An elderly couple from Gatlinburg, Tennessee who escaped the deadly wildfires with nothing but the clothes on their backs say they’re grateful to be alive.
Robert and Daryl Hullander said the raging wildfire engulfed most of their neighbourhood before they were able to escape.
“Fire was blowing across the road, so I didn’t know of another way to get down from where we were easy,” Robert told WBIR. “So you just cover up your mouth and we’ll run right straight through it.”
The couple, both 82 years old and married for 57 years, said they hiked down the side of a mountain in the dark to escape the flames.
READ MORE: Ontario couple killed in Tennessee wildfires were set to celebrate 50th wedding anniversary
“We couldn’t see anything at all going down. We had to feel our way down,” said Robert. “You put one foot in front of the other and you just keep on going and if you fall you get up and you keep on going.”
“He kept yelling at me, Foot first! Foot first! And grab a tree! There’s a tree!” said Daryl.
The Hullanders, who ran a bed and breakfast in the fire-ravaged area, left behind everything during their escape and are certain they’ve lost their home. Despite the staggering loss, they say they’re counting their blessings.
“It’s things, you know. You can’t buy your body but you can buy things, so you just don’t fret about what you’ve lost,” said Robert. “Be grateful for the fact that you didn’t get hurt.”
On Sunday, the death toll from the wildfires rose to 14.
READ MORE: Gatlinburg man desperate to find his missing family
The National Park Service and other authorities said 81-year-old Elaine Brown of Sevierville died fleeing the fire after she had a medical event driving that caused a single-car crash.
Some of the other victims include 34-year-old Constance Reed and her daughters, 12-year-old Chloe Reed and nine-year-old Lily Reed. The Reed family became separated during the evacuations and Michael Reed made an emotional plea for more information about his wife and daughters last week.
Officials also confirmed the deaths of a Canadian couple from Woodstock, Ont. on Friday. Seventy-one-year-old John Tegler and 70-year-old Marilyn Tegler were vacationing in the area affected by the wildfires and were set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary before they were killed.
Authorities have increased the number of injures to 134. They say almost 1,700 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the fires.
– With files from Adam Miller and the Associated Press
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