earlier in the day smoke blanketed gatlinburg and difficult situations here in gatlinburg. if you are a person that prays we could use your prayers. >> this red cross shelter is one of many locations where residents stay the night fleeing the fire. 600 registered residents are here and many don't know what they will go home to. for cbs news. >>> you may be feeling overwhelmed by all of the images and information coming take a moment to stop and look at your screen. people took out their phones to record something they thought they would never see and were playing some of that raw video.>> we are here and went to gain -- at wingate resort. wow. >> it almost did it looked real. the sky is orange. 10news and partners are staying on top of the story and you can be the 1st to know when the evacuation orders are lifted with alerro 10news app. >>> brazil is morning. the country is reeling after a plane crash that killed most of the popular soccer team. 71 died but listen to this, six survived. the team was headed to columbia for the south american cup finals. we will know what bro

and gatlinburg. if you are a person that prays prayers. >> this is one of many locations for residents to stay the night are 600 residents are registered here and many of them don't know what they will go home to. danny rivera, cbs news. >>> a popular tourist spot is over gatlinburg. the facility had burned. it is not the case. they are looking at property after sunrise today. for employees, they are being told the building is standing an right. >> 10news parent company in knoxville, they have continuous coverage of the fire today. if you want to stay on top of what's happening go to our website, wtsp.com. we are live streaming as well and we have a news conference that just wrapped up. as we get new information, go >>> today we are getting a better look at the crash site. this is what it looks like over the scene where the plane crashed that killed a brazilian soccer team earlier today. they were heading to columbia for a regional tournament final. you can see from the air the pieces of this plane b

it blanketed gatlinburg in a cloud. >> we are dealing with different situations here in gatlinburg and if you are a person who prays, we can use your prayers. >> this is many locations where they stayed the night. and this is the fast-moving fires here in gatlinburg. >> 600 residents are registered and they don't know what they >> this is gatlinburg, tennessee. >> that is incredible. thank you for that. >> if you seeing smoke in the in the flagstaff area. the flagstaff fire department is doing pile burning in the area today. now, developing a story out of colombua, they found six survivors that killed 76 people in the mountains. the charter plane was a first division brazilian soccer team and reporters headed to the major soccer competition. they shared video of themselves. shortly before takeoff: the survivors include three of the players. the plane was five minutes away when the crew declared an electrical emergency and the plane disappeared from radar. >>> back here in the valley, three people were in the hospital after a crash involving a wrong-way driver near anthem. got on the in

smoke blanketed gatlinburg with an ominous cloud. this is one of many locations where residents spent the night to flee the fast-moving wildfires here in gatlinburg. 600 residents are registered here and many of them don't know what they are going to go home to. kitty rivera cbs news gatlinburg, tennessee. >> they definitely could use some rainfall in tennessee. we have good news tonight. >>> you can see showers, a big area causing some problems. here is tennessee right here and here is the area of gatlinburg. this is the area that could experience some rainfall tonight. that would definitely help out the firefighters. let's take a look at our forecast now. it was another cold one today, temperatures below freezing with some fresh snowfall earlier this morning here. they are making snow toward some rice park reserve -- resort. flagstaff and toward these areas, we are talking single digits for overnight lo tonto national forest and down to casa grande in tucson, freeze warnings are in effect again for tomorrow. keep that in mind if yo

tourists fleeing gatlinburg and pigeon forge. 14,000 fled. gatlinburg alone. this video taken last night by an evacuee. the flames looking like lava in this video. state troopers posted pictures of them taking pictures who were trapped by the flames. emergency management officials say four people injured. no reports of fatalties but hundreds of structures throughout the area have been damaged or destroyed by the wildfires. the situation is so dangerous, at one point, guests were trapped inside a hilton hotel surrounded by flames, too close for them to leave. the flames are threatening the famous resort theme park dollywood. there's no damage to the park so far but more than a dozen of its smokey mountain cabins have been damaged. let me bring in brad kisserman. thank you so much for your time. we look at these flames. i talked to my colleague al roker tracking the forecast and it's a pretty rough situation for the folks affected. what are you told by your team? >> worst possible conditions is what i'm hearing from my team on the ground and let me just say, tha

the flames forced more than 14-thousand people gatlinburg in the great smokey mountains. demarco morgan reports from the heart of the d. destruction. (pkg)(track 1)parts of gatlinburg tennessee look like a scorched ghost town.with smoldering homes burnt to the ground.sot: greg miller gatlinburg fire chief (08-:18) we are still having because of the wind, trees that are falling. they are taking down power lines, that's limiting our access into some of these areas.(track 3)the flames hollowed out homes and buildings.many people forced to evacuate sought refuge in the red cross.greg lanham and his family spent the night here after escaping the fire (sot: greg lanham/gatlinburg resident) (:31-:38)"you're looking out of every window you can you're watching for a glow in the distance, there's smoke everywhere (nat)(track 4) the terrifying scene as they left was similar to what many encountered on the evacuation route. thick smoke blanketed the roads as the flames crept closer. (greg) "is it gonna reach this, is it gonna explode while were in traffic, what's gonna happen...you j

