The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for tips about an arson on Waddell Circle on Sunday, July 11.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department had responded to a residential fire in a quadplex that evening. (That was the same evening widespread power outages and partial power outages were reported in Oak Ridge.)
The fire on Waddell Circle was later determined to be set intentionally, and ORPD investigators responded to the fire.
[Read more…]
A Rocky Top woman allegedly started a fire at a home north of Clinton with an adult and two children inside in June, and she was arrested Monday, authorities said.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said Sharon Lee Braden, 48, of Rocky Top, was arrested on charges of aggravated arson, three counts of aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment. Those charges are related to a June fire at a home on Offutt Road, which is east of Lake City Highway (Highway 25/State Route 9) between Clinton and Rocky Top.
Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sean Flynn issued arrest warrants as a result of evidence collected during his investigation and statements made by an eyewitness, a press release said.
“The witness reported that he saw Braden start the fire, and when he approached her, she fled,” the press release said.
[Read more…]
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. [Read more…]
Jason O’Shell, right, leads a crew on a mountaintop in Morgan County, near Petros, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. (Photo by Tennessee Department of Agriculture)
PETROS—A few embers and smoke remained on a mountaintop just north of Oliver Springs in Morgan County on Friday as a Tennessee Division of Forestry crew headed out for another fire reported in nearby Roane County, state officials said.
The firefighters, led by crew boss Jason O’Shell, worked the day building fire lines and backfiring to keep the Morgan County fire from spreading in an area frequented by four-wheelers, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture said. The crew was helped by a federal fire crew from western states.
Crews have been battling two blazes this week north of Oliver Springs, near Petros. The two fires have been about 12-16 miles northwest of Oak Ridge.
One fire, the Bald Knob Road fire, has been roughly east and northeast of Petros near the Anderson County-Morgan County line, in mountains east of Highway 62 and south of Highway 116. Crews first responded to that fire on Sunday. Since then, it has grown to 1,173 acres. It’s an arson, and it’s 100 percent contained, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry said Friday afternoon. [Read more…]
Arson is suspected in the Little Brushy forest fire that has burned 100 acres along Highway 62 a few miles south of Petros, authorities said Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. The fire is above Petros-Joyner School and homes and businesses along Highway 62, near the intersection with Highway 116. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Arson is suspected in a forest fire that has burned 100 acres along Highway 62 south of Petros, authorities said Thursday.
The Little Brushy fire is in mountains above Petros-Joyner School near the intersection of Highway 62 and Highway 116 in Morgan County. It was 10 percent contained early Thursday afternoon, according to the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
Residents said they first noticed the fire, which is above homes and businesses along Highway 62, at about 11 a.m. Wednesday. The fire burned vigorously at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, and it blew heavy smoke across Highway 62, reducing visibility on a section of road between Petros and Oliver Springs.
It’s the second fire this week near Petros. The other fire, which firefighters started battling on Sunday, is called the Bald Knob Road fire. That fire is roughly on the other side of Petros and about five miles north of Little Brushy. It appeared to have started in mountains east and northeast of Petros near the Anderson County-Morgan County line in an area that residents call the Gillontine Trail.
The Bald Knob Road fire held at 790 acres, and it was 100 percent contained on Thursday, according to a fire update from the Tennessee Division of Forestry early Thursday afternoon. Arson is also suspected in that fire. [Read more…]
The Little Brushy fire burns on a ridge above Highway 62 near Petros-Joyner School and the intersection with Highway 116 on Wednesday evening, Nov. 23, 2016. The fire is a few miles south of Petros. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 a.m. Nov. 24.
PETROS—One forest fire that has burned close to 800 acres since Sunday had scorched down to the north side of Petros by Wednesday evening, and a second nearby mountain fire that residents said started Wednesday morning billowed smoke across a section of Highway 62 south of Petros, near Petros-Joyner School in Morgan County.
The first fire, the one that firefighters have been battling since Sunday, is the Bald Knob Road fire. It’s named for a road that runs east out of Petros. It had charred 790 acres as of noon Wednesday, according to the Tennessee Division of Forestry. The fire is a suspected arson, and it was 60 percent contained on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday evening, firefighters appeared to have set back fires, which they use to contain blazes, near several homes in Petros, including off Armes Road in north Petros.
