The winds that Monday afternoon had knocked power lines down and early reporting made mention of separate ignition points in the residential hillsides. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. Conspiracy, no. Would it be wise to implement backfire with such strong winds forecasted on top of exceptional drought and fuels? He was told there was none/no one. Deputy Park Superintendent Jordan Clayton said the initial fire on an area called Chimney Tops, a double peaked ridge line about 4 miles away from Gatlinburg, was caused by a person or. There were emergency vehicles blocking Motor Nature Trail. It just so happens that at this time hundreds of fires were subsequently being started all around the south! Chalet Village Gatlinburg, Tommy there is a class action lawsuit being formulated by a Knoxville attorney. All rights reserved. Increasing cloudiness and strong southerly winds on Monday ahead of the next storm system. 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. Thank you for this excellent synopsis. There will be time to consider legal and civil options later . They are just as clandestine of a secret society as the city officials of Gatlinburg and Sevier County. They will be touched in their heart as deeply as anyone who has lost in the tragedy itself. Just the mechanics of this devastating wildfire without any editorial comments. A fire burning under those conditions would likely burn more intensely, have a rate of spread faster than normal, and have more resistance to control. The person or people responsible for the fire have not yet been found. I dont understand, but I dont judge. It would be interesting to understanding the impact of excessive fuel from dead hemlocks, killed by hemlock wooly adelgid (together with the lack of moisture typically found under a mature, live, shady hemlock canopy, even with the extreme drought conditions) had on this fire. Sitting in a Sevierville motel room for four days watching the fire chief, city mayor, city manager, and county mayor pat each other on the back for being Mountain Strong sickened me. How far from the Chimney Tops, as the crow flies, were these pictures taken? Yet, at that very time, citizens were asking city employees and fireman if they should evacuate (well documented in the local news). 6 to the intersection at Reagen Drive reopened Monday afternoon after being closed Sunday morning, according to a release. Visibility was so low that other car lights could barely be seen from oncoming cars. Undoubtedly, the current management of our natural resources will come before the Judgments of the Almighty; for human lives were lost in this fire. But it is good that you ask questions, and you should expect answers and a demonstration of learning, but you have to give that opportunity, just as you would want. TEMA had the power and authority, yet did nothing until Hell was at their door. Do arsonists typically work alone? The fire resulted in the deaths of 14 people and more than $500 million in damage, with firefighting costs of more than $7 million. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. Which is pretty near chimney tops. We couldnt go up Motor Nature Trail so we went back to Cherokee Orchard Road. Thanks again for your touching reply. 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. I was near Gatlinburg until Saturday prior to the fire, visiting my family. 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. About 20 years ago, I hiked to Albright Grove, an old-growth hemlock forest near Greenbrier. 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. He also raked as many leaves as he could from around our cabin. Property owners still have the rights to protect their property. The 2016 Gatlinburg wildfire was deadliest in the eastern half of the U.S. since the Great Fires of 1947 in Maine and the worst in the history of Great . 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. 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. Ive learned so much on this blog over the past 6 weeks about how forest fires are managed and fought and Im most grateful for that. It is written by Stephanie Sweeney, whose house was off the Spur between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I believe that many, many people are alive now because they did use common sense but some of the people who died, were victims of circumstances that they should never have faced if their public officials had been acting solely on their responsibility, first and foremost, and perhaps only, to protect and serve. Regarding the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsNPS/posts/1236286613095333. Impressive. I called Bob, boys and I got a bite to eat for supper so we wouldnt be a bother to our friends whose house we were going to wait out the evening. In this instance, it is not only important to ask the questions its mandatory to question the answers if we are to achieve true critical thinking. On the radio, a man in the Forestry truck was somewhere around the Roaring Fork area (as I recall) looking for possible spot fires reported near a residence and was talking about the strong winds. 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. Also, for the last several decades, NPS policies have allowed these excessive fuels to build. Thanks Henry. At any rate, I have not heard any knowledgeable person say acquiring resources during those first five days was a major difficulty. On Monday, December 5, the Incident Management Team (IMT) on the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that burned from Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) into the Gatlinburg area reported that it has . 