Governor John Bel Edwards (at podium) asks residents to observe the state burn ban and not to grill outdoors this Labor Day weekend. August 30, 2023
Governor John Bel Edwards, along with State Ag Commissioner Mike Strain and State Fire Marshall Dan Wallis, said the wildfires are still a threat despite the recent rains. And while the statewide burn ban doesn’t include cooking outdoors, Edwards asked residents to refrain…
“We do know that historically a lot of fires start that way, and we just can’t have more fires than absolutely necessary and so that’s why we’re asking for that,” said Edwards.
Strain said the state needs three at least four inches of rain because the ground is extremely dry about a foot deep and is basically a tinderbox.
With Labor Day weekend upon us and football season kicking off, Wallis urged residents instead of cooking outdoors to patronize a local restaurant because firing up the grill can potentially get out of control due to current conditions.
“Some of this is common sense, but some of these things, as the Commissioner was saying, we’re in times that are unprecedented. I’ve been in this business a very long time and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Wallis.
Firefighters are trying to extinguish flames as high as 300 feet and Wallis said if you receive an evacuation order heed the call because chances are you can’t outrun it. Edwards said he fears that excessive wildfires in Louisiana could become the new norm and he encourages residents to be prepared…
“You can go to bed thinking the fire is eight miles away from you and going in the opposite direction and then at some point during the night somebody’s going to be getting you out of bed and telling you you’ve got to leave. And that’s why people need to be ready and need to be paying attention, have a bag packed, and so forth,” said Edwards.
So far, an estimated 60,000 acres and two people have been wildfire casualties fueled in part by the triple-digit temperatures and one of the worst droughts on record.
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