Louisiana's massive Tiger Island Fire continues to burn: What to know

One of the largest wildfires in Louisiana history continued to burn Tuesday in Beauregard Parish having already destroyed more than 30,000 acres as emergency response personnel from across the South work to protect the most threatened town of Merryville with a command post in DeRidder.

Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain conducted another aerial tour of what's known as the Tiger Island Fire Tuesday as a strict statewide burn ban remained in effect.

"Nobody alive in Louisiana has ever seen these conditions," Edwards said over the weekend after the acreage destroyed by the fire doubled.

Tiger Island Fire

The Tiger Island Fire is located east of Merryville, south of Louisiana 190, southwest of DeRidder and about 5 miles east of the Texas state line and was 50% contained as of Tuesday.

It was first reported on Aug. 22 and spread rapidly using abundant pine plantation forests for fuel, which was made worse because of heavy residual tree fuel felled by Hurricane Laura in 2020.

On Tuesday the Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Department and its partners reported that 31,242 acres have burned in the Tiger Island fire.

No injuries or deaths have been reported, but more than 20 structures from homes to camps to barns have been damaged or destroyed.

Progress being made

Crews continued to make progress on the fire, officials said Tuesday, identifying areas to bring dozer lines closer to the fire edge for containment.

"Night operations reported another quiet night (Monday), allowing crews to mop up areas of heat as well as conduct engine patrols. Dozers also worked overnight along the northern perimeter, where areas of heat were identified on the edge of the fire," the daily report from officials said.

On Tuesday crews worked to connect existing dozer lines on the northern perimeter.

Crews were also working Tuesday to prioritize securing the containment line near Merryville and moving to the north and east along the fire perimeter.

Weather

Drying and warming trends returned Tuesday after the eastern edge of the fire received rain during the day Monday.

Fuels remain critically dry and combined with gusty winds have the potential to produce extreme fire behavior, officials said.

"This is a long duration event," Edwards said. "There's simply no excuse to be burning anything outside in Louisiana."

And yet Edwards said on Monday that Louisiana Fire Marshal agents issued 20 citations for violating the burn ban even as the state's forests go up in smoke and homes, livestock and livelihoods are threatened.

Who's fighting the fires?

Although the Tiger Island Fire is the state's largest, Louisiana has suffered 600 wildfires in August alone fueled by drought and record-breaking heat that have burned 60,000 acres. "That's close to the amount of what we usually see in a year," Edwards said.

Neighboring states and federal agencies have responded to the crisis with governors from Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas sending help and the Louisiana National Guard deployed.

"I have authorized the (Alabama National Guard) to deploy two black hawks and a chinook to assist Louisiana in combatting the devastating wildfires," Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey tweeted Monday. "Our prayers are with all affected and the emergency responders. Alabama stands ready in this time of crisis to help win this fight."

More than 1,000 emergency responders from throughout the South are engaged in fighting the Louisiana wildfires, Edwards said Tuesday.

"We've committed every asset we have," Strain said Tuesday.

More: 'Louisiana has never seen a summer like this' as 9 more die from heat-related illness

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: What to know about Louisiana's massive Tiger Island Fire