{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=1197CAF5-A269-471D-887B-5FA3C77D1A90", "Alexander Today Discussed Sevier County Fires, Response on The Weather Channel", "2016-11-30", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Click here to watch video\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 30, 2016 \u2013 U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today joined The Weather Channel\u2019s America\u2019s Morning Headquarters where he talked about the wildfires in Sevier County and praised the community for its response efforts.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThis is a small resort town in the foot of the Smoky Mountains. Many people know about Gatlinburg. They have their honeymoons there, and they visit there. The fire came out of the mountains, out of the Great Smoky Mountains, with winds as high as 80 or 90 miles an hour and just swept through town,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cBut the response has been almost as incredible as the fire. There are more than 100 fire trucks from all over Tennessee. There are volunteers, guardsmen, troopers, people bringing water and people bringing money. So, it\u2019s a strong little town and the mayors, Mayor Waters and Mayor Werner, are keeping their chins up, and people are looking forward to recovery.\u201d\r\nAlexander continued, \u201cThe federal government can do two things. First thing it can do is help the community put out the fire. The National Park Service, the State of Tennessee and Governor Haslam of Tennessee were on the spot almost immediately. The governor has several agencies there.\u00a0 The Red Cross is there. So the federal government can help local governments put out the fire, clean up and then work with the State to begin to help people recover.\u201d\r\nWhen asked about the impact of the wildfires on tourism, Alexander replied, \u201cOf course this is a concern, but both mayors would want me to say, the town will be back fast. Dollywood is nearby\u2026the Great Smoky Mountains get about 10 million visitors a year - they\u2019ll be back.\u201d\r\n###\u00a0\r\nFor access to this release and the senator\u2019s other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senator\u2019s latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=1197CAF5-A269-471D-887B-5FA3C77D1A90"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7663128674030304, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}