I hope this video puts people at ease that this fire is. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. Wednesday, November 23, the day the fire started. There are A lot of cheap seats in the arena filled with people who never venture onto the floor. From what I understand, the adelgid spreads from tree to tree via the ground, which is why young hemlocks with smooth bark are rarely infested with adelgid. They must be invited in by the state, so the bureaucracy and border silos are at issue here too. If they had taken action the day it started instead of now using the excuse of the rough terrain, yeah it is but so is most mountain areas. He should loose his job and be prosecuted for this mess he created. 6 to the intersection at Reagen Drive reopened Monday afternoon after being closed Sunday morning, according to a release. Read more Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made, Officials Claim is an article from: The Inquisitr News. I stopped him and said, Stanton, weve got to calm down and go slowly getting out of here so that we dont scare Abram and so that we can drive safely. They were flying water drops on Sunday with the equipment available (National Guard choppers). By the end of the day on Sunday the fire had burned approximately 35 acres, according to Ms. Schroer and the results from a mapping flight (see the 3-D mapabove). "We've had five (fatalities) really close together and this is more than we normally have by this time of year," Boyd said. If Im not mistaken, there is a Bob Stanton that was a former NPS Director. Much of the southeastern United States had been suffering extremely dry conditions for two to three months. One thing Id add: the county is allowing residents that lost their home to use their existing block or poured foundation as long as they have one of their local cemetacious experts test it and approve it. Will Lessons Learned fade into distant short-term US fire management history archives once again. Excellent report Dr. Gabbert. The Spur between Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is open from Pigeon Forge to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. They had no sirens or Claxons blaring, no shouting to evacuate thru their grill mounted speakers. There are other potential hazards that make unplanned evacuations a danger in that area. The winds that Monday afternoon had knocked power lines down and early reporting made mention of separate ignition points in the residential hillsides. This should not be a time to blame and inflame, but to think and act wisely. Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that a man was arrested for setting three fires that spread into a 300-acre fire in. Honor those who have risked much to help, indeed. Jeannine, its obvious that you write from the heart, and you write so well it is indeed inspirational. You are correct in pointing out the dead hemlocks. Yes a lot is somewhat predictable, just as this fire, but not every aspect is, there are too many variables in the real world. You cannot sit and watch a fire in the mountains this close to a town and not call in lots of HELP!!! Great info/synopsis of the Gatlinburg/Sevier county wildfires. Even though I am located adjacent to the National Forest lands on 3 sides, I cannot invite them onto my property to help me lessen the fuel load proximal to my home. Ive learned so much on this blog over the past 6 weeks about how forest fires are managed and fought and Im most grateful for that. We would best not be blind until that time is upon us, as then it will be too late. I am in my late 60s and have never seen such a drought, or such low stream levels. I have here a firsthand account of how a homeowner, who lost her house, lived through the days before the fire and through the fire. Here again, more of a horse and pony show from all officials both state and federal. When two juveniles were arrested on December 7 and charged with aggravated arson, many people assumed they had the answer. For now there is heartbreak and hindsight on the part of every one now. (Credit: Tom Williams), Two people in custody after police chase, manhunt near Warrior & Hayden, Protest held in memory of Glenn Foster Junior, Fire department K-9 dies during search and rescue mission. You are reading this like most folks with common sense and a little analytical process, being all the data as you stated isnt on the table. FF get lulled into thinking they know by instinct but that era ininct will get people killed and thatas what happened. I wonder when NPS actually put out a request for Incident Management Team support. This fire was a terrible tragedy and would require tremendous foresight on the part of such people to have kept people from harm and property from destruction, in this case, because people needed to be aware of the likelihood of the imminent danger they were facing if they stayed in Gatlinburg on Monday evening and overnight. That evening, GSM park officials tweeted that a 1.5 acre fire (Chimney Tops 2 fire) was burning in a steep location around the Chimneys. I fully understand the financial difficulties of the NPS and with firefighters abroad. etc. and last updated 4:48 AM, Apr 05, 2022. Finding out about the fire has hurt me almost as much as it did the locals. Jeannines comments were spot on. ), lack of knowledge of alternative communication systems (the Motorola area wide emergency radio system installed last year). Finally, the Superintendent has the power to call up all the resources which were available. Given the wind forecast, pre-evac notice should have gone out on Sunday, Monday morning at latest. But the condition of the fuel was also important since it happenedduring what the National Weather Service (NWS) calls exceptional drought conditions. Learning for the future is important if it includes changes in policy and procedure. