October 2023

for our Sportsman’s Paradise – namely
a shift in seeing evacuations take place
in more inland areas of the state. Could
that be a new normal for many municipalities?
“Evacuations and moving people to a
safe area should be a practice and something
municipalities plan for, because
yes, this is the new normal. We only
need to think about a hazardous materials
release or an active shooter situation
to see that. We should always be aware
of our surroundings. Just as you need
two ways out of a building, you should
also have two ways out of a municipality
in case of an emergency,” said Browning.
I harped on training earlier, so let’s revisit
that. The Department of Agriculture
and Forestry boasts a Forest Protection
Branch that “regularly conducts training
programs for the agency’s fire crews,
stressing safe and effective firefighting
techniques. The agency also has the
cooperation of the U.S. Forest Service,
whose crews may support and back up
the Office of Forestry’s fire suppression
crews during extreme fire conditions.
The specific objective of the branch is to
keep the annual percent of burn at a level
of no more than 0.25 of one percent
(one-fourth acre for each 100 acres protected)
in each parish in the intensively
protected mixed pine areas of, primarily,
north Louisiana parishes and to keep
the annual burn at a level of no more
than 0.50 of one percent (one half acre
for each 100 acres protected) in flash
fuel areas,
primarily in
southeast
and southwest
Louisiana.
Overall,
the aim is
to hold the
average size
per fire to
less than
13.2 acres.
James LeBlanc Records indicate
that in 2016, the average size of
Louisiana’s forest fires was 10.45 acres.”
So, how does the role of a volunteer
firefighter play into this in terms of that
training? People tend to forget that in
Louisiana, a vast number of our fires
are being fought by volunteers. Many
municipalities in our more rural regions
of the state don’t have the funding for
full-time fire departments, so they rely
on the kindness and dedication of men
and women willing to chip in and lend
a hand when called upon. Well, those
volunteers don’t always have what they
need, and they are exhausted. That lack
of training and resources, coupled with
that exhaustion, can impact the abilities
of people being called to tackle house
fires or arson blazes when their time is
taken up with wildfires. St. Amant Volunteer
Fire Chief James LeBlanc explains.
“Many times, while fighting the wildland
fires here in Ascension Parish, we realized
that Mother Nature was in the driver’s
seat. Our volunteers worked so hard
to make sure we were not in her way
LMR | OCTOBER 2023 Page 11