Burn ban in effect across south La.

Local fire chiefs say the statewide burn ban issued last Wednesday won’t have much effect on the Tri-parishes.

State Fire Marshal Butch Browning and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry issued a cease and desist order on all private burning due to “extremely dry conditions” throughout Louisiana until further notice.

“Private burning shall only be allowed by permission of the local fire department or local government,” according to a press release. “This ban shall not apply to prescribed burns by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, by those trained and certified by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, or by those who conduct prescribed burning as a ‘generally accepted agriculture practice.'”

Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes already have ordinances prohibiting private burning of trash and solid waste year-round.

“I don’t foresee the ban being a problem. We’ll just continue to enforce the existing fire ordinance,” said Thibodaux Fire Chief Mike Naquin. “You have to have a permit from the department to do any type of burning, and we usually don’t issue any permits.”

Naquin noted the department grants open burning permits for high school bonfires or fireworks, but the department won’t while the statewide burn ban in effect.

With Independence Day on Saturday, fire chiefs said they would be on alert, hoping to prevent discharged fireworks from starting a blaze.

“Even though it is illegal, we know there are going to be a select few who are going to shoot it anyway,” said City of Houma Fire Chief Terry Dufrene. “There’s a possibility it can start grass fires. We might pick up a few more calls than normal.”

State law allows for burnings for ceremonial purposes and on open land if it is more than 1,000 feet from any structure, according to Dufrene. Residents in Houma, Thibodaux and Morgan City do not fall into that latter category.

Dufrene said his department typically allows small campfires if they are contained in a pit and somebody is nearby watching over it. However, that practice will stop because of the statewide burn ban.