Jim Renfro, the air quality specialist for GRSM, said the strongest wind gust recorded at Cove Mountain was 87 mph at 9 p.m. on Monday. The fire gutted the entire city block and closed a dozen businesses. Special interest groups and other self serving human beings with other priorities cut budgets. But when it's close to home, the sadness and concern of those affected is ten-fold in the worry department. All of the big trees were gone (although younger trees had been treated and saved). The city said crews working the structure fire that . All downtown sidewalks reopened as permanent fencing around the building was installed by the property owner following the fire. ATF, other agencies search for cause of blaze that claimed life of Buffalo firefighter. The People have been deceived with a vague and biased investigation regarding this particular bear incident. There are three broad categories of conditions that affect the way a wildfire burns: weather, fuels (vegetation), and topography. Teddy Roosevelt, who as you may know, was instrumental in establishing our national parks. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course much coulda woulda shoulda is understandable. Beginningat 2 a.m. on Sunday November 27 the relative humidity at Indian Grave dropped,getting as low as 17 percent at 8 a.m. and then lingering in the 20s and 30s until 4 am on Monday November 28. We are to be stewards of the land. Yet no one will be severely punished i.e. The use of smokejumpers could be part of the plan. Downtown Gatlinburg fire: Experts identify remains found in rubble By the time the troops were called in, it was too late. We could see the smoke. The Spur between Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is open from Pigeon Forge to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. Read more Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made, Officials Claim is an article from: The Inquisitr News. 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. There could be traffic jams. My family lives 15 mi. Who allowed this to happen? 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. Watch the pride and ego firefighters: youll never outmatch Gods elements. Their inter-agency investigation needs to look at the 1st Chimney Tops Fire of the 12/13th to the 17th of November 2016. What good does it do to lynch those who are learning and gaining the very experience we expect and seek? Regardless, the appropriate aerial assault should continue. Breathing between car and house was hard. They just hurl mean criticisms and put downs from a safe distance Brene Brown. Their lack of extended skill training is apparent. They couldnt get out a cell mssg. Things dont change unless people stand up and make them change. Not to lay blame or punishment but as a real learning tool for improvement of service provision. Our Gatlinburg Inn was built on family and community. I do remember the bad fires in the 1990s in Florida and Colorado (I was in Glenwood Springs at a week-long seminar only a week after the Storm King Mountain aka South Canyon fire). If this is the same Bob Stanton commenting here, then the bias is way too obvious. 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. The Bob Stanton that has been commenting on this thread is NOT the former director of the NPS. There is an old saying he is known for: When government cannot accept criticism from the people, secular authority is no longer a democracy, but a dictatorship (paraphrased). All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. There is much opportunity in the Eastern Appalachians to better prepare citizens, towns , leaders and firefighters; To create more fire aware and safe communities. Honor those who have risked much to help, indeed. Our house was in a direct N/S line from the Chimneys. On Oct. 9, a woman who was working at the Ripleys Aquarium smelled smoke and walked up to 745 Parkway Suite 4 to investigate. Join our group. These so called means of helping people out is a lie. The excellent Park folks seemed to just monitor it, and it resolved itself. I later learned that Sevier County pays for an emergency notification system called Code Red Alert. Kids should be charged and pay a price but so do several officials in the good old boy still lives on in the town of Gatlinburg. Hemlocks were mentioned in a number of daily updates on Inciweb because they are basically standing roman candles thanks to the spiral of limbs. 865-637-2442. 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. 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. 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 ? Of course Dollywood and Gatlinburg was virtually unscathed. 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 agree with the earlier post that if this fire had been in Southern California or other areas subject to devastating fire if it would have been managed differently. He should loose his job and be prosecuted for this mess he created. Very well put Mari. Where is his accountability? If their destination is not lit, they have to land there no later than 30 minutes after sunset. Compare the events to their fire management manual and contradictions are present. 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. The remains of 745 Main Street in Buffalo on Thursday, March 2, 2023., where a fire broke out on Wednesday . Take care and hang in there. Investigators have determined that the fire was human-caused and are asking for information from anyone who has information about people or vehicles that were seen in the area that day. Who caused the fire in Gatlinburg? 