dani ruberti is in gatlinburg with the latest. (mayor larry waters/sevier county, tn) "we've all been overwhelmed at the scenes of destruction in the county, and particularly the city of gatlinburg." cell phone video shows flames surrounding a driver evacuating the area of gatlinburg tennessee late monday night. fire threatened to block off the only road to safet "go go go go go" at one point sparks flew over the windshield (nat) "almost every single cabin has burned to the freaking ground" the driver says he was able to escape...it is unclear if everyone was as lucky (nat) flames closed in on the park vista hotel in downtown gatlinburg . (nat) people trapped inside recorded video on their cell phones as the fire burned. (nat) the lights flickered on and off in the smoke filled lobby where guests were forced to wear masks. logan baker was inside (sot baker) "so they are keeping us in here for now, but the smoke is really bad in here" at one point at least thirty structures in gatlinburg at one point at least thirty structures in g

todda gatlinburg.... tonight. todd? downtown gatlinburg was mostly spared but all around it is essentially gone. hundreds, including the mayor of gatlinburg himself, have lost their homes, their businesses, and plenty of other buildings. we have now learned that 3 people have been killed, 14 hurt, but that could have been so much higher as thousands ran the inferno in this east tennessee mountain town is something firefighters and residents had never imagined.. supt. cassius m. cash, great smoky mountain national park service: "all the previous fires i've been part of could not have prepared me for what we've experienced over the past 24 hours.." new video today shows some of the hundreds of buildings that were torched... more than 10-thousand people evacuated as the flames ripped gatlinburg, nearby pigeon forge.. and the dollywood resort were all evacuated.. cabins and homes are packed onto tiny winding roads in dense trees.. the drought conditions in the southeast made conditions ripe to break out of control like they

their homes...as a wall of flames closed in on gatlinburg. it's being fueled by the area's worst drought in a decade. demarco morgan is in tennessee with the latest. :47 - :52 -- bruce wilson / sullivan county fire chief 1:10 - 1:16 -- greg lanham / gatlinburg, tn resident 1:16 - 1:33 -- demarco morgan / cbs news, gatlinburg, tn "hit the gas! hit the gas!" you're watching cell phone video taken by two brothers as they escaped from a vacation resort area in the mountains of gatlinburg, tn ..they say they had no warning as the wall of flames surrounded them last night. and their only choice was to ride through - or die. please lord let us get off this mountain by early evening, wind speeds suddenly doubled -- turning into hurricane force winds that topped 87 miles per hour. fires quickly spread in this drought stricken area when burning embers flew and toppled trees ripped down powerlines. "this is so close to the resort" this community is at the edge of great smoky mountains national park, the most visited national park in the country. bruce w

gatlinburg is right outside 'the great smoky mountains national park'... which is the most visited national park in the country. there were fears that dolly parton's theme park 'dollywood' could catch fire... but so far the park has been spared./// ((denise valdez)) >>> a freeze warning is expected overnight... we sent meteorologist katie boer to a chilly place where she can prepare for the temperatures! ((dave courvoisier)) >> she's live at 'the ice katie? ((katie boer)) good evening...i'm tracking some season with our first widespread freeze arriving overnight and early tomorrow morning across portions of clark county. ................. that freeze warning remains in effect from 2 am to 8 am wednesday with widespread minimum temperatures 28-32 degrees expected for the first time this season across portions of central and northeast clark counties in nevada and the high desert zones temperatures are expected to remain slightly above freezing near downtown las vegas and the strip...but areas near henderson...sum merlin...mountai ns edge...and nellis air for

of a hotel in gatlinburg where - the hotel. so it's a bad scene. it really is. now, this is kind of interesting folk froms a weather state on the east side of gatlinburg, 118 degrees. now, that's not because it was a hot, sunny day. this is understand arizona. this is literally heat from nearby fires that have made the temperature at that station 118 degrees, and then the station here. humidity was 21%. look at the winds. south-southwest at 43, and gusting to 69 miles per hour. again, this station stopped working soon after we saw the 118 degrees on the east side of gatlinburg. so here it is. there is light rain over eastern tennessee. in the short term there's a lot of wind with the front, blowing the fires around the city. there's also fires elsewhere. is good for the folks from birmingham all the way up to huntsville near atlanta now, which has been very dry. they get some rain up along the blue ridge parkway and up by boone and banner elk we get rain, too. it will rain for a couple of days, so that's good. the situation right now, the short term is dire in g

tourists fleeing gatlinburg and pigeon forge. 14,000 fled. gatlinburg alone. this video taken last night by an evacuee. the flames looking like lava in this video. state troopers posted pictures of them taking pictures who were trapped by the flames. emergency management officials say four people injured. no reports of fatalties but hundreds of structures throughout the area have been damaged or destroyed by the wildfires. the situation is so dangerous, at one point, guests were trapped inside a hilton hotel surrounded by flames, too close for them to leave. the flames are

