The high winds were forecasted on the 25th, 2016. 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. It is the duty of the people and Congress to maintain and voice our concerns and opinions to where check and balances work. About 20 years ago, I hiked to Albright Grove, an old-growth hemlock forest near Greenbrier. Which is why human history keeps repeating itself over and over. People who live in forested areas need to be aware of fire danger. I hope the recordings werent pulled under threat of someones attorney or the DA. The contractor who had been working outside on the house left as it got dark early because of the smoke. Try to stay neutral I understand; but the NPS has a track record of avoiding accountability. Sunset that day was at 5:21 p.m. which would have allowed them to drop on the fire until 5:51 p.m., 30 minutes after sunset. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the GFD, Gatlinburg Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Or in steep cliff terrain it just isnt going to happen, no one on the fire. While I had the privilege is having dinner with the NPS director at a prescribed fire conference I am just a retired rx fire practitioner. 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. In my opinion there is more blood on the hands of the NPS, Gatlinburg city and fire officials and Sevier County politicians than those kids. Had they viewed the Chimney Tops 2 fire as though it was in the forested southwest Im sure they would have issued pre-evacuation notices up to 48 hours prior to the wind events of that Monday. So who would you blame the people that died, wildlife and homeowners. This was done to simply to avoid tort liability claims even though a claim was filed; and to avoid accountability. I think this is more often than not the case. 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. Anticipating the fire season, firefighting resources (people and equipment) were brought in from around the Southeast and other parts of the country. As my husband was carrying things to the car at 5:00PM, a white SUV came by. 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. I have for years pointed out to my students the dead hemlock all over the mountain. 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! As a contractor I worked with a Dunes engine in Michigan MI years ago. People responsible during the initial stages of the Chimney Top 2 wildfire need to be held accountable for violating these basic rules of fire physicsperiod. Yes a lot is somewhat predictable, just as this fire, but not every aspect is, there are too many variables in the real world. Spirit Airlines . 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. I hope they can train more local governments how to handle big wildfire situations. Thanks Henry. Because we were heading home to Ohio early Tuesday morning, we packed our suitcases and put them in the car. Yet, at that very time, citizens were asking city employees and fireman if they should evacuate (well documented in the local news). I did blast him; and though I do have the utmost respect for his firefighting endeavors; it it disheartening to see someone with this apparent degree of experience claim this Chimney Tops Fire look at both fires was unpredictable. Id just like to ask folks to think about If prior experience of fires in the region may have betrayed fire managers this time. Its sad. Our local congressional representative will be the first to confront the Park Service for numerous shortfalls, bias agendas that cater to special interest groups, and a host of other issues to where the NPS serves itself more so than the people. Hire an independent fire behavior consultant to assist in PLANNING and timely response if conditions appear to be coming into (fire) alignment. Who was responsible for Gatlinburg fire? Maybe within the next year, well see some kind of progress come together, said Neddo. SOURCE Like this: Loading. We discussed what we would/could do if we had to evacuate. Superintendent Cash says the NPS has no jurisdiction to issue evacuations for the City of Gatlinburg. At least that is my understanding. At the big forest fires in NC and GA, where the federal incident management teams were located, the Incident teams ordered pre-evacuation prior to the arrival of a cold front when strong, gusty winds were forecast. On the night before I left for Branson, I had terrible nightmares of being caught in a forest fire in Branson. A similar fire occurred on English Mountain. This year has been crazy, with so many fires happening in Autumn. We, the public, have to be activists for our own safety, the very safety that public officials claim to protect. A true lackadaisical response. A temporary evacuation refuge with limited services is located at Max Hasse Community Park . Oh thats right they did but it was after everything burned! Some of those GSMNP personnel were trained out west and know how fast a wildfire spreads in high winds. Multiple businesses were destroyed in the flames, totaling an estimated $7 million in damage. Ive been told by others that they were waiting for the rain to move in based on the forecast and it didnt arrive when they expected so in the meantime they did nothing. I knew him when he was at Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore. When human death is involved, there should be accountability, even if there is unintentional negligence. 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. One good place, James, to view an area after a devastating wildfire is adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway in and around the 418 milepost-the Graveyard Fields/ Shining Rock Wilderness areas. I hope the report gives the reason why the tanker planes were never called in since they are co-managed by the NFS and NPS. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages. But fires are getting nastier everywhere and folks keep saying past fire history isnt as good a guide as it used to be. The lawsuits from an event like Gatlinburg could go on for decades. That said, it is always easier for those outside of the forest to see the big picture then those who are standing inside the trees down on the forest floor. GATLINBURG, Tenn. UPDATE (Monday): Firefighters discovered a body in the rubble of these fires, our ABC affiliate WATE reported Monday morning. Theres no guarantees that putting a couple hotshot crews with good air support on that fire earlier could have prevented this tragedy, but that would have been more defensible. On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9. Below is a comment I posted from New Sentinel article about Gatlinburg fire, Wildfire Today something that undoubtedly should be investigated as well as compared to their actions of the 23rd to 28th Chimney Tops Fire 2: Officials are evasive and vague about the 1st Chimney Tops Fire. These so called means of helping people out is a lie. The Chimney Tops 2 could be a good case in point. In addition thorough explanations could have been given for the reasons for calling for the Voluntary Evacuation and could have been published. Will some folks be held accountable for actions or non-actions related to this wildfire incident? Remember GSMNP is not Yosemite or Yellowstone with extreme fire behavior and a history of problems. Second, why not attempt water drops and fire retardant despite their reasoning it wouldnt do any good. My husband stopped the car and the two men inside identified themselves as city water department employees. 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. I dont think so they were the people in charge not any of us and they didnt do their job. The wind was blowing so hard it was difficult to stand up. 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. 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. It is to be considered, but verified by other means. I am rebuilding the home that was burned to the ground possibly due to negligence by local fire officials like many of Lincolns Union generals, did not have the will to fight . As citizens we should be aware of all threats we face and expect our leadership to plan ahead as best they can. We told them the fire was coming. From my back ground in fire, safety and as a fire investigator I see the development of a chain of multiple, unusual and totally unexpected events leading up to final blowup. 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. 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? 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. We have a mountaintop cabin about 50 miles south of this area. So my husband called the Gatlinburg policy department with the same questions and got the same answers. Guessing the fire spotted from the Chimneys, to Bullhead, then on to Twin Creeks area. Their chronological order of events doesnt match up with what some folks were observing posted on social media. How many sorties could those planes do in an single day even if they had been deployed on Even Friday?? The wind and the low visibility caused by the smoke made it impossible to fly aircraft over the fire. Two Hawaii police departments are making moves to beef up incentives as recruiting efforts grow more competitive. When did Gatlinburg burn . Visibility was bad and it was hard to breathe as we unpacked our truck. I was on the Party Rock fire in NC and our IMET was predicting that storm event 3-4 days before it happened. Obviously spent no time in the military so they didnt know how to field dress A cigarette and pack it out. When I built a home here just a few years ago and wanted to have a sprinkler system installed, I was told we dont have big wildfires here. Yes my house burnt along with 520 others in North Chalet Village, village no longer but all foundations. It is so much easier to sit on the outside, pass judgement and sentencing in the name of accountability than it is to be involved in the event of vulnerability in action. There will be no access to Wiley Oakley or Westgate from the Spur. So this has affected everyone in the area in one form or another. I would also hope that we would figure out that such major climate disruptions as the recent drought in the Southeast are getting more common and that human action has helped cause, and can help cure, such disruptions. Read more Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made, Officials Claim is an article from: The Inquisitr News. If the new location isnt in Gatlinburg, it will definitely be in Sevier County. The next morning, the morning of 28th, I took boys to school and went to a dr. appointment in Sevierville. We drove down to Calhouns complex, through their parking area and back out onto the parkway and headed east. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. He also raked as many leaves as he could from around our cabin. Why is forestry both national and state not working more collaboratively with citizens and local fire departments to improve awareness and preparation? Then and only then will He let you effectively manage His creation that He has allowed you to be a part of for a short time. Only we, the people, the voters, can force change by raising our collective voices by repeatedly demanding the governor and Congress take action now! So many unanswered questions? Above: Chimney Tops 2 Fire at 9:37 p.m. November 28, 2016 after it had burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Most events have a series of issues that contribute to the outcome, the more catastrophic the event the greater the number of contributing factors. It was considered a total loss after yesterdays fire. 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. Citing the steep terrain and the safety of firefighters, fire managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) decided not to take direct action on the fire which would entail constructing fireline along the edge of the fire to remove the fuel that allows it to spread. The use of smokejumpers could be part of the plan. GALLATIN, Tenn. (WTVF) Wildfires have ravaged Sevier County six years after deadly fires destroyed parts of Gatlinburg. Very good pictures! We saw some trucks when we drove out late morning. 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. What were the emergency managers of this county doing/thinking at this time? To successfully allow a fire to burn for a long period of time requires VERY skilled personnel and luck. The fire was reported to be near the Twin Creeks Picnic Center at 1130. It is no wonder that the people do not trust Government. Travelers are urged to avoid the area at this time. Take my word for it, Ive seen back scratching going on down there for over 40 years. Also. I ran other errands and stopped by cabin to unload groceries before picking boys up from school. Special interest groups and other self serving human beings with other priorities cut budgets. Not just putting out the fires, but restoring the forest and trails afterward. I understand the excellent point made in the article that history in the Smokies area would expect less of a problem than out West. Bill, correct me if I am wrong, but aircraft should be on the ground a half hour after sunset? Limbs began to fall. Questions are powerful tools, but only when we allow them to be asked, we receive them with an openness and willingness to be vulnerable, and seek to answer them openly and without fear of reprisal. The fire burned 38,000 acres of state managed conservation areas and private timber lands. There were and continue to be many deaths and fires that occurred in those western areas, and with those IMT expert Teams, that taught hard lessons, and enabled those people to gain experience and become the so called experts in the field. On Sunday when GSMNP called in helicopter water drops, there were 3 fire tanker planes sitting on the runway 20 minutes away in Chattanooga (covered in Wildfire Today). 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. 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. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) Firefighters have found a body in the remains of a building that burned in downtown Gatlinburg, officials said. After the fact they called in helicopters to dump water on the fire which is what they should have done in the first place and didnt, WHY NOT? Unfortunately, Im not optimistic about the inter-agency review. God doesnt cut financial budgets. (Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc. slumped in early trading Friday after abruptly terminating the employment of . No warnings of spreading fire, just radar and high wind warnings. There was much deadwood on the forest floor, including the Hemlocks and other species both down and standing dead. Yes, there had been many fires in the southeast during the 6 to 8 weeks before the fire started in Great Smoky Mountains NP, but it is my understanding that at that time they had diminished and there may have been significant firefighting resources available. Lets say the NPS put a crew on it day one in steep inaccessible terrain as they say it was in. The public cannot sit on their hands and expect anything to change. 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. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the GFD, Gatlinburg Police Department, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Perhaps he needs a bit of prompting to remind him that the public will not forget what happened. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. Lets just be careful about who they are in our criticism. Yes, good points Jody. 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. CNN A wildfire burning near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevier County, Tennessee, has grown to more than 3,700 acres and impacted more than 100 structures, County Mayor Larry. Even though they are showing people receiving checks the day they apply, this was not the case for him. There is simply too much BS. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. One or two of those employees fall to their death because they shouldnt have been there in the first place. He and the other NPS staff there regularly went on out of state assignments. 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. We stopped beside the truck and rolled down our window. By NPS rules a watch should have been kept on the fire overnight Sunday, but such did not happen. I had concerns about traffic once we got down there. Ive ranted about the comparison to how Chimney Tops and Gatlinburg was handled by GSMNP and TEMA. Situational awareness to current and predicted variables, as well as the potential of possibility is key. Jeannines comments were spot on. The age of information is both eye opening and scary, the potential for manipulation is astounding! This should be placed firmly on the shoulders of the Park Service, Cassius Cash, Superintendent and the City and County. The 6pm and 7pm newscasts could have been leveraged by TEMA to order an evacuation then, before lines went down, power went out and cell towers on fire. The report said the fire was an . Lets see, that would probably consist of a GS-5 or 6 and two or three seasonal GS-4s. At 3:00PM I convinced my husband to call the Gatlinburg Fire Dept. Even Congressman from east TN and western NC need to here it. Please factor this in to your fire response in the future. I have a close friend on IMT in southern CO so have some familiarity with the process. Wildland firefighters typically request Spot Weather Forecasts from the NWS for wildland fires or other events that can be greatly influenced by weather. He asked them if they could give us an update on the fire and they said no. We were there from May until early November. Published: Nov. 30, 2016, 8:41 p.m. Dry conditions and high winds caused a wildfire on Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains to spread quickly . No one wanted the castrophe that resulted. @wvlt pic.twitter.com/P7roVBCq8B. 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. The body of an unidentified person was found amid the rubble of a downtown section of buildings that. 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.
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