[Magdalen] Update--Tennessee Wildfires

Jay Weigel jay.weigel at gmail.com
Fri Dec 2 21:41:26 UTC 2016


There has been a drought in Tennessee this year, and several of the
wildfires there and in eastern KY were caused by humans, either
accidentally or on purpose (don't get me started on that!). An inch and a
half of rain was hardly enough to stop the fires. The Gatlinburg one is the
worst because of the population, but there are some pretty bad ones
southeast of there too, and that area had tornadoes Tuesday night, and
Gatlinburg/Sevier County had wind gusts, which didn't help a bit! As my
daughter put it, "We prayed so hard for rain we got tornadoes!" (Did I
mention dark humor runs in the family?)

On Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 3:58 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> It is terrible, although I guess it could so easily have been a lot worse
> in terms of deaths.
>
> I think a  whole lot of us are kind of thinking, "WTF? Tennesee isn't
> supposed to have wildfires, is it? Not like this!! And how can a fire burn
> right through an inch and a half of rain?"
>
> Suffice it to say, fire, once it gets going, is a virtually unstoppable
> horror. It can move so fast that it outruns smoke eaters trying to get
> away. It stops only when it runs our of food.
>
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>
> On Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 3:44 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The death toll has now risen to 13 confirmed with many still unaccounted
> > for. The parents of the three brothers who were burned--whose names I had
> > wrong, they are Jared, Branson, and Wesley Summers--have been confirmed
> > dead. Apparently the family was separated while escaping. Jared was
> > released from the hospital today, but Wesley and Branson remain in the
> > Vanderbilt burn unit, in critical but stable condition. So much for these
> > three young men, who were working at two different places in the resort
> > area, to cope with!
> >
> > On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 4:22 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > The death toll has now risen to 10. The identities of most have not yet
> > > been confirmed pending notification of families. They don't even know
> yet
> > > how many are missing.
> > >
> > > On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 2:05 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
> > > oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> I keep reading little things here and there about this truly amazing
> > >> American treasure. That Ms Parton has stepped up comes as no surprise.
> > >>
> > >> I enjoyed the movie about her childhood, and the multicolored coat,
> and
> > I
> > >> look forward to the sequel.
> > >>
> > >> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> > >> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not
> > preserved,
> > >> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
> > >>
> > >> On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 9:37 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > The count so far: 7 known dead; an unknown number missing, although
> 10
> > >> are
> > >> > confirmed; over 700 buildings destroyed. As of yesterday evening,
> here
> > >> are
> > >> > the statistics from the Southern Red Fire Team, which has assumed
> > >> control:
> > >> > the fire is about 10% contained. The fire covers about 15,653 acres.
> > The
> > >> > area around the fire received 1.2 to 1.7 inches of rain, but the
> area
> > >> is in
> > >> > the midst of a months-long drought. There are currently 9 crews, 22
> > >> > engines, 7 helicopters, 4 dozers and 285 personnel working the fire.
> > >> >
> > >> > Other bits of news, good and bad, that I have gleaned:
> > >> >
> > >> > My friend Steve did not lose his house. The fire came close, but he
> > was
> > >> > able to go back yesterday, and the house was okay. Deo gratias!
> > >> >
> > >> > The first victim of the fire has been identified.Alice Hagler, 70,
> had
> > >> been
> > >> > on the phone with her son, telling him that the house was on fire.
> He
> > >> told
> > >> > her to get out, but she had bilateral hip replacements and did not
> get
> > >> > around well.She was unable to escape the fire.
> > >> >
> > >> > Three brothers from the same family, Branson, Wesley, and Phillip,
> are
> > >> in
> > >> > critical but stable condition in the Vanderbilt burn unit. Their
> > parents
> > >> > are among those reported missing. There is another person in the UT
> > >> > hospital burn unit.
> > >> >
> > >> > Dolly Parton, a Sevier County homegirl, has pledged $1000 per month
> > for
> > >> 6
> > >> > months through her Dollywood Foundation to every family who lost
> their
> > >> > home. That's our girl!
> > >> >
> > >> > One of the first groups to collect and send supplies was the
> Knoxville
> > >> > Muslim charitable association, which immediately loaded up a truck
> > with
> > >> > bottled water, snacks, etc. for firefighters and service workers as
> > >> well as
> > >> > for those in shelters and continues to load another.
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> >
>


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