NEW ORLEANS — There's hope the rain will help reduce the smoke and possibly even put out some of the wildfires we've reported on recently. The one burning near New Orleans East has been difficult for firefighters to reach, but this drizzle is making a difference.
The New Orleans East marsh fire has been burning for more than three weeks now. On November 7th, Early morning fog and smoke from the fire resulted in near-zero visibility on Interstate 10 between Irish Bayou and Michoud Blvd.
NOPD says there were four accidents involving 11 vehicles because of the super fog, and one person lost their life.
"They've indicated that they're hoping this week they'll make some serious gains on putting the fire out," Collin Arnold, director of homeland security and emergency preparedness for New Orleans, told WWL-TV. "We've already seen the results of the cooling temperatures and just kinda the drizzle that's out there right now, and light precipitation has knocked down the smoke."
Arnold says this cooler weather will reduce fog and the rain is helping reduce smoke. Eight pumps have been set up to pump water onto the marsh from nearby canals.
"We're continuing to pump somewhere between a million and a million and a half gallons an hour onto the fire," Arnold said.
Potential coastal flooding probably won't raise the water levels enough to have a direct impact on the fire but could help in other ways, according to Arnold
"It is going to raise the water levels in the canals and things higher, so it's going to be more water to pump."
He says we may see big improvements by the end of the week, but reminds people it's all dependent on weather, "We could have a change in temperatures, it could go back up we could start seeing some of that smoke again."
He reminds drivers to be careful when traveling through the area, especially at night and early morning in case fog develops.
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