Wildfires Destroy One House in Tennessee
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Firefighters beat down smoldering blazes and helicopters dumped water as officials struggled to reinforce a containment line protecting a small resort community in the Smoky Mountains.
About 30 of some 700 residences and vacation cabins were threatened in a steep area near the foot of Bluff Mountain, about 30 miles from Knoxville. One house was destroyed but no injuries were reported.
Tom Womack, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, said the blaze was controlled Tuesday but flared up again Wednesday. Forty firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service were headed in to help.
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Firefighters managed to beat the flames back from within a few feet of one home. ``We're not fighting a losing battle. Those houses are still standing,'' said Sevier County volunteer firefighter John Specht.
Some 520 fires have scorched more than 29,000 acres in Tennessee since Oct. 31.
``We're holding our own, but the situation is really dangerous,'' said Dwight Barnett, a state forestry spokesman. ``We couldn't possibly control anything if it got real windy,'' he said.
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Elsewhere, the U.S. Forest Service agreed to a state request for additional funds and crews to help battle fires that were spreading northward across dry woodlands. Many were the result of arson.