GATLINBURG on FIRE

[chances R]

Been watching channel 6.  Gatlinburg under mandatory evacuation.  Fires all over the place.  Park Vista Hotel essentially surrounded by fire.  Many homes behind Ripleys as well as buildings on main drag reportedly burning.

[Ugly]

Brutal wind fed this thing like crazy. Been a lot of smoke at my place all day but once the wind kicked up and night fell, I could see the glow from the fire over that way.

Hope everyone gets out safe!

It's raining! Finally!

Edited November 29, 2016 by Ugly

[Sam1]

####load of rain is coming, don't worry.  It blew through here a few hours ago.

[monkeylizard]

http://wate.com/2016/11/28/video-chef-at-gatlinburg-park-vista-hotel-live-on-facebook-from-fire/

Unreal... so sad.

[chances R]

Dollywood now evacuated and threatened........geez....wish the rain would hurry up.  Going to be bad when daylight shows what  damage has been done.

[R_Bert]

I have been listening to side-traffic and NWS info on the 146.94 repeater.  It is very bad.  Areas of Pigeon Forge near the Traffic Light #8 to the Gatlinburg Spur are on fire and under evacuation order. Indications an hour ago  - 30+ buildings in Gatlinburg on fire.

Edited November 29, 2016 by R_Bert

[R_Bert]

5 minutes ago, R_Bert said:

I have been listening to side-traffic and NWS info on the 146.94 repeater.  It is very bad.  Areas of Pigeon Forge near the Gatlinburg Spur are on fire and under evacuation order. Indications an hour ago  - 30+ buildings in Gatlinburg on fire.

 

5 minutes ago, R_Bert said:

I have been listening to side-traffic and NWS info on the 146.94 repeater.  It is very bad.  Areas of Pigeon Forge near the Gatlinburg Spur are on fire and under evacuation order. Indications an hour ago  - 30+ buildings in Gatlinburg on fire.

<oh bleep!>  The Fire Command Post in Gatlinburg is being evacuated. 

[Wingshooter]

They should be getting some rain now according to the radar. Hope it's enough to help.

[R_Bert]

Fire now at edge of Dollywood property.

So far, only minor injuries reported.

Edited November 29, 2016 by R_Bert

[shotgunshooter]

Anyone have any pictures that they have? Everyone that's dealing with the fire in definitely in my thoughts.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Sam1]

7 hours ago, chances R said:

Dollywood now evacuated and threatened........geez....wish the rain would hurry up.  Going to be bad when daylight shows what  damage has been done.

I hope not a single person is injured, and not a single person loses any property (know the property thing isn't going to happen), but fires to burn off years of underbrush are a good thing.  They promote new growth and draw in animals that normally wouldn't be in the area following the fires.

We don't see crowning/extreme fires on the east coast, so there will be little to no long term "damage" to the forest.

Worst thing that comes from these fires are people panicking, not listening to directions, and people with breathing problems dealing with the smoke.

[Erik88]

Worst disaster East TN has seen in a long time. I feel so bad for those people who lost their homes.

We had several bad fires here in Loudon County last night also.

 

Edited November 29, 2016 by Erik88

[peejman]

It's bad. I've not heard of any serious injuries, but lots of stuff is burning. I did see reports of wind gusts up to 74mph. I believe the rain has slowed it down a bit, but it's not going to do much for the structure fires, and the wind is supposed to pick back up this afternoon. 

I won't lose any sleep over the businesses on the strip and all the crappy chalets, best thing that could happen is burning some of them to the ground.  But there's a ton of very old and very beautiful houses hidden in the hollers all around there, losing them would be very unfortunate. 

[chances R]

55 minutes ago, peejman said:

 

I won't lose any sleep over the businesses on the strip and all the crappy chalets, best thing that could happen is burning some of them to the ground.  But there's a ton of very old and very beautiful houses hidden in the hollers all around there, losing them would be very unfortunate. 

I don't think you really mean this.  What a tragedy for the entire state.  Christmas time when many families visit this area, from near and far.  Tremendous loss of jobs at the Holiday Season.  My prayers for all concerned.  Will be truly amazing if there is not loss of life discovered.  I have friends who have a  large cabin behind Ripleys.  Many homes/cabins in that area and I have heard only terrible news in that regard.

[R_Bert]

Useful TEMA information updates on the Gatlinburg fires - http://www.tnema.org/ 

Listening to the ham radio & a few news-guys on FB...it's not over. Hopefully the rain helped. 10mph wind forecast for today, 20MPH for tonight 

 

[peejman]

19 minutes ago, chances R said:

I don't think you really mean this.  What a tragedy for the entire state.  Christmas time when many families visit this area, from near and far.  Tremendous loss of jobs at the Holiday Season.  My prayers for all concerned.  Will be truly amazing if there is not loss of life discovered.  I have friends who have a  large cabin behind Ripleys.  Many homes/cabins in that area and I have heard only terrible news in that regard.

