RANGER
Limb starts a brush fire
Ranger and Bellview firefighters responded to a brush fire just after 1:30 p.m. March 22 that was advancing toward a residential structure on Taylor Hensen Road as heavy smoke filled the area.
The blaze started when a tree limb fell on a power line. The Ranger and Bellview volunteer fire departments fought high winds to maintain the safety of the home.
Mathew Derringer, a neighbor, said, “We heard a snap, looked over and that limb came down and was stuck in the four lines, and fire was shooting.”
The limb then fell, and the fire proceeded across the ground rapidly due to winds. Derringer added that smoke was thick, and the fire quickly spread.
SANTEETLAH
Man dead on Skyway
A 46-year-old man drove onto the Cherohala Skyway in the early morning hours of March 7, parked on the side of the road and took his own life. Brendan Sean Lynch of Decherd, Tenn., was found deceased of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.
His body was discovered between 9-9:30 a.m. by a concerned traveler who first passed his 2014 Ford Focus, which was parked at the Santeetlah Overlook near Mile Marker 7. The same driver noticed the vehicle still parked in the same location when making the return trip around 3:30 p.m.
Graham County sheriff’s Det. Travis Brooks said Lynch had a dash cam installed in the vehicle, which helped create a timeline for the investigation to follow. The video showed Lynch walk in front of the vehicle around 3:45 a.m. before getting back in moments later.
With the camera facing forward, the incident was not captured on video – but the dash cam did help rule out the possibility of any foul play. A note was allegedly found at the scene, but no details were released on what it said.
Lynch was less than a month away from his 47th birthday, according to his obituary. He was a truck driver who enjoyed camping, hunting and hiking in the mountains. Decherd is off Interstate 24, between Chattanooga and Nashville in Franklin County.
From staff reports.