Wildfires have ravaged tens of thousands of acres of Louisiana in a matter of weeks amid extreme heat and drought.
The LSU Tigers’ first night back in Death Valley will be during a state of emergency for the dangerous conditions. That means game day will look a little different for tailgating fans.
Fans can still grill using contained cooking equipment, the state fire marshal said, but they should exercise with caution.
Just one spark can ignite a disastrous flame, state officials have warned. 
In a Wednesday news release, Athletics pointed fans to alternative dining options in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and turn-key tailgating options provided by the Revelry, a bar just off of LSU’s campus.

Statewide, wildfires have scorched 50,000 to 60,000 acres of land so far — or between roughly 78 and 94 square miles, according to the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office.

State and local officials have begged the public to heed the statewide burn ban — to not cook outside, not throw cigarette butts out of cars, not drive over dry grass nor do anything else that could spark a fresh flame. 

The hundreds of wildfires come after weeks of unusually hot temperatures and dangerously dry conditions, a combination that has left behind parched land and brittle trees ripe for ignition. 

“There’s nobody alive who remembers seeing conditions this dangerous with respect to the drought we have,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a press conference held at the Vernon Parish Emergency Operations Center in August. “The temperatures have never been this hot for this long. We’ve not had this lack of rainfall.”

LSU fans should also act with caution in the high temperatures. Heat-related deaths and hospitalizations are up in the state this summer amid record-breaking weather.