Judge lifts blackout on Gatlinburg wildfire records [video, photos]

Burned structures are seen from aboard a National Guard helicopter near Gatlinburg, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. The fires spread quickly on Monday night, when winds topping 87 mph whipped up the flames, catching residents and tourists in the Gatlinburg area by surprise. Police banged on front doors and told people to get out immediately. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)
Burned structures are seen from aboard a National Guard helicopter near Gatlinburg, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. The fires spread quickly on Monday night, when winds topping 87 mph whipped up the flames, catching residents and tourists in the Gatlinburg area by surprise. Police banged on front doors and told people to get out immediately. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

For weeks, state officials sat on and kept secret a judge's ruling that government records on the handling of the deadly Sevier County, Tenn., wildfire could be released to the public.

The order by Juvenile and General Sessions Court Judge Jeff Rader, filed June 5, came in response to the state attorney general's request for clarification on what records the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency could release about the fire that killed 14 people.

Despite repeated inquiries, the state kept that decision quiet until the USA Today Network-Tennessee obtained a copy of the order through a public records request to the judge and the court clerk.

Read more at our news partner's website, knoxnews.com.

Devastating Gatlinburg fires

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