who caused the gatlinburg fires?

Once again, can fire discreetly smolder in the duff amid rock crevices? She may have chosen poor timing, and perhaps not the best method of tackling the issues, but nonetheless we need to start asking the tough questions without being so offended and then take a good hard look at the issues, and how they can be resolved. This is the way to honor each other and to learn. 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. 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. Most of us are hopeful the two young man responsible for causing this fire will be severely punished however after all of the expert testimony to not only the Knoxville news Sentinel times what other periodicals claiming gross mishandling of the beginning of the Chimney Tops 2 fire by the forestry service as well as the Gatlinburg fire department I am certain that the Philadelphia lawyer that they have hired will use this in their defense and I would not bet that they will get a much lighter sentence as a result . Yes my house burnt along with 520 others in North Chalet Village, village no longer but all foundations. 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. Above: Chimney Tops 2 Fire at 9:37 p.m. November 28, 2016 after it had burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 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. Accountability! All weekend, my husband and daughter followed the fire on the Chimney Tops 2 facebook page NPS had established. It is the duty of the people and Congress to maintain and voice our concerns and opinions to where check and balances work. I agree with you Bill that it isnt Most but whether it is a few or many isnt the point for me. Hopefully all of those affected will be able to begin again. By the time the troops were called in, it was too late. It is this same type of think tank and diversity we need in reaching a host of solutions to our complexity of problems both in this situation and in all others. We were wearing bandanas wrapped around our faces at this point. Just the mechanics of this devastating wildfire without any editorial comments. I was in the area hiking November 21 and there was no smoke coming from the Chimneys area. Other than the way the police were able to evacuate 4,000 people from Gatlinburg with little notice on Monday evening, everyone else involved did a very poor job. SOURCE Like this: Loading. They were asleep at the wheel. Multiple businesses were destroyed in the flames, totaling an estimated $7 million in damage. Branches were hitting the house with a great deal of force. Its incredulous that evacuation didnt go out then. It would be interesting to dig a little further on this. We must as you say accept that humans are emotional beings and that goes for those who lost and those who stand to perhaps lose their jobs and livelihood often for making the best decisions they could with what was available to them at the time. We have also come upon many campfires that tent campers and others thought or extinguished but were back to a full burn with not adequate fire breaking around it. My husband stopped the car and the two men inside identified themselves as city water department employees. We must open our eyes and ears and check behind each corner and crevice to see the reality and not just the story being told by a few. Fourteen people lost their lives. I was in my cabin the night of the fire and if I had spotted it a minute or so after I did I would not be alive to type this right now. I thought if we were have to leave we could take both vehicles to our friends house to sit out the night. I understand the excellent point made in the article that history in the Smokies area would expect less of a problem than out West. We drove carefully and made it out of woods into Pigeon Forge safely. I did not rely on a fire weather service for my information even though I new where to look, I used much of the common everyday information available to the open community, the data I had learned from and observed during the short time of being in this area, and current observations. Anticipating the fire season, firefighting resources (people and equipment) were brought in from around the Southeast and other parts of the country. You forgot lack of funding to adequately staff the park. WBIR is going to interview me as soon as two weeks from now regarding how I was taken for $120,000 by a crooked contractor that I was hooked up with by a log home firm. 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. I was afraid to go into Park with boys. As one who has had experience and ready mix, concrete block, pavers, and pre-cast, one would be a fool to rebuild on ANY existing foundation that came in contact with temperatures approaching 3,000F. 2 min read. They had the same weather forecast information. I fully understand the financial difficulties of the NPS and with firefighters abroad. Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made Jon Binhammer had an excellent point about the hemlocks. 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. Lets hope that this round regarding the fire and loss of life, it will be more difficult for officials to weasel out of this one. Emergency crews were on the scene for 31 hours extinguishing the fire before the emergency demolition was requested. Also I just came across a facebook page showing two views of the same interchange in Gatlinburg at 10:28 and 10:52. Firefighters from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge responded. I dont understand, but I dont judge. What Caused The Gatlinburg Fire - BikeHike It is important to look at many facets, evidence and root cause studies so that the issues can be resolved. This makes no logical sense. Who knows what the climate will bring next year. In Gatlinburg, smoke and fire caused the mandatory evacuation of downtown and surrounding . Breathing between car and house was hard. Birmingham City have had to close their training ground after a fire caused damage on Friday morning. Aircraft dropping water or fire retardant on a fire cannot put it out. 100-acre brush fire causes evacuations in Collier County At 10AM we drove to Sevierville to buy more materials (to eventually add to the bonfire). It was considered a total loss after yesterdays fire. We had somewhat of a plan but both agreed that if we had a warning or concern we would leave because of our location and our neighborhood has no fire hydrants. Cafe 420 and Gifts of Gatlinburg were also destroyed. 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. Very good pictures! The wildfires caused millions of dollars in damage. I am here at the opportunity on a couple of occasions to speak to the Fire Chief of Ontario Michigan. It was probably 4:45 by this time. Thanks again for this forum. Much of the southeastern United States had been suffering extremely dry conditions for two to three months. I dont know details as to the trail. 