TN - Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountains wildfire, 14 confirmed dead, 23 Nov 2016 *Arrests/Charges Dropped**

[Jax49]

I clicked on your link and the third video down came on saying that three more victims have been found, bringing total up to seven deaths now. Not identified yet.

ETA video said "live" on it.

Thanks. The live feed is off now, but this link confirms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...n-tennessee-wildfires/?utm_term=.438c6f412d88

 

[Tulessa]

Death toll at 9.

http://www.wymt.com/content/news/Death-toll-rises-to-5-after-storms-hit-South-403778996.html

 

[Tulessa]

I thought he meant to say "throwing" matches but who knows.

I agree that whoever started the fire if it was on purpose then murder charges should occur.

Everyone knows a fire could kill someone so it is appropriate to file murder charges whoever started these fires.

I saw some comments in one of the Youtube videos that said the fires appeared to be popping up everywhere and it didnt make sense. I know wind can cause it to do that but if they were popping up in different places then wind could be ruled out as the source for some of them.

The investigators have a tough job figuring out the cause.

Wind can carry a spark for miles. Especially in these dry conditions. I have a homeless fire fighter staying with hubby and I now. He's explained a lot to me.

 

[watcher9]

Death toll at 9.

http://www.wymt.com/content/news/Death-toll-rises-to-5-after-storms-hit-South-403778996.html

The headline may have been misleading. They were including both fire and storm victims in TN.

Three bodies were recovered Wednesday from the Gatlinburg area bringing the fire death toll to seven.

From the severe storm that went through Tuesday night, five persons were killed by possible tornadoes. Three were killed in Jackson AL and as the storm moved through TN, two more were killed near Ocoee and Benton in Polk County TN which is below Gatlinburg and Sevier County.

 

[JaelynKL]

https://m.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMo...8693662136/1252436828146978/?type=3&source=54

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk

 

[Spellbound]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/us/gatlinburg-fires/

On this page are info on the missing, summation of the fires, and a very good video, about 30 minutes. from Gatlinburg's Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Spa, which was mostly gone. The video is about 3/4 of the way down the page, under the heading "Solid Wall of Fire"

 

[Hatfield]

Wind can carry a spark for miles. Especially in these dry conditions. I have a homeless fire fighter staying with hubby and I now. He's explained a lot to me.

Thanks for that as I didnt realize it could travel miles. Wow. I have seen sparks from yard burning leaves that can get way up in the air and it always surprised me how far up they get lifted by the heat of the flames.

When burning leaves at night you can see the embers go way up. They typically go out pretty quick though so it is surprising to hear they can travel miles. Seeing those videos with those strong winds and how hot that fire was getting is amazing.

It could explain why some local people wondered how the fires seemed to be starting everywhere.

 

[FindHG]

Tennessee officials say wildfires that left 7 dead ‘likely to be human-caused’
By Lindsey Bever, Angela Fritz and Peter Holley, The Washington Post
Nov 30 at 7:49 pm

[...]

Park Superintendent Cassius Cash said late Wednesday afternoon that the fire was “likely to be human-caused.”

[...]

 

[neesaki]

This is too sad. We stayed in one of the cabins at Chalet Village years ago, it was so beautiful up there. Those forests will take years and years to grow back, and the wildlife. :tears: And the poor people who've lost their lives, and their families. It's unbearable to think about. :tears:

A List of the Missing from Gatlinburg Wildfires:
http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/11/30/list-missing/94681070/

The first lady listed was found deceased. :cry:
http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...-hard-hit-gatlinburg-area-wildfires/94674600/

Alice Hagler, missing from Chalet Village, was one of the three dead found in that neighborhood, her son has confirmed.

 

[neesaki]

Here's the link to the full video of the escape from the fires in Chalet Village. I noticed the man in the video said more than once there had been no warnings, no news, no anything. It sounds as though the fires starting in that area was totally unexpected.

You're right Tulessa, it is terrifying. The dog can be heard panting in the background, poor baby. Thank God they made it out safely.
[video=youtube;NGyHu4iX5-Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGyHu4iX5-Y[/video]

 

[Spellbound]

Thanks for that as I didnt realize it could travel miles. Wow. I have seen sparks from yard burning leaves that can get way up in the air and it always surprised me how far up they get lifted by the heat of the flames.

When burning leaves at night you can see the embers go way up. They typically go out pretty quick though so it is surprising to hear they can travel miles. Seeing those videos with those strong winds and how hot that fire was getting is amazing.

It could explain why some local people wondered how the fires seemed to be starting everywhere.

Also, Hatfield, keep in mind that area has been under severe drought for a long time and is very dry. Even a small spark would ignite dry leaves, etc.

I heard sparks through the electric wires have also caused fires...

 

[Spellbound]

One woman ( a grandmother) identified as victim of the fires:

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...gatlinburg-assesses-wildfire-damage/94665376/

It's with a very heavy heart that we have to announce that our mother was found in the ruins of her home, her life taken by a devastating fire that impacted so many lives in East Tennessee and will continue to for some time to come," son Lyle Wood said in a statement Wednesday night.


