Feds: Lack of preparation fueled deadly wildfire that spread to Gatlinburg

Poor preparation by park crews and a massive failure of imagination allowed the November wildfire that began in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to grow, pick up speed and sweep through Gatlinburg and surrounding parts of Sevier County, leaving death and destruction in its wake, according to a federal review released Thursday. "It was simply impossible for the park and first responders to imagine and react to this combination of conditions," said wildfire expert Joe Stutler, who led the review. "This type of fire had never been seen before in the park and never before in this portion of the Southeast."  The review team concluded a lack of wildfire preparedness during record-setting drought conditions undermined the park's response to the fire, which began Nov. 23 on the remote Chimney Tops Trail and five days later jumped the park boundaries and raged through surrounding communities the night of Nov. 28, driven by winds that approached speeds of 90 mph. The blaze killed 14 people and damaged or destroyed more than 2,500 homes and businesses. Local officials have estimated recovery costs at as much as $2 billion. Because park rangers had never seen a fire on such a scale and amid such conditions, they failed to anticipate how quickly the flames could spread and how soon the blaze could erupt out of control, the review found...more