A massive wildfire blazing through Gatlinburg, Tenn., has claimed most of one of Westgate Resorts' properties.
Richard Siegel, an executive with the company and son of Westgate's David Siegel, confirmed to Orlando Business Journal that the firm's Gatlinburg resort, the 763-room Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa which has more than 100 buildings, has been caught in the fire. Westgate owns two other resorts in the area, as well: the River Terrace Resort & Convention Center and the Wild Bear Inn.
"They evacuated our resort yesterday. I hear a few buildings are standing but most of the resort burned down," Siegel said via email. "Wild Bear is OK. We don't know about River Terrace yet. As far as our resort, I just heard 19 cabins and two midrise buildings are standing. The waterpark, operations and sales are the only buildings left."
[Update: Siegel has confirmed the River Terrace resort was not caught in the fire.]
A severe drought and gusty winds helped fuel the wildfires in and around the popular tourist town of Gatlinburg overnight, reports the Nashville Business Journal .
The Gatlinburg Fire Department ordered a mandatory evacuation on Monday. According to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, hundreds of structures have burned in Gatlinburg with the Westgate Resorts is believed to be completely destroyed, as well as the Black Bear Falls losing every cabin and Ober Gatlinburg, a longtime tourist draw, reportedly also has been destroyed entirely.
Check back as this is a developing story.