Blaze scorches marsh

A lightening strike is suspected to be the cause of a fire that consumed nearly 140 acres of Big Branch Marsh near Slidell this weekend.

The fire began last Thursday evening after a squall passed through the area. According to Chris LeRouge, fuels technician with the Fire Management division of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service, the blaze smoldered in the marsh for about a day before winds caused it to escalate.

“Late Friday or early Saturday it made a big push,” said LeRouge. “It was really just a small area that burned, about 1 percent of the marsh, but it was so hot and dry it took awhile for us to contain it.”

The fire took place on what is known as the Salmen Track, along a stretch of Bayou Bonfouca just west of U.S. Highway 11. Helicopters traversed the area regularly, dumping 80 to 90 gallons of water at a time onto the flames, while personnel from other local refuges lent assistance.

The Sandhill Crane Refuge in Pascagoula, Miss., sent team members to dig a fire line, while the Cameron Prairie Refuge near Lake Charles loaned the agency its Marsh Master, an amphibious vehicle capable of accessing hard-to-reach marsh areas. Members of the U.S. Forest Service also assisted in efforts to extinguish the fire.

No injuries were reported, although a triple-digit heat index combined with exertion made it slow going for the firefighters.

“It went smoothly, but the heat was definitely a problem,” said Ken Litzenberger, project manager with the Southeast Louisiana Wildlife Refuges, which oversees Big Branch. “They had to take it slow, with lots of water breaks.”

LeRouge said efforts to replant longleaf pine in the area were not adversely affected by the fire, nor were habitat areas for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Firefighters battled the flames all weekend before Sunday’s torrential downpours finally doused the blaze.

“We still have to take one more look at it for hot spots,” said LeRouge. “We got about three inches of rain in last couple of days, but we consider it controlled.”