NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Saturday night flames filled the sky, as the abandoned old Market Street wharf in New Orleans caught on fire. The intense blaze stretched four blocks from Market Street to Felicity Street.
“Something on a movie! For real. That’s what it looked like, something on a movie,” said New Orleans resident Ashley Simmons.
The New Orleans Fire Department received a call around 11 o’clock Saturday night about a fire near Felicity Street. As firefighters arrived, the blaze continued to spread, making it a two-alarm fire.
“It was huge, I’ve never seen a fire like that in person,” said Simmons.
According to NOFD, old, wooden parts of the abandoned wharf caught fire, and the brisk winds by the river intensified the flames. Crews got the fire under control overnight, but smoke poured throughout the Lower Garden District Sunday morning.
“Thick, white smoke covering, I mean basically, from the Shell station all the way down to the Walmart parking lot. It was pretty full of smoke,” said New Orleans resident Jordan Delgado.
16 NOFD units with 41 firefighters responded to Saturday night’s fire and there were no reports of any injuries.
According to NOFD the “old creosote-soaked pilings” and heavy timber of the old wharf make it difficult to ignite and it is just as challenging to extinguish.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.