BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) -- The Louisiana State Fire Marshal says residents should avoid outdoor burning this week due to windy and dry weather conditions.
Louisiana is not under a statewide burn ban, SFM said in a Tuesday news release, but five parishes have declared them: Beauregard, Calcasieu, Morehouse, Union and Washington.
“Even though the current conditions are nowhere close to what the state experienced last summer, we need everyone to understand the ingredients for dangerous fires are in place right now,” said State Fire Marshal Bryan Adams. “These fires are resulting from small outdoor burn piles getting quickly out of control. They are proving to be challenging for firefighters and have destroyed properties.”
The agency said some fire departments have gotten calls to respond to brush fires, with several escalating into wildfires.
Outdoor burning is described by SFM as setting fire to any trees, branches, grass, leaves, brush or debris by private property owners.
Safety tips from state fire officials:
