Little River Road closed as Great Smoky Mountains national park searches for drowning victim

A section of Little River Road in the Great Smoky Mountains national park will be partially closed Saturday as the park service commences searching for the bodies of a woman who entered Little River and was swept away while refusing to allow a ranger rescue her.

While a park ranger was on patrol along the Little River he observed a white female approximately in her 30's sitting on a rock at the edge of the river. Since her behavior was unusual the ranger decided to check on her at which time she stood up and jumped into the raging river swollen and flooded from earlier today's heavy rains.

The Great Smoky Mountains national park ranger followed her as she was swept down the river and attempted to rescue her by throwing her a life line and float which she picked up and purposely tossed aside.

Little River Road was closed today from the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area to the Townsend Wye as park rangers and first responders from Gatlinburg's Rescue Squad and Rural Metro Ambulance swarmed the area searching in vain for the women.

Rangers during daylight searched all along the riverbanks of the Little River which was running chocolate brown and loaded with debris. They also set up a vantage point by an area called the Sinks further down river from where the lady entered the water in an attempt to intercept the victim if she floated by.

Today's heavy rains also flooded Cades Cove along Sparks Lane, Hyatt Lane as some other stream crossing prompting the park service to Close Cades Cove Loop Road creating a traffic nightmare at the Townsend Wye.

While working traffic management at the Townsend Wye with 2 other volunteers in the park our park vehicle was struck by a pickup truck transporting kayaks. No injuries were sustained although the back door was taken off the park service's jeep Cherokee used by Volunteers in Cades Cove.

Because Cades Cove Loop Road was closed tonight's very popular 3 mile night hike in Cades Cove with Ranger Mike which crosses a stream on Spark Lane that is to rough to cross today was canceled leading to many disappointed park visitors.

Cades Cove may reopen tomorrow if flood water subside enough.

Despite the extremely flooded conditions of Little River the kayakers pictured below were still out in force even past sunset. Expect the Great Smoky Mountains national park to have many kayakers and extreme tubers enjoy the flooded Little River tomorrow and throughout the weekend.

Cades Cove TN controlled burn set for April 19 in GSMNP

The help maintain interior fields in the Cades Cove Valley in the Tennessee sections of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the national park service is planning to execute a number of controlled burns if the weather cooperates.

The national parks plan is to burn 300-400 acres, a few grassy parcels at a time stretching out over the next few weeks in order to prevent the open fields from being taken over by forest growth. These interior areas of Cades Cove to be burned encompass approximately 1,000 acres and are on a 3 year rotation of either mowing or burning. This years rotation calls for burning which is more cost effective than mowing.

Visitors to Cades Cove should not be significantly affected and most will be able to drive, bike or hike the entire 11 mile Cades Cove Loop without being interfered with other than smelling smoke from the controlled burn however rangers may have to briefly close the small side road to the Primitive Baptist Church or the access road to Abrams Creek Trail.

In order to ignite the fires and make sure that the fire stays within the prescribed boundaries National Park firefighters and a Park engine will be in the Cove. Containment lines have already been made by mowing the areas sounding each field that is destined to be burned.