who caused the gatlinburg fires? who caused the gatlinburg fires?

milepost 316. Which is pretty near chimney tops. Anyone who has toured the hillsides where most of the homes that were destroyed would know immediately how difficult evacuations would be. The fire was reported to be near the Twin Creeks Picnic Center at 1130. This is what happened with a handful of officials/personnel regarding the fatal 2000 black bear mauling of a woman hiker in Elkmont. 119K views 4 months ago GATLINBURG Many people get worried when they hear the words Gatlinburg and Fire in the same sentence. All downtown sidewalks reopened as permanent fencing around the building was installed by the property owner following the fire. 865-637-2442. I am trying to learn everything I can and hope to find an avenue to serve in this cause in some small way as most of you have and are serving in major, ways, risking your lives. The businesses include Cafe 420 . Tennessee wildfire near Gatlinburg prompts evacuations of 11,000 homes Try to stay neutral I understand; but the NPS has a track record of avoiding accountability. The fire burned 38,000 acres of state managed conservation areas and private timber lands. I would describe this as flooding in Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg Tennessee, but certainly heavy rain rising the water levels throughout. I am here at the opportunity on a couple of occasions to speak to the Fire Chief of Ontario Michigan. 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. Blame, no. The Gatlinburg fire chief should be FIRED. The fire could have been accidental, or it may have been intentional. You are among several Gatlinburg residents that posted local officials told them that everything was OK as late as 5:30 and there was no evacuation notice. 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). Why hasnt the NPS mentioned this first fire of the 14th? Screenshot from the Knox News video. The mayor and many fireman lost their homes and businesses, not to mention the deaths. I dont think so they were the people in charge not any of us and they didnt do their job. Between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.they increased to 7 to 15 mph with gusts of 22 to 32 mph all generally out of the south, blowing toward Gatlinburg. During fire suppression efforts, crews found one person dead inside the structure. Even this article seems to skirt around some of the issues and miss the depth of analysis it needs to effect meaningful change. Click here. A club . Maybe within the next year, well see some kind of progress come together, said Neddo. Thanks for the legwork. This was part of our retirement plan and now all we have left is a lot, we lost a lot of money that we will never be able to recuperate. 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. This should be placed firmly on the shoulders of the Park Service, Cassius Cash, Superintendent and the City and County. Thank you, Bill. Many times this tactic takes commitment of over a week. Over 3000 wildfires received Initial Attack in November in the southern Appalachians, many of which were still very active when Chimney Tops 2 started. People lost their lives and homes because no warnings!!! At 3:00PM I convinced my husband to call the Gatlinburg Fire Dept. 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. On the radio, a man in the Forestry truck was somewhere around the Roaring Fork area (as I recall) looking for possible spot fires reported near a residence and was talking about the strong winds. Fire managers brought in resources from all over the country. Mike I appreciate what you said about a time and season for prescribed/monitored fire, and we need prescribed fire in the toolbox. But it is very important to point out that the fire that burned into Gatlinburg was never a prescribed fire. What really was going on here? As a citizen with a firefighting background, I knew days ahead of time that high mountain winds were expected in the Eastern TN/NC Mountains, coupling that with the extreme drought conditions and the knowledge of the massive amount of ground fuel available in the forest based on being in the forest regularly even just days prior, outside observing the conditions and the terrain. It predicted wind gusts out of the south Monday morning of 25 mph, increasing atnoonto30 mph and to 40 mph by 6 p.m. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Civilians are dead, millions of dollars of personal property destroyed, millions of dollars were spent on containing the wildfirethe rains/snow finally suppressed it. On-the-ground fire suppression activity took place Monday when firefighters took defensive action to protect structures at a nearby GRSM picnic area. Crews working a Gatlinburg structure fire that began early Sunday morning discovered a body. Some may be pines, but the vast majority appear to be hemlocks. Who will accuse and then fire then? I have been walking the woods around Gatlinburg a lot since the Fire. Susan, So whether the defendants started the 14th fire or not, a close examination of this Facebook press release indicates the fire apparently started on the 13th; and yet a social media photo post claims the 12th clearly showing a lack of response once again in fire suppression by the NPS. Very well said Tommy. With that all happening before lunch. U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. Rippetoe hopes the destruction isnt there much longer and all businesses lost can return. 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. Copyright 2022 WVLT. Bob had stayed in West TN after Thanksgiving, to work there for a few days before returning home so he wasnt with us. On the map below, the fire is the small dot in the center surrounded by the yellow line. We are excited to start new memories and get back on the trails. According to Public Information Officer Seth Butler, the Gatlinburg Fire Department and the Pigeon Forge Fire Department were dispatched to downtown Gatlinburg at 6:39 a.m. on Sunday, Oct.. Copyright 2022 WVLT. Im sorry but that initial fire management at the outset was atrocious. Having said that, I used to work on an incident management team whose purpose was to manage what we called years ago, let burn fires. Ive posted this type of questioning on other Wildfire Today articles. Can fire experts examine burned areas and decipher the path of natural wildfire from managed ignited fires? 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. Not sure why it matters, but you offered such a specific time, thought I would offer info to possibly make it more accurate. Praying for those residents that have it far worse than I. Lets say the NPS put a crew on it day one in steep inaccessible terrain as they say it was in. Accountability! 