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Thanksgiving Day Global Supertanker 747 is responding to wild fires in Israel. It appears that only TEMA has the authority to give a notice over multiple counties, but they didnt take the lead until Monday night, after the fact. Very well put Mari. All rights reserved. The teens, 15 and 17, were charged with starting the Chimney Tops fire which eventually spread to the Smoky Mountains, into Sevier County and Gatlinburg, killing 14 people, injuring more than. The more we let our selves be vulnerable and courageous in the face of tough situations, the more chance that we have that we will fall, and we will; we all will at some point if we take that risk to be brave and courageous. On November 23 when the fire was discovered the KBDI was 599, Molly Schroer, a spokesperson for the IMT told us. That is when it would have been prudent to announce a pre-evacuation notice for the Gatlinburg area to be ready to evacuate if an evacuation order is announced. We stopped at another neighbors house. Money. I dont have the statistics to prove what you wrote is incorrect, but I am convinced that it is not a fact to say most of the fires that are monitored (as opposed to fully suppressed) escape outside the agencys borders. I began picking up news stories of the fire in Gatlinburg from as the storm rolled east. Ms.Schroer said she was not aware of any actual on-the-ground fire suppression efforts, other than perhaps some work on a distant indirect fireline, until Monday November 28, after the fire had grown large and crossed US Highway 141, the main road into the park. After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire. 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. 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). I hope they end up being involved in the biggest lawsuit anyone has ever seen! Thats perfect Johnny. She has given me permission to share it on this site. Hire an independent fire behavior consultant to assist in PLANNING and timely response if conditions appear to be coming into (fire) alignment. The leaves that had hung on into late Fall because of lack of winds and rain for months began to rain from the trees in copious amounts and there were leaf funnels forming and it was hard as we ran from cabin to car loading Abram and Lady. I would like to express that there are sincere and dedicated folks working for the National Park Service. Sunday, four days after the fire started, was the first time that any firefighting aircraft were used on the fire, Ms. Schroer said. 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. What the kids did was extremely wrong and they should and will be punished for it but any Philadelphia lawyer work his retainer fee well get these kids off with no more than arson and reckless endangerment. The age of information is both eye opening and scary, the potential for manipulation is astounding! strong south, southwest winds, extreme drought, low humidity..ect.., that something similar didnt happen here. 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. Who will accuse and then fire then? Or in steep cliff terrain it just isnt going to happen, no one on the fire. I can only say that I had no peace at all whatsoever after the first word I heard of the terrible fire there .. What were the emergency managers of this county doing/thinking at this time? The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the GFD, Gatlinburg Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Accusations were abundant. Hasnt anyone noticed that friends groups are paying for major park infrastructure and various other projects that our Congress has failed to provide for? Stupidity is as stupidity does. One option could be helicopter fire repellers to repel into the fire and make an assessment of risk. But the condition of the fuel was also important since it happenedduring what the National Weather Service (NWS) calls exceptional drought conditions. Just a quick comment per above posts. Who knows what the climate will bring next year. 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. There may be some validity in the DA doing that, but it sure calls their integrity into question. Even the Gatlinburg Fire Chief had been told on Sunday at 0900 that models had the fire hitting downtown Gatlinburg by Tuesday 1100. This is from previous questioning of mine from another Wildfire Today article: Team to Begin Chimney Tops 2 Fire: I appreciate your more thorough break down of backfire. Ive learned so much on this blog over the past 6 weeks about how forest fires are managed and fought and Im most grateful for that. 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. The cleaner told officials he found Bates in the room where the fire started and had what appeared to be a warming fire going. Asked if I knew if there were any other people down in that area. What did City officials not understand about the approaching danger? 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. Attorney: Arson charges against teens in fatal Gatlinburg wildfire dropped I think this is more often than not the case. 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 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. I hope that the firefighters, leaders, and authorities in this area make sure to perform in depth After Action Reviews and make changes to avoid these issues in the future. They are just as clandestine of a secret society as the city officials of Gatlinburg and Sevier County. Experience by itself often lends to complacency and been there done that thinking. Report: Gatlinburg fire caused $7 million in damages Some of those GSMNP personnel were trained out west and know how fast a wildfire spreads in high winds. I learned that it is extremely difficult to manage, rather than suppress, a wildland fire for an extended period of 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. All without the but why reflection, cause and effect analysis, drill down technique and the inter-relationship effect. Wednesday, November 23, the day the fire started. We have border issues, at the local levels, states rights and federal rights that are still at issue, leadership silos, and rising political issues. From my back ground in fire, safety and as a fire investigator I see the development of a chain of multiple, unusual and totally unexpected events leading up to final blowup. I am not convinced that all of what is considered to be the Chimney Tops 2 fire is. I would rather have someone on the job who has screwed up, erred and learned from the experience as I know that the chances of a repeat performance are lessened and for most learners they will progress forward with even better decision making skills. One thing I have learned is that the news media, especially in todays world is just as skilled and often benefits from pushing their own agendas as well. On the evening of the fire, I was monitoring tornadic storms across northern Mississippi because my family were driving to Thats exactly what I plan on doing and recording the calls so that if they dont take action they an explain to the public why after getting all of these calls with people pleading for them to take action. The fire could have been accidental, or it may have been intentional. We could get blocked in by both. 