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Volume 138, Issue 17 Tuesday, November 26, 2019

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OUT OF THE ASHES How the Great Smoky Mountains have rebuilt since the 2016 wildďŹ res

Kylie Hubbard / Daily Beacon

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OUT OF THE ASHES

The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 26, 2019

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Letter from the Editor: Out of the Ashes

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Growing up in Knoxville, I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve been up to the Great Smoky Mountains. I have some of the happiest memories from spending time with

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the area, the Great Smoky Mountains hold a special place in a lot of peoples’ hearts.

That’s why we believe it is important to dedicate an entire issue to remembering the tragedy, but also focusing on the rebuilding efforts of the community. In the last three years, members of the Gatlinburg community have rebuilt homes, re-opened amusement areas and continued to make the Smokies a great travel destination.

Skylift Park opened the longest suspension bridge with a plexiglass bottom to view the destruction of the fire. Hillbilly Golf incorporated the damage done by the fire right into its course.

New fire protocols and emergency plans have been thought of in Sevier County to prevent future tragedies.

These are just some of the stories that we have covered within this special issue. Looking at the hard work the Daily Beacon staff has put into this issue, I am thankful for this staff who pays attention to issues the community cares about.

While the rebuilding efforts are still an uphill challenge, I am thankful to see the regrowth of the Smokies and see the community come out of the ashes.

How Sevier County is working to prevent tragedy again BAILEY FRITZ City Editor

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family exploring Cades Cove, learning to ski in Ober Gatlinburg and hiking with friends along the trails.

Those memories and the love I have for the Smokies is what connects me to many others who share that special connection with the mountains.

It’s also why in 2016 so many of us felt heartbroken upon hearing about the fires.

Three years ago, on November 23, 2016, smoke filled the sky, fires burned an inferno in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the lives of an entire community changed.

The Chimney Top 2 wildfires spread across 17,000 acres of land, destroying 2,500 buildings, injuring countless people and taking the lives of 14.

While the community may still be mourning the tragedy, the City of Gatlinburg and surrounding areas are rebuilding out of the ashes.

As this is the last print issue of 2019, we wanted to make it a special one as it happens to align with the third anniversary of the Gatlinburg fires. Whether you’ve lived in East Tennessee your whole life, came just for college or to visit

During the Gatlinburg fires of 2016, many people were not well-informed enough to make their way out of dangerous areas. Information was not clearly spread, and in addition, the fires that started in the Great Smoky Mountains National park were accelerated by a drought and raging winds that surpassed 85 mph. This combination of unfortunate circumstances unfortunately lead to 175 injuries and 14 deaths.

However, the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency has now implemented many different protocols in order to help try to prevent that an event like this does not happen again. Here’s a look into what each one of them does for the citizens of the county.

Basic Emergency Operations Plan The first priority after the event was for the county to update the basic emergency operations plan, as required by Tennessee law. The plan has to be reviewed and approved every 5 years by the Tennessee Emergency Management agency.

Even before the fires had happened, the plan was already scheduled for review in 2017. However, after the fires, the Emergency Management Agency decided to update the plan earlier than scheduled.

This operations plan works through miti-

During an emergency, alert and warning officials need to provide the public with lifesaving information as quickly as they can.

As a part of the emergency plan, Sevier County has created an emergency communications plan. The communication to Sevier County citizens works with CodeRed and Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, two public emergency notification systems.

CodeRed delivers information through voice, email, SMS, IPAWS and more, and the system has been implemented in 15 states.

New emergency staff and connections In addition to the new plans set in place, the county also hired a fire administrator, obtained inter-operable communications with local, state and federal agencies, conducts exercises with local, state and federal agencies, and works with the National Weather Services to identify potential fires in rural areas. All of these connections work to assist in creating more awareness of fire hazards.

Evacuation rules Before the 2016 fires, county mayors did not have the authority to order evacuations outside of incorporated areas. However, state leaders have now changed evacuation rules to allow county mayors to do just that. This helps in making sure everyone, even those outside of county lines, is aware of emergen-

An engine crew monitors the fireline on a prescribed fire in the Smokies.

Courtesy of National Park Service cies and makes it out safely.

The Sevier County Emergency Management Association Director Joe Ayers commented on all of the protocols that have been put into place.

“All of the items have been put in place to prepare, alert, inform and protect the community from any potential hazards,” Ayers said. “We have used the experience from the fires to improve our emergency response in all areas. Our emergency personnel during the fires did all they could to save lives and property.”

