winds fueled an innocent small fire on Chimney Tops and ravaged the city of Gatlinburg and the mountains of East Tennessee killing 14 people and destroying millions of dollars in property including many historical monuments in the area.

I was driving home that Monday from Southern Georgia and saw the unusual haze in the sky that Monday afternoon not knowing what was going on in one of the prettiest places on the face of the earth, the hills of East Tennessee.

We take life for granted so much in this world and we don't realize from one minute to the next how things as what happened last year can change lives in a second. Property can be replaced. These 14 souls we lost in East Tennessee from the fires can never be replaced.

I interviewed a few people last year and have talked to several since following the fires and a few themes rang out in each case. Life is short. Appreciate your loved ones and tell them you love them often. "We lost everything, but we're alive."

When I drove through the area the Tuesday after the fires I found a stunned city that was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in our region's history.

One year later however we have learned that this region of the world is as strong a place when it comes to the character and heart of its people than anywhere in the world.

People have rebuilt homes. The city of Gatlinburg has rebuilt many businesses. Lives and families have regrouped and moved on in part from what happened even though the pain remains from the loss.

I remember something my dear friend Tammy Lahew said last year a day after the fires during our interview with her when I was with another publication. "The beauty is still here inside our hearts of this area, but something is tearing it apart." Whatever that something was didn't succeed.

The city of Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains are back and have survived. We truly are Smoky Mountain strong today a year later.

Our prayers and thoughts remain today a year later for those who lost loved ones and property. Your loss will never be forgotten and while scars remain, the healing that has taken place in so many has been one truly of divine origin.

May God bless the Great Smoky Mountains and the city of Gatlinburg. Let's hope this is a once in a lifetime event that will never be repeated ever again. The beauty of these hills are truly alive with the sound and character of its citizens. I'm proud to be one of them. God bless.

Christopher McDonald, Publisher, Editor in Charge

Great Smoky Mountain Journal