Waited a month to report this event and turn over the pictures they took to forestry officials! NO managing wildfire is much more complex, especially in a multiple fire drought driven incident like managers were dealing with on this incident. Thank you for your kind words and concern about our loss. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. Monday I was surprised to look at the Knoxville News and see nothing about evacuation notices. The fire was reported to be near the Twin Creeks Picnic Center at 1130. 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. Why are there not more prescribed and controlled burns being conducted? There were cliffs in the area but firefighting Hotshot Crews can figure out how to work on steep slopes, sometimes backing off a bit, constructing a fire line and intentionally burning the fuel in between, preventing further expansion of the fire. By NPS rules a watch should have been kept on the fire overnight Sunday, but such did not happen. (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. 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. I appreciate that fine quality of writing that expresses your thoughts in an easy to read yet structured style that makes sense. LeConte, is spread primarily, if not exclusively through the air.Though I havent been there in awhile, there used to be a stunning grove of Hemlocks in the Linville Falls area off the Parkway approx. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. 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. We, the public, have to be activists for our own safety, the very safety that public officials claim to protect. But the pickup trucks I encountered were full of wildfire firefighters, inside the City of Gatlinburg. Shelter locations could have been announced, especially encouraging people to take action during the daylight hours that day so that escaping in total darkness during an inferno of fire or not having the means to do so would not be forced on people, and they could make arrangements for their own safety. Lets see, that would probably consist of a GS-5 or 6 and two or three seasonal GS-4s. Why hasnt the NPS mentioned this first fire of the 14th? There are thousands and thousands of people who feel as I do about your loss and the losses of so many people in Gatlinburg and the surrounding area. (Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc. slumped in early trading Friday after abruptly terminating the employment of . 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 injured another. That factor is the density of residential development, layout of roads, and approved building materials present in that area. They felt this was an attempt to start a forest fire and it was reported to officials. There was lots of sunlight and lots of low-level vegetation so much that the trail was overgrown and we decided to turn around. Once the winds came on day 5 or 6, there was nothing anyone could do. 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. Our local congressional representative will be the first to confront the Park Service for numerous shortfalls, bias agendas that cater to special interest groups, and a host of other issues to where the NPS serves itself more so than the people. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. From my back ground in fire, safety and as a fire investigator I see the development of a chain of multiple, unusual and totally unexpected events leading up to final blowup. Very good pictures! Another factor in the tragic outcome goes way beyond any mismanagement of the fire in its early period. You cannot predict an outcome of fight first and fast any better than you did letting thousands of property burn and 15 people die. 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. From what I understand, the adelgid spreads from tree to tree via the ground, which is why young hemlocks with smooth bark are rarely infested with adelgid. 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. Neither the NPS nor the city wanted CNN cameras covering a mass evacuation of a town jam packed with tourists on Thanksgiving weekend. Not the best plan but the safest. We stopped beside the truck and rolled down our window. The fire was south of Gatlinburg. I ran other errands and stopped by cabin to unload groceries before picking boys up from school. We have turned in a claim but still no word on a settlement. 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. Can we allow room for others to fail forward? Lets just be careful about who they are in our criticism. What authority does NPS have outside GSMNP? However, their findings could certainly implicate some of the decision makers concerning how things were handled and may lead to a few resignations. He had been experiencing the high winds back West all day and was alarmed at possibilities as well. We waited as the days passed until we could go and see if ours had burned. The high winds were forecasted on the 25th, 2016. Some of the drainages where the managers hoped to stop the fire were a half mile away. I hope the report gives the reason why the tanker planes were never called in since they are co-managed by the NFS and NPS. After action reports with ample opportunity for community input led to better pre-fire management and intra-agency coordination of resources. The smoke steadily became thicker as the days passed and friends were showing pictures of the Chimneys on fire. I seriously question if bias will be discreetly worked into this agency and their review of the fire?? Mitchell, Mt. Who was responsible for Gatlinburg fire? Do we need to learn from it. They had identifiedon a map a 410-acre fire management area which, depending on weather conditions, may allow for further fire growth. Nicely put together article. This country was founded on open respectful discussion, such as this which has occurred in this article commentary and blog comments. I am rebuilding the home that was burned to the ground possibly due to negligence by local fire officials like many of Lincolns Union generals, did not have the will to fight . The cause of the fire has still not been determined. On-the-ground fire suppression activity took place Monday when firefighters took defensive action to protect structures at a nearby GRSM picnic area. The governors promised investigation has yet to appear (if it ever will), but the National Parks investigation is proceeding and no locals are on that team. It is truly appreciated. 