NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three wildfires burning in south Louisiana since the weekend are evidence that portion of the state is in a drought, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center said Monday.
Almost all of Louisiana is abnormally dry for this time of year, said Mark Svoboda, but the southern region — or about 45 percent of the state — is experiencing a moderate drought that includes below-normal precipitation and very dry soil and vegetation.
“It’s been exceptionally dry for six months,” Svoboda said. “If this continues from March into April, conditions will continue to deteriorate and it could impact the growing season for agriculture.”
Besides hurting the winter wheat crops, an ongoing drought could hinder the production and harvesting of corn, sorghum, soy beans, cotton and vegetables, said state Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain.
“A continued drought could cause a delay in planting because of inadequate soil moisture,” Strain said. “The corn must be planted by mid-April, and soybeans and cotton do best when planted by the end of May.”
Strain said insufficient rain is the biggest problem. In the last three weeks, the southern part of the state, has had only .27 inches of rain compared to the normal level of 3.5 inches.
Combined with strong winds and residue from chemical spills left on the ground from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and last year’s Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the dry conditions fueled three wildfires across south Louisiana this weekend, Strain said.
The fires, two of which Strain called “deliberate arson,” have so far claimed almost 5,000 acres of Louisiana timberland. No suspects have been arrested.
Two fires near Slidell and Mandeville engulfed about 1,500 acres of forested area. Though they were still burning Monday, they appeared to be largely contained, said Kirk Casanova, district manager for the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
A wildfire on the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge that has burned more than 3,000 acres of timberland over the past week appeared to be out Monday, said Diane Borden-Billiot, spokeswoman for the refuge.
“We still have smoke, but no active flames,” she said.
Though none of the fires were an immediate threat to homes or businesses, at least one school, Monteleone Junior High, closed Monday as a safety precaution. The school’s roughly 400 students were either picked up by parents or evacuated to Fontainebleau High School.
Casanova said the dry weather and strong winds made the weekend fires unpredictable and difficult to contain.
“All day Saturday and Sunday, it kept getting over the containment lines,” he said. “The humidity is low, the winds are picking up in the afternoon. What we need is a good rain.”
As planes flew over the fires to monitor them Monday, bulldozers continued to clear brush, trees and ground debris that could fuel them, Casanova said.
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