I felt it urgent to get out of the woods. 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. Very good pictures! GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces, after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. Had this fire+wind storm happened 3-4 weeks earlier it would have been exponentially worse, lots to be thankful for as we morn with TN. I remember a news conference A day or so later where that fire chief of the Gatlinburg stated that they knew on Sunday that it was predicted the fire would hit Gatlinburg proper by 11 AM on Tuesday morning. 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. Once the winds came on day 5 or 6, there was nothing anyone could do. There are other potential hazards that make unplanned evacuations a danger in that area. Im sure there will be lots of finger pointing, name calling pushing for blame and then legal actions. 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.
Rockslide on the Spur Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge - wate.com Mitchell, Mt. As I learned in the first 12 hours what took place there, I realized that there was almost no preparation for the risk of a fire, on any The chain reaction that if un-inhibited can create the perfect storm, block the perfect solutions or that can lead to the ignition of possibility and opportunity. Just the mechanics of this devastating wildfire without any editorial comments. I appreciate that fine quality of writing that expresses your thoughts in an easy to read yet structured style that makes sense. All my constructive criticisms are not targeted to Park personnel in general. Above: The Drought Monitor issued November 29 showed Exceptional Drought, the highest category, for the Gatlinburg area and large sections of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. As we reached the Parkway, everything was deserted. On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9. We need a growing pool of resources who have gained knowledge and wisdom hat can be applied to future events, not to lessen the pool by throwing out those who failed but are not a failure. Ive noted the contrast between how the Incident Management Teams approached the fires compared to the NPS. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. There are a lot of downed trees and a lot of trails are temporarily closed to deal with them. Are city and county officials learning to use the expensive Motorola radio system that would have allowed various agencies to communicate when cell service went down? No one wanted the castrophe that resulted. Superintendent Cash says the NPS has no jurisdiction to issue evacuations for the City of Gatlinburg. There are three broad categories of conditions that affect the way a wildfire burns: weather, fuels (vegetation), and topography. The next morning we werent allowed to go check on our house because of fires still burning and impassable roads. I do remember the bad fires in the 1990s in Florida and Colorado (I was in Glenwood Springs at a week-long seminar only a week after the Storm King Mountain aka South Canyon fire). Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. Now I can only imagine what children or adults with issues might have gleaned from this message being broadcast. The fire was reported to be near the Twin Creeks Picnic Center at 1130. Period. 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. It was so blatant and irresponsible of the media station to broadcast in this manner especially under the current circumstances. I can tell you that within the week prior to this fire in the Greenbriar section of the GSMNP, I hiked on trails rustling through leaf litter that came up to my mid shins. Fire those managers! 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. This is as far as this subject needs to go; for the objective of this site is in regard to wildfire. I knew him when he was at Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore. Those people have their head in a hole, a burned out tree stump hole the very definition of ignore-ance.
Are Gatlinburg fires common? A list of big fires in the area [2022] You are correct in pointing out the dead hemlocks. They are having a press conference this afternoon so perhaps there will be more transparency. Crews are currently taking down the China Bazaar and Puckers building. night at 9pm when mom said there was evacuation notice on TV. Our house was in a direct N/S line from the Chimneys. We were still asleep when it happened. Take my word for it, Ive seen back scratching going on down there for over 40 years. The amount of dead Frazier fir and Spruce trees, caused by similar non-native infestation, is dramatic on Newfound Gap road, but mainly past The Chimneys at higher elevations. City prosecutors have charged a longtime Mililani High School leader with multiple counts of theft. Vincent Gabrielle, Knoxville News Sentinel. Nicely put together article. A complex set of contributing factors no doubt, many that fell on deaf ears until they had to open eyes! After action reports with ample opportunity for community input led to better pre-fire management and intra-agency coordination of resources. Have a wildland fire news tip? So many unanswered questions? I am just saying that it is not necessary to lynch someone in order to hold them accountable. Anyone who has toured the hillsides where most of the homes that were destroyed would know immediately how difficult evacuations would be. I told him I would call fire department in Gatlinburg across from Food City. 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. Increasing cloudiness and strong southerly winds on Monday ahead of the next storm system. Aircraft dropping water or fire retardant on a fire cannot put it out. For example politicians far away from the event make decisions regarding funding, resources and operations. That night after we arrived home we started getting text from friends showing fires at the Park Vista Hotel, then one from our neighbors across the street, he lives in Knoxville called and said he had been there at 5:30 P.M. this was on the 28th and when he left it was smokey but everything was still fine. I seriously question if bias will be discreetly worked into this agency and their review of the fire?? Civilians are dead, millions of dollars of personal property destroyed, millions of dollars were spent on containing the wildfirethe rains/snow finally suppressed it. 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. Many are willing to allow the absolute open permission to some to behave as they will without question, but are unwilling to allow others the same room to learn and grow. Humans lostfire won. In total GFD crews, in addition to, Pigeon Forge Fire Department, Sevierville Fire Department, Sevier County Ambulance Service and Pittman Center Fire Department assisted in extinguishing the blaze. Difficult access to safely fight fire, lack of pre-blow up fire management, and extreme drought capped off by an exceptional weather event led to the July 1st, 1998 Farmton firestorm that burned through the rural community where I lived in east central Florida. 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. Almost every creek drainage in GSMNP has stands of dead hemlocks (though some areas near roads had some hemlocks treated regularly to prevent adelgid infestation). 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. The Championship side, who are 19th in the table, said there have been no injuries. None of our fires escaped, in part because we had some very smart, very experienced people in key positions. A safefy plan for people in the event of the many natural threats, would have to be determined ahead of time though because that level of decision-making rarely occurs in the face of imminent danger. I said Fed. On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to But the last one, issued at 7 a.m. EST on Sunday by Eric Holweg, did predict strong winds. Cafe 420 and Gifts of Gatlinburg were also destroyed. There are a lot of excellent experienced fire management staff working for the Park Service. It is my understanding this first fire was at or near the summit in the immediate vicinity of the 2nd fire which unfortunately devastated Gatlinburg. He wanted us to pack and leave. Gusts above 40 continued until 2 a.m. on Tuesday when they mostly dropped below 20 mph for the rest of the day. Unfortunately human lives were lost and hundreds of folks have been displaced. Shortly after that power was lost to the station and data stopped being recorded. I got out of the car and walked up to the side of the pickup truck. We warned them about the approaching fire before turning the opposite direction to proceed on downtown. I love the mountains, but can I feel safe again? That is when it began moving rapidly toward Gatlinburg. 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. 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. 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. 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. Id just like to ask folks to think about If prior experience of fires in the region may have betrayed fire managers this time.