State Wide Burn Ban In Effect

Posted by zachary on April 06, 2020

Source: WBRZ

By: WBRZ Staff

BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana State Fire Marshal released a statement Tuesday afternoon banning all private burning in the state.

In collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning says, "Private burning shall only be allowed by permission of the local fire department or local government." 

This order is effective as of Wednesday, March 25 at 8 a.m. and will remain in effect until further notice. 

“This burn ban is necessary to supplement the governor’s ‘stay home’ order aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 due to the anticipation that there may be an increase in open burning occurring across the state as families look for ways to pass the time at home,” said Browning.

“This order will assist in preventing potential fire-related dangers that could result in unnecessary fire service response as well as diminish airborne irritants caused by burning.” 

The ban does not apply to prescribed burns by the LDAF, by those trained and certified by the LDAF, or by those who conduct prescribed burning as a “generally accepted agriculture practice” as defined by the Louisiana Right to Farm Law, according to the Fire Marshal release.

Violation of this Fire Marshal order could result in criminal and/or civil penalties.