who caused the gatlinburg fires?

Despite that, officials now say that the Gatlinburg fire began in the park and was. We believed the firefighters were going to stop the fire from entering the city. He also raked as many leaves as he could from around our cabin. The Chimney Tops 2 could be a good case in point. 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. And we were lucky. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge wildfire evacuation information - WJBF I was in my cabin the night of the fire and if I had spotted it a minute or so after I did I would not be alive to type this right now. On Wednesday, November 23, 2016 a hiker on the popular Chimney Tops Trail managed to capture a photo of two teenage boys dropping lit matches on the trail despite the current no-burn order in the area. How Gatlinburg attempted to notify its residents to evacuate as the fire burned into the city, http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/12/13/timeline-gatlinburg-wildfires/95138656/, http://www.southernfireexchange.org/etc/ITPFISE.pdf, Long bushfire season wears down firefighters in Queensland and Western Australia, Community near Heppner, Oregon first in Morrow County to earn Firewise designation, County Cork fire brigades work through the night on gorse fires, Renewed call for the Holy Grail of firefighter tracking, Hiker owes $300,000 for Arizona wildfire he started. The immediate flash of ground clutter was followed by the much slower burning of the dead and down trees and stumps. I told Stanton I wanted him to drive our truck up to top of mountain behind house to get it away from house and out from under so many trees. There are three broad categories of conditions that affect the way a wildfire burns: weather, fuels (vegetation), and topography. Remembering the Gatlinburg Wildfires five years later - WBRC This country was founded on open respectful discussion, such as this which has occurred in this article commentary and blog comments. Charges dismissed against boys, ages 17 and 15 after Gatlinburg - WITI Updated: Dec. 25, 2022 at 6:15 PM PST. This story Im telling is all factual you see I have a problem with anyone exaggerating events as well as lying so I tell the truth regardless of how unpopular it may be. We could smell smoke from the fires in NC for a month before the fire began on Chimney Tops. Will we fail forward? What caused the fire in the Smoky Mountains? It was Congress that adjourned for the holidays without passing a bill to fund forest fire fighting efforts. We were there from May until early November. Lied too by Gatlinburg or Sevier County officials? 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. The wildfire began burning in a remote location of the park (Chimney Tops) in steep terrain with vertical cliffs and narrow rocky ridges, making access to the wildfire area . The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, [1] were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. My questions are: what were the wind speeds when NPS crews ignited these backfires to protect NPS structures; and if they ignited fire on the 28th when the winds were getting stronger and stronger, would the potential exist for backfire embers to get out of control? I thought if we were have to leave we could take both vehicles to our friends house to sit out the night. Only we, the people, the voters, can force change by raising our collective voices by repeatedly demanding the governor and Congress take action now! Me, like thousands of Buckeyes make the five-hour trek to Tennessee for family [] Thank-you Bill for your through and in depth analysis of this wildfires chain-of events. If the new location isnt in Gatlinburg, it will definitely be in Sevier County. I just assumed that others would be leaving Gatlinburg out of concerns similar to mine. I repeat The NPS and the Fire Chief of Gatlinburg should have started fighting the Chimney Tops 2 fire aggressively the day it was discovered. 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) Just the mechanics of this devastating wildfire without any editorial comments. But the last one, issued at 7 a.m. EST on Sunday by Eric Holweg, did predict strong winds. Yes, some the ridges connecting to chimney-tops had dead hemlock stands. 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. 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. Of course, the city of U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. Easy for many of you to sit back and Monday morning quarterback when you dont have skin in the game as I did. There is simply too much BS. Ive ranted about the comparison to how Chimney Tops and Gatlinburg was handled by GSMNP and TEMA. The IMT reported that the fire had not increased in size over the previous 24 hours and was still listed at 17,006 acres. NPS can suppress the first fire; but not the second fire? 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 ? How the Historic Gatlinburg Fires Happened; a Humble Start - GovTech Until 1 p.m. sustained speeds were 4 to 6 mph with gusts at 12 to 19 mph. It seems that not even people in western areas have learned that lesson very well, and now it is time for those with homes and property in the east to realize they are at risk too. Monday I was surprised to look at the Knoxville News and see nothing about evacuation notices. Nearby businesses feel the same. The lines between reality and virtual reality or fake reality are so blurred. A temporary evacuation refuge with limited services is located at Max Hasse Community Park . 