Two more bodies were found in the North Chalet Village, and a third was found in a room at the Travelers Motel off U.S. Highway 321, he said. Three more had been found by Wednesday afternoon -- all three in a home on Campbell Lead Road.
Fire officials said the damage total includes about 300 buildings inside the Gatlinburg city limits and another 400 in neighboring Pigeon Forge and outlying unincorporated communities. That's on top of more than 15,700 acres consumed in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the blaze began last week in the remote Chimney Tops area.


The blaze from the Chimney Tops trail inside the national park jumped to the city when gales of wind burst through town Monday night into Tuesday morning at speeds that approached 90 mph, carrying burning embers for miles. Officials said the flashover defied predictive models and sent crews scrambling as more than 20 fires ignited within the first quarter-hour.


Michelle Hankes, spokeswoman for the Knoxville chapter of the American Red Cross, said the agency has received more donations of food, clothes and other necessities at this point than volunteers and staff can handle.
"We're going to ask everyone to take a pause," she said. "We need to make sure we can use these resources as they're intended."

 

[byo]

Statue of Jesus only thing left standing in house burned by Tennessee wildfire
By Doug Criss, CNN | Updated 11:30 AM ET, Thu December 1, 2016

http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/161201095343-fire-statute-jesus-medium-plus-169.jpg

 

[Hatfield]

Thanks for all the updates.

Does anyone know if that poor gentleman ever found his wife and 2 children? I am so fearful they may be some of the victims of the fire.

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...nburg-desperate-find-wife-daughters/94598762/

 

[Spellbound]

Thanks for all the updates.

Does anyone know if that poor gentleman ever found his wife and 2 children? I am so fearful they may be some of the victims of the fire.

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/...nburg-desperate-find-wife-daughters/94598762/

''I keep looking for any news on his family, but have seen nothing yet. Very scared for him.

Found a list of the missing (one person located)
http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2016/11/30/list-missing/94681070/

 

[sallye818]

This has been devastating. My sister and her husband own a home in Sevier County, but live here in VA. It looks like damage is far from their place, but many of their family and friends have been affected. I have many fond memories of Gatlinburg, Sevier County, and Dollywood. Article below explains that Dolly Parton has pledged $1000/mo to victims whose homes have been destroyed in the wildfires. What a blessing!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...d-foundation-donating-fire-families/94707008/

 

[wasalurker]

Here is Dolly speaking about her pledge - what a classy lady.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...onth-tennessee-families-left-homeless-n690511

 

[Alice253]

Death toll up to 10 now.

http://www.wbir.com/mb/news/local/gatlinburg-officials-a-fire-for-the-history-books/357912872

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[Spellbound]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...n-tennessee-wildfires/?utm_term=.894175b958f5

Hours later, at another briefing, officials said that “a number of” missing people had been found. But the good news was accompanied by a grim revelation: Three more bodies had been recovered, increasing the death toll in the fires to 10.


Although authorities have not yet publicly identified the victims of the fire, at least one has been named by relatives, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Alice Hagler’s son Lyle Wood told the newspaper Wednesday night that his mother’s body had been found “in the ruins of her home, her life taken by a devastating fire that impacted so many lives in East Tennessee.”


Country music icon Dolly Parton, who was born and raised in the area and whose Dollywood theme park was in the path of the fires, launched her own fundraiser and pledged to donate $1,000 per month for six months to families who lost their homes.


Gatlinburg remained under an emergency evacuation order, with an overnight curfew in place, according to the agency.


He said there are about 200 firefighters on the ground — 20 percent of them still battling active blazes. Search-and-rescue efforts have continued in the charred, smoke-choked mountains, but some areas have remained unreachable, authorities said. First responders have also been struggling with small mudslides and rock slides as the lush foliage that once held the ground in place had burned away.

 

[Spellbound]

Death toll up to 10 now.

http://www.wbir.com/mb/news/local/gatlinburg-officials-a-fire-for-the-history-books/357912872

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Thank you, Alice253

http://www.wbir.com/mb/news/local/gatlinburg-officials-a-fire-for-the-history-books/357912872

Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Ogle said homeowners, renters and businesses from evacuated areas that have been closed will be allowed Friday to go back up to check on their properties.
Owners and residents will be allowed access beginning at 10 a.m., according to Ogle. That access will continue until 5 p.m., she said.
It's hoped that that will continue each day Saturday through Tuesday.
"We ask for your patience and that you abide by the limitations. There are still areas that we cannot allow access to due to ongoing search efforts and electrical hazards," she said.


NOON UPDATE: Rescue crews could potentially finish searching Gatlinburg by Thursday night...


...city and Sevier County leaders also said officials are putting together a computerized map that they will make public later Thursday. The map, which will be updated as the searches progress, will show which structures were damaged or destroyed.


There are currently 9 crews, 22 engines, 7 helicopters, 4 dozers and 285 personnel working the fire.