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. Fourteen people lost their lives. 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. 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. The businesses include Cafe 420 . We may never really know the truth about this situation just as with so many other current and prominent situations. My husband and I were at our house in Gatlinburg, just north of the Park Vista, on the night of the fire. Mike I appreciate what you said about a time and season for prescribed/monitored fire, and we need prescribed fire in the toolbox. But it is very important to point out that the fire that burned into Gatlinburg was never a prescribed fire. 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. Very well said Tommy. Perhaps all the firefighters prior experience was giving them mental slides that were no longer valid given the conditions. We have had dry conditions in years past and there has probably been fires in the past and nothing like this ever happened. Honor those who have risked much to help, indeed. As they are minors, nothing else is known other than the Feds said the State could prosecute. Officials will verify renters and lease holders, as needed. I have an Gatlinburg address but the county services my street. After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire. Copyright 2022 WVLT. night at 9pm when mom said there was evacuation notice on TV. Was it ever fully suppressed? 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. Monday I was surprised to look at the Knoxville News and see nothing about evacuation notices. Branson is built into the mountainous forests of south-central Missouri, is a resort town, and a retirement community and entertainment venue. Undoubtedly, the current management of our natural resources will come before the Judgments of the Almighty; for human lives were lost in this fire. Between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.they increased to 7 to 15 mph with gusts of 22 to 32 mph all generally out of the south, blowing toward Gatlinburg. According to Ms.Schroer, firefighters walked up the Chimney Tops Trail to the top of the hill to size it up. But, that team is there to give future corrective actions, not to formulate lawsuits. God doesnt cut financial budgets. Would it be wise to implement backfire with such strong winds forecasted on top of exceptional drought and fuels? 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. Well I can say that if TEMA announced right now and emergency message to my cell phone in the east TN mountains I would never get a thing. It works like an Amber Alert to people who download the app and sign up. 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. From 7 p.m. until midnight sustained winds were at 13 to 17 mph with gusts from 34 to 49. 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? 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. They need to be accountable for their inaction, and action. Sorry to hear that you lost your house, but you followed your wits which kept you from getting stuck there by downed trees over the road. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. I seriously question if bias will be discreetly worked into this agency and their review of the fire?? GFD officials examined the scene and found a body, later identified as Joe Martin Bates, in Suite 4. Anticipating the fire season, firefighting resources (people and equipment) were brought in from around the Southeast and other parts of the country. The NPS, IMO, did not take an aggressive stance on this fire, and that is usually the case with them. (The fire was in eastern Tennessee near the North Carolina border.). Just a reminder to all, wildfires knows no boundaries, political beliefs, policy or management decisions just simple laws of physics and science from S-190: Basic Fire Behavior fuels, weather, topography and an ignition source plus extreme, well documented, long term drought conditions equals a recipe for conflagration, death and destruction. The mayor and many fireman lost their homes and businesses, not to mention the deaths. 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. Fire crews were dispatched to a structure fire around 6:30. These fires were allowed to cook with little or no suppression action. It had burned into a picnic area and crossed the main roadinto the park, US Highway 441. They knew the high winds were coming days ahead of that Monday. Before we got in the car, we each took photos of the approaching fire with our cell phones. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) Firefighters have found a body in the remains of a building that burned in . 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. 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). I just assumed that others would be leaving Gatlinburg out of concerns similar to mine. They couldnt get out a cell mssg. 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 power of nature is awesome and often far beyond our ability to predict and react to in a timely manner. You cannot predict an outcome of fight first and fast any better than you did letting thousands of property burn and 15 people die. High winds were to start soon and rain was 5 hours away as indicated by radar. When we reached Turkey Nest Road there was a big white crewcab pickup truck parked in front of Barbaras Real Estate. Aircraft dropping water or fire retardant on a fire cannot put it out. To echo your statements, the information is out there, a model exists on how to properly do it now its getting the proper training for all of the professionals involved and the public taking the role of accountability watchdogs. I can name 14 people who deserved much better! When did Gatlinburg burn . At any rate, I have not heard any knowledgeable person say acquiring resources during those first five days was a major difficulty. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. The official cause is down power lines due to high winds and fallen trees, according to a National Park Service news release. Compare the events to their fire management manual and contradictions are present. As for Caf 420, they have plans to rebuild, and their employees will keep their jobs. Typically instead of outright termination, the NPS is classic just to relocate the personnel and in some cases give them a promotion to keep them happy and from whistle-blowing; or just live in a delusional world of denial. In all the Disasters I have worked in Texas, FEMA reimburse City or County for debris pickup. Forecasts were issued each day from November 24 through 27; we could not find one for November 28 the day the fire burned into Gatlinburg. 