WBRZ - Baton Rouge

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• Leaders want to talk about Bayou Manchac flooding

  April 1, 2013 9:47 PM

  GONZALES- Leaders in Ascension Parish want to discuss flooding concerns with leaders of the two other parishes along Bayou Manchac. The bayou, a natural drainage canal for Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Iberville Parishes, is known to flood. Most recently, in January, backwater flooding caused problems in Ascension Parish.... more »

• Barge separated from tug wreckage in La. bayou

  March 15, 2013 11:31 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard says a salvage company has separated a barge carrying tens of thousands of gallons of oil from the wreckage of a tugboat that struck a gas pipeline in a coastal Louisiana bayou, triggering a massive fire. Workers were monitoring the barge Friday to prepare... more »

• Firefighters have memorial for two girls killed in crash

  February 21, 2013 11:39 PM

  ST. AMANT- Firefighters held a small memorial service for two kids who were killed when the car they were riding in plunged into a bayou last year. "[Thursday night] makes one year since the St. Amant Community was struck with the tragic accident that took the lives of two... more »

• Bus driver worked overnight before wreck Play Video

  February 14, 2013 2:56 PM

  MARINGOUIN - A driver employed by the Iberville Parish School Board worked overnight at the parish sheriff's office before wrecking a bus with more than dozen students on it this morning, according to the deputies. The Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed the bus driver is an overnight dispatcher for... more »

• School bus goes into bayou

  February 14, 2013 9:35 AM

  MARINGOUIN - A school bus went into a Maringouin bayou after hitting a house Thursday morning, according to law enforcement. It happened near LA 76 and Musson Lane around 7:15 a.m. Maringouin Police said there were 20 students on the bus when the wreck happened, and four were... more »

• Long detour from Ascension road closure Play Video

  February 4, 2013 5:53 PM

  ASCENSION - Neighbors living on and near Bayou Manchac say a road closure is sending them on a 45-minute detour. Alligator Bayou Road closed nearly two weeks ago when two flood pumps were installed to drain water out of Alligator Bayou, Spanish Lake and Bluff Swamp. The pipes... more »

• Man looking for best area for crawfish traps goes under

  January 30, 2013 10:21 PM

  BELLE RIVER- Search crews will return Thursday morning to an area waterway where a crawfisherman fell into the water and went under Wednesday night. The man's wife said he was out looking for an area to set crawfish traps. As he was loading his boat on a trailer at... more »

• Coast Guard rescues stranded hunter

  January 23, 2013 3:49 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Members of the Cost Guard said a stranded hunter used all the right survival skills to get spotted and rescued today after his boat sank in St. Charles Parish. The Coast Guard spotted a brush fire the hunter used to signal them while they searched Bayou... more »

• More bubbling sites found near sinkhole Play Video

  January 22, 2013 5:47 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - Emergency officials released more information today about new bubbling sites spotted near a sinkhole in Assumption Parish. Surveyors found several sites in the last two days, bringing the total number of recorded bubbling sites in the parish up to 34. The police jury reported the... more »

• Community health briefing tonight over sinkhole

  December 13, 2012 10:56 AM

  BAYOU CORNE - Health and environmental officials scheduled a community briefing tonight to for Bayou Corne residents evacuated due to a sinkhole near their homes. DHH and DEQ, along with parish officials, said they will specifically address health concerns residents had previously brought up. They will not have information... more »

• Teen shot in hunting accident continues to recover

  December 12, 2012 10:33 AM

  LIVONIA - A teen shot in the head during a hunting accident is doing better than expected, according to his father. He said Brandt Torres, 15, was able to come home from the hospital Tuesday. He said his son was also talking a little bit, and would be starting... more »

• Lineup announced for 2013 Bayou Country Superfest

  November 27, 2012 10:47 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Organizers of the fourth Bayou Country Superfest released the lineup of musicians scheduled to cross Baton Rouge stages next year. The list includes Lady Antebellum, the Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker, The Band Perry, and other big-name groups. The two-day country... more »

• Struggling rivals seek redemption in Bayou Classic

  November 23, 2012 1:34 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - With their hopes of a Southwestern Athletic Conference title gone for both Grambling and Southern, Saturday's nationally televised Bayou Classic in the Superdome gives both teams a chance to finish disappointing seasons in a big-game environment. The teams enter the game with the worst combined record in... more »

• No new hydrogen sulfide problems at sinkhole site

  November 23, 2012 10:18 AM

  BAYOU CORNE - Authorities report no new problems with poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas near a large sinkhole in Assumption Parish. A relief well near the sinkhole was shut down after hydrogen sulfide emissions were detected. However, the Shaw Group reports that no similar problems have been found in testing of... more »

