The town of Merryville and the Junction areas have a mandatory evacuation order in place for the ongoing wildfires. Beauregard Parish Sherrif spokesperson Shannon Burgess says previously the fire was well contained but winds only fanned the flames. The fire came extremely close to having Merryville go up in flames, but the wind change saved it by less than a mile.
In Vernon Parish, Paul Nash has been arrested and charged with two counts of arson, and violation of the state’s burn ban. Sheriff Sam Craft says the suspect lit a brush pile in his backyard and it quickly got out of control.
Craft says there’s no excuse for setting a blaze in these conditions.
Thirty-nine-year-old Joey Clement (Clay-mon) of Thibodaux has been found guilty of killing three teenagers in a 2021 drunk driving head-on crash in Lafourche Parish. Teiko Foxx has more…
The Louisiana National Guard has been activated to provide support with the wildfires in Beauregard Parish. 97 soldiers are assisting, and LANG helicopter crews are dropping gallons of water in the affected areas. Additional aircraft from Oklahoma are also assisting with the wildfires.