More than two-thirds of La. under burn ban

Most of Louisiana's 64 parishes remain under a burn ban, according to the burn ban map provided by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) as the drought in the region persists.

In all, 43 parishes in the northern, central and some of the southern parts of the state are prohibiting open fires due to extremely dry conditions. In addition to burn bans by individual parishes, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) also issued a burn ban on all Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and issues a reminder to hunters.

"The bans include the burning of trash and vegetation, as well as any other open burning," according to an LDWF press release. "For this reason, LDWF is restricting open fires, including campfires, on WMAs in these parishes until conditions improve and the burn bans are lifted. 

Campfires are often part of tradition for hunters in Louisiana, LDWF stated, but the state agency is reminding hunter and campers to "cooperate with burn bans to ensure the safety of others and to protect forest and wildlife resources.

"Violation of the burn ban order could result in criminal and/or civil penalties."

LDAF responds to wildfires and has a 24-hour Emergency Hotline to report a fire, 1-855-452-5323. However, in the event of an emergency, call 911 to report a wildfire.

Find out more about Fire Management, fire conditions and burn bans and more at the LDAF website, https://www.ldaf.la.gov/land/fire.

To find out if your parish is under a burn ban, click this link.

Most of the state remains in a Severe Drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, with many parishes under Extreme Drought and Exceptional Drought conditions. That area is affecting almost 3.5 million of Louisiana's more than 4.6 million residents.

To find out more about drought conditions and the severity for our parish, click on this link to go to the U.S. Drought Monitor for Louisiana.