Here are the latest updates from state officials on the fires that are burning across the state of Louisiana.
Louisiana Statewide Burn Ban: The state of Louisiana has declared a statewide burn ban to include any open flame outdoors. The message from the State Fire Marshal’s Office is “don’t burn anything” until further notice. Citations and arrests ARE happening across this state in partnership with local and state law enforcement agencies.
Here are the bigger wildfires, the current size and the number of personnel fighting them:
| Fire Name | Acreage | Personnel |
| Tiger Island | 31,082 | 342 |
| Hwy 113 | 7,709 | 129 |
| Lions Camp Road | 785 | 26 |
| Elizabeth | 940 | 28 |
Personnel and Equipment:
Tiger Island: 1 Type-1 Crew; 1 Type-2 Crew; 20 Type-6 Engines; 7 Type-3 Tractor Plow Units; 4 Water Tenders and 4 Ambulances.
Hwy 113: 1 Type-1 Crew; 18 Type-6 Engines; 7 Type-2 Tractor Plow Units; 3 Type-3 Tractor Plow Units; 4 Water Tenders and 3 Ambulances.
Lions Camp Road: 2 Type-6 Engines; 3 Type-3 Tractor Plow Units and 1 Ambulance
Elizabeth: 5 Type-6 Engines; 5 Type-3 Tractor Plow Units and 1 Ambulances
Air Resources Assigned to all Fires: 14 Helicopters and 2 Air Attacks
Additional support is being provided to all fires by the National Guard, Parish authorities and departments, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal Team, Sheriff’s offices, and the Offices of Emergency Preparedness.
Tiger Island Fire: The Tiger Island Fire was first reported on Tuesday, August 22nd. The fire is located East of Merryville, south of Hwy 190, SW of DeRidder and North of Singer. The fire is burning in pine plantations of multiple ages. Heavy residual fuels because of Hurricane Laura in 2020 exist and contribute to extreme fire behavior.
Operations: The Tiger Island Fire is currently 57% contained. Yesterday, rain fell across portions of the fire area. Small pockets of needlecast reburned yesterday morning before the rain. Crews were still able to continue mop up, patrolling for hot spots and assessing for reburn potential. Crews also focused on knocking down berms of debris that could be holding heat along dozer lines on the southeast side of the fire. Today, crews will continue mopping up, patrolling and knocking down dozer berms.
Hwy 113 Fire: Located 14 miles northwest of Oakdale. This fire is burning in loblolly pines and hardwoods.
Operations: The Hwy 113 fire is currently 60% contained. Yesterday, the fire received over one inch of rain in some areas. Crews improved dozer lines and worked on connecting dozer and hand lines, especially in the Tenmile Creek drainage. Today, crews will continue mopping up, patrolling for hotspots and connecting fire lines in the Tenmile Creek drainage.
Lions Camp Road: Five miles northwest of Leesville. This fire is burning in southern rough, timber and brush.
Operations: The Lions Camp Road Fire is 75% contained. Yesterday, the fire also received some rain, but crews were able to continue mopping up, patrolling and improving dozer lines. Today, crews will continue to patrol for hotspots, mop up and will be assessing the fire area for reburn potential due to needlecast.
Elizabeth: Located in southwest Rapides Parish. The fire is south of Ten Mile Road and northeast of state Louisiana Hwy 462.
Operations: The Elizabeth fire is 60% contained. Yesterday, the fire received over one inch of rain in some areas, and crews were pulled off the fire in the afternoon due to decreased accessibility and safety concerns. Prior to the rain, crews continued to mop up and patrol along the fire perimeter. Today, crews will be connecting dozer and hand lines in the Tenmile Creek drainage and will continue mopping up and patrolling for hotspots.
Weather and Fire Behavior: Temperatures will be in the mid to high 90’s today with minimum humidity in the mid 40’s to mid 50’s. The heat index is expected to exceed 100 degrees. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible, but rain chances are less than yesterday. Fire activity will be minimal today due to increased moisture and higher humidity. Conditions over the next few days are expected to become drier and in portions of the fire that did not receive rain yesterday, increased fire activity may occur. Heat scorched leaves and pine needles are falling and blanketing the ground, which could lead to reburn in the fire areas where heat in the ground persists.
Air Quality: Light smoke is only expected in the vicinity of large fuels that continue to smolder. Heat scorched leaves and pine needles have fallen and have covered some burn areas. These areas have the potential for reburn if they did not receive rain yesterday and cause higher levels of smoke in localized areas. None of the communities in the area will be impacted by smoke from any of the fires. Expect to see only light smoke in the immediate vicinity of a fire or on interior roads. All monitor locations should see less smoke today due to low fire activity, south winds and high humidity. All communities should experience GOOD air quality. For near time air quality information see EPA's Fire and Smoke Map: https://fire.airnow.gov/
Temporary Flight Restriction: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the Tiger Island Fire and Hwy 113 and Elizabeth Fire areas. This is necessary to protect aerial operations. If you fly, we can’t. If there are drone intrusions into the Temporary Flight Restrictions, we must ground all aircraft.
Evacuations: Updates on evacuations and shelters for the Tiger Island Fire can be found on the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/beauregardsheriff.
