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Ravaged by months of drought, huge swaths of the southeast United States are on fire, but you wouldn’t know it judging by national media coverage.A total of six states in the southeast (Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) are currently suffering from “exceptional drought,” a category reserved for the most severe drought conditions, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. The majority of land in four states (Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia) are facing “extreme drought,” the second most severe level.(snip)But because it’s not happening in New York or D.C. or Los Angeles, it doesn’t really count...

GATLINBURG — Firefighters across the state scrambled to douse the wildfires raging through East Tennessee Tuesday morning, and the Tennessee National Guard made plans to dump water onto the flames from a helicopter. Emergency responders have struggled to make a dent into the fires that have devastated Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and surrounding areas in Sevier County since high winds helped the flames spread Monday evening Article continues, "Hillbilly Golf, major hotels, a good portion of Regan Drive and countless other businesses and homes were destroyed in the blaze that had firefighters working throughout the night. "The center of Gatlinburg looks...

I found this doing something else and didn't find it posted yetAnother source had posted a report around 11 AM Eastern "Wildfires in Tennessee damaged hundreds of buildings overnight, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes as hundreds of firefighters battled the blazes and smoke that blanketed the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains." "A statement released Tuesday morning by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that the towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, as well as other parts of Sevier County, in the eastern part of the state, had been evacuated." "The agency said it was likely that...

Terrified guests are trapped inside a burning Hilton hotel as a huge wildfire engulfs the Tennessee resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Dollywood theme park has been evacuated as thousands of tourists and residents fled the Great Smoky Mountains amidst reports of cars bursting into flames, dozens of homes being engulfed by fire, and the sky turning brown with smoke and flames.  Motorists clogged the roads after the Gatlinburg Fire Department ordered the mandatory evacuation of the town at just after 6pm on Monday, as strong wind conditions fanned the flames making the fire increasingly unpredictable and dangerous.

GATLINBURG, TN (WSMV) - One of Tennessee’s most popular tourist destinations is being evacuated due to wildfires. Downtown Gatlinburg and numerous area neighborhoods, including the southern part of Pigeon Forge, are under a mandatory evacuation. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has declared a level three state of emergency for the affected areas. TEMA says 30 structures are currently on fire in Gatlinburg, including a 16-story hotel. The Tennessee National Guard will be deployed to Sevier County to assist with clearing and removing debris. Officials said there are no reports of fatalities at this time. At least one person suffered a...

FLINT (WJRT) - UPDATE: (11/23/16) - A woman is in custody in connection with an apartment fire that left 11 families homeless for the holidays. The investigation into how the fire started at Village Shores Apartments is just beginning. Police took a woman into custody Tuesday afternoon. She was actually evicted from her apartment a day earlier. She told police her 2-year-old daughter lit some clothes on fire with her cigarette lighter, which erupted into an out of control fire. Investigators are looking into possible neglect charges. Depending on what fire investigators find at the scene over the next couple...

SIX people are in a critical condition and 27 people were injured after a fire at a Commonwealth Bank branch in Springvale in Melbourne’s southeast. Police said a man set himself alight after walking into the bank with a flammable accelerant, about 11.30am. Two men in their 20s, a man in his 60s, a man in his 70s, a woman in her 20s and another man were taken to the Alfred suffering serious burns. Ambulance Victoria said 21 other people — including a toddler and a person in their 80s — were treated for breathing problems and taken to hospital....

The Denver Fire Department says they do not have a suspect in the arson fire of a Trump campaign sign. The fire was set to a large sign on the back of Denver resident John Case’s Hentzel Park home. Flames quickly spread to brush behind the property. An officer noticed the fire while on another call and rushed to douse the flames with a hose. Fire crews arrived a few minutes later and extinguished the fire.

(CNN)Donald Trump's oft-repeated claim that the FBI's investigation of "Crooked Hillary" and the presidential election itself were and are "rigged," seems to have thrown FBI Director James Comey into a state of panic. In foolishly making a public announcement that the bureau is reviewing newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton's personal server, he has inserted himself yet again into the presidential campaign. The FBI virtually never announces the commencement or termination of ongoing criminal investigations or the discovery of new evidence. Such inquiries are often conducted in relative secrecy, enabling a more efficient investigation. It is not unusual for...

