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jaxjagman

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Bays Mountain (about 5-7 mile southwest down the ridge line from me) has been burning all week.  Fortunately it is not like the Polk Co fire.  Not even close.  Smoke has filled the air for three days.   Right now, I could care less about snow.  We need rain.  We need a lot of it.  We need it bad.  We need it soon.  I have never seen this many forest fires in this region.  

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4 hours ago, Carvers Gap said:

Bays Mountain (about 5-7 mile southwest down the ridge line from me) has been burning all week.  Fortunately it is not like the Polk Co fire.  Not even close.  Smoke has filled the air for three days.   Right now, I could care less about snow.  We need rain.  We need a lot of it.  We need it bad.  We need it soon.  I have never seen this many forest fires in this region.  

I doubt that anyone alive has seen this level of fire activity in this area. My parents have lived in the area for 65 years, and they can't ever remember such widespread fire activity. Of course we know that the last 6 months were the driest in 138 years of observation at Chattanooga, so the fire season was bound to be a bad one.

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4 minutes ago, Carvers Gap said:

Reported that 30 structures are now involved in the Gatlinburg fire.  That first round of rain was not enough...  Second line needs to mean business.

winds have died down here in CHA, hopefully in Gatlinburg too.. should help some.

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Listening to the mayor of Pigeon Forge.  Says he can still see the Wears Valley fire lighting up against the sky.  Says the rain from the first line slowed the fire on the Gatlinburg spur but not by much.  Wind is strong on the live shots from Gatlingurg Pittman.  Again, the wind is still howling here at TRI. Hoping that second line rains like crazy.  Otherwise, very long day tomorrow for them.  But it should rain a bunch later tonight.  I think it will.

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2 hours ago, Carvers Gap said:

Saw this on TV last night.  It is a miracle that more folks were not injured.  During the 11:00 AM, 87 mph winds were reported in Gatlinburg.   Unreal footage...

 

Guy is a moron looking to be in the news.The part that kills me is when he said no one gave him any warning #youdumbass

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No, man.  That fire raced through Gatlinburg last night.  They barely got people out of that side of town.  The problem is that major news networks didn't cover the story.  So, people don't know how bad it was.  I was watching it live on WBIR.  87 mph winds moved that fire from the GSMNP end of town to near Ripley's in matter of just a few hours.  I would have filmed my trip out FWIW if I had been there.  Hundreds of experiences just like that all over Sevier Co last night.  Another danger is that once people got off the mountain traffic was stopped getting out of town.  They are so lucky that fire didn't start igniting cars.  

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1 hour ago, Carvers Gap said:

No, man.  That fire raced through Gatlinburg last night.  They barely got people out of that side of town.  The problem is that major news networks didn't cover the story.  So, people don't know how bad it was.  I was watching it live on WBIR.  87 mph winds moved that fire from the GSMNP end of town to near Ripley's in matter of just a few hours.  I would have filmed my trip out FWIW if I had been there.  Hundreds of experiences just like that all over Sevier Co last night.  Another danger is that once people got off the mountain traffic was stopped getting out of town.  They are so lucky that fire didn't start igniting cars.  

Nailed it. From http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2016/11/29/30-gatlinburg-structures-fire-tema/94584554/:

Quote

The blaze apparently began when embers from a wildfire on nearby Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park wafted into the Twin Creek and Mynatt park areas of town Monday around 6 p.m. as already heavy winds doubled in speed, the fire chief said. The resulting flames swept through Gatlinburg in less than a quarter-hour, fanned by winds at speeds that topped 80 mph.

During its height last night, you could see the fire's growth on Doppler Radar. The smoke signature was unlike anything I've seen. 

My girlfriend has friends who were among those frantically escaping as the flames spread. The Spur was burning, fanning flames within mere feet of the roadway. At one point, I believe 321 into Cosby was considered the only "safe" route out - though it travels through Pittman Center, which was also burning. Bottom line, this was about the worst scenario imaginable. Had the rain arrived any later, I'm not sure Gatlinburg would still be standing.

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