Bob called. That should have been done over Thanksgiving! milepost 316. Was the fire that inaccessible on foot? I only lost my house, but someone has to speak the truth about what did/didnt happen that day/night. I believe that many, many people are alive now because they did use common sense but some of the people who died, were victims of circumstances that they should never have faced if their public officials had been acting solely on their responsibility, first and foremost, and perhaps only, to protect and serve. I have a photo I took from the Walmart parking lot looking south that shows how smoky it was in Pigeon Forge. (Originally published at 11:04 a.m. MST November 23 . 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. Yes, there is backside-covering going on. My main purpose in commenting was to differentiate between a monitored wildfire and prescribed fire. We could get blocked in by both. Just like the Mayor of Amity in Jaws, they didnt want the tourists to see this much reality. And we were lucky. I left early to get boys and filled Stantons old Subaru Outback up with gas. I have seen local hiking pictures that appear to show two separate smoke columns on Saturday 11/26. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. Given enough time the clock will run out and the weather will either be in the fire mangers favor or WATCH OUT! This fire burned for almost a week, before it exploded into Gatlinburg. All of the big trees were gone (although younger trees had been treated and saved). Tunica, MS, from our area near Kansas City, to arrive late evening, that day, in Tunica. Another factor in the tragic outcome goes way beyond any mismanagement of the fire in its early period. The two juveniles who set a fire are not alone in this. I will not be looking for Gatlinburg or Sevier county first response personnel as those people will be grounded by a spineless group of county, city and NPS managers Who can only be described as cowardly indecisive. All rights reserved. Special interest groups and other self serving human beings with other priorities cut budgets. When one seriously examines the events, these lives could have been spared despite the power of fire and wind. 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. During the investigation, fire officials interviewed a cleaner of Loco Burro who saw a person matching Bates description the morning of the fire. 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. On Oct. 9, a woman who was working at the Ripleys Aquarium smelled smoke and walked up to 745 Parkway Suite 4 to investigate. 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. Yes, there had been many fires in the southeast during the 6 to 8 weeks before the fire started in Great Smoky Mountains NP, but it is my understanding that at that time they had diminished and there may have been significant firefighting resources available. A few scattered, mostly Red Spruce, conifers are all that is left. She has given me permission to share it on this site. 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. 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? The fire, which was reported at 6:39 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Parkway, caused extensive damage to a block of businesses, the city's spokesperson said. Some of those businesses told WVLT News they have a long road ahead as they wait on insurance adjustors to calculate their losses. You cannot predict an outcome of fight first and fast any better than you did letting thousands of property burn and 15 people die. Anytime that one side seeks to destroy the other as opposed to actually raise the issues, I would raise a red flag and wonder what the distraction is really trying to hide! Im not saying GRSM made the right or wrong decision, there is just a lot more involved then saying they didnt suppress it promptly. with a notice that evacuation is imminent would have been prudent. Copyright 2022 WVLT. there is nothing that can address the failure of leadership at every level that contributed to that loss of life. The winds were getting stronger. The city said crews working the structure fire that . Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that a man was arrested for setting three fires that spread into a 300-acre fire in. Why were there so many wildfires being lit by arsonists all of a sudden this year? He promised a committee to study what happened and there has been no word since. We need to hold, that experience though often shared, does not fit into every mold, because in the real world though some laws are universal, there is always changing variable and situations are never really exactly the same. The fire, which was reported at 6:39 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Parkway,. Many, if not most, of these incidents leave the confines of the managing agency and sweep out onto lands owned or managed by others who had NO input into the original incident management strategy. 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. I would suggest that you read over Bills articles on this site regarding NPS releases information about the Chimney Tops Fire 2 and Analysis of wind, vegetation, and air tankers before the fire burned into Gatlinburg. These things dont come with the same cheap city plans out here in the rural mountainous zones! Questions are powerful tools, but only when we allow them to be asked, we receive them with an openness and willingness to be vulnerable, and seek to answer them openly and without fear of reprisal. The wildfires caused millions of dollars in damage. 