Poor preparation by park crews and a massive failure of imagination allowed the November wildfire that began in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to grow, pick up speed and sweep through Gatlinburg and surrounding parts of Sevier County, leaving death and destruction in its wake, according to a federal review released Thursday.
"It was simply impossible for the park and first responders to imagine and react to this combination of conditions," said wildfire expert Joe Stutler, who led the review. "This type of fire had never been seen before in the park and never before in this portion of the Southeast."