This is how the devastating Gatlinburg wildfire erupted overnight I stopped him and said, Stanton, weve got to calm down and go slowly getting out of here so that we dont scare Abram and so that we can drive safely. http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/12/13/timeline-gatlinburg-wildfires/95138656/. The next morning we werent allowed to go check on our house because of fires still burning and impassable roads. Above: Chimney Tops 2 Fire at 9:37 p.m. November 28, 2016 after it had burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The radio conversation was fairly early in the day as I recall, maybe 7:30-8:00 am. I certainly agree there are definitely consequences for our actions, for some more than others. Lets hope that this round regarding the fire and loss of life, it will be more difficult for officials to weasel out of this one. Why hasnt the NPS mentioned this first fire of the 14th? Will some folks be held accountable for actions or non-actions related to this wildfire incident? The winds were getting stronger. 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). Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Not everything that happened with the fires had a dotted line to those two teens. View all posts by Bill Gabbert. 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. Lets see what reviews done by people with expertise in wildland fire management come up with. It seems to me that the extreme wind was as unprecedented as the drought and the low stream levels. Chile is nearly a third world nation. 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. The Incident Management Teams fighting fires in GA and NC gave pre-evac notices for people within 10 miles of the fire line each time a cold front with high winds approached. I hope the report gives the reason why the tanker planes were never called in since they are co-managed by the NFS and NPS. We could see the smoke. 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. Monday I was surprised to look at the Knoxville News and see nothing about evacuation notices. Money. Having said that, I used to work on an incident management team whose purpose was to manage what we called years ago, let burn fires. I found this blog and am so grateful to have an opportunity to reply and also to become informed from experienced, caring people of service in the firefighting effort. 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. Experience must be coupled with training and planning based on forecasted possibilities and even un-forecasted what ifs. Ill tell you why. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1477959465566642&id=100000578092120. I phoned 911 and reported that the fire was approaching our home and that it was within a few feet of the city/park boundary. Great job on this website, it is very informative and I recommend it to everyone in the business. TEMA had the power and authority, yet did nothing until Hell was at their door. Praying for those residents that have it far worse than I. This eventually will affect us all at some point in time, as we too may one day find ourselves faced with similar circumstance. Were here to rally and support those people until they can get back up on their feet, said Laura Rippetoe of the Gatlinburg Inn. What Caused The Gatlinburg Fire - BikeHike A year or two ago, there was a small fire on Rocky Spur on the Rainbow Falls Trail up Mt. We drove west down the parkway. Lots of fires getting controlled, crews pulling off and the new fuel falling and all back ablaze. No. 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. It certainly should be addressed, by We, the People. Nonetheless, it is obvious to some folks that the NPS did not act aggressive enough on this fire. Updated: Dec. 25, 2022 at 6:15 PM PST. Your reply well done! To access this area, it is important to follow check point protocols. Anyone who has toured the hillsides where most of the homes that were destroyed would know immediately how difficult evacuations would be. Are county officials telling people about the Code Red Alert System? 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. Published: Nov. 30, 2016, 8:41 p.m. Dry conditions and high winds caused a wildfire on Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains to spread quickly . 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). Local folks here who have been involved with Park issues have an old saying about the NPS and their mismanagement of historic structures. Was it ever fully suppressed? Attorney: Arson charges against teens in fatal Gatlinburg wildfire dropped 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. Officials identified Robert A. Hejny, 63, who was found at Traveler's Motel in Gatlinburg. It would be interesting to dig a little further on this. Humans will never be able to control or suppress all unwanted fires-structure, chemical or wildland. He yelled at Bates to get out, and Bates did leave before coming back without the worker knowing. A guy in the red pickup rolled down his window and said You have to get out of here! My husband and I turned around, drove back to the Parkway and out the Spur to Pigeon Forge. Fire managers brought in resources from all over the country. City prosecutors have charged a longtime Mililani High School leader with multiple counts of theft. Yet no one made a move. Fire-wanted or unwanted- is not a warm and fuzzy abstract thing it is often portrayed in todays media and society to play around with. Anyone can arm chair quarterback incident manager decisions after the smoke clears. Im sure there will be lots of finger pointing, name calling pushing for blame and then legal actions. 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. Tunica, MS, from our area near Kansas City, to arrive late evening, that day, in Tunica. Love your neighbors, yes. Copyright 2022 WVLT. Superintendent Cash says the NPS has no jurisdiction to issue evacuations for the City of Gatlinburg. 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. When I crawled my way up Pinecrest Drive to Wiley Oakley through dense smoke, I saw a Gatlinburg pumper at the top of the hill. You bet you were. Needless to say one tanker run can drop more water than two helicopters can do in a full day. Our neighbors 3 doors down were outside near their car. Due to the damage this fire has caused Im sure there will be follow-up effects (and recriminations) for years. Also. This article shows NPS was concerned by and notified of impending high winds. Cafe 420 and Gifts of Gatlinburg were also destroyed. The report concluded that the fire was an accident; however, officials said the investigation was limited because the building was not structurally sound. They found plenty of resources when they realize they were going to be burning all the money making business is down on Monday. Excellent report Dr. Gabbert. I have been walking the woods around Gatlinburg a lot since the Fire. Anticipating the fire season, firefighting resources (people and equipment) were brought in from around the Southeast and other parts of the country. I called Bob back and told him I was leaving hurriedly and that I would call him when we had made it out of woods to Pigeon Forge. All my constructive criticisms are not targeted to Park personnel in general. Take my word for it, Ive seen back scratching going on down there for over 40 years. Have a wildland fire news tip? Often times in seeking to take out a person, the real root causes go unaddressed, and sometimes that includes some people taking the fall for decisions of others that were major contributing factors. The coordination and communication of the Incident Management teams is impressive. You are aware that Bill Gabbert the Editor of Wildfire Today spent a large part of his fire carrier with the Park Service where I believe he was served on a nationwide Type I IMT. I particularly liked Sharon Jensens after action summary. 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. Suggestion, contact Dolly Parton or representatives of her holdings and give her (them) the emergency phone line to Global Supertankers. A complex set of contributing factors no doubt, many that fell on deaf ears until they had to open eyes! Chimney Tops 2 Fire - National Park Service Why is forestry both national and state not working more collaboratively with citizens and local fire departments to improve awareness and preparation? But any land manager that expects to allow active spreading fire behavior for weeks or months is knowingly taking a risk that a wind event unpredictable weeks or months in advance will occur and change everything, sometimes with a very undesirable outcome. Which is why human history keeps repeating itself over and over. Asked if I knew if there were any other people down in that area. She said smoke had been super heavy.