Joshua Dobbs could still smell the embers from part of the wildfires that ripped through Sevier County, Tennessee, as he and friends walked the Gatlinburg Strip in late November.
These fires, worsened by drought, damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings in and near eastern Tennessee resort towns such as Gatlinburg and claimed 14 lives.
Smoldering houses and cars littered Dobbs' view as he took in the surreal scene.