The Tennessee Division of Forestry said Tuesday that the Windrock Mountain fire that began Thursday is controlled.
On Tuesday afternoon, the size of the affected area was 328 acres with a containment percentage of 95 percent.
Representatives from state forestry were still at the fire site to monitor it, officials said.
[Read more…]
Tom Scott—photographer for the Oak Ridge Fire Department who kept historic fire trucks, equipment, and literature at his home—died Saturday. He was 88.
Scott was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, but he spent the last three decades in Oak Ridge serving as the fire department’s official photographer, the City of Oak Ridge said Thursday. Scott also took photos at other fires and crashes in the area, including in Blair, Marlow, and Oliver Springs.
Scott had moved to Oak Ridge in the 1970s to work on the development of the gas centrifuge process for enriching uranium.
In 1974, he joined the Oliver Springs Volunteer Fire Department, and in 1990, he joined the Oak Ridge Fire Department as their official photographer, the city said. That happened after ORFD responded to a large structure fire where Scott was taking pictures. When the fire chief at the time, William “Bo†Harris, saw the pictures, he decided the ORFD needed to have an on-site photographer at all incidents to document the fires for training, media, and historical preservation, the city said. Harris asked Scott to lead the effort.
[Read more…]The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the fatal crash of a small aircraft near Oliver Springs Airport on Saturday.
The crash of the experimental light sport aircraft was reported at about 5:18 p.m. Saturday near Smith Road. That’s just east of the airport and on the other side of a tree line, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report.
The Quicksilver MXII had crashed into a field, and its nose was down into the ground, ACSD Sergeant Kenneth L. Bradley wrote in the report.
The pilot who died has been identified as Patrick Lucas, 45, of Morristown. He appeared to be the only occupant of the aircraft, the report said.
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. July 15.
The man who died in an aircraft crash along Smith Road east of Oliver Springs Airport on Saturday has been identified as Patrick Scott Lucas, 45, of Morristown.
Family members have been notified, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will start a crash investigation today (Sunday, July 14), said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. July 14.
One person died in a hang glider crash near Oliver Springs Airport in Anderson County on Saturday, authorities said.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the crash just after 5 p.m. Saturday, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Sheriff’s Office. But it’s not clear what time the crash occurred.
The crash was along Smith Road east of the airport. It’s not clear if the hang glider had any connection to the airport.
[Read more…]
CSX said it held train traffic out of the area during a brush and grass fire near the railroad tracks in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking north toward Elza Drive. The line at right crosses over Elza Drive. The line at left is now partially dismantled, and it ran through east Oak Ridge, past Jefferson Middle School, and to Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)
CSX said it held train traffic out of the area during a brush and grass fire near the railroad tracks in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.
The large fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m. Friday along the railroad tracks south of Elza Drive, just east of Elza Gate Park. The fire burned grass on the side of a steep embankment supporting the railroad tracks that cross over Elza Drive. It also appeared to spread to nearby brush and grass near an unused rail line that splits off near the Clinch River to enter east Oak Ridge at Melton Lake Drive. The fire sent up a large plume of black and gray smoke that was visible for miles.
“Flames were moving quickly, fueled by strong winds and excess brush in the area,†the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.
CSX and the City of Oak Ridge said the cause of Friday’s fire remains under investigation. The Oak Ridge Fire Department said it believes the fire was unintentional. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Fire Department and other departments helped Oliver Springs fight this fire on West Tri County Boulevard early Wednesday, March 5, 2019. (Photo by Tom Scott)
The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to help fight a fire in Oliver Springs last week.
The fire was reported at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, March 5, in a building in the 900 block of West Tri County Boulevard, said fire photographer Tom Scott.
The initial response was by the Oliver Springs Fire Department, followed by the Marlow, Blair, and Oak Ridge fire departments on a mutual aid request, Scott said. [Read more…]
A homeowner received minor injuries during a gas explosion on Hidden Hills Drive in Anderson County early Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo courtesy Anderson County Sheriff’s Department)
A homeowner received minor injuries during a gas explosion in Anderson County on Monday.
The possible gas explosion was reported on Hidden Hills Drive between State Route 61 and Laurel Road northeast of Oak Ridge at about 12:39 p.m. Monday.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department found significant property damage when deputies arrived, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the department. [Read more…]
The 75-year-old man killed in a vehicle-pedestrian crash in Marlow on Wednesday morning walked in front of a Ford truck for reasons that aren’t clear, authorities said.
The fatal crash was reported at 10 a.m. Wednesday on Oliver Springs Highway (State Route 61) at Old Batley Road.
The pedestrian has been identified as Curtis Byrge, 75. He has a Clinton mailing address.
A Tennessee Highway Patrol report said Byrge was walking west on Oliver Springs Highway when, for an unknown reason, he turned to walk south across the highway. [Read more…]
A fatal crash involving a pedestrian was reported in Marlow on Wednesday morning, and a a serious crash that required three ambulances and a medical helicopter was reported near Interstate 75, authorities said.
The first crash was on Andersonville Highway at Bethel Road just east of Interstate 75 around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.
Three ambulances were needed, Lucas said. A UT Lifestar medical helicopter responded, and it flew one person to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Lucas said. Anderson County EMS drove two injured people to UT Medical Center as well. There were serious injuries, Lucas said.
The second crash, the fatal crash, was reported a few hours later, at about 10 a.m. Wednesday on Oliver Springs Highway at Old Batley Road. In that crash, a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle, Lucas said. [Read more…]
Smoke alarms helped four people escape from a fire that destroyed a two-story home just west of Clinton on Tuesday morning, Jan. 30, 2018, authorities said. The fire was reported at about 6 a.m. Tuesday at 1604 Hidden Hills Drive, just north of State Route 61 between Oak Ridge and Clinton. (Photo by Bill Gallaher)
Smoke alarms helped four people escape from a fire that destroyed a two-story home just west of Clinton on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The fire was reported at about 6 a.m. Tuesday at 1604 Hidden Hills Drive, just north of State Route 61 between Oak Ridge and Clinton.
Firefighters determined that the fire started on a porch, although the cause is unknown, said Stephanie Fox, chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department.
All four people inside the home escaped with no injuries, Fox said. Smoke alarms went off and woke up the residents, Fox said Wednesday.
By the time firefighters arrived, the front porch and roof were on fire, or “fully involved,” Fox said. Firefighters fought the fire from outside the home in what is known as a defensive attack. [Read more…]
A fire was reported at a house at the intersection of Hidden Valley Road and Laurel Road in Marlow late Friday afternoon, Jan. 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
MARLOW—No one was injured in a fire that destroyed a house in Marlow on Friday afternoon, and the cause is under investigation, authorities said.
The fire was reported at about 4:15 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Hidden Valley Road and Laurel Road, north of state Route 61 between Oak Ridge and Clinton in Anderson County.
Two adults live in the house, but they were not at home at the time of the fire, said Stephanie Fox, chief of the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department.
All five of the county’s volunteer fire departments responded: Andersonville, Briceville, Claxton, Marlow, and Medford. Firefighters were there until about 9 p.m. Friday. [Read more…]
