Update: According to Interim Fire Chief Thomas Simmons, the fire's cause has been deterimined to be accidental, due to an appliance left on in the building. The appliance is not yet being named, as the department is waiting for engineers to make a final determination.

Kituwah LLC CEO Mark Hubble was just going back to sleep after a night in the emergency room when his phone rang. The headquarters for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ multi-million-dollar business arm was on fire.

The Kituwah LLC building has been destroyed in a fire that started during the early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 15.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a key partner in a $55 million effort to bring the state’s first track dedicated to quarterhorse racing to a 200-acre property outside of Ashland, Kentucky, with a groundbreaking ceremony held Friday, Oct. 28.

During Annual Council Oct. 24, Tribal Council approved “Project Coda,” a $324 million effort to control “a brand recognized worldwide” and invest in multiple resorts to be developed across the country.

Following a 90-minute closed session discussion Monday, Oct. 24, the Cherokee Tribal Council voted to allocate an additional $55 million to Kituwah LLC for projects that CEO Mark Hubble promised would yield an immediate return.

When the Open Door closed in Frog Level earlier this year, Long’s Chapel Pastor Chris Westmoreland promised a rebirth, looking forward to the food ministry’s next 25 years.

One of the world’s top amusement park companies will partner with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to create a “themed spectacle” centering Cherokee history at the 200-acre property under development by Kituwah LLC at Exit 407 of Interstate 40 in Sevier County, Tennessee.

Representatives of a world-renowned French theme park company met with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council this week to discuss a potential partnership at Exit 407 in Sevier County.

In response to a deepening housing crisis  and a growing  casino enterprise in need of workers, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the LLCs it owns are moving forward with a slate of residential development projects that will result in more than 1,000 new housing units over the next decade — in both the Qualla Boundary and the surrounding region.

The Cherokee Tribal Council voted unanimously this month to allocate $15 million to Kituwah LLC as an equity investment from the tribe.