CLEVES, Ohio (WKRC) - For 11 years, John Godar has owned a home in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
He rents it out when he and his family are not enjoying it. Friday afternoon, he found it that his home burned to the ground after wildfires that swept through the area.
"Every home is gone. It's just a driveway and a foundation,” Godar said.
Godar has been keeping up with what happened on his street by watching Youtube videos and talking with neighbors. He said some of his neighbors had little time to escape.
"There was no warning but it was just so fast," Godar said.
Others in Gatlinburg said the fire spread quickly because of high winds in the area.
"I saw an ember hit a tree and it burst into flames. Ran out the front door with our cats," said Ashley Rad, who lost her home.
Others said they did not receive an evacuation order sent out by emergency management officials. The fires burned down at least one cell tower and it's possible others didn't receive the alert because of out-of-date technology. At this point, it remains unclear why some received the order and others didn't.
"The emergency folks will sit down and evaluate what went on and how it can be improved. You can always improve any system you have and we feel confident we can do that," said Mayor Larry Waters of Sevier County.
Meanwhile, John Godar isn't second guessing anything or anyone.
"In a perfect world there would have been some sirens or some way but I couldn't even think of how you would do that," Godar said.
1,000 buildings were destroyed by the fire. The ATF and the National Parks Service are investigating the fire. Officials have said it was likely caused by a human but the exact cause remains under investigation
