Current Conditions Prompt Red Flag Warning for Gatlinburg And a Smokies Ban
The National Weather Service in Morristown recently issued a Red Flag Warning for many counties in East Tennessee, including Gatlinburg and Sevier County. No, this isn’t to alert the public of red flags being raised on private and public property. In all seriousness, it’s a term to describe conditions that are favorable for fires to ignite and spread.
The National Weather Service closely monitors, not only what type of weather to expect, but it also observes past patterns, making informed decisions on the current state of affairs. In this case, while it may seem like we’ve received enough precipitation, the sheer volume has been rather low in recent weeks. This has led the NWS to warn local emergency response teams of a high fire risk—which is essentially what a Red Flag Warning entails.
What this means for the public is a halt to the issuance of burn permits. Low humidity and high winds will keep this ban into effect until conditions subside. You couple that with a borderline drought environment, and things could get serious rather quickly. Another recommendation that goes along with the warning includes refraining from any type of outdoor burning.
In response to this High Wind Warning statement from the National Weather Service, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park banned all campfires and charcoal, effective immediately. However, if you use a park picnic area, cookstoves with compressed gas canisters and gas grills with an on/off switch are allowed. To follow all alerts related to our national park, please click the link below.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Website: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
The City of Gatlinburg, as a result, has put out a release advocating for keeping your property FireWise. This includes removing debris and leaves around the perimeter of your house. In 2018, Gatlinburg was one of only three municipalities in Tennessee to be designated as a FireWise city. Full details on how Gatlinburg earned this distinction is in the link below.
Firewise USA: https://www.gatlinburgtn.gov/page/firewise
Maybe now you’re a bit more aware of what a Red Flag Warning means if you’re visiting and have never heard it prior. Heck, I even learned a little in my limited research on the topic. While this may have already passed by the time you read this, I wanted to expand on my own knowledge, making this post seem rather evergreen. And no, I’m not talking about plants that stay green all year. You can look it up if you’re curious.
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