OUT OF THE ASHES

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

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Hillbilly Golf’s family environment still going strong after forest fires RYAN SCHUMPERT Sports Editor

On Nov. 26, 2016, Golf Digest and the New York Times reported that Gatlinburg’s beloved Hillbilly Golf had burned down during the forest fires that ravaged the region.

The reports of its death were greatly exaggerated.

While the 36-hole miniature golf course that became a destination spot in Gatlinburg wasn’t lost, there was a moment where it appeared to be.

“We were told by the city that it had burned down,” manager Jim Howard said. “It was three or four days before they let owners come back, and it was very controlled. You had to meet them over at the American Legion Hall, and you were escorted in and you had 15 minutes.”

“I got out and ran up and looked at everything and got an assessment. I kind of got an idea of, ‘yeah, we got some damage, but for the most part we’re okay.’ I called my wife and told her that it was still standing and gave her an assessment, and she just burst down crying. It

was pretty emotional,” Howard added.

Howard’s wife Nancy Howard and her sister Rande Hackler are the owners of Hillbilly Golf, and the course is more than just a job for them, but a family affair since their father opened the course in 1971.

“He worked here until he was 93 years old,” Howard said. “When he passed away his dying words to the girls were, ‘Don’t sell the golf course.’”

What came after the fire and reports of the course burning down showed the family atmosphere doesn’t just stop with the ownership.

“We had people call us from New Zealand, South Africa, from England and from probably 20 some odd states just concerned about the course,” Howard said. “This place means so much. … Not a day goes by that we don’t get a comment similar to, ‘my grandfather brought my father, my father brought me and now I’m bringing my kid.’ It’s kind of a generational thing; people bring ashes of loved ones to put up here.”

Despite the fires not reaching the course, Hillbilly Golf still had damage. The fire burned down the clubhouse before reaching just 15 feet short of the course. Wind damage severely affected the course, knocking down trees and

bridges.

Hillbilly Golf was determined to open up on time for its 46th season on time, no matter the work it took.

“Nancy had declared, ‘We will open on the first weekend in March,’ which is our traditional open,” Howard said. “We will open on March 2 at 9 a.m. just like we normally do, and I beat her by 10 minutes. I opened it at 8:50.”

“I really have to hand it to the crew we had here. … It took us from the day we were allowed back in to 8:50 on March 2 to clean it up. I really have to hand it to them.”

Little did Howard know what would come next. A month to the day of the reopening, a mountain wave hit. The forest service clocked the winds at 100 mph and knocked down nearly 40 trees.

Hillbilly Golf would have to do it all again.

They wouldn’t repair the course completely to its previous state. During the fires a 160-year-old Hemlock tree was uprooted and turned upside down. Hillbilly Golf left the tree there with its roots sticking into the air.

They refer to the 40 trees knocked down as “Hillbilly Pickup Sticks,” and markers and signs around the course show and explain the damage that occurred.

Hillbilly Golf. Ryan Schumpert / Daily Beacon Despite all its trials, Hillbilly Golf is still growing strong. The family atmosphere that has left its mark on so many visitors still runs strong as Hillbilly Golf will open for its 49th season in March.

Two trails affected by Gatlinburg fire that are now open to hikers NOAH TAYLOR Sports Editor

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has long been a destination for hikers and nature enthusiasts alike, but on Nov. 23, 2016, the park and nearby Gatlinburg changed forever.

Due to a dry fall that year, a fire started by two unnamed teenagers near Chimney Tops trails raged throughout the beloved park, burning more than 10,000 acres and 15 square miles for almost a month.

When the fire began at Chimney Tops, it quickly spread because of high winds at that elevation, burning through forest before spreading through Gatlinburg, which sits on the park’s edge.

Over 2,000 buildings were destroyed and 14 people were killed while over 130 were injured.

The fire displaced more than 14,000 residents and damaged several popular trails inside the park, including Chimney Tops where the fire started.

For close to a year, many trails were closed for regrowth, sitting empty among charred Fraser firs and spruce trees.

The U.S. National Park Service, which owns, operates and cares for the 520,000 acre park, worked for months to restore 16 total trails that were affected by the fires.

While there is confusion about which trails are now available for hikers to make the trek for waterfalls, creeks, caves and wide-open

views of the mountains the native Cherokee called “Shaconage” (Land of Blue Smoke), here are two popular trails once again open to the public.

Chimney Tops Trail By far the most popular and beloved of the trails affected by the fire, Chimney Tops had just underwent a three-year, $750,000 renovation prior to the fire in 2016.

Fortunately, the flames did not affect the work that was led by the Friends of the Smokies organization.

The view from the trail’s summit was not affected. However, the viewing area for hikers was, forcing the NPS to shorten the trail and build a new viewing platform during their 10-month renovation of the trail.