news tomorrow of a hotel in gatlinburg where - fire is pretty much engulfing the hotel. so it's a bad scene. it really is. now, this is kind of interesting folk froms a weather state on the east side of gatlinburg, 118 degrees. now, that's not because it was a hot, sunny day. this is understand arizona. this is literally heat from nearby fires that have made the stopped working for obviously reasons. look at some of the numbers here. humidity was 21%. look at the winds. south-southwest at 43, and gusting to 69 miles per hour. again, this station stopped working soon after we saw the 118 degrees on the east side of gatlinburg. so here it is. there is light rain over eastern tennessee. in the short term there's a the fires around the city. there's also fires elsewhere. good soaking in alabama, so this is good for the folks from birmingham all the way up to huntsville near atlanta now, which has been very dry. they get some rain up along the blue ridge parkway and up by boone and banner elk we get rain, too. it will rain for a couple of days, so that's good. the situation r

. >>> four people confirmed dead in gatlinburg, tennessee from a wildfire. the fires destroyed more than 150 homes and businesses in the touristy town, the mayor is among those who lost his home but today he says they recover.>>> that is our message, we will be okay. if you want to do something for gatlinburg, we will be back on our feet in a short time, come visit us, come vacation here. >> gatlinburg is expected to open up friday more than 14,000 people have evacuated, the wildfires have burned more than 15,000 acres in the great smoky that sparked several others was started by someone. lesko live to a press conference in tennessee. >> i recently met with our sheriff. are highway superintendent. and our director of schools who you will hear from in a few moments. regarding the situation in the county we are updating numbers from 150 structures either damaged county into an excess of 400 structures in sevier county. we will keep you updated on that situation as it develops and as we continue to get into some of these areas that we haven't been able to acces

you can see how this is all shaded in around gatlinburg. that is because they are under high wind advisories and warnings. what they are looking at is another front approaching kicking up the wind speeds up to 30 or 60 miles-per-hour in the higher elevations. and why you see the yellows and oranges to the west is because there is a threat of severe this means some pretty strong storms headed their way and fortunately there is at least a potential for summer rainfall to go along with it to dampen down some of those buyers and decrease the intensity but 30 and 60 miles-per-hour winds into the day tomorrow. fortunately there is a higher rain chances along with a storm chance with the lightning in a dry scenario could end up sparking more fires. it is not really a perfect situation, but there are some aspects that could be helpful. as far as our weather is concerned, the fronts that will roll through is going to bring us our next cool down. more on that and when we will feel that coming up in my next forecast. >>> a little more information abou

flames closed in on the park vista hotel in downtown gatlinburg. people trapped inside recorded video on their cell phones as the fire burned. the lights flickered on and off in the smoke-filled lobby. structures if gatlinburg were burning. >> we're just now beginning to assess the loss of structures and again conditions throughout the area. >> it's so hot. >> high winds caused the fire, which began in the smoky mountains last week to descend on surrounding towns. they were forced to evacuate. earlier in the day smoke blanketed gatlinburg in an ominous cloud. this red cross sheller is one of many locations residents stayed the night. fleeing the fast moving wildfires in gatlinburg. 600 residents are registered here. many of them don't know what they're going to go home to. cbs news, gatlinburg, tennessee. >> impressive video we've seen from this fire. it's come from social media. this is some video here of somebody driving through the wildfire near gatlinburg. there's more video where you can see someone driving around and you see fire on the groun

there were harrowing tales like that all over gatlinburg. people trying to get out. some of them did not. as of now, we know at least three people killed at different locations. the local fire chief said they don't know if more people were killed because they have not been able to get to any area. you've got fire crews outside of gatlinburg. they're getting ready to deploy another truck here. a short time ago we saw a bunch ever them stream out of here with sirens blazing. you know, this came up on people so very fast. that a lot of people did not have time to get out. very little time. this is a situation where high winds, some as strong as hurricane force high 80s miles per hour, were blowing embers miles from where they picked the embers up and dumping the embers on trees like they were match sticks because this place has experienced a drought since april. i spoke to a spokeswoman who said as of now there are about 15,000 acres that have been charred. and she said, a very important piece of information she gave us, she said this was human cause. now, i pressed her

yes, it's not only destructive but extremely dangerous, as emergency workers evacuate people in gatlinburg, pigeon small towns around the area, firefighters from 16 states are working to battle the massive blaze. right now-- the fire continues to burn around the city of pigeon forge, were at least 500 people have been evacuated. sharing terrifying videos as they leave their homes, hotels and businesses behind. more firefighters will be getting to tennessee from around the country this morning to smoke in the air is so thick that several schools and daycares are forced to close this morning. more than 1,200 people are in shelters right more than 1,200 people are in shelters right now--- as dozens of buildings burn to the ground, including a 16-story hotel. we're only hearing who was burned while escaping the flames, but they are expected to be okay. here's what i'm looking into at 5- 30....there's an aquarium in gatlinburg that had to abandon more than 10-thousand sea creatures as they evacuated town. just one of many terrifying stories out of tennessee.. jenny.... overnight, a plane carryi