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. They were in their driveway with a water hose. 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. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. They decided instead to monitor and to identifyon a map areas for indirect containment lines which encompassed 410 acres. A mandatory evacuation should have been issued, at the latest, Monday morning, with reverse 911 calls, as well as loudspeaker equipped vehicles. 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. A true lackadaisical response. 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. Even though they are showing people receiving checks the day they apply, this was not the case for him. Who was responsible for Gatlinburg fire? There could be falling trees. The NPS, IMO, did not take an aggressive stance on this fire, and that is usually the case with them. 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? It was also unbelievably dry. Many on that team are not NPS employees, but are highly experienced wildfire fighters. Even so, is it risky to ignite backfire with such extreme fire conditions? WTF were they letting the planes in Chattanooga sit idle? Brian Blanco/Getty. The perfect firestorm. This makes no logical sense. Also, lots of hills in the area washed to bedrock by cloud burst and slides. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting should be expected. The Gatlinburg fire that killed 14 people was started by two teenagers dropping lit matches onto the ground along Chimney Tops Trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, sources close to the investigation told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Brought mine in from Texas. Many times this tactic takes commitment of over a week. In regard to the Knoxville News Sentinel article by Don Jacobs and an apparent press release statement by the Deputy Superintendent of GSMNP: There was no way the fire could have been extinguished before the winds came. Jordan says. When maintenance employees with GRSM drove past the Chimney Tops 2 Fire early Mondaymorning they saw that the intensity and rate of spread of the fire had increased dramatically. 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. Early in the afternoon we began to see large crewcab pickup trucks driving past our home. But until the review of the fire is complete and the report is published, I would be careful with a statement like this: The Chimney Tops fire was a wildfire being monitored given limited resources initially because of the many other ongoing fires in the region to which fire-fighting resources were committed. Branches were hitting the house with a great deal of force. The Chimneys functionally act as the head of a canyon leading directly to downtown Gatlinburg. 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. When did Gatlinburg burn . If Knox media wanted to go after the NPS or someone else wanted them to, it is possible that even their timeline and investigation is slanted. The fire gutted the entire city block and closed a dozen businesses. 6 to the intersection at Reagen Drive reopened Monday afternoon after being closed Sunday morning, according to a release. I would rather have someone on the job who has screwed up, erred and learned from the experience as I know that the chances of a repeat performance are lessened and for most learners they will progress forward with even better decision making skills. 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. But those heroes should have never been in that situation in the first place. 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? Some of the seemingly inexplicable burn patterns are due to the wind driven nature. 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. Thanksgiving weekend is one of the 4 busiest weekends for Gatlinburg and the National Park. 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. This year has been crazy, with so many fires happening in Autumn. Digression from Comment Thread Not everything that happened with the fires had a dotted line to those two teens. Now he has the benefit of another 60 to 90 days of another investigation before anything officially or otherwise will be said. Only 0.05 inch fell at the Indian Grave Remote Automatic Weather Station 18 miles west of the fire. Hasnt anyone noticed that friends groups are paying for major park infrastructure and various other projects that our Congress has failed to provide for? This is how civilians, firefighters, personal property and extensive environmental damage results. Officials said three people were found dead from fires in the Chalet Village area, and one person was discovered dead near a motel on Highway 321. If you take a hands off approach with minimal management and indirectly Play God look out. 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. Just the mechanics of this devastating wildfire without any editorial comments. It upset a lot of locals, but many lauded it. 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. 