Posted on 11/29/2016 9:30:21 AM PST by knarf
Gatlinburg itself for the most part is intact. The outlying cabins and homes look like Tokyo after the firebombing in WWII. The Park Vista Hilton hotel on a hilltop in Gatlinburg caught fire but was only partially damaged. I have stayed at this hotel and the video of the fires shows it to be very close to the hotel. Dollywood is fine although they lost a few of their cabins.
Rain tonight is forecast, hopefully a slow heavy rain to soak the ground and put the fires out. In my neck of the woods it has been one arson fire after another. Fire crews have been run ragged the last month. It would not be a good thing for one of these arsonist to be brought before me on a jury. They would be someone’s bit*h in prison for a long time.
Holy SMOKE and no pun intended.
Looks like they had to kick ‘em off the road to get around them
WBIR out of Knoxville has been reporting and live streaming for about 24 hours now. Winds speeds reached 85+ mph creating a firestorm...yet nothing. But the major networks will cover a high speed chase in LA for hours. Oh look, Bernie picked a green booger! SQUIRREL!!!
Pay attention in the not so distant future. If that vacation cabin resort gets a buyout offer from the Park Service, it wasn’t ISIS.
East Tennessee resident here. This is something that I posted on Facebook earlier today. Mostly still valid.
Here is an update on the fire situation in Gatlinburg. About 14000 people were evacuated. About 2000 are currently in shelters. Twelve have been taken to hospitals; three of them to Vanderbilt with severe burns. Hundreds of structures have been destroyed (tentatively 70 in Wears Valley, 70 in Cobbly Knob, perhaps up to 100 in Westgate Resorts, perhaps up to 75 in Black Bear Falls resort). Some of the areas within Gatlinburg: Alamo Steak House, Hillbilly Golf, Wedding Chapel, some hotels, and at least one bank.
Not significantly damaged: Aquarium, Dollywood, Elkmont, LeConte Lodge, and Ober Gatlinburg. Reports are that the downtown area of Gatlinburg is intact.
The fires spread very quickly yesterday due to incredibly dry conditions and wind gusts that exceeded 80 mph in some areas.
There are still fourteen active fires in the general area, but I don’t have a current report on how bad things currently are. My guess is that things are a lot better today due to the rain last night.
There are still areas, such as portions of Ski Mountain, that people have not been able to reach yet to check for damage.
Israel, parts of the U.S...., just sayin’.
Update: Three fatalities
Prayers up for the families and people in harm’s way.
California people know all too well the danger of massive and out of control forest/brush fires.
Stay safe. Things can be replaced, people can’t!
My love affair with the Appalachian Mountains began when I was 14. I have prowled those Appalachians all my life, it seems. The rhododendrum and mountain laurel, the ‘hollers’, the wild flowers, the wild life. I am profoundly saddened.
Fond memories (and the pain) of climbing Mt. LeConte and staying at the lodge there.
Who is Tobias Beecher, and where can we find him? He’s the guy on Twitter laughing at the dead in Tennessee...
He deleted his tweets.
Nothing there, now.
Doesn’t matter...we have that lovely screen shot.
I saw an article about a young kid being arrested for arson fire in Southern TN in August. But you mentioned arson fires becoming more common? Is there any reason to suspect ISIS? I know fires in Israel are terrorism and starting fires is a weapon jihadists have encouraged.
Or..actual coincidences. Just got me curious.
Are the fires still going or are they pretty much under control now?
Look at this rescued baby bear:
https://mobile.twitter.com/BBAnimaIVids/status/803669612030095360/video/1
Awwww!
There are still some fires, but not nearly as bad. Hopefully the worst is over. However, the winds are supposed to pick up again tonight—perhaps 30 to 40 mph gusts. Some rain is expected probably tomorrow morning.
In the aftermath of a fire, there remain what firefighters are referring to as “thousand hour fires”. This refers to tree trunks that are still burning or perhaps smoldering. It will take days, perhaps weeks, to snuff everything out. I live within a couple of miles from where the Walland fire was. (Most people outside of the area probably haven’t heard of it, but it burned 1500+ acres and was quite spectacular.) It took several days to have confidence that it was completely under control. As long as the fire hasn’t gone out, there is always the possibility (and reality) of new fires starting due to the very dry conditions.
We’ll see how tonight goes, but things are 100% better than last night.
Here in Johnson City TN (100 miles NE of Gatlinburg), we find the best coverage (sometimes the only coverage) is in the Daily Mail (UK)
Howcome the flippin’ Brits can cover it, and the U.S. Mainstream Fake News Media can’t?
I really do think they hate us, and the feeling is mutual.
I burned a large brush pile in an area of centipede grass a couple of years ago and you can still find the area in the spring by looking for the greenest, strongest, fastest growing patch of grass in that area. That huge pile of ash made the grass grow so strong that it looks like a different type of grass than the centipede surrounding it but it is all the same grass.
Amazingly some “experts” counsel against using wood ash for fertilizer. Those of us who have seen the results laugh at such advice.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.