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Retired state fire marshal weighs in on red flag warnings and burn bans across the state
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BATON ROUGE - For the last two years Louisiana has experienced dry conditions coupled with wind, which led to wildfires across the state. In 2023, more than 60,000 acres of land were destroyed by wildfires in a span of three months. Retired state fire marshal Butch Browning says prevailing winds is one of the driving forces of fires.
"When you have a wind, like we've been having in Baton Rouge, it will drive an ember and can cause a fire," he said.
He also says multiple factors can make parishes issue red flag warnings and burn bans.
"What usually pushes a jurisdiction to issue a burn ban is the instances of a lot of grass fires and fires getting out of control. So that's usually what triggers them to issue the burn ban outside of the weather advisory," he said.
Browning advises homeowners to limit or keep combustible materials away from there home, to check the weather conditions before to prevent wildfires from spreading.
"Things like flowerbeds and trees, vegetation that are up against your house. Those are the kinds of things that if they catch on fire, they can quickly burn your home,' he said.
With recent weather conditions involving wind, multiple parishes have issued burn bans and red flag warnings. Browning stresses the importance of people following burn bans. But if they do decide to proceed with igniting a fire, he says they should not leave it unattended.
"With a burn ban in your jurisdiction or without a burn ban in your jurisdiction you need to cease all incidental burning because the weather conditions truly dictate the fact that it's not safe to do that,"
As of now, East Feliciana is the only parish under a burn ban in our area and there is no time frame for when it will be lifted.
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