That fire had grown from what was reported to be a few hundred acres on Monday, when it emitted a smoke plume that could be seen for miles, including in Oak Ridge, to about 450 acres on Tuesday. It had almost doubled in size by Wednesday. [Read more…]
Arson is suspected in a fire that has burned about 450 acres in mountain forests about five miles northeast of Petros, authorities said. Smoke from the fire is pictured above from Highway 116 in north Anderson County on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. The smoke plume could be seen for miles. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
PETROS—Arson is suspected in a fire that started this weekend and has burned about 452 acres in mountain forests a few miles east and northeast of Petros, authorities said Monday.
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Firefighters contained a brush fire of about two to three acres on a ridge above Yarnell Road just outside south Clinton on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. Pictured above are two trucks with bulldozers from the Tennessee Division of Forestry. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 7 p.m. Nov. 17.
CLAXTON—Firefighters contained a brush fire on a ridge off Yarnell Road in Claxton on Wednesday night, authorities said.
The Tennessee Division of Forestry said the fire burned seven acres, and arson was the cause.
It was in a wooded area just outside south Clinton, said Dusty Sharpe, assistant chief of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department. It was reported at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Most of the firefighters came down from the fire at about 9:40 p.m. Among those who responded were firefighters from Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department, Claxton Volunteer Fire Department, Clinton Fire Department, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, and the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
Sharpe said the fire was contained, but it had a few hot spots that would continue to burn the next few hours. There was no damage to any structures, he said. [Read more…]
The Tennessee Division of Forestry said on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, that the 900-acre Beech Grove fire in Devonia along Highway 116 in north Anderson County was contained. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Nov. 10.
NEW RIVER—Arson is suspected in three fires that have burned close to 2,000 acres in mountainous north Anderson County in the past week, authorities said Tuesday.
The largest fire, the Three Heads Fire in Double Camp behind Rosedale Elementary School on Highway 116, was estimated to have started on November 2. Crews had been holding it at about 1,500 acres, but someone went in behind firefighters and restarted the fire in a mountain gap about two days ago, said Bruce Miller, Tennessee Division of Forestry forestry technician in Anderson County.
Crews had to go to the north end of Anderson County to cut off the fire, which has grown to 1,600 acres, Miller said.
“It’s going to get bigger,” he said.
The fire is northeast of the Tennessee Valley Authority wind turbines on Buffalo Mountain, which are visible from Oak Ridge on a clear day. No personal property was reported to be at risk on Tuesday morning. A Tennessee Division of Forestry bulldozer was headed to the fire when Oak Ridge Today interviewed Miller in New River. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is investigating several small brush fires in the Claxton area.
Just before noon on Monday, deputies were notified of three small brush fires burning in the 600 block of Edgemoor Road. When Deputy Roger Sexton arrived, the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department was already on scene dousing the fires, which were located within 50 yards of one another about 20 feet from the roadway.
While Sexton was still on the scene of the Edgemoor fires, a call came in about another brush fire on Old Emory Road near Crawford Lane, and he went to investigate. When he arrived, he found a homeowner putting out the fire with a garden hose. That fire, too, was about 20 feet from the roadway. [Read more…]
A man was arrested Thursday morning after women’s clothing and property were set on fire in a domestic dispute on Waddell Circle, and a neighbor was assaulted, authorities said.
Oak Ridge Police Department patrol officers and investigators responded to the call at 171 Waddell Circle at 7:58 a.m. Thursday, a press release said. They determined that it was a continuation of an earlier domestic call involving a male subject identified as Christopher Crandall.
“Officers discovered a large pile of personal belongings and women’s clothing belonging to the victim burning in the yard, which was extinguished by members of the Oak Ridge Fire Department,” the press release said. “Officers were unable to locate Crandall after a search of the area, as he had apparently fled the area on foot prior to police arrival.”
Two hours later, at 9:58 a.m., police officers were again summoned to the area for an assault that had taken place involving Crandall, the release said. [Read more…]
A BMW that had been reported stolen in Oak Ridge burned on Old Batley Road on Saturday, authorities said.
The fire appeared to have been set intentionally in the front passenger seat of the green four-door sedan, according to volunteer firefighters from Marlow, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy James Presson wrote in an incident report. Valued at about $6,900, the 2000 BMW 3-series car was towed to Tate’s Towing in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
