The Oak Ridge Schools’ Turkey Trot has been rescheduled to Thursday, December 1, due to unhealthy air quality in the area, officials said.
Air quality forecast for Wednesday: Unhealthy
The air quality forecast on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, is unhealthy for East Tennessee, including the Knoxville area, as forest fires continue to burn in the Southeast, including in East Tennessee. Yellow is moderate, orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and red is unhealthy. (Image courtesy AirNow.gov)
The air quality forecast on Wednesday is unhealthy for East Tennessee, including the Knoxville area, as forest fires continue to burn in the Southeast, including in East Tennessee.
The air quality conditions in the Knoxville area at about noon Wednesday were moderate, according to AirNow.gov.
The National Weather Service in Morristown said the unhealthy air quality conditions will continue across must of the area into today. People with lung disease such as asthma and children and older adults should avoid prolonged outdoor exposure to the smoke, the Weather Service said.
“Everyone should limit prolonged outdoor exertion,” the NWS said. [Read more…]
Maintenance, testing of Y-12 warning siren on Quincy Ave. scheduled for Wednesday
Emergency management personnel from the Y-12 National Security Complex will perform maintenance on an emergency warning siren located on Quincy Avenue in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.
During the maintenance, the siren will sound for short periods to ensure it’s operating once repairs are completed, a press release said.
The Quincy Avenue warning siren is located in the Woodland neighborhood about one block west of Lafayette Drive and north of State Highway 62 (South Illinois Avenue). [Read more…]
Readers ask: Is it okay to grill during burn ban?
More than 4,000 acres have burned this month in six fires in rugged, forested parts of north Anderson County, state officials said. Smoke hangs high in the air above the mountains north of Oliver Springs on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A few readers have had questions about whether it is okay to cook on a grill while the burn ban is in effect. There has been some confusion because various burn bans have been announced, and they often haven’t included information about grilling.
One burn ban announced Monday by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam bans burning in 51 counties because of the ongoing drought and continuing forest fires. The burn ban includes all eastern Tennessee counties, including Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union. Residents in those counties are not permitted to conduct any open-air burning. The ban includes campfires and burning of brush, vegetation, household waste, or construction debris. The ban will remain in effect until December 15. [Read more…]
Update: Three charged after Oak Ridge shooting, victim stable
The Oak Ridge Police Department investigates a shooting on East Holston Lane at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 5:45 p.m.
Three people have been charged with especially aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and conspiracy after a Tuesday afternoon shooting on East Holston Lane, authorities said.
The three people are:
- Nicholas Strickland, 25, of Oak Ridge;
- Matthew A. Mashburn, 27, of Knox County; and
- Nicole Brewer, 19, of Oak Ridge.
The victim of the shooting is male, but his name is not being released, the City of Oak Ridge said. He has been taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville for further treatment and is listed in stable condition. [Read more…]
TVA issues burn ban on all its public lands in Tennessee Valley
Firefighting crews are using helicopters with 500-gallon water baskets to battle wildfires all around the region. They often use water from nearby lakes, like Douglas in East Tennessee, which is near fires in the Cherokee National Forest. (Photo: Tennessee National Guard via TVA)
The Tennessee Valley Authority has issued a burn ban on all of the public lands, recreation areas, and facility reservations it manages in seven states in the Tennessee Valley. The burn ban is to help ensure public safety during the continuing dry conditions, TVA said in a press release.
“Until further notice, all open flames are prohibited—including campfires, barbeques, smoking, or any other flame-producing activity—as well as vehicle parking on non-paved or gravel surfaces,” the press release said. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge man killed when car crashes into tree stumps, house
Note: This story was last updated at 10:10 a.m.
A 25-year-old Oak Ridge man died Monday night after a car crashed into tree stumps on East Wolf Valley Road, overturned into a parked car, and hit a house, authorities said.
The man was identified as Albert W. Brown, 25, of Oak Ridge.
He was a passenger in a 2001 Audi ATQ driven by Mark E. Floer, 52, of Heiskell, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The THP said Floer was driving the Audi east on East Wolf Valley Road at about 10:45 p.m. Monday when he left the right side of the roadway, hit two tree stumps, overturned and hit a parked 1998 Ford Escape and then a house. [Read more…]
Two serious crashes, one fatal, reported in Anderson County on Monday
Two serious crashes, one of them fatal, were reported in Anderson County on Monday, authorities said.
