State officials are urging residents to be extremely cautious about lighting anything on fire after dry and windy conditions contributed to a record number of wildfires over four days. State Agricultural and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said from Friday to Monday there were 124 fires in Louisiana.
“To put it in perspective, that’s about 9% of what we have in an entire year, and we had it over the course of a four-day-weekend,” said Strain.
As a result, Strain said there are burn bans in Beauregard, Morehouse, Union, Washington, and Calcasieu Parishes. Dry vegetation and high winds allowed brush piles that were being burned to quickly get out of control and others who were burning timber.
“The majority of this was all manmade, and of course, we’re telling everyone to not light that match. The weather conditions are such that they can easily get away from you,” said Strain.
Strain said if you plan to burn any brush piles anywhere in Louisiana with the current conditions, do not leave them unattended.
“Until it is completely extinguished. What happens is, they lit and they burn down and then people leave them, abandon them, and then all of the sudden they look back and of course now everything is on fire,” said Strain.
Because the grass is extremely dry right now, he said it will easily burn and quickly spread. Strain said there have even been cases where vegetation above the waterline in bottomlands caught on fire.
Comments