the mayor of gatlinburg, tennessee says the city may re-open later this week. that's after wildfires forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists. the wildfires that swept through the great smok killed seven people and injured time for our first look at the weather this afternoon.it's getting a little chilly out there.meteorologist jesse ritka joins us with the storm team forecast. the same storm system that brought us monday's rain continues to crawl across the country at a snails pace, the center of the low pressure will move across wisconsin today and into thursday, wrapping a bit of moisture mixing in with scattered light snow showers will be present this evening and into the overnight hours when more snow may mix in. a shooting steps away from the milwaukee county courthouse steps lands two people in jail. pete zervakis explains what we know thus far. officers remained on scene here into the afternoon... after shots rang out around hurt. police say the targets were a 24 year old woman and a 27 year old man.the alleged shooter - a 45 year ol

communities there had to evacuate and no one is allowed into gatlinburg. the mayor there says half the city has been impacted by the flames. you can still see plenty of charred smoking debris. high winds spread the fire from the smoky mountains national park and a mother who stayed at the hotel there as the flames closed in. they thought they were near the end.>> i newly only had minutes and that we would eventually pass out and i was thinking it would pay people so they didn't have to -- sorry. experience anything more devastating than what they had already experienced. >> we were worried about the fire. it was the smoke that was what was the main problem.>> to be in the state of mind. far as writing down her family members names and ages so they could be easily identified if they didn't make it. they are doing okay and are safe tonight. >>> colombian forces looking for the wreckage of a plane crash on the brazilian soccer team. the plane shattered into pieces in the jungle. the head of colombian aviation says 75 people were killed. six survivors are bein

the resort city of gatlinburg under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. to keep residents and tourists safe. >> the fire destroyed much of the town at the foot of the great smokey mountains. unbelievable footage we're seeing. gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour pushed flames over 20 just the clothes on their backs. three deaths are being blamed on the flames. investigators say the fire that started it all was caused by humans. >> earliier we spoke with mark nagi with the department of transportation, spending all day driving around the coupe. >> i know you toured the area, what did you tell us about the destruction there? >> caller: good news is downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all in tact, but you go on the side a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off. >> wow. >> caller: homes that are -- you only know they were there because the foundation is all that remains, and it's something that's going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. >> as you drove around the area, were you stunned but how devastating this was?

daylight in the hills above gatlinburg has revealed devastation. throughout the hillside dozens of homes were taken away by the flames people still have not been allowed home to see what they have lost. crews are working diligently to get the power back on and battle these hotspots even though the rain has been coming down steadily it has not done much to extinguish a lot of the smaller fires popping up throughout the area. the rain is creating another problem. a lot of the fire took away brute systems holding back mud they are worried about mudslides. the gatlinburg area can't seem to catch a break. that is the latest from there

as fire burns all around gatlinburg, the big concern is power outage. the family of a popular local musician will be making funeral arrangements later this morning for rob cartwright. before rob was a member of the bearded brothers band, he was a baby faced violinist. his first violin was bought on a whim by his uncle who had planned on hanging it on his wall. instead it became a lifelong passion for rob. he played everything from classical to country rock performing at bars around the bay area. rob died sunday night when florida highway patrol says an suv turned in front of him while he was riding on us 19 in hudson. for many of us, it's been a busy holiday shopping weekend. but now it's time to turn the focus away from ourselves and onto causes we care 10news reporter emerald morrow is live at spca tampa bay this morning. emerald, today is "giving tuesday," which is a great opportunity to help charitable organizations just like this one. yeah, over the last five years, giving tuesday has grown into a huge event nationwide... it all started as a social

. >>> then, a raging inferno in tennessee has gatlinburg waking up empty and ravaged. what the city's mayor is asking for this morning. >>> three new businesses could help the east bank bounce back. we'll have details. >>> first, let's get a check on >> we have warm temperatures for today. we have rain showers out there this morning. this is the same big system we talked about yesterday, range going on this morning in the far southern part of our coverage area. that's going to continue to move off to the north and northeast as the morning goes on. a you few more spotty showers -- a few more spotty showers are possible today. temperatures will be in the upper 50s to lower 60s. by tomorrow as a cold front it's back to the colder air. i'll tell you how cold as our morning goes on. >>> a couple traffic incidents to talk about this morning. ivanhoe road is closed south of saint claire. a car hit a pole overnight. crews are cleaning up the scene. the driver is in stable condition in the hospital. a serious motorcycle crash on the west side of cleveland, the near west 85th st