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. It appears that the Deputy has contradicted himself here. There was lots of sunlight and lots of low-level vegetation so much that the trail was overgrown and we decided to turn around. 10/10/22, 1:56 p.m. Then and only then will He let you effectively manage His creation that He has allowed you to be a part of for a short time. On the radio, a man in the Forestry truck was somewhere around the Roaring Fork area (as I recall) looking for possible spot fires reported near a residence and was talking about the strong winds. I wish some barracuda Attorney would take this on and represent the property owners in a lawsuit to try to recuperate some of our losses, any takers? And no doubt books both factual and not on this event. Fire crews were dispatched to a structure fire around 6:30. On Wednesday, November 23, 2016 a hiker on the popular Chimney Tops Trail managed to capture a photo of two teenage boys dropping lit matches on the trail despite the current no-burn order in the area. They didnt and now its the property owners problem, they havent offered any clean up assistance, free dumping fees, no permit cost to rebuild, and certainly no financial help. Thanksgiving weekend is one of the 4 busiest weekends for Gatlinburg and the National Park. I wish this would turn into the biggest Court case in history. Also, for the last several decades, NPS policies have allowed these excessive fuels to build. So far, this week's tragic Tennessee wildfires have caused at least seven deaths, injured at least 50 more, and damaged or destroyed over 700 structures, a good portion of them in the city of Gatlinburg. Susan, A true lackadaisical response. Who caused the fire in Gatlinburg? Most of the people that own property down there like me live elsewhere in the real world were things cannot be as easily shoved under the rug like they are down there. It is a truism that many people want all the benefits of government, but dont want to pay for them. When boys and I got back home around 3:45, the winds were beginning to pick up and branches were beginning to fall. The Chimney Tops fire was a wildfire being monitored given limited resources initially because of the many other ongoing fires in the region to which fire-fighting resources were committed. Lied too by Gatlinburg or Sevier County officials? Maybe a second year of drought? I think anyone that is from this area could see this could be a very dangerous fire from the first day!! Firefighting resources assigned to the fire include 25 hand crews, 61 engines, 6 helicopters, and 2 dozers, for a total 780 personnel. Waited a month to report this event and turn over the pictures they took to forestry officials! It also led officials to. Almost every creek drainage in GSMNP has stands of dead hemlocks (though some areas near roads had some hemlocks treated regularly to prevent adelgid infestation). Who knows what the climate will bring next year. The fire could have been stopped over the weekend if proper procedures had been followed. If you take a hands off approach with minimal management and indirectly Play God look out. Emotions do get the best of us. Mitchell, Mt. there is nothing that can address the failure of leadership at every level that contributed to that loss of life. The body of an unidentified person was found amid the rubble of a downtown section of buildings that. I appreciate that fine quality of writing that expresses your thoughts in an easy to read yet structured style that makes sense. Even though they are showing people receiving checks the day they apply, this was not the case for him. On-the-ground fire suppression activity took place Monday when firefighters took defensive action to protect structures at a nearby GRSM picnic area. Not just putting out the fires, but restoring the forest and trails afterward. I began to notice people smoking while driving their vehicles when I would be out and about and they would flick burning embers out windows and sometimes throw cigarettes out windows. Most excellently put, Jeannine (you are an exceptional writer). I found this blog and am so grateful to have an opportunity to reply and also to become informed from experienced, caring people of service in the firefighting effort. I was nervous about it. The fire on Sunday caused extensive damage to