• State orders Texas Brine to take further sinkhole steps

  November 12, 2012 6:41 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - State conservation officials issued a series of orders today for Texas Brine to follow as they continue to clean up a sinkhole which formed on their property in Assumption Parish. State Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh ordered the company to install a network of observation and... more »

• State bills Texas Brine $3.5M for sinkhole costs

  November 9, 2012 5:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The state has sent a $3.5 million bill to the Texas company it blames for a massive sinkhole that has swallowed more than 5 acres of land in Assumption Parish and contaminated an aquifer. Attorney General Buddy Caldwell sent a letter this week to lawyers for Texas... more »

• Officials say brine cavern successfully breached

  September 24, 2012 3:48 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Officials say an abandoned brine cavern in the Napoleonville salt dome has been successfully breached. State Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh said Monday the investigatory well entered the cavern Saturday evening. Officials say they hope samples taken from inside the cavern will shed some light on the... more »

• Sinkhole expands for second time this week

  September 20, 2012 3:24 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - Emergency management authorities said a sinkhole in Assumption Parish expanded again overnight. John Boudreaux, the director for the parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said an additional 25 feet of land fell off into sinkhole. It's the second time this week the size of... more »

• Drilling to resume soon in Assumption bayou

  September 5, 2012 10:41 AM

  BAYOU CORNE - Authorities in Assumption Parish said drilling could resume tonight on an exploration well near a large sinkhole in the parish. The parish police jury said Texas Brine was ahead of schedule resuming operations, after they had to halt drilling for almost a week during Hurricane Isaac.... more »

• Drilling begins in Bayou Corne

  August 20, 2012 10:27 AM

  ASSUMPTION PARISH - Drilling could be underway as soon as today to get to the bottom of what caused a sinkhole and bubbles in the Assumption Parish bayous. Crews with Texas Brine will have to get into a 300-foot-thick caprock that sits on top of a salt dome which... more »

• State wants updated risk plan on nearby cavern

  August 14, 2012 3:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE - State agencies say they've asked the company owning a natural gas pipeline that was bent by an expanding sinkhole in Assumption Parish for an updated risk management plan on a nearby butane storage cavern. Crosstex Energy LP of Dallas owns a storage cavern 1,600 feet from the... more »

• State orders Texas Brine to drill well Play Video

  August 9, 2012 5:10 PM

  BATON ROUGE - This afternoon state officials ordered Texas Brine Company to drill a well to a salt cavern in Assumption Parish as part of their efforts to see what caused a sinkhole and bubbles in the bayou. The Department of Natural Resources said Commissioner of Conservation Jim Welsh... more »

• Scientists to examine sinkhole

  August 6, 2012 10:14 AM

  BAYOU CORNE - The company which owns land a massive sinkhole appeared on sent in experts today to see if they could connect it to bubbles that had been popping up in the nearby Assumption Parish bayous. A mandatory evacuation is still in affect for people living near Bayou... more »

• Abandoned well could be source of gas leak

  July 25, 2012 10:17 AM

  BELLE ROSE- An abandoned well may be the cause of a mysterious gas leak that's bubbling at the top of Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou, according to parish officials. The Department of Natural Resources is investigating an orphaned well 1,000 feet from the main bubbling area in the Bayou... more »

• Search for source of bayou gas bubbles continues

  July 2, 2012 1:14 PM

  NAPOLEONVILLE - Emergency officials watching gas bubble up in Assumption Parish bayous said there's still no risk of explosion, but the release continues. The Assumption Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said readings are being taken twice a day in Bayou Corne and other areas where residents... more »

• Bayou Country Superfest kicking off, click to view lineup

  May 25, 2012 11:15 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Organizers with the Bayou Country Superfest gathered today to kick off the Memorial Day weekend event. The two-day country music festival runs Saturday and Sunday at LSU's Tiger Stadium. This year's headliners include Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts. Events start Saturday with the... more »

• Floods force sandbagging in St. Martin Parish Play Video

  March 20, 2012 10:25 PM

  BREAUX BRIDGE-- The back-breaking work of filling and hauling sandbags is worth it to John Richard, even at 68 years old. He watched as his neighbors' homes in St. Martin Parish were flooded last week. He got lucky, because only his septic tank flooded. But water in the bayous near... more »