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? What did City officials not understand about the approaching danger? The first thing you think is, Is this real?, said Tyler Neddo, a longtime employee of Caf 420. 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. This data from Indian Grave was not too far offthe forecast issued the day before. I viewed aerial photos of that area over the past 10 years (on USGS website). I ran other errands and stopped by cabin to unload groceries before picking boys up from school. Even if the new construction doesnt suffer from the eventual degradation of the old foundation, years after you have rebuilt and want to sell your cabin, due to prior disclosure malls when you tell a prospective buyer that your foundation went through the 100 year fire which burned your foundation at 1400 to 3000 F, only a fool would buy it. Officials identified Robert A. Hejny, 63, who was found at Traveler's Motel in Gatlinburg. All my constructive criticisms are not targeted to Park personnel in general. Im thankful to be tuned in. We saw some trucks when we drove out late morning. Unfortunately human lives were lost and hundreds of folks have been displaced. Lets just live in denial, honor the government no matter what; and allow history to repeat itself with numerous secular and religious dictators. My main purpose in commenting was to differentiate between a monitored wildfire and prescribed fire. I may be alone in thinking that, but I do think the Feds would stand up to local influence. A massive wildfire in the Tennessee resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has destroyed more than 150 structures, including homes and businesses, authorities said Tuesday. About 20 years ago, I hiked to Albright Grove, an old-growth hemlock forest near Greenbrier. It was probably 4:45 by this time. Ten people were hospitalized after a Spirit Airlines plane bound for Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville due to a fire onboard, according to officials. The American publics outcry owe that much to the those whom lost loved ones, disrupted lives, destroyed both human property and natural resources in Gatlinburg, Tennessee during the Chimney Top 2 wildfire, November, 2016. Even so, is it risky to ignite backfire with such extreme fire conditions? Thanks! My questions are: what were the wind speeds when NPS crews ignited these backfires to protect NPS structures; and if they ignited fire on the 28th when the winds were getting stronger and stronger, would the potential exist for backfire embers to get out of control? 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. 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. Not committing firefighters to direct attack in a steep very hard to access high risk area was a good decision. The news person is very frustrated as she nor their rival Channel 8 can do no interviews due to the gag order. The coolness and the moisture were gone. 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 injured another. 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. The Championship side, who are 19th in the table, said there have been no injuries. Officials keep repeating that nothing like this has ever happened here before so they cant be responsible. It would be interesting to dig a little further on this. 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. We could get blocked in by both. Behind the Chimneys is Sugarland Mountain. It was also unbelievably dry. So because of his and other incompetence property owners are paying the price. Well said, the terrain here is different than a lot of places, even out west. 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. The Bob Stanton that has been commenting on this thread is NOT the former director of the NPS. Asked if I knew if there were any other people down in that area. It was shaking the car as we drove. Shortly after he left, he called my husband to tell him that the road between our house and downtown Gatlinburg was blocked by a crew from Sevier County Electric. I also noted that the use of Red Flag Alerts and prescribed burning around some of the more populace areas was both lacking, and being conducted during predicted high wind conditions. Along with other Park issues like un-managed timber (very limited burns, mostly fields, not forested areas), we concluded the saying demolition by neglect. The helicopter worked until it had to refuel and then two other Type 1 helicopters took its placeuntil dark. People were ready to leave their home in 15 min. Would it not be more beneficial to hold accountability by insuring that analysis of cause and effect and learning take place; that change is done where change is needed? Watch the pride and ego firefighters: youll never outmatch Gods elements. They are just as clandestine of a secret society as the city officials of Gatlinburg and Sevier County. It is now time for aircraft (usually helicopters) to start washing the fire off the hill. At least one of them drove up the street below our house and parked there for about an hour. Talk about finger pointing! Limbs began to fall. Branches were hitting the house with a great deal of force. Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out.. Take a look at the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016 and you really might begin to question what really went wrong here. One person was found dead in the rubble of a fire that broke out in downtown Gatlinburg early Sunday morning. Emergency crews were on the scene for 31 hours extinguishing the fire before the emergency demolition was requested. This makes no logical sense. The contractor who had been working outside on the house left as it got dark early because of the smoke. I saw Wyoming and Colorado engines being demobalized after containment. Not clouding the issues with the intent to take down a person. Council will utilize the 100s of wildfire experts testimony that the forresty service and local fire chief should have thrown everything they had at the Chimney 2 blaze the day it happened and everyone and every resource they could use from out of state that could get there within 24 hours. Unfortunately its the home owners that are taking the hit and I think it should be them. The high winds were forecasted on the 25th, 2016. Those are low numbers for the southeastern United States. There is simply too much BS. The individual was identified as Joe Martin Bates, 54, according to the Sevier County Medical Examiners office.