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. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. 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. So my husband called the Gatlinburg policy department with the same questions and got the same answers. Floods, tornadoes, severe storms, wildfires, mudslides, hurricanes, what else?, all present risks to humans and their property which require different degrees of political management and oversight in our various muncipalities to keep us safe or to help us recover if we suffer consequences when we arent kept safe. A voluntary evacuation should have been issued at least 36 hours before the fire exploded. I am thankful so many are not only opening their eyes here, but taking action and questioning. Drought, fall winds, fuel moistures that havent recovered in months, what part of this disaster was a surprise. This is a text book example of waiting for rain and not planning for WHAT IF! 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. After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire. Finally a local coalition was formed to put pressure on NPS officials to uphold their mandate on historic structures. Honor. Our neighbors 3 doors down were outside near their car. All rights reserved. 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? NPS officials are looking to avoid tort liability claims, plan & simple. That didnt happen here. 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. Resources = $$$=taxes. Some may be pines, but the vast majority appear to be hemlocks. 2 min read. Birmingham City close training ground after fire causes damage Experience in itself is never enough. Watch the pride and ego firefighters: youll never outmatch Gods elements. This eventually will affect us all at some point in time, as we too may one day find ourselves faced with similar circumstance. 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. Gusts above 40 continued until 2 a.m. on Tuesday when they mostly dropped below 20 mph for the rest of the day. Our house sat below the road about 30 feet. If Im not mistaken, there is a Bob Stanton that was a former NPS Director. No one wanted the castrophe that resulted. The Park Superintendent did not want to risk the lives of NPS fire crews with the Chimney Tops Fire 2; and that is to be respected. I think the point is that IMT managed wildfires in the southeast had residents in pre-evac mode when high winds were forecast before each cold front passed. The fire burned 38,000 acres of state managed conservation areas and private timber lands. But I believe there is a fourth element of fire behavior prediction and that is the element of situational awareness. Why is forestry both national and state not working more collaboratively with citizens and local fire departments to improve awareness and preparation? Would the apparent 24 hour plus monitoring bring into question a lack of response to suppress the fire considering the exceptional drought and excessive fuels? I phoned 911 and reported that the fire was approaching our home and that it was within a few feet of the city/park boundary. Kelly Morgans comments may have been harsh and offensive to some folks; but when government builds a wall; sometimes it takes a loud voice to get their attention. These people both the successful along with the ones who erred and experienced failure, courageously risked being vulnerable in order to help others. Now I can only imagine what children or adults with issues might have gleaned from this message being broadcast. 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! So sometime during the night as we now know everything burned down. It now seems obvious that no housing development should have only road in and out. I did not rely on a fire weather service for my information even though I new where to look, I used much of the common everyday information available to the open community, the data I had learned from and observed during the short time of being in this area, and current observations. Guessing the fire spotted from the Chimneys, to Bullhead, then on to Twin Creeks area. Narrowing it down to human-causes is easy for an investigator. Politics, as we know can cloud even a clear sunny day!!! 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. Ever since Hurricane Katrina, I have doubted the ability of our emergency managers to plan for any aspect of, or kind of disaster, and the fire in Gatlinburg only supports my concerns. Climate change, human, social, political and economic factors are all also a part of this outcome, cause and effect. 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. We both were winded, nervous, and running to grab one change of clothes, night clothes, and tooth brushes. On Monday morning we awoke to the smell of smoke. I have wanted to learn because I dont know enough to say much, but when I read your two posts about the loss of your cabin, and your escape, I felt I had to say, Im so sorry, to you, and probably speak for many many others who did not find this blog and find an avenue to learn, listen and to speak. If youve ever been in an incident management role you understand often having made a good decision given the best information available at the time you dont get the outcome you want. We looked at each other and I asked if we should leave or go back and try to use the water hose to protect the house. 