Jim Gaines

Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — "Slow.” That’s the word downtown Gatlinburg merchants used repeatedly Monday to characterize their post-wildfire business.

Knots of people walked the streets on the drizzly day including Dan and Molly Rice, who drove more than 250 miles from Gibsonville, N.C., for their 36th anniversary.

"We come this time every year for our anniversary,” said Dan Rice. “We didn't let this stop us."

It’s the sixth or seventh year they’ve come to Gatlinburg for the occasion, and this time they brought a load of relief supplies collected in their hometown, he said.

That done, they’re enjoying the reopened attractions, Molly Rice said.

"We're going to do our Christmas shopping," she said. "We're actually finding things in really good shape. This shouldn't keep people away. If anything, it should bring them."

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But the Rices agreed business was slower than on their previous visits. Derrick Winslow has spent six years handing out maps and coupon books at Towne Center Plaza — followed by a timeshare sales pitch — and said he could feel the difference Friday and Saturday.

Monday he gave a booklet to a couple from Georgia, followed immediately by a pair from North Carolina. Since downtown Gatlinburg reopened for business Friday, Winslow said, he’s seen people from all the surrounding states; but also a higher proportion than usual of visitors from adjacent Tennessee counties.

People from further away tell him their local news gives the impression that Gatlinburg is gone, he said.

“And it’s not," Winslow said, gesturing at the undamaged main street.

On the first couple of days back, people from Knoxville and Sevierville told him they came to Gatlinburg specifically to spend money in support of its recovery, said Winslow, whose own house was narrowly missed by fire.

"I can't tell you how good that made me feel about my town," he said.

On Nov. 28, hurricane-force winds sent unpredictable fires racing through the Gatlinburg area. Fourteen people were killed. Two teenage boys, ages 15 and 17, have been arrested on charges of aggravated arson in the Sevier County fires. Sources familiar with the investigation said the boys were hiking on the Chimney Hops trail in the park on Nov. 23 and tossed lit matches onto the ground around the trail.

By Monday night, the cost of fighting the Chimney Tops fire exceeded $7 million — $7,128,166. The cost of the Cobbly Nob fire was $339,070. The Chimney Tops fire remains 94% contained and the Cobbly Nob fire is 96% contained.

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Five Guys Burgers & Fries opened at 11 a.m. Monday, but the day’s first customer didn’t wander in for half an hour — and it took 20 more minutes for the next.

"I think people are still a little scared," said General Manager Chaz Ashley.

But her staff has not stood idle. When allowed back last Tuesday, they found everything covered in soot. It took 10 people 14 hours to clean the restaurant top to bottom, do all dishes, throw out things like exposed drink lids, and sweep up the broken sign out front, Ashley said.

"Then Wednesday and Thursday we actually opened up and fed the whole community for free for two days,” she said. Five Guys fed about 1,300 people, including emergency workers.

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Gatlinburg workers call the week between Christmas and New Year’s “Hell Week,” as the town is usually packed with celebrants, Ashley said.

"That's everybody's bread and butter around here, is Hell Week," she said. She hopes business revives in time for the usual surge; some of her employees lost their homes to the fire, and badly need their paychecks.

"No business, no work,” Ashley said.

The fire came perilously close to many downtown attractions, including Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. The hillside behind the aquarium burned, and Greystone Lodge next door was still closed for repairs Monday.

But the aquarium's director of marketing, Mary Phillips, said Ripley’s was crowded Friday when it reopened.

"At this time, it's about normal," she said Monday, adding she expects the Christmas season to be as busy as usual.

Ryan DeSear, Ripley’s regional general manager, posted videos on the aquarium’s Facebook page and the Tennessee Farm Bureau insurance page to show off the aquarium’s new exhibits and assure people they were open for business.

Many people came Friday just to say, “We are coming here to support you,” said DeSear.

The outskirts of Gatlinburg were hard hit, but that’s not where most business is concentrated, he said in the videos.

“We are the heart of the city of Gatlinburg,” DeSear said. “As goes Ripley’s, (so) goes Gatlinburg.”

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Not every business, even downtown, has been able to reopen yet. Zoder’s Inn & Suites is still closed as owner Matt Zoder waits on vendors.

"We're replacing all our mattresses,” he said. "We've had to cancel a lot of reservations, because I don't want them going into rooms that have soot in them.”

During the emergency response, Zoder housed about 20 state troopers for free; they were happy to have rooms even if they smelled of smoke, he said. Since Gatlinburg itself reopened, almost all reservation-holders have been understanding, and Zoder’s is taking reservations for next year. But ensuring that the rooms don’t even smell of smoke means Zoder isn’t sure he’ll even be open in time for the Christmas rush — if it comes.

“We’re bleeding” he said, although he praised Shafer Insurance of Knoxville for its help and assuring his employees will get paid during cleanup.

The fire was a close call for Zoder’s family — a tree fell through their house, and the motel itself was saved in part because the person building a roller-coaster next door had cut enough brush to divert the fire. On the other side, the fire burned down an embankment, but didn’t jump about 30 feet of parking lot.

Zoder is still confident business will come back, and the Gatlinburg business community is close-knit, he said.

"Everybody knows everybody, everybody helps everybody,” Zoder said.

Contributing: Travis Dorman, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel. Follow Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel on Twitter: @knoxnews