Displaying items by tag: 2016 sevier county wildfire

Journalists and park officials document damage from the November 2016 wildfires that killed at least 15 people and left hundreds of dwellings and businesses in ruins. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press via Knoxville Mercury

How the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildfire affected salamanders and other life, six years on

GATLINBURG — The disastrous Chimney Tops 2 wildfire of 2016 occurred some six years ago, but researchers are still looking at its ecological effects.

The Discover Life in America 2023 Colloquium brought together researchers this month from different fields and universities to present findings on research in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

Researchers presented on many topics, ranging from trout to the history of the Mingus family in the park.

One such presentation, the first of the day, from William Peterman, associate professor in wildlife ecology and management at Ohio State University, focused on the effects wildfires had on salamander populations, which he described as negative.

Other presenters touched on the wildfire’s effects as well, including its effects on vegetation and its beneficial effects on the diversity of bird species.

“Smoky Mountains is the self-proclaimed salamander capital of the world,” Peterman said. He focused his study on the plethodontid family of salamanders, which breathe through their skin.

“Kind of think of them as a walking lung,” he said.

Wild turkeys forage in charred hardwood forest soon after the 2016 Gatlinburg fires, which moved from the Smokies to developed areas in Sevier County. An ORNL model predicts wildfire threats will increase in the Southern Appalachians because of climate change. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press via Knoxville Mercury

ORNL report: Local wildfire danger will likely loom larger because of climate change

OAK RIDGE — This cruel summer, the Southern Appalachian region is already baking in above-normal temperatures and basking in poor air quality. 

Air temperatures in Knoxville flirted with 100 degrees on July 6, which were well above average and prompted the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for much of the metropolitan area.

It’s hard to definitively link a heat wave to global warming, but one oft-cited consequence of climate change is the growing intensity of wildfires, even in the traditionally moisture-rich Appalachians. The range of climate change effects is difficult to pin down, but one constant in the study of climate change is an expected increase in overall temperatures, which can power wildfires via both fuel increases and volatility.

Sevier County Emergency Management Agency

Forest fire above Wears Valley in Sevier County nears full containment; Seymour fire under control

UPDATE APRIL 4: The Sevier County Emergency Management Agency said the Hatcher Mountain/Indigo Lane fire is largely extinguished. Fire crews continue to further subdue the Millstone Gap fire near the Sevier/Blount county line. 

The National Weather Service warns of continued high fire danger citing breezy winds and low humidity. Widespread rainfall is forecasted to fall beginning tomorrow.

Officials said the Hatcher Mountain fire ultimately burned 2,500 acres, and damaged or destroyed 300 structures.

UPDATE APRIL 1: Fire crews focusing on the stubborn Hatcher Mountain fire had to pivot in part early Friday to also fight a new wildfire in Seymour near the Blount and Sevier county lines.

Sevier County officials said the Wears Valley-area fire was 45-percent contained this afternoon following a significant brew-up late Thursday. At least 100 structures/dwellings had been “affected” by the fire, which has consumed at least 3,739 acres. Numerous rental cabins and homes have been lost.

UT Libraries history project records recollections and remembrances of terrible Smokies wildfires

The results of an ambitious effort by University of Tennessee Libraries to capture the history and personal memories of the devastating 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires are now accessible online five years after the disaster.

The Smokies fires of 2016, which came to a horrible head over that Thanksgiving weekend, killed at least 14 people and countless domestic pets and wild animals. Gale-driven flames burned through thousands of acres in the national park before escaping the boundary and destroying thousands of homes and other structures in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and smaller communities throughout Sevier County.

“The social, cultural, economic, political, and natural impacts of this event are still being calculated,” according to UT Libraries.

Rising from the Ashes: The Chimney Tops 2 Wildfires Oral History Project, organized with the city of Gatlinburg and the Anna Porter library, collected 140 video and audio interviews with those impacted by the fires, including survivors, government leaders, first responders, scientists, clergy, journalists and mental health experts.

“This project documents one of the most momentous events in modern Tennessee history — in the voices of those who lived it,” said Steve Smith, dean of the UT Libraries in a news release.

“The collected stories document more than tragedy, however; they testify to the resilience of the human spirit. Our team is honored to help preserve these stories for history, study, learning, and research.”

All interviews are preserved within the UT Libraries’ Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives.

The 2016 Thanksgiving wildfire, which began on the Chimneys deep within the national park, was the largest in the eastern U.S. since the 1940s. It burned 17,000 acres, injured at least 200 people and forced the evacuation of thousands, according to UT Libraries. 

“Visitors to the Rising from the Ashes website can approach the topic through different lenses such as the evacuation efforts, the disaster response and recovery, or the ecological impact; hear from medical personnel, business owners, or individuals directly affected by the wildfires; or simply browse through the recorded interviews,” according to a release announcing the final posting of the project.

News Sentinel: Forest life blossoms five years after devastating Smokies wildfires

Researchers are tallying recovering species and noting some surprises five years after deadly wildfires tore through Great Smoky Mountains National Park and adjacent communities, according to News Sentinel science writer Vincent Gabrielle.

Fire-dependent species such as the table mountain pine are seizing new land as a result of the wildfires, and some scientists have been surprised by the proliferation of chestnut saplings. Those saplings are the progeny of remaining chestnut root systems, though few if any survive to maturity. The chestnut was largely eliminated from the American landscape more than 100 years ago by a blight that eliminated one of the most productive mast species in the Southern Appalachians.

Scientists are also intrigued by the reappearance of certain fungi decimated by the 2016 fires, which originated near the Chimneys and ultimately spread up Bullhead and then down into Twin Creeks and the surrounding developed communities. Fifteen people were killed and thousands of structures destroyed.

A lot of Smokies habitat is fire dependent, but few wildfires have been allowed to burn in the backcountry over the history of the park. The fire and its aftermath provide researchers a unique opportunity to determine the effects the fire had on the natural landscape and accompanying plants, fungi, trees and animals.

Park service postpones 175-acre controlled burn

Citing low humidity and dry conditions, park officials postponed the planned burn until at least Tuesday along the park boundary in Wears Valley in the Metcalf Bottoms area. Another burn is planned near Sparks Lane in Cades Cove later in the week, depending on weather conditions.

Park managers plan a controlled burn along the park boundary in Wears Cove starting Monday. Don’t freak if you see heavy smoke in the area. March is an opportune time to conduct controlled burns for hazardous debris removal and habitat improvement in the interface between rural habitation and protected natural areas.

Fire prevention practices have become more widespread in Great Smoky Mountains National Park since a devastating and deadly November 2016 wildfire that spread into populated areas of Gatlinburg and Sevier County.

Here’s the straight skinny from the park service, per a release:

“Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian-Piedmont-Coastal Zone fire management staff plan to conduct a 175-acre prescribed burn along the park boundary in Wears Valley to the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area.  The burn will take place between Monday, March 8 through Thursday, March 11, depending on weather. Prescribed burn operations are expected to take two days.