100-acre brush fire causes evacuations in Collier County The town I live in in Kentucky has a $500 fine for tossing a cigarette out the window and we do not even have The potential for many brushfires. But the NPS didnt even follow their own rules in this case. Also important is accountability, so is teaching, learning and experience, so is action, so is on and on. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - One person died and another was injured in a large fire in downtown Gatlinburg Sunday. Incident Mgt. That evening, GSM park officials tweeted that a 1.5 acre fire (Chimney Tops 2 fire) was burning in a steep location around the Chimneys. I realize some of my questioning is speculative and yet legitimate. I appreciate that fine quality of writing that expresses your thoughts in an easy to read yet structured style that makes sense. Watch This is Now, live from the Hawaii News Now Digital Center, weekdays on KHNL at 12 p.m. and on all of our streaming platforms. 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. However, when adequate risk analysis, proactive contingency planning and decision making, real time fire behavior simulations predicting possible disastrous outcomes, humans may have a much better chance of containing, or controlling, or herding, or managing or all-out suppressing an unwanted or unplanned ignition. 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. That is great knowledge to share. We have a mountaintop cabin about 50 miles south of this area. We watched the news the rest of evening. What about helicopters dumping water? Brought mine in from Texas. 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. China Bazaar, Pucker's Sports Grill, Gifts of . If this is the same Bob Stanton commenting here, then the bias is way too obvious. I can only say that I had no peace at all whatsoever after the first word I heard of the terrible fire there .. Photos: Fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee | Photo Galleries | herald Apparently, when the second fire was started by the defendants on the 23rd, the NPS assumed they could handle the 23rd fire like they did the first fire of the 14th. WTF were they letting the planes in Chattanooga sit idle? When the rain started again at 8 a.m. the relative humidity rose into the 90s. Mitchell, Mt. These fires were allowed to cook with little or no suppression action. The lawsuits from an event like Gatlinburg could go on for decades. A year or two ago, there was a small fire on Rocky Spur on the Rainbow Falls Trail up Mt. There will be time to consider legal and civil options later . time. If their destination is not lit, they have to land there no later than 30 minutes after sunset. And no doubt books both factual and not on this event. 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.. Money. I was afraid to go into Park with boys. He promised a committee to study what happened and there has been no word since. The miracle is that more people did not TEMA had the power and authority, yet did nothing until Hell was at their door. Not action to punish or lay blame, but to facilitate learning that changes actions. Ill tell you why. You forgot lack of funding to adequately staff the park. Suggestion, contact Dolly Parton or representatives of her holdings and give her (them) the emergency phone line to Global Supertankers. I can name 14 people who deserved much better! From 7 p.m. until midnight sustained winds were at 13 to 17 mph with gusts from 34 to 49. 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. Take my word for it, Ive seen back scratching going on down there for over 40 years. Ive not had a chance to hike post-fire areas in the mountains yet to see fires effect on dead hemlocks, but what Henry said about dead stumps burning into the ground looking like a volcano rings true with what Ive witnessed in mountain forest areas that burned decades ago. Unfortunately its the home owners that are taking the hit and I think it should be them. Holding the responsible people accountable is the only course of action that honors what was lost. That said I have been an avid backpack or in hiker who has done probably every trail in the Smokies many times over. High winds were to start soon and rain was 5 hours away as indicated by radar. Thanks! 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. Someone must have started the fire. An expert, a hero or success is the one who takes a vulnerable risk at making a decision and by grace the outcome is positive, by contrast is the person who makes similar vulnerable risk in decision-making and by grace the outcome is negative. 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.. That would mean your timeline of the last water drop would possibly vary 15-45 minutes depending on the helibase location and flight time to the dipsite. Anyone who has toured the hillsides where most of the homes that were destroyed would know immediately how difficult evacuations would be. We drove west down the parkway. 