a block of . Just like the Mayor of Amity in Jaws. One person was found dead Sunday. So my husband called the Gatlinburg policy department with the same questions and got the same answers. This is a developing story. It is so much easier to sit on the outside, pass judgement and sentencing in the name of accountability than it is to be involved in the event of vulnerability in action. National Park Service says never push a slower friend down when escaping a bear, Knoxville utilities crews work to restore power after intense storms, Missing elderly Knoxville woman last seen at hospital, police say, Vols drop to 5-seed in SEC Tournament after falling at Auburn, 79-70. the downtown fire on Oct. 9 that killed one person and injured another. There were emergency vehicles blocking Motor Nature Trail. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1477959465566642&id=100000578092120. Instead, the city ordered evacuation of the neighborhoods nearest the NPS day use area that was on fire (Mynatt Park and others). Impressive. Are city and county officials learning to use the expensive Motorola radio system that would have allowed various agencies to communicate when cell service went down? I always come back to that groupthink mentality, the ladder of inference, the been there done that mode, the failure/fear to act, and thats how weve always done it thinking; all part of how our unconscious brain works without our conscious intervention and critical thinking skills. This is the path to healing, and the way to light. Alice Hagler, who went missing at Chalet Village, was identified Wednesday night by her son Lyle Wood, who said his mother's body had been found "in the ruins of her home, her life taken by a. Praying for those residents that have it far worse than I. Im not saying GRSM made the right or wrong decision, there is just a lot more involved then saying they didnt suppress it promptly. I certainly hope the investigation of the totality of fire is not pressured to conclude prematurely. The Gatlinburg Fire Department was dispatched to the 700 block of Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg at 6:39 a.m. on October 9. Brian Blanco/Getty. GRSM posted Fire Information signs in the area explaining their monitoring strategy due to vertical cliffs, narrow rock ridges and steep drainages. What about firefighter safety? After the fact they called in helicopters to dump water on the fire which is what they should have done in the first place and didnt, WHY NOT? The cause of the fire remains under investigation. We are facing some very large problems around our globe and in our own home communities, that will require some out of the box thinking and collaboration, some tough questions, and a lot of personal accountability review and growth. In my opinion there is more blood on the hands of the NPS, Gatlinburg city and fire officials and Sevier County politicians than those kids. Unfortunately, Im not optimistic about the inter-agency review. Good incident managers welcome open discussion and critique to learn and improve for future incidents. Shame on you. The main road out of Gatlinburg is the Spur, which is the 5 mile stretch of Park Service Road that lies between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Ill tell you why. One indicator of drought and its effect on how wildfires burn is the Keetch-Byram Drought Index(KBDI). Below is the stateof access to the fire area, as reported by the IMT: The National Park is closed from the Gatlinburg Entrance to Smokemont near Oconaluftee (US 441, Newfound Gap) and Little River Road from Sugarlands Visitor Center to Townsend. As it was, there had been brush fires burning in N Georgia and Western NC since October. This is just one more example of one more related issue that is seemingly un-connected until you delve into the issues deeply. Ive not had a chance to hike post-fire areas in the mountains yet to see fires effect on dead hemlocks, but what Henry said about dead stumps burning into the ground looking like a volcano rings true with what Ive witnessed in mountain forest areas that burned decades ago. Stumps burned into the ground and look like volcano caldera. But very little if any fire suppression activity occurred until Monday, November 28. My nightmare depicted more what happened in Gatlinburg than so far in Branson. Those probably did not finish burning for several days. These words are so terribly inadequate but I feel even worse not saying anything at all. But when it's close to home, the sadness and concern of those affected is ten-fold in the worry department. Why did they wait until Monday to do a voluntary a evacuation or were the city father is involved in the decision not to panic the thousands and thousands of people still there for the Thanksgiving holiday. A club . The whole thing is unconscionable to me. For example politicians far away from the event make decisions regarding funding, resources and operations. Lots of fires getting controlled, crews pulling off and the new fuel falling and all back ablaze. If I had even been in the bathroom or downstairs I wouldve