Some areas of the trail remain off-limits due to the extensive burn damage done by the 2016 fires. The uneven and unearthed ground has also made those areas of the trail unsafe for visitors.

The new trail is 3.3 miles in length with a 1,407 foot elevation gain to the newly-installed viewing platform.

With autumn slowly giving way to winter, a school-free Thanksgiving weekend may be the best time to catch what’s left of the fall colors at Chimney Tops.

Rainbow Falls Trail One of the main arteries to Mt. LeConte, Rainbow Falls Trail has long had a reputation for being one of the most rough and rugged

Morgan Simmons, Knoxville News Sentinel outdoor writer, and Kristine Johnson, Supervisory Forester for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, from left, take in a view of Mount LeConte looking south from Brushy Mountain’s peak on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. On clear days, hikers on the Brushy Mountain Trail can also look north to Pigeon Forge, Greenbrier, and Webb Mountain. Courtesy of Tribune News Service thoroughfares in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In 2017, the NPS decided to smooth out the trail with a renovation project that was sped up by the damage the trail took during the 2016 fires.

More than 350 new steps have been added through the steepest and narrowest sections of the trail, while over 1,000 native stones have been placed to make the surfaces more even.

While many use this trail to reach and descend from Mt. LeConte, the Rainbow Falls itself is a must-see if you can make the 5.4 mile round-trip hike that has a 624-foot elevation gain.

The higher you go on the trail, the more you will notice the fire damage and subsequent regrowth that is currently taking place.

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OUT OF THE ASHES // OPINIONS

The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 26, 2019

From Hill to Hill: Who’s to blame?

EVAN NEWELL Opinions Editor

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In December 2016, two teenage boys were charged with starting the fire that ravaged the Gatlinburg area. These kids, ages 15 and 17, were playing with matches on a hiking trail and ended up starting a fire they couldn’t put out.

We all know how the story ends. Fourteen people died. Almost 200 were injured. The damages totaled about a billion dollars. The fire not only destroyed sections of the national park, but people’s homes, businesses and ways of life.

The locals were understandably upset.

They wanted to make sure the boys who started this fire were held responsible. Some even talked about trying them as adults instead of minors.

But then, in June of the next year, the charges were dropped.

Many people from Gatlinburg were furious. The community was up in arms. “How do you teach these young adults a lesson by letting them go?” one resident said angrily.

“It’s very heartbreaking not being able to have justice,” wrote another survivor.

The weeks that followed were strange and conflicting, with lots of difficult questions about justice. How do we decide who to blame? Where do we point the finger? How do we treat these perpetrators, especially since they’re just kids?

Well, I don’t know if it’s the right place to start, but one way to analyze this situation is through the lens of a concept called “moral luck.”

Moral luck deals with situations where we assign blame or praise to someone based on circumstances that are out of their control.

Most commonly, this manifests itself when we blame someone not based on the way they act, but instead on the outcome of the situation.

To illustrate this, allow me to get personal for a moment. I’m going to make a confes-

sion: when I was 17 — and please don’t tell the authorities — I ran a red light.

It wasn’t because I was being selfish or malicious. It wasn’t even on purpose. It was just some combination of inexperience, inattentiveness and poor hand-eye coordination that still haunts me to this day. I made a mistake, one that just happened to be against the law.

Fortunately, I didn’t get caught, and I didn’t cause a wreck. I just zoomed through the intersection like the scofflaw that I was.

It was despicable, illegal and dangerous, and despite this being the extent of my criminal history, surely you believe that people like me should pay for our crimes.

Maybe you don’t, though, because in my experience as a dangerous fugitive on the run, no one seems to care at all. No one ever recoils in disgust or lashes out in anger when I tell this story. Why? Because the outcome of the situation was fine. There was no wreck. No one got hurt. No harm, no foul.

But what if the outcome was different?

What if, instead of passing through the intersection unscathed, I instead ran straight into a minivan, spiraled out of control and caused a gruesome, deadly 10-car pile-up?

I do think we should spend more time talking through these questions and less time trying to figure out who’s to blame.

EVAN NEWELL OPINIONS EDITOR

Well, we would generally call that situation something else — namely, manslaughter. If my negligence caused death and injury, then I would be expected to answer for the mistake that I made.

But in these two stories, my actions were identical. The things within my control were unchanged. The only difference is that in the second story (the manslaughter one), the circumstances around me meant my poor decision had much worse consequences.

In the first story, we could say that I was “morally lucky” because my bad action didn’t result in a bad outcome.

