Nation
Thousands flee deadly wildfiresGATLINBURG, Tenn. — Thousands of people raced through a hellish landscape as they fled wildfires that killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes and a resort in the Great Smoky Mountains.Fanned by hurricane-force winds, the flames reached the doorstep of Dollywood, the theme park named after country music legend and local hero Dolly Parton. But the attraction was spared significant damage.The fires spread quickly on Monday night, when winds topping 87 mph whipped up the flames, catching residents and tourists in the Gatlinburg area by surprise. Police banged on doors and told people to get out immediately. Some trekked 20 minutes to catch lifesaving rides on trolleys usually reserved for tours.“There was fire everywhere. It was like we were in hell,” said Linda Monholland, who was working at Park View Inn in Gatlinburg when she and five other people fled on foot. In all, more than 14,000 residents and tourists were forced to evacuate the tourist city in the mountains, where some hot spots persisted and a curfew was in place Tuesday night.No details on the deaths were immediately available. More than a dozen people were injured.The extent of the damage began to emerge even as smoke from the wildfires lingered late Tuesday afternoon.The Castle, perhaps the largest and most iconic home in Gatlinburg, was destroyed. So was Cupid’s Chapel of Love, a wedding venue.Entire churches were gone. Scorched cars parked outside sat on their rims after their tires had melted away. The only sound came from the screech of hotel fire alarms echoing through the empty streets.Marci Claude, a spokesman for both the city and the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, choked up as she surveyed the damage for the first time on a media tour.“I’m just astonished this is my town,” she said.Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said officials were still conducting search-and-rescue missions.
Thanksgiving meal kills 3, sickens 14SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Bay Area health officials warned the public Tuesday to throw out any leftovers from a community Thanksgiving meal they suspect killed three people and sickened at least 14 people.Officials are still trying to determine what specifically caused the illnesses, but they appear to have narrowed the source to a church-sponsored meal held at the American Legion hall in Antioch, Calif.The free, community meal is an annual event that this year turned tragic. Thursday’s feast hosted by the Golden Hills Community Church served 835 people, including residents of assisted living facilities, homeless people and anyone who wanted a holiday meal, health officials said.All those who got sick ate food from the event and most became ill within 24 hours, said Dr. Louise McNitt, deputy health officer for Contra Costa County. The three people who died were admitted to the hospital on Friday and Saturday.Those who got sick ranged in age from teenagers to their 70s.
Strep outbreak claims 4 in AlaskaANCHORAGE, Alaska — Four Alaskans have died this year in an outbreak of invasive strep bacteria that has mostly affected the homeless and Alaska Natives in the state’s two largest cities, the state’s epidemiologist said Tuesday.There have been 28 confirmed hospitalization cases of a new strain of Group A Streptococcus bacteria, starting with 10 cases in Fairbanks earlier this year and, more recently, 18 cases in Anchorage, Joe McLaughlin said.Among the total, 15 involved homeless people in Anchorage and two homeless people in Fairbanks.Two of the deaths occurred in Fairbanks and two in Anchorage. Another three probable cases in Anchorage have not been confirmed.
