The City of Oak Ridge remains under a burn ban, and there are fire restrictions in Oliver Springs.
Oak Ridge Fire Chief Travis Solomon issued a burn ban on November 5.
“Due to the dry conditions in our region, no burn permits will be issued until further notice,” the City of Oak Ridge said. “Outdoor burning without a permit is banned by city ordinance.”
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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.
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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…]
Firefighters used back burns, controlled fires that eliminate fuel, to help contain a large fire that burned grass and brush near the railroad tracks at Elza Drive in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. This view is looking south toward Melton Hill Lake/Clinch River from near Elza Drive. There is a Y intersection in the train tracks in the area of the black smoke. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Oak Ridge Fire Department)
Firefighters used back burns, controlled fires that eliminate fuel, to help contain a large fire that burned grass and brush near the railroad tracks at Elza Drive in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.
The large grass fire was reported on the steep embankment along the railroad tracks east of Elza Gate Park at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. 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.
Crews started attacking the fire from several locations, the ORFD said. When flames spread to the railroad bridge over Elza Drive, firefighters were able to save it by walking out onto the bridge and extinguishing the flames. [Read more…]
Fire crews battle a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 p.m.
Fire crews battled a brush fire near the railroad tracks at Elza Gate in east Oak Ridge on Friday afternoon.
The fire was burning in brush on a steep embankment about 20 feet high along the railroad tracks. It had also spread to nearby brush.
Smoke was visible over the east end of Oak Ridge at about 3:30 p.m., in the area east of Elza Gate Park.
Firefighters responded from the Oak Ridge Fire Department, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, and Oliver Springs Fire Department. The Oak Ridge Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, and Tennessee Department of Agriculture also responded.
Witnesses told authorities that some railroad equipment had sent sparks flying around the time of the fire, but the City of Oak Ridge wasn’t able to confirm a cause on Friday night. [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…]
Note: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 22.
Information from WYSH Radio
A head-on collision involving a tractor-trailer in Oliver Springs on Sunday night killed one person and shut down Highway 61 leading into Oliver Springs for about 22 hours while crews cleaned up debris.
The Oliver Springs Police Department said that the fatal crash happened when a tractor-trailer dump truck was struck head-on by a car that crossed over the center line. The collision sent the tractor-trailer off the road and down an embankment, where it overturned and spilled diesel fuel and its cargo of sand. [Read more…]
A man escaped from a vehicle in flood water on Airport Road on the east side of Oliver Springs on Saturday night, Feb. 10, 2018, authorities said. The vehicle, reported to be a Jeep, was submerged under flood water at one time, but its top was visible early Sunday afternoon. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
OLIVER SPRINGS—A man escaped from a vehicle in flood water on Airport Road on the east side of Oliver Springs on Saturday night, authorities said.
The vehicle, reported to be a Jeep, was submerged under flood water at one time, but its top was visible early Sunday afternoon.
The man called 911 at the Oliver Springs Police Department at about 9 p.m. Saturday, and the Oliver Springs Police Department responded. Members of the Oliver Springs Fire Department also responded.
But the man was able to escape on his own through flood water reported to be chest-deep, authorities said. [Read more…]
A man escaped with minor injuries, but a home was destroyed in a fire on Friday morning, Jan. 5, 2018, on Lindale Lane in west Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A man escaped with minor injuries, but a home was destroyed in a Friday morning fire on Lindale Lane in west Oak Ridge.
The fire was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Friday at 15 Lindale Lane, which is off West Lincoln Road just north of the Dollar General store.
The fire was reported to have started in the basement, where there is a garage in a corner of the house. The cause was unknown, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said Friday morning.
The fire was fueled by natural gas, Kerley said. A gas line comes into the house in that area, and there is a water heater next to the gas line in the garage, he said.
The fire burned up a wall on that side of the house, went into the attic, and set the attic on fire, Kerley said. [Read more…]
Justin Bailey (File photo courtesy Oliver Springs Fire Department)
The explosion in Oliver Springs on Sunday that rattled windows and shook homes as far away as Oak Ridge was caused by gasoline poured on what was left of a barn that had been leveled and then ignited, the fire chief said Friday.
Oliver Springs Fire Chief Justin Bailey said firefighters don’t know for sure how much gasoline was used, but the property owner had at least a five-gallon gas can.
There was still a strong odor of gasoline when emergency responders arrived, Bailey said.
The explosion was reported on Tri County Boulevard at Mahoney Road on Sunday evening, just before it got dark, in a field across from Lee’s Market in south Oliver Springs, just down the hill from Oak Ridge.
The property owner had leveled the barn, and only natural wood remained, Bailey said. The property owner was allowed to burn the untreated wood with a permit, and he had received a burn permit from City Hall over the phone. [Read more…]
Oliver Springs Fire Department
The Oliver Springs Fire Department said it responded to a report of an explosion on Tri County Boulevard at Mahoney Road on Sunday evening.
“On arrival, members found a large brush pile that was on fire,” the Fire Department said in a post online. “The cause of the explosion was due to the use of gasoline as a source for ignition.”
There were no injuries or property damage. The fire was extinguished by Oliver Springs Fire Department personnel.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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Floodwaters rose close to road level at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue after heavy rains fell in Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon and evening, April 22, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Oak Ridge emergency workers responded to a car crash that injured two people, two fallen trees, and a possible apartment complex evacuation due to flooding during the severe thunderstorms on Saturday.
Heavy rain from the storms led to widespread flooding in Oak Ridge starting late Saturday afternoon. The water appeared to have receded in places a few hours later, or by early Saturday night.
Emergency workers made preparations Saturday evening to possibly evacuate apartments on Royce Circle, where water covered part of the roadway and rose near the first floor of an apartment complex at the northeast end of the circle. The apartments, which are next to Robertsville Road and just east of Willow Brook Elementary School, are in a low-lying area between two creeks that flow down along Jefferson Avenue and intersect with East Fork Poplar Creek, which was swollen with floodwaters on Saturday.
Authorities had made preparations to see how many people lived on the first floor of the Royce Circle apartment complex in case the residents had to be evacuated, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. Of the 10 people there, all but one had another place to go, he said. Authorities were watching the water, Kerley said.
“We think it’s receding,” he said Saturday night. [Read more…]
