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Local officials dont seem to learn from past experiences, nor plan well for possible dangers. We had no significant rain in 2 months!!! They strive to their utmost and have a true passion working in GSMNP. Businesses affected by the fire include Puckers Sports Bar, China Bazaar, Cafe 420, and Gifts of Gatlinburg, according to WVLT News crews on the scene. The diff. If Knox media wanted to go after the NPS or someone else wanted them to, it is possible that even their timeline and investigation is slanted. I was struck by the daunting task of creating a viable fire-prevention plan in that area of constant tourist turnover, and the way it is laid-out. Updated: Dec. 25, 2022 at 6:15 PM PST. I learned that it is extremely difficult to manage, rather than suppress, a wildland fire for an extended period of time. Officials identified Robert A. Hejny, 63, who was found at Traveler's Motel in Gatlinburg. The further fire growth part was more accurate than they realized at the time. The forecasts are supposed to be detailed and customized predictions of the weather at a particular location, or spot, for at least the next two days. 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. Damage was estimated at more than $500 million, according to Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters. strong south, southwest winds, extreme drought, low humidity..ect.., that something similar didnt happen here. The blame is as simple as the nose on your face we have family that is firemen and friends that are and they too are trained in fighting fires and if they had contained it all of this wouldnt have happened. 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. Tom, I want to express to you how sorry I am to hear about the loss of your cabin, what you went through escaping the fire, what you have gone through since the fire and what you are facing. The Chimney Tops Trail led from the highway to the top of the hill. The whole thing is unconscionable to me. Gatlinburg Wildfire: 2 Juveniles Charged With Arson - NPR But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. A lot of personnel put forth heroic efforts to save lives and we should all be grateful for that. Five days is a generous amount of time to request and receive firefighters. They didnt for one reason in my humble opinion: $$$ We got a text message. That said, we are now in the rebuild mode. Love your neighbors, yes. That is when I said to myself Where the hell is TEMA?. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. One thing I have learned is that the news media, especially in todays world is just as skilled and often benefits from pushing their own agendas as well. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Gatlinburg Fire Department and Gatlinburg Police Department officials are investigating. When I came out of dr. office, which is located on Middle Creek close to hospital, the atmosphere was eerie. The fire continued to spread throughout the entire structure. When the Chimney Tops 2 Fire burned into Gatlinburg on November 28, 2016 and destroyed thosestructures it was drivenprimarily by weather specifically, very strong winds. That factor is the density of residential development, layout of roads, and approved building materials present in that area. It was pretty frightening. My nightmare depicted more what happened in Gatlinburg than so far in Branson. But outright blame? Fires in the Great. The fire was approximately 8 acres in size, according to GRSM. 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. Jeannine, what an awesome, in-depth and thoughtful response. Anticipating the fire season, firefighting resources (people and equipment) were brought in from around the Southeast and other parts of the country. I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. Unfortunately, Im not optimistic about the inter-agency review. On November 11 some hikers found a fire built in the middle of the trail on brushy mountain trail. The learning system of resolution. @wvlt pic.twitter.com/P7roVBCq8B. I am sure the Alum Cave trail up Mt. I was on the Party Rock fire in NC and our IMET was predicting that storm event 3-4 days before it happened. Resident of Western Maryland. What is unconstitutional here is that if this first fire of the 14th is under investigation, then certain parties have committed obstruction of justice. 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. Park Service has not issued any warnings and there are no active fires in Gatlinburg city limits. I ask her if they had plans of issuing a warning if evacuations became necessary and ask her how they would do that. I have memories of the endless mountainous terrain, but the vast development that came into being, came well after my trip there. 'Human caused' Tennessee wildfires kill seven near Dollywood park We have border issues, at the local levels, states rights and federal rights that are still at issue, leadership silos, and rising political issues. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. Work for the NPS and see their Fire-is-not-our-mission outlook on fires and know that they will not be a aggressive enough, will not have seasoned fire staff, will not allow their staffs go out on fires and get the necessary experience. Thanks again for this forum. If their destination is not lit, they have to land there no later than 30 minutes after sunset. Remember GSMNP is not Yosemite or Yellowstone with extreme fire behavior and a history of problems. By NPS rules a watch should have been kept on the fire overnight Sunday, but such did not happen. The leafless trees allowed more sunlight to hit the fuel, drying it out even more. 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. Below is the stateof access to the fire area, as reported by the IMT: The National Park is closed from the Gatlinburg Entrance to Smokemont near Oconaluftee (US 441, Newfound Gap) and Little River Road from Sugarlands Visitor Center to Townsend. Frederick County, MD tanker explosion leaves 1 dead; Shuts down part of Not the best plan but the safest. Though the drought and winds were undoubtedly an act of God (Psalms 148:8; 1st Kings 17:1), NPS and other officials were not left ignorant. Lets look in the mirror before we are too quick to blame someone else. Good comments by all. