Entire Louisiana town under mandatory evacuation because of wildfire

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An entire town in southwestern Louisiana is under mandatory evacuation orders because of a wildfire that state officials say is the largest they have ever seen.

Usually during this time of year, the Deep South state is addressing threats of imminent hurricanes, tropical storms and flooding. But this summer Louisiana has been plagued by record-breaking heat and extreme drought, which have made the wildfire risk unusually high. This month alone, there have been nearly 360 wildfires in the state.

Louisiana’s largest blaze, the Tiger Island Fire in Beauregard Parish, has already burned an estimated 15000 acres (6,070 hectares) — approximately 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) — accounting for more acres of burned land than the state usually has in an entire year.

The fire forced the 1,200 residents of Merryville, a rural town just east of the Texas border, to evacuate Thursday night. There have not been any reported injuries, but at least three residential structures have been burned, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on social media.

As of Friday morning, the fire was only 50% contained and “remains unpredictable due to the wind conditions as well as dry conditions” the sheriff’s office said. Resources are stretched thin as firefighters work in hot weather and use local water sources in a community used to flooding and hurricanes rather than drought and fire.

While nearly all of Louisiana is abnormally dry for this time of year, half of the state is facing “extreme” or “exceptional” drought, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In addition, the state has faced scorching temperatures this summer. Last week, Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency because of extreme heat.

About 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Merryville, in Lake Charles, temperatures have been in the triple digits every day since Aug. 18 and over 95 degrees since June 29.

With the hot and dry conditions, state and fire officials stress that something as minimal as warm exhaust pipes on grass, cigarette butts thrown out a car window or sparks from dragging safety trailer chains can quickly escalate to mass devastation.

Edwards said many of the blazes could have been prevented if residents adhered to a statewide burn ban that has been in effect since early August.