The Chimneys picnic area in the Smokies

And as volatile/non-permanent those places of meaning and stability might be, we all appreciate/need them. It can be a certain path (in a wide sense) for walking, a view, a (part of a) museum. Strictly speaking not even (non man-made) places in nature lasts forever - forests can be logged or burn (which is a part of a wildwood forest life cycle) and rocks can demolished or naturally be eroded and washed to the sea. Sometimes the memory of a place will have to do. I'd say that for my places of importance I visit them more frequently in thought than in real life. In a few cases I avoid visiting a place that have been much changed to preserve the memory of a place/period of life - like the house that I grow up in (that is no more). In a way to visit such a place (if it would have been possible) can be less important when you remember every bit of it.
I'm lucky, kiting has rather frequently brought me back to a POI (place of importance) that I'm much comfortable in. The place got a "family history", a "history history" (I got old maps that I studied from the area - most from end of the 18th century and onward), a personal history from all periods of life. And I just like that area.
Just before publishing this I searched for "Gatlinburg news". When searching in local media on this side of the Atlantic there were only a couple of rows regarding the fire, but of course a tragedy for those involved. Changes may come hard and sudden and I now better understand the tone in your image text.