brandon bates is in gatlin >> reporter: thank you. communities in pigeon forge and gatlinburg under a mandatory evacuation order this morning because 30 homes and businesses have been burned to the ground by this fire. officials are believing this may be a case of arson. >> oh, my god, it's so hot. >> reporter: overnight, desperate attempts to escape a massive wildfire sweeping across the communities of gatlin bunbun out of their homes alive. >> they let me go back in just for a few minutes to get my animals out, to get them safe. we are all safe now. and my son. so we fine. >> reporter: while terrified guests were trapped inside of a hilton hotel surrounded by flames, the fire too close and too dangerous for them to leave. these pictures taken by an employee of the hotel showing the fire burning right outside. local officials say 30 structures were devoured by the complex. more than 500 acres burning in the small town, several roads through great smokey mountains national park have been closed. officials say 70-mile-an-hour wind gust

an unbelievable event. >> brandon bates reporting. al, what's the condition going to look like down there? >> well, it's double-edged sword. they've gotten rain. the first appreciable rain for some areas in two months. as you see on the radar, showers and thunderstorms push through. the bad news is ahead of this front, we've got some pretty strong winds that are firing up and they're going to continue. quickly, the bad news is behind this we've got showers and understorms. but the big problem, southwesterly winds sustained 10 to 20 miles per hour. but they'll be gusting at 25 to 30, and so that's going to fan those flames. unfortunately, some over 50,000 acres are still on fire and no relief in sight from this. they're really not going to get much help from that rain. >>> we are learning more this morning, by the way, about the man behind the chilling attack state university. the question facing investigators this morning -- was this an act of terrorism? nbc's stephanie gosk has the latest for us. steph, good morning to you. >> report

brandon bates from our affiliate wbir has more on that. >> reporter: well, matt, i want this morning. trees were down, debris was scattered throughout the road, so this wind really made firefighters and authorities' jobs much more difficult. in gatlinburg the rain has begun to fall and it might be giving some relief for those houses and structures that may still be surrounded by some fires. wind speeds were up to 80 miles per hour overnight making this a very hard fight for those first responders. right now, shelters. officials from the smoky mountain national park say they've never seen anything like this in their entire career. they're definitely not prepared. for now in gatlinburg, brandon bates, back to you. >> thank you very much. >>> now on the latest on the deadly charter plane crash in colombia overnight. 76 people were killed, five survived. . plane was carrying members of a brazilian soccer tournament in medellin, colombia. investigators say the plane may before the crash. recovery operations were suspended, hampered by torrential rains and fierce storms in the area. >>> sti

brandon bates is in gatlinburg with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: the communities under a mandatory evacuation order this morning. more than 30 structures have burnt to the ground, businesses and home burnt to the ground arson. the hope now is a rainstorm could come through and give a little bit more relief. >> oh, my god, it's so hot. >> reporter: overnight, desperate attempts to escape a massive wildfire sweeping across the communities of gatlinburg in pigeon forge, tennessee. residents fleeing intense flames, looking and spreading like molten lava. residents thankful to make it out of their homes alive. >> they let me go back in just for a mi we are all safe now. at my son's, so we're fine. >> reporter: while terrified guests were trapped inside of a hilton hotel surrounded by flames, the fire too close and too dangerous for them to leave. these pictures taken by an employee of the hotel showing the fire burning right outside. local officials say 30 structures were devoured by the flames, including an apartment c

brandon bates from our nbc affiliate there, wbir, has more from the scene. >> going, itoh my god, it's so . >> reporter: desperate attempts to escape of gatlanburg, tennessee. smoke choked roads, fleeing intense flames, looking and spreading like molten lava. residents thankful to make it out of their homes alive. >> they let me go back to get my animals out, to get them safely. we're all safe now and my son. so we're fine. >> reporter: terrified guests trapped inside, the fire too close and too dangerous for them to leave. these pictures taken by an employee of the hotel showing the fire burning right outside. local officials say 30 structures devoured by the flames including an apartment complex. more than 500 acres burning in the small town several roads through great smokey mountains national park have been closed. officials say 70-mile-an-hour wind gusts fueled the out of control fires near several popular tourist destinations including dollywood, the area's largest theme park. just days ago, country music legend releasing this public service announcement. >> please help firefight

. >> that was brandon bates reporting. al, what's the conditions look like down there? >> they've gotten some rain, the first appreciable rain in two months. we're seeing showers and showers push through. bad news is ahead of this front we have pretty strong winds firing up and they will continue. even though the rain is ending fairly quickly, the bad news the big problem, southwesterly winds sustained 10-20 miles an hour but they'll be gusting 25-30. that will fan those flames and unfortunately some over 50,000 acres are still on fire and no relief in sight. they're really not going to get much help from that rain. >> thank you. >> we are learning more about the man behind a chilling attack that injured 11 people at ohio state university. questions faing investigators is terrorism? nbc, stephanie gosk, has the latest for you. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. classes are set to resume here. it will be a struggle for this campus to get back to normal. students just returned from the thanksgiving holiday ready for the final push of the semester when some fo

brandon bates from our nbc affiliate there, wbir, has more from the scene. >> going, it