Standing dead hemlock burned up their trunks, to as high as 50 feet on one specimen I saw. I know its good and natural periodically to let forest fires burn, but under the extreme drought conditions in this area, I was uneasy that fires werent being put out. I am not holding my breath. That should have been done over Thanksgiving! 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. Thank you for making a point of the fact that we are all human beings with faults by design so that we need each other to succeed and survive. Location field must contain 'city, state' or a zip code to perform a radius search (e.g., Denver, CO or 46122).City and state must be separated by a comma followed by a space (e.g., Houston, TX) 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. Jeannine, its obvious that you write from the heart, and you write so well it is indeed inspirational. Thanks! I got out of the car and walked up to the side of the pickup truck. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1477959465566642&id=100000578092120. They had the same weather forecast information. GATLINBURG, Tenn. ( WATE) A building destroyed by fire Sunday in downtown Gatlinburg has been torn down and the investigation into the cause continues. Those are low numbers for the southeastern United States. 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. GSMNP manager said he couldnt order an evacuation but he surely could have recommended one as the forecast for high winds was given early Sunday. Hello Jon, for what its worth, I did some hiking in the Greenbrier area of the GSMNP back in October and didnt notice many dead hemlocks, although The Chimneys area may be different, which I havent hiked in years. 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. Hopefully all of those affected will be able to begin again. 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. From just across the Smokies in Bryson City, N.C./Swain county. I hope they end up being involved in the biggest lawsuit anyone has ever seen! This fire as did others around this time had highly predictable potential for massive and rapid spread. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages I agree, this has many players to blame and starts with Superintendent Cassius Cash and trickles down to the City and County. China Bazaar, Pucker's Sports Grill, Gifts of Gatlinburg, and Caf 420 were all deemed a complete loss. It upset a lot of locals, but many lauded it. Stantons car was full of gas and only has liability insurance. It was gorgeous -huge, huge trees, open forest floor, very dark, very cool, very moist. (Originally published at 11:04 a.m. MST November 23 . Zoom Abruptly Fires President Greg Tomb 'Without Cause' Nonetheless, your observations on the 21st indicate that no signs of the 14th fire were present; and if the NPS did fully suppress the first fire, their timeline was undoubtedly non-aggressive to do so. From 7 p.m. until midnight sustained winds were at 13 to 17 mph with gusts from 34 to 49. The two juveniles who set a fire are not alone in this. 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 . They are having a press conference this afternoon so perhaps there will be more transparency. The steepness here is epic, the only way out of valleys this steep is straight down or up, your lucky not to hit a waterfall. Without sufficient safe zones being created in advance each road was easily blocked either by fire or debris. The fire resulted in the deaths of 14 people and more than $500 million in damage, with firefighting costs of more than $7 million. Resident of Western Maryland. Just wondering was it God who drastically cut the federal budgets for NPS, Wildland firefighters and other resources or was that Congress? By 4:00PM the wind was getting stronger and we were not getting any updated information from local TV news. There was lots of sunlight and lots of low-level vegetation so much that the trail was overgrown and we decided to turn around. of them backing up and saying this isnt our problem we are carrying on just like always. What Caused the Gatlinburg Fire of 2016? Here's the Real Story 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 ? View Google or Bing aerial photos of the past year hundreds of dead trees with the tale-tell circular pattern of limbs stands out against the foliage. Jody, you have said well what Ive wanted to say from my impressions made after the fire about this tragic situation. There may be some validity in the DA doing that, but it sure calls their integrity into question. They just sat back and watched it burn. I realize the City of Gatlinburg is open and ready for business and business is booming, thats good for them but it doesnt help those of us that lost their home. One other consideration relevant to some of the previous comments about the aggressiveness or lack thereof in dealing with the fire in the first few days is the context of other ongoing wildfires. As a former FF, their claim that they could have never put it out if they tried from day one is BS. Fires in the Great. 6 to the intersection at Reagen Drive reopened Monday afternoon after being closed Sunday morning, according to a release. At least that is my understanding. However, I still wonder why there has been no word from the governor about the post-fire review team he promised. 