Local reactions to the Lookout Mountain railway fire
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Today at 6:46 a.m., Chattanooga Fire Departments were dispatched to the 700 block of S. Scenic Highway after 911 received several calls about a fire in the woods.
Lookout Mountain Fire Chief Dale Taylor described, “It was spreading slowly, but it was in an area we could not get to.”
Throughout the day, residents were able to see the fire billow on and off into the evening.
As the fire progressed, it unfortunately caught the railroad ties on the Incline Railway.
With evacuations taking place in St. Elmo, local residents on top of Lookout Mountain expressed their feelings of concern about the critical situation.
Mae McDowell, a local resident in the area, says, “It’s really scary, because you don’t know what’s going to happen, especially because the incline is so close. Like it could be pretty damaging, so we don’t really know what’s going to happen next, so it’s just a little scary.”
With the fire burning so close to residential homes, many other locals shared the same emotions of fear.
“I came outside, and I see it in the distance, and I went to the market, which is like a mile away,” says Maxwell Hartminn, “and could see the big smoke plume, and as I got closer, it just grew and grew. It was just the contrast between the person and the smoke. It’s just a lot of fear, because that’s so close to my home.”
Tom Eddy and Patten Smith, residents of Lookout Mountain, shared videos of a helicopter circling throughout their neighborhood, into their backyards, helping bring water to extinguish the fire.
Another local resident, Jacob Davenport, says, “We weren’t expecting it or anything, so it really shocked us a little bit. We were freaking out for a little while.”
The railway’s cars were safely removed below the fire as firefighters brought in reinforcements.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Additionally, Scott Wilson, the Chief of Staff for CARTA, stated:
“The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is temporarily closed due to an ongoing active fire incident.
We are fully cooperating with emergency response teams who are currently managing the situation. The safety of our guests and staff remains our highest priority.”
As of Saturday evening, the latest update on the fire from the Chattanooga Fire Department was:
“There is a fire break around the entire impacted area. The only fire that crews are having to deal with is the railroad ties from the incline, which is in areas that are very challenging to reach. Firefighters are holding the line and making sure everything is protected. There are multiple people on ‘fire watch’ throughout the night at various locations of the rail.”
