Yet today June 5th, Sevier County still has their infamous gag order in effect more than 6 months later in the interests of prosecuting the trial of the murdurous kids. Despite that, officials now say that the Gatlinburg fire began in the park and was. Our Gatlinburg Inn was built on family and community. The miracle is that more people did not Unfortunately this isnt always the case. This was done to simply to avoid tort liability claims even though a claim was filed; and to avoid accountability. Our responses to this fire event have included comments with blame and fault-finding as well as a suggestion that we investigate in order to learn for future decision-making. 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. Triage of resource needs versus values at risk, firefighter safety, resource values and political realities all come into play. Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made Things dont change unless people stand up and make them change. This should not be a time to blame and inflame, but to think and act wisely. So my husband called the Gatlinburg policy department with the same questions and got the same answers. I seriously question if bias will be discreetly worked into this agency and their review of the fire?? Gusts above 40 continued until 2 a.m. on Tuesday when they mostly dropped below 20 mph for the rest of the day. Its sad. We applied for the Dollywood assistance and FEMA and can get neither, Im not sure who they are helping but for us and our neighbors we arent getting anything. We need to question everything and everyone with the same tenacious veracity as the other, but we also need to allow for humans to be human, and engage in the process of learning. Mr. Cash cant order an evac, but he could have made a recommendation. Not sure on how the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid infects our truly awesome and beautiful Hemlocks, but I do know that the Balsam Wooly Adelgid, the non-native insect that has helped to lay waste to the equally magnificent Fraser Fir forests such as found on the highest peaks Clingmans Dome, Mt. Who will accuse and then fire then? Incident Mgt. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. 119K views 4 months ago GATLINBURG Many people get worried when they hear the words Gatlinburg and Fire in the same sentence. 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. Finding out about the fire has hurt me almost as much as it did the locals. Also I just came across a facebook page showing two views of the same interchange in Gatlinburg at 10:28 and 10:52. 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. In fact, Monday afternoon several rental agencies were telling reservation customers to come on to Gatlinburg (news documented). OF COURSE the dead hemlocks (and spruces and firs) are changing the picture for fire danger. National Park Service Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection) in I can name 14 people who deserved much better! Many on that team are not NPS employees, but are highly experienced wildfire fighters. When we got to the bottom of the mountain, we ran into the Sevier County Electric crew where the road was blocked. That is when I said to myself Where the hell is TEMA?. My vacation cabin in Gatlinburg burn to the ground on November 28. I have a close friend on IMT in southern CO so have some familiarity with the process. And we were lucky. Thanks for adding more good insight. According to FOX 5's Matthew Cappucci the smoke plume got to about 3,600 feet and . I knew high winds were predicted for Gatlinburg by watching the weather channel. The appearance of dead hemlock progression is astounding. The Spur between Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is open from Pigeon Forge to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. The next morning, the morning of 28th, I took boys to school and went to a dr. appointment in Sevierville. This is a complicated incident where many lessons can be learned. On November 23 when the fire was discovered the KBDI was 599, Molly Schroer, a spokesperson for the IMT told us. We really need to stop being so quick to cut of the heads of people doing their jobs and instead insist that they learn from and make changes for the better. 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. Instead 14 people are dead, many are injured, 2000 structures burned, loss is now a pandemic. It is not just officials who have not caught up with the new climate reality, it is the general public and those in the path of fire. If the Park Service had done there job in the first place and City and County leaders would have stepped in and done something this could and would have been prevented. The Bob Stanton that has been commenting on this thread is NOT the former director of the NPS. Emergency management should have been all over this from the very beginning. It is unfortunate that in our society people who speak out with a loud voice, or otherwise make waves for the privileged, get not only scorned but categorically destroyed by well planned out and financed design, often full of cover-up and lies and then propaganda is feed to the rest of us, of which we often take for gospel, when in fact is often not based on evidence or fact. The fire, which was reported at 6:39 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Parkway, caused extensive damage to a block of businesses, the city's spokesperson said. With that said: were NPS officials aggressive enough in seriously emphasizing to Gatlinburg officials to start preparing for mandatory evacuations? The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the GFD, Gatlinburg Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. However, they are using a Super Tanker to douse the flames going on down there. Whatever happened to good old common sense decisions considering the drought, excessive fuels, and weather! 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? Case in point, the wildfires in Florida 1998, in which those experts were unaware of or underestimated the burning intensity of the Palm Oils from the Florida flora, which were as flammable liquid fires during those wildfires. Bill thank you the excellent i sight and info that is hard to find publicly. I dont know details as to the trail. Whether it be a resources, financial, training, bias, discriminatory, knowledge, failure to support, equipment or other systemic, human, data or other failures; we often seek to put the blame on any one or a few of the workers when the real root of the problems lies in systemic, resource or other human interaction issues and decisions made by others seemingly unconnected to the immediate event. I learned so much from the Incident Management Team websites for the various big fires in the mountains (Cohuttas, Joyce Kilmer, Standing Indian, Boteler, Tellico, Party Rock, Pinnacle Mountain). It was also unbelievably dry. When boys and I got back home around 3:45, the winds were beginning to pick up and branches were beginning to fall. Limbs began to fall. 