Asked if I knew if there were any other people down in that area. 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. fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. When enough folks dont take a vulnerable interest in situations and root out the evidence and real root causes to a situation, that is how cover-ups and lies live on, and the wrong people or wrong causes go unrooted. This time it is not firefighters but civilian deaths. The People have been deceived with a vague and biased investigation regarding this particular bear incident. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1477959465566642&id=100000578092120. The power of nature is awesome and often far beyond our ability to predict and react to in a timely manner. 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. That is when it would have been prudent to announce a pre-evacuation notice for the Gatlinburg area to be ready to evacuate if an evacuation order is announced. Why are there not more prescribed and controlled burns being conducted? The fire was approximately 8 acres in size, according to GRSM. This makes no logical sense. 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! I hope they end up being involved in the biggest lawsuit anyone has ever seen! There could be falling trees. The next morning we werent allowed to go check on our house because of fires still burning and impassable roads. I realize some of my questioning is speculative and yet legitimate. Asked if I knew if there were any other people down in that area. Late Monday afternoon the Gatlinburg Fire Department began informing some residents of a voluntary evacuation. On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9. Once again, can fire discreetly smolder in the duff amid rock crevices? 119K views 4 months ago GATLINBURG Many people get worried when they hear the words Gatlinburg and Fire in the same sentence. they if you limit that to local staff might not have as much fire management experience as say Yosemite or Yellowstone. Much of the southeastern United States had been suffering extremely dry conditions for two to three months. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) Firefighters have found a body in the remains of a building that burned in . Have a wildland fire news tip? Copyright 2022 WVLT. Special interest groups and other self serving human beings with other priorities cut budgets. I am astounded at the amount of information, expertise, warning, and awareness of imminent danger was present and available in this situation. Fire managers brought in resources from all over the country. Like hell he did. Branson is built into the mountainous forests of south-central Missouri, is a resort town, and a retirement community and entertainment venue. 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. Thank you for this excellent synopsis. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. Finding out about the fire has hurt me almost as much as it did the locals. Thought among the locals is that officials didnt want to lose the post-holiday weekend crowd and revenue. Ms.Schroer said she was not aware of any actual on-the-ground fire suppression efforts, other than perhaps some work on a distant indirect fireline, until Monday November 28, after the fire had grown large and crossed US Highway 141, the main road into the park. They knew the high winds were coming days ahead of that Monday. Be sure to bring valid forms of identification showing name and address of residence or business inside Gatlinburg. Are county officials telling people about the Code Red Alert System? My wife and I hiked to Alum Cave Bluffs Saturday, Nov. 26, while the fire was small up on the Chimneys. That night after we arrived home we started getting text from friends showing fires at the Park Vista Hotel, then one from our neighbors across the street, he lives in Knoxville called and said he had been there at 5:30 P.M. this was on the 28th and when he left it was smokey but everything was still fine. But outright blame? An in depth investigation should be launched and the (ir)responsible parties identified. Those with information are urged to contact the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017 or the GFD at 865-436-5112. On the night before I left for Branson, I had terrible nightmares of being caught in a forest fire in Branson. The needle suffered extensive damage and was closed for three years. It was about 11:30AM when we got to downtown Gatlinburg, where I took photos of the heavy on the Parkway in town. It was considered a total loss after yesterdays fire. This area was in the process of being logged prior to the wildfire, (supposedly started by a logging train) of 1925. We do have insurance however based on the prices for clean up there it wont go far enough to build back. Everyone knew how dry it was. Another 2.3 inches accumulated that day by the time it stopped at 7 p.m. The leaves that had hung on into late Fall because of lack of winds and rain for months began to rain from the trees in copious amounts and there were leaf funnels forming and it was hard as we ran from cabin to car loading Abram and Lady. NPS can suppress the first fire; but not the second fire? Chief Kurtz was right on target to compare South Canyon, Yarnell, and now Chimney Top 2. The dead hemlock had to have been of huge impact to the fire. That is great knowledge to share. But when it's close to home, the sadness and concern of those affected is ten-fold in the worry department. However, they are using a Super Tanker to douse the flames going on down there. I saw Wyoming and Colorado engines being demobalized after containment. Excellent points, Jody. My nightmare depicted more what happened in Gatlinburg than so far in Branson. Officials identified Robert A. Hejny, 63, who was found at Traveler's Motel in Gatlinburg. I hear of those who didnt leave until 9:00 that night. It seems to me that the extreme wind was as unprecedented as the drought and the low stream levels. And I dont write about that many of them. Well said, the terrain here is different than a lot of places, even out west. I am not holding my breath. Suddenly a fire truck from Harriman came careening around the corner and headed up Turkey Nest Road. 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. China Bazaar, Pucker's Sports Grill, Gifts of . I know for a fact that all humans are not as tuned into Nature as others. Where is his accountability? 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? Being asleep at the wheel is no excuse. The Gatlinburg Space Needle fire (July 1992) In 1992, a fire destroyed Ripley's Gatlinburg Museum which was, at the time, located at the base of the needle. It is written by Stephanie Sweeney, whose house was off the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. 