Hello; For those who are not aware there was an extreme drought in much of Tennessee last fall. Some state of drought in all of Tennessee and surrounding states. Lots of warnings and news about the drought including about fire risk and an outdoor burn ban pretty much everywhere.
By November there were many fires all around my area in TN, KY and VA. Some were known to have been deliberately started by people and not by accident.
One fire was reported to have been started in The Smoky Mountains National Park in the Chimney Top area. That fire was whipped up by near 80 mph winds and burned the nine miles to Gatlinburg TN. For weeks on end the local TV stations carried reports. ( I watched WBIR channel 10 mostly and they may have the stories online.) Over a thousand structures ( including homes), a large number of people killed by fire ( many burned to death) and who knows how many pets and wildlife died a horrible death.
Yesterday the state announced for the two juveniles who had been arrested for starting the fire, that the charges are dropped and the state will not prosecute. Let me say now that my home was not burned and I was not harmed, so I do not have a personal grudge.
I guess one purpose for this thread is one of the "reasons" given for dropping the charges. That reason being something along the lines that the wind was an unexpected event. I am paraphrasing the legal mumbo-jumbo. Even I know that wind and fire go together and that fires are commonly spread by wind. Does not pass the smell test to my way of thinking. Can this be just an excuse to not punish these two simply because they are young???
I get that without a trial to provide a public record folks like me just do not know the details. Almost nothing was ever released about the juveniles other than two juveniles were arrested. There is now one slim hope of justice getting done. That being the Federal Government can bring federal charges because the fire was set in the national park.
By November there were many fires all around my area in TN, KY and VA. Some were known to have been deliberately started by people and not by accident.
One fire was reported to have been started in The Smoky Mountains National Park in the Chimney Top area. That fire was whipped up by near 80 mph winds and burned the nine miles to Gatlinburg TN. For weeks on end the local TV stations carried reports. ( I watched WBIR channel 10 mostly and they may have the stories online.) Over a thousand structures ( including homes), a large number of people killed by fire ( many burned to death) and who knows how many pets and wildlife died a horrible death.
Yesterday the state announced for the two juveniles who had been arrested for starting the fire, that the charges are dropped and the state will not prosecute. Let me say now that my home was not burned and I was not harmed, so I do not have a personal grudge.
I guess one purpose for this thread is one of the "reasons" given for dropping the charges. That reason being something along the lines that the wind was an unexpected event. I am paraphrasing the legal mumbo-jumbo. Even I know that wind and fire go together and that fires are commonly spread by wind. Does not pass the smell test to my way of thinking. Can this be just an excuse to not punish these two simply because they are young???
I get that without a trial to provide a public record folks like me just do not know the details. Almost nothing was ever released about the juveniles other than two juveniles were arrested. There is now one slim hope of justice getting done. That being the Federal Government can bring federal charges because the fire was set in the national park.
