2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires - Wikipedia I parked truck right beside a big mound of rip rap that Bob had dumped for lining the ditches on sides of our neighborhood roads, which arent through roads. I understand the excellent point made in the article that history in the Smokies area would expect less of a problem than out West. On the map below, the fire is the small dot in the center surrounded by the yellow line. No one wanted the castrophe that resulted. There should be accountability for those in charge, in every arena of governance and responsibility and at every level. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new articles by email. Visited Gatlinburg for the first time in Oct 2016. And I dont write about that many of them. He had been experiencing the high winds back West all day and was alarmed at possibilities as well. They lost phone coverage but didnt activate the Motorola wide area radio system. We are facing some very large problems around our globe and in our own home communities, that will require some out of the box thinking and collaboration, some tough questions, and a lot of personal accountability review and growth. Perhaps a simple thing like calling for a Voluntary Evacuation from Noon on that day could have made the danger more obvious in light of the forecast for storm warnings with high winds for the afternoon and overnight. 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. In response to Jeanne in regard to Kelly Morgans comments: It is the duty of the American people to honor and respect and obey the Laws of the Land unless government becomes a dictatorship to basic rights and freedoms. Its community and people that have jobs. 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. 1,000 feet of rise / 0.2 mile (1,056 feet) is a slope of 94.7%, not 77%. I told him my home was on fire and he said they were evacuating everyone,then. By the way, I havent seen any local media covering much for the victims since the coverage with Jerry and the pursuit of compensation. Compare the events to their fire management manual and contradictions are present. Officials said three people. It was gorgeous -huge, huge trees, open forest floor, very dark, very cool, very moist. 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. Sevier County remains Smokies Strong 5 years after wildfires - WBIR.com Tennessee wildfire near Gatlinburg prompts evacuations of 11,000 homes My vacation cabin in Gatlinburg burn to the ground on November 28. I think anyone that is from this area could see this could be a very dangerous fire from the first day!! We do have insurance however based on the prices for clean up there it wont go far enough to build back. When did Gatlinburg burn . My husband and I were at our house in Gatlinburg, just north of the Park Vista, on the night of the fire. Photos: Fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee | Photo Galleries | herald The NPS, IMO, did not take an aggressive stance on this fire, and that is usually the case with them. One only has to imagine a single downed power line starting a structure fire at the same time the wildfire was approaching to understand how the great loss of property and life actually happened. The perfect firestorm. Bob, I know where youre coming from. How many homes were lost in the Gatlinburg fire? 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. As a contractor I worked with a Dunes engine in Michigan MI years ago. Their chronological order of events doesnt match up with what some folks were observing posted on social media. The fire was approximately 8 acres in size, according to GRSM. After action reports with ample opportunity for community input led to better pre-fire management and intra-agency coordination of resources. Regardless, the appropriate aerial assault should continue. Im not saying IMTs are perfect (and no doubt there are background politics involved), but they sure appeared to do an awesome job coming to the situation with a big view and didnt hesitate to get the job done and keep the public informed. Gatlinburg Fire 2016: The Start. 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. Tommy Kirkland says: It seems to me that the extreme wind was as unprecedented as the drought and the low stream levels. How the Historic Gatlinburg Fires Happened; a Humble Start - GovTech Years ago, the NPS wasnt maintaining the churches in Cades Cove of the Smokies. Crews are currently taking down the China Bazaar and Puckers building. And no doubt books both factual and not on this event. The decisions that worked made us heroes, and those that did not changed us if we were allowed that opportunity. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1477959465566642&id=100000578092120. You have my utmost respect for firefighting; and Ive recently addressed a firefighter who was an apparent spokesman for the local media patty-caking. It would be interesting to dig a little further on this. A true lackadaisical response. 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. A little later the local TV news reported the fire had crossed the road and was headed up the mountain behind the Park Vista. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. What about helicopters dumping water? This fire as did others around this time had highly predictable potential for massive and rapid spread. When we reached our car at road level, we saw flames coming over the ridge directly south of our house. They decided instead to monitor and to identifyon a map areas for indirect containment lines which encompassed 410 acres. The Chimney Tops Trail led from the highway to the top of the hill. I hope to remedy that starting now! I was nervous about it. Lied too by Gatlinburg or Sevier County officials? 