Archived Outdoors
Elkmont building in Smokies burns
Nature knocked an item off the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s to-do list when a fire sparked a structure in the Elkmont area of the park.
The 8,600-square-foot building was an annex to the former Wonderland Hotel, a former resort community in the area. The hotel itself had been removed some years ago, and the annex had been slated for removal but awaiting funding to take it down.
A park visitor reported the fire at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 19. The fire was contained to the structure’s immediate area, about half an acre, by the park’s fire management crew and the Gatlinburg Fire Department, and the building burned to the ground.