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. A lot of personnel put forth heroic efforts to save lives and we should all be grateful for that. Birmingham City close training ground after fire causes damage Out of all the issues evolving around negligence and what could have been done, etc. 6 to the intersection at Reagen Drive reopened Monday afternoon after being closed Sunday morning, according to a release. Who caused the fire in Gatlinburg? Nearby businesses feel the same. However, their findings could certainly implicate some of the decision makers concerning how things were handled and may lead to a few resignations. It is very hard and slow to navigate through laurel stands and the thick Tennesee Barbed Wire Briar patches. By the way, I havent seen any local media covering much for the victims since the coverage with Jerry and the pursuit of compensation. 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. The Gatlinburg fire chief put out a notice for additional help to come to Gatlinburg around 11:52 pm. They were asleep at the wheel. But all sitting back and doing nothing to help. Thanksgiving weekend is one of the 4 busiest weekends for Gatlinburg and the National Park. A voluntary evacuation should have been issued at least 36 hours before the fire exploded. We had somewhat of a plan but both agreed that if we had a warning or concern we would leave because of our location and our neighborhood has no fire hydrants. I think thats pretty cut and dry and yes its their fault that they didnt at least try and do something. It works like an Amber Alert to people who download the app and sign up. It was hard to drive because of falling leaves, branches, smoke, wind, and nerves. Who can or will hold them accountable for their part in this tragedy? 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. Well said, the terrain here is different than a lot of places, even out west. They didnt for one reason in my humble opinion: $$$ But instead great risks were taken through basic inaction and the consequences were disastrous. It was a very horrible dream and I had qualms about my trip before I arrived in Branson. Susan, And I dont write about that many of them. According to Public Information Officer Seth Butler, the Gatlinburg Fire Department and the Pigeon Forge Fire Department were dispatched to downtown Gatlinburg at 6:39 a.m. on Sunday, Oct.. GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) Firefighters have found a body in the remains of a building that burned in . In wildfire-riddled Tennessee, climate change is a hot topic Accountability! 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. 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 . Those businesses were also protected from the fire. U.S. Park Service (again) and Thanksgiving. Fire kills 1, destroys businesses in downtown Gatlinburg, Tenn Most of the people that own property down there like me live elsewhere in the real world were things cannot be as easily shoved under the rug like they are down there. We watched local news and weather forecasts. From just across the Smokies in Bryson City, N.C./Swain county. The chain reaction that if un-inhibited can create the perfect storm, block the perfect solutions or that can lead to the ignition of possibility and opportunity. The Spur between Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is open from Pigeon Forge to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. Honor those who have risked much to help, indeed. They felt this was an attempt to start a forest fire and it was reported to officials. 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. I was truly astounded at how well coordinated the IMT teams are they cover it all, firelines, backburns, aircraft, field communications, weather forecast, community information via meetings/Facebook/Blog page/Twitter with daily updates, pre-evacuation notices when wind events were predicted. I have to assume that the city of Gatlinburg felt that since my road was county property that I was on my own. A little later the local TV news reported the fire had crossed the road and was headed up the mountain behind the Park Vista. I got out of the car and walked up to the side of the pickup truck. January 4, 2017 at 5:26 pm Some of the drainages where the managers hoped to stop the fire were a half mile away. Paddlers prepare to hit the water for the return of the Kualoa Hakipuu Canoe Festival, Former Mililani High athletic director indicted, Hawaii police departments offer big incentives as competition for new recruits heats up, Stroke survivor's specially-modified bike returned, Midday Newscast: City proposes $300 tax credit for those with homeowner's exemption, 'The Other Side of Paradise' with Lynn Kawano, KHNLPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KGMBPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KFVEPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KSIXPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246, KOGGPUBLICFILE@HAWAIINEWSNOW.COM (808) 847-3246. 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? There was a yellow glow in the skies which has always been indicative of severe weather where we came from. I was in my cabin on 28 November and barely made it out alive. Until you sit in my seat after 20 years of fire service, making decisions on where to send your firefighters based on their experience levels, you will then realize decisions have trade offs and sometimes Mother Nature over rules you. This appears to be the case once again. I particularly liked Sharon Jensens after action summary. We must change our minds first and then we must change our actions. Jordans comments on the video indicates that their management was taking care to show how they were not responsible. they may be using too wide a brush to place blame. Corker and Alexander know what would happen if they tried to interfere with a Federal prosecution! A similar fire occurred on English Mountain. That should have been done over Thanksgiving! Other than the way the police were able to evacuate 4,000 people from Gatlinburg with little notice on Monday evening, everyone else involved did a very poor job.