UPDATE: One fire district says they responded to almost two dozen fires this past weekend.
State Fire officials are urging caution because of current weather conditions; you can see more on that by scrolling down.
But already fires are causing problems for firefighters.
"Over this past weekend, firefighters throughout St. Martin Parish responded to 23 incidents, with a high majority involving debris fires that got out of control and began to spread to neighboring properties. Remember that while some solutions seem the easiest course, it is illegal to burn trash or items that are not natural products (NATURAL= sticks, grass, leaves, etc)," a post on the St. Martin Parish Fire District Facebook page says.
"We would like to thank the volunteer firefighters from Arnaudville Volunteer Fire Department, Breaux Bridge Volunteer Fire Dept., Cecilia Fire Department, Henderson Fire Dept., Butte LaRose Volunteer Fire Department, Parks Volunteer Fire Department, Catahoula Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Coteau Holmes Volunteer Fire Department, Evangeline Volunteer Fire Department of St. Martinville, and Cade Volunteer Fire Department for their response to the list of emergencies this weekend, as well as the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, and the St. Martin Parish Emergency Dispatch Center."
Here's the post:
Here's the information from the State Fire Marshal:
While the state is NOT under a burn ban, State Fire Marshal Bryan J Adams is strongly encouraging Louisianans to avoid any outdoor burning practices this week until conditions become less concerning.
Continuous, elevated winds coupled with mostly dry conditions across the state have led to an increase in brush fire calls for local fire departments. Several of these calls have escalated into large and dangerous wildfires that involved response from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
“Even though the current conditions are nowhere close to what the state experienced last summer, we need everyone to understand the ingredients for dangerous fires are in place right now,” said Adams, “These fires are resulting from small outdoor burn piles getting quickly out of control. They are proving to be challenging for firefighters and have destroyed properties.”
Open, outdoor burning is defined as setting fire to any trees, branches, grass, leaves, brush, or debris by private property owners for non-commercial purposes. If outdoor burning is unavoidable at this time, safety tips include:
• Ensuring weather conditions, including wind speed and direction, are safe for burning
• Confirming open burning is legal in your area
• Establishing a burn pile at least 75 feet from any structures
• Creating a 5-foot wet control line around the area
• Avoiding the use of flammable liquids to ignite a burn pile
• Remaining vigilant over the fire with a water source nearby at all times
• Alert a loved one or neighbor of your activities or conduct them with help
• If the fire does get out of control, call 911