While I understand that this situation and the Gatlinburg fire are starkly different in a lot of ways, I still think we can use this line of reasoning to analyze what happened in the Smoky Mountains.

First, let’s look at the action: Two teenagers (like myself) did a dumb thing (like I did). They were playing with matches on a hiking trail — an ill-advised yet decidedly

teenage-boy thing to do.

Next, look at the outcome: a devastating, deadly fire. But was it just the boys’ matches that caused this to happen?

Sure, they provided the spark, but experts say that a lot of things had to happen for the fire to grow to the size that it did.

The wind was strong that week, gusting as fast as 80 mph, which helped the fire spread quickly. The city and county officials were unprepared to fight and contain a fire of this size, allowing it to reach into the city.

The area itself hadn’t seen a fire in a long time, meaning there was plenty of vegetation to burn.

In other words, the boys’ circumstances — not their actions — dictated how the fire grew to such a catastrophe.

These kids are surely not the only ones to make questionable, dangerous decisions in the Smokies. It’s a big park that’s been around for a long time, but somehow, we’ve never seen a disaster quite like this one. In this instance, the two teenagers happened to pair their bad decision with some “morally unlucky” circumstances.

Sure, the stakes were higher here, but the logic remains the same. Because of the circumstances around this disaster, I think it’s only appropriate to treat the two teenagers with some leniency and grace.

I know, that’s all fine and good from the philosophical ivory tower in which I write, but what does this mean for Gatlinburg?

How do we console the anger and frustration that people feel? How do we help them deal with the fear and sadness that came with this fire?

Truthfully, I have no idea. If I had the answers to those questions, I’d likely be a best-selling author or a wildly successful megachurch preacher (or both, I suppose).

In tragedies like this, we have a tendency to want to blame someone or something.

There’s a certain level of comfort we get from pinning it simply on a few people, but I think it’s an urge that we have to fight.

I don’t know how to help people find something that feels fair. I don’t know how to prevent these fires in the future. I don’t know how give the survivors closure. But I do think we should spend more time talking through these questions and less time trying to figure out who’s to blame.

Evan Newell is a senior majoring in chemical engineering. He can be reached at enewell2@vols.utk.edu.

Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.

OUT OF THE ASHES

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

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How prescribed burns are beneficial to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park GABRIELA SZYMANOWSKA Editor-in-Chief

Between Nov. 6 and Dec. 20, the Smoky Mountain National Park plans to burn approximately 660 acres of fields in Cades Cove.

The park managers, according to a release by the National Park Service, will have burned an area in the Western part of the cove that they’ve burned for over the last 20 years to help preserve native floral species in the area.

Prescribed fire, also known as controlled burns, is fire that is intentionally set in an area in a controlled manner to help burn away fuels and create a break in the path of a potential wildfire. Prescribed fires are used across the United States in forests in California, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Everglades National Park in Florida.

They’re going to be the managers of these areas, and if they don’t understand fire, then they’re often really hesitant to use it Jennifer Franklin Professor in Forestry

While there are some misconceptions that all fire is bad fire, firefighter Kevin Nunn of the Pigeon Forge Fire Department explained that prescribed fire is a good way to reduce the number of fuels in an area and help with the ecological balance.

“If you prescribe a fire to an area, then you are reducing the fuels and you’re able to control that environment,” Nunn said.

“You’re reducing the dead and downed material. It burns off the young growth and the invasive species. It burns off that area and allows new growth to come in over time.”

Forest Management Officer for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Greg Salansky explained that prescribed fires are the only method to remove fuels within the Smokies.

“Ecologically the only way we can do any kind of disturbance in the National Park is with fire,” Salansky said. “We’re not the U.S. Forest Service, so we don’t have the ability to go in and actually cut trees or do any type of logging operations.”

Salansky and Nunn both explained that the process behind prescribed fire is very cautious with lots of planning before the fire is even set.

First, the area that needs to be burned is defined and a walk through follows so as to monitor what needs to be burned and what fuels are in the area. At the same time, the weather is monitored for the perfect conditions. If the weather is too try before the prescription burn, if there will be strong winds or very dry air or not enough humidity, then the burn can’t happen.

“There has to be a window of opportunity,” Nunn said. “So if the fuel is in the right place, the weather is in the right place and you have a group of personnel of a group of 15 or 20 guys that’ll be there to monitor it.

You have all these elements that you have to adhere to, and if all those come into line, then you can put fire on the ground.”

Salensky said that for the most part, prescription burning is limited to either the late fall or early spring. During those times, wildlife is less affected as there are less insects in the area, and other animals have moved into hibernation.

While prescribed burns are closely monitored and rarely get out of hand, public perception of fire and smoke management makes it difficult for park rangers and firefighters to use prescribed fire without being scrutinized.

