Arsonists Burning Eastern Tennessee Down?

a reply to: loam

The scale of the event is what sticks out to me.

This many arsonists in such a short period of time and relatively confined area has the hallmarks of an organized effort.

I would not be surprised at all to learn that this was terrorism related.

Wonder how long before ISIS claims responsibility now that it's been discussed here.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

I hope that isn't true, but I'm not ruling that out yet.

I need to check and see, if one is burning trash in their backyard, is that considered arson?

a reply to: loam

I need to check and see, if one is burning trash in their backyard, is that considered arson?

I don't think so, it would be considered accidental. One could still be prosecuted for negligence without intent to do harm or cause mischief.

I do believe in order to qualify as arson it has to be set purposely not in conjunction with an otherwise intended result, such as a trash fire or barbecue.

UPDATE:

ATF probes Gatlinburg wildfire's cause

Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping the National Park Service and other local authorities to investigate the origin and cause of the wildfire that killed at least 10 people this week.

ATF spokesman Michael Knight said he is in Gatlinburg with more than a dozen others from his agency, including several certified fire investigators. Those investigators receive special training frequently used in cases of arson or other crimes.

"We're not looking at a criminal investigation right now," Knight said Thursday afternoon.

The National Park Service earlier this week said rangers believe the fire — which ravaged more than 17,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 700 buildings — was manmade. Park officials provided few details as to how they arrived at the conclusion.

I wonder what the Park Officials aren't talking about.

Will be interesting to see where this story goes.

a reply to: loam

13 are dead, so far. 10 have been identified including the poor Mr. Reed's wife and daughters.

The Park superintendent said at a press conference Friday that a human set the fire that spread into Gatlinburg. Anyone who was on the Chimney Top trail on November 23 has been told to call 1-888-653-0009.

www.local8now.com...

I suppose the one odd thing is that once you get some miles away from the main interstate or the touristy towns, you end up more with the "hillbilly" types. And those are the people that have had a reputation with state and federal police, where some back-woods hollers aren't exactly safe to investigate for moonshiner stills or grow-ops. The locals just don't like outsiders poking around for no reason, and that includes the police. Also the moonshiner types have a lot invested in whatever they're doing (regardless of legality), so I doubt they're going to start fires if they can help it. (Some to be said about "dumb rednecks", but most have sense to not purposely burn down their own house if things are going well.)

So from the other end... Why not let the fires burn to flush those types of people out? I don't think the government would admit it, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was some of the thinking there. Conditions presented an opportunity for them to clean up what they considered a local problem. Still caught up with them when the fires didn't stay to the backwoods areas. By the time it hit the more major towns such as Gatlinburg, it's too late and there's a bigger disaster sitting in their lap.

Outside of possible state actors, who else wouldn't mind getting rid of the backwoods moonshiners? Drug runners from some other locale might not mind having less competition, and may take action to push out such business.

I know it's not the nicest thing to say. But one has to consider what may be at play, and the area's underground economy is one of them. If there's a reasoning behind what may be arson, I'm curious if anyone has looked at that aspect?

MAJOR UPDATE:

Sources: Teens toying with matches started Gatlinburg wildfire

The boys, ages 17 and 15, were charged this week in Sevier County Juvenile Court with aggravated arson in the Nov. 28 wildfires that shut down the city of Gatlinburg at the height of its winter tourism season and damaged or destroyed more than 2,400 homes and businesses. The death toll included two children and a woman who died fleeing the flames

Fourth Judicial District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn, whose jurisdiction includes Sevier County, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn announced the teens' arrests Wednesday but refused to reveal any details. State law shields from the public most documents and information on juvenile defendants in all but the most serious cases, such as murder and rape. Aggravated arson is not on the list of the most serious charges.

Sources familiar with the teenagers and the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly about the case say the two boys are friends and live in Anderson County. The boys were hiking on the Chimney Tops trail in the park on Nov. 23 and tossing lit matches onto the ground around the trail, the sources said. A hiker unwittingly captured an image of the boys walking away from the trail with smoke in the background, and the teenagers' clothing helped authorities identify them, according to sources.

The oldest boy is the son of an Anderson County Sheriff's Office employee, according to sources.

...

Dunn said at a news conference this week that "additional charges are being considered and all options are on the table, including transfer of these juveniles to adult Criminal Court."

See also:

Prosecutor: 'Everything on the table' for juveniles charged in deadly fire

a reply to: loam

Read this a few days back & forgot to post it. Anyway, everyone's so quick to blame terrorists that they're amazingly good at forgetting that every generation, we have a country full of impulsive, retarded teenagers. Not to mention impulsive, retarded adults. But in this case, I'm not surprised it's teens. They haven't necessarily gotten more stupid since my teen years, but they certainly haven't gotten any smarter. Dumbass pyros.