Vincent Gabrielle, Knoxville News Sentinel. I can name 14 people who deserved much better! 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! If you search around, you can find a recorded radio transmission by TN Forestry personnel from that fateful morning (my old brain doesnt remember where it was posted and I didnt bookmark it, but some other WFT readers may know). U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. Nearby businesses feel the same. But all sitting back and doing nothing to help. Difficult access to safely fight fire, lack of pre-blow up fire management, and extreme drought capped off by an exceptional weather event led to the July 1st, 1998 Farmton firestorm that burned through the rural community where I lived in east central Florida. They found plenty of resources when they realize they were going to be burning all the money making business is down on Monday. It was very low on gas and fully covered with insurance. I think anyone that is from this area could see this could be a very dangerous fire from the first day!! I realize some of my questioning is speculative and yet legitimate. Thats perfect Johnny. Great info/synopsis of the Gatlinburg/Sevier county wildfires. I was struck by the daunting task of creating a viable fire-prevention plan in that area of constant tourist turnover, and the way it is laid-out. This is the way to honor each other and to learn. They had the same weather forecast information. 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.. 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. there is nothing that can address the failure of leadership at every level that contributed to that loss of life. Ive ranted about the comparison to how Chimney Tops and Gatlinburg was handled by GSMNP and TEMA. The fire on Sunday caused extensive damage to a block of . The next morning we werent allowed to go check on our house because of fires still burning and impassable roads. @wvlt pic.twitter.com/P7roVBCq8B. They were taught with classroom didactic and hands on training, by sharing of lessons learned by others, and the best learning opportunity available, the best teacher of all; the actual experience itself. What the fire victims need is non-biased experts to analyze the BACKFIRES that the NPS claims they ignited to protect NPS structures. Not because I am a teller of fortune. When the simple laws of fire physics and chemistry correctly combine, fuel, heat, oxygen, and in the wildland fire arena available fuels, topography and ideal fire weather conditions mix in perfect alignment plus given adequate TIME, a-bine unattended campfire, an arsonists match, or a slowly backing down-slope surface fire in leaf litter during a record setting drought will ultimately result in a disastrous conflagration. Another factor in the tragic outcome goes way beyond any mismanagement of the fire in its early period. 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. The earlier fire on the hill was named Chimney Tops hence the name Chimney Tops 2 for the new blaze. According to a news release dated Nov. 25 from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Public Affairs Office, the fires started on Chimney Tops Trail a few miles south of Gatlinburg, off U.S. 441 . Wildfire experts have been warning local government officials about the potential for a fire of this magnitude for years. Gatlinburg Wildfire: 2 Juveniles Charged With Arson - NPR Thanks for your rundown on the fire Bill. On Monday morning we awoke to the smell of smoke. January 4, 2017 at 5:26 pm Watch the pride and ego firefighters: youll never outmatch Gods elements. It is to be considered, but verified by other means. I was afraid to go into Park with boys. Even this article seems to skirt around some of the issues and miss the depth of analysis it needs to effect meaningful change. This appears to be the case once again. Even life-long locals said they had never seen rhododendren wither up before. Death toll from Tenn. wildfires rises to 14 - CBS News Im not saying GRSM made the right or wrong decision, there is just a lot more involved then saying they didnt suppress it promptly. In a time in which the NPS and all other government agencies are under attack and certain factions are seeking to replace all our government agencies with private for profit industry I would not ignore the possibility of anything. It was as if time had passed with no motivational disaster to spur this awareness, at least not in my local community. How did all the downtown businesses know to close and send their employees home, but not one word of warning was given to homeowners/residents? I would describe this as flooding in Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg Tennessee, but certainly heavy rain rising the water levels throughout. Crews are currently taking down the China Bazaar and Puckers building. This is a developing story. Concerning the time the fire jumped 441. (Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc. slumped in early trading Friday after abruptly terminating the employment of . notice should have been at 5-6 given the wind. 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. 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. 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. The coolness and the moisture were gone. It was the hottest summer we ever felt. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. 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? The immediate flash of ground clutter was followed by the much slower burning of the dead and down trees and stumps. Though the drought and winds were undoubtedly an act of God (Psalms 148:8; 1st Kings 17:1), NPS and other officials were not left ignorant. I felt like people had been robbed of the vital information they needed to make the decisions they needed to be safe. You can see in the leaf pattern around it how a strong gust pushed up against the side of the house. Narrowing it down to human-causes is easy for an investigator. I only lost my house, but someone has to speak the truth about what did/didnt happen that day/night. Mr. Cash cant order an evac, but he could have made a recommendation. Jody, you have said well what Ive wanted to say from my impressions made after the fire about this tragic situation. At 2 a.m. Monday the wind speeds recorded at Indian Grave began increasing and the direction became more consistently out of the south and southwest. I dont know details as to the trail. These folks do this often in situations in which they have little control over much of the situation or outcomes. The individual was identified as Joe Martin Bates, 54, according to the Sevier County Medical Examiners office. They were in their driveway with a water hose. and see if he could get any information. Good comments by all. 