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. Once the winds came on day 5 or 6, there was nothing anyone could do. There are other potential hazards that make unplanned evacuations a danger in that area. Will some folks be held accountable for actions or non-actions related to this wildfire incident? 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 At least one of them drove up the street below our house and parked there for about an hour. The fire occurred in the Autumn after the deciduous trees had shed their leaves adding more fuel to the forest floor that was already abundant with desiccated leaves, twigs, dead branches, and logs that had been sucked dry of their moisture by the months of drought. After action reports with ample opportunity for community input led to better pre-fire management and intra-agency coordination of resources. 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. Anyone can arm chair quarterback incident manager decisions after the smoke clears. 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. When I arrived in Branson at the hotel I was close to a fire exit, and frankly forgot about my nightmare. The body of an unidentified person was found amid the rubble of a downtown section of buildings that. I thought if we were have to leave we could take both vehicles to our friends house to sit out the night. 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. Please factor this in to your fire response in the future. Like I said this is like so many tragic events, a chain reaction of events that all contributed to a disastrous outcome, because of actions and inactions that were not questioned or corrected at many steps of the way. In addition, the valley above Gatlinburg, drained by LeConte Creek, has had enormous numbers of dead hemlock standing and fallen. The status of individual structures in the Gatlinburg area can be found at arcgiscom. 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. 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.. How did I know that? Resident of Western Maryland. 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. At the big forest fires in NC and GA, where the federal incident management teams were located, the Incident teams ordered pre-evacuation prior to the arrival of a cold front when strong, gusty winds were forecast. If it was felt that people on this fire were at risk then dont staff the fire. 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. 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? 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. On Monday November 28 it recorded wind gusts in that part of the state at46 to 60 mph, and a 76 mph gust on Wednesday. The NPS protected themselves and other special interest groups as well. My nightmare depicted more what happened in Gatlinburg than so far in Branson. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. Basically telling the press, the public and the injured families to go to hell. Aircraft dropping water or fire retardant on a fire cannot put it out. Google and Bing maps give a pretty good idea of the expanse of dead hemlocks. I felt like people had been robbed of the vital information they needed to make the decisions they needed to be safe. It would be interesting to dig a little further on this. When two juveniles were arrested on December 7 and charged with aggravated arson, many people assumed they had the answer. I would also hope that we would figure out that such major climate disruptions as the recent drought in the Southeast are getting more common and that human action has helped cause, and can help cure, such disruptions. The American publics outcry owe that much to the those whom lost loved ones, disrupted lives, destroyed both human property and natural resources in Gatlinburg, Tennessee during the Chimney Top 2 wildfire, November, 2016. Regardless, the appropriate aerial assault should continue. All rights reserved. None of our fires escaped, in part because we had some very smart, very experienced people in key positions. Have a wildland fire news tip? I felt it urgent to get out of the woods. Circular holes in the ground spread around the forest floor for no apparent reason, no evidence in sight, no history of mining activity, most of the oldest living trees around the same height/age. Well I can say that if TEMA announced right now and emergency message to my cell phone in the east TN mountains I would never get a thing. and last updated 4:48 AM, Apr 05, 2022. The cleaner told officials he found Bates in the room where the fire started and had what appeared to be a warming fire going. Yet if no one raises cain about it, things will be rebuilt with no regard for such safety factors. Bats were roosting in the church rafters and dropping feces onto the pews. There will be time to consider legal and civil options later . Fire crews were dispatched to a structure fire around 6:30. 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. 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. Im surprised Cherokee Orchard Rd. It certainly should be addressed, by We, the People. So because of his and other incompetence property owners are paying the price. 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? They didnt for one reason in my humble opinion: $$$ They had access to the same fire flight info from Sundays flyover that other agencies had. I asked my husband to go outside and hook up the water hose we had disconnected for winter. Who was responsible for Gatlinburg fire? 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. If the defendants didnt ignite the 14th fire, who did and is this 14th fire under investigation? 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. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. This Park Ranger was appointed to this position in December 2014 and he took office in February 2015, so in a span of one year and nine months he managed to let the place burn and we have owned property there for 32 years and nothing remotely like this has ever happened. My writing comes from the heart! So we can learn by others successes and failures but we must also not hang our hats on them either, because the story is as individual and unique as there are an infinite number of variables. Gatlinburg fire 10/9/2022: One body found after Parkway blaze They found plenty of resources when they realize they were going to be burning all the money making business is down on Monday. NO managing wildfire is much more complex, especially in a multiple fire drought driven incident like managers were dealing with on this incident. Case in point is our European religious history. The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. at the mall on the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg. 