Gov. Edwards gives update after flying over Louisiana’s wildfires damage

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Tiger Island fire in Beauregard Parish has been burning for almost a week.

It is one of the largest wildfires ever recorded in Louisiana.

“It’s the worst one since the second World War,” Louisiana’s Governor John Bel Edwards said.

The fire doubled in size over the weekend to a staggering 33,000 acres, that is about 51 square miles. While some parts of the area did receive some rain, Governor Edwards says it was not nearly enough to feel or even see some relief.

“We had some improvements over the last few days with precipitation, but the vast majority did not fall in Southwest Louisiana,” explained Edwards.

Help is coming from all over the country. Governor Edwards says there are over 1,000 boots on the ground from firefighters to other personnel.

“The work that was done by early officials did set the stage,” added Edwards.

Some of that help comes from right here in the capital region. Curt Monte with the Baton Rouge Fire Department says they have a 15-man crew in Beauregard Parish helping local officials with another crew set to leave Monday.

The Tiger Island fire is far from the only one.

Hundreds of wildfires have charred parts of the state, an unprecedented 600 wildfires in the month of August.

Governor Edwards said almost 100 square miles of land has burned across the state, prompting him and other state leaders to look into future investments.

“This is something we are talking about. We need to invest in training, equipment, and personnel. We need to be prepared to properly respond,” Edwards explained.

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