cbs news, gatlinburg, tennessee. >> dolly parton's theme park is just north of the fire zone. it has not been damaged but more than a dozen cabins operated by the park are damaged or destroyed. >>> president-elect donald trump has made his picks for transportation secretary. head of the department of health and human services and treasury secretary. this is the news across will be treasury secretary. georgia congressman tom price, nominated to lead the department of health and human services. price is an orthopedic surgeon who wants to blow up obama care. mr. trump wants elaine chow to be transportation secretary. president-elect trump tweeted this morning there should be consequences for burning the american flag. he suggested loss of citizenship or a year in jail. that flag burning constitutes free speech. conservative justice antonin scalia was part of the majority opinion. >>> investigators believe the student who went on the attack at ohio state university was infired by isis. abdul razak ali artan crashed his car into a group of people and started stabbing people with a

gatlinburg was closed and is going to remain closed. fire officials telling us they hope to let people in, but, again, there is no guarantee. abc news, gatlinburg. >>> and we have breaking news from northern california where an inmate who escaped jail is in custody. leron campbell has been on the run for nearly a week after escaping the santa clara county jail with three other inmates. two inmates found immediately, and the search continues for the fourth, chavez. >>> mitt romney says he had a wonderful evening with donald trump last night as trump looks to name a secretary of state. romney was deeply critical of trump in the campaign, slamming him as a fraud and a con man. he now says the president-elect can lead us to a better future. >> and he continues with a message of enconclusion and bringing people together. and his vision is something which, obviously, connected with the american people in a very powerful way. >>> trump's administration is taking shape with more appointments, and former goldman sachs executive steve ma mutualin

with dolly parton in pigeon forge which is about 10 miles north of gatlinburg. even before these fire started burning, everyone talking about the drought. historically dry and no substantial rain and the last few months. the smoky mountains are actually of rain forests. they get more than 68 inches of rain annually and that classifies them as a rain forests. phone and typically the rocks in this creek are underwater. you can tell how high the water normally stands. being so close to dollywood and her resort, dolly parton issued this statement saying i have a watching the terrible fires in the great smoky mountains and i am heartbroken. i am praying for all the families affected by the fire it is a blessing my dollywood theme park and so many business owners in pigeon forge have been spared. it is a coincidence that her theme park is in pigeon forge. she grew up in severe county and you will see that tomorrow night and her -- on her christmas special. >> that is normally a rainy area and when the rains to return, that area could be just dealing with horrible floo

sound tammy leng gatlinburg evacuee :10-:12"it was literally like driving through hell."the largest fire for the volunteer state in more than 100 years--- leaving four dead and several missin natural sound tammy leng's husband gatlinburg evacuee "watch as we drive past, to see a huge flame."tammy leng and her husband are among more than 14-thousand forced to leav rushing to get to safety through ash and smoke.. sound tammy leng - gatlinburg evacuee :30-:34"you could see glow from the fire coming coming at you but all you could think was we got out but we are going to die."now safe in a shelter -- they're anxious to know the status of their homesadly, jeri and jeff morgan -already learned theirs. natural sound jeff morgan "that was our big beautiful stone wall. recently remodeling their pigeon forge house parts are now burned beyond recognition. sound jeri morgan - lost home, pigeon forge, tn :49-:56"my mom and my grandmothers wedding dress chest."with the prospect of starting over now top of mind ---others are still in harms way. more than 200 firefighters are taking the

the resort city of gatlinburg under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. to keep residents and tourists safe. >> the fire destroyed much of the town at the foot of the great smokey mountains. unbelievable footage we're seeing. gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour pushed flames over 20 square miles. evacuated. some managed to get out with just the clothes on their backs. three deaths are being blamed on the flames. investigators say the fire that started it all was caused by humans. >> earliier we spoke with mark nagi with the department of transportation, spending all day driving around the coupe. >> i know you toured the area, what did you tell us about the destruction there? >> caller: good news is downtown gatlinburg i tact, but you go on the side streets and maybe within a half a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off. >> wow. >> caller: homes that are -- you only know they were there because the foundation is all that remains, and it's something that's going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. >> as you drov

gatlinburg was closed and is going to remain closed. fire officials telling us they hope to let people in, but, again, there is no guarantee. abc news, gatlinburg. >>> and we have breaking news from northern california where an inmate who escaped jail is in custody. leron campbell has been on the run for nearly a week aft escaping the santa clara county jail with three other inmates. two inmates found immediately, and the search continues for the fourth, chavez. >>> mitt romney says he had a wonderl evening with donald trump last night as trump looks to name a secretary of state. romney was deeply critical of trump in the campaign, slamming him as a fraud and a con man. he now says the president-elect can lead us to a better future. >> and he continues with a message of enconclusion and and his vision is something which, obviously, connected with the american people in a very powerful way. >>> trump's administration is taking shape with more appointments, and former goldman sachs executive steve ma mutualin is expected to be named treas

but >>> gatlinburg officials say they are conducting search and rescue operations. what you're looking at right now is video believed to be the result of a pipeline explosion near kansas city international >>> donald trump is sparking debate towards burning the american flag. check out the president-elect's tweets, no one should be allowed to burn the american flag. if they do, there must be consequences. perhaps lose their citizenship or a year in jail. is that even possible that? we are getting answers. >> should flagburning be a crime? the question has set social media on fire. steve says of course not, infringing on right like free speech is an opening to take away our rights. and dorothy writes, if you disrespect the flag, you disrespect the people who fought for your freedom. yes, go straight to jail is a federal crime. no matter where you stand on burning at this law professor tells me it is out of the future president's hands to >> the controversy over burning the flag reignites after the election of donald trump when protesters burned it on the massachusett

