ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. — Louisiana emergency workers continued to battle wildfires in New Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish on Thursday, as many residents deal with resulting smoke fumes.
According to WWL-TV Meteorologist Payton Malone, Thursday afternoon might bring with it a large amount of smoke.
"The winds are out of the northeast this morning," Malone said on Thursday. "You're probably getting some of that smoke in Chalmette and parts of Algiers."
Shelley Stiaes who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in New Orleans East, said the fire has been coming from a wooded area near Industrial Parkway and Chef Mentaur Hiighway.
And on Wednesday, a marsh fire brought St. Bernard Parish deputies and firefighters to Violet.
"St. Bernard Sheriff's Office Marine Division deputies and St. Bernard Fire Department firefighters worked together early (Wednesday) for several hours to contain a marsh fire in Violet, near the horseshoe," St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann said Wednesday night. "Hot spots are still being carefully monitored."
According to Weather Expert Malone the Violet fire has been put out, but people who live near the New Orleans East fire may still experience impact from the ongoing fires there.
Harry Gioe, 67, from Chalmette, who uses an oxygen tube to treat his COPD said the smoke has made the past month terrible for him. Although, Gioe, who lives about three miles from Bayou Sauvage and said Thursday was the worst the air has been all month.
"This is the first time the smell is in my house," Gioe from Chalmette said. "It woke my dog up at 1 in the morning and now it has me up, it's got my nose on fire, I can't breathe."
Last week, caution signs alerted drivers on Chef Highway, ahead of New Orleans East of the smoke from fires there.
"The biggest hazard from the incident seems to be and remains to be the smoke and that's impacting air quality as well as driver visibility," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said about the smoke on Oct. 25.
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