Yeah, I pretty much do. I used to enjoy going up there, but wanton commercialism has made what was once a quaint, beautiful vacation spot look like a run-down subdivision.  It's depressing driving through there every winter and seeing dozens more crappy chalets perched precariously on the slopes. I've stayed in a number of those chalets through the years and most of them were total junk. I refused to stay in more than one because I saw blatant code violations or structural issues and got the impression a strong fart would blow a few of them down. 

Again, I feel bad for the families who've lived there a long time and lost their homes.  Lots of them are there because they were forcibly removed when the park was formed. 

[Ramjo]

Useful TEMA information updates on the Gatlinburg fires - http://www.tnema.org/ 
Listening to the ham radio & a few news-guys on FB...it's not over. Hopefully the rain helped. 10mph wind forecast for today, 20MPH for tonight 
 

What channel is that repeater you're tuned in to?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sam1]

Oh sang I didn't know so many structures were actually burning, I just thought it was the usual forest fire everyone likes to panic over.

[chances R]

So you fed the bears....so to speak.  You contributed to the commercialization by repeatedly renting their property.  Look around, I don't like it either.  Knoxville/Knox county was much nicer as a scruffy little city.  West Knox county had many many nice hunting areas I utilized growing up here.  Kodak, Maryville, and other smaller towns have had the same changes.  It is all part of change.  Love Tellico Village ?  Loss of the Little T.  If I had a magic wand maybe could change it back, but it doesn't work that way.  Glad you and I are different......I could never find pleasure in an area suffering a devastational loss of property, hardship, jobs, and possibly life.

[KKing]

Yeah, I pretty much do. I used to enjoy going up there, but wanton commercialism has made what was once a quaint, beautiful vacation spot look like a run-down subdivision.  It's depressing driving through there every winter and seeing dozens more crappy chalets perched precariously on the slopes. I've stayed in a number of those chalets through the years and most of them were total junk. I refused to stay in more than one because I saw blatant code violations or structural issues and got the impression a strong fart would blow a few of them down. 

Again, I feel bad for the families who've lived there a long time and lost their homes.  Lots of them are there because they were forcibly removed when the park was formed. 

You'd think at a time like this a person would climb down from their high horse, and have some empathy. I suppose not.

I mean since I'm in the medical field, I guess I could say I don't care if their hospital burns simply because they give awful medical care by your logic.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[R_Bert]

29 minutes ago, Ramjo said:

What channel is that repeater you're tuned in to?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Traffic is quiet right now, but

146.94 MHz on Bluff Mountain / Greentop - http://www.wb4gbi.com/greentop.html is the Morristown National WX Service Net Frequency, backup on 146.625 MHz . 

FM radio WIVK 107.7 is  on the  Bluff MTN site (same bldg. as .94), and was wall-wall coverage.  They will break format again as needed.

I understand DMR / TN SW is also active - http://www.wb4gbi.com/DMR.html

And there is traffic on the MTEARS statewide network - http://mtears.org/

You may listen to State Forestry Firefighters on 159.330 MHz and 159.435 MHz

Sevier County may be monitored here - http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/ctid/2505 (assuming communication links are still intact)

 

Edited November 29, 2016 by R_Bert

[bersaguy]

I think it is a total shame that this is happening. I heard when the fires were first discovered that they said many of them were arson. If that is true I hope they catch who ever did this and make a real example of them to discourage any of this in the future.............jmho

[monkeylizard]

Earlier reports that Ober Gatlinburg was destroyed appear to be false. Ober posted pics on their FB page this morning showing the building intact and said they appear to have been spared. The last report I read said the Park Vista hotel was still burning and that much of Regan Rd. (the road by Ripley's Believe It Or Not) from the parkway up towards Park Vista was heavily damaged or destroyed. One of the agencies (can't recall which) said that the main downtown stretch of Gatlinburg is intact, but it looks like the Apocalypse on either side of it.

[R_Bert]

21 minutes ago, monkeylizard said:

Earlier reports that Ober Gatlinburg was destroyed appear to be false. Ober posted pics on their FB page this morning showing the building intact and said they appear to have been spared. The last report I read said the Park Vista hotel was still burning and that much of Regan Rd. (the road by Ripley's Believe It Or Not) from the parkway up towards Park Vista was heavily damaged or destroyed. One of the agencies (can't recall which) said that the main downtown stretch of Gatlinburg is intact, but it looks like the Apocalypse on either side of it.

Yeah, from what I understand ~100 structures (mostly homes) in Cobbly Knob alone. 

[peejman]

I never said I found pleasure in it, and my horse is really low.  I did say, more than once, that I felt bad for those who've lost their homes.  That's a terrible thing for all of them.   

I'm indifferent to the loss of the businesses. They should all have insurance and can be rebuilt.