Louisiana Ag Department: Wildfire Risk High in State

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain is warning Louisiana residents that the state’s wildfire risk remains higher than normal because of dry conditions.

The state agriculture department says 19 parishes have enacted burn bans. And Strain says the increased wind and lower humidity expected to move through Louisiana is a “recipe for potentially dangerous wildfires.”

Strain urges people to avoid parking vehicles or equipment on dry grass, to put out cigarettes in an ashtray rather than on the ground and to refuel their machinery in areas without vegetation.

The agriculture department says parishes with outdoor burn bans include: Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Caldwell, Concordia, Franklin, Grant, Jefferson Davis, LaSalle, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Richland, Sabine, Winn, Union and West Carroll.