TN Wildfires

This forum is currently archived and READ-ONLY
Locked
User avatar
yogi
Posts: 9978
Joined: 14 Feb 2015, 21:49

TN Wildfires

Post by yogi »

My understanding is that our friend Gary's status is OK, per his post on Facebook. Thank heavens for that.

I have another friend living in Gatlinburg who had to evacuate. Here is one of several pictures sent to me showing the situation:

Image
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

Hi Yogi - I hope your friend's home is spared.

I think we get better reports here than what makes it onto the national news broadcasts.

From the initial point of origin for the fires, very little burned south of that point.
High winds carried the fire northeast for many miles, and shifting winds made it spread outward as it moved.

Hot drifting embers ignited over 90 different areas, which also spread fast.
This is how areas like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge got started.
Then the fires there, carried hot embers as far north as our Chilhowie Mountain, which is only two hills away from me.

For two days, the smoke here at my house was so thick you couldn't see very far. It lightened up a bit when the wind finally shifted.
It rained heavily last night, and throughout most of the night. It was enough to extinguish about 60 of the smaller fires, and prevent anymore from starting from falling embers. The fire on Chilhowie Mountain is now 100% contained and dying out.

The rising heat from the main fire areas turned the rain to steam, and also parted the clouds. In a way, this was a good thing, because it caused the clouds to drop more rain around the perimeter of the fires to help contain them.

We had several small yard fires, and some small fires in woods nearby from falling embers. Although the fires spread wide fast, they only burned leaves on the ground, and dead thatch in yards. Most of the woods which abut our yards is normally kept free of dead wood, which gleaners collect for their fireplaces, so not live trees were hurt from the ground fires in the wooded areas.

With the heavy rainfall, our area is now out of danger, and with the wind shifting southwest, it will help the firefighters contain what remains burning.

The woods behind my house is filled with deer and other animals who fled the smoke. I saw a few birds come back to my bird feeders this morning. I had not seen a single bird since the fires started and the winds carried the smoke this way. Hopefully, with the rain and change of wind direction, they will be able to finally extinguish the forest fires.

I think Icey asked in another post how the fire started. They have two men in custody, charged with arson. But there were several other fires set probably by arsonists also, that were not started by falling hot embers.
The point of origin for the Gatlinburg area did not come from the first major forest fire. Hot embers were not yet carried that far, so they are looking into it possibly being arson as well. But all of that is on the back burner until after they get the fires out.
Icey

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Icey »

The picture of the area around Gatlinburg's horrendous. I hate to see forest fires because of the threat to people, wildlife and then property.

I hope the law comes down hard on any arsonists found to be in on the cause. The resulting damage no doubt runs into a heck of a lot of money. I feel sorry for anyone who has this to contend with. : (
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

Although they live in town now, my wife's sisters old property had a small corner burn, which was on another section of their property far from their old house. It had a street in front, another street on the side, and a bare section of land where a new sewer was installed a couple of years ago. So it only burned that one small wooded area, then went out on its own.
They have not driven out there to have a look yet, since the neighbors said the fire never touched their property. But then too, the neighbors don't know he bought the land from his side yard to the side street a few years back.
Ironically, he bought that strip of heavily wooded land to make sure another business was not built off the other road, like they did no the other side of that same road.

Our air around my house is clear and clean today. The wind is still blowing southerly, which is good.
The heavy rains will stop anything from burning around us, at least until the wind dries everything out again.
Some birds are coming back to my feeders now also.
I just hope the rain did some good up in the worst areas.
User avatar
pilvikki
Posts: 2999
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 21:35

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by pilvikki »

wild fires are the worst...

:worry: :worry: :worry:
Icey

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Icey »

Fires and floods. They're equally as devastating. I can't imagine being surrounded by a bush or forest fire though. Must be terrifying.

Glad the birds feel safe enough to return, Gary.
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

The birds were hungry too!
Cleaned out both feeders, so I refilled them again for them, and they promptly emptied them.
Now they'll have to wait until tomorrow for more seed. They have plenty of suet cakes to feast on out there.
Icey

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Icey »

Glad you're so mindful of the wildlife.
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

My neighbor on the other side of the hill, bought a whole dump-truck load of corn and a pick-em-up truck of alfalfa.
He had the corn dumped at the edge of the woods and they tossed the flakes of alfalfa as far as they could into the woods.
Today he's trying to get a small load of small animal pellets and foodstuffs from Iam's for the smaller critters.
Since the fires, the forest behind him is loaded with every animal imaginable. Well OK, the indigenous animals that is. Thankfully no bears behind him, but several were spotted two hills over. They usually don't come this far north. I hope they didn't lose too many of the dens where they hibernate over the winter.
Icey

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Icey »

The poor things must be terrified. It's great to hear that you're feeding all the animals that you can.
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

