Review of wildfire response due in July

The National Park Service estimates it will be mid-July before the results of a review of the handling of the Chimney Tops 2 fire are made public.

The fire was discovered on Nov. 23 as a 1.5-acre blaze near the top of the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The blaze spread slowly over rough mountain terrain for several days until Nov. 28 when, fed by drought conditions and a gale-force wind, it jumped along mountain ranges more than five miles, spreading to more than 17,000 acres. It destroyed more than 2,400 structures and killed 14 people in Sevier County, Tenn.

A seven-member committee, headed by Joe Stutler, a senior adviser with Deschutes County, Ore., forestry, began looking into the handling of the fire in early February, spending several weeks in the area doing interviews and research.

The committee issued a report that has been under review. It was estimated the review would be made public in March, but there was no official timetable or deadline set.

At the time the review was announced, both Stutler and park Superintendent Cassius Cash emphasized it’s not meant to be punitive or to focus blame, but it will look at the fire response constructively and perhaps offer information for dealing with future wildfires.

“I think it is important first to understand that this is a review; it is not an investigation,” Stutler said at the time. “If you really want to improve what you are doing, you don’t want to go into it looking for a scapegoat. We want people to tell us, ‘I did my very best, but I probably missed some stuff.’

“We are still anticipating release of the report in mid- to late-July,” National Park Service spokeswoman Tina Boehle said in response to an email on May 11.