NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Mitigation efforts are underway to contain the wildfire in New Orleans East, and a former state legislator and New Orleans East resident says it’s going to take more help to contain it.
“Because as you can see, it looks like a foreign planet, a movie landscape,” former state representative Austin Badon said.
Badon, who lives in New Orleans East, describes the area where he once hunted as “smoldering patches of dirt and blackened vegetation.”
“We’re literally standing on an active fire, as we speak. It did jump on us about two nights ago,” Badon explained. “Fortunately, it seemed like it was contained. There is a natural gas pipeline that’s pretty close, but we’re trying to do whatever we can to extinguish this fire.”
Badon is spending much of his time, helping coordinate mitigation efforts to extinguish the underground fires.
“We have personal pumps that are out here, but fortunately, we have help from the Corps of Engineers and the Sewerage and Water Board that have just brought about five massive pumps out here to start trying to drown this fire and douse it,” Badon said.
A spokesman for the New Orleans Fire Department reported that air-dropping water may be ineffective; however, Badon says anything would help.
“We really could use some air power and some help from the air to basically use some buckets and drop some water or fire-retardant material onto this fire,” Badon said.
Crews with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry also assisted by using their equipment to dig trenches to help water flow.
Crews are also banking on a little help from Mother Nature.
“Well, with some rain at the end of this week, hopefully that will help, and then you know, with what’s going on now where we’re putting water on it, that would help. So, we see a light at the end of the tunnel, and the glass is half full,” Badon said.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
