who caused the gatlinburg fires?

Classic Swiss Cheese risk management fire management failurehave we as a profession learned anything since South Canyon, Yarnell and now Chimney Top 2? Your reply well done! FEMA did say they would give us a low interest rate loan, we dont want a loan we worked hard and paid it off and dont want to go in debt to rebuild! Jeannines comments were spot on. The IMT reported that the fire had not increased in size over the previous 24 hours and was still listed at 17,006 acres. Good point, Ms. Horton. There is a time and a season for prescribed/monitored fire and that time is NOT during an historic drought and fire season in the SE US with numerous ongoing large fires and a very well predicted wind and storm event. Great job on this website, it is very informative and I recommend it to everyone in the business. 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. The 6pm and 7pm newscasts could have been leveraged by TEMA to order an evacuation then, before lines went down, power went out and cell towers on fire. Like I said this is like so many tragic events, a chain reaction of events that all contributed to a disastrous outcome, because of actions and inactions that were not questioned or corrected at many steps of the way. Why hasnt the NPS mentioned this first fire of the 14th? They found plenty of resources when they realize they were going to be burning all the money making business is down on Monday. It had burned into a picnic area and crossed the main roadinto the park, US Highway 441. What is these adults had taken immediate action to correct and intervene in this unsafe behavior by children. CNN A wildfire burning near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevier County, Tennessee, has grown to more than 3,700 acres and impacted more than 100 structures, County Mayor Larry. Once again, can fire discreetly smolder in the duff amid rock crevices? IMT issued pre-evacuation notices in GA and NC each time they saw cold-front winds approaching that could would threaten communities. So property owners are left to deal with everything and if we had the power we would have done something like worrying the crap out of all of them until action was taken. Will we fail forward? We are emotional beings, we feel and we have the capability to think. The appearance of dead hemlock progression is astounding. A complex set of contributing factors no doubt, many that fell on deaf ears until they had to open eyes! On November 23 when the fire was discovered the KBDI was 599, Molly Schroer, a spokesperson for the IMT told us. Even life-long locals said they had never seen rhododendren wither up before. > Jeannine In my 40 years in the fire service (Calif and Alaska), I have seen an unfortunate number of cases where agencies in generaland the NPS in particulardesignate fires as monitored event(s) (insert favorite agency terminology here) that hours, or days, later explode into huge incidents. They strive to their utmost and have a true passion working in GSMNP. 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. It certainly should be addressed, by We, the People. Money. The Gatlinburg Space Needle fire (July 1992) In 1992, a fire destroyed Ripley's Gatlinburg Museum which was, at the time, located at the base of the needle. Not everything that happened with the fires had a dotted line to those two teens. When one seriously examines the events, these lives could have been spared despite the power of fire and wind. "We've had five (fatalities) really close together and this is more than we normally have by this time of year," Boyd said. What really was going on here? Officials keep repeating that nothing like this has ever happened here before so they cant be responsible. The identities of the three killed have not been released . there is still a nagging question regarding the use of BACKFIRE on the part of the NPS and the Gatlinburg Fires? I am just saying that it is not necessary to lynch someone in order to hold them accountable. We looked at each other and I asked if we should leave or go back and try to use the water hose to protect the house. NO managing wildfire is much more complex, especially in a multiple fire drought driven incident like managers were dealing with on this incident. I feel sad for everyone involved. We watched the news the rest of evening. Hemlocks standout on aerial photos because the limbs grow in a spiral pattern around the tree. My husband and I were at our house in Gatlinburg, just north of the Park Vista, on the night of the fire. I can hear it now, hasnt the NPS learned anything in the past 10-20 yrs? I dont think so they were the people in charge not any of us and they didnt do their job. From just across the Smokies in Bryson City, N.C./Swain county. Finding out about the fire has hurt me almost as much as it did the locals. When maintenance employees with GRSM drove past the Chimney Tops 2 Fire early Mondaymorning they saw that the intensity and rate of spread of the fire had increased dramatically. 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. We waited as the days passed until we could go and see if ours had burned. Within a few days or week prior to this deadly fire I heard a local major Knoxville radio station broadcasting a satire bashing HRC, Obama, the Federal Government among a few other controversial things, and how the revolution has begun including the incitement of burning down the place, this Knoxville radio station followed this rant with songs whose lyrics tough-ted and instructed the starting of fires. Honor. 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. When the fire started on Chimney Tops I thought surely the National Park Service would take necessary steps to put it out quickly because of the sure danger of it spreading. Lastly, I would after this last election year never ever put stake into social media as any sort of official news, witness accounts or other fact finding mission. Breathing between car and house was hard. Before we got in the car, we each took photos of the approaching fire with our cell phones. The power of nature is awesome and often far beyond our ability to predict and react to in a timely manner. Youve certainly added much food for thought. 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. Also important is accountability, so is teaching, learning and experience, so is action, so is on and on. 