For those very reasons, prescribed fire is not used near Pigeon Forge. However, Nunn said that all firefighters are trained in prescribed fire, and the Pigeon Forge Fire Department helps in certain areas.

Not only are firefighters trained on how to use fire, but students at UT are also learning about prescribed fire and receiving field experience through the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries.

Jennifer Franklin, a professor in forestry, wildlife and fisheries, said that students taking either the wildlife or forestry programs spend two weeks learning about prescribed burns so that when they become forestry or wildlife managers, they aren’t afraid to use it to help the forests.

“They’re going to be the managers of these areas, and if they don’t understand fire, then they’re often really hesitant to use it,” Franklin said. “So having people who are moving into those positions have a good understanding of fire and the ability to use it safely, to know that it can be used safely, I think that is the key to getting fire on the ground in those areas.”

Students learn about fire behavior and how to come up with objectives, so they know exactly what the goal is with prescribed fire and how to create back-up plans so that the burn won’t escape.

While students have the opportunity to learn about fire at UT, Salensky said that educating the public about the benefits of prescribed fire is something that still needs to be worked on.

“The key thing to get out there is that there are a lot of agencies that are doing

An engine crew monitors the fireline on a prescribed fire in Cades Cove.

Courtesy of National Park Service prescribed fire. There are a lot of science that’s involved. Lot of different folks looking at prescribed fire and the benefits of it,” Salensky said. “It’s a good thing. Again, I said it earlier, there’s good fire and bad fire, and prescribed fire is that good fire category.”

“You have to understand, that fire is fire and the way the area is here, the vegetation grows back and so it’s a never ending cycle of how that vegetation comes together,” Salensky said. “So lots of aspects of work that always needs to be done to keep that in check.”

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OUT OF THE ASHES

The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Geography department’s SimTable allows for risk assessment CALISTA BOYD Copy Chief

The GIS Lab in the UTK Geography department is host to a device called a SimTable that uses simulation modeling to visualize physical or social occurrences, like wildfires or floods, which could be of harm to the environment and people.

Michael Camponovo, the GIS Outreach program coordinator, said that the SimTable is an augmented reality device that has two main components. There is a “real world,” which is the table of sandlike, crushed walnut shells where you form the topography by hand, and then there is the projected simulations that are digital projections of geographic and geospatial data on top.

The SimTable can simulate past fires and events that have been recorded, and display them over different maps. With this pre-existing data, you can adjust the variables of the environment and geography using the SimTable tools.

“The model actually uses a bunch of geospatial data to figure out where it thinks the fire is going to go,” Camponovo said. “You take a bunch of these dif-

ferent inputs, and the software tries to estimate where it thinks it is going to go.”

The SimTable depends upon humantechnology interactions to give out customizable models, which can help emergency management teams with strategy planning.

Courtesy of Michael Camponovo Considering more to the interactive aspects of the SimTable, there are multiple inputs you can adjust to help apply more specific characteristics to hazardous situations. With wildfires, for example, you can alter the slope of the terrain, which affects the spreading speed of fire, or you can choose the type of vegetation the fire

will spread on.

“From a firefighting or emergency management standpoint it not only takes those inputs into account ... You can control wind speed and direction,” Camponovo said. “The people that normally own this are local emergency managers, state natural hazard mitigation planners and individual fire stations.”

Camponovo emphasized how the use of the technology benefits the study of emergency response and training because of the different ways the inputs can be changed. The SimTable until recently has been used mostly in the context of emergency management, but the GIS Lab at UT takes a more educational approach, with university students using the table for research and the GIS outreach program sharing the technology with local schools.

Liem Tran, a professor of Geography, commented on how the SimTable can be especially useful for including risk assessments of an area. Different areas might face higher risks of damage than others depending on the infrastructure and agencies present.

“Up to this point, because in the West there is often more access to WIFI than other places, agencies or universities often combine this kind of simulation with

real-time data, and they can start the simulation right away to see how a fire might spread and see how to allocate the resources,” Tran said. “Here we don’t have that kind of high risk, but we can do simulations to see if a fire starts in the Smoky Mountains, how it might spread, etc.”

The data provided from the SimTable simulations can be used for raising awareness of risks associated with hazards and preparation purposes. The simulation cannot predict accurately, but it does let you look at the risks of the area.

Camponovo mentioned that not too far from Knoxville, the Pigeon Forge Fire Department has their own SimTable there.

Kevin Nunn, a lieutenant of the Pigeon Forge Fire Department, uses this same piece of equipment and teaches other fire responders about wild land firefighting strategy.

