LeConte is going to be fine. This is a complicated incident where many lessons can be learned. 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. In late 2016, wildfires . It was as if time had passed with no motivational disaster to spur this awareness, at least not in my local community. I wish this would turn into the biggest Court case in history. It was about this time that we noticed the wind beginning to get stronger. I can feel for the service providers and the devastated fire victims. So my husband called the Gatlinburg policy department with the same questions and got the same answers. Talk about finger pointing! I am here at the opportunity on a couple of occasions to speak to the Fire Chief of Ontario Michigan. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) Firefighters have found a body in the remains of a building that burned in downtown Gatlinburg, officials said. Yes, there is backside-covering going on. I dont think so they were the people in charge not any of us and they didnt do their job. It would make suppression efforts difficult, but a fire break could have been constructed around the original slow-moving fire in the early days. All weekend, my husband and daughter followed the fire on the Chimney Tops 2 facebook page NPS had established. He wanted us to pack and leave. Its hard to see. Suffice it to say betting against individual as well as class-action instruments being utilized against local and federal officials would be as unlikely as betting that the sun wont rise tomorrow. 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. There is only one check point access at East Parkway (Hwy. The fire could have been stopped over the weekend if proper procedures had been followed. 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? 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. If I had even been in the bathroom or downstairs I wouldve died . Lots of fires getting controlled, crews pulling off and the new fuel falling and all back ablaze. Not the best plan but the safest. I got out of the car and walked up to the side of the pickup truck. Only we, the people, the voters, can force change by raising our collective voices by repeatedly demanding the governor and Congress take action now! Holding the responsible people accountable is the only course of action that honors what was lost. In all the Disasters I have worked in Texas, FEMA reimburse City or County for debris pickup. People need their jobs, and we all act based on the limited information, training and experience that we have and hopefully rely on others who have diverse backgrounds to supplement where we may lack. 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. They had no sirens or Claxons blaring, no shouting to evacuate thru their grill mounted speakers. Lied too by Gatlinburg or Sevier County officials? Interesting time line, fire discovered about 1730 November 23. Who is watching the back door? I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. GRSM posted Fire Information signs in the area explaining their monitoring strategy due to vertical cliffs, narrow rock ridges and steep drainages. These so called means of helping people out is a lie. They didnt and now its the property owners problem, they havent offered any clean up assistance, free dumping fees, no permit cost to rebuild, and certainly no financial help. I was near Gatlinburg until Saturday prior to the fire, visiting my family. 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. It seems to me that the extreme wind was as unprecedented as the drought and the low stream levels. When two juveniles were arrested on December 7 and charged with aggravated arson, many people assumed they had the answer. Excellent information and supporting documentation. 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. But outright blame? Spirit Airlines . I have a close friend on IMT in southern CO so have some familiarity with the process. 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. I do not remember her name. 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. 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. This is as far as this subject needs to go; for the objective of this site is in regard to wildfire. Susan, Was the fire that inaccessible on foot? The timeline of when NPS requested additional help was unfortunately too late for help to arrive before the firestorm hit. It is now time for aircraft (usually helicopters) to start washing the fire off the hill. Kelly, Lloyd and anyone else that had home and/or businesses losses from the fire, tell everyone involved to write and/or call the governors office about what is going on. I would like to insert the word, accountability into this discussion. Why the Monday morning quarterbacks seems to always get it right, while those in the game make the errors and the scores, winning and losing. Over 130 sustained injuries, and 1,684 structures have been damaged or destroyed. 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. The windspeed was 1 to 3 mph. 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? Local folks here who have been involved with Park issues have an old saying about the NPS and their mismanagement of historic structures. of them backing up and saying this isnt our problem we are carrying on just like always. Regarding the Chimney Tops Fire of Nov 14th, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsNPS/posts/1236286613095333. We had better see something besides suggestions for new warning systems and making people that are rebuilding their homes put in overly expensive sprinkler systems that way they can say to the press they made major strides and changes and they learned from the fire. 1,000 feet of rise / 0.2 mile (1,056 feet) is a slope of 94.7%, not 77%. On Monday morning we awoke to the smell of smoke. Humble yourselves to the Lord and seek HIS divine help. Our house sat below the road about 30 feet. On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to 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 . Even this article seems to skirt around some of the issues and miss the depth of analysis it needs to effect meaningful change. Out east our experience is usually ground fire with relatively less risk of widespread destruction. 