Monday, May 9
May 9, 2011
Doris Cantrell
May 11, 2011Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph issued a burn ban on Tuesday, citing “extremely dry conditions.”
Effective immediately, the prohibition encompasses the entire parish and will extend until further notice. Lafourche Parish Government is the fourth jurisdiction in the state to impose such a ban.
State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning said his office is monitoring the conditions and considering a statewide burn ban. The fire marshal’s office could make a decision by the end of the week, he said.
The state has not seen a dramatic increase in the amount of fires it has had to extinguish in recent weeks, which is typically one of the triggers for a ban, Browning said.
But the concern of flooding when the Mississippi River crests this month has the state fire authority taking a cautious approach.
“With the potential flood event going on, we’re looking at that as being a need [for a statewide burn ban] because we don’t want the fire departments to be busy with non-emergency fires or incidental calls,” Browning said.
Cameron, Nacogdoches and Sabine parishes have also issued burn bans.