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. A lady answered phone. there is nothing that can address the failure of leadership at every level that contributed to that loss of life. I appreciate how articulately you described your thoughts. I told him my home was on fire and he said they were evacuating everyone,then. These people both the successful along with the ones who erred and experienced failure, courageously risked being vulnerable in order to help others. I guess they must think when you have to go up there to handle this mess they caused that you dont need lodging, food or gas to get there. 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. LeConte, is spread primarily, if not exclusively through the air.Though I havent been there in awhile, there used to be a stunning grove of Hemlocks in the Linville Falls area off the Parkway approx. That should have been done over Thanksgiving! Fire those managers! As we reached the Parkway, everything was deserted. He and the other NPS staff there regularly went on out of state assignments. (PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images) Chan estimated the insurance claim could . But if park management had been spending budget on fire management capabilities equal to those sites there would likely be criticism of that. The NPS, IMO, did not take an aggressive stance on this fire, and that is usually the case with them. It caused a shutdown . Alice Hagler, who went missing at Chalet Village, was identified Wednesday night by her son Lyle Wood, who said his mother's body had been found "in the ruins of her home, her life taken by a. I went back a few years ago and it was completely different. An ongoing lawsuit against the National Park Service over its handling of the 2016 Gatlinburg Wildfire is on hold as a federal judge considers a motion to dismiss the suit. The NPS investigation team has all this information and everything posted on Wildfire Today and a lot of info that was never made public. Five days is a generous amount of time to request and receive firefighters. Period. 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. We both were winded, nervous, and running to grab one change of clothes, night clothes, and tooth brushes. Hit it with all you have the Moment it breaks out. NPS manager Cassius Cash said the NPS didnt have the authority to order an evacuation (how about recommending a pre-evacuation status so the public was ready to evacuate if needed?). There is an old saying he is known for: When government cannot accept criticism from the people, secular authority is no longer a democracy, but a dictatorship (paraphrased). 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. I am positive that for anyone who gives of themselves to protect and serve will forever be haunted by that far more than anyone of us can expect to hold them accountable by lynching. I told him I would call fire department in Gatlinburg across from Food City. I think anyone that is from this area could see this could be a very dangerous fire from the first day!! I think were all just going to come back and rebuild stronger than ever, he said. The DA in Sevier County has put a gag rule in effect since the get go to protect the teeneagers involved. I would describe this as flooding in Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg Tennessee, but certainly heavy rain rising the water levels throughout. It must have been Sunday, because a Type 1 team came in on Tuesday. teams had Lake Lure and Tate City evacuate when high winds were forecast. Lots of fires getting controlled, crews pulling off and the new fuel falling and all back ablaze. As one who has had experience and ready mix, concrete block, pavers, and pre-cast, one would be a fool to rebuild on ANY existing foundation that came in contact with temperatures approaching 3,000F. 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. is TEMA didnt have the training. Too often the only voice that is heard in our society is money and the more one has the more they are heard. Approximately 14,000 residents were originally forced to evacuate. I do not remember her name. Susan, If this is the same Bob Stanton commenting here, then the bias is way too obvious. I particularly liked Sharon Jensens after action summary. Were here to rally and support those people until they can get back up on their feet, said Laura Rippetoe of the Gatlinburg Inn. On Monday morning we awoke to the smell of smoke. You may have a point regarding lawsuits, reported actions and actual actions. Hopefully all of those affected will be able to begin again. The official cause is down power lines due to high winds and fallen trees, according to a National Park Service news release. I would like to insert the word, accountability into this discussion. The one thing I noticed over the fall was that the National Forest Service held themselves accountable, called in Incident Management Teams from all over the country with big wildfire experience and those teams got it done. 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. Youre right change is hard to come by. The People have been deceived with a vague and biased investigation regarding this particular bear incident. The fire, which was reported at 6:39 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Parkway,. A lot of personnel put forth heroic efforts to save lives and we should all be grateful for that. Fire Summary. A spokesperson for the city said the Gatlinburg Fire Department was dispatched to the 700 block of Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg at 6:39 a.m. on October 9. Sandra, I agree. Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. This is a complicated incident where many lessons can be learned. I agree with you Bill that it isnt Most but whether it is a few or many isnt the point for me. Four downtown Gatlinburg businesses are picking up the pieces, after a fire Sunday morning destroyed their building. The coordination and communication of the Incident Management teams is impressive. They got info from NPS about the fire spreading. I had these thoughts: if fire spreads from Chimney Tops and starts coming towards Gatlinburg, people are going to be getting gas and getting out. His parents died in the fire in Gatlinburg .