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 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. We both were winded, nervous, and running to grab one change of clothes, night clothes, and tooth brushes. Thats perfect Johnny. I fully understand the financial difficulties of the NPS and with firefighters abroad. This is a developing story. The only way they will learn from the fire is if they have to face a jury of their peers to account for their ineptness even know they were in charge of protecting us and our homes and they did neither. They have tied their hands and resources through environmental forestry management. Contingency plans for how to evacuate the entire town, regardless of the specific hazard, were not well thought out. Superintendent Cash says the NPS has no jurisdiction to issue evacuations for the City of Gatlinburg. Visibility was bad and it was hard to breathe as we unpacked our truck. Hemlocks were mentioned in a number of daily updates on Inciweb because they are basically standing roman candles thanks to the spiral of limbs. Will the NPS Fire Management leadership at the Regional, NIFC and Washington DC levels admit to some very poor policy and decision making problems associated with the Chimney Top 2 disaster? Anyone can arm chair quarterback incident manager decisions after the smoke clears. The NPS protected themselves and other special interest groups as well. What about firefighter safety? The more we let our selves be vulnerable and courageous in the face of tough situations, the more chance that we have that we will fall, and we will; we all will at some point if we take that risk to be brave and courageous. Henry, do you know the effect of the typical southeastern forest ground fires on the hemlock adelgid? 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. Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out. The Chimneys functionally act as the head of a canyon leading directly to downtown Gatlinburg. I dont know details as to the trail. I saw Wyoming and Colorado engines being demobalized after containment. Very good pictures! 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. Their inter-agency investigation needs to look at the 1st Chimney Tops Fire of the 12/13th to the 17th of November 2016. It seems to me that the extreme wind was as unprecedented as the drought and the low stream levels. I had heard that many of the stumps and rotted out trees had become abnormally dry because of the drought. Neither the NPS nor the city wanted CNN cameras covering a mass evacuation of a town jam packed with tourists on Thanksgiving weekend. Money and CNN. Click here. This fire season is a perfect example of why we do not need to lynch and discard those who have erred but gained highly valuable experience in the process. WBIR is going to interview me as soon as two weeks from now regarding how I was taken for $120,000 by a crooked contractor that I was hooked up with by a log home firm. Guessing the fire spotted from the Chimneys, to Bullhead, then on to Twin Creeks area. I am like you in that I will never be able to get a good nights sleep on the mountain again as Im all be consistently looking out the window. Thought among the locals is that officials didnt want to lose the post-holiday weekend crowd and revenue. Just wondering was it God who drastically cut the federal budgets for NPS, Wildland firefighters and other resources or was that Congress? 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. And we were lucky. Also important is accountability, so is teaching, learning and experience, so is action, so is on and on. They should not be excused because they did not escape the consequences this time of their lax policies and their actual failure to follow the procedures they should have followed. No. Steve Brueck of DaculaWeather.com suppied us with Local Storm Report Informationfrom the National Weather Service that includes wind gust speeds in the general area. All my constructive criticisms are not targeted to Park personnel in general. I felt like people had been robbed of the vital information they needed to make the decisions they needed to be safe. Unfortunately its the home owners that are taking the hit and I think it should be them. They were taught with classroom didactic and hands on training, by sharing of lessons learned by others, and the best learning opportunity available, the best teacher of all; the actual experience itself. Join our group. All rights reserved. For example politicians far away from the event make decisions regarding funding, resources and operations. Bob and Stanton snuck around back roads and made it in a few days earlier than most and found what we were fearing. Just a quick comment per above posts. Yes. I do not remember her name. He told me he was scared to drive the truck-its a lot more cumbersome in the local terrain than his little Outback. Interesting time line, fire discovered about 1730 November 23. Who is watching the back door? You bet you were. The teens, 15 and 17, were charged with starting the Chimney Tops fire which eventually spread to the Smoky Mountains, into Sevier County and Gatlinburg, killing 14 people, injuring more than. From an all hazards POV large scale fire should have been recognized long before any drought conditions. There will be no access to Wiley Oakley or Westgate from the Spur. Alice Hagler was reported missing by her family and later confirmed dead. The report said the fire was an accident and caused around $7 million in damages. Their are undoubtedly many many causative factors for any disaster, even the actions, inactions and unintentional actions can be like a snowball rolling down a mountain of snow! Two Hawaii police departments are making moves to beef up incentives as recruiting efforts grow more competitive. 