Although the birds come running when they hear me tap my can four times after filling the feeders.
I had so many larger birds the past couple of days, I decided to set up six makeshift bird feeders up along the back fence row.
They are nothing elaborate, but will keep the rain off the seed.
I picked up six Frisbee's at the dollar store, two in a pack, so that only cost 3 bucks.
From my greenhouse, I took six plastic saucers and drilled small 1/16th inch holes around the perimeter so if water did get in, it would drain out.
I keep plastic orange juice bottles to carry water to my office for plants and the dog's water dish. Had way more than I need getting piled up in the garage. They have a cone shaped bottom inside the bottles.
The bottles are square, so I cut about an inch off each of the four bottom corners, and hot melted the bottles to the plant saucers. While I had the hot melt gun out, I glued the Frisbee's to the large bottle caps as an umbrella.
After filling the bottles with seed, and let the saucer fill up also, I put them all in a wagon and pulled them all the way to the top of the hill.
At this point I had to sit down and rest for about twenty minutes.
The time was not wasted though, as I had to bend the hangers the opposite of what I had them.
I used fairly heavy wire which I already bent the outbound end like a shepherds hook to just slip the filled bottles between the bottle and cap to hold them in place.
I only bent the other end of the wire in an L shape to slip down against the fence posts between the fence and the wires that hold the fence to the post. It was a good idea, but, they would swing sideways against the fence. So I sat there on the edge of the wagon and rebent the ends so the L was longer, and I could then bend the loose end around fence wire to keep it from swinging sideways.
Mission accomplished, I started back down the hill with the wagon, and when I reached the gate I turned around to see if all the feeders looked OK. Almost couldn't see them for the bigger birds having a hay day, hi hi...
The feed I used in them was mostly crushed corn, which I try to keep out of the feeders I use for the Cardinals and smaller birds. Blackbirds go for the corn, which is why I don't normally buy seed with it in the mix.
Looks like I will have to fill them up again by tomorrow.
Icey

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Icey »

Well done! That was a lot of work for the sake of the birds.
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

Not really, took less than an hour to make all six and fill them.
I'm getting ready to climb the hill again and refill them, this time I think I'll use the riding lawn mower to get up there so I don't get so worn out from the climb.
My neighbor tossed some flakes of Alfalfa into the woods on my side, after he saw several deer up there close to his house.
I have a fairly new neighbor next door to the east, and they were out taking pictures of the woods behind their house.
They didn't know about the fire only two hills away, since it didn't make the TV news.
User avatar
yogi
Posts: 9978
Joined: 14 Feb 2015, 21:49

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by yogi »

Apparently two (as yet unnamed) underage kids started the Tennessee forest fires.

http://gizmodo.com/two-kids-charged-ove ... 1789797051
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

I wouldn't believe too much about what the Washington Post publishes!

They use headlines from one story, and add all kinds of things totally unassociated with the headline.

Several different fires were started by arsonists, some no where near the main fire or those ignited from embers by the main fire.

The total of all areas burned by the wildfires was increased from 15,000 acres to 18,000 acres.
So where did Washington Post get the 80,000 acres report from, or did they just make it up as usual?
User avatar
yogi
Posts: 9978
Joined: 14 Feb 2015, 21:49

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by yogi »

I agree, there is a lot of fake news going around these days. But, this story can be collaborated:
REUTERS: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-w ... SKBN13W2PB
NBC NEWS: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two ... re-n693261
AOL NEWS: http://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/12 ... /21622762/
RT.COM: https://www.rt.com/usa/369557-teens-ars ... e-charges/
MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/two-j ... ar-AAlhzwI
and of course, FOX NEWS: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/07/2- ... fires.html

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. The consensus is that arson was involved with at least some of the fires.
User avatar
Kellemora
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel
Posts: 7494
Joined: 16 Feb 2015, 17:54

Re: TN Wildfires

Post by Kellemora »

I looked at all of the links you provided Yogi, and they all make the same serious mistakes.

Although the Great Smoky Mountains cover a much larger area than the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I want to stress the fact that the fires WERE NOT STARTED on or at the Chimney Tops location.

In my dozen or so years since moving down here, I've traveled through much of the Great Smoky Mountain Range, which includes numerous mountains of specific names.

To help you understand where I'm coming from, the fire started on the south end of Sugarland Mountain. Mount Le Conte is to the east of Sugarland Mountain, and the Great Smoky Mountain is to the east of Mount Le Conte. Neither of these latter mountains suffered any fire damage.

Chimney Tops is a Location in the northern part of Sugarland Mountain. Clingmans Dome, a location, is to the left of Sugarland Mountain, and Mount Le Conte is to the right of Sugarland Mountain. Chimney Tops is as I said, merely a Location between these two Mountains.

There were smaller forest fires to the left and right of Pigeon Forge, one on Shields Mountain to the right, and one on Pine Mountain to the left. Cove Mountain to the left of Gatlinburg suffered no fires.

With all the destruction in and around Gatlinburg. What's the big deal about a hikers trail to a lookout point called Chimney Tops? The fire did not start here, as claimed by the news media headlines. It is not, nor never was, a Chimney Top fire! The fire eventually spread to the northern location known as the Chimney Tops area, and then spread further north to Gatlinburg. I've yet to see a new media report that it was the Sugarland Mountain where the fire started, and where most of the engulfed as it spread north to Gatlinburg.

17,000 acres burned, NOT the 80,000 acres reported in the article by the Washington Post I commented on.

All it takes is one of the news media to get something wrong and put it on the wire, and the rest of them follow in suit. Folks around here just hang their head at the bogus news reports, the sensationalized, means nothing, headlines, and the sorry job the new media has done in reporting the fires here.

You can look on-line and find the point of origin for where the main fire started. You can find all the mountains names, and which ones were affected by the fire. See how the fire spread northward, and how other fires started. Some by hot embers carried by the winds, and some be other arsonists.

But to use non-consequential Chimney Tops as a Headline, with false accusations or accounts, is disgraceful, and demeaning to all of those who suffered loss or death in the fire.
Locked