I have here a firsthand account of how a homeowner, who lost her house, lived through the days before the fire and through the fire. But very little if any fire suppression activity occurred until Monday, November 28. A few scattered, mostly Red Spruce, conifers are all that is left. At 3:00PM I convinced my husband to call the Gatlinburg Fire Dept. There were emergency vehicles blocking Motor Nature Trail. I know its good and natural periodically to let forest fires burn, but under the extreme drought conditions in this area, I was uneasy that fires werent being put out. I told him my home was on fire and he said they were evacuating everyone,then. 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. We could see the smoke. Monday I was surprised to look at the Knoxville News and see nothing about evacuation notices. 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. (PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images) Chan estimated the insurance claim could . 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. We waited as the days passed until we could go and see if ours had burned. Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out.. It now seems obvious that no housing development should have only road in and out. Even life-long locals said they had never seen rhododendren wither up before. Five days is a generous amount of time to request and receive firefighters. The report said the fire was an . The wildfire began burning in a remote location of the park (Chimney Tops) in steep terrain with vertical cliffs and narrow rocky ridges, making access to the wildfire area . We stopped at another neighbors house. We both were winded, nervous, and running to grab one change of clothes, night clothes, and tooth brushes. Fire behavior is predictable, based on things such as mentioned in this article; weather, terrain and fuels. The Tip Line is 888-653-0009. Thank you for making a point of the fact that we are all human beings with faults by design so that we need each other to succeed and survive. 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. The fire was approximately 8 acres in size, according to GRSM. But the last one, issued at 7 a.m. EST on Sunday by Eric Holweg, did predict strong winds. Something broke down here and at the risk of not being PC the important thing is that the issues are discovered and learning takes place followed by action. teams had Lake Lure and Tate City evacuate when high winds were forecast. Read more Tennessee Wildfire Cause: Gatlinburg Fires May Have Been Man-Made, Officials Claim is an article from: The Inquisitr News. Managers may need to keep resources in reserve for initial attack on new fires rather than a Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out. strategy. Officials say the road will be closed for an extended period. 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. And I dont write about that many of them. Period. According to FOX 5's Matthew Cappucci the smoke plume got to about 3,600 feet and . They were asleep at the wheel. Why? because poor, inadequate human decision making allowing basic fire physics, fire chemistry and TIME to align resulting in avoidable death and destruction! The extremely dry conditions in the area, though, should have raised the concern level. When one seriously examines the events, these lives could have been spared despite the power of fire and wind. With all due respect to your comment, you seem to be a bit condescending toward some folks asking very legitimate questions; and giving the impression you are trying to the get the heat off the back of NPS officials. All weekend, my husband and daughter followed the fire on the Chimney Tops 2 facebook page NPS had established. What is unconstitutional here is that if this first fire of the 14th is under investigation, then certain parties have committed obstruction of justice. I hear of those who didnt leave until 9:00 that night. Talk about finger pointing! Well said, the terrain here is different than a lot of places, even out west. Many, if not most, of these incidents leave the confines of the managing agency and sweep out onto lands owned or managed by others. There was a yellow glow in the skies which has always been indicative of severe weather where we came from. 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. My vacation cabin in Gatlinburg burn to the ground on November 28. You have my utmost respect for firefighting; and Ive recently addressed a firefighter who was an apparent spokesman for the local media patty-caking. they may be using too wide a brush to place blame. 865-637-2442. The leadership tetrahedron if you will, the area where all the parts come together based on the past, the current, the potential and the possible. I visited Gatlinburg on a trip to Asheville NC, in 1980. So far, this week's tragic Tennessee wildfires have caused at least seven deaths, injured at least 50 more, and damaged or destroyed over 700 structures, a good portion of them in the city of Gatlinburg. Im totally with you accountability. So we can learn by others successes and failures but we must also not hang our hats on them either, because the story is as individual and unique as there are an infinite number of variables. Why the complacency? ), lack of knowledge of alternative communication systems (the Motorola area wide emergency radio system installed last year). These folks do this often in situations in which they have little control over much of the situation or outcomes. The fire on Sunday caused extensive damage to a block of . We are to be stewards of the land. Not clouding the issues with the intent to take down a person. 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. I just assumed that others would be leaving Gatlinburg out of concerns similar to mine. It is likely that spotting did keep the ground fire spreading into the areas where the homes were, and certainly on the southern edge of town it was the primary ignition source, but I am still skeptical that the homes to the north of town were ignited that way. It is this same type of think tank and diversity we need in reaching a host of solutions to our complexity of problems both in this situation and in all others. Shelter locations could have been announced, especially encouraging people to take action during the daylight hours that day so that escaping in total darkness during an inferno of fire or not having the means to do so would not be forced on people, and they could make arrangements for their own safety. If this is the same Bob Stanton commenting here, then the bias is way too obvious. True, our firefighters and 1st responders put their lives in harms way and we should respect them; and yet distinguish these folks from officials who are undoubtedly making bad calls/decisions. Increasing cloudiness and strong southerly winds on Monday ahead of the next storm system. Henry, do you know the effect of the typical southeastern forest ground fires on the hemlock adelgid? The Chimney Tops 2 Fire was reported in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, TN at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, 2016. They felt this was an attempt to start a forest fire and it was reported to officials. 