“It is one of these tools, where it is one thing to think about in the abstract, and when you actually have the firefighters get around the table, they can look and see where their communities are, and they can actually model it in their communities,” Camponovo said. “It really helps people get a better understanding of where the risks are.”

Cold Mountain wildfire breaks out three years after Gatlinburg CAROLINE JORDAN Managing Editor

Almost three years to the date of the 2016 Gatlinburg fires, calls flooded Western North Carolina’s emergency services as Cold Mountain began to burn.

The cause of the fires remains unknown.

Located just about two hours from Knoxville, Cold Mountain sits at 6,030 feet in Haywood County, North Carolina and is mostly owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

“The U.S. Forest service has closed the entire 18,000-acre Shining Rock Wilderness Area, including all 53 miles of its trails to the public while a wildfire burns on the iconic Cold Mountain,” Asheville Citizen-Times said.

The mountain is in a rural part of the state, only hosting a few private homes and allowing only a few roads to get up and down the mountain.

This has made it difficult for firefighters to get to the mountain to control the fire, according to Bruce MacDonald, a public information officer with the National Forests in North Carolina.

“The Cold Mountain summit … is in an extremely remote, rugged area of the wilderness, which has no roads, making it impossible to get vehicles on the scene,” MacDonald said.

While Gatlinburg was affected, western North Carolina also experienced historic wildfires in November 2016, when an estimated 50,000 acres of were affected in Pisgah National Forest, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.

On Nov. 21, 2019 though, the first calls came in reporting fires on Cold Mountain. “[MacDonald] said the 50-acre fire burning on the Cold Mountain summit was called in about 3 a.m. Nov. 21, but had grown to 106 acres as of 5 p.m.,” the Asheville Citizen-Times said.

The fires continued to rage through Saturday morning only to be met by a rainy day; something firefighters can be thankful for this year.

After suffering a dry fall season, WLOS News-13 reported, “Around 4 p.m. Sunday, authorities said the Cold Mountain Fire continued to burn despite two inches of rainfall throughout the area on Saturday.”

Then, around 7 p.m. on Sunday Nov. 24, WLOS News-13 reported the fire “is at 15% containment and 200 acres in size.”

Visitors driving the Blue Ridge Parkway about 30 miles southwest of Asheville can expect to smell smoke and see flames shooting from the summit of Cold Mountain. Courtesy of Tribune News Service In its fourth day of burning, the weekend rain did little to subdue the fire, and the Thanksgiving holiday is looking dry.

Wednesday the 27th could bring some rain to Haywood County.

WLOS News-13 also said that firefighters will remain on-site to monitor conditions and protect structures in nearby communities.

PUZZLES & GAMES

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

7

the daily beacon

crossword & sudoku

your morning coffee’s best friend.

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle LOS ANGELES TIMESEdited CROSSWORD Edited byLewis Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

by Rich Norris• and Joyce

STR8TS No. 1366

Easy

1 5

1

Previous solution - Tough

1 5 2 3 3 1 4 2 3 9 8 8 7 6 6 7 4 5 8 5 4

4

9 9

1 3

8 3 9

6

7 6 5

8 4 3

7

© 2019 Syndicated Puzzles

7

4

5

6

You can find more help, tips and hints at www.str8ts.com

3 4 6 7 4 6 5 8 9 2 5 7 9 8 1 4 7 6 3 2 6 5 2 1 5 4 5 9 3 1 2 6 7 2 3 7 8 3 1

8 7 6 5 4 3 1 2

How to beat Str8ts – Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

SUDOKU No. 1366

Tough

7

1 7 8

8 2

2

9 8 4 9

5 3

9 4

7 9 3 5 8 6 4 1 2

5 6 1

2 3 6

3 9 4

7

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

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8 6 2 4 7 1 3 5 9

4 1 5 9 3 2 8 6 7

9 4 8 7 2 5 6 3 1

3 2 6 8 1 4 9 7 5

5 7 1 3 6 9 2 4 8

1 8 4 6 9 7 5 2 3

6 3 7 2 5 8 1 9 4

2 5 9 1 4 3 7 8 6

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely. © 2019 Syndicated Puzzles

6

Previous solution - Medium

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts, Sudoku and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store at www.str8ts.com

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ACROSS 1 Big name in wax museums 8 Surpasses 14 Worldwide law enforcement group 16 Eradicate 17 *Place for an eruption in Hawaii 18 Supreme Egyptian god 19 *Place for memorabilia about the 44th President 21 Eight British kings 24 Disney doe 25 Middling mark 26 Cries of pain 27 Lab work 30 Sondheim’s “Sweeney __” 31 “Robinson Crusoe” novelist 34 Shooting star 36 Money ... and, in three parts, a hint to the answers to starred clues 39 Like some dress shirts 40 Digital video files 43 Part of P.R. 46 Dix plus dix 48 Agua, across the Pyrenees 49 Smart-whip link 50 Saigon New Year 51 Badger at the comedy club 54 *Place on “Desperate Housewives” 58 Put in a pyramid 59 *Place for a space cadet 63 Treeless tract 64 Monty Python member 65 Like many a salad 66 Record collection?

