Report: Great Smoky Mountains National Park Staff Not Negligent In Battling Deadly Chimney Tops 2 Fire

Posted by Jeff on Sep 1, 2017 @ 6:34 am in Conservation | 0 comments | Last modified: August 31, 2017

The deadly fire fed by kindling-dry forests and whipped out of control by hurricane-force winds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park “overwhelmed” the park staff’s ability to fight it, according to an independent review of the blaze that killed 14 in neighboring communities in November, 2016.

Extreme drought conditions and heavy ground fuels – downed and dead hemlocks among them – initially fed the fire, and then hurricane-force winds on November 28 into November 29 blew the conflagration into a firestorm that swept through Gatlinburg, Tennessee, trapping many in their homes and destroying or damaging approximately 2,500 structures. Power lines downed by the winds and sparking transformers set additional fires in the town. When it was all over, 14 deaths had been reported.

The review board concluded that the “unprecedented Chimney Tops 2 Fire event exposed several wildland fire situational preparedness and planning weaknesses at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Despite these weaknesses, the review team found no evidence of wanton disregard or negligence by anyone at the park.”

“What was unprecedented was the combination of a severe wind event (a “mountain wave” extreme wind that usually occurs 2-4 times per year from November through March in the western foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains), coupled with severe drought and a wildland fire on the landscape,” it added. “This scenario had never been witnessed by anyone at the park.”

Two juveniles initially had been charged with arson in connection with the blaze, but Tennessee authorities later dropped the charges, saying they couldn’t directly tie the Chimney Tops 2 fire in the national park with the subsequent fires in and around Gatlinburg.

See report recommendations here…