From the Pittsburgh Airport we are seeing a huge plume of black smoke in the direction of the Shippensport Power plant in Beaver County, PA. Does anyone know what's going on?

SEATTLE (AP) — A toddler who died in a house fire was found with his dog and teddy bear next to him and authorities believe the dog tried to protect the boy, a spokesman for Spokane’s fire department said Saturday. The dog, a terrier mixed breed, also died in the fire that broke out at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, said the spokesman, Brian Schaeffer.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) Another newly shipped Apple iPhone 7 caught fire and destroyed a car in what looks similar to the same type of battery fires that forced a worldwide recall of all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units. Australian surfing instructor Mat Jones says that he left his week-old iPhone 7 covered by a pair of pants in his car while he went out to give a lesson. When Jones came back from surfing, he immediately noticed that all the windows of his car were blacked-out. As Jones opened the car’s door, he was hit by...

Fire in Islam is a particularly evil punishment, as Mohammed used it against people who he taught were going to hell and there was no chance of repentance. For a Muslim, to burn somebody alive is one of the ultimate acts of unforgiveness and hatred, and that is what we read in the most recent story, where a group of twelve Muslims randomly attacked police officers on patrol with petrol bombs and tried to burn the officers alive:  Four French police officers were set on fire after masked thugs pelted their two cars with petrol bombs during a patrol...

At first I thought that this was fake, but now I don’t know what to think. On October 1st, a video was posted to YouTube that claimed to show a very strange “circle of fire” in the clouds that seemed to respond to the blowing of the shofars in the city of Jerusalem below. When this video came out, many immediately dismissed it as a fake because it is only 20 seconds long and because computer-generated graphics can produce these kinds of effects. If you have not seen the video yet, you can see it right here… Since so many...

A two-alarm fire has broken out at the Chicago Stock Exchange. The building has been evacuated but trading has not been halted. Developing....

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Berkeley firefighters have knocked down a four-alarm blaze at a church on Channing Way and Dana Street, a fire department spokeswoman said.

A fire broke out on an oil tanker of Mexican state oil company Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, forcing all the crew to be evacuated in the latest accident to plague the struggling firm. The blaze on the tanker “Burgos” occurred off the coast of Boca del Rio in Veracruz state and all the crew were safe, Pemex said in a tweet. Mexico’s Navy said there were 31 crew members and that all had returned to port. […] The tanker was carrying 80,000 barrels of diesel and 70,000 barrels of gasoline, Mexico’s Communications and Transport Ministry said....

Charred debris, possibly belonging to the missing MH370 plane, has been handed to investigators - raising the prospect of a flash fire on board the ill-fated jet. An American amateur investigator handed over several pieces of blackened debris to Australia's Transport Safety Bureau on Monday in what may prove to be a breakthrough in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. Blaine Gibson said the material, which had washed up in Madagascar, included what appeared to be an internal panel.

Margo Feaser loaded the emaciated 1-year-old German Shepherd into the back of her patrol car late one night in December 2009 in hopes of finding him a new owner. The Seminole County sheriff's deputy found him while responding to a call about a dog scaring away customers from a gas station. He wasn't injured or aggressive, so Feaser took him home. She had no idea that Maxx, the wild, heartworm positive pup, would end up making her family his fur-ever home and one day save her family's life. "He definitely returned the favor and then some," she said. It has...

Patriots! He’s the backup quarterback on a team that went 5-11 last season. His team wanted to trade him but no one really wanted to take him. Shocking that this guy’s jersey would be the top seller in the NFL? Not at all! Colin Kaepernick is the perfect poster boy for the self-absorbed American millennial who thinks his own good intentions and smug sanctimony should be all anyone expects. Results? Performance? Responsibility? A whit of discernible brain activity? You’ve oppressed our generation long enough! Congratulations, America. You put Obama on top twice, and now you’re outdoing yourselves: