FILE PhotoGATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - More than a half-dozen Smoky Mountains hiking trails remain closed after a windstorm lashed the national park a month ago, killing two people and injuring others.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park spokeswoman Molly Schroer told The Knoxville News Sentinel the closed trails are mostly in the west end of the 500,000-acre park. Schroer said how soon the trails are reopened depends on funding. She said if only a few trees are down across a trail, it could be opened with relative ease. If an upturned root ball is blocking a trail, the cost will be greater.
Schroer said the damage from the July 5 storm is in pockets and attempts to spot all of the damage from aerial footage hasn't been successful.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