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. Sweeney, to be honest weve never experienced circumstances quite like this. I thanked her, hung up and told Stanton to go load Ladys kennel. Though it will never be heard in our courts today, dont think the Almighty isnt going to bring it to Light; for human death was involved and the facts were dodged plan and simple. 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! On Sunday evening we discussed with Gatlinburg friends the forecast for high winds on Monday, so I disagree with local Gatlinburg officials that they were caught by surprise. This is one of the wettest areas in the entire US, and when you do not not receive a drop of rain for months on end, you know something bad is going to happen. Thanks for the legwork. What is unconstitutional here is that if this first fire of the 14th is under investigation, then certain parties have committed obstruction of justice. GRSM firefighters spotted the new fire as they returned from responding to a report of a vehicle fire. He asked them how or who we could contact to get emergency information. Experience by itself often lends to complacency and been there done that thinking. Yet if no one raises cain about it, things will be rebuilt with no regard for such safety factors. Stumps burned into the ground and look like volcano caldera. 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. What good does it do to lynch those who are learning and gaining the very experience we expect and seek? What about firefighter safety? We were wearing bandanas wrapped around our faces at this point. Common since would tell you a mountain fire in wind and drought would move very fast!!! We warned them about the approaching fire before turning the opposite direction to proceed on downtown. 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. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. 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. Numerous photos show a dramatic increase in smoke in the downtown area between 5 and 5:30 pm. Civilians are dead, millions of dollars of personal property destroyed, millions of dollars were spent on containing the wildfirethe rains/snow finally suppressed it. I think this is more often than not the case. That didnt work out. Jody, you have said well what Ive wanted to say from my impressions made after the fire about this tragic situation. How many sorties could those planes do in an single day even if they had been deployed on Even Friday?? We went to West TN for Thanksgiving Holidays and came back home to Gatlinburg on Sunday. All three incidents have a common denominator. The terrain was steep, a vertical distance of 1,300 feet from the bottom of the drainages to the top of the hill. 6 to the intersection at Reagen Drive reopened Monday afternoon after being closed Sunday morning, according to a release. She said smoke had been super heavy. Hasnt anyone noticed that friends groups are paying for major park infrastructure and various other projects that our Congress has failed to provide for? Nearby businesses feel the same. Here again, more of a horse and pony show from all officials both state and federal. There seems to be many people who just dont get that their are many areas in these mountains and in rural America that are no tech zones. That is great knowledge to share. On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to Zoom Abruptly Fires President Greg Tomb 'Without Cause' They got info from NPS about the fire spreading. It was about 11:30AM when we got to downtown Gatlinburg, where I took photos of the heavy on the Parkway in town. I have a lot of pictures to share via my blog. There was lots of sunlight and lots of low-level vegetation so much that the trail was overgrown and we decided to turn around. They had the same weather forecast information. This is the way to honor each other and to learn. If you take a hands off approach with minimal management and indirectly Play God look out. Nearly five years. Neither the NPS nor the city wanted CNN cameras covering a mass evacuation of a town jam packed with tourists on Thanksgiving weekend. I could not figure how to put pictures on Wildfire Today, so here are links to let you see whats happened in the Park. 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. The Spur or US 441 runs between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in the Smokies. 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. Out east our experience is usually ground fire with relatively less risk of widespread destruction. 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. What Caused the Gatlinburg Fire of 2016? Here's the Real Story Arson charges dropped against teens accused in deadly Gatlinburg - WJLA The Chimneys functionally act as the head of a canyon leading directly to downtown Gatlinburg. 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. The People have been deceived with a vague and biased investigation regarding this particular bear incident. As it turned out the sprinklers were far above affordable means and way outside the parameters quoted by the NFPA for the cost of a standard sprinkler system so we did not get them. I called Bob, boys and I got a bite to eat for supper so we wouldnt be a bother to our friends whose house we were going to wait out the evening. No. