NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans firefighters are battling a slow-moving but persistent underground fire that is encroaching on the Maple Ridge subdivision in New Orleans East.
Fire Department spokesman Edwin Holmes said they believe the fire may have begun with a lightning strike and has been progressing. He said a trench has been dug between the fire and the neighborhood and that holes are being dug for firehoses to fight the underground battle.
Holmes said residents in Maple Ridge are concerned but that he also has heard from other residents in new Orleans East about the smoke and air quality. Which area he hears from depends largely on “which way the wind is blowing,” he said.
Video shows burned out brush and smoke coming from underground. Holmes said he isn’t positive how big the area on fire has become.