They are just as clandestine of a secret society as the city officials of Gatlinburg and Sevier County. GSMNP Facebook has pulled comments, photos, and replies as well in regard to the 14th fire. Will it change what has happened? We went to West TN for Thanksgiving Holidays and came back home to Gatlinburg on Sunday. I realize the City of Gatlinburg is open and ready for business and business is booming, thats good for them but it doesnt help those of us that lost their home. Virtually no one knows they have it and THEY DID NOT USE IT. The wind remained at moderate strength on Wednesday with gusts decreasing from 37 at 3 a.m. to the lower teens by the end of the day. In addition, the valley above Gatlinburg, drained by LeConte Creek, has had enormous numbers of dead hemlock standing and fallen. Have a wildland fire news tip? Visibility was bad and it was hard to breathe as we unpacked our truck. At 3:00PM I convinced my husband to call the Gatlinburg Fire Dept. Local officials dont seem to learn from past experiences, nor plan well for possible dangers. Fire-wanted or unwanted- is not a warm and fuzzy abstract thing it is often portrayed in todays media and society to play around with. TEMA had the power and authority, yet did nothing until Hell was at their door. Their inter-agency investigation needs to look at the 1st Chimney Tops Fire of the 12/13th to the 17th of November 2016. It is very hard and slow to navigate through laurel stands and the thick Tennesee Barbed Wire Briar patches. As we drove in the smoke was no better than it had been when we left cabin, it was worse. Lose their jobs over this? I have a close friend on IMT in southern CO so have some familiarity with the process. Thanksfully ATF agents helped TN Bureau of Investigation put their full resources at hand and arrested to two teenage idiots that started the fire. The windspeed was 1 to 3 mph. This fire as did others around this time had highly predictable potential for massive and rapid spread. It is very steep terrain, I would estimate about a 65 degree incline, but it is not easy to fall to your death there. I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. The lawsuits from an event like Gatlinburg could go on for decades. This is the way to honor each other and to learn. Who can or will hold them accountable for their part in this tragedy? It is interesting, though not a surprise that when so many diverse experts from across the country and sometimes other countries come with diversity of experience, backgrounds, and training; all come together to handle a disastrous incident, such as this, they do so and often are quite successful. We looked at each other and I asked if we should leave or go back and try to use the water hose to protect the house. They did too little, too late. Pacific Buddhist Academy set to hold 17th annual Taiko Festival, the 14th annual Kualoa Hakipuu canoe festival back after a few years of kind of being shuttered because of the pandemic. Hire an independent fire behavior consultant to assist in PLANNING and timely response if conditions appear to be coming into (fire) alignment. 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. Me, like thousands of Buckeyes make the five-hour trek to Tennessee for family [] Hopefully all of those affected will be able to begin again. I wish the Feds had kept the case instead of handing it off to the local DA. After action reports with ample opportunity for community input led to better pre-fire management and intra-agency coordination of resources. Before the forest fires in the southeast this fall, I didnt know very much about wildfire fighting management (other than a bit from a mountain rescue EMT friend in Colorado and a friend that helps with prescribed burns for Georgia Conservancy).
Body found in rubble of Gatlinburg fire - wtvq.com We couldnt go up Motor Nature Trail so we went back to Cherokee Orchard Road. Both east and west forks of the Pigeon River. They must be invited in by the state, so the bureaucracy and border silos are at issue here too. This isnt finger pointing its the simple facts of the entire situation like it or not! Suggestion, contact Dolly Parton or representatives of her holdings and give her (them) the emergency phone line to Global Supertankers. Lastly, I would after this last election year never ever put stake into social media as any sort of official news, witness accounts or other fact finding mission. I left the professional fire service with 3o plus years of experience, yet with a still learning and observant mind. Some of the seemingly inexplicable burn patterns are due to the wind driven nature. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Down hemlocks are mostly just gone. A couple of weeks after hearing no hardcore news from Knox News, I wrote the editor asking if the News was still doing hardcore investigation of the fire. I viewed aerial photos of that area over the past 10 years (on USGS website). And I dont write about that many of them. If their destination is not lit, they have to land there no later than 30 minutes after sunset.
Massive Wildfire Engulfs Tennessee Resort Towns, Kills 3 I know as I have been there many times due to security interests. I think that since its been brought to attention that nepotism shouldnt be involved in these positions because when it is you have people covering up, like a cat trying to cover up poop! A guy in the red pickup rolled down his window and said You have to get out of here! My husband and I turned around, drove back to the Parkway and out the Spur to Pigeon Forge. The winds were getting stronger. Whatever happened to good old common sense decisions considering the drought, excessive fuels, and weather! People in our country must get this, because for all the overwhelming issues in our country today, they keep voting many of the same politicians back into office over and over and over again expecting a different outcome. I understand the excellent point made in the article that history in the Smokies area would expect less of a problem than out West. It certainly should be addressed, by We, the People. Branson is built into the mountainous forests of south-central Missouri, is a resort town, and a retirement community and entertainment venue. Just looking at media coverage on the evacuation order public messaging snafu points out that this fire will provide many lessons learned for future fire managers. Money and CNN. You forgot lack of funding to adequately staff the park. 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. When I came out of dr. office, which is located on Middle Creek close to hospital, the atmosphere was eerie. Of course Dollywood and Gatlinburg was virtually unscathed. We, the public, have to be activists for our own safety, the very safety that public officials claim to protect.
Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. I dont think so they were the people in charge not any of us and they didnt do their job. Thats exactly what I plan on doing and recording the calls so that if they dont take action they an explain to the public why after getting all of these calls with people pleading for them to take action. What is unconstitutional here is that if this first fire of the 14th is under investigation, then certain parties have committed obstruction of justice. Many, if not most, of these incidents leave the confines of the managing agency and sweep out onto lands owned or managed by others.
Gatlinburg fire 10/9/2022: One body found after Parkway blaze 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. I think anyone that is from this area could see this could be a very dangerous fire from the first day!! Many citizens whom I spoke with had never heard the terms red flag alert and in absence of the term, were not aware of the situations that would lead to such a designation or where to turn to find information on wildfires. What caused the Gatlinburg wildfire? 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. We must change our minds first and then we must change our actions. Still cant seem to get any answers if the BACKFIRES got out of control when the NPS ignited them contributing to the loss of life and structures in Gatlinburg??? The one picture showing a PVC clean-out with charring on it is a very good example of a very fast, hot torch of flame blasting a relatively small area. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The excellent Park folks seemed to just monitor it, and it resolved itself. It upset a lot of locals, but many lauded it. 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. Why the Monday morning quarterbacks seems to always get it right, while those in the game make the errors and the scores, winning and losing. (The fire was in eastern Tennessee near the North Carolina border.). The smoke steadily became thicker as the days passed and friends were showing pictures of the Chimneys on fire. What is these adults had taken immediate action to correct and intervene in this unsafe behavior by children. They had no sirens or Claxons blaring, no shouting to evacuate thru their grill mounted speakers. It now seems obvious that no housing development should have only road in and out. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting should be expected. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Gatlinburg Fire Department and Gatlinburg Police Department officials are investigating. This area was in the process of being logged prior to the wildfire, (supposedly started by a logging train) of 1925. Prescribed burning is a critical ecosystem management tool across the nation, especially in the Southeast (https://goodfires.org/how) and when the term is used interchangeably with monitored wildfires it can lead to confusion. This story Im telling is all factual you see I have a problem with anyone exaggerating events as well as lying so I tell the truth regardless of how unpopular it may be. So property owners are left to deal with everything and if we had the power we would have done something like worrying the crap out of all of them until action was taken. It means they eliminated natural causes, such as lightning and volcano eruptions. They need to be accountable for their inaction, and action. The amount of dead Frazier fir and Spruce trees, caused by similar non-native infestation, is dramatic on Newfound Gap road, but mainly past The Chimneys at higher elevations. Thanks again for your touching reply. Very well put Mari. The action taken by firefighters on Monday was defensive, to protect threatened structures at a nearby National Park Service picnic ground. We saw some trucks when we drove out late morning. They had no sirens or Claxons blaring, no shouting to evacuate thru their grill mounted speakers. It would be interesting to dig a little further on this. Question, seek truth and evidence, get to the roots, with the intention to create and apply solutions, not simply hang someone; that is how we grow forward! It is a sad state of affairs, the loss of life was quite avoidable. The Tip Line is 888-653-0009. The report said the fire was an accident and caused around $7 million in damages. Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out. Thank you, Bill. How Gatlinburg attempted to notify its residents to evacuate as the fire burned into the city, http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/12/13/timeline-gatlinburg-wildfires/95138656/, http://www.southernfireexchange.org/etc/ITPFISE.pdf, Long bushfire season wears down firefighters in Queensland and Western Australia, Community near Heppner, Oregon first in Morrow County to earn Firewise designation, County Cork fire brigades work through the night on gorse fires, Renewed call for the Holy Grail of firefighter tracking, Hiker owes $300,000 for Arizona wildfire he started. If the NPS backfires were not ignited on the 28th; then they had to be ignited on the 27th a day before the fire broke out. The news person is very frustrated as she nor their rival Channel 8 can do no interviews due to the gag order. From an all hazards POV large scale fire should have been recognized long before any drought conditions. I picked them up and came back home with plans of bringing truck back over mountain and filling it up because it was near empty. 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. Please keep in mind our commenting ground rules before you post a comment. Late Monday afternoon the Gatlinburg Fire Department began informing some residents of a voluntary evacuation. There are three broad categories of conditions that affect the way a wildfire burns: weather, fuels (vegetation), and topography.
