Fox Point family loses everything in Pigeon Forge fire

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WITI) -- A family vacation turned into a trip from hell. A Fox Point couple was in Tennessee when their resort went up in flames. Despite losing everything they took with them on vacation, the couple calls themselves lucky.

Flames shot from a hillside in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and an orange glow lit up the sky and smoke clouded the area, as a wildfire tore through dozens of cabins at a resort.

"It was a big, big blaze," Mark Kehrmann said.

Kehrmann saw the fire as he drove up to the resort on Sunday evening.

"Once we got off the freeway coming back and heading toward Pigeon Forge, we could see the smoke from the distance and we were at least another 20 miles away," Kehrmann said.

Kehrmann was vacationing with family. More than 20 people were staying in a five-story cabin.

The flames and heat proved too much, and that cabin was reduced to nothing.

"When we found out ours was one that was burning, we were all very unhappy and thinking of what we had left there," Kehrmann said.

Inside was clothes and laptops -- but luckily, no people. Kehrmann was at a NASCAR race with most of his family when the fire broke out.

"Nobody was there, nobody got hurt. It was just stuff that was all lost," Kehrmann said.

Dozens of other cabins were destroyed. Kehrmann and his family watched as crews fought the fire.

"It was very dramatic -- just the whole scene there," Kehrmann said.

The family returned to Wisconsin on Tuesday, March 19th.

As Kehrmann shuffled through photos from the trip on Wednesday, he was reminded of an unforgettable experience, and said he is thankful no one was injured.

"We feel lucky that nobody was hurt. It's just stuff that can get replaced," Kehrmann said.

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