• New warning signs along dangerous road

  March 7, 2012 11:18 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announced Wednesday that warning signs will be installed on LA 935 to alert drivers of curves. Two girls were killed last month in an accident on LA 935 in St. Amant. The car driven by their mother ran off... more »

• 911 caller recounts tragic crash Play Video

  February 23, 2012 5:52 PM

  ST. AMANT - Just days after a harrowing 911 call alerted first responders to the tragedy on Stringer Bridge Road, Tandy Ragas is still reliving the night. "They were all screaming, save my babies, save my babies, please, there's four babies in there, get them out," said Ragas, who... more »

• Woman recalls accident on dangerous St. Amant road

  February 23, 2012 10:38 AM

  ST. AMANT - Motorists who drive Stringer Bridge Road know about the road's potential hazards. Tuesday night two girls died when their mother's car ran off the road and landed into Black Bayou. There is a petition drive to build a guardrail along the road's dangerous curve where... more »

• LISTEN: Authorities release 911 tapes of car submerged in bayou Play Video

  February 23, 2012 10:22 AM

  ST. AMANT - 911 tapes revealed the frantic efforts of rescuers as they tried to pull a woman and four children from a submerged car in Ascension Parish the night of Mardi Gras. The calls include the wife of a man who jumped into the Black Bayou to try... more »

• Troopers investigate deadly bayou crash Play Video

  February 22, 2012 5:19 AM

  ST. AMANT - Two children are dead this morning after their mother's car ran off the highway and into a nearby bayou. Louisiana State Police say 28-year-old Raelyn Encalade was driving along Stringer Bridge Rd. with four young passengers around 10 p.m. Tuesday when her car suddenly ran off... more »

• Deputies identify dead counterfeiting suspect

  December 14, 2011 3:29 PM

  GROSSE TETE - Sheriff's deputies identified the man who died after jumping into a bayou during a pursuit by authorities last week. The man is 25-year-old Henry A. Neely. He fled after Iberville police found counterfeit money in the car he was riding in. Deputies pulled over a... more »

• Fugitive's body found in bayou Play Video

  December 7, 2011 4:14 PM

  GROSSE TETE- The body of a man who ran from Iberville Parish Deputies after an interstate traffic stop was found by searchers in a bayou early Wednesday morning. Deputies said he ran after the car he was riding in was pulled over for a traffic violation. Investigators found counterfeit... more »

• Searchers find body of bayou jumper Play Video

  December 7, 2011 10:59 AM

  GROSSE TETE - This morning searchers in Iberville Parish found the body of a man who leaped into a bayou, leaving behind a car with thousands in counterfeit cash inside. Authorities found the body just after 10 a.m. today, after suspending the search last night. Deputies pulled over... more »

• Suspect jumps into bayou, search called off

  December 6, 2011 5:42 PM

  GROSSE TETE - Police called off a search for a suspect Tuesday afternoon after he jumped and sank into a bayou that authorities believed was too dangerous to follow him into. At 12:50 on Tuesday morning, an Iberville Parish Deputy pulled a car over containing a driver and passenger... more »

• DHH offers free HIV tests at Bayou Classic

  November 22, 2011 3:02 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Bayou Classic fans are being encouraged to take a free HIV test while in New Orleans for the annual football matchup between arch rivals Southern University and Grambling State. The game between the two predominantly black colleges will be played Saturday at the Superdome. Kickoff... more »

• Derelict boats will be pulled from bayous

  October 23, 2011 9:26 AM

  HOUMA, La.- Dozens of rotting, abandoned boats will be hauled out of Terrebonne Parish bayous as part of a parish-wide campaign to remove aquatic blight. The Courier reported that 43 boats will be removed from Bayou Grand Caillou, Bayou Dulac, Bayou Terrebonne, Bayou Dularge and Bayou Petite Caillou beginning... more »

• Bayou Manchac Cleanup Underway

  August 17, 2011 5:39 PM

  BAYOU MANCHAC- Work crews used heavy equipment to lift trash out of Bayou Manchac. Five dump truck loads of debris were taken from an near the Highway 73 bridge by midday. Ascension Parish officials say Bayou Manchac is listed as a scenic waterway. That means things like trees... more »

• Unrestrained driver killed when car goes into bayou

  May 31, 2011 3:39 AM

  PLAQUEMINE- A 44-year-old woman was killed Monday night in a single-vehicle crash in Iberville Parish. It happened shortly after 8 p.m. on Highway 75 just south of Jack Miller Landing. Troopers say Lola Light lost control of a vehicle, and it ran off the roadway. The vehicle came... more »

