Charges dropped against youths accused in Gatlinburg wildfires There was much deadwood on the forest floor, including the Hemlocks and other species both down and standing dead. Someone must have started the fire. milepost 316. Im thankful to be tuned in. My questions are: what were the wind speeds when NPS crews ignited these backfires to protect NPS structures; and if they ignited fire on the 28th when the winds were getting stronger and stronger, would the potential exist for backfire embers to get out of control? I agree with you Bill that it isnt Most but whether it is a few or many isnt the point for me. Gatlinburg is in Sevier County. Death toll rises to 13 in Tennessee wildfires as grim search for Thats why I refused to use a local contractor. Many are willing to allow the absolute open permission to some to behave as they will without question, but are unwilling to allow others the same room to learn and grow. I love the mountains, but can I feel safe again? Great info/synopsis of the Gatlinburg/Sevier county wildfires. I know as I have been there many times due to security interests. Sunset that day was at 5:21 p.m. which would have allowed them to drop on the fire until 5:51 p.m., 30 minutes after sunset. View all posts by Bill Gabbert. Authorities have not identified the victim or . Youre right change is hard to come by. Fortunately, Wildfire Today and Knox News had both published detailed timelines about what happened and when, before the Sevier County DA cut off the info flow. On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9. Politics, as we know can cloud even a clear sunny day!!! For the region, I hope fire officials do realize that regional history makes little difference if the right combination of factors exists for rapid and extreme fire growth. At least that is my understanding. Once again the County and the City is sitting around twiddling their thumbs and doing nothing just like they did when the fire started and they could have contained it. Emotions do get the best of us. 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. He wanted us to pack and leave. Case in point is our European religious history. Ms.Schroer said she was not aware of any actual on-the-ground fire suppression efforts, other than perhaps some work on a distant indirect fireline, until Monday November 28, after the fire had grown large and crossed US Highway 141, the main road into the park. However, I still wonder why there has been no word from the governor about the post-fire review team he promised. a wind and weather event like they got, that resulted in fire spread that resulted the the state TEMA command center to have to relocate in the middle of the incident gives a picture of what they were dealing with. People responsible during the initial stages of the Chimney Top 2 wildfire need to be held accountable for violating these basic rules of fire physicsperiod. But I believe there is a fourth element of fire behavior prediction and that is the element of situational awareness. There were ashes raining and that was very alarming to me. One question I have not seen asked is why any adult would have witnessed children playing with matches and lighting fires especially under the obvious conditions in this situation and 1. not taken immediate action 2. They have tied their hands and resources through environmental forestry management. Experience in itself is never enough. I think were all just going to come back and rebuild stronger than ever, he said. The action taken by firefighters on Monday was defensive, to protect threatened structures at a nearby National Park Service picnic ground. But it is good that you ask questions, and you should expect answers and a demonstration of learning, but you have to give that opportunity, just as you would want. We could smell smoke from the fires in NC for a month before the fire began on Chimney Tops. Be sure to bring valid forms of identification showing name and address of residence or business inside Gatlinburg. All of the big trees were gone (although younger trees had been treated and saved). GFD officials examined the scene and found a body, later identified as Joe Martin Bates, in Suite 4. 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. Something broke down here and at the risk of not being PC the important thing is that the issues are discovered and learning takes place followed by action. That is when it would have been prudent to announce a pre-evacuation notice for the Gatlinburg area to be ready to evacuate if an evacuation order is announced. The leaves that had hung on into late Fall because of lack of winds and rain for months began to rain from the trees in copious amounts and there were leaf funnels forming and it was hard as we ran from cabin to car loading Abram and Lady. I was on the phone w them that Mon. Until you sit in my seat after 20 years of fire service, making decisions on where to send your firefighters based on their experience levels, you will then realize decisions have trade offs and sometimes Mother Nature over rules you. (Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc. slumped in early trading Friday after abruptly terminating the employment of . I am not one to Monday Morning Quarterback, because none of us have all the information and really we all have limited information, no one person knows it all; but as a citizen with background knowledge, experience, training, risk and situational awareness, the potential was clearly predictable days in advance of the aggressive action. Prayers for Gatlinburg - Fairborn Daily Herald Considering the record of wind gusts between 5-6pm and that the fire had jumped US 441, NPS calling Gburg Fire Dept. NPS officials are looking to avoid tort liability claims, plan & simple. Chile is nearly a third world nation. 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. LeConte is going to be fine. Our neighbors 3 doors down were outside near their car. Gatlinburg fire: Body found in blaze rubble, cause of fire under Below is a comment I posted from New Sentinel article about Gatlinburg fire, Wildfire Today something that undoubtedly should be investigated as well as compared to their actions of the 23rd to 28th Chimney Tops Fire 2: Officials are evasive and vague about the 1st Chimney Tops Fire. The next morning, the morning of 28th, I took boys to school and went to a dr. appointment in Sevierville. 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. 