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces, after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. We had loaded dog and Abram in car, out of smoke and told them to stay put. Tunica, MS, from our area near Kansas City, to arrive late evening, that day, in Tunica. Who can or will hold them accountable for their part in this tragedy? Blame, no. There were cliffs in the area but firefighting Hotshot Crews can figure out how to work on steep slopes, sometimes backing off a bit, constructing a fire line and intentionally burning the fuel in between, preventing further expansion of the fire. I have my own opinion on what I would do if I ruled the world but I can guarantee you two people that would be looking for work very soon . Thanksgiving weekend is one of the 4 busiest weekends for Gatlinburg and the National Park. We both were winded, nervous, and running to grab one change of clothes, night clothes, and tooth brushes. Not every fire manager gets the benefit of a meteorologist in your hip pocket, but there are many good weather websites available. These fires were allowed to cook with little or no suppression action. I would rather have someone on the job who has screwed up, erred and learned from the experience as I know that the chances of a repeat performance are lessened and for most learners they will progress forward with even better decision making skills. If this is the same Bob Stanton commenting here, then the bias is way too obvious. Neither the NPS nor the city wanted CNN cameras covering a mass evacuation of a town jam packed with tourists on Thanksgiving weekend. The lawsuits from an event like Gatlinburg could go on for decades. Also important is accountability, so is teaching, learning and experience, so is action, so is on and on. There are a lot of downed trees and a lot of trails are temporarily closed to deal with them. NO managing wildfire is much more complex, especially in a multiple fire drought driven incident like managers were dealing with on this incident. from Gburg. Stumps burned into the ground and look like volcano caldera. Some of those businesses told WVLT News they have a long road ahead as they wait on insurance adjustors to calculate their losses. Not just putting out the fires, but restoring the forest and trails afterward. Humans will never be able to control or suppress all unwanted fires-structure, chemical or wildland. Teddy Roosevelt, who as you may know, was instrumental in establishing our national parks. U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. LeConte is going to be fine. Honor. Those with information are urged to contact the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017 or the GFD at 865-436-5112. Will there be an independent, non-federal agency, through,unbiased, unedited final incident management and serious accident investigation? We must open our eyes and ears and check behind each corner and crevice to see the reality and not just the story being told by a few. He had been experiencing the high winds back West all day and was alarmed at possibilities as well. But any land manager that expects to allow active spreading fire behavior for weeks or months is knowingly taking a risk that a wind event unpredictable weeks or months in advance will occur and change everything, sometimes with a very undesirable outcome. This fire was a terrible tragedy and would require tremendous foresight on the part of such people to have kept people from harm and property from destruction, in this case, because people needed to be aware of the likelihood of the imminent danger they were facing if they stayed in Gatlinburg on Monday evening and overnight. GFD officials examined the scene and found a body, later identified as Joe Martin Bates, in Suite 4. Great info/synopsis of the Gatlinburg/Sevier county wildfires. Brian Blanco/Getty. Many, if not most, of these incidents leave the confines of the managing agency and sweep out onto lands owned or managed by others. 2 min read. At 3:00PM I convinced my husband to call the Gatlinburg Fire Dept. 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? 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. 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. As they are minors, nothing else is known other than the Feds said the State could prosecute. Even the courts of law no longer put as heavy weight on personal testimony, as so much has been proven to so easily be manipulated and affected by a host of factors. The fire resulted in the deaths of 14 people and more than $500 million in damage, with firefighting costs of more than $7 million. A good example of the kind of human factors that continue to get in the way of better preparedness and change for the good is the backlash in which one reporter from NC received when she asked tough questions of some officials. Finally, the Superintendent has the power to call up all the resources which were available. The GRSM person that requested the Spot wrote: Concerned about ridgetop winds with the coming front. He yelled at Bates to get out, and Bates did leave before coming back without the worker knowing. The fire was south of Gatlinburg. Photos: Fire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee | Photo Galleries | herald How many resources were on how many fires at that time in this region and in others? Stanton wanted to go but I was afraid to for several reasons. The forecast issued Sunday included this text in the Discussion section: High pressure will hang on for Sunday with sunny skies and above normal temperatures. This is a failure at the city, county and state levels, as well as top FEMA, leadership. I found this blog and am so grateful to have an opportunity to reply and also to become informed from experienced, caring people of service in the firefighting effort. The decisions that worked made us heroes, and those that did not changed us if we were allowed that opportunity. 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. We were still asleep when it happened. They had their moment in history and did not rise to it. About 20 years ago, I hiked to Albright Grove, an old-growth hemlock forest near Greenbrier. Brought mine in from Texas. China Bazaar, Pucker's Sports Grill, Gifts of Gatlinburg, and Caf 420 were all deemed a complete loss. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. Also. 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 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. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge wildfire evacuation information - WJBF Not clouding the issues with the intent to take down a person. 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. Maybe within the next year, well see some kind of progress come together, said Neddo. I have been on both sides of that equation before and still real-ling from my own losses that will negatively affect me and my family for life, because no one took the time to question or look into the story presented to them by those authorities in charge. Hemlocks were mentioned in a number of daily updates on Inciweb because they are basically standing roman candles thanks to the spiral of limbs. It was gorgeous -huge, huge trees, open forest floor, very dark, very cool, very moist. Chile is nearly a third world nation. When you see more of them completely charred but living trees seemingly untouched that is a sign of both underground burning and how much water the living trees still possessed. But if park management had been spending budget on fire management capabilities equal to those sites there would likely be criticism of that. No pre-evacuation notice was sent so citizens could be ready to depart. People died and lost so much and that is absolutely tragic! 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. All downtown sidewalks reopened as permanent fencing around the building was installed by the property owner following the fire. How did all the downtown businesses know to close and send their employees home, but not one word of warning was given to homeowners/residents? That doesnt mean excessive chainsaw mania; but it doesnt mean going to the other extreme with the type of forestry management in some of our Parks and other public lands.