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. Since we had been planning all day to go downtown to play trivia at Smoky Mountain Brewery, we left the house about 5:55PM. Being asleep at the wheel is no excuse. We would best not be blind until that time is upon us, as then it will be too late. Early in the afternoon we began to see large crewcab pickup trucks driving past our home. I learned that it is extremely difficult to manage, rather than suppress, a wildland fire for an extended period of time. His parents died in the fire in Gatlinburg . There is room for all to be as important as the other, and hold all of these ideals up at the same time, to honor and to debate. They had identifiedon a map a 410-acre fire management area which, depending on weather conditions, may allow for further fire growth. However, their findings could certainly implicate some of the decision makers concerning how things were handled and may lead to a few resignations. Yes a lot is somewhat predictable, just as this fire, but not every aspect is, there are too many variables in the real world. Like hell he did. 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. If I had even been in the bathroom or downstairs I wouldve died . She replied, Mrs. You cannot sit and watch a fire in the mountains this close to a town and not call in lots of HELP!!! There is simply too much BS. Thank-you Bill for your through and in depth analysis of this wildfires chain-of events. Digression from Comment Thread 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. Unfortunately human lives were lost and hundreds of folks have been displaced. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. So whether the defendants started the 14th fire or not, a close examination of this Facebook press release indicates the fire apparently started on the 13th; and yet a social media photo post claims the 12th clearly showing a lack of response once again in fire suppression by the NPS. 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. 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 doubt it as the experience there is of fast moving potentially devastating fires. A similar fire occurred on English Mountain. Gatlinburg businesses look to rebuild after massive fire. Once again, can fire discreetly smolder in the duff amid rock crevices? Of course they wont. We could see the smoke. They were flying water drops on Sunday with the equipment available (National Guard choppers). I said a quick prayer for safety and we started up hill to leave our truck. The NPS, IMO, did not take an aggressive stance on this fire, and that is usually the case with them. Also I just came across a facebook page showing two views of the same interchange in Gatlinburg at 10:28 and 10:52. On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to If one is growing by experience you keep them moving forward as we all benefit from their learning and experience. OF COURSE the dead hemlocks (and spruces and firs) are changing the picture for fire danger. Civilians are dead, millions of dollars of personal property destroyed, millions of dollars were spent on containing the wildfirethe rains/snow finally suppressed it. Alice Hagler was reported missing by her family and later confirmed dead. I was on the phone w them that Mon. 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). When we reached our car at road level, we saw flames coming over the ridge directly south of our house. There is only one check point access at East Parkway (Hwy. Despite that, officials now say that the Gatlinburg fire began in the park and was. Can fire experts examine burned areas and decipher the path of natural wildfire from managed ignited fires? And each structure became much more of a threat than the spreading ground fire ever was. 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. This would help the owners defray some costs so they can rebuild. 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. As it turned out the sprinklers were far above affordable means and way outside the parameters quoted by the NFPA for the cost of a standard sprinkler system so we did not get them. Damage was estimated at. Some of the seemingly inexplicable burn patterns are due to the wind driven nature. Not because I am a teller of fortune. 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. Deciding to keep air resources in reserve for initial attack on new starts rather than wash the fire off chimney tops was a good decision. 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. Concerning the time the fire jumped 441. A fire burns at a high-rise building under construction in the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong on March 3, 2023. But until the review of the fire is complete and the report is published, I would be careful with a statement like this: The Chimney Tops fire was a wildfire being monitored given limited resources initially because of the many other ongoing fires in the region to which fire-fighting resources were committed. The power of nature is awesome and often far beyond our ability to predict and react to in a timely manner. Rippetoe hopes the destruction isnt there much longer and all businesses lost can return. People in our country must get this, because for all the overwhelming issues in our country today, they keep voting many of the same politicians back into office over and over and over again expecting a different outcome. What caused the fire in the Smoky Mountains? I said Fed. My wife and I hiked to Alum Cave Bluffs Saturday, Nov. 26, while the fire was small up on the Chimneys. Prescribed burning is a critical ecosystem management tool across the nation, especially in the Southeast (https://goodfires.org/how) and when the term is used interchangeably with monitored wildfires it can lead to confusion. All weekend, my husband and daughter followed the fire on the Chimney Tops 2 facebook page NPS had established. As it was, there had been brush fires burning in N Georgia and Western NC since October. It was Congress that adjourned for the holidays without passing a bill to fund forest fire fighting efforts. Lose their jobs over this? We have a mountaintop cabin about 50 miles south of this area. I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. a wind and weather event like they got, that resulted in fire spread that resulted the the state TEMA command center to have to relocate in the middle of the incident gives a picture of what they were dealing with. By the end of the day on Sunday the fire had burned approximately 35 acres, according to Ms. Schroer and the results from a mapping flight (see the 3-D mapabove). The fire could have been stopped over the weekend if proper procedures had been followed. Some of those GSMNP personnel were trained out west and know how fast a wildfire spreads in high winds. Pacific Buddhist Academy set to hold 17th annual Taiko Festival, the 14th annual Kualoa Hakipuu canoe festival back after a few years of kind of being shuttered because of the pandemic. 