Fire kills 1, destroys businesses in downtown Gatlinburg, Tenn May God look out for all of you in your time of loss. To successfully allow a fire to burn for a long period of time requires VERY skilled personnel and luck. For the availability of resources our local volunteer departments are doing a good job, but things are changing and we need to get out of the boxes we are in, and start critical thinking and creatively to meet the challenges of the future because they are rapidly descending upon us whether we like it or not. LeConte. Ten people were hospitalized after a Spirit Airlines plane bound for Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville due to a fire onboard, according to officials. Excellent information and supporting documentation. The learning system of resolution. Officials said three people.
Chimney Tops 2 Fire - National Park Service With that said: were NPS officials aggressive enough in seriously emphasizing to Gatlinburg officials to start preparing for mandatory evacuations? The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Facebook page reported (on Monday 11/28 at 1046am) that gusting winds have caused the fire to spot across the ridges in the Chimney Tops and Bull head Ridge Area. We stopped at another neighbors house. I wonder when NPS actually put out a request for Incident Management Team support. He asked them if they could give us an update on the fire and they said no. The leadership tetrahedron if you will, the area where all the parts come together based on the past, the current, the potential and the possible. Businesses affected by the fire include Puckers Sports Bar, China Bazaar, Cafe 420, and Gifts of Gatlinburg, according to WVLT News crews on the scene. What are they doing? And on top of all that, they have teams that stay and clean up after the fires, repairing dozer and fire lines to reflect natural terrain, knocking down trees that would be a hazard to hikers and hunters, repairing the roads that heavy equipment damaged. An expert, a hero or success is the one who takes a vulnerable risk at making a decision and by grace the outcome is positive, by contrast is the person who makes similar vulnerable risk in decision-making and by grace the outcome is negative. And not only they had time to evacuate but I called 911 Monday night on Nov. 28 2016 and ask if there was any evacuation orders for Gatlinburg and was told By The 911 operator no not at this time Later found out the whole place was on fire at the same time I called 911 ( WHY ) was I lied to ? 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. Finally, the Superintendent has the power to call up all the resources which were available. Thank-you Bill for your through and in depth analysis of this wildfires chain-of events. Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that a man was arrested for setting three fires that spread into a 300-acre fire in. Great job on this website, it is very informative and I recommend it to everyone in the business. The helicopter worked until it had to refuel and then two other Type 1 helicopters took its placeuntil dark. Not to lay blame or punishment but as a real learning tool for improvement of service provision. Bob, I know where youre coming from. We have a mountaintop cabin about 50 miles south of this area. Very well said Tommy. We listened to local TV news at home which reported voluntary evacuations for Mynatt Park after fire was reported in the Twin Creeks area. Too often the only voice that is heard in our society is money and the more one has the more they are heard. I certainly agree there are definitely consequences for our actions, for some more than others. The notice went out to people within 10 miles of the fireline. Some of those businesses told WVLT News they have a long road ahead as they wait on insurance adjustors to calculate their losses. I knew high winds were predicted for Gatlinburg by watching the weather channel. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. Thanks for the correction Bill. That said, it is always easier for those outside of the forest to see the big picture then those who are standing inside the trees down on the forest floor. Drought, fall winds, fuel moistures that havent recovered in months, what part of this disaster was a surprise. Do arsonists typically work alone? That didnt happen here. Breathing between car and house was hard. The Park Superintendent did not want to risk the lives of NPS fire crews with the Chimney Tops Fire 2; and that is to be respected.
Death toll from Tenn. wildfires rises to 14 - CBS News It was about this time that we noticed the wind beginning to get stronger. It is truly appreciated. Mitchell, Mt. None of our fires escaped, in part because we had some very smart, very experienced people in key positions. Jody, you have said well what Ive wanted to say from my impressions made after the fire about this tragic situation. At least one of them drove up the street below our house and parked there for about an hour. Brush fires spread across multiple counties this afternoon in Southwest Florida due to high winds. On the night before I left for Branson, I had terrible nightmares of being caught in a forest fire in Branson. Here is a question & answer from Bill interviewing Tom Nichols on Wildfire Today: One of the more common errors in judgment you have seen on fires? night at 9pm when mom said there was evacuation notice on TV. 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. There is much opportunity in the Eastern Appalachians to better prepare citizens, towns , leaders and firefighters; To create more fire aware and safe communities. it would not be the first time that political or other motivation caused biased reporting.
Tennessee wildfire near Gatlinburg prompts evacuations of 11,000 homes But the NPS didnt even follow their own rules in this case. What were the emergency managers of this county doing/thinking at this time? On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. It predicted wind gusts out of the south Monday morning of 25 mph, increasing atnoonto30 mph and to 40 mph by 6 p.m.