NEW ORLEANS — The historic Louisiana landmark, Fort Pike, took major structural damage after a 1-alarm fire erupted Wednesday night.
According to the Fort Pike Volunteer Fire Department, the fire broke out at around 10 p.m. inside the tunnels of the centuries-old military fort located near Chef Menteur Highway.
The New Orleans Fire Department, Fire Engine 31, and several other companies arrived to help put out the fire.
In a social media post Fort Pike Volunteer Fire Department Chief Kirk Jacobs says the fire appears suspicious because there were four different locations where the fire was set inside the tunnels. The cause of the fire is unclear as the investigation is ongoing.
The fort is closed to the public and only State Park Service crews and Entergy crews are allowed on site.
“We would like to remind everyone that the park is CLOSED to the general public, except for special occasions like the Fort Pike Festival and Car Show. The Fort Pike State Park is very important to Fort Pike VFD as well as being a beautiful historic landmark for our area,” Chief Jacobs said.
According to Louisiana State Parks website, construction on the fort was completed in 1826, and was later renamed after the explorer and soldier General Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779-1813) whose name is also attached to Pike's Peak in the Rocky Mountains.
During the Civil War, Confederates held the fort until Union forces took New Orleans in 1862. Fort Pike was part of six brick-built fortifications order by President James Monroe that stretched along the Gulf Coast and designed to protect New Orleans and other ports from invasion by sea.
In 1972 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, the Louisiana landmark has fallen under neglect and deteriorated to a point that forced its closure to the public as a historic attraction.
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