Fire destroys historic hotel annex in Smokies

ELKMONT – The former Wonderland Hotel annex in the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park burned to the ground Tuesday after the 8,600-square-foot building was consumed by flames, a park news release states.

The park fire management crew and the Gatlinburg Fire Department responded to the scene after a passer-by reported the fire at 7:15 a.m., according to the release.

The fire spread about half an acre with flames contained to the immediate area of the structure. Gravel roads and a dense alluvial forest of hemlock and rhododendron helped slow down the fire, the release states.

(Asheville Citizen-Times, 4/21/2016)

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