the resort city of gatlinburg under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. to keep residents and tourists safe. >> the fire destroyed much of the town at the foot of the great smokey mountains. unbelievable footage we're seeing. gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour pushed flames over 20 square miles. >> 14,000 residents and tourists evacuated. some managed to get out with just the clothes on their backs. three deaths are being blamed on the flames. investigators say the fire that started it all was caused by humans. >> earlieier we spoke with mark nagi with the department of transportation, spending all day driving around the coupe. >> i know you toured the area, what did you tell us about the destruction there? >> caller: good news is downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all in tact, but you go on the side streets and maybe within a half a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off. >> wow. >> caller: homes that are -- you only know they were there because the foundation is all that remains, and it's something that's going to take a long time

a dire situation in gatlinburg right now. apparently the winds are gusting up to 50 miles per hour fanning the flames. you can see here in the smoke plumes before the rain moves in. they're getting rain. there are at least 13 structure fires. the park vista hotel from what we're hearing from tweets and media outlets is on fire. hear more about that. but it's a nasty situation there in gatlinburg. hopefully that rain you'll see will help welch some of the flames. there were lots of warnings earlier. these are the storm reports. even reports of tornadoes touching down in iowa. here in central louisiana. this storm is weakening. as it approaches, it'll break apart. and the next half hour, just some spotty areas of rain. we'll take a look at that on futurecast. to the east by 7:00 a.m. soaking the mountains with much needed rainfall. for us, we'll wake up to cloudy skies. in fact, the winds are picking up to the south about 15 miles per hour. it remains rather breezy overnight. breezy in the morning when you wake up. it'll be war

there is going to be a lot of rain moving in to gatlinburg and knoxville. it will make its way to the east. a good intro of rain will help put out most of those fires, and that is great news, but coming with the possibility of severe weather throughout the night. in our forecast, temperatures cooler, but still above average. 46 degrees, not too much wind, but cloudy conditions fail. we will watch -- cloudy conditions prevail showers into tomorrow night. joyce: thank you. the trump transition continues as the president-elect adds to his cabinet. just hours ago trump, mitt romney, and reince priebus were seen eating dinner together in new york city. romney is reportedly still being considered for secretary of state. other cabinet members were announced today including , billionaire wilbur ross for commerce secretary and former goldman sachs executive steven mnuchin for treasury secretary. romney spoke after tonight's dinner. carrying out a transition effort, and i have to tell you that i've been impressed with what i've seen in the transition effort. the peop

mark barker is in the hardest hit area of gatlinburg with the >> the scene around gatlinburg tennessee is utter devastation, hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged and destroyed by a fast moving wildfire that erupted overnight into a inferno. >> this sapphire for the history books, because it is unlike anything most have ever seen. >> several wildfires in east tennessee fueled by high winds and dry brush reached out of hour. >> it's hurricane force, there's nowhere to be when you're trying to fight a fire. >> flames came close to a hotel terrifying guests. 14,000 people were evacuated in gatlinburg. >> i'm glad they did when they did. those flames are right up on us. >> we couldn't see, if they didn't come and get us, we wouldn't have gotten out at all. >> some were choked by smoke and names others were escorted on blocked roads. >>> and homes lost and lives forever altered. >> this may appear to be at the blink of an eye, it touches your heart. >> this area is suddenly changed overnight, but vowing to rebuild. >>> and this image from the fire has been shared on social media all

the resort city of gatlinburg under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. to keep residents and tourists safe. >> the fire destroyed much of the town at the foot of the great smokey mountains. unbelievable footage we're seeing. gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour pushed flames over 20 square miles. >> 14,000 residents and tourists three deaths are being blamed on the flames. investigators say the fire that started it all was caused by humans. >> earliier we spoke with mark nagi with the department of transportation, spending all day driving around the coupe. >> i know you toured the area, what did you tell us about the destruction there? >> caller: good news is downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all in tact, but you go on the side streets and maybe within a a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off. >> wow. >> caller: homes that are -- you only know they were there because the foundation is all that remains, and it's something that's going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. >> as you drove around the area, were y

it is near dolly parton's dollywood in the popular town of gatlinburg. >> the gatlinburg chapel appears to be a total loss famous in the area for its wedding venue. >>> rain is helping firefighters. it'll be wet across the area where fires are burning as you can see there on our map. know in the rockies and northern slippery. wet roads also in the northwest. >>> if you're flying airport delays are possible along the northeast corridor from boston to washington, as well as in atlanta and new orleans. >>> now to a bizarre incident at houston's airport. a passenger pulled open the emergency exit on a moving plane and jumped onto the tarmac. >> she was quickly captured by police. but it's not the first time that someone has misused those exits. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: passengers on this jet were stunned. >> a lady on this flight just opened the door and jumped out >> reporter: landing in houston from new orleans but not at the gate yet, the emergency door is gone, as well as a passenger. spotted on video obtained by kprc, she is seen running across the tarmac towards the ter

