NEW ORLEANS — Former State Representative for New Orleans East, Austin Badon, is familiar with the land that's burning off of Chef Highway. He said it's roughly 600 acres total.
“Probably about 200 or more acres are burning," Badon said.
Badon has visited the site several times over the past few weeks. He explained that most of the land contains peat.
“When the fire hits it, it just starts burning and it’s very combustible and it smolders. That’s why you see all of this smoke around," Badon said, “It kind of looks like a movie set. Like Armageddon or something like that.”
Badon has hunted on the land for years.
“Generally, this area is under at least six inches of water," Badon said, “This ground is so dry.”
Feet away from the smoldering tree line is a natural gas pipeline.
“God forbid if that were to be breached you would have a major problem on your hands," Badon said.
Monday evening, a representative for the gas company was checking on the fire. He told Badon the company comes out daily.
Badon also said they've bulldozed tracts through the wooded area to separate the fire from the gas line.
The smoke has raised air quality concerns and has been smelled across the New Orleans metro and beyond.
“If you’re downwind from it, you’re going to smell it," Badon said.
The New Orleans Fire Department, the Sewerage and Water Board and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry have worked with the property owner to pump water from drainage canals to the wildfire, NOFD said in a press release on Friday.
But Badon said more needs to be done.
“It’s not enough to just monitor the fire," Badon said, “This needs to be addressed just like every other forest fire in the area that has had significant amount of manpower.”
NOFD said it's facing numerous challenges and the pumping water in to saturate the land is the most effective method but called it a "long slow process."
On Monday, the US Army Corps of Engineers will bring in additional equipment to the site, according to a USACE spokesperson.
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