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. Ill tell you why. I was in the area hiking November 21 and there was no smoke coming from the Chimneys area. 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. The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. at the mall on the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg. So they were more concerned about NPS structures than our homes and lives? I know that because of my experience, my training, my ongoing learning and situational awareness of a host of related and seemingly unrelated knowledge. What caused the Gatlinburg wildfire? Granted these fires werent inside Gatlinburg, but the fire chief knew full well the potential for catastrophic wildfires in these mountains. There will be time to consider legal and civil options later . On November 11 some hikers found a fire built in the middle of the trail on brushy mountain trail. 865-637-2442. Hemlocks were mentioned in a number of daily updates on Inciweb because they are basically standing roman candles thanks to the spiral of limbs. He asked them how or who we could contact to get emergency information. Shame on you. Fire those managers! 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. Those with information are urged to contact the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017 or the GFD at 865-436-5112. There could be falling trees. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. She said smoke had been super heavy. This would help the owners defray some costs so they can rebuild. I fully understand the financial difficulties of the NPS and with firefighters abroad. We need to hold, that experience though often shared, does not fit into every mold, because in the real world though some laws are universal, there is always changing variable and situations are never really exactly the same. 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. Until you sit in my seat after 20 years of fire service, making decisions on where to send your firefighters based on their experience levels, you will then realize decisions have trade offs and sometimes Mother Nature over rules you. Fortunately, Wildfire Today and Knox News had both published detailed timelines about what happened and when, before the Sevier County DA cut off the info flow. Everyone should also know that this area is characterized by mountain laurel, in some areas nearby its so thick the only way through is on top it or if your lucky under on your belly. 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. Join our group. 'Human caused' Tennessee wildfires kill seven near Dollywood park Watch the pride and ego firefighters: youll never outmatch Gods elements. By being so quick to lynch people we have created a fear of decision-making and a paralysis of critical thinking. Thus, private, State, or other agencies get left holding the bag, as it were. Excellent points, Jody. Fire crews were dispatched to a structure fire around 6:30. Just wondering was it God who drastically cut the federal budgets for NPS, Wildland firefighters and other resources or was that Congress? They had access to the same fire flight info from Sundays flyover that other agencies had. If an aircraft will be en route to a lit helibase or airport, they can drop 30 minutes after sunset then fly to the lit facility. We listened to local TV news at home which reported voluntary evacuations for Mynatt Park after fire was reported in the Twin Creeks area. Even the Gatlinburg Fire Chief had been told on Sunday at 0900 that models had the fire hitting downtown Gatlinburg by Tuesday 1100. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages We may never really know the truth about this situation just as with so many other current and prominent situations. We probably wont want to attribute 14 deaths to a non-native insect infestation, but in the end, can we say it exacerbated the situation? Charges dropped against youths accused in Gatlinburg wildfires One indicator of drought and its effect on how wildfires burn is the Keetch-Byram Drought Index(KBDI). Downtown Gatlinburg Fire at Puckers Sports Grill & More (OCT 9, 2022) Most of us feel there was negligence but sorting it all out is not something I know how to do. Not the best plan but the safest. Years ago, the NPS wasnt maintaining the churches in Cades Cove of the Smokies. Branches were hitting the house with a great deal of force. Nearby businesses feel the same. He asked them if they could give us an update on the fire and they said no. There are zones that are simply are impenetrable by cellular rays and even satellite has issues. The fire was south of Gatlinburg. Who caused the fire in Gatlinburg? All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. Wednesday, November 23, the day the fire started. I do not remember her name. But the NPS didnt even follow their own rules in this case. She has given me permission to share it on this site. 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. The deaths in this incident can be attributed to being trapped and forced to shelter in place. Basically telling the press, the public and the injured families to go to hell. But those heroes should have never been in that situation in the first place. This is just one more example of one more related issue that is seemingly un-connected until you delve into the issues deeply. There are a lot of excellent experienced fire management staff working for the Park Service. Gatlinburg fire burns downtown The power of nature is awesome and often far beyond our ability to predict and react to in a timely manner. The steepness here is epic, the only way out of valleys this steep is straight down or up, your lucky not to hit a waterfall. Those with information are urged to contact the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017 or the GFD at 865-436-5112. Good comments by all. TEMA had the power and authority, yet did nothing until Hell was at their door. Analyzing the fire that burned into Gatlinburg - Wildfire Today there is still a nagging question regarding the use of BACKFIRE on the part of the NPS and the Gatlinburg Fires? Money. We left Monday the 28th around 10:30 A.M. we could smell smoke but our home was fine and so was all of the rest of them in Chalet Village North. After action reports with ample opportunity for community input led to better pre-fire management and intra-agency coordination of resources. Chief Kurtz was right on target to compare South Canyon, Yarnell, and now Chimney Top 2. Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg from the intersection at Traffic Light No. People that I know said that not implementing fire suppression is exactly what they should have done, so we can agree to disagree.
Why Did Villalobos Change Vet's, Articles W