100-acre brush fire causes evacuations in Collier County Lets just be careful about who they are in our criticism. Why were there so many wildfires being lit by arsonists all of a sudden this year? Im sure there will be lots of finger pointing, name calling pushing for blame and then legal actions. 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. The Gatlinburg fire chief put out a notice for additional help to come to Gatlinburg around 11:52 pm. The further fire growth part was more accurate than they realized at the time. All my constructive criticisms are not targeted to Park personnel in general. When one seriously examines the events, these lives could have been spared despite the power of fire and wind. Thank you for this excellent synopsis. They have tied their hands and resources through environmental forestry management. Triage of resource needs versus values at risk, firefighter safety, resource values and political realities all come into play. Period. 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. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge wildfire evacuation information - WJBF Tom. The wind was blowing so hard it was difficult to stand up. We were there on Thanksgiving week-end. Do we need to learn from it. I wonder when NPS actually put out a request for Incident Management Team support. So many unanswered questions? Resources = $$$=taxes. Firefighting resources assigned to the fire include 25 hand crews, 61 engines, 6 helicopters, and 2 dozers, for a total 780 personnel. I bet someone of you one here would sing a different tune if you loss a big chunk of your retirement because of someone incompetence. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. People died and lost so much and that is absolutely tragic! Those decisions had to be made with the best information available at the time not what we now know in post incident critique. Amazingly, some locals have whined about Knox News and Wildfire Today pointing out facts and timelines while ignoring the fact that it was Congress that cut the National Forest and National Park budgets. Finally, the Superintendent has the power to call up all the resources which were available. Be sure to bring valid forms of identification showing name and address of residence or business inside Gatlinburg. 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. Digression from Comment Thread We are still dealing but two of us or degree, the emotional loss of losing our beloved cabin but now we are in the rebuild mode. Period. (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. 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. They felt this was an attempt to start a forest fire and it was reported to officials. Officials will verify renters and lease holders, as needed. It was about this time that we noticed the wind beginning to get stronger. I am sure the Alum Cave trail up Mt. Regarding the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsNPS/posts/1236286613095333. We probably wont want to attribute 14 deaths to a non-native insect infestation, but in the end, can we say it exacerbated the situation? I certainly agree there are definitely consequences for our actions, for some more than others. I just assumed that others would be leaving Gatlinburg out of concerns similar to mine. Nicely put together article. When we reached Turkey Nest Road there was a big white crewcab pickup truck parked in front of Barbaras Real Estate. And each structure became much more of a threat than the spreading ground fire ever was. Granted these fires werent inside Gatlinburg, but the fire chief knew full well the potential for catastrophic wildfires in these mountains. 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. This isnt finger pointing its the simple facts of the entire situation like it or not! Jon Binhammer had an excellent point about the hemlocks. The Chimney Tops 2 Fire was reported in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, TN at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, 2016. I would hope that we would fund the National Park Service much better so that cost-cutting is not so high on their priorities. Common since would tell you a mountain fire in wind and drought would move very fast!!! So my husband called the Gatlinburg policy department with the same questions and got the same answers. At this time, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials were contacted, according to the report. Gatlinburg businesses look to rebuild after massive fire The actual clifts are small and easily avoided. Personally, I have already started reconstruction on my cabin but the consensus on Chalet Village north which was 540 cabins and now stands only at 20 remaining Is that about 70% are not rebuilding for a variety of reasons . Would be interesting to dig down to find the ash line (which is probably illegal on federal lands). And . It is a sad state of affairs, the loss of life was quite avoidable. They are as Brene Brown puts it, In The Arena; not merely sitting in a seat watching it or viewing from a comfort zone at home on the big screen but in the Arena risking everything for others. Much needed rainfall is expected on Monday with additional rainfall possible through Wednesday. 