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. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. It is likely that spotting did keep the ground fire spreading into the areas where the homes were, and certainly on the southern edge of town it was the primary ignition source, but I am still skeptical that the homes to the north of town were ignited that way. Our responses to this fire event have included comments with blame and fault-finding as well as a suggestion that we investigate in order to learn for future decision-making. Yes, there is backside-covering going on. Being that were neighbors with these people, its people that we love. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. Why? because poor, inadequate human decision making allowing basic fire physics, fire chemistry and TIME to align resulting in avoidable death and destruction! Please factor this in to your fire response in the future. Are Gatlinburg fires common? A list of big fires in the area [2022] Thought among the locals is that officials didnt want to lose the post-holiday weekend crowd and revenue. 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? When the rain started again at 8 a.m. the relative humidity rose into the 90s. Remembering the Gatlinburg Wildfires five years later - WYMT Local folks here who have been involved with Park issues have an old saying about the NPS and their mismanagement of historic structures. The extremely dry conditions in the area, though, should have raised the concern level. 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. I told her when she does mine about my rebuild and my crooked contractor I will speak plenty about the ineptness of the NPS and local fire officials. Once the winds came on day 5 or 6, there was nothing anyone could do. The massive Gatlinburg wildfires, which began in November, caused the deaths of 14 people, injured 175 others and destroyed homes and towns all around eastern Tennessee. Me, like thousands of Buckeyes make the five-hour trek to Tennessee for family [] Damage was estimated at. teams had Lake Lure and Tate City evacuate when high winds were forecast. Instead, the city ordered evacuation of the neighborhoods nearest the NPS day use area that was on fire (Mynatt Park and others). Anyone who has toured the hillsides where most of the homes that were destroyed would know immediately how difficult evacuations would be. The Thomas Divide Complex Fire comprises two wildfires the 140-acre Stone Pile Fire and the Cooper Creek Fire, which is estimated to be 170 acres. By the way, I havent seen any local media covering much for the victims since the coverage with Jerry and the pursuit of compensation. 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. One of the owners of the impacted businesses called a contractor to demolish a damaged portion of the building. For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged Chimney 2 Fire. For almost 24 hours a day for 10 days or more, I read everything I could about Gatlinburg, and even found Wildfire Today during that Yet no one will be severely punished i.e. Nearby businesses feel the same. The notice went out to people within 10 miles of the fireline. Corker and Alexander know what would happen if they tried to interfere with a Federal prosecution! Would be interesting to dig down to find the ash line (which is probably illegal on federal lands). Even life-long locals said they had never seen rhododendren wither up before. Managers may need to keep resources in reserve for initial attack on new fires rather than a Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out. strategy. As a former FF, their claim that they could have never put it out if they tried from day one is BS. A safefy plan for people in the event of the many natural threats, would have to be determined ahead of time though because that level of decision-making rarely occurs in the face of imminent danger. I heard a comment that people have the use common sense. The power of nature is awesome and often far beyond our ability to predict and react to in a timely manner. Early in the afternoon we began to see large crewcab pickup trucks driving past our home. Virtually no one knows they have it and THEY DID NOT USE IT. Published: Nov. 30, 2016, 8:41 p.m. Dry conditions and high winds caused a wildfire on Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains to spread quickly . If you had transposed the same fire with similar conditions to California or Idaho would it have been managed the same way? Bob had stayed in West TN after Thanksgiving, to work there for a few days before returning home so he wasnt with us. It had burned into a picnic area and crossed the main roadinto the park, US Highway 441. Branson is built into the mountainous forests of south-central Missouri, is a resort town, and a retirement community and entertainment venue. It's always sad to see the destructive forces of Mother Nature. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course much coulda woulda shoulda is understandable. Situational awareness to current and predicted variables, as well as the potential of possibility is key. Thank all of you. Sorry to hear that you lost your house, but you followed your wits which kept you from getting stuck there by downed trees over the road. Because we were heading home to Ohio early Tuesday morning, we packed our suitcases and put them in the car. Two Hawaii police departments are making moves to beef up incentives as recruiting efforts grow more competitive. I am broken-hearted over it .. 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. Council will utilize the 100s of wildfire experts testimony that the forresty service and local fire chief should have thrown everything they had at the Chimney 2 blaze the day it happened and everyone and every resource they could use from out of state that could get there within 24 hours. I got out of the car and walked up to the side of the pickup truck. Citing the steep terrain and the safety of firefighters, fire managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) decided not to take direct action on the fire which would entail constructing fireline along the edge of the fire to remove the fuel that allows it to spread. When peoples towns and lives are at stake, letting a fire burn or hoping to get lucky is a tough sell. The two juveniles who set a fire are not alone in this. Many fire managers in that situation would immediately attack emerging fires very aggressively with overwhelming force, that is, many firefighters on the ground assisted by numerous aircraft dropping water or fire retardant.

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