Gatlinburg city leaders hope to have a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial to the 2016 wildfires around the second anniversary of the tragedy.

Fourteen people died when the fires raged out of control on the night of November 28. Thousands of buildings were also damaged or destroyed.

The memorial to the victims will be built in a wooded area near the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge city line and will include a walking bridge and reflective pool.

The city and Sevier County have provided the cost of the $453,000 needed to begin the first phase of the project, which is to acquire the property.