Marsh fire in northern Terrebonne Parish thought to be contained, fire officials say

A stubborn marsh fire that broke out near Schriever alarmed residents and spread smoke over large swaths of northern Terrebonne Parish, but fire officials say they are monitoring the blaze and do not see any threat to homes or businesses as of about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Bayou Cane Fire Chief Ken Himel said the general location is a perennial spot for marsh fires at this time of year, and that it is in no way like the fires that have been reported in other communities.

“We are monitoring the conditions,” Himel said. “It’s the same exact place where we have marsh fires around Highway 90 and Savanne Road.”

One of the reasons officials are not overly concerned, they said, is that the area is criss-crossed by many canals, preventing the fire from spreading beyond its origins. That same geography, firefighters said, prevents them from getting near enough to extinguish it.

“We put a drone up in the air so that we could see exactly what is burning,” Himel said.

The chief and other firefighters from his department and from Schriever are driving to various locations so that they can keep an eye on the fire.

“It’s roughly seven members of command staff,” Himel said, promising appropriate action if the fire were to jump into areas where people are present. The area burning is primarily flat and grassy, although there are some trees that did not seem to be affected.

Smoke was visible a good distance from the site and drifted over some densely populated neighborhoods like Ellendale and Summerfield.

At God’s Promise bookstore and gift shop on Corporate Drive, clerk Janet Leboeuf stepped outside to get a better look at the smoke, which was billowing white.

“The smoke was pretty thick, and it was pretty bad for a while,” Leboeuf said.

Bayou Cane firefighters have been getting familiar with the type of wildfires burning in other parts of the state, having volunteered to assist in Beauregard Parish earlier this week. Firefighters from Schriever and Houma helped there as well.

Extreme heat and drought have contributed to wildfires throughout Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The Department of Agriculture and the State Fire Marshal issued a statewide burn ban Aug. 7 due to dangerously dry and hot conditions, which continues in effect until further notice.

This article originally appeared on Gonzales Weekly Citizen: Marsh fire burns in Schriever, but fire officials think it is contained