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. Limbs began to fall. Rain began falling late Monday night and continued until 6 a.m. Tuesday, totaling 0.78 inch at Indian Grave. Did the 14th fire discreetly burn in the duff amid rock cervices? Much of the southeastern United States had been suffering extremely dry conditions for two to three months. Who ever was in charge should loose their job!!! Not to lay blame or punishment but as a real learning tool for improvement of service provision. The NPS protected themselves and other special interest groups as well. It was very low on gas and fully covered with insurance. Downtown Gatlinburg Fire at Puckers Sports Grill & More (OCT 9, 2022) 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. I think that since its been brought to attention that nepotism shouldnt be involved in these positions because when it is you have people covering up, like a cat trying to cover up poop! This is how we all get better at what we do and are. NPS manager Cassius Cash said the NPS didnt have the authority to order an evacuation (how about recommending a pre-evacuation status so the public was ready to evacuate if needed?). Accountability is important and paying the price for our decisions is too. Unfortunately human lives were lost and hundreds of folks have been displaced. 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. Money. 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. Fire aboard Spirit plane causes emergency landing, sends 10 to hospital He wanted us to pack and leave. Will the Firefighter Safety crutch of the last twenty plus years be the political linchpin to justify fire management strategy and tactics employed by the GSNP? Shame on you. 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. I can feel for the service providers and the devastated fire victims. 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. Authorities have not identified the victim or . 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. Jeannines comments were spot on. Birmingham City have had to close their training ground after a fire caused damage on Friday morning. We spent Thanksgiving there with our family, who left on Sunday. It is the duty of the people and Congress to maintain and voice our concerns and opinions to where check and balances work. Henry, do you know the effect of the typical southeastern forest ground fires on the hemlock adelgid? Learning for the future is important if it includes changes in policy and procedure. Fourteen people lost their lives. A fire burns at a high-rise building under construction in the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong on March 3, 2023. They didnt want CNN down there declaring their tourist town a death trap. Under ideal conditions they can temporarily slow the spread, which may be effective if firefighters on the ground can move in quickly totake advantage of the short termchange in fire behavior by constructing firelines, stopping the spread at that location. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. Our government has been paying these communications companies millions in tax breaks and tax dollars to provide cellular and other affordable services to rural America, and they are failing to do so or providing the services at outrageous rates. Honor. According to FOX 5's Matthew Cappucci the smoke plume got to about 3,600 feet and . LeConte. 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.. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. A friend that owns a rental company there said that about 90% of the homes in the area which leave them 10% they can rent or sale. Our house sat below the road about 30 feet. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Most events have a series of issues that contribute to the outcome, the more catastrophic the event the greater the number of contributing factors. How many have died in the gatlinburg forest fire? - JacAnswers The big, dead hemlocks are light grey with a circular limb pattern as viewed from the air. You cannot predict an outcome of fight first and fast any better than you did letting thousands of property burn and 15 people die. It took the governor to get the lack of evac into the open, as local gov was trying to keep it out of the press. Politics, as we know can cloud even a clear sunny day!!! Photos: Fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee | Photo Galleries | herald U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. A stroke in 2011 left Akaka partially paralyzed and unable to speak but he didn't need words to express his joy to be reunited with it. It works like an Amber Alert to people who download the app and sign up. The facts are clear that this was not the appropriate action taking during the initial stages of the Chimney Top 2 wildfire. Take a look at the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016 and you really might begin to question what really went wrong here. @wvlt pic.twitter.com/P7roVBCq8B. The dead hemlock had to have been of huge impact to the fire. You have my utmost respect for firefighting; and Ive recently addressed a firefighter who was an apparent spokesman for the local media patty-caking. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages Suggestion, contact Dolly Parton or representatives of her holdings and give her (them) the emergency phone line to Global Supertankers. I have an Gatlinburg address but the county services my street. 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. This rain took much of the heat out of the vegetation fire and slowed the spread, but smoke from the burning structures in the communities and smouldering logs in the Park continued to fill the air. It just so happens that at this time hundreds of fires were subsequently being started all around the south! Thats totally untrue. Due to the damage this fire has caused Im sure there will be follow-up effects (and recriminations) for years. Jeannine, what an awesome, in-depth and thoughtful response. Gatlinburg Fire 2016: How It Happened & the Aftermath - PigeonForge.com Gatlinburg Fire Department crews responded to the scene and received help from Pigeon Forge Fire Department, Pigeon Forge Police Department, Sevierville Fire Department, Pittman Center Volunteer Fire Department, Sevier County Emergency Management Agency, Sevier County Medical Examiners Office and Sevier County Ambulance Services. 