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. On November 11 some hikers found a fire built in the middle of the trail on brushy mountain trail. Despite that, officials now say that the Gatlinburg fire began in the park and was. You do not hang your child or throw them out for, with good intention making the wrong choices, you teach them and help them to understand the consequences. How many sorties could those planes do in an single day even if they had been deployed on Even Friday?? It is written by Stephanie Sweeney, whose house was off the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. According to the great gag order, government officials should not be commenting???? To successfully allow a fire to burn for a long period of time requires VERY skilled personnel and luck. strong south, southwest winds, extreme drought, low humidity..ect.., that something similar didnt happen here. Stumps burned into the ground and look like volcano caldera. Case in point is our European religious history. Alice Hagler was reported missing by her family and later confirmed dead. Yes a lot is somewhat predictable, just as this fire, but not every aspect is, there are too many variables in the real world. By NPS rules a watch should have been kept on the fire overnight Sunday, but such did not happen. Gusts above 40 continued until 2 a.m. on Tuesday when they mostly dropped below 20 mph for the rest of the day. We got a text message. Gatlinburg Fire Cause: Who Started the Wildfire? | Heavy.com 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. 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. Another 2.3 inches accumulated that day by the time it stopped at 7 p.m. Crews are currently taking down the China Bazaar and Puckers building. Local folks here who have been involved with Park issues have an old saying about the NPS and their mismanagement of historic structures. Yes, there is backside-covering going on. 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. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages Case in point, the wildfires in Florida 1998, in which those experts were unaware of or underestimated the burning intensity of the Palm Oils from the Florida flora, which were as flammable liquid fires during those wildfires. Until 1 p.m. sustained speeds were 4 to 6 mph with gusts at 12 to 19 mph. However, their findings could certainly implicate some of the decision makers concerning how things were handled and may lead to a few resignations. Now he has the benefit of another 60 to 90 days of another investigation before anything officially or otherwise will be said. Did the fire have to be so devastating? Me, like thousands of Buckeyes make the five-hour trek to Tennessee for family [] Intention is important, even in a court of law, intention ways heavily on the sentencing. It is unfortunate that sometimes a few seek to blame someone so quickly that they miss the opportunity to really get to the root of the causes for those issues in the first place. It was as if time had passed with no motivational disaster to spur this awareness, at least not in my local community. That is when I said to myself Where the hell is TEMA?. Above: The Drought Monitor issued November 29 showed Exceptional Drought, the highest category, for the Gatlinburg area and large sections of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I have an Gatlinburg address but the county services my street. Google and Bing maps give a pretty good idea of the expanse of dead hemlocks. I am positive that for anyone who gives of themselves to protect and serve will forever be haunted by that far more than anyone of us can expect to hold them accountable by lynching. Here again, more of a horse and pony show from all officials both state and federal. Our neighbors 3 doors down were outside near their car. Bob, I know where youre coming from. At about 5:20 p.m. the fire was discoverednear the top of a steep hill called Chimney Tops not far from where another fire occurred about a week before. That is great knowledge to share. Some of the towns most impacted were Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, both near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visibility was bad and it was hard to breathe as we unpacked our truck. However, by the time a federal judge dropped the charges six months later, some had lost focus on the fire. Things are changing slowly, and the human factors are unfortunately changing at a much slower pace than the climate and other socio-economic factors. I responded that the climate is changing, and so are other related situations, and there will be. All together this was the absolute worse place to have a fire at almost the worst time, save it was lucky to not have been a few weeks earlier. Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. 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. However, I still wonder why there has been no word from the governor about the post-fire review team he promised. Yes government at all levels needs to be held accountable; otherwise we regress back into the Dark Ages. At the official Gatlinburg weather station recognized by the NWS 0.73 inch was recorded on Tuesday. The individual was identified as Joe Martin Bates, 54, according to the Sevier County Medical Examiners office. Fire managers brought in resources from all over the country. Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made 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. An in depth investigation should be launched and the (ir)responsible parties identified. Increasing cloudiness and strong southerly winds on Monday ahead of the next storm system. Because we were heading home to Ohio early Tuesday morning, we packed our suitcases and put them in the car. NPS can suppress the first fire; but not the second fire? That seems to be confirmation that the fire had crossed 441 early in the day. Have a wildland fire news tip? The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Now I can only imagine what children or adults with issues might have gleaned from this message being broadcast. Thank you for your kind words and concern about our loss. It is unfortunate that in our society people who speak out with a loud voice, or otherwise make waves for the privileged, get not only scorned but categorically destroyed by well planned out and financed design, often full of cover-up and lies and then propaganda is feed to the rest of us, of which we often take for gospel, when in fact is often not based on evidence or fact. They decided instead to monitor and to identifyon a map areas for indirect containment lines which encompassed 410 acres. One good place, James, to view an area after a devastating wildfire is adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway in and around the 418 milepost-the Graveyard Fields/ Shining Rock Wilderness areas. 