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. Hindsight is 20/20 and of course much coulda woulda shoulda is understandable. Emotions do get the best of us. Jeannine, what an awesome, in-depth and thoughtful response. Authorities have not identified the victim or . I am in my late 60s and have never seen such a drought, or such low stream levels. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. Arson charges dropped against teens accused in deadly Gatlinburg - WJLA 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. She may have chosen poor timing, and perhaps not the best method of tackling the issues, but nonetheless we need to start asking the tough questions without being so offended and then take a good hard look at the issues, and how they can be resolved. 'Human caused' Tennessee wildfires kill seven near Dollywood park The learning system of resolution. Do we need to learn from it. Early in the afternoon we began to see large crewcab pickup trucks driving past our home. level, in advance of this disaster had occured. ), lack of knowledge of alternative communication systems (the Motorola area wide emergency radio system installed last year). 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? 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. My prayers are with all of you. Unfortunately human lives were lost and hundreds of folks have been displaced. When I arrived in Branson at the hotel I was close to a fire exit, and frankly forgot about my nightmare. Just a quick comment per above posts. A few scattered, mostly Red Spruce, conifers are all that is left. I wish this would turn into the biggest Court case in history. Fire-wanted or unwanted- is not a warm and fuzzy abstract thing it is often portrayed in todays media and society to play around with. The massive Gatlinburg wildfires, which began in November, caused the deaths of 14 people, injured 175 others and destroyed homes and towns all around eastern Tennessee. 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. Bob had stayed in West TN after Thanksgiving, to work there for a few days before returning home so he wasnt with us. The aptly named Fire Cherry, Beech and Mtn. Officials identified Robert A. Hejny, 63, who was found at Traveler's Motel in Gatlinburg. That said, we are now in the rebuild mode. It is very steep terrain, I would estimate about a 65 degree incline, but it is not easy to fall to your death there. Firefighting resources assigned to the fire include 25 hand crews, 61 engines, 6 helicopters, and 2 dozers, for a total 780 personnel. I certainly hope the investigation of the totality of fire is not pressured to conclude prematurely. Excellent information and supporting documentation. Humble yourselves to the Lord and seek HIS divine help. Those with information are urged to contact the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017 or the GFD at 865-436-5112. With the drought conditions this would have acted as a flammable liquid would with explosive ignition and then been carried easily by the prevailing strong winds. perish, but for the 14 who did, Thank you, Bill. He actually wrote me back on Christmas Eve, of all things, to tell me that they will keep after it. The learning system of resolution. A little later the local TV news reported the fire had crossed the road and was headed up the mountain behind the Park Vista. Given enough time the clock will run out and the weather will either be in the fire mangers favor or WATCH OUT! In my eyes, TEMA should have taken control of the situation and ordered evacuations before sunset. The three places the fire was stated to have been seem to line up pretty straight on the map. That is when it began moving rapidly toward Gatlinburg. Their chronological order of events doesnt match up with what some folks were observing posted on social media. With that all happening before lunch. It appears that only TEMA has the authority to give a notice over multiple counties, but they didnt take the lead until Monday night, after the fact. 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. Bats were roosting in the church rafters and dropping feces onto the pews. 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. Some of those GSMNP personnel were trained out west and know how fast a wildfire spreads in high winds. It was gorgeous -huge, huge trees, open forest floor, very dark, very cool, very moist. As we reached the Parkway, everything was deserted. November 27th, 35 acres. Rain began falling late Monday night and continued until 6 a.m. Tuesday, totaling 0.78 inch at Indian Grave. The appearance of dead hemlock progression is astounding. I loved the area, the town, homes, everything. But the pickup trucks I encountered were full of wildfire firefighters, inside the City of Gatlinburg. But outright blame? I hope that EM officials and local planning officials reconsider what and how structures are rebuilt in that area. What did City officials not understand about the approaching danger? Oct. 11, 2022, at 10:27 a.m. 1 Dead in Gatlinburg Fire That Affected Travel to Smokies. wasnt blocked off since Mynatt Park was told to evacuate at 5:17. (PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images) Chan estimated the insurance claim could . 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.