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. If we are so quick to remove those who are learning from their experience, successes and failures, do we not lessen the potential to create and benefit from more experts who will have more knowledge and wisdom to apply to future events? By the end of the day on Sunday the fire had burned approximately 35 acres, according to Ms. Schroer and the results from a mapping flight (see the 3-D mapabove). I realize some of my questioning is speculative and yet legitimate. 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. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. Many times, as has been thoroughly vetted during the analysis the Chimney Top 2 wildfire the ONLY option is an all out aggressive, throw the world at it initial attack from air, ground and sea. There will be no access to Wiley Oakley or Westgate from the Spur. GATLINBURG, Tenn. UPDATE (Monday): Firefighters discovered a body in the rubble of these fires, our ABC affiliate WATE reported Monday morning. He has had to struggle with the untimely death of his very healthy and active in younger retirement parents but both of us having been an EMS and fire service, he is of the opinion just as I am that the NPS as well as the Gatlinburg fire chief and the city and county officials have the most of blood on their hands . 10/10/22, 1:56 p.m. The report stated the demolition was requested due to the health and safety of the citizens and visitors in the event of a full structure collapse.. 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. We are to be stewards of the land. 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. May all the people find peace and forgiveness in the midst of this storm. I always come back to that groupthink mentality, the ladder of inference, the been there done that mode, the failure/fear to act, and thats how weve always done it thinking; all part of how our unconscious brain works without our conscious intervention and critical thinking skills. They have tied their hands and resources through environmental forestry management. The public cannot sit on their hands and expect anything to change. NPS can suppress the first fire; but not the second fire? We have a mountaintop cabin about 50 miles south of this area. So far, this week's tragic Tennessee wildfires have caused at least seven deaths, injured at least 50 more, and damaged or destroyed over 700 structures, a good portion of them in the city of Gatlinburg. 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. Only 0.05 inch fell at the Indian Grave Remote Automatic Weather Station 18 miles west of the fire. Those businesses were also protected from the fire. The needle suffered extensive damage and was closed for three years. From just across the Smokies in Bryson City, N.C./Swain county. It was the hottest summer we ever felt. 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. What are they doing? It would make suppression efforts difficult, but a fire break could have been constructed around the original slow-moving fire in the early days. I appreciate that fine quality of writing that expresses your thoughts in an easy to read yet structured style that makes sense. People need their jobs, and we all act based on the limited information, training and experience that we have and hopefully rely on others who have diverse backgrounds to supplement where we may lack. 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. Contingency plans for how to evacuate the entire town, regardless of the specific hazard, were not well thought out. 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. There were ashes raining and that was very alarming to me. I hold you in my thoughts and prayers for healing and recovery there are others who have posted about their losses on this blog, Kelly for one, and I did not give myself peymidfipn to say these words to them at the time .. On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9. Triage of resource needs versus values at risk, firefighter safety, resource values and political realities all come into play. He told me he was scared to drive the truck-its a lot more cumbersome in the local terrain than his little Outback. Death toll rises to 13 in Tennessee wildfires as grim search for Down hemlocks are mostly just gone. It was Congress that adjourned for the holidays without passing a bill to fund forest fire fighting efforts. I hope to remedy that starting now! 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. I told him my home was on fire and he said they were evacuating everyone,then. But the NPS didnt even follow their own rules in this case. Our world is complex and it is a system of interacting parts, we all need to start thinking more globally (meaning systemic and how each part interacts with the other) in our processes and understand how each choice, decision and action we take personally and as a group affect all the other parts. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course much coulda woulda shoulda is understandable. Thank you for your kind words and concern about our loss. Not because I am a teller of fortune. On Monday, December 5, the Incident Management Team (IMT) on the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that burned from Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) into the Gatlinburg area reported that it has . Thanks for the correction Bill. As the crow flies, thats not far from Gatlinburg and Ive heard of and read about how quickly wildfires spread and how far reaching they can be under dry conditions from drought. But very little if any fire suppression activity occurred until Monday, November 28. You are aware that Bill Gabbert the Editor of Wildfire Today spent a large part of his fire carrier with the Park Service where I believe he was served on a nationwide Type I IMT. We had no significant rain in 2 months!!! On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to All the guy in the truck told us was that they had dug a fire line and were told to wait here. Then another large red pickup came down from Turkey Nest Road and stopped in front of us. Cafe 420 and Gifts of Gatlinburg were also destroyed. 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. There is much opportunity in the Eastern Appalachians to better prepare citizens, towns , leaders and firefighters; To create more fire aware and safe communities.