died . I told him there wasnt when I got there at 5 oclock but I could not even see driveways on the way up. The truck was filled with firefighters. A map posted with the Fire Information sign dated November 27 showed that the park hoped to stopthe fire before it crossed the bottom of drainages on the west, north and east sides, and the Chimney Tops Trail to the south. As we reached the Parkway, everything was deserted. Tom, I want to express to you how sorry I am to hear about the loss of your cabin, what you went through escaping the fire, what you have gone through since the fire and what you are facing. At least seven people have died and dozens have been hospitalized in wildfires in Tennessee that have ravaged a popular tourist town and forced thousands from their homes. Emergency management should have been all over this from the very beginning. My husband told me our children would not be happy with us if we did that, so we decided to leave without returning to the house. If you had transposed the same fire with similar conditions to California or Idaho would it have been managed the same way? They should not be excused because they did not escape the consequences this time of their lax policies and their actual failure to follow the procedures they should have followed. We applied for the Dollywood assistance and FEMA and can get neither, Im not sure who they are helping but for us and our neighbors we arent getting anything. Not because I am a teller of fortune. But, well see what the investigation comes up with. You cannot predict an outcome of fight first and fast any better than you did letting thousands of property burn and 15 people die. I love the mountains, but can I feel safe again? Oddly, some folks that posted photos of the fire of the 23rd in its early stages have either pulled the blogs or the material cannot be accessed. We must change our minds first and then we must change our actions. I felt it urgent to get out of the woods. Yet no one will be severely punished i.e. He told me he was scared to drive the truck-its a lot more cumbersome in the local terrain than his little Outback. That didnt work out. Not sure on how the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid infects our truly awesome and beautiful Hemlocks, but I do know that the Balsam Wooly Adelgid, the non-native insect that has helped to lay waste to the equally magnificent Fraser Fir forests such as found on the highest peaks Clingmans Dome, Mt. I may be alone in thinking that, but I do think the Feds would stand up to local influence. (Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc. slumped in early trading Friday after abruptly terminating the employment of . On November 27 the fire was a third of a mileas the crow flies from US Highway 441. We listened to local TV news at home which reported voluntary evacuations for Mynatt Park after fire was reported in the Twin Creeks area. Sandra, I agree. GSMNP Facebook has pulled comments, photos, and replies as well in regard to the 14th fire. if/when evacuation notice was given. I said at the time thatvwas crazy, evac. Wildland firefighters typically request Spot Weather Forecasts from the NWS for wildland fires or other events that can be greatly influenced by weather. Those people have their head in a hole, a burned out tree stump hole the very definition of ignore-ance. We had loaded dog and Abram in car, out of smoke and told them to stay put. Being an avid mountain hiker, I had seen evidence of fires from decades ago (Graveyard Fields being a macro example, but most prior fires in the forest were just like the ones this fall floor duff and fallen dead wood). They got info from NPS about the fire spreading. The steepness here is epic, the only way out of valleys this steep is straight down or up, your lucky not to hit a waterfall. Whether a tornado, hurricane or natural disaster, it weighs on your psyche. The NPS investigation team has all this information and everything posted on Wildfire Today and a lot of info that was never made public. The deaths in this incident can be attributed to being trapped and forced to shelter in place. This lack of serious response is all too obvious. Fire those managers! Unfortunately human lives were lost and hundreds of folks have been displaced. You are aware that Bill Gabbert the Editor of Wildfire Today spent a large part of his fire carrier with the Park Service where I believe he was served on a nationwide Type I IMT. NPS officials are looking to avoid tort liability claims, plan & simple. In addition, the valley above Gatlinburg, drained by LeConte Creek, has had enormous numbers of dead hemlock standing and fallen. National Park Service says never push a slower friend down when escaping a bear, Knoxville utilities crews work to restore power after intense storms, Missing elderly Knoxville woman last seen at hospital, police say, Vols drop to 5-seed in SEC Tournament after falling at Auburn, 79-70. fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. If I had even been in the bathroom or downstairs I wouldve died . Though Im missing the boat