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. Firefighting aircraft were not used until helicopters dropped water on the fire Sunday afternoon, November 27 four days after it started. Brush fires spread across multiple counties this afternoon in Southwest Florida due to high winds. I can tell you that within the week prior to this fire in the Greenbriar section of the GSMNP, I hiked on trails rustling through leaf litter that came up to my mid shins. Im totally with you accountability. Any time our community suffers a great loss or devastation like this, it impacts everybody, she said. But. Ive noted the contrast between how the Incident Management Teams approached the fires compared to the NPS. Hopefully all of those affected will be able to begin again. All rights reserved. We saw some trucks when we drove out late morning. Things are changing slowly, and the human factors are unfortunately changing at a much slower pace than the climate and other socio-economic factors. Im sure there will be lots of finger pointing, name calling pushing for blame and then legal actions. Unfortunately, Im not optimistic about the inter-agency review. 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. Great info/synopsis of the Gatlinburg/Sevier county wildfires. I was nervous about it. This is a text book example of waiting for rain and not planning for WHAT IF! Join our group. Its hard to see. No. She saw a fire and called 911. He actually wrote me back on Christmas Eve, of all things, to tell me that they will keep after it. Special interest groups and other self serving human beings with other priorities cut budgets. Out east our experience is usually ground fire with relatively less risk of widespread destruction. They decided instead to monitor and to identifyon a map areas for indirect containment lines which encompassed 410 acres. Especially our local emergency workers and the Park Service. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. That is great knowledge to share. He also raked as many leaves as he could from around our cabin. This truck was also filled with firefighters. The fire, which was reported at 6:39 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Parkway,. They just sat back and watched it burn. FEMA did say they would give us a low interest rate loan, we dont want a loan we worked hard and paid it off and dont want to go in debt to rebuild! Spirit Airlines . Even so, is it risky to ignite backfire with such extreme fire conditions? 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. Narrowing it down to human-causes is easy for an investigator. Lets see what reviews done by people with expertise in wildland fire management come up with. Take a look at the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016 and you really might begin to question what really went wrong here. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. Thank-you Bill for your through and in depth analysis of this wildfires chain-of events. If they had taken action the day it started instead of now using the excuse of the rough terrain, yeah it is but so is most mountain areas. Susan, We need to question everything and everyone with the same tenacious veracity as the other, but we also need to allow for humans to be human, and engage in the process of learning. Most of those people got out of the pre-evac zone just to be safe and watch the fire at a distance. Much needed rainfall is expected on Monday with additional rainfall possible through Wednesday. What is unconstitutional here is that if this first fire of the 14th is under investigation, then certain parties have committed obstruction of justice. This is just one more example of one more related issue that is seemingly un-connected until you delve into the issues deeply. For now there is heartbreak and hindsight on the part of every one now. A guy in the red pickup rolled down his window and said You have to get out of here! My husband and I turned around, drove back to the Parkway and out the Spur to Pigeon Forge. Shame on you. Officials say the road will be closed for an extended period. Theres no guarantees that putting a couple hotshot crews with good air support on that fire earlier could have prevented this tragedy, but that would have been more defensible. Like hell he did. Excellent information and supporting documentation. 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? Regardless, the appropriate aerial assault should continue. 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 am hopeful that there are enough folks taking note of and keeping a watchful eye out for this situation, so that lies and cover-up will be vetted. A spokesperson for the city said the Gatlinburg Fire Department was dispatched to the 700 block of Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg at 6:39 a.m. on October 9. The appearance of dead hemlock progression is astounding. We shouldnt have expected anything else, I dont know what we were thinking. It means they eliminated natural causes, such as lightning and volcano eruptions. This fire was a terrible tragedy and would require tremendous foresight on the part of such people to have kept people from harm and property from destruction, in this case, because people needed to be aware of the likelihood of the imminent danger they were facing if they stayed in Gatlinburg on Monday evening and overnight. In Gatlinburg, smoke and fire caused the mandatory evacuation of downtown and surrounding . Praying for those residents that have it far worse than I. Lots of fires getting controlled, crews pulling off and the new fuel falling and all back ablaze. 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? 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. That is when it began moving rapidly toward Gatlinburg. Though Im missing the boat a little here, my questioning is still legitimate being that any managed ignited fire can still get out of control adding to an existing wildfire or creating one. I had concerns about traffic once we got down there. The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, [1] were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. It is my understanding this first fire was at or near the summit in the immediate vicinity of the 2nd fire which unfortunately devastated Gatlinburg. Branches were hitting the house with a great deal of force. Steve Brueck of DaculaWeather.com suppied us with Local Storm Report Informationfrom the National Weather Service that includes wind gust speeds in the general area. Even though they are showing people receiving checks the day they apply, this was not the case for him. 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. Thought among the locals is that officials didnt want to lose the post-holiday weekend crowd and revenue. Case in point is our European religious history. For example politicians far away from the event make decisions regarding funding, resources and operations. But those heroes should have never been in that situation in the first place. One thing Id add: the county is allowing residents that lost their home to use their existing block or poured foundation as long as they have one of their local cemetacious experts test it and approve it. 