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. How the Historic Gatlinburg Fires Happened; a Humble Start - GovTech Those probably did not finish burning for several days. Frankly people should lose their jobs and fault should be placed on their shoulders. This was done to simply to avoid tort liability claims even though a claim was filed; and to avoid accountability. 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. I hope they can train more local governments how to handle big wildfire situations. The leafless trees allowed more sunlight to hit the fuel, drying it out even more. State charges dropped in Gatlinburg fires - Smoky Mountain News 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. 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. Thats totally untrue. Who was responsible for Gatlinburg fire? The wind and the low visibility caused by the smoke made it impossible to fly aircraft over the fire. Considering the record of wind gusts between 5-6pm and that the fire had jumped US 441, NPS calling Gburg Fire Dept. ATF, other agencies search for cause of blaze that claimed life of There was a tree down on road out but we were able to drive around it. 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. Aircraft dropping water or fire retardant on a fire cannot put it out. Not everything that happened with the fires had a dotted line to those two teens. I have wanted to learn because I dont know enough to say much, but when I read your two posts about the loss of your cabin, and your escape, I felt I had to say, Im so sorry, to you, and probably speak for many many others who did not find this blog and find an avenue to learn, listen and to speak. I know as I have been there many times due to security interests. No. I spent two weeks in the area after the fire to inspect my property and ascertain where my wife and I would go from there. Hasnt anyone noticed that friends groups are paying for major park infrastructure and various other projects that our Congress has failed to provide for? A lot of personnel put forth heroic efforts to save lives and we should all be grateful for that. The fire had spread to Mynatt Park in Gatlinburg, and people were being evacuated from neighborhood there. Gatlinburg is in Sevier County. I was near Gatlinburg until Saturday prior to the fire, visiting my family. The one thing I noticed over the fall was that the National Forest Service held themselves accountable, called in Incident Management Teams from all over the country with big wildfire experience and those teams got it done. A temporary evacuation refuge with limited services is located at Max Hasse Community Park . My main purpose in commenting was to differentiate between a monitored wildfire and prescribed fire. Contingency plans for how to evacuate the entire town, regardless of the specific hazard, were not well thought out. with a notice that evacuation is imminent would have been prudent. Numerous photos show a dramatic increase in smoke in the downtown area between 5 and 5:30 pm. Please keep in mind our commenting ground rules before you post a comment. Were these simply copy cat arsonists, arsonists with the most ridiculous stories to offer for why they lit these fires, or were they just cover-ups for something more sinister? But I believe there is a fourth element of fire behavior prediction and that is the element of situational awareness. Neither the NPS nor the city wanted CNN cameras covering a mass evacuation of a town jam packed with tourists on Thanksgiving weekend. http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/12/13/timeline-gatlinburg-wildfires/95138656/. Instead 14 people are dead, many are injured, 2000 structures burned, loss is now a pandemic. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - One person died and another was injured in a large fire in downtown Gatlinburg Sunday. This fire was supposedly set On November 23rd, we were hiking there on November 25th, they had the trail blocked off closer to the top of the Chimneys 2, however we made pictures of the fire and it and the picture shows the smoke going straight up in the air, no one was there and it didnt look like they had done anything to contain it. Not every fire manager gets the benefit of a meteorologist in your hip pocket, but there are many good weather websites available. Bob called. Flies north of fire (s) in TN. Had they viewed the Chimney Tops 2 fire as though it was in the forested southwest Im sure they would have issued pre-evacuation notices up to 48 hours prior to the wind events of that Monday. By the way, the drainage to the northwest, where NPS had placed their line, is .2 mile and ~1,000 feet vertical (77% grade) of mostly weathered rock. To echo your statements, the information is out there, a model exists on how to properly do it now its getting the proper training for all of the professionals involved and the public taking the role of accountability watchdogs.