gatlinburg was closed and is going to remain closed. fire officials telling us they hope to let people in, but, again, there is no guarantee. abc news, gatlinburg. >>> and we have breaking news from northern california where an inmate who escaped jail is in custody. leron campbell has been on the run for nearly a week after escaping the santa clara county jail with three other inmates. two inmates found immediately, and the search continues for the fourth, chav >>> mitt romney says he had a wonderful evening with donald trump last night as trump looks to name a secretary of state. romney was deeply critical of trump in the campaign, slamming him as a fraud and a con man. he now says the president-elect can lead us to a better future. >> and he continues with a message of enconclusion and bringing people together. and his vision is something which, obviously, connected with the american people in a very powerful way. >>> trump's administration is taking shape with more sachs executive steve ma mutualin is expected to be named treasury se

more than 4700 feet above gatlinburg. the city itself now a virtual tourist mecca charred and vakant. firefighters working through a second straight night as a number of small wildfires are still burning. the wind-whipped flames gracing across the mountains last night burning 20 square miles and catching everyone off guard. >> after watching the video it's amazing to even think that we even made it down. >> go, go, go. >> reporter: this dramatic video shows anthony fulton and his stepbrother driving past burning >> when we went i could not believe what i just seen. stay calm. do what you do. drive and get the hell off this mountain. >> reporter: the extent of the damage coming into focus. devastating. >> the good news is that downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all intact but you go onto the side streets and maybe within a half a mile of that main strip it looks like a bomb has gone off and it's something that is going to take a long >> reporter: street after street looking like this. a burned out jeep. a row of melted was

but i wanted to let you know that gatlinburg is a very strong very resilient community, we've got people that are reaching and we just want to let people know that we will rebuild, and we will remain the premiere resort community that we are and our guests love gatlinburg and it will be okay. i told my kids this morning i've got 7 kids and i've told all of them, you know, whatever -- whatever happens material things they can be replaced, but as gatlinburg will rebuild. and everything is going to be fine. and at this time i'm going to introduce our fire chief gregg miller. . >> all right. yes, you've been listening to an update on those wildfires in tennessee did he say mating areas there. arson suspected. >> and they were about to listen from the -- words from the fire chief. we're going to listen to that offline. definitely lots of focus on this being a big tourist area especially during the holiday season. >> so we're going to check in on our weather locally. >>> thankfully they received some rainfall this morning across east tennessee more rain in the forecast or tonight and wednesday

devastating. >> the good news is that downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all intact, but you go onto the side streets and maybe within a half a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off, and it's something that is going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. looking like this. a burned out jeep. a row of melted washer and dryers and charred foundations where homes once stood. abc's linzie janis is there. >> reporter: just look at this home completely burned to the ground. you can see this giant steel beam twisted and bent by the heat of the fire. it's still smoldering. >> reporter: this morning 2,000 people waking up in this community center and telling stories of survival. >> i'm stomping out embers in the middle of the street trying to, you know, stop fires, but then luckily a young lady named heather, and if you see this heather, thank you so much, she picked us up and brought us here. >> the impact that people are having on each other. >> and you can see and hear it there as you listen to that interview, and overnight, that severe weather is

it is near dolly parton's dollywood in the popular town of gatlinburg. >> the gatlinburg chapel appears to be a total loss famous in the area for its wedding venue. >>> rain is helping firefighters. it'll be wet across the area where fires are burning as you can see there on our map. know in the rockies and northern plains will make things slippery. >>> if you're flying airport delays are possible along the northeast corridor from boston to washington, as well as in atlanta and new orleans. >>> now to a bizarre incident at houston's airport. a passenger pulled open the emergency exit on a moving plane and jumped onto the tarmac. >> she was quickly captured by police. but it's not the first time that someone has misused those exits. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: passengers on this jet were stunned. >> a lady on this flight just opened the door and jumped out of the plane. >> reporter: from new orleans but not at the gate yet, the emergency door is gone, as well as a passenger. spotted on video obtained by kprc, she is seen running across the tarmac towards the terminal but auth

