UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We packed our valuables, ready to go if we need to.</s>JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METOROLOGIST (voice-over): Endangering homes and businesses in nearby Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. At one point, 30 buildings engulfed in the fires, including the 16-story Hilton Hotel. This amateur video posted on social media shows the raging fires just outside the hotel's windows. Guests anxiously watching from inside. The fire now at edge of the Dollywood theme park. The park not yet damaged but portion of the resort evacuated.</s>DANA SOEHN, PARK SPOKESWOMAN, GATLINBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT: We have multiple trees now falling with embers starting additional fires throughout the area.</s>GRAY: Wind gusts topping 70 miles per hour, combined with the worst drought in the region in nearly a decade, fanning the flames.</s>GREG MILLER, GATLINBURG FIRE CHIEF: We're dealing with the worst possible conditions imaginable.</s>GRAY: And those pictures are just terrifying. The National Guard has been -- is out here now. There are also hundreds of first responders from this area and the surrounding areas that have come to help out. Top priority today will be once the sun comes up, trying to get some areas, assess the damage, Alisyn. But as of right now, no word on when people will be able to return to their homes.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Jennifer. Please keep updated from there. Thank you. Well, the situation in Aleppo, Syria, is disastrous. The Syrian government's attacks triggering mass exodus of desperate civilians. We're live with the latest, next.
Strong Winds & Drought Stoke Tennessee Fires