Source: AP
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-wi ... 108ac2c3ed
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An entire town in southwestern Louisiana is under mandatory evacuation orders because of a wildfire that state officials say is the largest they have ever seen.
Usually during this time of year, the Deep South state is addressing threats of imminent hurricanes, tropical storms and flooding. But this summer Louisiana has been plagued by record-breaking heat and extreme drought, which have made the wildfire risk unusually high. This month alone, there have been nearly 360 wildfires in the state.
Louisiana’s largest blaze, the Tiger Island Fire in Beauregard Parish, has already burned an estimated 15000 acres (6,070 hectares) — approximately 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) — accounting for more acres of burned land than the state usually has in an entire year.
The fire forced the 1,200 residents of Merryville, a rural town just east of the Texas border, to evacuate Thursday night. There have not been any reported injuries, but at least three residential structures have been burned, the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on social media.
