Poor communication by Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers with Gatlinburg authorities undermined the initial response to last year's deadly wildfire and cost lives, a report released Tuesday found.
"Insufficient warning by (the park) contributed to a dramatically reduced time frame to conduct needed evacuations," the outside review concluded.
Fourteen people died that night, and more than 2,500 homes and businesses suffered damage, with some burned to the foundations.
Gatlinburg agencies worked together heroically during the firestorm but failed to grasp the scale of the threat early on when faced with a blaze burning at speeds that topped 2,000 acres per hour, the review found.