a little here, my questioning is still legitimate being that any managed ignited fire can still get out of control adding to an existing wildfire or creating one. Multiple businesses were destroyed in the flames, totaling an estimated $7 million in damage. CNN A wildfire burning near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevier County, Tennessee, has grown to more than 3,700 acres and impacted more than 100 structures, County Mayor Larry. For reference, 600 or above would indicate severe drought andincreased wildfire occurrence. Until 1 p.m. sustained speeds were 4 to 6 mph with gusts at 12 to 19 mph. The actual clifts are small and easily avoided. The teens, 15 and 17, were charged with starting the Chimney Tops fire which eventually spread to the Smoky Mountains, into Sevier County and Gatlinburg, killing 14 people, injuring more than. Yes, some the ridges connecting to chimney-tops had dead hemlock stands. Thus, private, State, or other agencies get left holding the bag, as it were. One other consideration relevant to some of the previous comments about the aggressiveness or lack thereof in dealing with the fire in the first few days is the context of other ongoing wildfires. Everyone should also know that this area is characterized by mountain laurel, in some areas nearby its so thick the only way through is on top it or if your lucky under on your belly. She replied, Mrs. Jeanne: I do not disagree with your thought process regarding some of the broad challenges wildland fire mangers have faced in the past thirty some years. There was much deadwood on the forest floor, including the Hemlocks and other species both down and standing dead. Do arsonists typically work alone? Its incredulous that evacuation didnt go out then. Thank-you Bill for your through and in depth analysis of this wildfires chain-of events. Without sufficient safe zones being created in advance each road was easily blocked either by fire or debris. Period. The wildfires caused millions of dollars in damage. Thanks! In regard to the Knoxville News Sentinel article by Don Jacobs and an apparent press release statement by the Deputy Superintendent of GSMNP: There was no way the fire could have been extinguished before the winds came. Jordan says. Mother nature always bats last Sad chain of eventsonce again. However, an event such as the Gatlinburg fires undoubtedly leads to a can of worms that some folks would rather just sweep under the rug. Bob, I know where youre coming from. I wish the Feds had kept the case instead of handing it off to the local DA. Yes government at all levels needs to be held accountable; otherwise we regress back into the Dark Ages. Paddlers prepare to hit the water for the return of the Kualoa Hakipuu Canoe Festival, Former Mililani High athletic director indicted, Hawaii police departments offer big incentives as competition for new recruits heats up, Stroke survivor's specially-modified bike returned, Midday Newscast: City proposes $300 tax credit for those with homeowner's exemption, 'The Other Side of Paradise' with Lynn Kawano, KHNLPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KGMBPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KFVEPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KSIXPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KOGGPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246. Bob called. I hope to remedy that starting now! I realize some of my questioning is speculative and yet legitimate. One only has to imagine a single downed power line starting a structure fire at the same time the wildfire was approaching to understand how the great loss of property and life actually happened. Thanks for adding more good insight. These fires were allowed to cook with little or no suppression action. I think wildland fire managers should be commended that this fire did not result in a tragic firefighter incident like Yarnell Hills. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - One person died and another was injured in a large fire in downtown Gatlinburg Sunday. May God look out for all of you in your time of loss. I asked my husband to go outside and hook up the water hose we had disconnected for winter. The DA in Sevier County has put a gag rule in effect since the get go to protect the teeneagers involved. God doesnt cut financial budgets. Have a wildland fire news tip? They need to be accountable for their inaction, and action. 