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. Despite that, officials now say that the Gatlinburg fire began in the park and was. Yet no one will be severely punished i.e. Why were there so many wildfires being lit by arsonists all of a sudden this year? Before the forest fires in the southeast this fall, I didnt know very much about wildfire fighting management (other than a bit from a mountain rescue EMT friend in Colorado and a friend that helps with prescribed burns for Georgia Conservancy). Above: Chimney Tops 2 Fire at 9:37 p.m. November 28, 2016 after it had burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. At 3:00PM I convinced my husband to call the Gatlinburg Fire Dept. Since November 29 it has rained about every 2 to 3 daysin the Gatlinburg area. It is written by Stephanie Sweeney, whose house was off the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. There is a time and a season for prescribed/monitored fire and that time is NOT during an historic drought and fire season in the SE US with numerous ongoing large fires and a very well predicted wind and storm event. How did I know that? Thank you for this excellent synopsis. These words are so terribly inadequate but I feel even worse not saying anything at all. If the Park Service had done there job in the first place and City and County leaders would have stepped in and done something this could and would have been prevented. When I built a home here just a few years ago and wanted to have a sprinkler system installed, I was told we dont have big wildfires here. This was done to simply to avoid tort liability claims even though a claim was filed; and to avoid accountability. Standing dead hemlock burned up their trunks, to as high as 50 feet on one specimen I saw. These people both the successful along with the ones who erred and experienced failure, courageously risked being vulnerable in order to help others. On November 23 when the fire was discovered the KBDI was 599, Molly Schroer, a spokesperson for the IMT told us. It is very hard and slow to navigate through laurel stands and the thick Tennesee Barbed Wire Briar patches. What the fire victims need is non-biased experts to analyze the BACKFIRES that the NPS claims they ignited to protect NPS structures. Please keep in mind our commenting ground rules before you post a comment. I love the mountains, but can I feel safe again? Classic Swiss Cheese risk management fire management failurehave we as a profession learned anything since South Canyon, Yarnell and now Chimney Top 2? Local officials dont seem to learn from past experiences, nor plan well for possible dangers. And each structure became much more of a threat than the spreading ground fire ever was. A fire burning under those conditions would likely burn more intensely, have a rate of spread faster than normal, and have more resistance to control. We went to West TN for Thanksgiving Holidays and came back home to Gatlinburg on Sunday. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. 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. But I believe there is a fourth element of fire behavior prediction and that is the element of situational awareness. The wind and the low visibility caused by the smoke made it impossible to fly aircraft over the fire. Take care and hang in there. One indicator of drought and its effect on how wildfires burn is the Keetch-Byram Drought Index(KBDI). I told him my home was on fire and he said they were evacuating everyone,then. Bob had stayed in West TN after Thanksgiving, to work there for a few days before returning home so he wasnt with us. Of course, the city of There will be time to consider legal and civil options later . They just hurl mean criticisms and put downs from a safe distance Brene Brown. I checked historical aerial photos on the USGS website because the die-off of the hemlock has been primarily over the past 10 years in the southeastern Appalachians. These breaks downs undoubtedly show shortcomings by officials. What about firefighter safety? Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. The coolness and the moisture were gone. There was much deadwood on the forest floor, including the Hemlocks and other species both down and standing dead. Fire behavior is predictable, based on things such as mentioned in this article; weather, terrain and fuels. They got info from NPS about the fire spreading. By the way, I havent seen any local media covering much for the victims since the coverage with Jerry and the pursuit of compensation. Officials will verify renters and lease holders, as needed. 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. 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 told him I would call fire department in Gatlinburg across from Food City. I got out of the car and walked up to the side of the pickup truck. 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. I told him there wasnt when I got there at 5 oclock but I could not even see driveways on the way up. I doubt that anyone other than the arsonists intended to cause harm in any way here, and knowing the ages of those who lit the fire, I doubt that they themselves had any idea of the potential outcome. Not just putting out the fires, but restoring the forest and trails afterward. 10/10/22, 1:56 p.m. The Gatlinburg ByPass is also closed. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. they may be using too wide a brush to place blame. The use of smokejumpers could be part of the plan. As my husband was carrying things to the car at 5:00PM, a white SUV came by. Most events have a series of issues that contribute to the outcome, the more catastrophic the event the greater the number of contributing factors. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. It predicted wind gusts out of the south Monday morning of 25 mph, increasing atnoonto30 mph and to 40 mph by 6 p.m. 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. With all due respect to your comment, you seem to be a bit condescending toward some folks asking very legitimate questions; and giving the impression you are trying to the get the heat off the back of NPS officials. It was considered a total loss after yesterdays fire. 865-637-2442. I began to notice people smoking while driving their vehicles when I would be out and about and they would flick burning embers out windows and sometimes throw cigarettes out windows. Thanksgiving Day Global Supertanker 747 is responding to wild fires in Israel. He replied to me on Christmas Eve no less, that they were double checking all the facts to make sure all of their information was as accurate as possible and would keep digging. I remember a news A day or so later where that fire chief of the Gatlinburg stated that they knew on Sunday that it was predicted the fire would hit Gatlinburg proper by 11 AM on Tuesday morning. The Incident Management Teams at Tellico, Rock Mountain and Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock fires had dead hemlocks near the trials knocked down (dynamite, cutting, other means theyre still working on it along the AT).