GATLINBURG, Tenn. — A nearby forest fire Monday afternoon prompted Zach Schrandt to Tweet the following:

"No soccer today due to fires near campus causing poor air quality. Tomorrow 3:30-4:30 on practice field."

"Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what was going to happen in the next five or six hours," said Schrandt, who coaches boys soccer at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School in Tennessee and serves as co-director with Van Harper for the Smoky Mountain Cup events.

What happened next has become national news: wildfires sweeping through two Tennessee tourist towns, killing seven people, injuring more than 50 others, damaging or destroying more than 750 homes and businesses, and sending thousands of evacuees on harrowing exits out of town with blazes burning on both sides of the roads.

That Twitter-proposed soccer kick-off meeting to set up the school’s 2017 spring season never came to pass as the deadly fires in the Gatlinburg area scorched 16,000 acres — more than one-third the size of D.C.

The area around Gatlinburg-Pittman High School and the Rocky Top Sports World Complex on the school’s campus were sparred any direct damage as of Tuesday night. Such wasn’t the case a mile in any other direction.

"To see places I've known all my life, where memories were created, totally destroyed — gone in hours … it's unbelievable," Schrandt added. He paused, then added, "At first it was shock, but after it settled in, I was in tears."

While Schrandt’s property was well outside the fire zone, the devastation struck many people and players associated with the school’s program. He said at least two homes of players were completely burned to the ground.

Almost immediately, the public outpouring for Gatlinburg-Pittman and the community was felt.

G-P serves as the host to the popular Smoky Mountain Cup high school soccer events, which bring more than 100 teams to the complex each spring. Neighboring school districts and even some of the out-of-state teams that have traveled to the events have raised money and/or contributed to the relief/recovery effort. Meanwhile, the Rocky Top Sports Complex has been turned into a temporary shelter.

Schrandt said for people interested in helping with the relief efforts, visit the United Way of Sevier County home page, which has links for the Gatlinburg Fire Relief Fund, the Sevier County Relief Fund and other donation options.

Schrandt said he plans for the Smoky Mountain Cup events to go off as scheduled in the spring. He has contacted coaches at the schools committed to playing and asked for patience as the community assesses the damage and Schrandt can arrange for alternate lodging for visiting teams.