Survivors seek damages in deadly Tennessee wildfires
KNOXVILLE: Two survivors of deadly Tennessee wildfires that began in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have sued the federal government, claiming they lost loved ones and a home because of the negligence of park workers.
The lawsuit in Knoxville was filed on Wednesday by the two victims of the November 2016 Gatlinburg area fire: Michael Reed, whose wife and two daughters died, and James England, whose home burned down. They seek a combined US$14.8mil (RM58.9mil) in damages.
They blame their losses on claims that federal parks employees violated established fire-management policies, failed to prioritise the safety of citizens and property, and failed to notify and warn of threats posed by the fire.
The Park Service declined to comment.
The lawsuit claims that park sen- ior leaders decided to contain, and not extinguish, the fire in the park despite extreme drought conditions.
The plan to keep the fire within a 410-acre (165ha) area was a “debacle of historic proportions”, the lawsuit adds, arguing the decision not to put out the fire was taken because steep, rocky terrain posed a safety risk to firefighters.
“These failures notably included their blatant disregard of mandato- ry requirements to monitor the Chimney Tops 2 Fire for five consecutive days and their failure to notify or warn local governments, park neighbours, local residents and visitors of the absolute and imminent danger the fire posed to them,” the lawsuit states.
Hurricane-force winds blew embers from the park into Gatlinburg and downed power lines, sparking more fires. Fourteen people died and about 2,500 build- ings were damaged or destroyed.
Spokesman Dana Soehn said the Park Service doesn’t comment on active litigation.
Park officials found the fire on a Wednesday, but left it unmonitored and unattended in the overnight hours of five consecutive nights to discover the blaze had grown from less than an acre to between 250 and 500 acres (100ha-200ha), according to the lawsuit. — AP