The first two-vehicle crash was reported at about 9:30 p.m. Monday on Yarnell Road near East Wolf Valley Road. Three people were injured, and all three were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by ambulance, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.
The second crash, a fatal crash, was reported at about 10:45 p.m. Monday on East Wolf Valley Road near Nolan Lane. The car ran off the road and hit a home, Lucas said. One person was killed, and the other was transported to the UT Medical Center. [Read more…]
Air quality forecast for Tuesday: Unhealthy for sensitive groups
The air quality forecast for Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016. Yellow areas are moderate, orange areas are unhealthy for sensitive groups, and red is unhealthy. (Image courtesy AirNow.gov)
The air quality forecast for the Knoxville area on Tuesday is again unhealthy for sensitive groups.
The air quality in the Knoxville area at about 8 a.m. Tuesday was unhealthy due to particle pollution, according to AirNow.gov. That means people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.
Unhealthy for sensitive groups means the general public is not likely to be affected, but people with lung disease, older adults, and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, while people with heart and lung disease, older adults, and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air.
The poor air quality in the the Knoxville and Chattanooga metropolitan areas, as well as in the Great Smoky Mountains, is due to smoke from wildfires.
“Everyone should limit prolonged outdoor exertion,” the National Weather Service in Morristown said Tuesday. [Read more…]
Governor issues regional burn ban, including Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane
A Chinook helicopter drops water near a home to protect it from an advancing wildfire on Neddy Mountain in Cocke County on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016. (Photo by Tennessee Division of Forestry)
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam on Monday issued a proclamation declaring a regional ban on burning in 51 counties in response to the ongoing drought and destructive wildfires throughout Middle and East Tennessee.
All eastern Tennessee counties are now under the burn ban. The counties include Anderson, Campbell, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Union.
Effective immediately, residents in counties covered by the regional ban are not permitted to conduct any open-air burning, a press release said. The ban includes campfires, and burning of brush, vegetation, household waste, or construction debris. The ban will remain in effect until December 15. The counties under the ban are listed below.
On Monday, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry was fighting 67 wildfires across nearly 16,000 acres in the Cumberland and East Tennessee districts.
One of the largest active fires in the area was a 2,432-acre fire on White Oak Circle in Morgan County. That fire was caused by arson, according to the Division of Forestry. That fire appears to be northwest of Harriman and Oakdale. [Read more…]
Christmas Tree Lighting is Dec. 2 in A.K. Bissell Park
The Oak Ridge Woman’s Club and the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will sponsor the annual Christmas tree lighting and reception on Dec. 2, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. (Submitted photo)
The Oak Ridge Woman’s Club and the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will sponsor the annual Christmas tree lighting and reception at 6:30 p.m. December 2.
Participants should gather at the Secret City Commemorative Walk on the east side of the Oak Ridge Public Library parking lot for a brief ceremony, a press release said. A reception with seasonal music and entertainment will be held in the Oak Ridge Civic Center gymnasium immediately following the tree lighting. Light refreshments will be served.
Visit the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks website at orrecparks.org for information about other city events and programs.
Smoky haze continues, unhealthy air conditions forecast for today
Poor air quality will exist today along the Great Smoky Mountains and the Knoxville and Chattanooga metropolitan areas due to smoke from wildfires. Everyone should pay attention to their body and limit prolonged outdoor activities. (Image courtesy National Weather Service in Morristown)
A smoky haze continues in East Tennessee, and an air quality alert has been issued for much of the Tennessee Valley, including the Knoxville area, because of smoke from wildfires, officials said Monday.
People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children were advised to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion, according to the forecast on AirNow.gov.
The National Weather Service in Morristown said unhealthy air quality conditions will continue across much of the area today.
“Plumes of smoke from wildfires will continue to linger in the atmosphere across the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachian Mountains,” the National Weather Service said. “The smoke plumes will reduce visibilities and produce poor air quality conditions.” [Read more…]