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? Any person involved in any sort of firefighting/fire ecology/fire control/fire management profession learns these basic fire physic scientific principals from day oneeither from formal training or through hands on fire behavior observations . 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. Thanks for the correction Bill. The appearance of dead hemlock progression is astounding. Yes. I have a lot of pictures to share via my blog. A stroke in 2011 left Akaka partially paralyzed and unable to speak but he didn't need words to express his joy to be reunited with it. 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. 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. 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. Finally, the Superintendent has the power to call up all the resources which were available. It also led officials to. That said, we are now in the rebuild mode. Though Im missing the boat a little here, my questioning is still legitimate being that any managed ignited fire can still get out of control adding to an existing wildfire or creating one. Contingency plans for how to evacuate the entire town, regardless of the specific hazard, were not well thought out. Good points about differentiating between prescribed fire and the wildfire. 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. Standing dead hemlock burned up their trunks, to as high as 50 feet on one specimen I saw. Local officials dont seem to learn from past experiences, nor plan well for possible dangers. An expert, a hero or success is the one who takes a vulnerable risk at making a decision and by grace the outcome is positive, by contrast is the person who makes similar vulnerable risk in decision-making and by grace the outcome is negative. Personally, I have already started reconstruction on my cabin but the consensus on Chalet Village north which was 540 cabins and now stands only at 20 remaining Is that about 70% are not rebuilding for a variety of reasons . The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Facebook page reported (on Monday 11/28 at 1046am) that gusting winds have caused the fire to spot across the ridges in the Chimney Tops and Bull head Ridge Area. 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. I looked at the NWS Forecast Discussion and told my sister They should order pre-evacuation before the wind gets strong.. Resources = $$$=taxes. 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. Gatlinburg Fire 2016: The Start. http://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2016/12/cabin-on-creek-and-chimneys-top-2-fire.html, http://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2016/12/great-chimney-tops-2-fire-science.html. One question I have not seen asked is why any adult would have witnessed children playing with matches and lighting fires especially under the obvious conditions in this situation and 1. not taken immediate action 2. Thanks for the legwork. Lets see what reviews done by people with expertise in wildland fire management come up with. This story Im telling is all factual you see I have a problem with anyone exaggerating events as well as lying so I tell the truth regardless of how unpopular it may be. Yet no one will be severely punished i.e. November 27th, 35 acres. But those heroes should have never been in that situation in the first place. Those probably did not finish burning for several days. They just sat back and watched it burn. Still cant seem to get any answers if the BACKFIRES got out of control when the NPS ignited them contributing to the loss of life and structures in Gatlinburg??? However, I still wonder why there has been no word from the governor about the post-fire review team he promised. The truck was filled with firefighters. Thank you for the timeline and the opportunity for comments. Shortly after that power was lost to the station and data stopped being recorded. I spent two weeks in the area after the fire to inspect my property and ascertain where my wife and I would go from there. Hemlocks were mentioned in a number of daily updates on Inciweb because they are basically standing roman candles thanks to the spiral of limbs. Shame on you. 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. At 10AM we drove to Sevierville to buy more materials (to eventually add to the bonfire). 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. Copyright 2022 WVLT. 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. 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. (Credit: Tom Williams), Two people in custody after police chase, manhunt near Warrior & Hayden, Protest held in memory of Glenn Foster Junior, Fire department K-9 dies during search and rescue mission. Why did they wait until Monday to do a voluntary a evacuation or were the city father is involved in the decision not to panic the thousands and thousands of people still there for the Thanksgiving holiday. In addition, the valley above Gatlinburg, drained by LeConte Creek, has had enormous numbers of dead hemlock standing and fallen. One person was found dead in the rubble of a fire that broke out in downtown Gatlinburg early Sunday morning. I learned that it is extremely difficult to manage, rather than suppress, a wildland fire for an extended period of time. 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. The high winds were forecasted on the 25th, 2016. They were in their driveway with a water hose. I began to notice people smoking while driving their vehicles when I would be out and about and they would flick burning embers out windows and sometimes throw cigarettes out windows. Our forest service guys have been very busy with hand efforts, running dozers in our hazardous terrain and with aircraft.