Valerie Christian still cries when she sees pictures of a wildfire that ravaged the Great Smokey Mountains and the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee last week.

The fire scarred the forests of the Great Smoky Mountains, killed 13 people and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and businesses.

“I’ve cried every day,” she said. “I have just sat and cried about people posting pictures on Facebook, watching the news. It’s just devastating.”

Christian, who said Gatlinburg feels like her home away from home, is determined to help the thousands of people that were devastated by the blaze by taking supplies to them later this month.

“We’re going to take as much as we can. I’ve got a small SUV, and they’ve got a car … so we’re going to take as much as possible that we can get,” she said. “I’m going to go wherever I have to go to donate this stuff. I will take it as far as I have to take it.”

Christian said she is determined to help out because the same people that are in need are the same ones that make her feel like she’s at home when she is visiting Gatlinburg.

“Everybody is so kind. You just don’t meet a stranger,” she said. “Everybody makes you feel at home. You go in a restaurant, and they make you feel like you’re part of them. I just love it up there.”

Her son Curtis and her daughter-in-law Shelby are helping her as well. Shelby started a Facebook page called “Helping Tennessee from Selma Alabama,” which has seen a number of responses from the community.

Christian said people are already pitching in.

“It means the world to me that people would step up and help me and see that these people get what they need to rebuild and to have clothes on their back and food in their empty tummies,” she said. “It means a lot that people are getting together and helping me out.”

While she will spend the next week gathering donations from people in Selma and Dallas County, Christian plans to head to Tennessee Dec. 17 with Curtis and Shelby.

Christian said Gatlinburg has given her many memories, and she hopes it gives her many more in the years to come.

“I have been going to Gatlinburg ever since I was an infant with my grandparents, with my parents, and then I’ve been taking my children, and now I’m taking my grandchildren,” she said.

“It’s just a wonderful place.”

Anyone interested in helping out can get in touch with Christian by calling 375-5257 or messaging the “Helping Tennessee from Selma Alabama” Facebook page.