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. I dont have the statistics to prove what you wrote is incorrect, but I am convinced that it is not a fact to say most of the fires that are monitored (as opposed to fully suppressed) escape outside the agencys borders. On Oct. 9, a woman who was working at the Ripleys Aquarium smelled smoke and walked up to 745 Parkway Suite 4 to investigate. It now seems obvious that no housing development should have only road in and out. Some of the seemingly inexplicable burn patterns are due to the wind driven nature. This is a text book example of waiting for rain and not planning for WHAT IF! They had identifiedon a map a 410-acre fire management area which, depending on weather conditions, may allow for further fire growth. 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. No. they if you limit that to local staff might not have as much fire management experience as say Yosemite or Yellowstone. They just hurl mean criticisms and put downs from a safe distance Brene Brown. No evacuation orders issued- If I had gone to work that day my two sons would be dead. That said, we are now in the rebuild mode. We checked the Spot Weather Forecasts that were requested by the NPS and issued by the NWS for the Chimney Tops 2 Fire. That seems to be confirmation that the fire had crossed 441 early in the day. But instead great risks were taken through basic inaction and the consequences were disastrous. Will the NPS Fire Management leadership at the Regional, NIFC and Washington DC levels admit to some very poor policy and decision making problems associated with the Chimney Top 2 disaster? This should not be a time to blame and inflame, but to think and act wisely. Once again, can fire discreetly smolder in the duff amid rock crevices? Its always been this way so you have to watch who you deal with, this is why the City and County need to clean this up, this would bring down the prices of these people with signs up everywhere for clean up. 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? There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. 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. With that said: were NPS officials aggressive enough in seriously emphasizing to Gatlinburg officials to start preparing for mandatory evacuations? Some of the drainages where the managers hoped to stop the fire were a half mile away. Most of those resources were involved in those ongoing fires and unavailable for immediate response to a small fire, when it was still small. So who would you blame the people that died, wildlife and homeowners. Within a few days or week prior to this deadly fire I heard a local major Knoxville radio station broadcasting a satire bashing HRC, Obama, the Federal Government among a few other controversial things, and how the revolution has begun including the incitement of burning down the place, this Knoxville radio station followed this rant with songs whose lyrics tough-ted and instructed the starting of fires. Guessing the fire spotted from the Chimneys, to Bullhead, then on to Twin Creeks area. I asked my husband to go outside and hook up the water hose we had disconnected for winter. The more we let our selves be vulnerable and courageous in the face of tough situations, the more chance that we have that we will fall, and we will; we all will at some point if we take that risk to be brave and courageous. Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that a man was arrested for setting three fires that spread into a 300-acre fire in. 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. My husband stopped the car and the two men inside identified themselves as city water department employees. 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. Thanks for the legwork. In addition, officials confirmed that a firefighter was transported to the hospital with minor injuries from the fire but has since been released. I told him to go up and park in driveway close to where I wanted to leave the truck and that I would drive truck up. Here is one interview I gave to a Cincinnati station 2-3 days after the fire. The forecasts are supposed to be detailed and customized predictions of the weather at a particular location, or spot, for at least the next two days. There is room for all to be as important as the other, and hold all of these ideals up at the same time, to honor and to debate. ATF, other agencies search for cause of blaze that claimed life of At this time, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials were contacted, according to the report. But there have also been many times when these so called experts were thrust into a different climate or situation and they too experienced failures. Alice Hagler was reported missing by her family and later confirmed dead. Work for the NPS and see their Fire-is-not-our-mission outlook on fires and know that they will not be a aggressive enough, will not have seasoned fire staff, will not allow their staffs go out on fires and get the necessary experience. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. My wife and I hiked to Alum Cave Bluffs Saturday, Nov. 26, while the fire was small up on the Chimneys. Officials will verify renters and lease holders, as needed. Wednesday, November 23, the day the fire started. A massive wildfire in the Tennessee resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has destroyed more than 150 structures, including homes and businesses, authorities said Tuesday. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. Thank all of you. All rights reserved. Regarding the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsNPS/posts/1236286613095333.