KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Any day now the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to release a decision on whether lawsuits against the federal government can go forward following the 2016 Gatlinburg wildfire disaster.
In January, lawyers for the government and hundreds of people who suffered losses of property and loved ones went to Cincinnati, where the court is based, and argued the case. A three-judge panel is considering it right now.
Last year, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer threw out complaints filed by the victims, finding that they failed to properly submit what's called an SF-95 claim of fault against the Department of the Interior, which is over the National Park Service.
Families and property owners argue the National Park Service failed to give enough warning about the danger as the fire burned and then spread in late November 2016 from Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park towards Gatlinburg.
Authorities suspect two boys set the fire the day before Thanksgiving 2016 on Chimney Tops. Juvenile court cases against them were ultimately dismissed, however.
Dozens of insurance companies also allege fault and are seeking money from the government.
The disaster destroyed or damaged some 2,500 buildings. It cost more than $1 billion in losses.
Fourteen people died as a result of the inferno, including Michael Reed's wife and two daughters. He's a party to the lawsuits, as well as Jim Vance, whose wife died after they fled down the mountain from their dream home off Wiley Oakley Drive.