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. I convinced my husband to drive back toward our house to see if we could see the fire. Too old to start over, fear it could happen again and they could be in their home like I was, or out and out mistrust of local government. Can we allow room for others to fail forward? Copyright 2022 WVLT. On Monday morning we awoke to the smell of smoke. Thanksgiving Day Global Supertanker 747 is responding to wild fires in Israel. SOURCE Like this: Loading. Stumps burned into the ground and look like volcano caldera. Asked if I knew if there were any other people down in that area. Where is his accountability? This openness which allows for both expression of feeling and diversity of thought and ideas will be what drives our ability to fix the complex issues we are faced with, and to grow as human individuals, groups and nations. Floods, tornadoes, severe storms, wildfires, mudslides, hurricanes, what else?, all present risks to humans and their property which require different degrees of political management and oversight in our various muncipalities to keep us safe or to help us recover if we suffer consequences when we arent kept safe. I hold you in my thoughts and prayers for healing and recovery there are others who have posted about their losses on this blog, Kelly for one, and I did not give myself peymidfipn to say these words to them at the time .. When I crawled my way up Pinecrest Drive to Wiley Oakley through dense smoke, I saw a Gatlinburg pumper at the top of the hill. is TEMA didnt have the training. In turn, the IMT teams greatly appreciated the community support given by the effected areas, such as throwing a free Thanksgiving dinner for the thousands of fire fighters far away from their families. 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. We had hiked to the Chimneys for the view many times it was easy to see the wind being funneled down from there to Gatlinburg just like an invisible whitewater river. Sunday, four days after the fire started, was the first time that any firefighting aircraft were used on the fire, Ms. Schroer said. Digression from Comment Thread Stanton wanted to go but I was afraid to for several reasons. Sitting in a Sevierville motel room for four days watching the fire chief, city mayor, city manager, and county mayor pat each other on the back for being Mountain Strong sickened me. 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). This should not be a time to blame and inflame, but to think and act wisely. During fire suppression efforts, crews found one person dead inside the structure. 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. 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. I have to assume that the city of Gatlinburg felt that since my road was county property that I was on my own. Fire erupts on both side of Highway 441 between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 28, 2016. 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. In this case, there were no firefighters in a position to take direct action. On November 23 when the fire was discovered the KBDI was 599, Molly Schroer, a spokesperson for the IMT told us. The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, [1] were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. Officials keep repeating that nothing like this has ever happened here before so they cant be responsible. Officials identified Robert A. Hejny, 63, who was found at Traveler's Motel in Gatlinburg. This is how the devastating Gatlinburg wildfire erupted overnight By Angela Fritz November 29, 2016 at 1:06 p.m. EST Wildfires raging in the Tennessee resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon. My question to the Deputy Super: If the Chimney Tops Fire 2 of Nov 23rd to 28th, 2016 could not have been extinguished before the winds came; and there was plenty of time to act before the winds came; then how come GSMNP fire crews apparently extinguished the first Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 12/13th, 2016? Excellent points, Jody. Situational awareness to current and predicted variables, as well as the potential of possibility is key. Visited Gatlinburg for the first time in Oct 2016. Down hemlocks are mostly just gone. Good incident managers welcome open discussion and critique to learn and improve for future incidents. China Bazaar, Puckers Sports Bar, Cafe 420,. The coolness and the moisture were gone. One indicator of drought and its effect on how wildfires burn is the Keetch-Byram Drought Index(KBDI). I am astounded at the amount of information, expertise, warning, and awareness of imminent danger was present and available in this situation. A temporary evacuation refuge with limited services is located at Max Hasse Community Park . While I had the privilege is having dinner with the NPS director at a prescribed fire conference I am just a retired rx fire practitioner. Like hell he did. It was considered a total loss after yesterdays fire. Unfortunately its the home owners that are taking the hit and I think it should be them. Now I am tasked with trying to motivate and coordinate the local fire departments much of who are volunteer, the state and national forest professionals to work with me and the community. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages I only lost my house, but someone has to speak the truth about what did/didnt happen that day/night. Wildfire experts have been warning local government officials about the potential for a fire of this magnitude for years. They were asleep at the wheel. I knew high winds were predicted for Gatlinburg by watching the weather channel. 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. The successes, and the losses, the poor decisions, the mistakes, the error and the failures. Not to mention all the fallen limbs on the ground beneath them. Published: Oct. 11, 2022 at 5:31 PM PDT GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. Without sufficient safe zones being created in advance each road was easily blocked either by fire or debris. Unfortunately this isnt always the case. The Chimney Tops Trail led from the highway to the top of the hill. They had their moment in history and did not rise to it. This fire as did others around this time had highly predictable potential for massive and rapid spread. GATLINBURG, Tennessee -- The charges have been dropped against two teens who were accused of starting the wildfires in Gatlinburg last fall. Why hasnt the NPS mentioned this first fire of the 14th? 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. U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. A voluntary evacuation should have been issued at least 36 hours before the fire exploded. of them backing up and saying this isnt our problem we are carrying on just like always. I had concerns about traffic once we got down there. I also noted that the use of Red Flag Alerts and prescribed burning around some of the more populace areas was both lacking, and being conducted during predicted high wind conditions. The fire had spread to Mynatt Park in Gatlinburg, and people were being evacuated from neighborhood there. I have a photo I took from the Walmart parking lot looking south that shows how smoky it was in Pigeon Forge. Deputy Park Superintendent Jordan Clayton said the initial fire on an area called Chimney Tops, a double peaked ridge line about 4 miles away from Gatlinburg, was caused by a person or. Why the complacency? Bob and I had discussions about what we would do if we were to be surprised by wildfires up Beech Branch Road with no warning. I looked at the NWS Forecast Discussion and told my sister They should order pre-evacuation before the wind gets strong.. Every business downtown was closed except for Bubba Gumps. I can only hope that the actions are being undertaken somewhere and by the decision-makers and leaders to think and act differently. Even so, is it risky to ignite backfire with such extreme fire conditions? Who was responsible for Gatlinburg fire? Not even 5 years ago over 60 homes burned in one night in Wears Valley when fire spread from house to house, in the fall, during a high wind.