Keeping watch: Mt. Cammerer fire tower restoration marks Friends of the Smokies’ 30th birthday
Gary Wade grew up in Pittman Center, Tennessee, just 7 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park trailhead leading to Mt. Cammerer. But despite being a lifelong hiker, he didn’t reach the storied fire tower at the summit until 1993, when he was in his mid 40s.
Saving Shuckstack: Age, weather and vandalism take their toll on Smokies’ firetower
Its bolts are rusting, floor planks are rotting, and its windowpanes shattered. The roof is pocked with holes that let in the rain and snow. Even the some of the guardrails have gone missing from the 60-foot-tall lookout tower — an unnerving thought for any person daring enough to climb it.
Fire on the mountain
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
A forest fire burned nearly 40 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Wednesday (Feb. 28), threatening the Purchase Knob research station.
Forest on fire: How much should we tamper with Mother Nature?
By Michael Beadle
For the longest time, forest fires were viewed as hazardous events to avoid at all costs.
Remember Smokey the Bear pointing his finger like Uncle Sam, telling folks to do all they could to prevent forest fires?
