Burn Ban in Effect

Submitted by Captain Glover

Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., and State Fire Marshal Butch Browning have declared a statewide burn ban.

The order was issued Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. and will remain in effect until rescinded. The burn ban was put in place after Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry firefighting crews responded to more than 60 wildland fires on Friday and Saturday. An estimated 1,850 acres of forestland has already been burned over the two-day period.

LDAF fire reports for August-September period indicate 407 wildland fires burned more than 3,458 acres within the state. During the same period in Aug.-Sept. 2009, 56 fires burned 152 acres. The figures represent a 726 percent increase in wildland fires and a 2,270 percent increase in acreage burned.

East Baton Rouge Parish has seen an increased number of grass fires.

 Fire Chief Bill Porche urges residents of Central NOT to burn.

The Central Fire District will follow this State Wide Burn Ban and extinguish all fires. It is already against parish ordnance to burn unless certain conditions are met. For a complete list of information you can go to our website at centralfd.org