• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

TBI: Two juveniles charged with arson in deadly Sevier County wildfires

Posted at 6:45 pm December 7, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Fire Department mitchell-rd Sevier County

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Dec. 8.

Two juveniles have been charged with aggravated arson in connection with the deadly wildfires in Sevier County last week, authorities said Wednesday. The fires burned more than 17,000 acres around the Chimney Tops trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Wears Valley. Fourteen people died, 176 were injured or made ill, and more than 2,400 structures were damaged or destroyed.

Local fire departments and law enforcement agencies responded to help fight the fires and provide search and rescue help, among other aid. The fire in the park, the most heavily visited in the United States, and the nearby tourist towns has been described as the largest in Tennessee in at least 100 years.

The charges announced Wednesday afternoon were filed after an investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; National Park Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF; and the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities haven’t named the juveniles or said where they live, except to say they live in Tennessee but not in Sevier County. It’s not clear if additional charges might be filed later, or whether the juveniles might be charged as adults. The petition against them was filed in juvenile court on Wednesday. Both were taken into custody and transported to the Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center, a TBI press release said.

The Fourth District Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday afternoon that all options remain on the table, including charging the juveniles as adults. Within the next few days, a judge will determine whether or not bonds will be set and if, so, at how much.

The TBI press release said special agents began working alongside the National Park Service and ATF to investigate the wildfires that began last month at the request of Fourth District Attorney General James Dunn.

“During the course of the investigation, information was developed that two juveniles allegedly started the fire,” the press release said.

Fed by hurricane-force winds and a months-long drought, the fires burned into populated areas around Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Wears Valley on Monday, November 28. The fire at Chimney Tops south of Gatlinburg started earlier, on November 23, in a remote location of the park in steep terrain with vertical cliffs and narrow rocky ridges, making access to the wildfire area difficult for firefighting efforts.

TBI said the investigation into the fires is “active and ongoing.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Police and Fire, Tennessee, U.S. Tagged With: aggravated arson, arson, ATF, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, ChIME, fire, Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, James Dunn, National Park Service, Pigeon Forge, Sevier County, Sevier County Juvenile Detention Center, Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, TBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Wears Valley, wildfires

Advertisements

 


Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Police and Fire News

Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center

A new fire station and emergency operations center at the Y-12 National Security Complex will replace "severely outdated" buildings that were constructed in the 1940s, about eight decades ago. The new buildings will … [Read More...]

One person seriously injured in Wednesday crash

Two people were taken to a hospital, one with serious injuries, after a crash between a dump truck and a sport utility vehicle in Oak Ridge on Wednesday evening. The crash was reported at about 7 p.m. Wednesday at … [Read More...]

Democratic Women’s Club to hear from AC Emergency Rescue Squad

Representatives of the Anderson County Emergency Rescue Squad will be guest speakers when the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club meets at 6 p.m. Monday, January 23, at Shoney’s Restaurant, 204 South Illinois Avenue … [Read More...]

You may hear Y-12 sirens when maintenance performed

There will be maintenance work on the public warning siren system in Oak Ridge during the week of January 23, and people in the area might occasionally hear audio from individual sirens around the Y-12 National Security … [Read More...]

Officers can learn how to respond to radiological emergencies, thefts

A new center in west Oak Ridge will train law enforcement officers how to respond to radiological emergencies or potential thefts of radioactive materials. The Y-12 National Security Complex had a ribbon-cutting … [Read More...]

More Police and Fire

Recent Posts

  • Basketball: Wildcats beat West in rematch
  • Basketball: Lady Wildcats undefeated in district
  • Obituaries: Jan. 23-27, 2023
  • Speakers mostly support TRISO-X fuel facility at meeting
  • UPF construction could cost more, take longer
  • Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center
  • One person seriously injured in Wednesday crash
  • Oak Ridge EM prepared for cold weather to prevent failures
  • Covenant Health donating land for Roane State health science center
  • School board approves aviation career path

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today