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. Stanton wanted to go but I was afraid to for several reasons. I just assumed that others would be leaving Gatlinburg out of concerns similar to mine. There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. Their are undoubtedly many many causative factors for any disaster, even the actions, inactions and unintentional actions can be like a snowball rolling down a mountain of snow! Aircraft dropping water or fire retardant on a fire cannot put it out. That doesnt mean excessive chainsaw mania; but it doesnt mean going to the other extreme with the type of forestry management in some of our Parks and other public lands. I am aware that in this area of the Eastern Appalachians, there are many retired firefighters and emergency personnel who would probably be willing partners in helping other regional professionals and volunteers in meeting the opportunities presented by a changing world. The only way they will learn from the fire is if they have to face a jury of their peers to account for their ineptness even know they were in charge of protecting us and our homes and they did neither. This is a developing story. Whether a tornado, hurricane or natural disaster, it weighs on your psyche. All downtown sidewalks reopened as permanent fencing around the building was installed by the property owner following the fire. (The fire was in eastern Tennessee near the North Carolina border.). There is much to delve into in resolving the causative factors of this disaster and the fire and park service are only a part of that equation. 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. It was Congress that adjourned for the holidays without passing a bill to fund forest fire fighting efforts. I stopped him and said, Stanton, weve got to calm down and go slowly getting out of here so that we dont scare Abram and so that we can drive safely. They couldnt get out a cell mssg. Then and only then will He let you effectively manage His creation that He has allowed you to be a part of for a short time. I felt like people had been robbed of the vital information they needed to make the decisions they needed to be safe. My family lives 15 mi. Updated: Dec. 25, 2022 at 6:15 PM PST. I was truly astounded at how well coordinated the IMT teams are they cover it all, firelines, backburns, aircraft, field communications, weather forecast, community information via meetings/Facebook/Blog page/Twitter with daily updates, pre-evacuation notices when wind events were predicted. Common since would tell you a mountain fire in wind and drought would move very fast!!! It is not just officials who have not caught up with the new climate reality, it is the general public and those in the path of fire. They had no sirens or Claxons blaring, no shouting to evacuate thru their grill mounted speakers. Thanks for your rundown on the fire Bill. It is good to question everything, all is not as it appears. It is now time for aircraft (usually helicopters) to start washing the fire off the hill. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course much coulda woulda shoulda is understandable. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. 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. Not clouding the issues with the intent to take down a person. 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. We spent Thanksgiving there with our family, who left on Sunday. That afternoon a Chinook Type 1 helicopter (Type 1s are the largest helicopters used on wildfires) began dropping water on the fire, refilling at Fontana Lake 13 miles to the southwest, according to a source we talked to who didnt want their name disclosed because they were not authorized to speak on the subject. The body of an unidentified person was found amid the rubble of a downtown section of buildings that. 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. IMT issued pre-evacuation notices in GA and NC each time they saw cold-front winds approaching that could would threaten communities. November 27th, 35 acres. Once again: the questions remain unanswered. 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. 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. Read more Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made, Officials Claim is an article from: The Inquisitr News. This is what happened with a handful of officials/personnel regarding the fatal 2000 black bear mauling of a woman hiker in Elkmont. There is a marked increase in smoke and decreasing visibility due to the smoke. In addition thorough explanations could have been given for the reasons for calling for the Voluntary Evacuation and could have been published. Finally, the Superintendent has the power to call up all the resources which were available. Money. It's always sad to see the destructive forces of Mother Nature. I have to assume that the city of Gatlinburg felt that since my road was county property that I was on my own. 10/10/22, 1:56 p.m. Me, like thousands of Buckeyes make the five-hour trek to Tennessee for family [] Would it be wise to implement backfire with such strong winds forecasted on top of exceptional drought and fuels? 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. Thank you for this excellent synopsis. 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. If this is the same Bob Stanton commenting here, then the bias is way too obvious. This is from previous questioning of mine from another Wildfire Today article: Team to Begin Chimney Tops 2 Fire: I appreciate your more thorough break down of backfire. We warned them about the approaching fire before turning the opposite direction to proceed on downtown. This fire season is a perfect example of why we do not need to lynch and discard those who have erred but gained highly valuable experience in the process. The forecast issued Sunday included this text in the Discussion section: High pressure will hang on for Sunday with sunny skies and above normal temperatures. We could smell smoke from the fires in NC for a month before the fire began on Chimney Tops.