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. Published: Oct. 11, 2022 at 5:31 PM PDT GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. I have for years pointed out to my students the dead hemlock all over the mountain. I get free speech, but if I yelled fire in a crowded theater when there was none and it contributed to death and injury I too would be held liable; my speech would not be protected! Officials say the road will be closed for an extended period. The electricity goes out almost everytime there is a high wind. One person was found dead in the rubble of a fire that broke out in downtown Gatlinburg early Sunday morning. Back home in West TN, when tornado warnings were active in a particular area there were loud sirens that went off. Yet no one made a move. I hope this video puts people at ease that this fire is. Nicely put together article. What good does it do to lynch those who are learning and gaining the very experience we expect and seek? 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. Politics, as we know can cloud even a clear sunny day!!! Just like the Mayor of Amity in Jaws, they didnt want the tourists to see this much reality. Impressive. 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. This isnt finger pointing its the simple facts of the entire situation like it or not! When I arrived in Branson at the hotel I was close to a fire exit, and frankly forgot about my nightmare. 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. Whatever happened to good old common sense decisions considering the drought, excessive fuels, and weather! This is the way to honor each other and to learn. The DA in Sevier County has put a gag rule in effect since the get go to protect the teeneagers involved. The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. at the mall on the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg. As a mountain boy who loves the harshest terrain even I couldnt imagine trying to run a fire line in this area. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. The fire ballooned to more than 17,000 acres when winds stronger than 80 miles per hour carried the fire down the mountain and through Gatlinburg and parts of Pigeon Forge Nov. 28. 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. These are the facts and simple truths that should not be ignored. They lost phone coverage but didnt activate the Motorola wide area radio system. Our Gatlinburg Inn was built on family and community. Some of those businesses told WVLT News they have a long road ahead as they wait on insurance adjustors to calculate their losses. 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). It was extremely dark and small branches and twigs were pelting our car. The contractor who had been working outside on the house left as it got dark early because of the smoke. They probably feel they are fortunate and safe because they will not speak out on the topic until the criminal charges are completed against the two youth that perpetrated this fire but they would be foolish to do so as time just continues to churn the anger. I said a quick prayer for safety and we started up hill to leave our truck. IMT issued pre-evacuation notices in GA and NC each time they saw cold-front winds approaching that could would threaten communities. She has given me permission to share it on this site. They found plenty of resources when they realize they were going to be burning all the money making business is down on Monday. I seriously question if bias will be discreetly worked into this agency and their review of the fire?? 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 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. Ash move in quickly after a fire, and through the yearly process of shedding their leaves, make it difficult for seeds from the Red Spruce/Fraser Fir/Hemlocks to make an effective seed-soil contact, thus when we lose one of these magnificent evergreen forests, it truly is a tragedy in more ways than one. 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. Gatlinburg is in Sevier County. Not everything that happened with the fires had a dotted line to those two teens. 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. 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. Millions of dollars will be spent recovering and mitigating the after effects of this human caused and exasperated wildfire. Too often the only voice that is heard in our society is money and the more one has the more they are heard. 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. We stopped beside the truck and rolled down our window. We both were winded, nervous, and running to grab one change of clothes, night clothes, and tooth brushes. That factor is the density of residential development, layout of roads, and approved building materials present in that area. He had been experiencing the high winds back West all day and was alarmed at possibilities as well. While my husband tried to rake the leaves away more than once, they blew right back in. Please factor this in to your fire response in the future. A voluntary evacuation should have been issued at least 36 hours before the fire exploded. The Chimney Tops 2 could be a good case in point. When we reached Turkey Nest Road there was a big white crewcab pickup truck parked in front of Barbaras Real Estate. That didnt work out. They are just as clandestine of a secret society as the city officials of Gatlinburg and Sevier County. Of course Dollywood and Gatlinburg was virtually unscathed. With the wildfires scattered across western N.C., we are lucky that, given parallel conditions of the wildfires that swept down the Chimney Tops into Gatlinburg ..i.e. I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. Narrowing it down to human-causes is easy for an investigator. Officials will verify renters and lease holders, as needed. Hire an independent fire behavior consultant to assist in PLANNING and timely response if conditions appear to be coming into (fire) alignment. 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 . The adelgid apparently needs the rougher bark of older trees to climb up the trunk to the greenery on which they feed. I cannot count how many times my wife or I would find a fire smoldering typically from someone who flipped a lit cigarette and the brush when they were finished. I told him my home was on fire and he said they were evacuating everyone,then. Collaboration, open thinking and creativeness are key. These people both the successful along with the ones who erred and experienced failure, courageously risked being vulnerable in order to help others.