Gatlinburg, Tenn., officials plan modern upgrade of alert system


              FILE -In this Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, smokes rises out of the remains of a burned-out business, in Gatlinburg, Tenn., after a wildfire swept through the area Monday.  Wildfires ravaged the tourist town of Gatlinburg, in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, killing 14 people, destroying businesses and leaving hundreds of people homeless just after Thanksgiving. The devastation was voted Tennessee’s top for 2016 in a poll of Associated Press editors and broadcasters, followed by the Nov. 21 school bus crash in Chattanooga that left six elementary school children dead. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE -In this Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, smokes rises out of the remains of a burned-out business, in Gatlinburg, Tenn., after a wildfire swept through the area Monday. Wildfires ravaged the tourist town of Gatlinburg, in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, killing 14 people, destroying businesses and leaving hundreds of people homeless just after Thanksgiving. The devastation was voted Tennessee’s top for 2016 in a poll of Associated Press editors and broadcasters, followed by the Nov. 21 school bus crash in Chattanooga that left six elementary school children dead. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Officials in the scenic Gatlinburg, Tenn., area are reviewing upgrades to public warning systems after questions arose about residents and visitors receiving no alert of an approaching firestorm.

High winds on Nov. 28 drove a five-day-old wildfire out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and into Gatlinburg and the surrounding area, but public safety officials made few attempts to warn the 14,000 residents and visitors who fled the flames.

Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said a fire-damaged siren and public address system downtown will be replaced with a high-technology option that provides multiple layers of communication. The 20-year-old siren system consisted of four speakers to warn downtown residents of a flood.

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