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. Experience must be coupled with training and planning based on forecasted possibilities and even un-forecasted what ifs. Common since would tell you a mountain fire in wind and drought would move very fast!!! To repeat what you have already said, people on the mountain especially Chalet Village north, no longer feel safe . The cleaner told officials he found Bates in the room where the fire started and had what appeared to be a warming fire going. Not every fire manager gets the benefit of a meteorologist in your hip pocket, but there are many good weather websites available. Because we were heading home to Ohio early Tuesday morning, we packed our suitcases and put them in the car. Local officials dont seem to learn from past experiences, nor plan well for possible dangers. I do not remember her name. 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. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. I am just saying that it is not necessary to lynch someone in order to hold them accountable. 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. What really was going on here? One week before the fire, a backcountry ranger confronted people that had built a fire at Alum Cave Bluffs. Too old to start over, fear it could happen again and they could be in their home like I was, or out and out mistrust of local government. I have an Gatlinburg address but the county services my street. Oddly, some folks that posted photos of the fire of the 23rd in its early stages have either pulled the blogs or the material cannot be accessed. My prayers are with all of you. Interesting time line, fire discovered about 1730 November 23. Who is watching the back door? Firefighting resources assigned to the fire include 25 hand crews, 61 engines, 6 helicopters, and 2 dozers, for a total 780 personnel. Hemlocks standout on aerial photos because the limbs grow in a spiral pattern around the tree. Thats perfect Johnny. Classic Swiss Cheese risk management fire management failurehave we as a profession learned anything since South Canyon, Yarnell and now Chimney Top 2? From an all hazards POV large scale fire should have been recognized long before any drought conditions. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. Guessing the fire spotted from the Chimneys, to Bullhead, then on to Twin Creeks area. 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. The chain reaction that if un-inhibited can create the perfect storm, block the perfect solutions or that can lead to the ignition of possibility and opportunity. Most excellently put, Jeannine (you are an exceptional writer). I heard a comment that people have the use common sense. they if you limit that to local staff might not have as much fire management experience as say Yosemite or Yellowstone. Fire Tears Through Downtown Gatlinburg (TN) Mall; One Person Killed Accusations were abundant. Just like the Mayor of Amity in Jaws. A club . One or two of those employees fall to their death because they shouldnt have been there in the first place. But it is good that you ask questions, and you should expect answers and a demonstration of learning, but you have to give that opportunity, just as you would want. 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. Fire those managers! You cannot sit and watch a fire in the mountains this close to a town and not call in lots of HELP!!! Until 1 p.m. sustained speeds were 4 to 6 mph with gusts at 12 to 19 mph. This fire burned for almost a week, before it exploded into Gatlinburg. We had a contractor there working on improvements to our house. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. 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. I am not one to Monday Morning Quarterback, because none of us have all the information and really we all have limited information, no one person knows it all; but as a citizen with background knowledge, experience, training, risk and situational awareness, the potential was clearly predictable days in advance of the aggressive action. We believed the firefighters were going to stop the fire from entering the city. Mr. Cash cant order an evac, but he could have made a recommendation. 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. Impressive. The mayor and many fireman lost their homes and businesses, not to mention the deaths. Id just like to ask folks to think about If prior experience of fires in the region may have betrayed fire managers this time. .. bless you all! We are to be stewards of the land. 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. Officials say the road will be closed for an extended period. I particularly liked Sharon Jensens after action summary. The Chimney Tops 2 could be a good case in point. By being so quick to lynch people we have created a fear of decision-making and a paralysis of critical thinking. Gatlinburg fire: Body found in blaze rubble, cause of fire under Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out.. When two juveniles were arrested on December 7 and charged with aggravated arson, many people assumed they had the answer. Civilians are dead, millions of dollars of personal property destroyed, millions of dollars were spent on containing the wildfirethe rains/snow finally suppressed it. Before we got in the car, we each took photos of the approaching fire with our cell phones. Do arsonists typically work alone? What is these adults had taken immediate action to correct and intervene in this unsafe behavior by children. And I dont write about that many of them. This is the path to healing, and the way to light. She said smoke had been super heavy. is TEMA didnt have the training. time. Officials keep repeating that nothing like this has ever happened here before so they cant be responsible.
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