Voices of Gatlinburg: mensen en hun door brand verwoeste huizen

Ruim tweeduizend huizen en bedrijven werden verwoest door de vuurzee op 23 november van dit jaar. Er waren zelfs veertien doden te betreuren. Het dorp Gatlinburg, vlakbij Dollywood van Dolly Parton, is zwaar getroffen. Mensen zijn gedupeerd en moeten heel hun leven opnieuw opbouwen.

Matras

Fotograaf Jeremy Cowart probeert de inwoners van het dorp te helpen met zijn project Voices of Gatlinburg. Voor dat project maakte hij een groot aantal portretten van bewoners in hun afgebrande huizen. Dit deed hij van boven, met een drone. We zien de mensen op een matras, waarschijnlijk op de plek waar voorheen hun bed stond.

Doneren

Via zijn project is ook geld te doneren om de mensen uit Gatlinburg financieel te helpen om hun levens weer op de rit te krijgen. 

 

"Nobody will ask for help. Everyone around here is real prideful. But even if they have nothing to give, they’ll give. Just to help somebody out. That’s just how it’s always been. That’s why I like it. Everyone knows everyone.” To help the Carroll’s and their daughter Izzy, you can give here: https://www.youcaring.com/izzyandheaven-708108) #voicesofgburg

Een foto die is geplaatst door Jeremy Cowart (@jeremycowart) op

20 Dec 2016 om 10:01 PST

 

Hector Castillo and Nora Diaz "Just today we found an apartment to move into on Monday. We need furniture, beds and everything thing else to get started and back on our feet again. We have no Christmas plans. My wife is the only one who has immediate family here and her sister also lost everything. We are hard working individuals but with winter here jobs are slowing down, no money on us we are in great need. We never imagined having to start over this way. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. This Christmas we will just hold each other and be thankful we are both well and alive." Pastor Edna López has agreed to welcome gifts for us a her church Gatlinburg First United Methodist Church 742 Parkway Gatlinburg, TN 37738 #voicesofgburg

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19 Dec 2016 om 5:41 PST

 

Debbie Gillespie: "So we began the frightening mile-long descent off the mountain, stopping once so the men could move a tree that had fallen across the road. When we made it to the main road, we joined the long, single line of others escaping the wildfires. Occasionally, fire trucks and emergency vehicles roared passed us going in the other direction. As we neared Pigeon Forge and looked to our right, we saw the whole mountain on that side was on fire. Suddenly, we entered into the bright lights of Pigeon Forge. We were safe. One of our pastors, Clark, arranged for us to stay at a hotel in Pigeon Forge for the next two nights. We prayed all night and all the next morning that God would spare our houses; at this point we didn't know whether the fires had burned them or not. But then, our dear friend and neighbor, Preston, called with the heartbreaking news, "I'm so very sorry to have to tell you this, but it's all gone." All of our houses burned completely to the ground. Mark misses all of Daddy's Bibles. I miss the quiet and serenity of the mountaintop. Momma misses the feeling of "home' .... the safety, the joy, the security, the love....of home.” Help the Martins at www.gofundme.com/blessthemartins #voicesofgburg

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20 Dec 2016 om 7:05 PST

 

Autumn and Layla (7). Part 1/3. On that Monday am as we were headed to school it was already very smoky. When I went to work at 11 I was incomplete shock, it looked like it was 7pm but with an orange tint! They called school out at 12ish. We went home and the house was smelling smoky so I taped off around all the doors and closed the flue. We went and did errands and came back to house around 600. It was definitely smokier inside. A few friends called saying I should leave but I really didn't think we were in that kind of danger! Finally around 7ish I decided we would go bc my daughter said her eyes were burning. So I loaded our 2 dogs and a few other things into the car. It was so windy I told her to look at the ground and cover her eyes. When I finally got in the car, well as I was shutting my door....I saw embers in the driveway. My heart dropped. Then she started screaming and crying and pointed out the top of the hill to the left of us was on fire! I got to the bottom of our hill and the whole mountain was on fire. There's a hotel below our house so I drove over and ran and told them. They said they just saw and just called. My daughter was frantic! Help Autumn and Layla at https://www.gofundme.com/wj-family-in-need #voicesofgburg

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17 Dec 2016 om 6:26 PST

 

We really haven't had time to grieve Mom's death and now we are dealing with the loss of our home. I think we will miss the future memories of the lifeof retirement in that home. Gary loved the view and spent as much time as possible onthe deck enjoying it. It was his favorite spot for communing with God and nature. Welost THINGS and STUFF. Almost 50 years of things and stuff! It can all be replaced. Wehave so many wonderful memories there but we are alive and have each other. God isholding our hand and keeps us standing. We have learned this past year that Phillipians4:13 is a true and real promise. We CAN do all things through Christ who strengthensme (us). Our faith in God assures us that He " has this " and is in control of everything ! We will be alright. As for what you can do to help us --- pray for all of us for guidance in this time ofuncertainty and help the ones who have no insurance coverage. Pray for Gatlinburg andplease return to our beautiful Smoky Mountains which will assist all of us in our journeyback to a more normal life. Help the Jacksons: www.gofundme.com/gatlinburg-fire-fund-for-jacksons #voicesofgburg

Een foto die is geplaatst door Jeremy Cowart (@jeremycowart) op

19 Dec 2016 om 6:58 PST

 

(BTS info: This house and area was pitch black last night. You couldn’t see anything. So we lit Officer Chuck Reagan with a Profoto B1 Strobe and a beauty dish which only provided a little bit of light. Everything else you see was lit with a drone with LED lights attached on a 30 second shutter speed. Also this isn’t his home. We just found a spot to take a photo.) Here is officer Chuck’s story: At the beginning before the fires hit (but were at the back door of the park) there was a point where we were going door to door trying to evacuate the area. And it was so smoky in the area that you could not see 20 or 30 yards. And the most scared that I was personally, and made me think of my family, was you could hear trees around breaking and cracking and there were limbs falling next to us and I kept thinking I was going to get struck by a tree and couldn’t see it fall. And I remember going back to the car at one point to drive to the next residence and I text, I just recently got divorced, I texted my ex-wife and told her to tell my son that I loved him and that I didn’t know if I was gonna make it through. We left the area shortly after that, the fires hit and within 30 minutes I was clearing another road with one of my fellow officers realizing that her house was on fire. She ended up losing her house also. It definitely hit home, of course I’m also from the area and I know so many residents up here and it’s really hard.

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17 Dec 2016 om 12:47 PST