Arson is suspected of causing the most significant wildfire in Louisiana’s history, which is currently burning in the state’s southwestern region.
In southern Louisiana on August 22, just five miles from the Texas border, a fire was given the moniker “Tiger Island Fire.” Nearly fifty square kilometers have been burned, twenty buildings, including residences, were destroyed, and 1,200 people from Merryville were evacuated as a precaution.
The mandatory evacuation has since been canceled.
The newest information suggests that the fire has been confined to around half of its original area.
Almost two weeks after it had started, investigators from the Enforcement Division of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry concluded last Saturday that arson was to blame for the blaze.
Multiple wildfires, most notably The Tiger Island Fire, have ravaged Beauregard Parish over the last few weeks. Investigators from the Enforcement Division of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) have concluded that this wildfire was intentionally started. According to a news statement, LDAF detectives, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office are all looking into this.
Louisiana has had at least 440 wildfires in August, including the Tiger Island Fire. Reports say that wildfires killed one person; however, it wasn’t the Tiger Island Fire.
The investigation into the suspected arson is still underway, but officials have said only that the fire began in a remote part of the property’s woodland. There has been no public identification of a suspect as of yet. According to the news release, the LDAF is offering a monetary reward of $2,000 “for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individual or people guilty of the crime.”
This year’s devastating wildfire season in Louisiana has been fueled by high temperatures, abnormally dry conditions, and gusts of up to 15 mph. “This has never happened before,” LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain remarked. Never before have we had to put out so many flames for so long.