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. Ive noted the contrast between how the Incident Management Teams approached the fires compared to the NPS. Thank you, Bill. A true lackadaisical response. I left early to get boys and filled Stantons old Subaru Outback up with gas. . In my opinion there is more blood on the hands of the NPS, Gatlinburg city and fire officials and Sevier County politicians than those kids. Visited Gatlinburg for the first time in Oct 2016. What were the emergency managers of this county doing/thinking at this time? Would be interesting to dig down to find the ash line (which is probably illegal on federal lands). Officials keep repeating that nothing like this has ever happened here before so they cant be responsible. City prosecutors have charged a longtime Mililani High School leader with multiple counts of theft. Thanks for adding more good insight. It was Congress that adjourned for the holidays without passing a bill to fund forest fire fighting efforts. Teddy Roosevelt, who as you may know, was instrumental in establishing our national parks. We were wearing bandanas wrapped around our faces at this point. However, to expect her to honor the NPS is inappropriate considering reality and her circumstances. I told her my concerns of fire, traffic, and falling trees blocking flow of traffic were there an emergency. We left Monday the 28th around 10:30 A.M. we could smell smoke but our home was fine and so was all of the rest of them in Chalet Village North. Bob, I know where youre coming from. What did City officials not understand about the approaching danger? The next morning, the morning of 28th, I took boys to school and went to a dr. appointment in Sevierville. As citizens we should be aware of all threats we face and expect our leadership to plan ahead as best they can. Im not saying IMTs are perfect (and no doubt there are background politics involved), but they sure appeared to do an awesome job coming to the situation with a big view and didnt hesitate to get the job done and keep the public informed. 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. I knew him when he was at Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore. The city and the county has always been about one thing. So sometime during the night as we now know everything burned down. You can see in the leaf pattern around it how a strong gust pushed up against the side of the house. It was considered a total loss after yesterdays fire. There could be falling trees. Ive posted this type of questioning on other Wildfire Today articles. Wildland firefighters typically request Spot Weather Forecasts from the NWS for wildland fires or other events that can be greatly influenced by weather. It would appear that in the end it comes down to lack of adequate training, lack of adequate rehearsals (shouldnt they have known how to get messages out to the public via cell phone? The fire was reported to be near the Twin Creeks Picnic Center at 1130. What really was going on here? Just looking at media coverage on the evacuation order public messaging snafu points out that this fire will provide many lessons learned for future fire managers. Location field must contain 'city, state' or a zip code to perform a radius search (e.g., Denver, CO or 46122).City and state must be separated by a comma followed by a space (e.g., Houston, TX) A lady answered phone. GSMNP Facebook has pulled comments, photos, and replies as well in regard to the 14th fire. If their destination is not lit, they have to land there no later than 30 minutes after sunset. 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. Hemlocks standout on aerial photos because the limbs grow in a spiral pattern around the tree. At least one of them drove up the street below our house and parked there for about an hour. Two Hawaii police departments are making moves to beef up incentives as recruiting efforts grow more competitive. The Spur or US 441 runs between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in the Smokies. It's always sad to see the destructive forces of Mother Nature. Fire managers brought in resources from all over the country. Our forest service guys have been very busy with hand efforts, running dozers in our hazardous terrain and with aircraft. You are correct in pointing out the dead hemlocks. Not sure why it matters, but you offered such a specific time, thought I would offer info to possibly make it more accurate. There will be legal repercussions because of incompetence. (Originally published at 11:04 a.m. MST November 23 . Thanks for the correction Bill. 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. 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. Everyone knew how dry it was. One other consideration relevant to some of the previous comments about the aggressiveness or lack thereof in dealing with the fire in the first few days is the context of other ongoing wildfires. I think this is more often than not the case. If the new location isnt in Gatlinburg, it will definitely be in Sevier County. Superintendent Cash says the NPS has no jurisdiction to issue evacuations for the City of Gatlinburg. Henry, do you know the effect of the typical southeastern forest ground fires on the hemlock adelgid? Suppression actions, especially backfires, causing way more damage to natural resources than the wildfire is doing., First rule of any structure fire or wildfire. It was so blatant and irresponsible of the media station to broadcast in this manner especially under the current circumstances. Now I am tasked with trying to motivate and coordinate the local fire departments much of who are volunteer, the state and national forest professionals to work with me and the community. We need to question everything and everyone with the same tenacious veracity as the other, but we also need to allow for humans to be human, and engage in the process of learning. From 7 p.m. until midnight sustained winds were at 13 to 17 mph with gusts from 34 to 49. The use of smokejumpers could be part of the plan. Excellent report Dr. Gabbert. We stopped long enough to make sure they saw the fire coming and proceeded on down the mountain. Not everything that happened with the fires had a dotted line to those two teens. We watched the news the rest of evening. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the GFD, Gatlinburg Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. I said at the time thatvwas crazy, evac. Perhaps he needs a bit of prompting to remind him that the public will not forget what happened. The town I live in in Kentucky has a $500 fine for tossing a cigarette out the window and we do not even have The potential for many brushfires. Youre right change is hard to come by. And the list goes on. Bob and Stanton snuck around back roads and made it in a few days earlier than most and found what we were fearing. Instead simply took pictures on their phone, 3. We watched local news and weather forecasts. Breathing between car and house was hard. Maybe a second year of drought? I am rebuilding the home that was burned to the ground possibly due to negligence by local fire officials like many of Lincolns Union generals, did not have the will to fight . 321) at Glades Road and the Post Office. 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. Jon Binhammer had an excellent point about the hemlocks. There is simply too much BS. If youve ever been in an incident management role you understand often having made a good decision given the best information available at the time you dont get the outcome you want. Hello Jon, for what its worth, I did some hiking in the Greenbrier area of the GSMNP back in October and didnt notice many dead hemlocks, although The Chimneys area may be different, which I havent hiked in years.
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