Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Great Smoky Mountains ablaze. Park_Gatlinburg evacuated.
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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 12:04 am 
Whoa. frown.gif There are significant fires in the Great Smokies (Tennessee side). Gatlinburg has been ordered to evacuate. Same with Park centers and the lodge on Mt. LeConte. I don't see much on the Park's website yet, but this is according to the current edition of the Nashville Tennessean. ~z Note: I just now realized that the article originated in the Knoxville News Sentinel. Quote: The Gatlinburg Fire Department has ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city of Gatlinburg as wind conditions worsen and several fires continue to grow increasingly unpredictable and dangerous. "We were just told by the Gatlinburg Fire Department that they had told everybody in Gatlinburg to get out," said Judy Tucker, director of Sevier County's E-911 call center, around 9 p.m. " Around 6 p.m., Gatlinburg fire officials declared an immediate mandatory evacuation of the Mynatt Park neighborhood, East Foothills Road, Turkey Nest Road, Davenport Road and Savage Gardens areas. At that point, average wind speeds were recorded at 40 mph, with gusts clocking in as high as 74 mph, according to a news release from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ... With the majority of the wildfires listed as 100 percent contained on the Division of Forestry's website on Sunday, firefighters were hoping the 2-plus inches of rainfall forecast for Monday and Tuesday nights would bring an end to the ongoing wildfire emergency. But Monday’s high wind speeds exacerbated the situation, and the rain has yet to fall — Gatlinburg is expected to receive at least half an inch around midnight, said Jeremy Buckles, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown. ... The Twins Creek fire was the second in a week in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the first being a fire near the Chimney Tops area, which has grown to cover more than 500 acres since it was reported last week. In a news release on Monday, park officials said they closed Newfound Gap Road, Cherokee Orchard Road, Elkmont Road and several trails in response to the Chimney Tops fire. ... “The fire is currently moving northeast, burning primarily along the ground layer through duff and leaf litter. Gusting winds have caused the fire to spot across the ridges in the Chimney Tops and Bullhead Ridge areas,” the release stated. On Sunday, three helicopters dropped water throughout the area. Additional ground firefighters were also requested to help with suppression efforts in anticipation of Monday's winds. Backcountry areas are unsafe for travel and the following trails and backcountry campsites are currently closed until further notice. Closed backcountry trails include Chimney Tops, Road Prong, Huskey Gap, Sugarland Mountain, Rough Creek, Little River, Cucumber Gap, Jakes Creek, Miry Ridge, Goshen Prong, Old Sugarlands, Bullhead, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Brushy Mountain, Trillium Gap, Baskins Creek, Porters Creek and Grapeyard Ridge trails. Closed backcountry campsites include 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, Mount LeConte shelter and Mount Collins shelter. The fire near Chimney Tops appears to be human-caused and is under investigation, park service personnel said. If anyone has information regarding the origin of this fire, or other fires in the park, please call the park’s tip line at 865-436-1580.

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Randito
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 9:38 am 
Jeff wrote:
I wouldn't shed a tear if that entire white trash roadside attraction burned to the ground.
Don't wish for that -- if the tourist trap is gone -- then the hordes might decide to head west for their next vacation.

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NacMacFeegle
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 10:17 am 
Here in Washington it's hard to imagine anything being dry enough to burn right now - is there a drought going on over there?

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Joey
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 11:57 am 
Gatlinburg is up and to the right from the center of this map. It looks like the satellite data is different compared to what we see for western fires.
View larger size in new window

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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 12:22 pm 
NacMacFeegle wrote:
Here in Washington it's hard to imagine anything being dry enough to burn right now - is there a drought going on over there?
Yes, the entire state has been in moderate to severe drought for months. Here's a map with counties shown in colors for intensity. Middle Tennessee had some rain yesterday. Here's an excerpt from a Channel 5 (WTVF Nashville) news article dated November 11.: NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has declared a state of emergency in response to continuing drought conditions and threats of wildfires across the state. TEMA activated the Emergency Management Plan Thursday evening. This allowed local, state, and federal personnel to be ready to respond to protect people and property throughout the state. At the National Weather Service in Old Hickory, meteorologists have been tracking the conditions. Currently, the entire state has been in a moderate drought, Middle Tennessee has been experiencing a severe drought, and Southeastern Tennessee has been seeing an exceptional drought. “For Nashville, we normally should have 40 inches of total rain at this point in the year, and we are down about six inches,” said Faith Borden, Meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Borden added there hasn’t been any rain in November, and both September and October were some of the driest on record. And if you want a look at drought across the country, here is a NOAA page with maps and detailed discussion from September. Click on that US map and see that there are several hot spots across the country right now. ~z

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treeswarper
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 4:17 pm 
Good heavens! They (NPR) said Dollywood was in danger of burning up. Oh my! I'm hoping the smoke will blanket the other Washington and maybe give them an idea of what we go through.

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Bryan K
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 5:42 pm 
Jeff wrote:
I wouldn't shed a tear if that entire white trash roadside attraction burned to the ground. Unfortunately it seems like the park is burning up the most.
My wife grew up visiting Gatlinburg a lot as a child and she has a lot of wonderful childhood memories there. Yes, it may be a tourist trap area, but there are a lot of homes that people have built that are/have burned down. Also, many of the businesses are independently owned and without them many people would lose everything they have. You are certainly welcome to not visit there (what'll be left that is) and visit Branson, Missouri. A lot of the park has burned already and sadly the rains currently aren't doing as much to help as they'd like. Hopefully the weather continues to change for the better for them and they can get some containment before all is lost.

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zephyr
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PostTue Nov 29, 2016 5:59 pm 
treeswarper wrote:
They (NPR) said Dollywood was in danger of burning up.
Erm... no. Dollywood lost a few cabins. They are opening for business on Friday. All talking about Dollywood does is put a celebrity spin on things. The Smokies and southern Appalachians are far more than the tourist towns and traps that cluster around the portals. Here's an overflight of the destruction. Note: The video has a short ad and you might want to turn the volume down a bit. That helicopter is pretty loud.
This is actually pretty devastating for these folks. Wildfires are not annual events like they are out west. There has been an unusual (for our lifetime) drought. They have been fighting wildfires all Fall--many were started by humans, some arson. Update from the Tennessean: Three people are confirmed dead after the wildfire that destroyed more than 150 homes and businesses as flames whipped by high-speed winds raged overnight through town and displaced more than 14,000 residents, the latest destruction by wildfires that have consumed more than 15,000 acres. "We do not have further information on them at this time," Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said at an afternoon news conference. "We do not have identifications. We are working to identify those folks now." He said the three died in separate incidents during the blaze, which officials earlier called unlike any in recent memory. "This is the largest fire in the state of Tennessee in 100 years," said Gov. Bill Haslam, who visited the city Tuesday afternoon. Emphasis mine. ~z

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GaliWalker
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PostWed Nov 30, 2016 7:44 am 
zephyr wrote:
The Smokies and southern Appalachians are far more than the tourist towns and traps that cluster around the portals.
Indeed. frown.gif Reading the list of (potentially) affected areas is pretty heartbreaking. Here's is what I wrote in conclusion of my last trip to the Smokies: "On the final day of five spent hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as I walked through a beautiful, lush forest, I thought back over my nearly completed trip. I relived all the flowing mountain scenery I had experienced, and how all of it had featured peaks covered from end to end with forest. I thought back to the streams and waterfalls, and how these had cut their way through dense vegetation. I looked around at all the trees that surrounded me, at that very moment, and noticed how each of those trees was festooned with ivy. I remembered the solitary bear, the solitary fox, the solitary owl, the plethora of birds and all the elk I'd seen, and extrapolated that to all the wildlife I hadn't seen, and how all of this was sheltered, nurtured, protected by these forested valleys and peaks. And I got it. Great Smoky Mountains National Park was life."

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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostWed Nov 30, 2016 3:17 pm 
Nicely written Galiwalker. I also had family trips to Gatlinburg and the Smokies, Bryan K. Lots of special memories there. Apparently the fire that swept through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge came down via the Chimney Tops fire in the Park which had been burning since November 23. That fire (Chimney 2) is purported to be human caused and under investigation. WBIR Article here. Update from The Tennessean: GATLINBURG -- Seven people are now confirmed dead in the wildfires that ravaged Sevier County this week, authorities said Wednesday. Early assessments indicate wildfire has damaged or destroyed more than 700 homes and businesses across the county this week, county Mayor Larry Waters said at an afternoon news conference. Fire officials said that number includes about 300 buildings inside the Gatlinburg city limits. Meanwhile the Washington Post published an article today with a video from Facebook taken by two people escaping the fire in Chalet Village. Pretty dramatic driving through the flames at night with limited visibility and blocked roads. They were lucky to make it out. (Note: the video does hang up buffering, so you may need to stop it to load completely.) I tried to post the video, but could not get an embed code. It's in the article. ~z

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MyFootHurts
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PostFri Dec 02, 2016 2:58 pm 
Jeff wrote:
I wouldn't shed a tear if that entire white trash roadside attraction burned to the ground. Unfortunately it seems like the park is burning up the most.
I could say the same thing about Seattle, but I won't.

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yukon222
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PostFri Dec 02, 2016 4:08 pm 
That video in Zephyr's link is amazing. Horrific amount of smoke, fire and downed trees as they drove out. Death toll has now reached 13 people. frown.gif

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Alpendave
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PostSat Dec 03, 2016 1:47 pm 
Joey wrote:
Gatlinburg is up and to the right from the center of this map. It looks like the satellite data is different compared to what we see for western fires.
And, coincidentally, east of that is the town of Burnsville. clown.gif

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zephyr
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PostSat Dec 03, 2016 10:12 pm 
I regret seeing a few disrespectful comments in this thread. There are 13 known deaths so far, over a 1000 structures destroyed and 18,000 acres burned. People have lost family members, their homes, businesses and been injured or traumatized. Not really anything to joke about. ~z Tennessee wildfire information page here with current fires in progress. This pdf map is updated frequently. Last time I looked there were many more fires burning. There's been some rain that's helped. Here's an article in the Knoxville News Sentinel with a long list of structures burned and photos from around town. This website in Wisconsin put together several really good maps of the Chimney Tops2 fire. There's an interactive map from InciWeb (National Interagency Fire Center) that's very informative.

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GaliWalker
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PostWed Dec 07, 2016 1:44 pm 
Two juveniles charged with arson.

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