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. GATLINBURG, Tennessee -- The charges have been dropped against two teens who were accused of starting the wildfires in Gatlinburg last fall. Much needed rainfall is expected on Monday with additional rainfall possible through Wednesday. Three people were killed and 14 others sent to area hospitals, Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said Tuesday. It must have been Sunday, because a Type 1 team came in on Tuesday. I have been walking the woods around Gatlinburg a lot since the Fire. If it was felt that people on this fire were at risk then dont staff the fire. When one seriously examines the events, these lives could have been spared despite the power of fire and wind. As we drove south out of Pigeon Forge I took another photo before we entered the spur, which shows smoke and a red glow above Gatlinburg. The status of individual structures in the Gatlinburg area can be found at arcgiscom. Thats why I refused to use a local contractor. The report said the fire was an accident and caused around $7 million in damages. Unfortunately this isnt always the case. The leafless trees allowed more sunlight to hit the fuel, drying it out even more. Accountability is important and paying the price for our decisions is too. You have my utmost respect for firefighting; and Ive recently addressed a firefighter who was an apparent spokesman for the local media patty-caking. The excellent Park folks seemed to just monitor it, and it resolved itself. Experience in itself is never enough. Why were there so many wildfires being lit by arsonists all of a sudden this year? Take a look at the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016 and you really might begin to question what really went wrong here. Above: Chimney Tops 2 Fire at 9:37 p.m. November 28, 2016 after it had burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The GRSM person that requested the Spot wrote: Concerned about ridgetop winds with the coming front. Bob and I had discussions about what we would do if we were to be surprised by wildfires up Beech Branch Road with no warning. 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. That afternoon a Chinook Type 1 helicopter (Type 1s are the largest helicopters used on wildfires) began dropping water on the fire, refilling at Fontana Lake 13 miles to the southwest, according to a source we talked to who didnt want their name disclosed because they were not authorized to speak on the subject. Due to the damage this fire has caused Im sure there will be follow-up effects (and recriminations) for years. Many citizens whom I spoke with had never heard the terms red flag alert and in absence of the term, were not aware of the situations that would lead to such a designation or where to turn to find information on wildfires. The decisions that worked made us heroes, and those that did not changed us if we were allowed that opportunity. But those heroes should have never been in that situation in the first place. The Seiver County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as 54-year-old Joe Martin Bates, according to the City of Gatlinburg. The Gatlinburg fire that killed 14 people was started by two teenagers dropping lit matches onto the ground along Chimney Tops Trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, sources close to the investigation told the Knoxville News Sentinel. A high-elevation area that possessed the largest unbroken Spruce-Fir forest in the S. Appalachians. The fire did not get up the valley to the Alum Cave Parking Lot, and LeConte Lodge is fine. I just hope, like Jeannine, that fire managers can learn from this tragedy because we really need the tool of prescribed fire in the tool box. They did too little, too late. 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. A friend that owns a rental company there said that about 90% of the homes in the area which leave them 10% they can rent or sale. What were the emergency managers of this county doing/thinking at this time? Finding out about the fire has hurt me almost as much as it did the locals. Why is forestry both national and state not working more collaboratively with citizens and local fire departments to improve awareness and preparation? That said, we are now in the rebuild mode. This data from Indian Grave was not too far offthe forecast issued the day before. This is just one more example of one more related issue that is seemingly un-connected until you delve into the issues deeply. Published: Dec. 24, 2022 at 10:17 AM PST GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - On Friday, Gatlinburg city officials released a report detailing the downtown fire on Oct. 9 that killed one person and. Why the complacency? It had burned into a picnic area and crossed the main roadinto the park, US Highway 441. Perhaps all the firefighters prior experience was giving them mental slides that were no longer valid given the conditions. Earlier on Tuesday, media reported that a man was arrested for setting three fires that spread into a 300-acre fire in.