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. They need to be accountable for their inaction, and action. For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged Chimney 2 Fire. > Jeannine In my 40 years in the fire service (Calif and Alaska), I have seen an unfortunate number of cases where agencies in generaland the NPS in particulardesignate fires as monitored event(s) (insert favorite agency terminology here) that hours, or days, later explode into huge incidents. 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. But from what I have read the failure in this situation was in following procedure, so what can be added to have averted this fire and its terrible deadly consequences? And on top of all that, they have teams that stay and clean up after the fires, repairing dozer and fire lines to reflect natural terrain, knocking down trees that would be a hazard to hikers and hunters, repairing the roads that heavy equipment damaged. Some of the drainages where the managers hoped to stop the fire were a half mile away. To access this area, it is important to follow check point protocols. Still cant seem to get any answers if the BACKFIRES got out of control when the NPS ignited them contributing to the loss of life and structures in Gatlinburg??? The learning system of resolution. For the most part, the issues are with the Upper Brass. Gatlinburg businesses look to rebuild after massive fire Someone must have started the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the GFD, Gatlinburg Police Department, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The person or people responsible for the fire have not yet been found. Honor. Question, seek truth and evidence, get to the roots, with the intention to create and apply solutions, not simply hang someone; that is how we grow forward! I hope they can train more local governments how to handle big wildfire situations. Fire managers brought in resources from all over the country. A temporary evacuation refuge with limited services is located at Max Hasse Community Park . Experience must be coupled with training and planning based on forecasted possibilities and even un-forecasted what ifs. 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. If the defendants didnt ignite the 14th fire, who did and is this 14th fire under investigation? Not to mention all the fallen limbs on the ground beneath them. I guess they must think when you have to go up there to handle this mess they caused that you dont need lodging, food or gas to get there. It is important to look at many facets, evidence and root cause studies so that the issues can be resolved. When we got to end of Beech Branch Rd., and turned onto Spur, there was no traffic but the winds were getting worse. I hope the recordings werent pulled under threat of someones attorney or the DA. By definition, prescribed burning is described as fire applied in a knowledgeable manner to forest and grassland fuels on a specific land area under selected weather conditions to accomplish predetermined, well-defined management objectives, pg 2, http://www.southernfireexchange.org/etc/ITPFISE.pdf. Early in the afternoon we began to see large crewcab pickup trucks driving past our home. Fire Tears Through Downtown Gatlinburg (TN) Mall; One Person Killed Hong Kong skyscraper fire could mean $64M payout, cause under investigation Officials will verify renters and lease holders, as needed. 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. An in depth investigation should be launched and the (ir)responsible parties identified. We have a mountaintop cabin about 50 miles south of this area. We were there on Thanksgiving week-end. So sometime during the night as we now know everything burned down. 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 ? I said at the time thatvwas crazy, evac. Every business downtown was closed except for Bubba Gumps. 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. When we reached Turkey Nest Road there was a big white crewcab pickup truck parked in front of Barbaras Real Estate. I saw Wyoming and Colorado engines being demobalized after containment. Interesting time line, fire discovered about 1730 November 23. Who is watching the back door? Even though I am located adjacent to the National Forest lands on 3 sides, I cannot invite them onto my property to help me lessen the fuel load proximal to my home. There are other variables that are of concern here too, such as area resources that are already low and being taxed by the sheer number of fires occurring in the region, the growth of urban interface among the eastern forests, rugged mountainous terrain and economic restraints. 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. Breathing between car and house was hard. 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. The lines between reality and virtual reality or fake reality are so blurred. China Bazaar, Puckers Sports Bar, Cafe 420,. He wanted us to pack and leave. Mr. Cash cant order an evac, but he could have made a recommendation. Like hell he did. Kind of like closing the barn door after the cow gets out, dont you think? Once the winds came on day 5 or 6, there was nothing anyone could do. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. I responded that the climate is changing, and so are other related situations, and there will be. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) Firefighters have found a body in the remains of a building that burned in . Of course they wont. GFD officials examined the scene and found a body, later identified as Joe Martin Bates, in Suite 4. 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.