By HAYLEY HARMON
6 News Reporter
TOWNSEND (WATE) - A massive cleanup operation is still underway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park after severe storms with incredibly strong winds moved through the park Thursday evening.
The storm downed thousands of trees. When it was over, two people were dead and hundreds more were stranded as emergency crews worked to respond to 911 calls.
Since then cleanup crews have been working nonstop to get trees and other debris off roads.
The northwest part of the park was hit the hardest, where roads were cluttered with hundreds of downed trees.
Some trails and roads remain closed, including Chestnut Top and Rabbit Creek trails.
Roads that were closed by the storm include Parsons Branch, Abrams Creek, Tremont and a portion of Little River Road.
Park officials say the crews are working as fast as they can to get the mess cleared.
In the meantime, visitors will have to take detours to stay safe.
"We don't know the timeline when things are going to be open at this point. It just depends on the weather," said park spokesperson Molly Schroer. "We've got crews that are working very hard to get out. We hope to get the roads open and everything cleared up so it's safe."
"The road we were going to take, Little River Road, is closed, so now we have to take an alternate route to (U.S.) 321 and bypass it to Townsend," said Peter Rodriguez, who is visiting from New Jersey.
Besides the main roads and trails, the backcountry must be cleared as well. The park is asking hikers to help survey the damage. They're reporting thousands of downed trees.
It's hard to know how long the cleanup will take because when one tree is cut down five more sometimes fall on top of it.
For the latest road closure information, visit the park's website before you head out.
Park officials say they're waiting on numbers to come in before they can determine how much the storm and cleanup has affected visitor turnout. @@
Roads that were closed by the storm include Parsons Branch, Abrams Creek, Tremont and Little River Road.
"We don't know the timeline when things are going to be open at this point. It just depends on the weather," said park spokesperson Molly Schroer.
"The road we were going to take, Little River Road, is closed, so now we have to take an alternate route to (U.S.) 321 and bypass it to Townsend," said Peter Rodriguez, who is visiting from New Jersey.