• Morgan City's concerns about flooding diminish

  May 24, 2011 4:57 PM

  MORGAN CITY - Flooding isn't as bad as some first though it would be. That's because of many preventative measures that have been implemented to protect Morgan City and the surrounding communities have done their job. Mayor Tim Matte said Tuesday morning the barge that was sunk in... more »

• Bayou Sorrel Locks close

  May 23, 2011 5:36 PM

  BAYOU SORREL - As the Army Corps of Engineers closes the Bayou Sorrel locks to barge traffic, many within the shipping industry are now left unemployed. The locks close when the water on the Atchafalaya side reaches 16 feet. And that's bad for John Businelle and his business, Pelican... more »

• Grosse Tete residents watching for back-flooding

  May 9, 2011 9:45 PM

  GROSSE TETE- All the water from the Morganza Spillway has to go somewhere. Some in Iberville Parish worry it will end up in their backyards because of back-flooding. "I always take pride in telling everyone I was born and raised on the banks of Bayou Grosse Tete," said Grosse... more »

• Superfest: Show will go on despite funding crisis

  December 9, 2010 1:59 PM

  BATON ROUGE – A day after the Baton Rouge Metro Council voted to withdraw parish funding for the 2011 Bayou Country Superfest, organizers said they’re still committed to putting the concert on with the community’s help. A statement from the concert’s organizers said they were disappointed in the Council’s vote,... more »

• Library in, Bayou Country money out of EBR budget

  December 8, 2010 8:17 PM

  BATON ROUGE - An action to remove the downtown library from the 2011 budget for East Baton Rouge Parish has failed, but moving money that was intended to help the Bayou Country Superfest has been approved by the Metro Council. Council members voted 7 to 5 in favor of... more »

• Free HIV tests for fans at Bayou Classic

  November 24, 2010 2:07 PM

  Bayou Classic fans will be able to get a little more than a football game in New Orleans on Saturday. The state health department is giving free tests for the AIDS virus. It's part of a daylong health fair outside the Superdome, where Southern and Grambling will be... more »

• Four Acadiana parishes create paddle trail

  November 14, 2010 10:00 AM

  LAFAYETTE, La. - The National Park Service will help four Acadiana parishes create a Bayou Teche paddle trail for canoes, kayaks and pirogues. Public meetings are planned Tuesday in Port Barre and Thursday in Charenton about the proposed route through St. Landry, St. Martin, Iberia and St. Mary parishes. Kristen... more »

• Headliners announced for 2011 Bayou Country Superfest

  October 27, 2010 11:14 AM

  Organizers of the second Bayou Country Superfest announced that Kenny Chesney would return for a second appearance at the music festival this Memorial Day. The list of acts includes Chesney, Tim McGraw, Sugarland, the Zac Brown Band, Trace Adkins, Billy Currington, Luke Bryan, Jason Michael Carroll, Josh Thompson, and... more »

• Leeville Bridge handling less traffic

  October 15, 2010 12:35 PM

  Officials say a new toll bridge in Lafourche Parish is handling less traffic than predicted. Michael Bridges, undersecretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development, says the issue involves the $161 million Leeville bridge over Bayou Lafourche on La. Highway 1, which began collecting fees in July 2009. Most... more »

• Bayou Country Superfest 2011

  July 16, 2010 11:27 AM

  Baton Rouge officials want to make sure Bayou Country Superfest comes back next year. The Area Convention & Visitors Commission's committee wants to put up $300,000 to sponsor it. This year's even drew more than 85,000 people to LSU's Tiger Stadium over the Memorial Day weekend and brought... more »

• Plan to control giant salvinia unveiled

  April 15, 2010 5:30 AM

  The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have a plan to fight giant salvinia, which has been choking Lake Bisteneau since 2006. In the plan, the department will skim plants from teh surface, removing cypress trees to better attack the plant, and to find ways to pay for long-term rehabilitation.... more »

• Man thinks he's bitten by an alligator

  March 25, 2010 8:17 AM

  A swirl in the dark water of Black Bayou Lake followed by a sharp stabbing injury to his arm after he fell into the water, led a man to believe he was bitten by an alligator. But Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agent Capt. Alan Bankston says there was no alligator... more »

• Nutria becoming a problem by New Orleans bayou

  January 11, 2010 9:44 AM

  A New Orleans bayou has become the new front in the battle against nutria. Nutria have been tearing up the banks of Bayou St. John in New Orleans' Mid-City neighborhood. That has prompted a neighborhood association to seek the services of a licensed trapper. Also, the New Orleans Police Department... more »