2 min read. Often times in seeking to take out a person, the real root causes go unaddressed, and sometimes that includes some people taking the fall for decisions of others that were major contributing factors. A temporary evacuation refuge with limited services is located at Max Hasse Community Park . Henry, do you know the effect of the typical southeastern forest ground fires on the hemlock adelgid? Cafe 420 and Gifts of Gatlinburg were also destroyed. Would it not be more beneficial to hold accountability by insuring that analysis of cause and effect and learning take place; that change is done where change is needed? Accusations were abundant. Suffice it to say betting against individual as well as class-action instruments being utilized against local and federal officials would be as unlikely as betting that the sun wont rise tomorrow. On November 23 when the fire was discovered the KBDI was 599, Molly Schroer, a spokesperson for the IMT told us. You are among several Gatlinburg residents that posted local officials told them that everything was OK as late as 5:30 and there was no evacuation notice. I am trying to learn everything I can and hope to find an avenue to serve in this cause in some small way as most of you have and are serving in major, ways, risking your lives. But any land manager that expects to allow active spreading fire behavior for weeks or months is knowingly taking a risk that a wind event unpredictable weeks or months in advance will occur and change everything, sometimes with a very undesirable outcome. About 20 years ago, I hiked to Albright Grove, an old-growth hemlock forest near Greenbrier. With that all happening before lunch. People were ready to leave their home in 15 min. But. The remains of a business in Gatlinburg, Tenn., smolder on Nov. 29, after a devastating wildfire damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and killed at least 14 people. Just a reminder to all, wildfires knows no boundaries, political beliefs, policy or management decisions just simple laws of physics and science from S-190: Basic Fire Behavior fuels, weather, topography and an ignition source plus extreme, well documented, long term drought conditions equals a recipe for conflagration, death and destruction. A complex set of contributing factors no doubt, many that fell on deaf ears until they had to open eyes! Most events have a series of issues that contribute to the outcome, the more catastrophic the event the greater the number of contributing factors. I viewed aerial photos of that area over the past 10 years (on USGS website). Their lack of extended skill training is apparent. I keep up with what is going on nationwide and every time I hear about a monitored or let burn fire that escapes the maximum management area, I write about it. The leafless trees allowed more sunlight to hit the fuel, drying it out even more. We had better see something besides suggestions for new warning systems and making people that are rebuilding their homes put in overly expensive sprinkler systems that way they can say to the press they made major strides and changes and they learned from the fire. There is a time and a season for prescribed/monitored fire and that time is NOT during an historic drought and fire season in the SE US with numerous ongoing large fires and a very well predicted wind and storm event. The high winds were forecasted on the 25th, 2016. As the crow flies, thats not far from Gatlinburg and Ive heard of and read about how quickly wildfires spread and how far reaching they can be under dry conditions from drought. Narrowing it down to human-causes is easy for an investigator. An ongoing lawsuit against the National Park Service over its handling of the 2016 Gatlinburg Wildfire is on hold as a federal judge considers a motion to dismiss the suit. According to Public Information Officer Seth Butler, the Gatlinburg Fire Department and the Pigeon Forge Fire Department were dispatched to downtown Gatlinburg at 6:39 a.m. on Sunday, Oct.. Gatlinburg Fire Department crews responded to the scene and received help from Pigeon Forge Fire Department, Pigeon Forge Police Department, Sevierville Fire Department, Pittman Center Volunteer Fire Department, Sevier County Emergency Management Agency, Sevier County Medical Examiners Office and Sevier County Ambulance Services. Defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs said the state can't prove that the horseplay of the boys, ages 17 and 15, sparked a fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that caused the deadly . I told him we would come pick him up in his car. I believe that many, many people are alive now because they did use common sense but some of the people who died, were victims of circumstances that they should never have faced if their public officials had been acting solely on their responsibility, first and foremost, and perhaps only, to protect and serve. I knew him when he was at Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore. I had heard that many of the stumps and rotted out trees had become abnormally dry because of the drought. teams had Lake Lure and Tate City evacuate when high winds were forecast. Published: Dec. 24, 2022 at 10:17 AM PST GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9 that killed one person and injured another. The city said crews working the structure fire that . Kelly Morgans comments may have been harsh and offensive to some folks; but when government builds a wall; sometimes it takes a loud voice to get their attention. Tunica, MS, from our area near Kansas City, to arrive late evening, that day, in Tunica. As they are minors, nothing else is known other than the Feds said the State could prosecute.

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