DOWN 1 Allen of TV’s “Last Man Standing” 2 Spanish “a”

11/13/19

By Gary Larson

3 Name spelled with an alphabet sequence 4 Tijuana title 5 Sheikdom of song 6 Batting ninth 7 Ruination 8 Compact cars?

9 Latin dance 10 Car service app 11 Mediterranean gambling mecca 12 Sounded content 13 Hung around 15 A.L. West team, on scoreboards 20 Allowing 21 Mortar carrier 22 Wool coat wearer 23 Brief warning accompanying a link 28 Academic retirees 29 Stitch into place 30 Mouth, in slang 32 Cry of woe 33 Fair-hiring abbr.

35 Omega, to an electrician 37 Area between banks

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

38 Vichyssoise veggie 41 “Wonder Woman” actress Gadot 42 Seek damages 43 Least refined 44 Has a passion for 45 Social strata 47 Name shared by a Grace and a Muse 50 Phoenix neighbor

11/13/19

52 Put on the books 53 Salsa singer Cruz 55 Surpasses 56 Smithwick’s brew 57 Fat used in baking 60 Free-app interrupters 61 Div. won by the Braves in 2019 62 City of Lions and Tigers: Abbr.

puzzles Wednesday.

NewNew puzzles every every Monday and Thursday.

THE DAILY BEACON

8

OUT OF THE ASHES

The Daily Beacon • Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Family-operated SkyLift Park moves forward from the shock of Gatlinburg fires ALEXANDRA DEMARCO Campus News Editor

This past May, the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park unveiled its new Sky Bridge. The attraction is 140 feet above the ground at its highest point and spans 680 feet in length across the Great Smoky Mountains, making the bridge the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the United States.

Upon the attraction, visitors can glimpse a panoramic view of the Smokies, and the peaks of several different particular mountains are visible from the bridge. The site also offers a view of the sparkling, colorful downtown region of Gatlinburg.

However, the center of the bridge, which is composed of several panels of clear glass, gives viewers a glimpse into the seemingly insurmountable disaster that struck the scenic park just three years ago. Look below the bridge, and you will see remnants of the tragedy: the ashes.

In contrast to the stark green of the mountains that are visible from the bridge, the area beneath the structure is littered with the remnants of trees that were burned in the infamous 2016 Gatlinburg fires.

The flames did not only burn the ground surrounding the park, they also deeply impacted the lives of those who work and live around the park.

Randy Watson is a Gatlinburg native, and he has worked at the SkyLift Park for 42 years, serving as general manager for over half of those years. Watson has watched the park transform over the course of his career.

SkyLift Park, the longest-running attraction in Gatlinburg, was established in 1954 as a single chair lift that offered visitors a scenic view of Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.

Later, the attraction was upgraded to a double chair lift and a store was built at the top of the lift. Right outside of the store, an American flag flew high above the town of Gatlinburg.

This is how the park looked when the fires reached the area three years ago.

Watson remembers vividly the day that the disaster struck. He knew there were fires in the mountains near the park, and around noon on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, Watson decided to close the park and send his staff home because of the ash that was falling from the sky.

“You could literally stand outside and look at the sun and not bat an eye,” Watson said.

“It was just an eerily pinkish-orange, smoky color with ash falling all over.”

Despite the remnants from the surrounding fire, Watson did not believe the park was in serious danger; he closed the park simply to avoid any harmful effects from the smoke and other ashy residue.

However, late Monday night, the wildfires

attacked SkyLift Park. The flames engulfed the area, spreading from not only the ridge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park but also from the bottom of the mountain. Essentially, the fire approached the park from two different directions.

Accompanied by 87 mph winds and dry weather, the fires stormed on at full force.

SkyLift park had fallen victim to a natural disaster that ultimately burned over 17,000 acres, damaged more than 2,400 structures and took 14 lives.

After the wildfires hit, the park was destroyed. The skylift was completely inoperable, and the gift shop at the top was demolished. The American flag upon the mountain was burnt to shreds.

