Beyond people who live in East Tennessee, the fires have impacted people right here in the mid-state.
Jessie Epling said she learned yesterday that the Amazing Grace lodge that she and her coworkers have visited countless times had burned down in the Gatlinburg fires.
No one was inside the lodge when it burned down, so Jessie and her co-workers know things could have been much worse, but all they'll be able to salvage now are the memories of time spent there with friends.
"We [co-workers] have all been very close, we are a family and it’s just a tragedy,” Epling said.
NewsChannel 5 spoke with the owner of that lodge who says she's been fielding hundreds of phone calls -- from people wanting to make sure she’s alright, as the fires continue.
