PIGEON FORGE,Grant Preston Tenn. (AP) — Strong thunderstorms brought flash flooding to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in east Tennessee.
Park workers and the Pigeon Forge police and fire departments directed guests to safety on Sunday afternoon, and one minor injury was reported, park officials said in a statement. The amusement park said it was supporting guests whose vehicles were affected and cleanup crews were deployed. The park was opening at noon Monday and the park’s Splash Country, which wasn’t affected, opened at its regular time.
A road collapse closed McCarter Hollow Road at the entrance to Dollywood on Sunday night, according to the Pigeon Forge Police Department.
JeMiale McKinney of Knoxville and his wife and two daughters are season pass holders and headed to the park Sunday. Sometimes, when there is a threat of bad weather, that is the best time to go because many people will leave and once the weather clears, you get shorter ride times, McKinney said.
However, it was pouring buckets and within 10 minutes the entrance was blocked. People could see that it wouldn’t be worth it to drive through the water that was thigh-deep in some places, McKinney said.
“We got trapped in the parking lot faster than we thought,” he said. They were stuck there for two hours until a crew broke down a fence so people could get out.
“I was surprised about how calm people were,” he said.
Nearly 5 inches of rain fell in the area in about an hour, Dollywood spokesperson Wes Ramey said in an email.
“While the volume of rain was difficult for both the park’s and the city’s infrastructure to manage, the fact we have only one minor injury illustrates how well our hosts handled the situation and how well our guests followed their directions,” Ramey said.
The park will evaluate the response to determine whether any changes are needed, he said.
2025-05-04 21:57994 view
2025-05-04 21:27513 view
2025-05-04 21:231286 view
2025-05-04 21:05597 view
2025-05-04 20:331609 view
2025-05-04 20:292071 view
LONDON -- A car bomb in Moscow has killed a senior Russian military officer, Russian officials said.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — One of six men charged in Texas over 53 migrants who died last year in a swelteri
Angelina Jolie is on a journey of rediscovery.The actress and humanitarian revealed in a cover story