, was the business also in gatlinburg and what kind of business was it? >> yes. we have a family business, car and jeep rentals on route 321 in gatlinburg. it's destroyed. there's a few vehicles that are there. but basically the majority of the vehicles have gone, the business, the building is down. we lost our home. we lost our car. we definitely g ll lly got conf the house and my neighborhood is gone. >> we're all very sorry to hear that. one of the questions continues to be heads up, did you guys get a heads up, any sort of warning from officials there? >> no. >> nothing at all? >> nothing at all. we were told to stay in our homes. we were told that the fire was ten miles away. and that we -- that if we needed to be evacuated, professionals would come and evacuate us. now, i am not discounting all the measures that chief miller took and mayor albert warner. they were overwhelmed. they did their best. this is not something anybody could prepare for. gatlinburg is a very small town. it's not even maybe 3,500 people that live here. we are family. and ther

devastating. >> the good news is that downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all intact, but you go onto the side streets and maybe within a half a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off, and it's something that is going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. >> reporter: street after street a burned out jeep. a row of melted washer and dryers and charred foundations where homes once stood. abc's linzie janis is there. >> reporter: just look at this home completely burned to the ground. you can see this giant steel beam twisted and bent by the heat of the fire. it's still smoldering. >> reporter: this morning 2,000 people waking up in this community center and telling stories of survival. >> i'm stomping out embers in the middle of the street trying then luckily a young lady named heather, and if you see this heather, thank you so much, she picked us up and brought us here. >> the impact that people are having on each other. >> and you can see and hear it there as you listen to that interview, and overnight, that severe weather is bringing some re

even the mayor of gatlinburg was not spared from the fire... losing everything he has. werner says: "a couple hours ago, i had an opportunity to drive through town and confirm the fact that my house was gone, and my business of 31 years is gone." now the president-elect is offering any help necessary from his new administration.haslam says: "i just got off the phone with president elect trump and vice president elect mike pence expressing their sorrow about what is happening and pledging to help in any way they can." not everyone is happy with the local government response to the fire... with many narrowly escaping.pelc says: "i walked outside of my door and i looked to the right and the whole mountain w told us they wouldn't give us a ride because we have two small chihuahuas, so we had to walk down the middle of gatlinburg on the parkway." (on-cam tag) thousands are now living at emergency shelters that have been set up... while about a dozen people are getting treatment at local hospitals. in new york, jackie a lot ope wondering how they can help. the american red cr

earlier in the day smoke blanketed gatlinburg in a cloud. this red cross shelter is one of the places where residents stayed fleeing the firefighters. 600 residents are registered and many of them don't know what they are going to go home to. >>> big-time drought conditions in the southeastern u.s. here in california we have had an excellent start to our rainy season. will we add any more rainfall to those robust rain totals? we have actually added a rain chance in the seven-day forecast. find out when next. >> coming up all new at 6:00 tonight, california democrats clinch supermajorities in both houses. so what does that mean? how raising taxes could be the new way to fight back against donald trump. >> but first markets close up again today. here's a look at the closing numbers from wall street. ,,,,,, (my hero zero by lemonheads) zero really can be a hero. get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first month's payment on select volkswagen models. this black friday at the volkswagen sign then drive event. >>> clear skies

it is near dolly parton's dollywood in the popular town of gatlinburg. >> the gatlinburg chapel appears to be a total loss famous in the area for its wedding venue. >>> rain is helping firefighters. it'll be wet across the area where fires are burning as you can see there on our map. know in the rockies and northern slippery. wet roads also in the northwest. >>> if you're flying airport delays are possible along the northeast corridor from boston to washington, as well as in atlanta and new orleans. >>> now to a bizarre incident at houston's airport. a passenger pulled open the emergency exit on a moving plane and jumped onto the tarmac. >> she was quickly captured by police. but it's not the first time that someone has misused those exits. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: passengers on this jet were stunned. >> a lady on this flight just opened the door and jumped out of the pla >> reporter: landing in houston from new orleans but not at the gate yet, the emergency door is gone, as well as a passenger. spotted on video obtained by kprc, she is seen running across the tarmac towa

the resort city of gatlinburg under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. to keep residents and tourists safe. >> the fire destroyed much of the town at the foot of the great smokey mountains. unbelievable footage we're seeing. gusts as strong as 60 miles per hour pushed flames over 20 square miles. just the clothes on their backs. three deaths are being blamed on the flames. investigators say the fire that started it all was caused by humans. >> earliier we spoke with mark nagi with the department of transportation, spending all day driving around the coupe. >> i know you toured the area, what did you tell us about the destruction there? >> caller: good news is downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all in tact, but you go on the side a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off. >> wow. >> caller: homes that are -- you only know they were there because the foundation is all that remains, and it's something that's going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. >> as you drove around the area, were you stunned but how devastat

the resort city of gatlinburg under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. to keep residents and tourists safe. >> the fire destroyed much of the town at the foot of the great smokey mountains. unbelievable footage we're seeing. hour pushed flames over 20 square miles. >> 14,000 residents and tourists evacuated. some managed to get out with just the clothes on their backs. three deaths are being blamed on the flames. investigators say the fire that started it all was caused by humans. >> earliier we spoke with mark nagi with the department of transportation, spending all day driving around the coupe. >> i k what did you tell us about the destruction there? >> caller: good news is downtown gatlinburg is pretty much all in tact, but you go on the side streets and maybe within a half a mile of that main strip, it looks like a bomb has gone off. >> wow. >> caller: homes that are -- you only know they were there because the foundation is all that remains, and it's something that's going to take a long time for the folks in gatlinburg to rebuild. >> as you drove a