HOUMA, La. (WGNO) — Starting Wednesday, part of State Highway 182 between Highways 316 and 660 in Terrebonne Parish will be closed as a result of nearby marsh fires. The closure is to allow equipment to be installed to try to fight the fires faster.
Drivers along several highways in Terrebonne Parish will now have to reroute their normal commute as fire crews battle an ongoing marsh fire. This week, efforts have been put in place to install two pumps in a nearby river into the marsh.
“Right now, there is currently no water being put on it because where the area is, there is no access to water. This is the only access to water to get to it. The fire is about a mile down from where we are standing,” said Coteau Assistant Fire Chief Jammie Breaux.
The fire currently poses no immediate threat to any structures or homes. Though Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson First Lt. Blake Tabor said closing the highways down was done as a safety precaution.
“It has low visibility at night in general. This is not a road that has tremendous light, so you combine that with the low visibility from smoke. It could become a dangerous situation,” said Tabor.
A big problem with controlling marsh fires are the extreme drought conditions. A chance at rainfall could help put out the underground marsh fire in the parish.
“The little bit of rain we have had, everything is dry. The area where the fire is usually covered for the last twenty years has been covered with water and we were driving side by side of it. The only way the fire is going to go out is to put water on it,” said Breaux.
With no date on when this can be behind the parish, drivers are asked to take alternate routes for the time being.
“That was not affected by the smoke, we didn’t foresee that being a problem. This particular corridor is accessible by multiple roadways. So, we believe there are a lot of avenues other than this particular area,” said Tabor.
Wednesday is only day one of putting the pumps together. It’s expected both pumps will be up and running by Friday.
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