Perilous
Times and Climate Change
Wildfires on the rise in Louisiana
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Jun. 17, 2011 11:23am
The worst drought to hit Louisiana in many years is creating
perfect conditions for wild land fires.
“Our Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) wild
land firefighting crews are dealing with fires on a daily basis,”
said Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M.
“LDAF forestry enforcement investigators are working overtime to
determine if the current rash of wild land fires is created by
natural causes or the work of arsonists.
“One thing is certain: woods arson is a serious crime. In most
cases, it’s a felony. If anyone is caught setting a woods fire, my
office will do everything in its power to see that the violators
serve jail time and pay full restitution.”
State Forester Wade Dubea said a wild land fire off Hwy. 12 near
DeQuincy burned more than 691 acres on Sunday, June 12. The next
day, LDAF fire crews suppressed two more fires in the same area.
The 691-acre plot of timberland has an estimated value of $250,000
or more.
The cause of the DeQuincy fires is under investigation and arson
is suspected.
“LDAF has already responded to and suppressed 197 wildfires that
burned 4,000 acres of wild land and commercial forest land in the
month of June,” Dubea said. “We had only 91 wildfires the entire
month of June in 2010.”
Strain said a statewide burn ban continues to be in effect and
will remain in place until further notice. “The burn ban means no
outdoor burning of any kind. If you have any questions pertaining
to what constitutes an outdoor fire, check with your local fire
department.”
There are a few exceptions to the burn ban.
“The current burn ban does not apply to prescribed burns conducted
by the LDAF or those performed by persons trained and certified by
the LDAF,” Strain said. “Prescribed burning that is considered a
generally accepted agricultural practice as defined by the
Louisiana Right to Farm Law (R.S. 3:3601 et seq.) is also allowed,
but not recommended at this time.”
The LDAF extends wildfire detection and suppression services to
18.9 million acres of developed and undeveloped land across the
state. Of the 18.9 million acres, the LDAF receives wildfire
detection and suppression funding from landowners for only 53
percent of the protected area.