Gatlinburg Nonprofit Plants Trees To Bring Hope

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Cherise Guesford remembers seeing nothing but ash as she drove to work in the days following devastating wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2016.

Guesford, a local resident since 1999, also saw motivation. She started a group called Smoky Mountain Roots to help rebuild nature and give locals hope.

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“We have been replanting trees that were lost in the wildfires, trying to keep things native here in the Smoky Mountains,” Guesford said in a recent interview in Gatlinburg. “We started the nonprofit in December 2017 and hit the ground rolling in the spring of 2018.”

Since then, volunteers organized by Guesford have planted more than 12,430 native trees and sown 600 pounds of native seeds.

(MORE: How To Keep Your Campfire From Becoming A Wildfire)

The effort is supported by several local groups and agencies, including the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry.

“Native plants are adapted to our region, they're adapted to the climate, the temperatures, the soils, the wildlife that evolves in this region is also adapted to those native plant species,” said Brook Smith, state forester for the area.

Non-native plants can disrupt those natural rhythms, overcome native plants and destroy important habitat.

The Chimney Tops 2 fire was spotted on Nov. 23, 2016, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park just outside Gatlinburg. It’s the largest wildfire on record in the region’s history, according to the University of Colorado’s Earth lab.

More than a dozen people were killed and 2,500 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed.

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Smith said the wind-driven flames and intense heat of the blaze burned through large areas of forest canopy. Nearly 8 years later, you can still see the barren tops of trees still standing.

Signs in some parts of the park warn visitors to beware of charred falling limbs.

“I think for everything we’ve done there’s still twice as much to do,” Guesford said.

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.