Growing up, Watson’s father warned him that if the Smokies ever caught fire, the effects would be disastrous. However, Watson never really imagined that Gatlinburg would be the place to be affected by wildfires.

He recalls the shock of realizing what had happened to not only the park that he had worked at for decades, but also his hometown.

“I can’t describe it. It’s just a heart-sinking feeling to see what we’ve seen, and I’m a native here. I’ve grown up here, and it literally just sunk our hearts,” Watson said.

After the disaster, Watson worked to find the positives in the situation — One of which was the tragedy’s timing.

The fires struck the Monday night after Thanksgiving weekend, just hours after thousands of visitors had travelled out of Gatlinburg after enjoying a family vacation in the mountains. Had the fire struck Gatlinburg just one or two days earlier, the number of lives lost in the fire may have skyrocketed.

“If you could only imagine if that fire hit us on Saturday into Sunday, it could’ve been 1,400 lives or even more,” Watson said. “One life is too many, but anyway, we were just so thankful that a lot of the people had already left town.”

The effects of the fire have resonated at the park for years.

Five of the park’s employees lost everything in the wildfire. The park’s parent company Borne Resorts ensured that not a single employee missed a paycheck during the park’s reconstruction, and the company also gave the park extra money to help the employees affected.

The first portion of the park that was rebuilt after the fires was the classic skylift, the feature of the park that had been a staple in the Gatlinburg skyline for over 60 years. A new triple chair lift was installed by Dopplemire, and the lift began operating during Memorial Day Weekend 2017 — six months after the fires struck.

The store and area around the top of the lift took longer to rebuild, so for two years, visitors of the park could not get off of the lift.

However, perhaps the biggest silver lining

Courtesy of Skylift Park that SkyLift park has found in this situation is the panoramic view that is offered by the Sky Bridge.

Plans for the bridge were established several years ago, and construction on the project was scheduled to begin in 2016. But, due to engineering complications, the project was delayed. If the bridge had been constructed on time, it would have been destroyed in the fires as well.

The bridge opened on May 17 and, as fate has it, this year is also the park’s 65th anniversary.

By the time the bridge was completed, the store at the top of the lift was rebuilt as well.

Visitors to the park can now ride the lift to the top, visit the store, walk around the viewing areas on the mountain and cross the 680-foot suspension bridge.

Many of the trees that were burnt in the fire had to be removed from the mountain due to their extensive damage. However, after the trees near the bridge were removed, a panoramic view of the Smoky Mountains rose to view, like a phoenix from the ashes.

Watson explained that despite the unfortunate need to tear down damaged trees, the new view is a blessing.

“I feel after all my 42 years, when I’m standing on that bridge and looking out, you just don’t get tired of that view, and that was a silver lining for us — that we were able to get a nicer view for our customers to enjoy God’s beauty out in front of them, those beautiful Smoky mountains and our beautiful city down below,” Watson said.

Nowadays, the park is looking to the future.

Marcus Watson, Randy’s son, is also a Gatlinburg native. He has worked at the park off and on for around a decade, and he has served as the park’s marketing coordinator for two years.

The park recently acquired 45 acres of land adjacent to its attractions, and Marcus Watson explained that whatever feature ends up in

that space will be monumental and respect the park’s desire to provide viewers with the best view of the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg.

“Whenever the lift first came to Gatlinburg in ‘54, no one had any clue why anyone would build a scenic chair lift in Gatlinburg. It was unheard of. It was unique in its time and unique to the area. The bridge was the next addition, this year. It’s unique in its time and unique to the area, so whatever we put on the other side, it will be unique in its time, unique to the area,” Watson said.

Additionally, the park’s story of revival has resonated throughout the world. Stories about the record-breaking suspension bridge have appeared on national news, simultaneously spreading the word about the attraction and letting the world know that Gatlinburg is back, and Gatlinburg is recovering,” Watson said.

“It’s the comeback story of ‘hey, this is an attraction that’s been here forever, and it burnt down and now it’s come back better than ever with this new, record-breaking bridge,’” Watson said.

He added that he hopes the story of the park in particular can serve as a symbolic representation of the way that Gatlinburg as a whole has recovered from the fires and persevered through the recent years.

“Not all of Gatlinburg burned down, but it was affected,” Watson said. “But now it’s come back better than ever.”

The parks pays homage to the tragedy with several displays on the second floor of the store. Photographs of the park before and after the fires depict the timeline of the tragedy.

Over the store’s staircase, the tattered, burnt American flag flies on, its shape forever compressed into that of a flag in the wind by a glass picture frame.

The park remembers what happened with these visuals, but the park is moving forward.

The park is moving to the future and so is the city of Gatlinburg.