Satellite photo shows virtually no wildfire smoke in southern states

Above: Thursday’s satellite photo shows no large quantities of smoke from wildfires in the southern states. NASA/Wildfire Today.

Thanks to the soaking rains over the last three days the satellite photo taken Thursday shows no large concentrations of smoke from wildfires in the southern states. Of course this photo was taken from hundreds of miles overhead and would not be capable of detecting smoking logs, stump holes, and the smouldering remains of burned structures at Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Here is an example of a satellite photo that showed large amounts of wildfire smoke on November 10, 2016.

And it does not mean the fires are out. Firefighters may still need to construct firelines around the perimeters of the fires and suppress still-burning materials that are near the fire’s edge.

The very dry soils and vegetation desiccated by the two-month drought will quickly soak up some of the precipitation making it less effective in suppressing a fire than it would have been if the weather had been closer to normal in recent months.

The Southern Area Coordination Center reported Thursday morning only two fires that were still spreading — the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, TN (+1,455 acres) and the Camp Branch Fire 9 miles west of Franklin, NC (+212 acres).

Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg

There are no major changes in the information provided by officials about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire. The estimated number of structures burned remains at 700 and they are still reporting 7 confirmed fatalities. The size is 17,108 acres.

A mandatory evacuation is still in effect for most of the City of Gatlinburg.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closed from the Gatlinburg entrance along Highway 441 to Smokemont, near Cherokee, North Carolina. Cades Cove and Oconoluftee Visitor Centers reopened Thursday.

The incident management team disclosed information about another fire they are managing east of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire. The name of this fire is unclear, but it is reported to be in the Cobbly Nob area.

For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged “Chimney 2 Fire”.

Officials: 700 structures burned in Chimney Tops 2 Fire near Gatlinburg, TN

Above: A November 29 infrared image of an area within the Chimney Tops 2 Fire in Seivier County, Tennessee. The white areas represent heat, areas that either ARE burning or they previously burned and retained some of the heat. For example, a concrete slab, ashes, and bricks would stay hot for hours after most of the fire burned out or was extinguished. The larger white rectangular objects are most likely burned structures. 

On Wednesday afternoon officials confirmed that 700 structures burned in the Chimney Tops 2 Fire in Tennessee. Of that total, 300 were in Gatlinburg and 400 were in other parts of Sevier County.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported Wednesday that the death count in the fire has risen to seven and the number of injuries has increased to 45.

A mandatory evacuation is still in effect for most of the City of Gatlinburg.

Fire suppression resources assigned to the fire include 9 hand crews, 22 engines, 7 helicopters, 4 dozers — for a total of 285 personnel.

WBIR has a list of areas affected by the fire with brief descriptions of the damage.

As predicted, another round of rain assisted firefighters on Wednesday, dropping between 1.28 and 1.76 inches at four weather stations in the Gatlinburg area during the 24 hours ending at 11:50 p.m. EST.

precipitation Gatlinburg
Precipitation recorded at four weather stations in the Gatlinburg area during the 24-hour period ending at 11:50 p.m. EST November 30, 2016. Click to enlarge.

For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged “Chimney 2 Fire”.

Map of the Chimney Tops 2 fire at Gatlinburg, TN

map Chimney Tops 2 Fire
Briefing map of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire. Prepared by Great Smoky Mountains National Park November 29, 2016 for the November 30 day shift. The green text was added by Wildfire Today. Click to enlarge.

As far as we know this is the first publicly available map of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that burned from Great Smoky Mountains National Park into Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The incident management team reports it has burned 15,653 acres.

We are not aware of an official estimate of the number of structures destroyed in the fire since Tuesday morning’s report from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) of approximately 100 homes in Sevier County Tennessee having been either damaged or destroyed.

WBIR has a list of areas affected by the fire with brief descriptions of the damage. From that information it appears that the number of structures destroyed will be much larger than the early estimate.

On Wednesday a Type 1 Incident Management Team run by Mike Dueitt assumed command of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire. Teams like this are made up of federal and state interagency team members from across the country who collaboratively manage wildland fires and other natural disasters.

The evacuation of Pigeon Forge has been lifted but is still in effect for Gatlinburg.

Firefighters will be aided on Wednesday by rain. The NWS predicts a 73 to 100 percent chance of precipitation into the evening with accumulations of about a third of an inch.

For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged “Chimney 2 Fire”.

Update on Gatlinburg fires: three people killed

Above: Infrared map of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire, November 27, 2016. By Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft.

For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged “Chimney 2 Fire”.

(UPDATED at 11:05 p.m. EST November 29, 2016)

Sevier County officials reported that there have been three fatalities related to the fires in the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area. Sevier County includes Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At least 14 people have been injured.

Three individuals with severe burns were transferred from the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville (UTK) Hospital to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville Monday night. A fourth person with burns to their face continues to be evaluated at UTK.

Pigeon Forge officials estimate 500 people were evacuated on Monday night. Approximately 125 people remain displaced and in local shelters in Pigeon Forge. About 14,000 residents and visitors evacuated from Gatlinburg.

The National Park service estimates that a total of 15,000 acres have burned in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in the areas in and around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. On Wednesday the NPS will transfer command of the fires within the park to a Type 1 Incident Management Team run by Mike Dueitt. Teams like this are made up of federal and state interagency team members from across the country who collaboratively manage wildland fires and other natural disasters.

Map Gatlinburg, TN area
Map of the Gatlinburg, TN area, November 29, 2016.

Eventually we hope to obtain a map, much better than the one above, of the fires in the Gatlinburg area. Check back later. (UPDATE: we posted a much better map on November 30.)

We do not yet have complete information about how many fires are burning, where they are, the causes, and where all of the fire(s) started that eventually burned into the communities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

The NPS reported Tuesday morning that 80 mph winds gusts, low humidities, and drought conditions…

…caused the fire burning in the National Park to spread rapidly and unpredictably, in spite of suppression efforts on Sunday that included helicopter water drops. Wind gusts carried burning embers long distances causing new spot fires to ignite across the north-central area of the park and into Gatlinburg. In addition, high winds caused numerous trees to fall throughout the evening on Monday bringing down power lines across the area that ignited additional new fires that spread rapidly due to sustained winds of over 40 mph.

Presumably the fire within the park was the Chimney Tops 2 Fire, which started November 23 and was reported to be 10 acres Sunday evening, November 27. Apparently the NPS was not able to completely suppress the fire during that four-day period.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, in their Tuesday update, wrote:

The Chimney Top Fire, which began in the Great Smoky Mountains, spread very rapidly yesterday evening as high winds pushed flames onto private property.

They were probably referring to the Chimney Tops 2 Fire.

****

(UPDATED at 10:13 a.m. EST November 29, 2016)

About 100 homes in Seiver County Tennessee have been either damaged or destroyed in wildfires that started in or near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee. The state’s Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) which conducted a quick preliminary survey, reported at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday that about 10 of those homes were in Gatlinburg. In addition, 30 other structures in Gatlinburg have been damaged or destroyed, including a 16-story hotel on Regan Drive and the Driftwood Apartments near the Park Vista Hotel.

Continue reading “Update on Gatlinburg fires: three people killed”