DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / October 28, 2000

GRAMERCY – The swamp fire slowly smoldering on the St. James-St. Johnparish line again caused problems Thursday for area residents as a thick layer of fog and smoke shutdown the area with zero visibility until 9:30 a.m. The fire is supposed to be burning itself out after the controlled burnby the St. James Sheriff Department and the Louisiana Department ofAgriculture and Forestry on Oct. 20, but the area continues to smolder.The smoke and fog, which had caused Airline Highway and River Road to be closed Wednesday for nearly four hours, again came creeping out of the swamp about 5 a.m. Thursday morning.The St. James Sheriff’s Office, which had been keeping an eye on theroadways, were prepared to set the first road block at 5:30 a.m. They hadanticipated the trouble and had two shifts out, twice as many as usual, said Sheriff Willy Martin. Both the Gramercy and Lutcher police as well asvolunteer firemen were also out to help.

As the smoke and fog continued to creep out from the swamp, the authorities closed down the roadways. By the morning sections ofLouisiana Highways 61, 641, 3125, 44 and 18 were closed down. The low-lying cloud had drifted between Reserve, North Vacherie and Paulina.

In a complication of miscommunication, Gramercy, Lutcher and Paulina elementary schools, Lutcher Junior High School, Lutcher High School and Chanel Elementary School were all closed for the day. WWL Channel 4started broadcasting the closure of the schools before Superintendent Edward Cancienne had made the call. “When they started the voice over, itwas chaos,” said Cancienne. There was no way then to keep them open.In Lutcher and Gramercy there was absolutely zero visibility, said Martin.

After a few fender-benders on Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, the bridge was closed down.

The sheriff’s department did get some complaints from residents concerning difficulty breathing. St. James Parish Hospital could notcomment on whether they admitted anyone due to respiratory problems.

By 6 and 7 a.m. “you couldn’t go outside and breathe; you had to go backinside,” said Charlie Alleman, a Lutcher Avenue resident.

The smoke was getting into the houses. “By sunrise you could see it as thesun came through the blinds,” he added.

All Lutcher, Gramercy and Paulina residents were asked to stay in, said Gerald Falgoust, director of the Emergency Operations Center.

The towns were locked down. Even at 6 in the morning you can hear trucksmoving, but it was silent, Alleman said.

The problem with visibility was caused by the cool morning temperature.

Fog began to rise and when mixed with the smoke caused the lack of visibility. The fog was really bad on its own, said Martin. Coupled with thesmoke, there wasn’t anything to be done but sit and wait it out.

The fire which produces the smoke is still smoldering, but due to the heat of the day, the smoke is carried up into the atmosphere.

St. James Parish deputies and members of the LDAF attempted to quell thefire with a controlled burn. They set fires around the main burn to finishburning off the area that would be burned eventually anyway. With thedrought keeping the swamp dry, the fire still continues to smolder above and below the ground.

“In my opinion the smoke is coming for the logs and stumps smoldering,” said Billy Pierce, forest district manager for the LDAF. The fire, thoughthere is very little or no open flame, continues to burn slowly and produce smoke. LDAF personnel flying over the site have reported the perimetersof the fire are still holding, so the fire has not spread, it’s just taking it’s time burning out, said Pierce.

Schools were open Friday in St. James Parish, but some road closures didoccur as fog and smoke again set in.

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