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Louisiana Statewide Burn Ban: The state of Louisiana has declared a statewide burn ban to include any open flame outdoors. The message from the State Fire Marshal’s Office is “don’t burn anything” until further notice. Citations and arrests ARE happening across this state in partnership with local and state law enforcement agencies. 

Tiger Island Fire: The Tiger Island Fire was first reported on Tuesday, August 22nd. The fire is located east of Merryville, south of Hwy 190, SW of DeRidder and North of Singer. The fire is burning in pine plantations of multiple ages. Access to portions of the fire area is difficult. Fuel loads in these pine plantations are high. Heavy residual fuels because of Hurricane Laura in 2020 exist and contribute to extreme fire behavior.  

Acreage: 31,342 acres Containment: 50%  

Personnel and Equipment: 347 total personnel; 8 Helicopters, 2 fixed-wing aircraft, 15 Type-6 Engines, 6 Type-2 Tractor Plow Units, 16 Dozers, and 5 Ambulances. Additional support is being provided by the National Guard, Parish authorities, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal Team, Beauregard Sherriff’s office, and the Office of Emergency Preparedness. The National Guard is supporting with Black Hawk helicopters and 4 dozers and the fire response is using Large Air Tankers, Scoopers, and Air Attacks.  

Operations: Wednesday’s operations reported increased fire activity near Hoosier creek on the western side of the fire and near Shin Road on the northwestern edge of the fire perimeter. Crews focused on these areas that were retaining heat and continued to establish dozer line and conduct mop up to ensure containment. Along the northern perimeter, dozers were able to connect containment line into a creek, while crews also identified a contingency line to the north of the dozer line. On the northeastern and eastern perimeters, the National Guard dozers have established containment lines giving access to engines to conduct patrol and mop up operations. The structure protection group continues to coordinate with local parishes on water usage in all areas of the fire. They also continue to assess fire hydrants and ensure structure protection resources are in place if needed.  

Weather and Fire Behavior: A Red Flag Warning is in effect from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for hot, very dry conditions with wind gusts up to 17 mph. Temperatures will continue to be in the mid to high 90s, and humidity levels will remain in the low 20s. Due to the unseasonably low humidity, the air temperature and heat index are identical, similar to conditions normally seen in west Texas, not Louisiana. Fuels remain critically dry and, combined with gusty winds, have the potential to produce extreme fire behavior.  

Air Quality: Increasing smoke in localized areas of the fire could occur due to hotter and drier weather. Expect some smoke on roads adjacent to the fire, especially in the Merryville area. If we have active fire behavior with fire progression, or new starts, there could be high levels of smoke for short durations in the vicinity of the fire. For near time air quality information see EPA's Fire and Smoke Map: https://fire.airnow.gov/  

Temporary Flight Restriction: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in place over the fire area; information is at Federal Aviation Administration website. This is necessary to protect aerial operations. If there are intrusions into the Temporary Flight Restrictions, we must ground all aircraft.  

Evacuations: Updates on evacuations and shelters can be found on the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/beauregardsheriff.