Shreveport, LA – According to the state officials, due to the extremely dry conditions and the overwhelming emergency responses recorded by local fire officials, State Fire Marshal Browning, along with Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, have issued a statewide cease and desist order for all private burning, pursuant to authority under R.S. 40:1602.
Officials have announced that private burning shall only be allowed by permission of the local fire department or local government.
Ladies and gentlemen, this order is effective as of 8:00 a.m., February 15, 2022, and shall remain in effect until rescinded.
Note that this ban shall not apply to prescribed burns by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, by those trained and certified by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, or by those who conduct prescribed burning as a generally accepted agriculture practice as defined by the Louisiana Right to Farm Law.
Violation of this Fire Marshal order could result in criminal and/or civil penalties, officials said.